The Better Mood Recovery Program, Week 9

THE HEALING POWER OF SPIRIT

“At the hospital I was separated from alcohol for the last time. There I humbly offered myself to God as I understood Him, to do with me as He would. I placed myself unreservedly under his care and protection. I have not had a drink since.”

—Bill W., founder of Alcoholics Anonymous

Ninth Week Overview

In this week you will learn how feeling spiritually connected to a benevolent universe can alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Mental health researchers have defined a phenomenon known as “religious coping”—a reliance on a spiritual belief or activity to help manage emotional stress or physical discomfort. In other words, people with a defined spiritual philosophy or world view seem to cope better with life's crises and challenge. A 1999 Duke University study of 4,000 adults found that attendance at a house of worship was related to lower rates of anxiety and depression. It was this type of spiritual coping that led me to my ultimate healing. In this week, we will look at various aspects of spirituality that can be used to promote emotional serenity.

Prayer

“Ask and ye shall receive. Seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it shall be opened.”

—Matthew 7: 1-3

As far as I know, there are no scientific studies that document the efficacy of prayer in the healing of depression or other forms of mental illness. There do exist, however, documented cases of the success of prayer in physical healing, as shown in Larry Dossey's book, Healing Words.

If prayer can alter physical matter, and the brain is made of material substance, then it seems reasonable that prayer can impact the brain chemistry that creates depression. (I have my own experience to testify to this truth.) Thus, I would encourage anyone with depressive illnesses to combine prayer with the traditional treatment modalities.

There are many different types of prayer. The success of prayer does not depend on your religious persuasion. (As AA puts it, “There are no atheists in foxholes.”) If the word “prayer” seems too religious, think of the process as a way of connecting with your Higher Power, however you understand it to be. Here is a beautiful poem, sent to me by a visitor to my web site, that beautifully describes God's loving response to a prayer for healing.

 

Judith's Story: Calling Me

The darkness engulfed my soul;

My screams of pain deafened me,

Falling further away from reality.

Quieting the din of the storm;

You reached for me gently,

Within Your warmth I began to see.

Your love broke through;

And You patiently awaited,

Until at last the darkness faded.

To my Lord that came for me;

Deep within the darkness,

To suffer not eternally.

 

Ideally, prayer should be connected with action. As one spiritual teacher put it, “You don't pray and then hang out in bed with your sneakers on. Pray as if everything depended on God, but act as if everything depended on you.”

There is no right way to pray. The sincerity of your request and your intention to heal is more important than the structure you use. If you bring a pure heart to your inner altar and remain open to the presence of grace, who knows what miracles may occur?

Being Prayed For By Others

As I learned in my own healing, group energy increases prayer's potency and effectiveness. If you wish to have people pray for you, it is most effective if you have them do so as a cohesive unit. If you can't get your support people to meet as a single group, you can still ask those in different locations to pray for you (preferably at a specific time of day).

In addition, you may place your name on one of the following prayer lists where it will be prayed over for thirty days or more. These prayer ministries are listed in Appendix C with descriptions of their services, web sites and mailing addresses.

Silent Unity

(816) 929-2000

(800) 669-7729

e-mail: unity@unityworldhq.org

World Ministry of Prayer

(213) 385-0209

(800) 421-9600

e-mail: inquiry@wmop.org

Inspiration for Better Living and 24 Hour Ear-to-Ear
Prayer Ministry

(773) 568-1717

Christ Church Unity Prayer Ministry

(619) 282-7609

Meditation

“Peace is not the absence of the storm, but serenity within the storm.”

—Alcoholics Anonymous

The eleventh step of the 12 steps states that we “seek through prayer and meditation to improve our contact with our Higher Power.” While prayer is our talking to God, meditation is listening to the response. There are many meditation techniques from a variety of spiritual traditions that are designed to take you to this place of stillness. Perhaps the simplest one is described in Herbert Benson's classic work, The Relaxation Response in which you breath in to the words “I am” and breath out the word “relaxed.” Since many people in the modern world are overly mentally active, a walking meditation (consciously focusing on each step) is an excellent way to calm the mind while burning off nervous energy. Other meditative focuses include reading a scripture or source of inspiration, listening to relaxing music, or taking a walk in nature.

When you meditate, your goal is not to do anything, but rather to be with yourself and with spirit in a relaxed and allowing way. There are a number benefits to this contemplative state:

• Becoming quiet in meditation can help stop unwanted and counterproductive thoughts that contribute to depression and anxiety. When the mind is not at peace, it is like a candle that flickers in wind; Buddhists call it the “monkey mind,” (picture a monkey wildly jumping from branch to branch.) You can also imagine the untamed mind to be like a racing train. Meditation can be compared to stopping the train, getting off, and sitting by a still lake.

When practicing meditation, your goal is not to control your thoughts, but rather to observe them from a detached, calm, space known as the “witness.” Whenever you notice your mind wandering, you gently bring it back to the point of focus (e.g., your breathing) and continue with the process.

• Spending time in meditation can allow you to pay attention to yourself in a healthy way. Think of your meditation as a “time-out” period when you can ask yourself, “How do I feel in this moment? Is there anything special that I need right now?” These personal check-ins can alert you to when you are emotionally or physically off-center and help you to get back on track.

• Centering yourself opens you to spiritual guidance through listening to the “still small voice” within. People who suffer from depression have difficulty making decisions. While the personality may feel stuck in indecision, there is a wiser part of us that knows what is for our highest good. When we relax and open ourselves to a higher wisdom, we can receive insight and answers to important questions without effort or struggle.

• Stilling the mind makes it possible to connect with the part of yourself that is beyond your depression. No matter how severe your psychiatric symptoms, there is a part of you that is not touched by those circumstances. This spiritual essence is called by many names—the Christ self, the Buddha self, the Divine self, etc. Once you touch this place, even for a few seconds, you have a new way of understanding who you really are. Instead of saying, “I am a depressed and anxious person” you can affirm, “I am a spiritual being who is experiencing the pain of depression.” Making the distinction between the real you (that is whole and complete) and your outer circumstances helps to diminish the sense of shame that so often accompanies depression.

Ideally, you should make it a goal to meditate at approximately the same time each day. Try to find a quiet, comfortable environment where you can spend five to twenty minutes without being disturbed. Most spiritual teachers recommend meditating first thing in the morning, although your schedule may dictate that afternoons or evenings are best.

Keeping the Faith in the Midst of Pain

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was within me an invincible summer

—Albert Camus

Physicist Albert Einstein, named by Time magazine as the “Person of the 20th Century,” was also a great philosopher and mystic. According to a famous story, as Einstein lay on his death bed his last words were, “There is only one fundamental question to ask—is the universe friendly?”

How you answer Einstein's question may have a significant impact on how you face and cope with depression. Do you believe, as the I Ching, the Chinese book of changes says, that “everything serves to further,” or as Paul the Apostle writes, “All things work together for good to them that love God?”1 Or, do you identify with the melancholic Hamlet who proclaimed that life is “full of sound and fury, a tale told by an idiot signifying nothing.”

When we choose to hold the view that the universe is benevolent and supportive, we are far more likely to adopt the optimistic way of thinking that we described in Week 6. Moreover, believing in a benevolent universe also gives you the faith that in times of trouble, invisible means of support will become available. One of my spiritual mentors, Mary Morrissey, is fond of saying that God is greater that any condition or circumstance in your life. Mary often advises, “Instead of telling God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big your God is.”

My faith in this principle was severely challenged during my recent depressive episode when my sick brain made it impossible for me to see my way out of the darkness. I was convinced that God had abandoned me to a horrible fate from which there was no escape. Many who are in the throes of a major depression also report experiencing this inconsolable desolation.

To bolster my faltering faith, I followed the advice of a friend and collected many “messages of hope” taken from the Book of Psalms, my own book, I Am With You Always, and from other inspirational sources. Reading these words on a daily basis helped give me the “soul strength” to stay in the pain until it shifted. I present a sample of these life-affirming words on the following two pages in the hope that they may similarly be used by anyone wanting reassurance that there really is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Spiritual Community

All spiritual traditions have emphasized joining with others as a way to gain assistance in strengthening one's spiritual life. One of the Buddha's main teachings was to “seek the sangha”—i.e., a community of like-minded believers. Similarly, one of the greatest spiritual movements of the 20th century—Alcoholics Anonymous—has made community fellowship the foundation of its healing work.

A special kind of spiritual community that has made a huge difference in my life is the Master Mind group. The term “Master Mind” was first coined by Napoleon Hill in his classic book, Think and Grow Rich. Hill discovered that successful business people did not succeed on their own, but depended on a “brain trust” whom they consulted before making important decisions. Hill called this process “the principle of the Master Mind.” He writes:

The human mind is a form of energy. When two or more minds cooperate in harmony, they form a great “bank” of energy plus a third, invisible force which can be likened to a Master Mind. The Master Mind is yours to use as you desire. It is the master way to use organized and directed knowledge as a road to lifelong power.

Years later, Unity minister Jack Boland integrated Hill's idea with the recovery model and made the term Master Mind synonymous with one's Higher Power. (Boland was a recovering alcoholic who brilliantly synthesized the principles of the twelve steps and New Thought spirituality).

Today, Master Mind meetings perform the same function as the “brain trusts” of Hill's time. A Master Mind group consists of two or more persons (two to six is ideal, eight is maximum) who meet regularly in an atmosphere of trust and harmony for the purpose of providing mutual support and encouragement for the attainment of each person's goals. A Master Mind group is not established so that individuals can solve each other's problems. The group is based on the master mind pricniple—that whenever two or more people come together inmutual support, a third energy, the Master Mind, is present. Master Mind partners are able to believe for each other things which each person alone might find difficult to embrace.

 

Promises of Deliverance

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and the mountains be carried to the midst of the sea.

Psalm 46:1-2

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Psalm 27:1-2

Though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

Psalm 23

The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you. Don't give up five minutes before the miracle.

Alcoholics Anonymous

In the depth of winter, I finally leaarned that there was within me an invincible summer.

Albert Camus

The Lord is near to them that are brokenhearted, and He saves those that are humble in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Psalm 34:19-20

I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and will make them rejoice from their sorrow.”

Jeremiah 31:13

Remember, no human condition is ever permanent; then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune nor too sorrowful in misfortune.”

Socrates

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

Romans 8:18

Our greatest glory is not in never falling,but in rising every time we fall.

Buddha

Though he fall he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.

Psalm 37:24

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.

Helen Keller

Enlightenment begins on the other side of despair.

Sartre

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their faith: they shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Sometimes I get discouraged and feel my work's in vain; But then the Holy Spirit revives my soul again.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Light of God surrounds me.
The Love of God enfolds me.
The Power of God protects me.
The Presence of God watches over me.
Wherever I am, God is.

The Prayer of Protection

Let nothing disturb thee, nothing affright thee.
All things are passing, God never changes.
Patient endurance attaineth to all things.
Who God possesses, in nothing is wanting.
Alone God suffices.

St. Theresa of Avila

 

In a Master Mind meeting, each member is encouraged to surrender to the Master Mind (i.e. turn over to one's Higher Power) any problem areas, challenges, needs for healing, and heartfelt goals. When such requests are fully and properly made, spirit provides answers and solutions in the most amazing way.

During the past four years of my recovery, I have met regularly with my current Master Mind team which grew out of the original Living Enrichment Center prayer group. Each week I share my goals in the areas of health, relationships, finances, vocation, spiritual growth, etc. The social and spiritual support I have received from this process has played an instrumental role in the writing of this book and in the formation of my depression support groups.2

Like a 12-step group or any support group, a Master Mind group is really about creating a field of love through which Divine love can flow and heal. This kind of loving energy serves as a healing balm for the symptoms of anxiety and depression. Whether it is a Master Mind group or your church or synagogue, your mental and emotional well being will be greatly enhanced if you join together with others in spiritual community.

Using the 12 Steps of AA to Heal From Depression

“Religion is for people who are afraid of going to hell. Spirituality is for people who have already been there.”

—Alcoholics Anonymous

Although I have never suffered from a drug or alcohol addiction, during my episode of depression I often turned to the principles of the recovery movement and the 12 Steps of AA as a source of healing and spiritual inspiration. This was no accident, for I now see a direct correlation between recovery from alcoholism/addiction and recovery from mental illness.

To begin with, a substantial number of people with mental illness also suffer from drug and/or alcohol abuse. While 13.5 percent of the general population suffers from alcoholism, 22.3 percent suffer from both alcoholism and psychiatric disorders. (For drug abuse, the figures are 6.1 percent and 14.7 percent.)3 One reason for this relationship is that dopamine, a chemical that drives the brain's reward systems, is implicated in both addictions and depression. As Kathleen DesMaisons explains in her book Potatoes Not Prozac, the same diet that was developed to prevent relapse into alcoholism also works to heal depression. In fact, the parallels between the two conditions are so great that some see them as underlying aspects of the same disorder.

In addition to their physical similarities, both addiction and depression have a number of psychological and spiritual parallels. In both disorders, the sufferer is dealing with a force that is outside his or her control. As step one of the 12 steps states, “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—and that our lives had become unmanageable.” In a similar fashion the severe psychiatric symptoms of clinical depression cannot be healed through willpower alone. One cannot “snap out” of being depressed.

In addition, healing from addiction/depression is not a one-time event. The person who has stopped drinking does not refer to himself as a recovered alcoholic or an ex-alcoholic but a recovering alcoholic. Similarly, staying free from depression is an ongoing process. This understanding leads both the alcoholic and the depressive to live life “one day at a time,” doing what is necessary to stay sober and emotionally stable for each 24 hours. To accomplish this end, the relapse prevention strategies of AA are wonderfully suited for helping the previously depressed person take care of himself or herself (see Week 12).

 

The Twelve Steps

1. We admitted we were powerless over our addiction (and depression)—that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of this Higher Power, as we understood Him, Her or It.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to our Higher Power, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have our Higher Power remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked our Higher Power to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with our Higher Power as we understood Him, Her or It, praying only for knowledge of our Higher Power's will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all of our affairs.

 

Another key to recovery from addiction is the Serenity Prayer—“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Likewise, the depressive must learn to accept those things that are outside his or her personal control—for instance, genetics and temperament—and then change the things that he or she can control—attitudes, behaviors, diet, exercise, willingness to seek help, and so on.

Finally, people who suffer from depression report that many of the aphorisms from the recovery movement contain practical wisdom that help them stay serene, productive and at peace, one day at a time. Here are a few favorites.

Because of this close connection between recovery from depression and drugs/alcohol, many depressives receive support from attending 12-step meetings such as Alanon, Emotions Anonymous, and Adult Children of Alcoholics.

Finding Purpose and Meaning

Social scientists have long observed that rates of depression decrease during wartime and rise during peacetime. This is because during war, people have a clear sense of focus and mission—i.e., achieving military victory. This phenomenon demonstrates the importance of having purpose and meaning in our lives. During his concentration camp experience, psychiatrist Victor Frankl discovered that if a prisoner had a purpose for living after the war, he would be more likely to survive.

After the war, Frankl realized that the need for meaning was not just applicable to prisoners of war; it was a universal human need. In his role as a psychiatrist, Frankl discovered that many types of mental illness—including depression—improved when a person found a worthwhile purpose upon which to base his life. Conversely, he saw many people succumb to depression when they felt they had “nothing to live for.”

An example of someone who has found great purpose and meaning in her life is wildlife advocate Jane Goodall. Ms. Goodall first became recognized for her work with chimpanzees at the Gombe Preserve in Africa where she demonstrated that chimps had the ability to make and use tools, a province thought to be exclusive to humans. Since then she has founded Roots and Shoots, an environmental and humanitarian movement for young people, with branches in 57 countries. Asked why she didn't return to the peaceful reserve of Gombe to continue her scientific studies, Goodall replied:

I feel the need to make people see what we are doing to the environment. At this point, the more people I reach, the more I accomplish. I miss Gombe and my wonderful years in the forest, but if I were to go back to that, I wouldn't feel I was doing what I should be doing.

Here is a woman who is clearly on purpose in her life. Her sense of mission has no doubt allowed her to maintain an exhausting travel schedule in which she is booked four years in advance and never stays in one place more than three weeks at a time.

This Week's Goals/Assignments

These are you assignments for the coming work:

Fill out the “Assessing My Connection to Spirit Inventory” and the “Spiritual Connection Goals Sheet.” Choose a goal from this sheet as a goal for the week.

Ongoing Self-Care Activities

 

Assessing My Connection to Spirit

Please take a few moments to answer the following questions as a way of assessing the quality of spiritual connection in your life.

1. What are the main sources of spiritual support in my life? Is there a spiritual community that I belong to?

2. What would I consider my main types of spiritual practice? What activities do I engage in, such as prayer and meditation, that help me to feel connected with spirit or to something larger than myself?

3. How do my spiritual beliefs or practices help me to deal with the day to day challenges in my life?

4. Does my life have a sense of meaning and purpose? What gives life its meaning? Is there a greater purpose that I feel I am serving?

5. What is my world view? Do I see the universe as basically benevolent and supportive? What was the concept of God that was presented to me as a child—a God of love or a God of punishment? Have I changed my views as I have grown older?

6. When painful things happen, do I think that I am being punished for something I did in the past? Or do I have a different explanation? How do I explain my suffering?


 

 

Creating Goals for Spiritual Connection

Using the answers from your wellness inventory, write down the spiritual support you now have and the support that you would like to have.

Spiritual support I now have:

1.

2.

3.

Spiritual support I would like to make part of my life:

1.

2.

3.

Take one of these goals and make it a goal for the week.

 

 

My Goal Sheet for Week 9

This week's starting date_____________My coach/buddy ____________________

Date/time we will connect _____________________________

Goal or Goals _______________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Benefits of attaining this goal____________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Action plan _________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Ongoing goals (check off the ones as you accomplish them)

______ Read my vision statement daily (upon awakening or before bed)

______ Chart my moods in the Monthy Mood Diary

______ This was my average mood on the better mood scale.

images

How was my mood this week?

Record your moods below for each day of the week.

  Day Mood    Comments
  Mon    
  Tue      
  Wed    
  Thu    
  Fri      
  Sat    
  Sun    

 


1 Romans, 8:28

2 To learn more about the Master Mind process, contact Master Mind Publishing, PO Box 1830, Warren, Michigan 48090-1830; (800) 256-1984.

3 Lisa Dixon and Jane DeVeau, “Dual Diagnosis: The Double Challenge,” NAMI Advocate, April/May 1999, Volume 20, Number 5, pg. 16.