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09-19-2008, 04:21 PM
Wisdom for Today
I relied on drinking and drugging for a lot of things. It was the only way I knew how to have a good time. It gave me the “rush” and excitement I craved. It seemed to break down walls and give me the courage to talk with others. If I was hurting physically or mentally, I looked to my addiction to cure my ills. If I had a bad day on the job or was in trouble with my spouse and the whole world seemed against me, I would seek comfort in my addiction. I just felt better if I was wasted. I looked to drinking and my drugs to solve all my problems. I relied on my addiction for all my answers. Have I stopped relying on my addiction?
Meditations for the Heart
To give up my reliance on drinking and drugging, I had to surrender. This was the only way out of the insanity. Surrender is the foundation on which all solid recovery programs are built. Surrender must be complete and not conditional, or it is not really surrender. But what was I surrendering to? Was I simply admitting defeat? Well, no! I also had to find something else to rely on, because I surely could not rely on myself. Whenever I tried my way, it did not work. The AA Big Book pointed the way, “That one is God; may you find Him now.” Am I willing to surrender to the care and love of a Higher Power, as I understand Him?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
I give up. I have nowhere else to turn but to You. Help me to see that in surrender I am giving my will and my life over to Your care. Help me to stay on the path – “just for today.”
Amen.
-----
NA Just For Today
Courage To Change
"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."
Serenity Prayer
Recovery involves change, and change means doing things differently. The problem is, many of us resist doing things differently; what we're doing may not be working, but at least we're familiar with it. It takes courage to step out into the unknown. How do we find that courage?
We can look around ourselves at NA meetings. There, we see others who've found they needed to change what they were doing and who've done so successfully. Not only does that help quiet our fear that change - any change - spells disaster, it also gives us the benefit of their experience with what does work, experience we can use in changing what doesn't.
We can also look at our own recovery experience. Even if that experience, so far, has been limited to stopping the use of drugs, still we have made many changes in our lives - changes for the good. Whatever aspects of our lives we have applied the steps to, we have always found surrender better than denial, recovery superior to addiction. Our own experience and the experience of others in NA tells us that "changing the things I can" is a big part of what recovery is all about. The steps and the power to practice them give us the direction and courage we need to change. We have nothing to fear.
Just for today: I welcome change. With the help of my Higher Power, I will find the courage to change the things I can.
pg. 274
-----
September 20 - Daily Feast
Touching the earth is resting on the breast of our mother. It is once again finding out beginnings - a knowing that this place where we stand or walk or plow or plant, is something created for us. We know it because the pulse of the earth slows our own and tranquilizes our confusion. Seeing the sky in all its limitless depths stirs our imaginations and stretches our awareness of the simple beauty provided for us. We can see that it is wrong to be bitter and know that it lasts only as long as we let it. When we reach toward the ceiling of our minds, we are as unlimited as the sky. As currents of air stir the fragrance of the flowers, we may not be able to see where it comes from but we sense its influence. Life is ours to enjoy as individuals and it comes from the Great Holy Spirit.
~ We sang songs that carried in the melodies all the sounds of nature.... ~
AMERICAN INDIAN
"A Cherokee Feast of Days" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*
Elder's Meditation of the Day - September 20
"You will only get back what you give out."
--Joe Coyhis, STOCKBRIDGE-MUNSEE
The Great Spirit created a system of balance and justice. This law says, if you treat others with respect, you will be treated with respect. If you gossip about no one, no one will gossip about you. If you are fair in all of your dealings, you can expect the same. If you share with others, others, will share with you. If you judge others, others will judge you. You will always get back what you give out. The original teaching talks about being a giving person. A giving person will constantly be on the receiving end.
My Creator, help me to be a giving person today.
*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*
THINK ON THESE THINGS
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
The native American believes that he must have balance if he is to have healing. His equilibrium must balance between his mental and spiritual influence. Such things may seem complicated in themselves but the simplicity is profound when we finally discover what it is.
In most cases, balance comes from what we say to ourselves in the silence of our minds. It is what we direct our minds to do at all times. Simple steps, pick the feet up and set them down, don't drag. Don't hang onto anything and everything. Say balance, say power, say to the feet and legs to do their work.
Eat for strength and keen minds. Stop saying how tired and how nervous we are. Say, I am strong. I have sufficient to meet my every need. Just words? Yes, but words that balance.
-----
Daily Relationship Reading
How often am I afraid of something in our relationship? Maybe I'm scared my SO has found someone better, or is angry at me over a mistake I made, or is hiding something important from me. Perhaps I'm scared I've failed them somehow.
Fear is a healthy warning system when it alerts me to real danger, but often I imagine all sorts of monsters. In actuality, what usually happens is that worry robs me of happiness, and makes it even harder to handle things that do try and throw me for a loop.
When I try to guess what is going on in my partner's mind, there's no limit to what I can imagine. The truth is I can't accurately read minds; my imagined fears and worries just leave me drained, and less able to handle real problems.
If I want more peace of mind and a better idea of the truth, I can begin by talking with my SO, and sharing my fears and feelings. If they help me work towards a better understanding of them and myself, that will be great. But even if they don't, it's up to me to find ways of dealing with my fears that strengthen instead of weaken me.
Just for Today
Today I'll look at some things I've been worrying about, and ask myself if I really can read my partner's mind. I'll take some time to talk things out with them, and share my feelings and fears honestly. Then, I'll begin to use my imagination more for wonderful things, instead of making up extra things to worry about.
Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed. - Alcoholics Anonymous
------
You are reading from the book Food for Thought.
A New Self-Image
As we lose weight, our self-image needs to change along with our body. We may have had a mental image of ourself as a thin person, but this image probably did not go beyond the physical. If we continue to think of ourself as the same confused, compulsive, childish person we once were, we are not facilitating our emotional and spiritual growth.
The OA program gives us the power to become a new person. If we see ourselves as daily growing saner, more serene, more confident, reality will reflect our inner vision.
Perhaps the most important change in our self-image involves our relationship to our Higher Power. Before, we probably saw ourselves as the center of our world and devoted our energies to protecting and building up our fragile ego. We were all alone in an unfriendly world. Now, we see ourselves as God's creation, subject to His purpose and plan. As we yield to His authority and accept His love, we find strength, security, and peace. By losing ourselves, we find ourselves.
Create in me a new self-image.
-----
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Education should be the process of helping everyone to discover his uniqueness. --Leo Buscaglia
We are each special, which means there is not another person just like ourselves. Nobody looks just like us. Nobody's voice sounds quite like our own. And nobody thinks through a story just like we do.
Each of us has been created for a special purpose. Maybe it's for what we'll teach a friend, or the way we'll help a sister or a brother. Every day will give us chances to offer our special talents to others. Our being alive is God's way of proving that we're important to the family, the neighborhood, and the world.
What important task lies before me today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Sexuality expresses God's intention that people find authentic humanness not in isolation but in relationship. --James B. Nelson
We men have regarded our sex lives and our spiritual lives as two different worlds. This attitude has caused many crises -- anger and frustration with our partners, power struggles, accusations and hurt feelings, shame and guilt about our own behavior.
We can join our spirituality with our sexual selves by taking responsibility for being sexual. Being responsible means we take the risk of being vulnerable, of giving and receiving affection and sexual expression in our relationships. We cannot expect satisfaction of our desires simply because we feel them. In sexuality, as in all parts of our lives, our Higher Power is our guide. We can also say no to sexual expression if we wish.
God guide my sexual awareness today. Open me to experience sexuality as a creative gift for relationships.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
What difference does it make how I am treated by life? My real life is within. --Angela L. Wozniak
It is said that we teach people how to treat us. How we treat others invites similar treatment. Our response to the external conditions of our lives can be greatly altered by our perceptions of those conditions. And we have control of that perception. No experience has to demoralize us. Each situation can be appreciated for its long-term contribution to our growth as happy, secure women.
No outside circumstances will offer us full time and forever the security we all long for. And in like manner, none will adversely interfere with our well being, except briefly and on occasion.
The program offers us the awareness that our security, happiness, and well being reside within. The uplifting moments of our lives may enhance our security, but they can't guarantee that it will last. Only the relationship we have with ourselves and God within can promise the gift of security.
The ripples in my day are reminders to me to go within.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Spontaneity
In recovery, we're learning to let ourselves go! We're learning to be spontaneous.
Spontaneity may frighten some of us. We may be afraid of the loss of control involved with spontaneity. We may still be operating under the codependent rules that prohibit spontaneity: be good; be right; be perfect; be strong; don't have fun; and always be in control.
We may associate spontaneity with acting out in an addictive, compulsive, self destructive, or irresponsible manner.
That's not what we're talking about in recovery. Positive spontaneity involves freely expressing who we are - in a way that is fun, healthy, doesn't hurt us, and doesn't infringe on the right of others.
We learn to be spontaneous and free as we grow in self-awareness and self esteem. Spontaneity emerges as our confidence and trust in ourselves increase, and we become more secure in our ability to maintain healthy boundaries.
Being spontaneous is connected to our ability to play and achieve intimacy. For all those desirable acts, we need to be able to let go of our need to control others and ourselves and fully and freely enter into the present moment.
Let go of your tight rein on yourself. So what if you make a mistake? So what if you're wrong? Relish your imperfections. Let yourself be a little needy, a little vulnerable. Take a risk!
We can be spontaneous without hurting ourselves, or others. In fact, everyone will benefit by our spontaneity.
Today, I will throw out the rulebook and enjoy being who I am. I will have some fun with the gift of life, others, and myself.
I am very grateful for this day. I am grateful for all the love and inspiration that I receive from my Higher Power wherever I ask. I just stop and tune in to this universal energy and am transformed to the level of my willingness. --Ruth Fishel
God help me to stay sober and clean today!
I relied on drinking and drugging for a lot of things. It was the only way I knew how to have a good time. It gave me the “rush” and excitement I craved. It seemed to break down walls and give me the courage to talk with others. If I was hurting physically or mentally, I looked to my addiction to cure my ills. If I had a bad day on the job or was in trouble with my spouse and the whole world seemed against me, I would seek comfort in my addiction. I just felt better if I was wasted. I looked to drinking and my drugs to solve all my problems. I relied on my addiction for all my answers. Have I stopped relying on my addiction?
Meditations for the Heart
To give up my reliance on drinking and drugging, I had to surrender. This was the only way out of the insanity. Surrender is the foundation on which all solid recovery programs are built. Surrender must be complete and not conditional, or it is not really surrender. But what was I surrendering to? Was I simply admitting defeat? Well, no! I also had to find something else to rely on, because I surely could not rely on myself. Whenever I tried my way, it did not work. The AA Big Book pointed the way, “That one is God; may you find Him now.” Am I willing to surrender to the care and love of a Higher Power, as I understand Him?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
I give up. I have nowhere else to turn but to You. Help me to see that in surrender I am giving my will and my life over to Your care. Help me to stay on the path – “just for today.”
Amen.
-----
NA Just For Today
Courage To Change
"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."
Serenity Prayer
Recovery involves change, and change means doing things differently. The problem is, many of us resist doing things differently; what we're doing may not be working, but at least we're familiar with it. It takes courage to step out into the unknown. How do we find that courage?
We can look around ourselves at NA meetings. There, we see others who've found they needed to change what they were doing and who've done so successfully. Not only does that help quiet our fear that change - any change - spells disaster, it also gives us the benefit of their experience with what does work, experience we can use in changing what doesn't.
We can also look at our own recovery experience. Even if that experience, so far, has been limited to stopping the use of drugs, still we have made many changes in our lives - changes for the good. Whatever aspects of our lives we have applied the steps to, we have always found surrender better than denial, recovery superior to addiction. Our own experience and the experience of others in NA tells us that "changing the things I can" is a big part of what recovery is all about. The steps and the power to practice them give us the direction and courage we need to change. We have nothing to fear.
Just for today: I welcome change. With the help of my Higher Power, I will find the courage to change the things I can.
pg. 274
-----
September 20 - Daily Feast
Touching the earth is resting on the breast of our mother. It is once again finding out beginnings - a knowing that this place where we stand or walk or plow or plant, is something created for us. We know it because the pulse of the earth slows our own and tranquilizes our confusion. Seeing the sky in all its limitless depths stirs our imaginations and stretches our awareness of the simple beauty provided for us. We can see that it is wrong to be bitter and know that it lasts only as long as we let it. When we reach toward the ceiling of our minds, we are as unlimited as the sky. As currents of air stir the fragrance of the flowers, we may not be able to see where it comes from but we sense its influence. Life is ours to enjoy as individuals and it comes from the Great Holy Spirit.
~ We sang songs that carried in the melodies all the sounds of nature.... ~
AMERICAN INDIAN
"A Cherokee Feast of Days" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*
Elder's Meditation of the Day - September 20
"You will only get back what you give out."
--Joe Coyhis, STOCKBRIDGE-MUNSEE
The Great Spirit created a system of balance and justice. This law says, if you treat others with respect, you will be treated with respect. If you gossip about no one, no one will gossip about you. If you are fair in all of your dealings, you can expect the same. If you share with others, others, will share with you. If you judge others, others will judge you. You will always get back what you give out. The original teaching talks about being a giving person. A giving person will constantly be on the receiving end.
My Creator, help me to be a giving person today.
*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*
THINK ON THESE THINGS
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
The native American believes that he must have balance if he is to have healing. His equilibrium must balance between his mental and spiritual influence. Such things may seem complicated in themselves but the simplicity is profound when we finally discover what it is.
In most cases, balance comes from what we say to ourselves in the silence of our minds. It is what we direct our minds to do at all times. Simple steps, pick the feet up and set them down, don't drag. Don't hang onto anything and everything. Say balance, say power, say to the feet and legs to do their work.
Eat for strength and keen minds. Stop saying how tired and how nervous we are. Say, I am strong. I have sufficient to meet my every need. Just words? Yes, but words that balance.
-----
Daily Relationship Reading
How often am I afraid of something in our relationship? Maybe I'm scared my SO has found someone better, or is angry at me over a mistake I made, or is hiding something important from me. Perhaps I'm scared I've failed them somehow.
Fear is a healthy warning system when it alerts me to real danger, but often I imagine all sorts of monsters. In actuality, what usually happens is that worry robs me of happiness, and makes it even harder to handle things that do try and throw me for a loop.
When I try to guess what is going on in my partner's mind, there's no limit to what I can imagine. The truth is I can't accurately read minds; my imagined fears and worries just leave me drained, and less able to handle real problems.
If I want more peace of mind and a better idea of the truth, I can begin by talking with my SO, and sharing my fears and feelings. If they help me work towards a better understanding of them and myself, that will be great. But even if they don't, it's up to me to find ways of dealing with my fears that strengthen instead of weaken me.
Just for Today
Today I'll look at some things I've been worrying about, and ask myself if I really can read my partner's mind. I'll take some time to talk things out with them, and share my feelings and fears honestly. Then, I'll begin to use my imagination more for wonderful things, instead of making up extra things to worry about.
Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed. - Alcoholics Anonymous
------
You are reading from the book Food for Thought.
A New Self-Image
As we lose weight, our self-image needs to change along with our body. We may have had a mental image of ourself as a thin person, but this image probably did not go beyond the physical. If we continue to think of ourself as the same confused, compulsive, childish person we once were, we are not facilitating our emotional and spiritual growth.
The OA program gives us the power to become a new person. If we see ourselves as daily growing saner, more serene, more confident, reality will reflect our inner vision.
Perhaps the most important change in our self-image involves our relationship to our Higher Power. Before, we probably saw ourselves as the center of our world and devoted our energies to protecting and building up our fragile ego. We were all alone in an unfriendly world. Now, we see ourselves as God's creation, subject to His purpose and plan. As we yield to His authority and accept His love, we find strength, security, and peace. By losing ourselves, we find ourselves.
Create in me a new self-image.
-----
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Education should be the process of helping everyone to discover his uniqueness. --Leo Buscaglia
We are each special, which means there is not another person just like ourselves. Nobody looks just like us. Nobody's voice sounds quite like our own. And nobody thinks through a story just like we do.
Each of us has been created for a special purpose. Maybe it's for what we'll teach a friend, or the way we'll help a sister or a brother. Every day will give us chances to offer our special talents to others. Our being alive is God's way of proving that we're important to the family, the neighborhood, and the world.
What important task lies before me today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Sexuality expresses God's intention that people find authentic humanness not in isolation but in relationship. --James B. Nelson
We men have regarded our sex lives and our spiritual lives as two different worlds. This attitude has caused many crises -- anger and frustration with our partners, power struggles, accusations and hurt feelings, shame and guilt about our own behavior.
We can join our spirituality with our sexual selves by taking responsibility for being sexual. Being responsible means we take the risk of being vulnerable, of giving and receiving affection and sexual expression in our relationships. We cannot expect satisfaction of our desires simply because we feel them. In sexuality, as in all parts of our lives, our Higher Power is our guide. We can also say no to sexual expression if we wish.
God guide my sexual awareness today. Open me to experience sexuality as a creative gift for relationships.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
What difference does it make how I am treated by life? My real life is within. --Angela L. Wozniak
It is said that we teach people how to treat us. How we treat others invites similar treatment. Our response to the external conditions of our lives can be greatly altered by our perceptions of those conditions. And we have control of that perception. No experience has to demoralize us. Each situation can be appreciated for its long-term contribution to our growth as happy, secure women.
No outside circumstances will offer us full time and forever the security we all long for. And in like manner, none will adversely interfere with our well being, except briefly and on occasion.
The program offers us the awareness that our security, happiness, and well being reside within. The uplifting moments of our lives may enhance our security, but they can't guarantee that it will last. Only the relationship we have with ourselves and God within can promise the gift of security.
The ripples in my day are reminders to me to go within.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Spontaneity
In recovery, we're learning to let ourselves go! We're learning to be spontaneous.
Spontaneity may frighten some of us. We may be afraid of the loss of control involved with spontaneity. We may still be operating under the codependent rules that prohibit spontaneity: be good; be right; be perfect; be strong; don't have fun; and always be in control.
We may associate spontaneity with acting out in an addictive, compulsive, self destructive, or irresponsible manner.
That's not what we're talking about in recovery. Positive spontaneity involves freely expressing who we are - in a way that is fun, healthy, doesn't hurt us, and doesn't infringe on the right of others.
We learn to be spontaneous and free as we grow in self-awareness and self esteem. Spontaneity emerges as our confidence and trust in ourselves increase, and we become more secure in our ability to maintain healthy boundaries.
Being spontaneous is connected to our ability to play and achieve intimacy. For all those desirable acts, we need to be able to let go of our need to control others and ourselves and fully and freely enter into the present moment.
Let go of your tight rein on yourself. So what if you make a mistake? So what if you're wrong? Relish your imperfections. Let yourself be a little needy, a little vulnerable. Take a risk!
We can be spontaneous without hurting ourselves, or others. In fact, everyone will benefit by our spontaneity.
Today, I will throw out the rulebook and enjoy being who I am. I will have some fun with the gift of life, others, and myself.
I am very grateful for this day. I am grateful for all the love and inspiration that I receive from my Higher Power wherever I ask. I just stop and tune in to this universal energy and am transformed to the level of my willingness. --Ruth Fishel
God help me to stay sober and clean today!