admin
10-04-2008, 07:59 PM
Wisdom for Today
There is an inner dialog that goes on in the mind of every addict and alcoholic. This inner dialog goes on between the “sober self” and the “addicted self.” Much of this inner dialog occurs at a subconscious level, and other parts of this dialog occur on a conscious level. Sometimes I am not even aware that this conversation is going on, and at other times it is right in my face. I can be sitting at a meeting and someone will share something that unconsciously triggers the addict's voice inside of me. I hear this voice telling me that the story that the other person shared, "doesn't apply to me." Or maybe it will say that, "He can't help me."
You see this addict alcoholic voice does not always get me thinking about drinking or using. Sometimes it gets me thinking about how the program can't help me. These are thoughts I can not harbor for long. This is where the "sober voice" must speak up and speak up loudly. I need to have a strong sober voice inside that convinces me not to listen to that other voice. Here, too, I need to not only listen to the sober voice inside of me, but I also need to listen to others in the program and I also need to listen to my Higher Power. This is perhaps the most powerful voice I can listen to. Do I recognize the inner dialog I have going on inside? Do I listen to the strong sober voices? Do I also heed the voice of my Higher Power?
Meditations for the Day
Change is not always quick. Sometimes it is painfully slow. Today I know that it is necessary for me to endure the slow pace that change sometimes takes. By learning patience and endurance, I grow. And the change I experience has always been worth it. Sometimes I have had a difficult time seeing this. Sometimes the voice of addiction can make it harder for me to see change as a good thing. But I know that if I hang in there, the promises of change that the program offers are a good thing. Am I willing to learn patience and endurance?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
Let me sit quietly this morning and listen for Your voice in my life. Strengthen the inner voice of my "sober self." Let me learn to listen to others in meeting and draw on their strength and wisdom as I fight the good fight against the inner voice of addiction. Help me this day to do the next right thing and to follow You on the path You lay before me.
Amen
-----
NA Just For Today
Ask For Mercy, Not Justice
"Many of us have difficulty admitting that we caused harm for others... We cut away our justifications and our ideas of being a victim."
Basic Text p.37
Our lives are progressing nicely. Things are going good, and each year in recovery brings more material and spiritual gifts. We may have a little money in the bank, a new car, or a committed relationship. We have a little self-confidence, and our faith in a Higher Power is growing.
Then, something happens. Someone breaks into our new car and steals the stereo, or the person we're in the relationship with becomes unfaithful. Right away, we feel victimized. "Where's the justice?" we wail. But if we take a look back on our own behavior, we may find that we've been guilty of what's just been done to us. We realize we wouldn't really want justice - not for ourselves, and not for others. What we want is mercy.
We thank a loving God for the compassion we've been shown, and we take the time to appreciate all the precious gifts that recovery brings.
Just for today: I will pray for mercy, not justice. I am grateful for the compassion I've been shown, and will offer mercy to others.
pg. 291
-----
October 5 - Daily Feast
Dozens of experts are ready to tell you what cannot be done. The difference is in the person doing it. It isn't a matter of trying harder or giving more. Frequently, something doesn't click into place until we turn it loose and walk away. The release is not to accept defeat but it is saying we have done what we can and now we will stand and let it work. Mental and spiritual work continues - even after we relax. The mind will try to take over but can be brought into line by the spirit, which is most important from start to finish. It furnishes the wisdom, the gratitude, the connection with U ne la nv hi Who made all things.
~ The Great Spirit put it in the right place. ~
ARAPOOISH
"A Cherokee Feast of Days" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>**<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*
Elder's Meditation of the Day - October 5
"The dances are prayers."
--Pop Chalee, TAOS PUEBLO
When we dance to the drum we pray to the Creator and attract the heartbeat of the earth. We never dance without reason; every dance has a purpose. We dance for rain; we dance for healing; we dance for seasons; we dance for joy; we dance for our children; we dance for the people; we dance for courage. The drum plays to the beat of the heart, to the beat of the Earth. The drum connects us to the Earth while we dance our prayers.
Oh, Great One, let my dance and prayer be heard by You.
*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>**<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*
THINK ON THESE THINGS
by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Let's not forget Dr. Schuller's words when he was asked why so many of our people were killed in the terrorists' attack on New York and in Washington. He said, "Take an O out of good and we have God; put a D before evil and we have devil."
Can it be any plainer? We are told that we are not dealing with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers in evil places. Our spirits are whispering, "In all these things I am more than a conqueror." This is not just a wish but a truth.
At one time it was "cool" to say we did not believe in spiritual help, but now it is cool to know we are of ourselves no strength, but with help we are overcomers, conquerors in the truest sense.
-----
Daily Relationship Reading
If my partner became severely disabled or ill tomorrow, what would I probably do? I might respond that such an occurrence wouldn't change my love for them, but if I'm already faced with such a challenge, I know how difficult such a situation can be.
If I'm dealing with such a situation, my own life probably revolves a fair amount around my SO's disability or illness. I feel guilty because of my good health, and frustrated because I don't have the power to take away my partner's pain or fears. I exert tremendous energy in trying to prove my love, and compassion, but then get racked by guilt when I start feeling resentment over the unfair burden I've been given as well. I need to remember such feelings are natural; I'm simply human. If I look closely at my anger and resentment, I might see that they're perfectly appropriate when directed at the disease; I can hate the disease, but love the person.
I'm also not a god; I simply don't have the power to magically fix or take care of things that go beyond normal human limitations. When I focus on what I can do, I can see that taking good care of myself is equally important as taking good care of my partner. Would I let a doctor help me if they hadn't eaten or slept in a week?
Just for Today
Today I'll remember to treat myself well, because I can only give what I actually have. If my partner has been afflicted with a serious disease or other physical condition, I'll stop draining myself with guilt and anger at my limitations. I can't give my best if I'm at my worst.
Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. No one was there. - Hindu Proverb
-----
You are reading from the book Food for Thought.
Being Before Doing
What we are comes before what we do. In order to produce good fruit, the tree has to be a good tree. If we are not whole, integrated, and in touch with our Higher Power, and ourselves the actions that we take will not be satisfying.
For us compulsive overeaters, being abstinent is more important than anything we do. When we are abstinent, all things are possible. We still have to make choices, deal with frustration and conflict, and accept some defeats, but we are coping with reality rather than escaping.
The best things that we do are those, which our Higher Power does through us. Our role is to be ready and available, a sharpened tool which He may use. Often we do not see the ultimate results of our actions. We trust that what we do will be acceptable and according to His will.
May I be what You intend.
-----
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
I think of the trees and how simply they let go, let fall the riches of a season, how without grief (it seems) they can let go and go deep into their roots for renewal and sleep. --May Sarton
"How can I do what you say," asked the child, "and still be me?"
"Look at me," said the tree. "I bend in the wind, droop in the rain. Yet I always remain myself, a tree."
"Look at me," said the man. "I can't change."
"Look at me," said the tree. "I change every season from green to brown to green again, from bud to flower to fallen leaf. Yet I always remain myself, a tree."
"I can't love anymore," said the woman. "With my love, I have given away all that I am."
"Look at me," said the tree. "There are robins in my branches, owls in my trunk, moss and ladybugs living on my bark. They may take what I have, but not what I am."
Whether we know it or not, we are like the tree. Only our pride hangs on to a false sense of self, wanting to keep everything, refusing to follow advice or orders. What we do doesn't matter; how we do it is what counts.
What changes have I gone through without losing my real self?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Men are doomed to live in an overwhelmingly tragic and demonic world. --Ernest Becker
Life is difficult. We never reach the point where our path is free of obstacles and hardships. And regardless of how much we grow, how faithful we are to our program, nothing changes the fact that death is still there for us. As painful and hard as it is, life also is deeply meaningful and worthwhile when we submit to its reality and live in a spiritual way.
After we stop living in denial and accept the hard facts about life, we see that we need each other. We need relationships to stay sane. We need to pull together and support one another the way people do in difficult times. Rugged individualism isn't always good for real people in the real world. We need relationships so we can celebrate and make music and encourage one another. We need relationships so we can laugh and make jokes and tell our personal stories. And we need to stand together to oppose the destructive forces around us.
God help me learn to have relationships with my brothers and sisters.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Sometimes I think I'm the luckiest person in the world. There's nothing better than having work you really care about. Sometimes I think my greatest problem is lack of confidence. I'm scared, and I think that's healthy. --Jane Fonda
We each vacillate between feeling confident on some days, lucky on others, and yet frequently scared on others. It's very human to vacillate. We need not be anxious because our emotions refuse to stand still.
Changing emotions are part of the process of normal living. And changing emotions reflect an involvement with the moment. Situations do touch us, as they should. They do invite responses, as they should. And our responses will reveal our emotional involvement, as they should. We can cherish the variety of our emotions. They enrich us. But they may also create problems, if they go unchecked.
We need to maintain a balance. Confidence, certainly desirable, can become overconfidence and thus complacency. Confidence needs humility to temper it. Fear makes us cautious, and that's good; but too much can immobilize us. Being in charge of our emotions makes them work for us.
Emotions can energize me and keep me involved with the moment. They can also control me. It's my decision to be in charge.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Knowledge
Learn to let yourself be guided into truth.
We will know what we need to know, when we need to know that. We don't have to feel badly about taking our own time to reach our insights. We don't have to force insight or awareness before it's time.
Yes! Maybe the whole world saw a particular truth in our life, and we denied it - until we were ready to deal with it. That is our business, and our right! Our process is our own, and we will discover our truths at the right time, when we are ready, when the learning experience is complete.
The most growth-producing concept we can develop for others and ourselves is to allow ourselves to have our own process. We can give and receive support and encouragement while we go through this process. We can listen to others and say what we think. We can set boundaries and take care of ourselves, when needed. But we still give others and ourselves the right to grow at our own pace, without judgment, and with much trust that all is well and is on schedule.
When we are ready, when the time is right, and when our Higher Power is ready - we will know what we need to know.
Today, I will let myself and others have our own pace and time schedule for growth and change. I will trust that I will be empowered with insights and the tools for dealing with these insights, at the right time.
Today I will be aware not to judge myself when I feel less than perfect. I am beginning to love myself just as I am and that feels so nice. --Ruth Fishel
God help me to stay sober and clean today!
There is an inner dialog that goes on in the mind of every addict and alcoholic. This inner dialog goes on between the “sober self” and the “addicted self.” Much of this inner dialog occurs at a subconscious level, and other parts of this dialog occur on a conscious level. Sometimes I am not even aware that this conversation is going on, and at other times it is right in my face. I can be sitting at a meeting and someone will share something that unconsciously triggers the addict's voice inside of me. I hear this voice telling me that the story that the other person shared, "doesn't apply to me." Or maybe it will say that, "He can't help me."
You see this addict alcoholic voice does not always get me thinking about drinking or using. Sometimes it gets me thinking about how the program can't help me. These are thoughts I can not harbor for long. This is where the "sober voice" must speak up and speak up loudly. I need to have a strong sober voice inside that convinces me not to listen to that other voice. Here, too, I need to not only listen to the sober voice inside of me, but I also need to listen to others in the program and I also need to listen to my Higher Power. This is perhaps the most powerful voice I can listen to. Do I recognize the inner dialog I have going on inside? Do I listen to the strong sober voices? Do I also heed the voice of my Higher Power?
Meditations for the Day
Change is not always quick. Sometimes it is painfully slow. Today I know that it is necessary for me to endure the slow pace that change sometimes takes. By learning patience and endurance, I grow. And the change I experience has always been worth it. Sometimes I have had a difficult time seeing this. Sometimes the voice of addiction can make it harder for me to see change as a good thing. But I know that if I hang in there, the promises of change that the program offers are a good thing. Am I willing to learn patience and endurance?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
Let me sit quietly this morning and listen for Your voice in my life. Strengthen the inner voice of my "sober self." Let me learn to listen to others in meeting and draw on their strength and wisdom as I fight the good fight against the inner voice of addiction. Help me this day to do the next right thing and to follow You on the path You lay before me.
Amen
-----
NA Just For Today
Ask For Mercy, Not Justice
"Many of us have difficulty admitting that we caused harm for others... We cut away our justifications and our ideas of being a victim."
Basic Text p.37
Our lives are progressing nicely. Things are going good, and each year in recovery brings more material and spiritual gifts. We may have a little money in the bank, a new car, or a committed relationship. We have a little self-confidence, and our faith in a Higher Power is growing.
Then, something happens. Someone breaks into our new car and steals the stereo, or the person we're in the relationship with becomes unfaithful. Right away, we feel victimized. "Where's the justice?" we wail. But if we take a look back on our own behavior, we may find that we've been guilty of what's just been done to us. We realize we wouldn't really want justice - not for ourselves, and not for others. What we want is mercy.
We thank a loving God for the compassion we've been shown, and we take the time to appreciate all the precious gifts that recovery brings.
Just for today: I will pray for mercy, not justice. I am grateful for the compassion I've been shown, and will offer mercy to others.
pg. 291
-----
October 5 - Daily Feast
Dozens of experts are ready to tell you what cannot be done. The difference is in the person doing it. It isn't a matter of trying harder or giving more. Frequently, something doesn't click into place until we turn it loose and walk away. The release is not to accept defeat but it is saying we have done what we can and now we will stand and let it work. Mental and spiritual work continues - even after we relax. The mind will try to take over but can be brought into line by the spirit, which is most important from start to finish. It furnishes the wisdom, the gratitude, the connection with U ne la nv hi Who made all things.
~ The Great Spirit put it in the right place. ~
ARAPOOISH
"A Cherokee Feast of Days" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>**<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*
Elder's Meditation of the Day - October 5
"The dances are prayers."
--Pop Chalee, TAOS PUEBLO
When we dance to the drum we pray to the Creator and attract the heartbeat of the earth. We never dance without reason; every dance has a purpose. We dance for rain; we dance for healing; we dance for seasons; we dance for joy; we dance for our children; we dance for the people; we dance for courage. The drum plays to the beat of the heart, to the beat of the Earth. The drum connects us to the Earth while we dance our prayers.
Oh, Great One, let my dance and prayer be heard by You.
*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>**<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*
THINK ON THESE THINGS
by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Let's not forget Dr. Schuller's words when he was asked why so many of our people were killed in the terrorists' attack on New York and in Washington. He said, "Take an O out of good and we have God; put a D before evil and we have devil."
Can it be any plainer? We are told that we are not dealing with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers in evil places. Our spirits are whispering, "In all these things I am more than a conqueror." This is not just a wish but a truth.
At one time it was "cool" to say we did not believe in spiritual help, but now it is cool to know we are of ourselves no strength, but with help we are overcomers, conquerors in the truest sense.
-----
Daily Relationship Reading
If my partner became severely disabled or ill tomorrow, what would I probably do? I might respond that such an occurrence wouldn't change my love for them, but if I'm already faced with such a challenge, I know how difficult such a situation can be.
If I'm dealing with such a situation, my own life probably revolves a fair amount around my SO's disability or illness. I feel guilty because of my good health, and frustrated because I don't have the power to take away my partner's pain or fears. I exert tremendous energy in trying to prove my love, and compassion, but then get racked by guilt when I start feeling resentment over the unfair burden I've been given as well. I need to remember such feelings are natural; I'm simply human. If I look closely at my anger and resentment, I might see that they're perfectly appropriate when directed at the disease; I can hate the disease, but love the person.
I'm also not a god; I simply don't have the power to magically fix or take care of things that go beyond normal human limitations. When I focus on what I can do, I can see that taking good care of myself is equally important as taking good care of my partner. Would I let a doctor help me if they hadn't eaten or slept in a week?
Just for Today
Today I'll remember to treat myself well, because I can only give what I actually have. If my partner has been afflicted with a serious disease or other physical condition, I'll stop draining myself with guilt and anger at my limitations. I can't give my best if I'm at my worst.
Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. No one was there. - Hindu Proverb
-----
You are reading from the book Food for Thought.
Being Before Doing
What we are comes before what we do. In order to produce good fruit, the tree has to be a good tree. If we are not whole, integrated, and in touch with our Higher Power, and ourselves the actions that we take will not be satisfying.
For us compulsive overeaters, being abstinent is more important than anything we do. When we are abstinent, all things are possible. We still have to make choices, deal with frustration and conflict, and accept some defeats, but we are coping with reality rather than escaping.
The best things that we do are those, which our Higher Power does through us. Our role is to be ready and available, a sharpened tool which He may use. Often we do not see the ultimate results of our actions. We trust that what we do will be acceptable and according to His will.
May I be what You intend.
-----
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
I think of the trees and how simply they let go, let fall the riches of a season, how without grief (it seems) they can let go and go deep into their roots for renewal and sleep. --May Sarton
"How can I do what you say," asked the child, "and still be me?"
"Look at me," said the tree. "I bend in the wind, droop in the rain. Yet I always remain myself, a tree."
"Look at me," said the man. "I can't change."
"Look at me," said the tree. "I change every season from green to brown to green again, from bud to flower to fallen leaf. Yet I always remain myself, a tree."
"I can't love anymore," said the woman. "With my love, I have given away all that I am."
"Look at me," said the tree. "There are robins in my branches, owls in my trunk, moss and ladybugs living on my bark. They may take what I have, but not what I am."
Whether we know it or not, we are like the tree. Only our pride hangs on to a false sense of self, wanting to keep everything, refusing to follow advice or orders. What we do doesn't matter; how we do it is what counts.
What changes have I gone through without losing my real self?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Men are doomed to live in an overwhelmingly tragic and demonic world. --Ernest Becker
Life is difficult. We never reach the point where our path is free of obstacles and hardships. And regardless of how much we grow, how faithful we are to our program, nothing changes the fact that death is still there for us. As painful and hard as it is, life also is deeply meaningful and worthwhile when we submit to its reality and live in a spiritual way.
After we stop living in denial and accept the hard facts about life, we see that we need each other. We need relationships to stay sane. We need to pull together and support one another the way people do in difficult times. Rugged individualism isn't always good for real people in the real world. We need relationships so we can celebrate and make music and encourage one another. We need relationships so we can laugh and make jokes and tell our personal stories. And we need to stand together to oppose the destructive forces around us.
God help me learn to have relationships with my brothers and sisters.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Sometimes I think I'm the luckiest person in the world. There's nothing better than having work you really care about. Sometimes I think my greatest problem is lack of confidence. I'm scared, and I think that's healthy. --Jane Fonda
We each vacillate between feeling confident on some days, lucky on others, and yet frequently scared on others. It's very human to vacillate. We need not be anxious because our emotions refuse to stand still.
Changing emotions are part of the process of normal living. And changing emotions reflect an involvement with the moment. Situations do touch us, as they should. They do invite responses, as they should. And our responses will reveal our emotional involvement, as they should. We can cherish the variety of our emotions. They enrich us. But they may also create problems, if they go unchecked.
We need to maintain a balance. Confidence, certainly desirable, can become overconfidence and thus complacency. Confidence needs humility to temper it. Fear makes us cautious, and that's good; but too much can immobilize us. Being in charge of our emotions makes them work for us.
Emotions can energize me and keep me involved with the moment. They can also control me. It's my decision to be in charge.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Knowledge
Learn to let yourself be guided into truth.
We will know what we need to know, when we need to know that. We don't have to feel badly about taking our own time to reach our insights. We don't have to force insight or awareness before it's time.
Yes! Maybe the whole world saw a particular truth in our life, and we denied it - until we were ready to deal with it. That is our business, and our right! Our process is our own, and we will discover our truths at the right time, when we are ready, when the learning experience is complete.
The most growth-producing concept we can develop for others and ourselves is to allow ourselves to have our own process. We can give and receive support and encouragement while we go through this process. We can listen to others and say what we think. We can set boundaries and take care of ourselves, when needed. But we still give others and ourselves the right to grow at our own pace, without judgment, and with much trust that all is well and is on schedule.
When we are ready, when the time is right, and when our Higher Power is ready - we will know what we need to know.
Today, I will let myself and others have our own pace and time schedule for growth and change. I will trust that I will be empowered with insights and the tools for dealing with these insights, at the right time.
Today I will be aware not to judge myself when I feel less than perfect. I am beginning to love myself just as I am and that feels so nice. --Ruth Fishel
God help me to stay sober and clean today!