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10-15-2008, 05:21 PM
Wisdom for Today
How is it that we discover that we are alcoholics or addicts? Sometimes I wish it had been easier for me to figure that out for myself. It really would have been nice if I simply could have taken a simple blood test or something. But addiction is not that simple; it is more than physical. A blood test would only test for physical aspects of a disease. Addiction has psychological and social aspects, not to mention the spiritual deterioration. It took a while, but eventually I began to recognize just how mentally and socially impaired I had become. It took even longer to realize how spiritually bankrupt I was.
In recovery I began to realize how obsessed my thinking was and how self-absorbed I was. I had to begin to stop my preoccupation with drinking and drugging. I had to let my mind clear up and get out of the fog I was in. I had to learn to make changes in my life and begin to make new friends at meetings. Once my body and mind and social life started to straighten out, I then realized how important it would be for me to foster a relationship with a Higher Power. It was only in development of this relationship with "God, as I understand Him," that I began to be freed from fear. Do I realize that recovery is much more than physical?
Meditations for the Heart
If I am to really open myself to the Spiritual Realm, then I must rid myself of selfish ambition. I must open myself to being an instrument of God. God can and does work in and through people. I have seen this in the lives of people who have helped me the most along this path of recovery. What has really amazed me is that God works in and through me when I open myself up to His will. There have been many times when I am talking to others struggling to recover, and I am surprised to hear the words that come out of my mouth. These words are not what I probably would have said, but they are the words that God would want me to say. God never ceases to show that He really does care about addicts and alcoholics. The evidence is the incredible number of people who are clean and sober today because of the grace of God. Do I open myself to be an instrument of God's work? Do I give back to the program?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
Today I ask that You remove any self-centeredness I have. Help me be open to Your will for my life, and give me the power to carry out Your will for me. Help me to be open to helping others and giving back to the program. Continue to amaze me each and every day.
Amen.
-----
NA Just For Today
October 16
The Simplest Prayer
"…praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."
Step Eleven
How do we pray? With little experience, many of us don't even know how to begin. The process, however, is neither difficult nor complicated.
We came to Narcotics Anonymous because of our drug addiction. But underlying that, many of us felt a deep sense of bewilderment with life itself. We seemed to be lost, wandering a trackless waste with no one to guide us. Prayer is a way to gain direction in life and the power to follow that direction.
Because prayer plays such a central part in NA recovery, many of us set aside a particular time each day to pray, establishing a pattern. In this quiet time, we "talk" to our Higher Power, either silently or aloud. We share our thoughts, our feelings, our day. We ask, "What would you have me do?" At the same time we ask, "Please give me the power to carry out your will."
Learning to pray is simple. We ask for "knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out." By doing that, we find the direction we lacked and the strength we need to fulfill our God's will.
Just for today: I will set aside some quiet time to "talk" with my Higher Power. I will ask for that Power's direction and the ability to act on it.
-----
October 16 - Daily Feast
There were ducks on the pond this morning, a pair of blue-winged teals gliding smoothly along and stopping only to feed. They were oblivious to cattle feeding along the slopes - and even to footsteps on the grass. It is a calm peace of mind that is not easily startled. Everywhere is beauty, the cottonwood tree white against the oaks and evergreens, the ungainly heron wading at the water's edge. So common and so unlikely to attract attention because it all fits together in a picture so easily taken for granted. But the peace cannot be taken for granted because it seeps into the soul like sunlight pierces the deepest shadows - and rests.
~ I questioned the trees and bushes....Who made you? In dream Wakan Tanka told me I must honor his works in nature. ~
BRAVE BUFFALO - SIOUX
'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*
Elder's Meditation of the Day - October 16
"Many religions have been brought to this land. And the way my religion is, they teach me, and they taught me, and told me to respect all religions. And I still do that."
--Horace Axtell, NEZ PERCE
The Creator put on this Earth many different religions which represent different roads to walk to God. All religions are right and good if the path is the path to God. Should we be judging which road is better or worse than the other? When we accept each other's way we can stand in a circle, hold hands and listen to each other as we pray to God. Let us be more accepting of the religions of others.
Great Spirit - God, Grandfather, Grandmother, Lord - let me know peace.
*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
It is said that pearls worn by a happy person have a warm and more lustrous glow.
Pearls are like gentle moments strung together for the happy person - they cannot help but glow.
Gentle moments, like pearls, seem to be so few. Yet, how rich and warm and beautiful they make our lives.
It takes only a few moments to enjoy a talk with someone about good things instead of the bad; it takes only a few moments to drop a line to a shut-in when attention means so much. It takes only a few moments to see a sunset, or read a Scripture, or listen to a child talk.
It takes only a few moments to open the door to happiness. And if happiness seems only a few moments long, so will trouble if we open the door and let it out instead of harboring it.
Life is made up of a few moments all strung together like pearls. Each moment is a pearl, and it is up to us to pick the ones with the highest luster. If we do not have time to do great things, take a few gentle moments and do small things in a great way.
-----
Daily Relationship Reading
One of the great fallacies that enter almost all relationships is that love is limited, or should be controlled. This affects not only friendships I have outside my main relationship, but also many of the choices I make within it.
"I gave him/her all the love I had", is a phrase I may have heard. For many, the more love they give, the more drained they feel. However, from my own experience, I have had times when I gave love and felt even more energized instead of drained by it. What makes the difference between love that drains me or gives me back more than I gave out?
If I accept that genuine love always replenishes me, I can start to see that choices that drained me may have been good imitations of love. Expecting my SO to give me back love, or some sign of love, prevents love's natural process from happening. I may have thought I gave love, but wrapped it up with a hidden obligation.
It's human nature to want to love, and just as much human nature to resist other's expectations on how and when they show that love.
Just for Today
Today I'll remember that my ability to love is limitless when I let it flow naturally inside me. The more I make loving choices that fill me with inner joy just by doing them, the more I'll free my partner to do the same.
Love is like a candle. Lighting another's with our own never diminishes the light we have; it only helps us all to see more clearly. - BH
-----
You are reading from the book Food for Thought.
Admitting Wrongs
Step Ten reminds us to continue to take daily inventory and to promptly admit when we are wrong. By admitting our mistake out loud to the person we have harmed, we clear away bad feelings and guilt. The relationship is healed, and we are able to put the error behind us. Admitting that we are wrong helps us even more than the person we have injured.
Since it usually takes two people to disrupt a relationship, the entire blame may not be ours. Admitting our share of wrong, however, relieves us of guilt and opens the way to reconciliation.
Being able to apologize simply and sincerely means that we are not bound by pride and egotism. We do not always have to be right. By accepting our human fallibility, we are free to be ourselves, to make mistakes, to correct them, and to make amends.
Admitting wrongs keeps us honest with ourselves, with others, and with our Higher Power. We stay anchored in the real world and we practice healthy humility.
May I not be too proud to admit I am wrong.
-----
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. --Matthew 6:34
To worry about something ahead of time is a waste of time and energy that could be better spent on living a full life today.
For instance, if we spend hours today worrying about an important test at school tomorrow, we can't very well concentrate on studying. And if we lie awake tonight agonizing over what we don't know or haven't studied, we're going to be exhausted tomorrow when we take the test.
Wouldn't it be much better to focus on doing all we can today to prepare for the test, and then, knowing we've done our best, let go of it tonight and get a good night's sleep? In fact, if we do that every day of the year, when a big test comes along, we'll know we're as ready as we can be, and won't have a thing to worry about. What a relief it is to know we've done our best today and every day.
What can I do well today so I won't worry about it tomorrow?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
One of the main reasons wealth makes people unhappy is that it gives them too much control over what they experience. They try to translate their own fantasies into reality instead of tasting what reality itself has to offer. --Philip Slater
We are constantly told that the way to happiness is through material possessions. "Men who drive this sports car have all the women after them!" "If I could only own this special tool it would make me happy!" What does a man really want? He wants a feeling that his life makes sense. He wants the give and take of loving relationships. He wants to feel he has a place in the world and can make a contribution. And he wants the feeling that he is not standing still, but growing in those ways.
Being poor certainly limits our options, but material wealth is an empty seduction. Putting all our energies into capturing wealth may make us rich, but it also can become an addiction that causes unhappiness. We become much richer in our souls and in our experiences when we take the risks that help us improve our relationships and teach us how to live balanced lives.
I will live each moment in ways that fit my true values.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
History provides abundant examples of . . . women whose greatest gift was in redeeming, inspiring, liberating, and nurturing the gifts of others. --Sonya Rudikoff
Part of our calling as members of the human community is to unconditionally love and support the people emotionally close to us. We have been drawn together for purposes wonderful but seldom readily apparent. We need one another's gifts, compassion, and inspiration in order to contribute our individual parts to the whole.
Not only do we need to nurture and to inspire others, but also our personal development, emotionally and spiritually, demands that we honor ourselves in like fashion. Self-love, full self-acceptance is necessary before we can give anything of lasting value to someone else. Selflessly must we give to others if, indeed, our love and support are meant to serve, and giving anything selflessly is evidence of healthy self-love.
Selfless love liberates the giver and the recipient. Giving selflessly reveals our personal contentment, and it means we are free to nurture our own gifts.
It's good and right that I should encourage someone else today. I will pay the same respect to myself, too.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Being Honest with Ourselves
Our relationship with ourselves is the most important relationship we need to maintain. The quality of that relationship will determine the quality of our other relationships.
When we can tell ourselves how we feel, and accept our feelings, we can tell others.
When we can accept what we want and need, we will be ready to have our wants and needs met.
When we can accept what we think and believe, and accept what's important to us, we can relay this to others.
When we learn to take ourselves seriously, others will too.
When we learn to chuckle at ourselves, we will be ready to laugh with others.
When we have learned to trust ourselves, we will be trustworthy and ready to trust.
When we can be grateful for who we are, we will have achieved self-love.
When we have achieved self-love and accepting our wants and needs, we will be ready to give and receive love.
When we've learned to stand on our own two feet, we're ready to stand next to someone.
Today, I will focus on having a good relationship with myself.
Today I am following my own inner guide, know that I am coming from the best of who I am. That makes me feel good about me. That gives me great pleasure. --Ruth Fishel
God help me to stay sober and clean today!
How is it that we discover that we are alcoholics or addicts? Sometimes I wish it had been easier for me to figure that out for myself. It really would have been nice if I simply could have taken a simple blood test or something. But addiction is not that simple; it is more than physical. A blood test would only test for physical aspects of a disease. Addiction has psychological and social aspects, not to mention the spiritual deterioration. It took a while, but eventually I began to recognize just how mentally and socially impaired I had become. It took even longer to realize how spiritually bankrupt I was.
In recovery I began to realize how obsessed my thinking was and how self-absorbed I was. I had to begin to stop my preoccupation with drinking and drugging. I had to let my mind clear up and get out of the fog I was in. I had to learn to make changes in my life and begin to make new friends at meetings. Once my body and mind and social life started to straighten out, I then realized how important it would be for me to foster a relationship with a Higher Power. It was only in development of this relationship with "God, as I understand Him," that I began to be freed from fear. Do I realize that recovery is much more than physical?
Meditations for the Heart
If I am to really open myself to the Spiritual Realm, then I must rid myself of selfish ambition. I must open myself to being an instrument of God. God can and does work in and through people. I have seen this in the lives of people who have helped me the most along this path of recovery. What has really amazed me is that God works in and through me when I open myself up to His will. There have been many times when I am talking to others struggling to recover, and I am surprised to hear the words that come out of my mouth. These words are not what I probably would have said, but they are the words that God would want me to say. God never ceases to show that He really does care about addicts and alcoholics. The evidence is the incredible number of people who are clean and sober today because of the grace of God. Do I open myself to be an instrument of God's work? Do I give back to the program?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
Today I ask that You remove any self-centeredness I have. Help me be open to Your will for my life, and give me the power to carry out Your will for me. Help me to be open to helping others and giving back to the program. Continue to amaze me each and every day.
Amen.
-----
NA Just For Today
October 16
The Simplest Prayer
"…praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."
Step Eleven
How do we pray? With little experience, many of us don't even know how to begin. The process, however, is neither difficult nor complicated.
We came to Narcotics Anonymous because of our drug addiction. But underlying that, many of us felt a deep sense of bewilderment with life itself. We seemed to be lost, wandering a trackless waste with no one to guide us. Prayer is a way to gain direction in life and the power to follow that direction.
Because prayer plays such a central part in NA recovery, many of us set aside a particular time each day to pray, establishing a pattern. In this quiet time, we "talk" to our Higher Power, either silently or aloud. We share our thoughts, our feelings, our day. We ask, "What would you have me do?" At the same time we ask, "Please give me the power to carry out your will."
Learning to pray is simple. We ask for "knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out." By doing that, we find the direction we lacked and the strength we need to fulfill our God's will.
Just for today: I will set aside some quiet time to "talk" with my Higher Power. I will ask for that Power's direction and the ability to act on it.
-----
October 16 - Daily Feast
There were ducks on the pond this morning, a pair of blue-winged teals gliding smoothly along and stopping only to feed. They were oblivious to cattle feeding along the slopes - and even to footsteps on the grass. It is a calm peace of mind that is not easily startled. Everywhere is beauty, the cottonwood tree white against the oaks and evergreens, the ungainly heron wading at the water's edge. So common and so unlikely to attract attention because it all fits together in a picture so easily taken for granted. But the peace cannot be taken for granted because it seeps into the soul like sunlight pierces the deepest shadows - and rests.
~ I questioned the trees and bushes....Who made you? In dream Wakan Tanka told me I must honor his works in nature. ~
BRAVE BUFFALO - SIOUX
'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*
Elder's Meditation of the Day - October 16
"Many religions have been brought to this land. And the way my religion is, they teach me, and they taught me, and told me to respect all religions. And I still do that."
--Horace Axtell, NEZ PERCE
The Creator put on this Earth many different religions which represent different roads to walk to God. All religions are right and good if the path is the path to God. Should we be judging which road is better or worse than the other? When we accept each other's way we can stand in a circle, hold hands and listen to each other as we pray to God. Let us be more accepting of the religions of others.
Great Spirit - God, Grandfather, Grandmother, Lord - let me know peace.
*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
It is said that pearls worn by a happy person have a warm and more lustrous glow.
Pearls are like gentle moments strung together for the happy person - they cannot help but glow.
Gentle moments, like pearls, seem to be so few. Yet, how rich and warm and beautiful they make our lives.
It takes only a few moments to enjoy a talk with someone about good things instead of the bad; it takes only a few moments to drop a line to a shut-in when attention means so much. It takes only a few moments to see a sunset, or read a Scripture, or listen to a child talk.
It takes only a few moments to open the door to happiness. And if happiness seems only a few moments long, so will trouble if we open the door and let it out instead of harboring it.
Life is made up of a few moments all strung together like pearls. Each moment is a pearl, and it is up to us to pick the ones with the highest luster. If we do not have time to do great things, take a few gentle moments and do small things in a great way.
-----
Daily Relationship Reading
One of the great fallacies that enter almost all relationships is that love is limited, or should be controlled. This affects not only friendships I have outside my main relationship, but also many of the choices I make within it.
"I gave him/her all the love I had", is a phrase I may have heard. For many, the more love they give, the more drained they feel. However, from my own experience, I have had times when I gave love and felt even more energized instead of drained by it. What makes the difference between love that drains me or gives me back more than I gave out?
If I accept that genuine love always replenishes me, I can start to see that choices that drained me may have been good imitations of love. Expecting my SO to give me back love, or some sign of love, prevents love's natural process from happening. I may have thought I gave love, but wrapped it up with a hidden obligation.
It's human nature to want to love, and just as much human nature to resist other's expectations on how and when they show that love.
Just for Today
Today I'll remember that my ability to love is limitless when I let it flow naturally inside me. The more I make loving choices that fill me with inner joy just by doing them, the more I'll free my partner to do the same.
Love is like a candle. Lighting another's with our own never diminishes the light we have; it only helps us all to see more clearly. - BH
-----
You are reading from the book Food for Thought.
Admitting Wrongs
Step Ten reminds us to continue to take daily inventory and to promptly admit when we are wrong. By admitting our mistake out loud to the person we have harmed, we clear away bad feelings and guilt. The relationship is healed, and we are able to put the error behind us. Admitting that we are wrong helps us even more than the person we have injured.
Since it usually takes two people to disrupt a relationship, the entire blame may not be ours. Admitting our share of wrong, however, relieves us of guilt and opens the way to reconciliation.
Being able to apologize simply and sincerely means that we are not bound by pride and egotism. We do not always have to be right. By accepting our human fallibility, we are free to be ourselves, to make mistakes, to correct them, and to make amends.
Admitting wrongs keeps us honest with ourselves, with others, and with our Higher Power. We stay anchored in the real world and we practice healthy humility.
May I not be too proud to admit I am wrong.
-----
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. --Matthew 6:34
To worry about something ahead of time is a waste of time and energy that could be better spent on living a full life today.
For instance, if we spend hours today worrying about an important test at school tomorrow, we can't very well concentrate on studying. And if we lie awake tonight agonizing over what we don't know or haven't studied, we're going to be exhausted tomorrow when we take the test.
Wouldn't it be much better to focus on doing all we can today to prepare for the test, and then, knowing we've done our best, let go of it tonight and get a good night's sleep? In fact, if we do that every day of the year, when a big test comes along, we'll know we're as ready as we can be, and won't have a thing to worry about. What a relief it is to know we've done our best today and every day.
What can I do well today so I won't worry about it tomorrow?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
One of the main reasons wealth makes people unhappy is that it gives them too much control over what they experience. They try to translate their own fantasies into reality instead of tasting what reality itself has to offer. --Philip Slater
We are constantly told that the way to happiness is through material possessions. "Men who drive this sports car have all the women after them!" "If I could only own this special tool it would make me happy!" What does a man really want? He wants a feeling that his life makes sense. He wants the give and take of loving relationships. He wants to feel he has a place in the world and can make a contribution. And he wants the feeling that he is not standing still, but growing in those ways.
Being poor certainly limits our options, but material wealth is an empty seduction. Putting all our energies into capturing wealth may make us rich, but it also can become an addiction that causes unhappiness. We become much richer in our souls and in our experiences when we take the risks that help us improve our relationships and teach us how to live balanced lives.
I will live each moment in ways that fit my true values.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
History provides abundant examples of . . . women whose greatest gift was in redeeming, inspiring, liberating, and nurturing the gifts of others. --Sonya Rudikoff
Part of our calling as members of the human community is to unconditionally love and support the people emotionally close to us. We have been drawn together for purposes wonderful but seldom readily apparent. We need one another's gifts, compassion, and inspiration in order to contribute our individual parts to the whole.
Not only do we need to nurture and to inspire others, but also our personal development, emotionally and spiritually, demands that we honor ourselves in like fashion. Self-love, full self-acceptance is necessary before we can give anything of lasting value to someone else. Selflessly must we give to others if, indeed, our love and support are meant to serve, and giving anything selflessly is evidence of healthy self-love.
Selfless love liberates the giver and the recipient. Giving selflessly reveals our personal contentment, and it means we are free to nurture our own gifts.
It's good and right that I should encourage someone else today. I will pay the same respect to myself, too.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Being Honest with Ourselves
Our relationship with ourselves is the most important relationship we need to maintain. The quality of that relationship will determine the quality of our other relationships.
When we can tell ourselves how we feel, and accept our feelings, we can tell others.
When we can accept what we want and need, we will be ready to have our wants and needs met.
When we can accept what we think and believe, and accept what's important to us, we can relay this to others.
When we learn to take ourselves seriously, others will too.
When we learn to chuckle at ourselves, we will be ready to laugh with others.
When we have learned to trust ourselves, we will be trustworthy and ready to trust.
When we can be grateful for who we are, we will have achieved self-love.
When we have achieved self-love and accepting our wants and needs, we will be ready to give and receive love.
When we've learned to stand on our own two feet, we're ready to stand next to someone.
Today, I will focus on having a good relationship with myself.
Today I am following my own inner guide, know that I am coming from the best of who I am. That makes me feel good about me. That gives me great pleasure. --Ruth Fishel
God help me to stay sober and clean today!