The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
The ODAT reading for July 23 speaks about having "racing thoughts" and urges that we take time to examine their validity.. The reading suggests that many times these raising thoughts are so complex that it is difficult to reason them out, so that it is best if we not waste our time doing so. That we can switch our thoughts and hold on to a simple concept such as:"How important is it", or" Keep it Simple",in order to dispel the anxiety created by the racing thoughts. In addition, it is mentioned that sometimes these thoughts are just statements of our imagination and have no validity.
If we want to be restored to our serenity,the best we can do is to look at the thought, see that there is nothing that we can do at this moment to solve the problem and then pick up a simple solution such as:"Let go and and Let God" then wait for God's guidance in the still small voice within.
The quote is from the Book of Common Prayer; "under the shadow of thy wing shall be my refuge until this tyranny be overpast"
When I first joined Al-Anon,I found that when walking to work I focused on the inner turmoil within, I was amazed to discover that I was already fighting or arguing with my coworkers and employees. Finding fault and arguing on topics that were unimportant. That was when I realized that I arrived at work, angry and exhausted because of the negative voices within. I was determined to use Al-Anon slogans to help this. So while walking each day, I listened attentively to the inner dialogue, and once the negative voices began, I picked up my slogan for today, such as:" Keep it simple. How important is it, Let go and let God, and kept repeating in until I arrived at the office. Wonder of wonders.!! I arrived relaxed, feeling friendly and ready to work with an open mind and heart.
I keep up this practice to this day and I'm so grateful to Al-Anon for this marvelous tool . Have a great day
Oh yea, the racing thoughts, and sometimes the chatter /energy is so bad or fast that I don't even know what the racing thoughts ARE, but I know my mind is racing, something negative going on in it.....so my deep breathing exercises and this mindfulness exercise I am training me to do......I guess when I start down that road, not to aste my time trying to analyse the "itty bitty shitty committee" in my head, just STOP....SLOW DOWN (biggie for me) I can't slow down, but I see i need to stop...breathe.....and do slogan that relates to what is going on....the two you mention are god ones....and oh yea, they said , one of my therapists long ago said I had free floating anxiety/fear...like I can't feel safe, not even at home, I am on hyper alert....hence my desire to do the mindfulness and self talk ...when the committee gets going, I take them to court and sometimes I even TELL them "prove it to me" "show me" "prove to me I am unsafe now" or whatever they are vexing me with...its almost like those thoughts have a mind of their own....also , i notice that sugar consumption makes it worse...so sadly for me,cutting back on my treats is gonna have to happen.................great share, Betty....Thank you
Thank you Betty for your service, the daily and your ESH. My thinking before arriving at recovery rarely was present - I was either stuck contemplating the past or projecting about the future and neither was processed through a lens of rational thought. Living with this disease presented distorted thinking for me almost all the time, and staying present in the moment seemed very out of reach for me.
Working with a sponsor and practicing the tools helped quite a bit. Yet working the steps as best I could helped me see that the racing thoughts, projection and fear were destructive defects I had used for a long, long while to keep my focus beyond me. If I filled my mind with thoughts - mostly negative - about people, places, things and events around me, I did not have to look inward or at me and my own role in things. I truly wanted to feel better, do better and respond better, yet almost felt controlled by these habits/patterns of obsessive processing.
As I learned in our program to walk through each day, feel my feelings and examine my thoughts, I learned that I never projected joy, serenity, good or even a 'neutral' outcome. It became apparent to me that my attitude directly affected many of my thoughts and changing my attitude helped me to slow down my thoughts and change them up a bit.
Letting go of my ego, and realizing that 'life' happened to each of us helped me let go of self-will. Letting go of self-will and aligning myself with program helped me see I was no better than and no worse than others. Finding gratitude each day for my journey and all the bumps in the road along the way worked to calm my mind and learn to project joyous outcomes or neutrally vs. negative. Aligning my life with a power greater than myself truly helped me release a ton of negative energy within as well as my distorted sense of self-importance.
The serenity prayer and many slogans help me center today, and it's much easier for me when I keep it as simple as I can. When I do contemplate future events now, it's usually aligned with my HP and program helping me to keep it hopeful and simple. I finally know now that no amount of my mental processing or obsessing will change any outcome and my energy is best spent in being of service to self and others. I truly believe that my HP wants me happy, healthy and whole and so long as I'm doing the next right thing, all is well.
Grateful the program exists and I am willing to work it as best I can to limit the racing thoughts of before. I recall the first time I heard, "You can't think your way to right action but you can act your way to better thinking" - thought that was crazy! After all, we have a brain, we should use it to fix, change, etc.....yet I found in recovery that if I do the next right thing and develop different patterns/habits, the thinking and attitudes do follow.
I hope you have a lovely Sunday! We had horrific storms here last night and dangerous lightning. We had a flick of power and never lost it for long, but many are without power today...I woke up to find my garage door wide open and apparently the lightning took out my garage door opener! I had to pop the cord and lower a solid wood double door (heavy as you can imagine) manually. Have not yet walked around the yard to check for damage as after I worked on the door, I realized I had done all that in my undies + tee!!!!! Clearly, I need coffee before I carry on with my day!!
Stay safe - I'm assuming you all may get some of it in a few days! It did bring cooler temperatures - a break in the heatwave - for which I am thankful. Make it a great day!!
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Practice the PAUSE...Pause before judging. Pause before assuming. Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you are about to react harshly and you will avoid doing and saying things you will later regret. ~~~~ Lori Deschene
Thank you for your service, Betty, glad to have your back! Hope your break was enjoyable.
'Keep it Simple, How Important is It, Let Go Let God'...all great reminders for me, good places to start from and recall in moments of doubt about how to respond...and I always benefit from reminders!
IAH, love the "You can't think your way to right action but you can act your way to better thinking", that rings true. Last night was intense, I just went to check my garage door! Enjoy the cooler temps out there on the diamond, hope the rest of your place is intact
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Paul
"...when we try to control others, we lose the ability to manage our own lives." - Paths to Recovery
Thank you, Betty, for your service, and for the ESH above. This is a wonderful reminder, as I just caught myself vaguely anxious/discontent that I had not spent the last couple of days quite as well/productively as I "should/could have". Realistically, I've been doing OK, but the quiet yet persisting anxious thoughts were there... Hugs to all, thank you for being here :)
oh yea, the slogans "keep it simple" "one day at a time" letting go, stepping back...taking my hands off an uncontrollable situation or person....reeeely putting these to use in my self talk....EASY DOES it has been reeely used of late, LOL......
