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 C2C reading for October 31 speaks about our inner reactions to the ever present "fear "we feel within .
The reading explains that as the results of living with this disease, that anytime something" new" or unexpected happens, or the world does not go as we had thought, we begin to feel anxious, filled with fear and thoughts of imminent disaster. Failure and torment. swirl about in our thoughts so that we "react" to these" feelings" and do something rash in order to validate our invisible unfounded feelings-- because the most important thing is that we are afraid of being afraid.
The Reading goes on to say" fear" can be a power greater than ourselves, but today, with a Higher Power, who is greater than our fears, we can receive the courage to pause, face our fears, and make choices that are healthy for us.It is truly False Evidence Appearing Real .
The reading continues with the thought that Al-Anon is a program in which we find Spiritual Solution over things. that we are powerless to change.
With this Spiritual Power we can then Face Everthing And Recover
The Quote is Chinese proverb; "that the birds of worry and fear fly Al above your head, this you cannot change. But that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent.".
Love this quote I envision all of my anger, resentment and fears flying over my head because it's been dislodged from deep within and I have the choice to put back in, so it can build another nest in my hair as it had before Alanon. I can let the worry fly above my head without allowing it room in my mind and allowing it to rob me of my hard won serenity.
Before Al-Anon I never admitted that I was fearful because I did not have any tools to deal with fear . When I felt fear, I turned it into anger and attacked somebody else-- today thanks to program I pray, ask HP's help to act with courage and wisdom T and compassion . What a gift .
Betty, thank you for your service and your share on this page. In my recent work on steps 4 and 7, I came to realize that Fear had truly been my higher power for much of my life, although no one, including myself, would ever describe me as a fearful person. It has been an incredible and life changing realization.
For the past 2 weeks, I was able to hold (mostly) true to my commitment to focus intently and work diligently with my request for my higher power to remove it from me. Specific and increased meditation raised my awareness of situations that typically call up the fear process. More importantly, my hp allowed me to feel the rare but amazing freedom of thought and action unencumbered by fear for crucial minutes and even hours at a time.
Fear can hold incredible power, and I allowed it to for so long and in so many areas of my life. Only in AlAnon have I been introduced to the tools that have allowed me to both identify and have it removed (initially for brief times, but growing, and only with the help of my hp) from my thoughts and actions. I am so grateful...
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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 as well Betty, I love the analogy of the worries and fears building nests in
our hair! That is a thought I will keep in mind going forward!! {{HUGS}}
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"Forgiveness doesn't excuse bad behavior, but it
does prevent bad behavior from destroying your heart". ~ unknown
Boy....howdy - that 2nd paragraph described me perfectly. Still today, when one of my qualifiers pulls out all the stops to push my buttons, my innate response wants to be that 'fear' that it will always be as it always has been....fear that it will never be what it could be. I have two choices - live like that, which is a horrible feeling I literally feel sick to my stomach with or rely on my HP to help me see it for what it is, check my part and move forward.
I took a nap today and had a strange, bad dream. What's strange is I don't hardly ever remember my dreams any more and if I do, it's not during a nap as I don't sleep deeply when the sun is up. Any ways, my boys were in a parking lot, fighting with each other over a car. Back in the day, this was a real possibility. My AH was no where in the dream and I tried to break up the fight. Needless to say, I was boxed into a car (that we never owned and wasn't familiar) with the 2 of them going at it....
I woke up sweating and shaking and had to think what day it was, what was what, etc. Strange dream indeed, but so grateful when I realized what it was.
Apparently I've got some things to sort out. They are both 23 and 21, and we've not had these types of situations in a long while, but it shook me up.
Thanks Betty for the daily and to all for the ESH! Just what I needed!!
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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