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.
Today's reading from Courage to Change talks about the 12th Step - Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principals in all our affairs...What a promise - if we work these steps, we can have a spiritual awakening - hope for everyone affected by this disease.
Most arrive at Al-Anon looking for solutions to fix their qualifier. It takes time to realize our own life has been affected in a negative way and most of us were lacking direction that only a Higher Power can provide. These 12 steps give us the encouragement we need to begin at the beginning. Slowly, and at times - painfully, we work them and in time - something amazing happens! We become filled with a sense of our Higher Power and his love for us! Many of us feel whole for the first time.
Today's reminder --- The Steps offer me a road map for living that leads to a spiritual awakening and beyond. I can't skip ahead to the end of the journey - which can at times be a hard one - but I can put one foot in front of the other and follow the directions I've been given, knowing that others who have gone before me have received more along the way than they had ever dreamed.
Today's Quote ... from As We Understood.... "The first time I ever heard the Twelve Steps read at a meeting, I became very still. I felt I was not breathing . . . I was just listening with my whole being . . . I knew deep within me that I was home."
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All of the steps of our program give back to me/my growth. I am one who came to the program looking to fix others and their drinking. I felt in my mind that if they would just stop drinking, all would be well. What I came to accept and understand is the disease had reached through them and affected me in more ways than I knew.
As a result of working these steps, I now stroll a spiritual path that is new to me and for me. It's my path, my journey and no two journeys are the same. My destination is predetermined, and my Higher Power is truly the tour guide of my life. This has all come about and been my experience as a result of working the program, honestly working the steps and practice, practice and then more practice.
Grateful for the gift of serenity today. When eruptions happen in my life or in my days, I am almost instantly reminded that I'm no longer alone and God has 'got this' for me. Happy Thursday MIP family - 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 IAH for your service in sharing this page and your honesty in your ESH. It is extremely helpful to hear how the program has changed a life for the better, despite the challenges that emerge.
When I began my recovery, I did not seek it out for a spiritual reason, did not expect, feel I needed, or necessarily want a spiritual awakening. I came first to find a way out of the insanity for me and my qualifier, and later how to become a happier, healthier, better person to myself and others.
It was on a particular day, years into the program, that I realized with shock that the program had become spiritual for me...the adjustments I had worked so hard to adopt through changes in thought and behavior had worked beyond the surface. The concept of a higher power become something more, and my confidence in the utility of the program became faith, something I truly believed in and turned my life and will over to.
Sometimes it is the outcome that you don't expect that is the sweetest, and I certainly feel that way about the spiritual aspect of the program. In focusing on the work, not the desired outcome, I escaped the obsessing and feeling like I was working the program 'wrong'. There have been so many blessings for me and those who have to interact with me, I am truly grateful
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Paul
"...when we try to control others, we lose the ability to manage our own lives." - Paths to Recovery
Good Morning IAH and Paul I do believe I could have written that page in theh C2C. I know when I read the 12 th Step, I decided to work the Steps and obtain that spiritual awakening I knew that I had been in a spiritual coma for years and thought that if these Step promised a change I was willing to keep showing up. I am glad that i did That spiritual awakening did happen and was indeed a powerful experience. As i continue to work this program I witness "mini" spiritual experiences almost daily.
Great shares - thank you Paul and Betty. I have been distracted lately trying to support my friend with Cancer....it's been a blessing to be able to listen, love, encourage, hope, etc. together - all of which are gifts of this program. Before recovery and working the steps, I was always anxious, full of fear, projecting the worst, etc. The program has truly given me the ability to just be...just be me, be present, be hopeful, be positive, be supportive and seek to understand - the person, the pain, the fears, etc.
This for me is my recent miracle. I've been sad about the possibility of her disease winning. But, as I am renewed each morning by God, and this program, I realize THIS is what it's all about....not that which may happen but rather the joy of what is happening right now.
Betty - I don't think I was aware of being in a spiritual coma but that's an outstanding explanation. I know I was defeated, numb and very broken. I'm very grateful for the spiritual progress I've made. Make it a great day all!
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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
That spiritual awakening did happen and was indeed a powerful experience. As i continue to work this program I witness "mini" spiritual experiences almost daily.