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 reading for Monday, 8/3, discusses when it is time to make a self-appraisal. This happens when our own thoughts create turmoil. We are reminded that our first obligation is to work out our own thinking patterns.
The reminder says we can change nothing but ourselves, and the principal source of unhappiness is within ourself. It is not easy to change, but it will be rewarding.
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I easily relate to this simple passage as my thoughts used to twist me into knots that I didnt know how to stop. Then that crazy-making thinking can set off anxiety, depression, obsessive thinking and/or a host of other negative emotions. The tools we are given in program allow us to pause, think, keep it simple, ask if this is important, etc. We are given the Serenity Prayer and program contacts to call on whenever in need. You know the saying: it works when you work it.
Mahalo Lyne...so right on and helpful. I come to the realization that there are so many similarities between how my mind, body, spirit and emotions worked up until the time I found the doors of the program and agreed to make it a part of my life as it is now. I came to agree that it isn't easy but the outcomes are much more right on and desirable than before. I have made many changes in and to my life which are been much more acceptable than before the disease was raging and I was going along with it all. The insanity of it all in my life was by choice whether I knew it or not and part of the insanity was how could that all happened to me with out personal choice and action. Part of what I came to understand in months of Al-Anon and AA fellowship and member-ship was back then I DIDN'T KNOW AND DIDN'T KNOW THAT I DIDN'T KNOW. I cannot subscribe to that awareness now. NOW I KNOW AND KNOW THAT I KNOW...IT IS ALL ABOUT MY AWARENESS AND CHOICThanks soooo much for this share and your service. Bless her well HP...(((((hugs))))) and thanks for the fellowship.
Thank you Lyne for your service!
Good too "see" you Jerry! I always like when you say, "I didn't know, and didn't know that I didn't know." It used to confuse me at first, but now I get it!
I will readily admit that in the beginning, I didn't think I needed to change, I didn't need Step 4 - that brave examination of self. With each self-examination, I learn more and I realize that the change that is occurring in me is good change!
Keep on moving forward, One Day at a Time! &
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"The wolf that thrives, is the one you feed." - Cherokee legend
"Hello, sun in my face. Hello you who made the morning and spread it over the fields... Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness." Mary Oliver
Happy Monday MIP...Thank you Lyne for your service and the daily. Thanks to all for the shares and ESH. I can so relate to the crazy-train thinking my brain can go to when I am not spiritually fit. I heard for a long time in recovery that my spiritual fitness was directly proportional to my serenity and sanity and had doubts. As time goes on, this does seem to be my reality - if I practice what's suggested in this program, my days, my mind, my spirit and my joy are all directly related to trusting in the God of my understanding and being willing to stay humble, be teachable and just do the next right thing.
That Pause that I've learned to lean into has truly saved me a ton of crazy-train thinking. I was a very reactive soul prior to recovery, esp. when I felt harmed or slighted by another human. Today, that pause gives me just enough time to realize that what I feel is about me and my self-esteem and not about the other. What the other is doing/saying is all about them and let's just say, some are sicker than others.
As I live my life one day at a time, considering being of service to others and trusting my HP, it's so much easier to 'stop' me from going 'there' with the tools of this program. I still don't have all the answers, and I'm relieved as I am best served in this lifetime by choosing joy and humility.
We are still having absolutely lovely weather that's unheard of for my area. Normally, August is hotter than hot and we've had window weather for 3-4 days, starting in the 60's and highs in the upper 70's or lower 80's....what a gift! I had to go on a treasure hunt to find long pants to golf in this morning - totally unreal for August! I've decided this weather is my 'goal' for my permanent retirement - just got to find 'it'!! Love and light MIP family!
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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
At one point I had to throw out the anchor, the parachute, and anything else i could think of.
I needed to be doing a soft, gentle, non threatening Step 11- 24/7. This was really difficult
when I was sleeping- but today i sleep really well. Sometimes my dreams are really robust ones-
but I usually sleep through them.
Today I tend to be picking up on things I lost as a child. Trust, being a big one. Recovering and a building of this sense of trust involves creating boundaries. And I really need to build these around people like myself- who have depth and are willing to go there.
I discovered [maybe] that boundaries are created around rituals of encounter and rites of passage.
In the rough upcountry culture I grew up in these were plain to see, and sometimes not really healthy.
So this year I am looking forward to step 12 and Tradition 5.
I found that those rites I just mentioned have to be spontaneous... ...I do have to let go and let God...
& 