Archive for the ‘Freedom’ tag
Big Book Quote
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Next, we decided that hereafter in this drama of life, God was going
to be our Director. He is the Principal; we are His agents. He is
the Father, and we are His children. Most good ideas are simple, and
this concept was the keystone of the new and triumphant arch through
which we passed to freedom."
~Alcoholics Anonymous-1st Edition
How It Works
"Next, we decided that hereafter in this drama of life, God was going
to be our Director. He is the Principal; we are His agents. He is
the Father, and we are His children. Most good ideas are simple, and
this concept was the keystone of the new and triumphant arch through
which we passed to freedom."
~Alcoholics Anonymous-1st Edition
How It Works
JFT December 27
December 27
God could restore us to sanity
?The process of coming to believe restores us to sanity. The strength to move into action comes from this belief.?
Basic Text, p. 25
????=????
Now that we?ve finally admitted our insanity and seen examples of it in all its manifestations, we might be tempted to believe that we are doomed to repeat this behavior for the rest of our lives. Just as we thought that our active addiction was hopeless and we?d never get clean, we might now believe that our particular brand of insanity is hopeless.
Not so! We know that we owe our freedom from active addiction to the grace of a loving God. If our Higher Power can perform such a miracle as relieving our obsession to use drugs, surely this Power can also relieve our insanity in all its forms.
If we doubt this, all we have to do is think about the sanity that has already been restored to our lives. Maybe we?ve gotten carried away with our credit cards; but sanity returns when we admit defeat and cut them all up. Perhaps we?ve been feeling lonely and want to go visit our old using buddies. Going to visit our sponsor instead is a sane act.
The insanity of our addiction recedes into the past as we begin experiencing moments of sanity in our recovery. Our belief in a Power greater than ourselves grows as we begin to understand that even our brand of insanity is nothing in the face of this Power.
????=????
Just for today: I thank the God of my understanding for each sane act in my life, for I know they are indications of my restoration to sanity.
God could restore us to sanity
?The process of coming to believe restores us to sanity. The strength to move into action comes from this belief.?
Basic Text, p. 25
????=????
Now that we?ve finally admitted our insanity and seen examples of it in all its manifestations, we might be tempted to believe that we are doomed to repeat this behavior for the rest of our lives. Just as we thought that our active addiction was hopeless and we?d never get clean, we might now believe that our particular brand of insanity is hopeless.
Not so! We know that we owe our freedom from active addiction to the grace of a loving God. If our Higher Power can perform such a miracle as relieving our obsession to use drugs, surely this Power can also relieve our insanity in all its forms.
If we doubt this, all we have to do is think about the sanity that has already been restored to our lives. Maybe we?ve gotten carried away with our credit cards; but sanity returns when we admit defeat and cut them all up. Perhaps we?ve been feeling lonely and want to go visit our old using buddies. Going to visit our sponsor instead is a sane act.
The insanity of our addiction recedes into the past as we begin experiencing moments of sanity in our recovery. Our belief in a Power greater than ourselves grows as we begin to understand that even our brand of insanity is nothing in the face of this Power.
????=????
Just for today: I thank the God of my understanding for each sane act in my life, for I know they are indications of my restoration to sanity.
JFT December 13
December 13
Membership
?There is only one requirement for membership, the desire to stop using.?
Basic Text, p. 9
????=????
We all know people who could benefit from Narcotics Anonymous. Many people we encounter from all walks of life?our family members, old friends, and coworkers?could really use a program of recovery in their lives. Sadly, those who need us don?t always find their way to our rooms.
NA is a program of attraction, not promotion. We are only members when we say we are. We can bring our friends and loved ones to a meeting if they are willing, but we cannot force them to embrace the way of life that has given us freedom from active addiction.
Membership in Narcotics Anonymous is a highly personal decision. The choice to become a member is made in the heart of each individual addict. In the long run, coerced meeting attendance doesn?t keep too many addicts in our rooms. Only addicts who are still suffering, if given the opportunity, can decide if they are powerless over their addiction. We can carry the message, but we can?t carry the addict.
????=????
Just for today: I am grateful for my decision to become a member of Narcotics Anonymous.
Membership
?There is only one requirement for membership, the desire to stop using.?
Basic Text, p. 9
????=????
We all know people who could benefit from Narcotics Anonymous. Many people we encounter from all walks of life?our family members, old friends, and coworkers?could really use a program of recovery in their lives. Sadly, those who need us don?t always find their way to our rooms.
NA is a program of attraction, not promotion. We are only members when we say we are. We can bring our friends and loved ones to a meeting if they are willing, but we cannot force them to embrace the way of life that has given us freedom from active addiction.
Membership in Narcotics Anonymous is a highly personal decision. The choice to become a member is made in the heart of each individual addict. In the long run, coerced meeting attendance doesn?t keep too many addicts in our rooms. Only addicts who are still suffering, if given the opportunity, can decide if they are powerless over their addiction. We can carry the message, but we can?t carry the addict.
????=????
Just for today: I am grateful for my decision to become a member of Narcotics Anonymous.
Jailbreak!
You are reading the daily devotion from Notreligion.
May 23, 2007
Key Passage: Acts 16:16-40
Topic: Salvation; Faith/Trust
Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household" (Acts 16:30-31, ESV).
There are a lot of sounds you'd expect to hear in prison in the middle of the night, and none of them are good. So you can imagine how surprised the inmates and guards of the Philippian jail were the night Paul and Silas showed up. Instead of moaning and groaning, cursing or wailing; these men sang!
Maybe the other prisoners deserved to be there, maybe not. In any event, life probably wasn't fun anymore. They may have been bound like Paul and Silas, unable to move. Deep in the "inner prison," they were shut away from any light. Perhaps they had reached a point of despair.
But the songs and prayers of Paul and Silas must have brought renewed hope. For the first time in a long time these men thought of freedom and the good things in life. They wanted to be saved.
Here we see a physical example of a spiritual process--being saved.
Before we meet Christ, we're all bound in chains, unable to experience life the way it's meant to be.
But just as the prisoners set free when the jail in Philippi was shaken by an earthquake that night, so Jesus is waiting to set your heart free.
If the jailor's question is yours, "What must I do to be saved?" the answer is still the same.
"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31, ESV).
© 2008 NotReligion |
May 23, 2007
Key Passage: Acts 16:16-40
Topic: Salvation; Faith/Trust
Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household" (Acts 16:30-31, ESV).
There are a lot of sounds you'd expect to hear in prison in the middle of the night, and none of them are good. So you can imagine how surprised the inmates and guards of the Philippian jail were the night Paul and Silas showed up. Instead of moaning and groaning, cursing or wailing; these men sang!
Maybe the other prisoners deserved to be there, maybe not. In any event, life probably wasn't fun anymore. They may have been bound like Paul and Silas, unable to move. Deep in the "inner prison," they were shut away from any light. Perhaps they had reached a point of despair.
But the songs and prayers of Paul and Silas must have brought renewed hope. For the first time in a long time these men thought of freedom and the good things in life. They wanted to be saved.
Here we see a physical example of a spiritual process--being saved.
Before we meet Christ, we're all bound in chains, unable to experience life the way it's meant to be.
But just as the prisoners set free when the jail in Philippi was shaken by an earthquake that night, so Jesus is waiting to set your heart free.
If the jailor's question is yours, "What must I do to be saved?" the answer is still the same.
"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31, ESV).
© 2008 NotReligion |
My REAL Day 1 is TODAY
I have 44 Days without alcohol, but ZERO days of true sobriety and freedom from addiction.
Today will be my real Day 1.
No more chemicals.
True sobriety.
I have been fooling myself and others and this cannot go on anymore. I have continued to remain addicted to nicotine through the use of a daily nicotine patch. I have continued to smoke pot, and I have continued to take the Tylenol with codeine pills that we have in the house.
No more.
Today is Day 1.
Today will be my real Day 1.
No more chemicals.
True sobriety.
I have been fooling myself and others and this cannot go on anymore. I have continued to remain addicted to nicotine through the use of a daily nicotine patch. I have continued to smoke pot, and I have continued to take the Tylenol with codeine pills that we have in the house.
No more.
Today is Day 1.
I don’t know what I believe anymore….
Sometimes I don't know what to believe about addiction.
There is nothing we can do..we have no power...but if they threaten to hurt themselves we have to help them. which means that we are entering into their life.We have to give them the freedom to dig their own grave but when they say they want to die we have a moral obligation to do something. (don't misunderstand..I don't wish anyone to die but if I'm not powerful enough to cause someone to slowly kill themselves then how can I possibly do anything about a suicide threat?).then we tell each other to never lose hope even though we can't be in their lives. They will always hurt us....they need help. They don't think they are sick. Their brains physically function differently. They have choices. They have no choice. Their perceptions are altered. They have to admit they need help. They have to admit they are powerless yet they have to make a life saving decision with a chemically poisoned sick brain, mind and soul. They have to hit some mysterious rock bottom and meanwhile they are literally dying and we watch...or we don't watch because there is nothing we can do. No wonder its a roller coaster ride. Sometimes I feel like everything I thought I understood just loses its meaning. I read the posts on here and as much as we all try to help each other it seems we kind of contradict ourselves too.
There is nothing we can do..we have no power...but if they threaten to hurt themselves we have to help them. which means that we are entering into their life.We have to give them the freedom to dig their own grave but when they say they want to die we have a moral obligation to do something. (don't misunderstand..I don't wish anyone to die but if I'm not powerful enough to cause someone to slowly kill themselves then how can I possibly do anything about a suicide threat?).then we tell each other to never lose hope even though we can't be in their lives. They will always hurt us....they need help. They don't think they are sick. Their brains physically function differently. They have choices. They have no choice. Their perceptions are altered. They have to admit they need help. They have to admit they are powerless yet they have to make a life saving decision with a chemically poisoned sick brain, mind and soul. They have to hit some mysterious rock bottom and meanwhile they are literally dying and we watch...or we don't watch because there is nothing we can do. No wonder its a roller coaster ride. Sometimes I feel like everything I thought I understood just loses its meaning. I read the posts on here and as much as we all try to help each other it seems we kind of contradict ourselves too.
JFT–14 Nov–Not Perfect
Not Perfect
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We are not going to be perfect. If we were perfect, we would not be human."
Basic Text, page 30
All of us had expectations about life in recovery. Some of us thought recovery would suddenly make us employable or able to do anything in the world we wanted to do. Or maybe we imagined perfect ease in our interactions with others. When we stop and think, we realize that we expected recovery would make us perfect. We didn't expect to continue making many mistakes. But we do. That's not the addict side of us showing through; that's being human.
In Narcotics Anonymous we strive for recovery, not perfection. The only promise we are given is freedom from active addiction. Perfection is not an attainable state for human beings; it's not a realistic goal. What we often seek in perfection is freedom from the discomfort of making mistakes. In return for that freedom from discomfort, we trade our curiosity, our flexibility, and the room to grow.
We can consider the trade: Do we want to live the rest of our lives in our well-defined little world, safe but perhaps stifled? Or do we wish to venture out into the unknown, take a risk, and reach for everything life has to offer?
Just for today:
I want all that life has to offer me and all that recovery can provide. Today, I will take a risk, try something new, and grow.
Page 331 :WE1Relaxing2:
Copyright © 1991-2008 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We are not going to be perfect. If we were perfect, we would not be human."
Basic Text, page 30
All of us had expectations about life in recovery. Some of us thought recovery would suddenly make us employable or able to do anything in the world we wanted to do. Or maybe we imagined perfect ease in our interactions with others. When we stop and think, we realize that we expected recovery would make us perfect. We didn't expect to continue making many mistakes. But we do. That's not the addict side of us showing through; that's being human.
In Narcotics Anonymous we strive for recovery, not perfection. The only promise we are given is freedom from active addiction. Perfection is not an attainable state for human beings; it's not a realistic goal. What we often seek in perfection is freedom from the discomfort of making mistakes. In return for that freedom from discomfort, we trade our curiosity, our flexibility, and the room to grow.
We can consider the trade: Do we want to live the rest of our lives in our well-defined little world, safe but perhaps stifled? Or do we wish to venture out into the unknown, take a risk, and reach for everything life has to offer?
Just for today:
I want all that life has to offer me and all that recovery can provide. Today, I will take a risk, try something new, and grow.
Page 331 :WE1Relaxing2:
Copyright © 1991-2008 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
To All the Veterans….
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service to this country, and all of your sacrifices. I don't remember who said it or if I am quoting it correctly, but...
"Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know"
So thank you, dear men and women...and know that you are loved!:usa:
"Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know"
So thank you, dear men and women...and know that you are loved!:usa:
Rules
Quote:
|
.....We have no right to save our own skin at another person's expense. Such parts of our story we tell to someone who will understand, yet be unaffected. The rule is we must be hard on ourself, but always considerate of others. |
Depression, Mysics and Gangaji
Mystics and Gangaji
I have had and most of us have had glimpses into the Infinite. They can actually make your life more miserable than ever when they fade. Where did it go? What did I do wrong? How do I get it back? In her latest book and CD's Gangaji addresses this yearning and grief directly.
Driven by a debilitating depression, I have been on a desperate search for someone or something that could give me relief. IB and Dr. Paul have really helped me in three important areas: getting me to take responsibility for my own inner world, showing me how I suffered from my own mistreatment and surrounding me with enough love to feel safe enough to learn from my pain and to break my heart wide open.
The unspoken message of IB to me has always been that there is enough love in the world to heal even your pain.
Two of my most powerful experiences happened at IB intensives. I can tell from Dr. Paul's reaction, they were not typical. I have had to look elsewhere for information and support. I investigated western and eastern religions and came up almost empty. There is a fringe group I was repeatedly drawn to. Mystics. They come from various religious backgrounds. They all value awareness and experience over knowledge and understanding and most of them say over and over that this experience is available to all of us. Sometimes called oneness or love or God or life or reality or enlightenment or truth or light or joy or liberation or freedom or salvation, it is best left undescribed.
There are many myths about these experiences. Most include words like permanent and perfect.
Gangaji in THE DIAMOND IN YOUR POCKET asks what do you want enlightenment for?
The answer exposes the agenda behind the search.
She explains quickly that we get no thing out of enlightenment. That experiences by their very nature must pass. That we don't get to own it or control it but we can let it own and control us.
My favorite word to describe these experiences is delicious, during these experiences I get to experience the deliciousness of life and myself as a part of it. And now whether based on present experience or memory, I can let my behavior be guided by that deliciousness.
Gangaji's message is STOP. Stop any searching, doing, itinerary or procedure you are using to get anything that you think you are missing or lacking. And realize that it is already here because you are it. You brought it with you (actually it brought you) and you can never be separated from it except in your mind.
I call it getting lost in the present moment or melting into the present moment. It's a choice to stop searching, denying and avoiding and just relax into this present situation with its attendant thoughts and feelings. If you are afraid, lose yourself in the fear, if you are in pain, lose yourself in the pain, then look for the source of it, the truth of it, the gift of it. Backtrack to the point, where you can see yourself choosing it and choose again.
Gangaji calls this the choiceless choice after we see the absurdity of choosing suffering. We can and will still do it but it takes the power away from it and adds humor. This might be one way to say that enlightened beings take life lightly. She also points out that seemingly negative emotions are just as much a part of life as love and bliss and call for investigation and correction not punishment. That pain is necessary but suffering is optional.
She's the first person I have heard talk about the grief and shame of losing a spiritual experience. Her book is highly recommended as are her CD's: THE MOMENT OF CHOICE and INNOCENCE, TRUST AND SELF-BETRAYAL.
In the service of Love and Truth, Monte
I have had and most of us have had glimpses into the Infinite. They can actually make your life more miserable than ever when they fade. Where did it go? What did I do wrong? How do I get it back? In her latest book and CD's Gangaji addresses this yearning and grief directly.
Driven by a debilitating depression, I have been on a desperate search for someone or something that could give me relief. IB and Dr. Paul have really helped me in three important areas: getting me to take responsibility for my own inner world, showing me how I suffered from my own mistreatment and surrounding me with enough love to feel safe enough to learn from my pain and to break my heart wide open.
The unspoken message of IB to me has always been that there is enough love in the world to heal even your pain.
Two of my most powerful experiences happened at IB intensives. I can tell from Dr. Paul's reaction, they were not typical. I have had to look elsewhere for information and support. I investigated western and eastern religions and came up almost empty. There is a fringe group I was repeatedly drawn to. Mystics. They come from various religious backgrounds. They all value awareness and experience over knowledge and understanding and most of them say over and over that this experience is available to all of us. Sometimes called oneness or love or God or life or reality or enlightenment or truth or light or joy or liberation or freedom or salvation, it is best left undescribed.
There are many myths about these experiences. Most include words like permanent and perfect.
Gangaji in THE DIAMOND IN YOUR POCKET asks what do you want enlightenment for?
The answer exposes the agenda behind the search.
She explains quickly that we get no thing out of enlightenment. That experiences by their very nature must pass. That we don't get to own it or control it but we can let it own and control us.
My favorite word to describe these experiences is delicious, during these experiences I get to experience the deliciousness of life and myself as a part of it. And now whether based on present experience or memory, I can let my behavior be guided by that deliciousness.
Gangaji's message is STOP. Stop any searching, doing, itinerary or procedure you are using to get anything that you think you are missing or lacking. And realize that it is already here because you are it. You brought it with you (actually it brought you) and you can never be separated from it except in your mind.
I call it getting lost in the present moment or melting into the present moment. It's a choice to stop searching, denying and avoiding and just relax into this present situation with its attendant thoughts and feelings. If you are afraid, lose yourself in the fear, if you are in pain, lose yourself in the pain, then look for the source of it, the truth of it, the gift of it. Backtrack to the point, where you can see yourself choosing it and choose again.
Gangaji calls this the choiceless choice after we see the absurdity of choosing suffering. We can and will still do it but it takes the power away from it and adds humor. This might be one way to say that enlightened beings take life lightly. She also points out that seemingly negative emotions are just as much a part of life as love and bliss and call for investigation and correction not punishment. That pain is necessary but suffering is optional.
She's the first person I have heard talk about the grief and shame of losing a spiritual experience. Her book is highly recommended as are her CD's: THE MOMENT OF CHOICE and INNOCENCE, TRUST AND SELF-BETRAYAL.
In the service of Love and Truth, Monte
