My friend Big Adam shared this poem with me. His poem reminds me of this article from Henri Nouven about how hope so fundamentally differs from optimism. Nouven says “the person of hope lives in the moment with the knowledge and trust that all of life is in good hands” and “hope is the trustContinue reading “Holding Hope Close – Recovery Poem By Adam M.”
Category Archives: Conscience
Spirituality, Humility and Me – A.A. Cleveland By Tim B.
As I write this story, I think back to what I was doing thirty-five years ago today. On that day—October 7th—a friend drove me to my first AA meeting. I was a beaten-down, empty shell of a person, and out of answers. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, and I finally admittedContinue reading “Spirituality, Humility and Me – A.A. Cleveland By Tim B.”
Step 11: The Contemplative Mind – Daily Meditation December 3rd 2015 By Richard Rohr
We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood [God], praying only for the knowledge of [God’s] will for us and the power to carry that out. The word prayer, which Bill Wilson rightly juxtaposes with the word meditation, is a code word for an entirely different way of processingContinue reading “Step 11: The Contemplative Mind – Daily Meditation December 3rd 2015 By Richard Rohr”
Living With Our Conscience – A Spiritual Principle A Day December 19th
“In the end, we are the ones who must live with our conscience. In order to do so comfortably, we must decide what is, and what is not, morally acceptable in our lives.” It Works, Step Ten Page 365 There’s some irony in the fact that self-centeredness can make it difficult to stay in ourContinue reading “Living With Our Conscience – A Spiritual Principle A Day December 19th”
To Rebuild Security – As Bill See It #301
In our behavior respecting financial and emotional security, fear, greed, possessiveness, and pride have too often done their worst. Surveying his business or employment record, almost any alcoholic can ask questions like these: In addition to my drinking problem, what character defects contributed to my financial instability? Did fear and inferiority about my fitness forContinue reading “To Rebuild Security – As Bill See It #301”
The Gift Of Awareness – By Bonnie Weiss
The capacity of awareness is foundational in personal growth work—it’s the lens through which all meaningful change becomes possible. You can’t change what you can’t see. High-quality awareness—clear, non-judgmental noticing of your thoughts, feelings, patterns, and behaviors—creates space between stimulus and response. That space is where true choice lives. Much of our suffering comes fromContinue reading “The Gift Of Awareness – By Bonnie Weiss”
Invictus – Recovery Poem By William Ernest Henley
Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who was jailed for his activism and in 1994 became South Africa’s first black President, regularly recited one poem during his more than twenty-five years of imprisonment—the 1875 poem “Invictus” by English poet William Ernest Henley. The poem, which helped Mandela persist through extraordinarily challenging circumstances, includes the iconic lines,Continue reading “Invictus – Recovery Poem By William Ernest Henley”
A Soul Checks In – Grapevine Article March 2006 By Jeff A.
Like the author of “A Drunk Like You” in the Big Book, I, too, think scientifically and had to research whether or not I was an alcoholic. I first came into the rooms following a bout of drinking that had resulted in my seeing things, hearing things, feeling paranoid, and busting ghosts. After a fewContinue reading “A Soul Checks In – Grapevine Article March 2006 By Jeff A.”
Step Nine: Scene Of The Crime – Grapevine Article September 1993 By Kit K.
The rocks looked the same. The light in the sky at sunset was as I remembered it; the stillness and silence of the pinyon-juniper forest had not changed. This was the day I returned to the windswept landscape of northern Arizona from which I had fled five years before. When I left, I was runningContinue reading “Step Nine: Scene Of The Crime – Grapevine Article September 1993 By Kit K.”
One Man’s Deep Dive Into The Principles Of Each Step By Herb K.
PRINCIPLES: Foundational TRUTHS: core VALUES which regulate moral behavior; guidelines and guardrails: