We believe there isn’t a fellowship on earth which devotes more care to its individual members; surely there is none which more jealously guards the individual’s right to think, talk, and act as he wishes. No A.A. can compel another to do anything; nobody can be punished or expelled. Our Twelve Steps to recovery areContinue reading “The Individual’s Rights – As Bill Sees It #134”
Category Archives: Control
Turning It Over and Acceptance – Buddhism And The Twelve Steps March 1st & 2nd Reflections By Kevin Griffin
March 1 “Turning it over” Step Three brings us into the heart of the program and gives us a new set of challenges. To begin, there is a question of what it means to “turn our lives over,” whether to God or anything else. What many people find when confronting this Step for the firstContinue reading “Turning It Over and Acceptance – Buddhism And The Twelve Steps March 1st & 2nd Reflections By Kevin Griffin”
No Orders Issued – As Bill Sees It # 237
Neither the A.A. General Service Conference, its Board of Trustees, nor the humblest group committee can issue a single directive to an A.A. member and make it stick, let alone mete out any punishment. We’ve tried this lots of times, but utter failure is always the result. Groups have sometimes tried to expel members, butContinue reading “No Orders Issued – As Bill Sees It # 237”
Control – Buddhism and the Twelve Steps February 16th Reflection By Kevin G
Addiction is essentially a strategy to control how we feel. We want to be happy or high or just not in pain all the time, so we keep drinking, smoking, popping, eating, gambling, or otherwise finding ways to alter our consciousness to feel the way we want. This habit of control carries over into otherContinue reading “Control – Buddhism and the Twelve Steps February 16th Reflection By Kevin G”
The Light Of Rigorous Honesty Overcomes The Darkness Of Victimhood
I found the article below very helpful in understanding why ‘How It Works’ (BB p.58) describes rigorous honesty as a recovery demand in this way: “Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honestContinue reading “The Light Of Rigorous Honesty Overcomes The Darkness Of Victimhood”
Perfectionism – Seeing & Responding With Emotional Sobriety Video By Allen Berger
Below is an excellent 30 minute video that explores how perfectionism amplifies self hatred. The video also explores how we can learn to respond differently to the ‘should monster’ of our idealized false self we’ve created to be loved, accepted and have a sense of belonging. And, in this new response, we learn how toContinue reading “Perfectionism – Seeing & Responding With Emotional Sobriety Video By Allen Berger”
Rigorous Honesty & Vulnerability In Accepting Life As It Is – Consolations By David Whyte
I found this short reflection on ‘Honesty’ by the outstanding poet and author David Whyte in his book Consolations very useful in helping understand the challenge of rigorous honesty which ‘How It Works’(BB p.58) identifies as a ‘demand’ for a sustainable recovery. His reflection also helps to connect us to the experience of the powerlessness, uncertainty andContinue reading “Rigorous Honesty & Vulnerability In Accepting Life As It Is – Consolations By David Whyte”
A Higher Power – Daily Stoic November 5th By Ryan Holiday
“This is the very thing which makes up the virtue of the happy person and a well-flowing life—when the affairs of life are in every way tuned to the harmony between the individual divine spirit and the will of the director of the universe.” CHRYSIPPUS, QUOTED IN DIOGENES LAERTIUS, LIVES OF THE EMINENT PHILOSOPHERS InContinue reading “A Higher Power – Daily Stoic November 5th By Ryan Holiday”
Reclaiming the Self: 12-Steps, a Higher Power, and Inner Healing By David G. Zacharias
I find this article quite helpful in exploring this possibility of how we can learn to ‘reparent’ parts of us that have been exiled or left behind. I’ve also added this article to the ‘Healing Our Jekyll/Hyde Divided Self’ section of the gugogs.org website. In my own journey , I have found it very helpfulContinue reading “Reclaiming the Self: 12-Steps, a Higher Power, and Inner Healing By David G. Zacharias”
The Rabbi, Equanimity & The Serenity Prayer By Rav Carl Kinbar
G-d, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference. The Serenity Prayer, Kosher Version The Riverton Mussar’s definition of equanimity begins, “Equanimity is about having balance, level-headedness and calmness of spirit.” Equanimity is a middah, the ability to maintainContinue reading “The Rabbi, Equanimity & The Serenity Prayer By Rav Carl Kinbar”