PHILOSOPHER: First of all, let’s look at what you were just saying, about your self-consciousness putting the brakes on and not letting you behave in an innocent way. There are probably many people who experience this trouble. So let’s go back to the source again and think about your goal. What could you be tryingContinue reading “Not Self-Affirmation But Self-Acceptance – Extract Chapter 44 From ‘The Courage To Be Disliked’ By Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga “
Category Archives: Kindness
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”
Curiosity: Where the Inner Journey Begins – Friendly Circle Berlin March 2026
This article is a good compliment to the ‘Power of Pause’ we discussed in our 2nd session of the February 2026 Emotional Sobriety Series. This important way of ‘moving toward’ with curiosity what we used to ‘move away’ from with judgment … When something difficult arises — irritation, fear, shame — try pausing and practicingContinue reading “Curiosity: Where the Inner Journey Begins – Friendly Circle Berlin March 2026”
Reliability Matters – A Spiritual Principle A Day February 28th
For some of us, being a member of an AA group gives us our first taste of what it feels like to be reliable. When we are new, members urge us to come to the next meeting and come back clean. Group members remember us, seem happy to see us, ask us to share orContinue reading “Reliability Matters – A Spiritual Principle A Day February 28th”
Mindful Self Compassion – Buddhism And The Twelve Steps February 10th Reflection By Kevin G
One of the great diseases of our culture is self-loathing. Many of us internalize an “inner critic” who is never satisfied with our behavior, our accomplishments, or even our thoughts and feelings. This negative self-belief is behind the crippling depression and anxiety that permeate Western society. Mindful self-compassion is an antidote to this disease. MindfulContinue reading “Mindful Self Compassion – Buddhism And The Twelve Steps February 10th Reflection By Kevin G”
Convey Not Convince – Emotional Sobriety Podcast – Dr. Allen Berger
In our February 2026 Emotional Sobriety Series, we’ve discussed how the power of pause can help us discover how ‘the best in me can lead the rest in me’. We discussed how this ‘best in me’ discloses itself when I find a ‘position of neutrality’ which has no agenda to produce some desired outcome. WeContinue reading “Convey Not Convince – Emotional Sobriety Podcast – Dr. Allen Berger”
An Unlikely Hero – Grapevine Article January 2001 By Hannah H.
My father passed away this year, just two months before he would have celebrated thirty years in AA. As we cleared away his desk littered with stacks of Grapevines, notes for AA meetings, and dozens of Serenity Prayers, I am painfully saddened that he didn’t live to celebrate this milestone. Up until the day heContinue reading “An Unlikely Hero – Grapevine Article January 2001 By Hannah H.”
The Faith To Believe In What Is – Grapevine Article July 1972 By J.W.
Faith must be structured in the bright light of truth as we see it THERE IS a joke which tells of God’s decision to grant a personal interview to one member of the world press. The duly elected representative departs, and all the luminaries of church, state, and the communications media gather to await hisContinue reading “The Faith To Believe In What Is – Grapevine Article July 1972 By J.W.”
Relational Sponsorship – 12 Step Philosophy By Steve K
In the context of 12 Step recovery “relational sponsorship” is an ongoing recovery-based relationship that supports humility, accountability, and spiritual discernment through honest dialogue rather than authority or instruction. It’s a form a sponsorship that sometimes follows an initial introduction to the 12 Steps. It’s not written anywhere within the literature of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)Continue reading “Relational Sponsorship – 12 Step Philosophy By Steve K”
If You Spot It You Got It – How We Distort Reality With The ‘Blind Spot’ Of Our Projections
This article is a good follow up to a post I entitled ‘Changing The Way We See’. The articles ‘Revolutionary! How Step 10 Suggests A Novel Response Ability When We’re Disturbed’ as well as ‘Make A U-Turn As We Seek To Understand Our Part(s) In A Disturbance’ are also quite relevant to this topic ofContinue reading “If You Spot It You Got It – How We Distort Reality With The ‘Blind Spot’ Of Our Projections”