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: Love
Move Toward Not Away From What Disturbs Us – By Jenna Riemersma
I love the phrase ‘let the best in me lead the rest in me’ that Dr. Allen Berger came up with. This article can help us realize that within us there is an ‘unsuspected inner resource’ (BB p.567) where we experience a ‘place of neutrality’(BB p.85) and discover this ‘best in me’. It further helpsContinue reading “Move Toward Not Away From What Disturbs Us – By Jenna Riemersma”
Self-Acceptance: Waking Up from the Trance of Unworthiness – Interview/Video With Tara Brach November, 2025
I have added this video to the sections of gugogs.org on Toxic Shame and Healing our Jekyll/Hyde Divided Self. You may also find this article from Tara entitled ‘The Trance of Unworthiness’ relevant and useful. The interview below is about 30 minutes and full of insights and wisdom on this crucial topic that helps usContinue reading “Self-Acceptance: Waking Up from the Trance of Unworthiness – Interview/Video With Tara Brach November, 2025”
Finding True Agency & Empowerment ‘With God’ – April 24th 2026 Reflection By Bruce M.
I’ll begin with a couple of reminders. First, progress not perfection … that true agency is a North Star I set my compass toward not a possession I’m expecting to acquire or achieve … I navigate with this aspiration not delude myself that it’s mine. Second, the Twelve & Twelve assertion “the more we becomeContinue reading “Finding True Agency & Empowerment ‘With God’ – April 24th 2026 Reflection By Bruce M.”
God Will Not Desert Us – As Bill Sees It #221
Word comes to me that you are making a magnificent stand in adversity—this adversity being the state of your health. It gives me a chance to express my gratitude for your recovery in A.A. and especially for the demonstration of its principles you are now so inspiringly giving to us all. You will be gladContinue reading “God Will Not Desert Us – As Bill Sees It #221”
An Inner Unity – The Inner Voice Of Love By Henri Nouven
I see much of what the Big Book describes as ‘causes and conditions’ (BB p.64) of my alcoholism as the inner wounds that keep me from wholeness and healing. In ‘As Bill Sees It #291, we are presented with this possibility of moving from being pain killers to become pain healers. For me, much likeContinue reading “An Inner Unity – The Inner Voice Of Love By Henri Nouven”
AA and the Oxford Group – By Ray A Author Of Book ‘Practice These Principles’
For the first 12 years of my sobriety, I attended meetings in the Gramercy Park section of New York, near the headquarters of the Oxford Group at Calvary Episcopal Church and their 23rd Street mission, where Bill W. first got sober. AA meetings were still held in the adjacent church building, where Bill, Ebby T.,Continue reading “AA and the Oxford Group – By Ray A Author Of Book ‘Practice These Principles’”
The Individual’s Rights – As Bill Sees It #134
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”
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”
Those Old Time Feelings – Language Of Letting Go April 7th Reflection By Melody Beattie
I still have bad days. But that’s okay. I used to have bad years.–Anonymous Sometimes, the old feelings creep back in. We may feel fearful, ashamed, and hopeless. We may feel not good enough, unlovable, victimized, helpless, and resentful about it all. This is a condition some describe as soul sickness. Many of us feltContinue reading “Those Old Time Feelings – Language Of Letting Go April 7th Reflection By Melody Beattie”