AA teaches that there is a wholeness in limitation. This understanding echoes an ancient tradition of wisdom, which saw being human as being caught in the middle, containing a contradiction. To be human, according to this tradition, means to sustain the tension of always being pulled in two opposite directions: to be more than humanContinue reading “Shame And The Meaning Of Being Human – Shame & Guilt By Ernest Kurtz”
Category Archives: Meditation
Mashup 7th Step Prayer & Offer God Your Imperfections August 23rd Reflection By Henri Nouven
7th Step Prayer (Big Book P.76) My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go outContinue reading “Mashup 7th Step Prayer & Offer God Your Imperfections August 23rd Reflection By Henri Nouven”
Valuing This Moment – The Language Of Letting Go August 18th By Melody Beattie
Detachment involves present moment living – living in the here and now. We allow life to happen instead of forcing and trying to control it. We relinquish regrets over the past and fears about the future. We make the most of each day. This moment, we are right where we need to be, right whereContinue reading “Valuing This Moment – The Language Of Letting Go August 18th By Melody Beattie”
Constructive Workouts – As Bill Sees It #215
There are those in A.A. whom we call “destructive” critics. They power-drive, they are “politickers,” they make accusations to gain their ends—all for the good of A.A., of course! But we have learned that these folks need not be really destructive. We ought to listen carefully to what they say. Sometimes they are telling theContinue reading “Constructive Workouts – As Bill Sees It #215”
Being Is More Important Than Doing – August 6th Daily Reflection By Henri Nouwen
I suspect that we too often have lost contact with the source of our own existence and have become strangers in our own house. We tend to run around trying to solve the problems of our world while anxiously avoiding confrontation with that reality wherein our problems find their deepest roots: our own selves. InContinue reading “Being Is More Important Than Doing – August 6th Daily Reflection By Henri Nouwen”
How Meditation Can Move Us From Conscious Separation To Conscious Connection – Extracts From ‘Presence: The Art of Being at Home in Yourself’ By Tracy Cochran
Wayne S’s meditation teacher, Tracy Cochran has written a beautiful book entitled ‘Presence: The Art of Being at Home in Yourself’. There is a straight forward way to connect much of what Tracy outlines in her book to the spiritual practices we have in AA. I think a very useful theme to establish this connectionContinue reading “How Meditation Can Move Us From Conscious Separation To Conscious Connection – Extracts From ‘Presence: The Art of Being at Home in Yourself’ By Tracy Cochran”
What We Magnify Grows – Touchstone Reflection June 13th
You must fight off a “bad luck” way of thinking as if you were dealing with an invasion of hostile forces—for that is precisely what you are dealing with.—Maxwell Maltz Life is an ongoing experience with two opposing forces. One force is constantly building up, and the other is constantly tearing down. We have successesContinue reading “What We Magnify Grows – Touchstone Reflection June 13th”
Make Me A Channel – Grapevine Article November 2020 By Michael J.
How a sponsor’s suggestion to meditate on a prayer led him on a path to peace, love and a sense of belonging I remember when my sponsor gave me an assignment for Step Eleven. After we reviewed the Step in our book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, he told me to read the Eleventh StepContinue reading “Make Me A Channel – Grapevine Article November 2020 By Michael J.”
Where Do We Find Peace – Each Day A New Beginning April 5th
I came to the conclusion then that “continual mindfulness”. . . must mean, not a sergeant-major-like drilling of thoughts, but a continual readiness to look and readiness to accept whatever came. –Joanna Field Resistance to the events, the situations, the many people who come into our lives blocks the growth we are offered every day.Continue reading “Where Do We Find Peace – Each Day A New Beginning April 5th”
Persistence In Prayer As Bill Sees It #127
We often tend to slight serious meditation and prayer as something not really necessary. To be sure, we feel it is something that might help us to meet an occasional emergency, but at first many of us are apt to regard it as a somewhat mysterious skill of clergymen, from which we may hope toContinue reading “Persistence In Prayer As Bill Sees It #127”