Bill’s View A magazine article criticizing certain aspects of AA reminds us of the need to review our relationships to medicine, to religion and to the world at large. When the Grapevine editors consulted Bill W. on the matter, he suggested a rereading of relevant portions of “Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age” (published in 1957)Continue reading “Our Critics Can Be Our Benefactors – Grapevine Article April 1963 By Bill W.”
Category Archives: Pause
Harrowing – Recovery Poem By Parker Palmer
This poem has been added to the growing section of Recovery Poems. I also find Parker’s poem’s origin story below quite helpful and instructive. The word harrowing is an adjective that means extremely disturbing, distressing, or painful. – Bruce M. How This Poem Was Created Years ago, during a deep dive into clinical depression, I was walking downContinue reading “Harrowing – Recovery Poem By Parker Palmer”
Pause And Surrender – Why Getting Derailed Might Be the Point By Barry Michaels
Let’s be real, we have all been interrupted…especially when you’re in the middle of something important. During those moments most of us want to explode, especially on the person or situation that has broken our flow. As humans we struggle to embrace unexpected demands. On a deeper level, it is safe to say, our egoContinue reading “Pause And Surrender – Why Getting Derailed Might Be the Point By Barry Michaels”
Learning To Support Not Punish Ourselves By Dr. Kristin Neff
The most important boundary I have is with myself. It is not OK for me to condemn or hate myself. Instead of believing and accepting that judgment; I can pause and gets curious about this reaction of so much hate and disgust for myself. What I usually find is that I’m believing a bunch ofContinue reading “Learning To Support Not Punish Ourselves By Dr. Kristin Neff”
Relief From Outcomes Beyond Our Control – Richard Rohr Daily Meditation June 26th 2026
As we consider the basis for our hope, let us recall who God is…. The hope we have lies in the radical transcendence of God…. God’s transcendence—God’s power of creative, redeeming, and sustaining love—is closer to us than we are to ourselves. God is the milieu, the source, of power and love in which our world,Continue reading “Relief From Outcomes Beyond Our Control – Richard Rohr Daily Meditation June 26th 2026”
Now I Am Enough – Recovery Poem By Damon E December 2008
I love this short poem my friend Damon shared with me yesterday. I also love the Big Book’s variety in describing a Higher Power … unsuspected inner resource’ ( BBp.567/568) , ‘a position of neutrality’ (BB p.85)… even as ‘a new found Friend (BB p.13). Allen Berger in his writing and talks has shared theContinue reading “Now I Am Enough – Recovery Poem By Damon E December 2008”
Practicing Surrender – Extract From Progloue/Epilogue Of Surrender To Love By David Benner
How does surrender address the fundamental reality of ‘lack of power, that was our dilemma’ (BB p.45) ? What is the dynamic between the surrender of offering myself or abandoning myself and finding who I really am … my true self … distinguishing the true from the false ? Is it possible that to “thineContinue reading “Practicing Surrender – Extract From Progloue/Epilogue Of Surrender To Love By David Benner”
Accepting Life As It Is – Interview With Pema Chödrön By Ezra Klein
My alcoholism and its personal and collateral damage evoke a lot of emotions. And yet, as I work the program and move from the bedevilments of my addiction(s) (BB p.52) to the ‘new freedom’ (BBp.84) of recovery, I have an experience of acceptance as well as conscious contact and spiritual fitness from a God ofContinue reading “Accepting Life As It Is – Interview With Pema Chödrön By Ezra Klein”
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.”
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”