Henri Nouwen is thought of as one of the greatest spiritual teachers and authors of the 20th century. I found this short extract from his book entitled ‘Discernment’ to have a great deal of relevance to the Toxic Shame section of our website. One of my favorite books of his so relevant to what happensContinue reading “Great Temptation Of Self Rejection – Discernment By Henri Nouwen”
Category Archives: Step 11
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”
Whose Will ? As Bill Sees It # 170
We have seen A.A.’s ask with much earnestness and faith for God’s explicit guidance on matters ranging all the way from a shattering domestic or financial crisis to a minor personal fault, like tardiness. A man who tries to run his life rigidly by this kind of prayer, by this self-serving demand of God forContinue reading “Whose Will ? As Bill Sees It # 170”
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”
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.”
The Wily Ego – Grapevine Article December 1962 By Harry M. Tiebout,M.D.
The capacity of the Ego to bypass experience is astounding and would be humorous were it not so tragic in its consequences. Cutting the individual down to size and making the results last is a task never completely accomplished. The possibility of a return of his infantile Ego must be faced by every alcoholic. IfContinue reading “The Wily Ego – Grapevine Article December 1962 By Harry M. Tiebout,M.D.”
To Be Fair-Minded – As Bill Sees It # 113
Too often, I think, we have deprecated and even derided projects of our friends in the field of alcoholism just because we do not always see eye to eye with them. We should very seriously ask ourselves how many alcoholics have gone on drinking simply because we have failed to cooperate in good spirit withContinue reading “To Be Fair-Minded – As Bill Sees It # 113”
Walking Toward Serenity – As Bill Sees It #92
When I was tired and couldn’t concentrate, I used to fall back on an affirmation toward life that took the form of simple walking and deep breathing. I sometimes told myself that I couldn’t do even this—that I was to weak. But I learned that this was the point at which I could not giveContinue reading “Walking Toward Serenity – As Bill Sees It #92”
Receiving The Gift That Surrounds Us – Touchstone April 2nd
The universe is the primary revelation of the divine, the primary scripture, the primary focus of divine human communion. –Thomas Berry In this program we learn about being receptive. A person in search of conscious contact with a Higher Power can simply stand still and open his eyes and ears to creation. Forcing a spiritualContinue reading “Receiving The Gift That Surrounds Us – Touchstone April 2nd”
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”