Fair play is primarily not blaming others for anything that is wrong with us.—Eric Hoffer As adults, we accept responsibility for our feelings and our circumstances. We haven’t chosen our own troubles, but we have the job of dealing with them. If a person falls and breaks a leg, he might say to someone, “It’sContinue reading “Acceptance Not Blaming Others Or Condemning Ourselves – Touchstone Reflection July 2nd”
Category Archives: Suffering
Got A Pain In Your Feelings – Grapevine Article March 1950 By J.F.
Am I my own worst enemy? I’VE been in AA, and sober, for five years. But I still bruise easily–at times. Just when I think God is in heaven and the goose hangs high, something is said or done and–ouch!–I’ve got a pain in my feelings again! Ever have that happen to you, a painContinue reading “Got A Pain In Your Feelings – Grapevine Article March 1950 By J.F.”
Owning Our Power In Relationships – The Language Of Letting Go By Melody Beattie
So much of what I call my codependency is fear and panic because I spent so much of my life feeling abused, trapped, and not knowing how to take care of myself in relationships. — Anonymous No matter how long we have been recovering, we may still tend to give up our power to others,Continue reading “Owning Our Power In Relationships – The Language Of Letting Go By Melody Beattie”
Humility – The Spirituality Of Imperfection (Extract From Chapter 14) By Ernest Kurtz
Humility as earthiness may be less a distortion than humility as groveling or timidity, but each of these modern interpretations misses the essence of this ancient, classic virtue. For humility signifies, simply, the acceptance of being human, the acceptance of one’s human being. It is the embrace of the both-and-ness, both saint and sinner, bothContinue reading “Humility – The Spirituality Of Imperfection (Extract From Chapter 14) By Ernest Kurtz”
What We Resist Persists; Acceptance And Willingness – Get Out Of Your Mind & Into Your Life (Chapter4) By Stephen Hayes
This article focuses us on the pragmatic idea that we must be willing to accept our pain to begin to heal as we move from a life of being a pain killer to become a pain healer. Experience avoidance and denial do not work. What we resist persists. The truth can set us free butContinue reading “What We Resist Persists; Acceptance And Willingness – Get Out Of Your Mind & Into Your Life (Chapter4) By Stephen Hayes”
Anthem – Song/Poem By Leonard Cohen
One of the most powerful phrases I heard early in AA meetings was ‘where there’s a crack; the Light can shine in’. Accepting our cracks and brokenness and reframing them into perhaps the most authentic and rigorously honest expressions of ourselves is one of the more universal experiences in recovery. I love this song byContinue reading “Anthem – Song/Poem By Leonard Cohen”
Serenity Circle – Grapevine Article August 1986 By S.F.
I am an alcoholic. I live on an Indian reservation. My home sits perched on a desert mountain overlooking the largest hydroelectric power plant in the world, and I remember wishing Grand Coulee Dam could be filled with Canadian whiskey. Boy, then we could party! I was forty when “Frank” and I found each other.Continue reading “Serenity Circle – Grapevine Article August 1986 By S.F.”
Acceptance Of What Is – Replacing Judgement & Fear With Curiousity, Reverance & Trust – Doing The Work of Bryon Katie
Byron Katie Byron Katie faced severe struggles with depression, anger, and addiction for much of her life. By her thirties, she became isolated and suicidal, spending years dealing with agoraphobia, confined to her bedroom. Her turning point came in 1986 when, during a stay at a halfway house, she experienced a profound awakening. Upon wakingContinue reading “Acceptance Of What Is – Replacing Judgement & Fear With Curiousity, Reverance & Trust – Doing The Work of Bryon Katie”
Developing A New Way To Relate & Respond To Pain – Stephen Hayes
Do you feel stuck ? Are you constantly battling with your thoughts and the conflicting noises in your head? Think of this article and the related video as teaching us how to move from that rigidity of the quicksand of being stuck to find a flexible ‘way out’ that can move us in an entirelyContinue reading “Developing A New Way To Relate & Respond To Pain – Stephen Hayes”
Practicing Metta/ Loving Kindness By Tracy Cochrane April 2nd Reflection
As some of you may know, Wayne S.’s meditation teacher, Tracy Cochran, is also an author who has published an excellent book entitled ‘Presence: The Art of Being at Home in Yourself’. We used an extract of her book in the post ‘How Meditation Can Move Us From Conscious Separation To Conscious Connection’. Wayne passed alongContinue reading “Practicing Metta/ Loving Kindness By Tracy Cochrane April 2nd Reflection”