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’”
Category Archives: Wholeness
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”
Listening In Recovery – 12 Step Philosophy By Galen T.
Many of us are familiar with the events that brought AA’s two founders together for the first time. On May 11th of 1935 Bill found himself pacing back and forth in the lobby of the Mayflower Hotel in Akron, OH. At one end of the lobby was a bar and at the other a public phone.Continue reading “Listening In Recovery – 12 Step Philosophy By Galen T.”
Nine Attitudes Of Mindfulness By Jon Kabat-Zinn
In the article ‘How GUGOGS Meditation Works’, our friend Wayne S describes mindfulness as a “wise companion” that we can take with us into the realities of our everyday life. Wayne suggests our “goal is not to become a great meditator” but rather “for there to be no difference between the clarity and freedom youContinue reading “Nine Attitudes Of Mindfulness By Jon Kabat-Zinn”
Not Self-Affirmation But Self-Acceptance – Extract Chapter 44 From ‘The Courage To Be Disliked’ By Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
PHILOSOPHER: First of all, let’s look at what you were just saying, about your self-consciousness putting the brakes on and not letting you behave in an innocent way. There are probably many people who experience this trouble. So let’s go back to the source again and think about your goal. What could you be tryingContinue reading “Not Self-Affirmation But Self-Acceptance – Extract Chapter 44 From ‘The Courage To Be Disliked’ By Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga “
Imagination Can Be Constructive – As Bill Sees It #157
We recall, a little ruefully, how much store we used to set by imagination as it tried to create reality out of bottles. Yes, we reveled in that sort of thinking, didn’t we? And, though sober nowadays, don’t we often try to do much the same thing? Perhaps our trouble was not that we usedContinue reading “Imagination Can Be Constructive – As Bill Sees It #157”
Facing Our Darker Side – The Language of Letting Go By Melody Beattie April 2nd
“Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.” – Step Four By the time we get to the Fourth of the Twelve Steps, we are ready to face our darker side, the side that prevents us from loving others, from letting others love us, and from enjoying life and ourselves. The purpose of StepContinue reading “Facing Our Darker Side – The Language of Letting Go By Melody Beattie April 2nd”
The Peace Of Wild Things – Recovery Poem By Wendell Berry
I love this poem. It’s simplicity, honesty and hope. It’s about finding solace in nature to combat despair, anxiety, and fear for the future. It highlights the contrast between human overthinking and the instinctive, present-focused existence of wild creatures, encouraging a return to the natural world to find rest, grace, and freedom. It’s now included inContinue reading “The Peace Of Wild Things – Recovery Poem By Wendell Berry”
Turning It Over and Acceptance – Buddhism And The Twelve Steps March 1st & 2nd Reflections By Kevin Griffin
March 1 “Turning it over” Step Three brings us into the heart of the program and gives us a new set of challenges. To begin, there is a question of what it means to “turn our lives over,” whether to God or anything else. What many people find when confronting this Step for the firstContinue reading “Turning It Over and Acceptance – Buddhism And The Twelve Steps March 1st & 2nd Reflections By Kevin Griffin”
Material And Spiritual Well Being – A.A. Daily Reflection March 21st
Fear . . . of economic insecurity will leave us. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84 Having fear reduced or eliminated and having economic circumstances improve, are two different things. When I was new in A.A., I had those two ideas confused. I thought fear would leave me only when I started making money. However, another lineContinue reading “Material And Spiritual Well Being – A.A. Daily Reflection March 21st”