The Place Where Serenity and Mindfulness Connect
two spiritual communities - 12-Step Recovery and New Thought.
two spiritual communities - 12-Step Recovery and New Thought.
two spiritual communities - 12-Step Recovery and New Thought.
two spiritual communities - 12-Step Recovery and New Thought.
two spiritual communities - 12-Step Recovery and New Thought.
We are entering the time of year when parties, family get-togethers, and excessive eating, drinking and merriment can create difficult or at least tricky situations for those in recovery. Thanksgiving in particular can be a challenging time. Family interaction is often expected and it may be the first family get-together in a while.
For a second I forgot that I am not running the show. Phew, what a relief! My house on Thanksgiving will be a house divided. About half the people showing up are happy, the other half horrified with the election results, mimicking the nation’s mood. This will be the first time this particular constellation of people will be together.
Radical acceptance is an alternative to labeling situations, things, or people as “good” and “bad.” It’s settling into the space that opens up when we stop reacting so strongly to outcomes. This space for me takes the form of my thoughts, breathing, and sight slowing to a pace where I can take in and touch the sense of immense beauty and wonder in the world: the breeze against the trees, a smile on my loved ones face, opportunity that can come from loss, and the little things to be grateful for throughout my busy days.
Immersed in an energy of addiction for the past year and a half, it’s been about the campaign, the debates, and the “panels of experts” on CNN, and at the end, even Fox News. I sensed I had crossed the line at that point. And then there was the election itself. I did enjoy hearing various opinions on both sides – I hope I can reclaim that in a healthy way.
If you are, or were, a 12-Stepper, you know that the 12-Steps of Recovery start off in a kinda “Think-ey” way. But, it’s a trap! That’s how they getcha. They ease you into it and then — BOOM. They hit you with Step 4, hard, like a cast iron skillet to the head. Working Step 4 (a rigorously honest moral inventory), things get pretty action oriented . . .
How grateful am I to have a roadmap called the 12 steps. The spiritual principles they’re built around have become embedded in my own spiritual program. They serve as my guideposts to help me know I am on track. Basically they are honesty, acceptance, faith, courage, integrity, willingness, humility, forgiveness, sincerity, perseverance, serenity, and service.
As I boarded an American Airlines flight at LaGuardia airport, I realized I had not been on an airplane since a few days after 9/11 (September 20, 2001). Now, my niece in Miami was getting married, and I was invited to be included in the wedding. There was no way I would not be there for my niece, so this New Yorker had to fly.
The season of gratitude is upon us, and I wanted to start the month off right with a list post on that very subject! The gifts of sobriety are, of course, too many to enumerate. But that won’t stop me from trying . . . Each one of these bullet points could be a full post – or even a book – unto itself. I have attempted to capture a universe of meaning in a sentence, and trust the words will resonate with you at a deep level. Please feel free to add your “gratitudes” in the comments. Oh, and I want to be sure I mention how very grateful I am for you!