November 19 2013 [ Full daily blog: http://donoddylondon.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/alcoholics-anonymous-nov-19-doninlondon.html ] | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 11 Daily Meditation Alcoholics Anonymous Today’s Daily Reflections 2012: “slip sliding away… One day at a time…” An emotional and spiritual fellowship helping anyone to be sober one day at a time. Fellowship, a large number of people, with one primary purpose, to stay sober and help each other. Maintenance of our emotional and spiritual condition is awareness and involvement and keeping it simple. Sobriety is worn like a loose garment, plenty of room, plenty of space and only takes what it takes to cope with reality today…
Yesterday here in London UK, the weather was bright and exceptional, the quality of light in the autumn and the change of the season brings warmth in the cold. An early meeting, and out with my camera and coffee at a cafe at the side of the lake was peaceful and serene. And the excitement of being able to feel all the elements and my senses working made me feel giddy and happy. The meeting, full of despair and then hope about what it is to be a human being, vulnerable and able to learn what to do by asking for help, followed by fun conversations with strangers. If we are not slip sliding away from the reality of now, every emotion is a spiritual touchstone, breathtakingly real in the imperfectly perfect moment of now…
When we cannot get to meetings, there is every form of communication open and on offer to help us where available. And we have hard copy literature when the other media is unavailable. Face-to-face, we benefit most. And ironically, although we may not be able to converse in the moment, we can relate to people, places and things so much easier than before, when we were cut off and unable to face our feelings about our situation and unable to cope with reality. When we find a routine, keep on making the effort to be in touch with each other in recovery, we don’t lose sight of the daily reprieve and we keep learning about life as it is and it can be today…
Slip sliding away usually involves forgetfulness, because things are either going really well. Or they are going really badly. At either extreme, when we are really happy, we may forget what keeps us on track. And when we are really unhappy, we feel like we may be failing in some way, that something isn’t working and that, no matter how much effort we are putting in, there is no payback and no serenity. At either extreme, the amount of time required to keep on track and follow are good routines might take a little longer because we resist the need to do so. We are prone to take back control of those things we thought we had control over: people, places, things and substances… A natural forgetfulness? Or a desire to play God? Maybe all I need do is remind myself that I am human. In recovery. I need self-awareness, prayer and meditation, and be involved in fellowship one day at a time…
How am I feeling this morning? Sunday was a good day, participating in fellowship. Meeting a charity walk, on the embankment of the River Thames, collecting donations for diabetes research. As a type I diabetic, a welcome surprise and a few photos snapped from willing participants, as I was making my way to Battersea Park. The Gondola restaurant, by the lakeside and an espresso and a reminder of good times and a romantic sober interlude from years back. And then chats with strangers and more photo snaps. And then a close encounter of the female kind, happy flirting with no intent. And a return home, excitingly disturbed by encounters and also peaceful and serene. Phone calls, happiness, a siesta and some reflections later. I feel calm this morning, knowing the world and even my world will be full of the good, the bad and the ugly, I can play my part in it, whatever it may be just for a day…
DonInLondon [ Full daily blog: http://oddbook.co ]
AA Official Online Site: Daily Reflections http://www.aa.org/lang/en/aareflections.cfm
AA Official Online Site: Big Book And Twelve And Twelve http://www.aa.org/lang/en/subpage.cfm?page=359
November 2012 | Step Eleven Reading Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4pFNPaw0aw
November 2012 | Video Reading How It Works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Rj3wPVvk3Q
November 2012 | Video Reading Into Action : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueS51r5FzH4
November 2012 | Playlist About Step Eleven : http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL57D6CE26EEAC3859
Email | don@doninlondon.com
Music | “music for airports” By Brian Eno | http://www.enoshop.co.uk/ |
November 19, 2013 Step Eleven Month: “sought through prayer and meditation
to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood him, praying
only for knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry that out.”
Friends and family often ask about my faith and where it comes from. Faith
is a very personal issue for the seven billion people who inhabit the
planet. Everyone is developing faith one way or another and it is always
linked to the opposite, fear.
Faith can move mountains; fear may hide us away from the reality of now.
Every day we can be challenged in our faith and fear of what is going on.
When we have no power over events, involving people and places and things
going on for them which makers fearful, usually on our own we have no power
at all to influence outcomes. Moving mountains is difficult when we are on
our own, collectively and with the help of anyone anywhere, we develop
faith and the mountains are moved.
Working to good conscience, with faith we can get help and agreement about
the possible and impossible. What we can do and what we cannot do and keep
on learning the difference. Even though we may be working to good
conscience, our conscience is guided by our beliefs and opinions about the
world based on our history. Sometimes our personal history and experience
is right and proper for us and sometimes our personal experience and
history will be completely unhelpful to many we encounter. Live and let
live, in good conscience we work together and set aside many obstacles to
progress one day at a time.
Wisdom learned from history, the writings we still find fascinating and are
the foundation of many faiths, always bring us back to sanity if we are
fortunate and not influenced by self-aggrandisement and self-interest? This
is always going to be where conflict occurs: argument over the truth of
now, the love we have for each other and the wisdom we learn which is
corrupted by the prejudice of living with the people we know, familiar
places and the things we feel are important.
Interesting questions raised within the family, my family about belief in
God. I know my father was an atheist and had no reason to believe in
anything beyond his own capacities and comprehension of spiritual matters.
My mother was asked recently whether she believed in God or not. And the
answer was no. And when asked about her particular outlook, it was about
love and family and community and reaching out and helping one another. In
essence living life with love and cherishing people with good conscience
and without prejudice. I hope that is a fair description. My mother’s
spiritual connection to the truth love and wisdom of now. Everything
changes in the moment as we learn more wisdom grows to the good, bad or
ugly in what we do one day at a time.
One day at a time we are changing. How do I pray and meditate? The inner
voice we all have is always chattering, sometimes we forget that the
chattering voice is the voice of conscience. We can live to good or bad
conscience and what is driving us in the moment of now. We can be
emotionally happy or sad, in love or hateful in our feelings which then
impact on our thinking, and the actions that follow. And if we do not
consider that chattering voice, the actions that follow can be very
difficult to deal with. And this is a personal journey in the company of
those we encounter day by day. If we live to the principles we find
acceptable and good, prayer and meditation helps us judge our reactions to
life as it is and not some notion of perfection. We simply make progress by
what we do today.
How am I feeling this morning? Quite tired, a week of rebuilding my
computer and its programs back to normal. Issues to do with the health of
people around me and my own health on the agenda as I go for a regular
check-up for type I diabetes at the local hospital. And of course there are
outstanding repairs required to my abode which are ongoing. Seems like this
year has been about repairs to me and identifying what to do in these
straightened times when our national health service is being squeezed and
the budgets cut. And I just got my energy bills! Life is certainly
difficult, at the same time there are things I can and cannot do which
helps me with acceptance of the reality of now and accepting reality means
I can be happy all day long even if the news makes me feel awkward and
powerless today.
Prayer and meditation are very helpful even though my outlook is not
contingent or attached to a particular doctrine or a particular outlook.
Somebody I met yesterday suggested that God is hurt by humanity, and that
premise does not work for me. The truth, the collective truth, love and
wisdom of now is the reality in which we live and the way we contribute to
our way of life in good conscience is the wisdom learned and spoken by the
many. And many of us are still learning the truth, and dealing with reality
step-by-step, moment by moment and it can be a very bumpy road with many
potholes of learning along the way. Keep your faith, cherish the faith you
have and it will serve you well today.
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