June 2 2012 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 6 Spiritual Willingness Alcoholics Anonymous Today's AA daily reflection: "here are the steps we took…" All about action! Out of the insanity contingent on reminding myself to ask for help and to keep on taking action on a daily basis in recovery. This is not about judging and passing an exam, there is no hundred percent perfect which leads to salvation. Living to the good and good conscience deepens our spiritual experience in the moment of now…
Natural instincts! Wonderful and the pursuit of happiness is all about action. It is not about obsession, we have tried that and most likely burned out as a result. Alcohol, people, places and things provide opportunity to strive beyond natural needs because of obsessions and self obsessions and utter selfishness. As nature intended and as nurture has now shown me, feelings working right in the moment of now offer the deepest connection possible to reality today…
Natural instincts, and natural activities and living life as it is. Emotional and spiritual, feelings fitting with the reality of now. I am happy this morning about some things and troubled by events beyond my control both in family matters and worldwide matters… I can be moved by occasions and day-to-day living. I am touched every day by joy and sadness. I grieve for those lost and I connect with how I may cherish everyone today…
Natural, to love and to be loved back and find usefulness in every day. Emotionally and spiritually I am loved and love back, and I would like… Emotional, spiritual and physical, the physical makes me smile when it comes to love, I am completely out of practice! As the saying goes about old dogs and new tricks… This old dog knows every day is about learning new ways to love and be loved back. Never presume to know, simply learn how all over again and never assuming. Starting over from scratch is the greatest gift and the greatest adventure and learning what makes us tick one day at a time…
AA Daily Reflections ~ "THE UPWARD PATH... Here are the steps we took. . . . . ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 59
These are the words that lead into the Twelve Steps. In their direct simplicity they sweep aside all psychological and philosophical considerations about the rightness of the Steps. They describe what I did: I took the Steps and sobriety was the result. These words do not imply that I should walk the well-trodden path of those who went before, but rather that there is a way for me to become sober and that it is a way I shall have to find. It is a new path, one that leads to infinite light at the top of the mountain. The Steps advise me about the footholds that are safe and about chasms to avoid. They provide me with the tools I need during the many parts of the solitary journey of my soul. When I speak of this journey, I share my experience, strength and hope with others."
DonInLondon 2005-2011
Let go humour...King George V, on the verge of death, surrounded by his family. The King’s physician reportedly suggests, “Your Majesty will soon be well enough to visit Bognor.” [A Spa Town] The King replies, “Bugger Bognor”... Famous last words, let go move on... laugh be happy
Progress Not Perfection... Letting go and enjoying progress, to be on the path of living now. Step four, our inventory of torments and triumphs, step five sharing our life story. Step six recognising the defects are prolonged extremes of feeling and being stuck... Today we can change
Forgiving In Recovery... How am I feeling today? Life is hard knocks and joy from moment to moment... Doing our best may feel the worst for others.. And the worst of others we experience is the best they can be in this moment. Acceptance of how life is now opens up our choices...
How to Live Life DonInLondon ‘Day in the Life’
Can I be that bold? How to live life and what that means? Only for me I can say with some balance and in some way merely suggest its approached like I am doing these days, one day at a time.
It’s all connected to the spiritual path we can sometimes hear about in our world. We often hear spiritual and immediately connect it some religious philosophy, I had a look at the definitions of spiritual earlier and it’s a whole concept on its own. Without the God element I have surmised.
Wisdom of the Years
There is plentiful wisdom and plentiful supplies of all the new understandings and all the new ways we may become spiritual.
We forget we are spiritual from the moment we draw breath and start feeling. Or maybe sooner we start to feel, I don’t know and am not qualified beyond my own experience. And much of my spiritual was lost along the way in clouds of pain… or was it?
Actually the pain we feel is as much spiritual as the love we experience, need or want along the way we don’t get. We learn our patterns from those who teach us.
Spiritual conundrums in a performance management life is a pretty tall order as spiritual is just humans learning how to be. And learning “ho to be” means it’s everything we experience in the moment of now, as we go along.
Wisdom of what we prefer is not spiritual, it’s the thinking we put into trying to find this thing called spiritual. How odd.
As we Grow and Mature
We may try qualify, suppress, modify and generally muck about with everything we see, we have filters of life experience, denials even about our own reality. We are prone to make up a good story, project ourselves a certain way and find we get so wrapped up in an image we wish to project, we forget why we are here at all.
Being, just learning to be, to feel and experience in this one and only moment. We can spend a lifetime chasing the illusion or we can just simply live and share and get along.
Humbuggery
There are plentiful supplies of humbugger about in all shapes and forms. The spiritual path is often overworked, made to be something other than reality, other than we can achieve by just being ourselves and becoming comfortable in our own skin.
Society Culture and Civilisation
Seems to me and this is just my point of view, all these historical and iniquitous forms of living are open to the most dreadful and pernicious manipulations, often by us well-meaning humans who are just gullible when it comes to mystery.
Curious Humans
We are naturally curious, driven often by our self-interest and capable of making everyone believe we have the one true answer in how to live. I have been tempted to write self-help treatise and then find I have only me experience to share which could be completely unhelpful.
Anarchic Me
I realise the anarchy I have often felt and wondered about, where it came from and why I might challenge any form of control over my personal choices and ways to live.
Fellowship of AA
In my fellowship, we have recommendations and ways of suggesting how we behave and learn to live a sober day. And there are as many variations on a theme as there are people in the fellowship. And not so amazingly there are many not in fellowship who have the rightful concerns.
Not One Person
Yes, not one person and especially not me, in my own opinion may persuade you to merely a point of view or belief. Nor can I coral you and suggest my way is the best way. After all you have spent a lifetime getting to live as you do, and even if it’s not so good, it’s still spiritual.
Spiritual Path
In my less than complete understanding and many will vouch for this. I have no moral high ground, I have no foundation beyond my own experience. So far the attraction of my fellowship has meant I have my choices, my views and the personal challenges all this represents. To me daily and not to you or anyone else.
Informed Wisdom
My wisdom is simply what I have learned, forgotten and reinvented over and over. And thankfully with less denials than before and less filters.
And even better I discuss and share and hope I get a little bit more wisdom every day.
I am so glad, I don’t know it all, I don’t always know what is good for me and certainly don’t know what is good for you.
The good news
Being a learner and rightfully at the beginner phase most days when I wake up, I realise I am powerless over people places and things. And I can better get along without denial and filters. That I make a choice and share when I am uncertain, and more importantly when I am very certain, check that out too.
I am not alone, I live in society and feel the wisdom and challenge every day.
Spiritual?
Being and living and experiencing as we go. When in innocence we arrived in this world, we knew spiritual as if by magic, learning and soaking all life has to offer.
As we are certain of an end, we are best to endeavour and make this one life work as it may, we work at it, because every human not matter what is worth it. Always
And we may judge our choice and path as we may, keep safe as life offers every nuance of living and accept life on life’s terms a day at a time.
JUST FOR TODAY
JUST FOR TODAY I will try to live through this day only and not tackle my whole life’s problems at once. I can do something for twelve hours that would appall me if I felt that I had to keep it up for a lifetime.
JUST FOR TODAY I will be happy. This assumes to be true what Abraham Lincoln said, “that most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be”.
JUST FOR TODAY I will adjust to what is, and not try to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my ‘luck’ as it comes and fit myself to it.
JUST FOR TODAY I will try to strengthen my mind. I will study. I will learn something useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read something that requires mental effort and concentration.
JUST FOR TODAY I will exercise my soul in three ways. I will do somebody a good turn and not get found out. If anybody knows of it, it will not count. I will do at least two things I do not want to do - just for exercise. I will not show anyone that my feelings are hurt; they may be hurt, but today I will not show it.
JUST FOR TODAY I will be agreeable, will look as well as I can, dress becomingly, talk low, act courteously, criticise not one bit, not find fault with anything and not try to improve or regulate anybody except myself.
JUST FOR TODAY I will have a programme - I may not be able to follow it exactly, but I will have it. I will save myself from two pests; hurry and indecision.
JUST FOR TODAY I will have a quiet half hour all by myself, and relax. During this half hour, some time, I will try to get a better perspective of my life.
JUST FOR TODAY I will be unafraid, especially I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful, and to believe that as I give to the world, so the world will give to me.
[Thanks to the AA History Lovers Group at Yahoo! again for this - “This is the text of the Australian Just For Today Card. This is published by AA Australia and is available at all if not most meetings.”]
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AA Official Site Daily Reflections
AA Official Online Site: Big Book And Twelve And Twelve
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Step 6. "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character"
At this point, it would be a good idea to look again at our sharing in step five, where we define character and list a number of our defects. Completing step 5, we have compiled a list of the character defects. Step six is concerned with our spiritual willingness to have these defects of character removed, contingent on each day we meditate and pray in good conscience, and or to God as we understand for ourselves. Seven billion humans, seven billion outlooks and definitions about God every day... yours is as good as it gets today...
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Step 6 "Spiritual Willingness" Reading Video Link:
wrongs. Chapter 6, Into Action, Big Book From: Page 72 Thru: Page 75, the bottom of the page. 12 And 12 Step 5."
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June ~ Video Reading Chapter Six Into Action Link:
I do not speak for Alcoholics Anonymous I speak for myself. Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of unique and authentic people who speak for themselves where they will to share experience, strength and hope about recovery on a daily basis. Anonymity affords
sanctuary to find how to live sober and be open, honest and willing to learn life day by day. For me "truth," "love" and "wisdom" offer the best spiritual experience by living reality today. Into the fabric of recovery from alcoholism are woven the Twelve Steps and the
Twelve Traditions, steps to be open, honest and willing to learn, traditions to live unity, service and recovery.
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Spiritual principles ~ Forgiveness Acceptance Surrender Faith Open-mindedness Honesty Willingness Moral-inventory Amends Humility Persistence Spiritual-growth Service
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