Have not seen several of our regulars since the start of the holidays. If you're lurking please post in here, so that we know you're ok. Open invitation to anyone that hasn't posted in a while.
Lifes fortune and misfortune are caused entirely by the mind. Shakymuni said: A burning desire for gain is a pit of fire, and an indulgence in greed is a sea of suffering. Once our mind is purified, a flame is turned into a pool; and once our mind awakens us from a dream of worldliness, our ship of life is anchored along the shore of the Great Beyond. Hence, a slight change of the mind can suddenly make a different situation. Should we not be careful?
hi all, im doing alright...just a question for u all..im recently puzzled by a friends seriously "anti-AA' rants.. i dont get it...any insights??
he probably read "the orange papers" and was dumb enough to believe it. there is a couple web sites out there spewing propaganda, by AA flunkies. People who were made to go to meetings, by the court system and are trying to get some sorta sick retribution.
"their identification was at the level of symptoms and not at the level of feelings where empathy becomes a healing force for all adicted people " Basic text N.A. I too was introduced to AA first as there were no NA meetings in Bangalore then. And yes,lifestyles were different and so were behaviours . But By Gods Grace I came to believe that though they had suffered in a different way then I had,,if one were to put "suffering" per-se on a graph or other measuring device then we'd all be equeal. At thorough it all, I developed a faith that still works,,and its called the 12 Step Tradition of Narcotics Anonymous Worldwide !! And just for today,,of my own free will and volition,,I stay away from the mutual derision by AAs and NAs,,seems its active and alive here in Sheffield and indeed all of England too. One action that I practice everyday when i remember is to be greatful to those early AAs in Bangalore who nurtured me ,all the while encouraging me to find NA or start NA meetings,,,the latter was the manifest eventuality !!! I did pay my debts off to AA howver by serving for all of the first 5 years of my recovery continously in various positions . I still remeber withfondness how one evening there was a general political distrbance in Bangalore. Everyone was advised to stay indoos for fear of being harmed. However though I tried I couldnt, cause a Voice kept saying in my heart "Raman you are the secretary of that gropu and the group maynot stop functioning if you dont go for one meeting and open up. But what if a desperate,dying newcomer were to come seeking help ? What then ?" Thats when I knew i was responsible . I went,the meeting was held a d I believe that the newcomer that was there hat evening is now many years clean(sober as they call i in AA),, By The Grace Of God,,we few were there for that desperate ,dying newcomer that evening !!!!
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Raman an addict clean and serene just for today in NA Worldwide ; live to love and love to live the NA Way !!!
Thanks, Dean. Yeah, I have been kind of lurking, just check in from time to time. Seems like the holidays have taken a toll on my energy as well as my time. Thanks for noticing AND for caring!! This board has given new life to my recovery and added a new dimension to my efforts to "keep what I have by giving it away." I will try to post something a little more consistently in the future. You guys ROCK!!! You are all...."Miracles in Progress."
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"With a sweet tongue of kindness, you can drag an elephant by a hair." ~Persian Proverb
I came back from NJ and the next day 1-1-09 my husband was rushed to the hospital. I have pretty much been there night and day. He is doing great they thought he had a stroke but it seems like he has a blood clot in his heart and he has been put on blood thinners!
Something really F %^*KED happened in my NA AREA and I decided to STOP GOING TO NA MEETINGS and just go straight to AA. I have 10 months and 17 days clean and it was good I had sometime and recovery under my belt or I may have used over this problem.
The long and short of it is my sponsor who I put up on a pedatastil harmed me very bad. There was a visitor who came in from out of STATE who came to our regular meeting. All the meeting list's were passed around I came in early so it wasnt like I wasnt there etc..
This lady pointed to me and said I DONT have her number and my sponsor whispered to her "you dont want her number she is crazy.. This wasnt said in a friendly manner like "THAT GIRL IS CRAZY! After my sponsor said this to this woman she gathered all the meeting lists and brought them for me to sign. (Geuss she felt guilty)
This woman from California called me the next day...we were going to have coffee I wound up bringing her to the EMERGENCYROOM and sitting with her for hours alone. The next morning I brought her to a 7 am AA meeting, than invited her in my home and then she said what my sponsor said was heavy on her heart.
I thanked her because my sponsor and her husband are the biggest gossipers in this small area.
I told her she had freed me!~I brought her the key to the church which I was the GSR of told her she wasnt a good fit to be my sponsor and I also told her do not tex me call me or come by my house.
She called me 9 x Was really nasty and started a texing war saying AA THE EASY softer way and I told her it was the original way....After all that when she was texing me like a fiend her last tex said "ONE MORE TEX and Im calling the sherrif! THAN 3 days later she sends me a merry christmas text!
Some are sicker than others. Come to find out like 3 girls wanted me to be there sponsor and she was coming in the middle of it....and well all I ever did for my ex sponsor was anything she ever asked.
IE watch her kids during a medical crisis, go to her home and buy her candlelite party spent over 100 bucks, Picked up her neice to bring her to counsling...YEAH I geuss I was crazy!
ANYWAY GANG I am over it. I feel free from obligations and I am THANK GOD CLEAN AND SERENE!~ Honeybear
Wow Honeybear that's nuts! Too bad for her that she lost someone like you:) Good for you that it didn't turn you away altogether. I think about that stuff and am worried for the newcomer who doesn't love themself enough yet to attatch the "some are sicker than others" philosophy to an ordeal like that. Not taking things like this and internalizing and blaming oneself is a process ya know? YOu are awesome I'd love to be friends:)
Wow Honeybear that's nuts! Too bad for her that she lost someone like you:) Good for you that it didn't turn you away altogether. I think about that stuff and am worried for the newcomer who doesn't love themself enough yet to attatch the "some are sicker than others" philosophy to an ordeal like that. Not taking things like this and internalizing and blaming oneself is a process ya know? YOu are awesome I'd love to be friends:)
Thanks sweetie I would love to be friends too! xox S
It has been quite a hectic month or so for me. Had a couple of friends visiting from Denmark, stay with us. Lots of good time, lots of learning (both are from the fellowship too).
We visited Mysore, a neighboring town, and stayed at an ashram there. It was a miraculous experience. Actually, my visiting Danish friend's Guru lived there at the ashram in Mysore and she wanted to meet him again since it's been a decade since Swamiji met her in Copenhagen. So we called the Ashram and were told that Swamiji is leaving on a national and world concert tour for a month, the next morning.
Since she was adamant that she gets to meet him, we decided that we would drive down to this town immediately. When we landed there, and requested to see/meet Swamiji, we were told that the chances were dim. Anyway, as we were meditating in the Pyramid there at the ashram, unexpectedly, Swamiji passed by and spoke with my friend. The next morning, we hear that Swamiji's tour has been postponed by 2 days
I happened to meet him. I had been struggling with my physical health for a couple of months due to a chronic condition (hepatitis C) where I was pushing my body to perform day after day, inspite of the fatigue and severe aches in my body and limbs that I wake up with every morning. The first words that the Swamiji said when I met him were "my mind is young, it wants me to run around and do a lot of things, but my body is getting old, my body tells me that it needs to rest, to relax. So I listen to it and give it rest. When my body says sleep, I sleep."
I was stunned when I heard this, as if Swamiji knew what's happening with me. I liked the way he speaks, in child's english, very simple and down-to-earth in his approach. We were invited by the Swamiji for the next morning's Pooja (prayer ritual). We attended it. Swamiji gave me a small gift. Those 2-3 days there visiting the ashram made me feel so light, so free... as if a blissful calm enveloped me. Would love to go there more often from hereon.
And yes, finally, after more than 2 months of having lost my father, I finally feel I'm able to accept it and move on. I still have dreams about him. I dreamed a couple of weeks back that I receive a parcel from my dead father. When I open it, it contained lots of money and a letter from my father saying that this money is a gift for me. Then, a week later, I received a surprise bonus from my organization, a considerable big sum of money as my annual perk...
I also lost my previous Sponsor a few weeks back, where he told me that he is unable to commit to this Sponsorship and suggested I start looking for a new one. So I have a new Sponsor now, someone who has been part of this group a couple of years back. I love his approach, and I've been taking his suggestions to heart in the last one month or so, lots of writing stuff, inventorying and all... the results are evident... I was able to overcome a long-standing situation finally with the help of one such inventory... grateful for this program, my Sponsor, and to each one of you here at MIP with whom I can share my recovery. Thank you
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"If we do an honest examination of exactly what we are giving, we are better able to evaluate the results we are getting."Chapter 10 - Emotional Pain - NA Way of Life.