Several years ago I was at a meeting of Adult Children of Alcoholics. There was a new guy at the meeting, and he was clearly in his mid-to-upper-70’s, and I had never seen anyone of his age at an ACoA meeting before, so I was intrigued. After the meeting I went up to him and …
“To feel is perhaps the most terrifying thing in this society.” – Cecil Taylor Cecil Taylor is a jazz pianist who just happens to also be a bona fide, all-around genius. This blog post isn’t about him or about jazz or about music, but it IS about FEELING. That’s why I opened with this quote: …
The literature of Alcoholics Anonymous makes a huge deal out of the notion of “serenity.” Serenity appears to be the primary goal of physical, emotional and spiritual sobriety. But the literature never actually defines it. Here’s a dictionary definition: SERENE: 1: clear and free of storms or unpleasant change 2: marked by or suggestive of …
There’s an old joke about a little boy digging his way through a railroad car full of horse manure. Somebody asks him why he’s doing it, and the little boy answers excitedly: “There’s gotta be a pony in here somewhere!” This well-worn joke contains a message for many of us who are called to a …
What does it mean to “let go and let God”? And, why is it important? Here’s the core issue: Addiction is based in the illusion of control and an overpowering need for control – control of the object of our addiction(s), control of others and control of situations. Underneath this overwhelming need for control is …
The “Itty-Bitty Shitty Committee” is a humorous, but all too accurate name for the chorus of negative, self-sabotaging, critical voices most folks in recovery carry around in their heads. These inner critics continually tell us, with a great deal of urgency, that we are not good enough, we are an impostor or fake, a loser, …
Dealing With Your Inner Critics: The “Itty-Bitty Shitty Committee” Read More »
I don’t know about you, but in my experience, very often verbal sharing and written documents about recovery tend to idealize it; i.e. to focus almost exclusively on the positive or happy side of recovery and to focus on the elegant and idealized spiritual principles underlying recovery. To me, this gives newcomers and even people …
In order for me to recover, I needed to give my spirituality a complete overhaul. The God of my youth darn near killed me. Literally. I was told that God was pure Love. Then I was told that if I didn’t believe certain things about his Son, then I’d burn in hell forever. When I …
Spiritual Liberation: Get A New God If You Need One Read More »
