domingo, 27 de março de 2011

Hoje e só hoje...

God can't hand you anything new
until you let go of what you're holding.

*****
If you keep bringing your body,
your mind will follow.

*****

Every AA meeting is a payment on your sobriety.

*****
My problems are self-made.

*****
Yesterday is so far in the past I can't see it;
tomorrow is too distant in the future to be seen.
So I'll take a good look at what I can see - today.


quarta-feira, 9 de março de 2011

Acreditando na fé.

The only limits to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with a strong and active faith.
-- Franklin D. Roosevelt

When following the inner voice, one must deal with the experience of uncertainty. The future is not laid out and comes down to trust – trusting that the support will be there; that the money will come; that if one path does not work out, another one will open up.

We can develop this trust from experience. We step out in faith the first time, and the Universe supports us. We step out again and the assistance is there. After several experiences, we begin to feel comfortable living by faith – our "invisible means of support." We no longer need to know ahead of time how everything will work out.

So make the decision. Let go of the worry, the anxiety, and the doubt. Have faith in your connection to universal principles, for it is here that your true security lies. The Universe will not abandon you if you maintain your connection to it. Keep the faith, and the faith will keep you.


sábado, 25 de setembro de 2010

A inveja é verde...

A thousand eyes, but none with correct vision.
--Isacher Hurwitz

William Shakespeare referred to envy as the "green sickness." There are only losers in the game of envy. When we envy someone else, we have judged ourselves and found something lacking.

Lack of self-love is the soil in which envy grows. Envious people are never satisfied. Self-pity is never sitting far from envy. We feel sorry for ourselves for what we don't have. Self-pity is like a swamp, the longer we stand in the muck, the more we stink.

Concentrating on what we do have is the perfect antidote for envy. Every one of us has our own special gifts and talents. We find these by looking at ourselves instead of looking at others. By becoming grateful for what we have, we can rejoice in ourselves.

Today let me be grateful for what I have.


domingo, 15 de agosto de 2010

Sempre certo ou ter muitos amigos..?

In every conflict, ask, "Would I rather be peaceful or right?"

The choice to be peaceful rather than right doesn't actually mean our opinions are unimportant. In fact, our particular opinions may make more sense in the larger scheme of things. Letting go of the battle is certainly far more sensible than the folly of expecting to change another person's mind. I credit Al-Anon with strengthening this resolve in me. The power of detachment, the willingness to choose to be peaceful rather than make every conversation a battleground, is freedom at its very best. There is no mystery in how this is done. It's a decision any one of us can make as often as the opportunity to disagree comes up.

We don't really even have to hope for a more peaceful life. It's ours just as quickly as we make the choice to want something different in our daily interactions. Remember, those who come forth provide us with opportunities for practicing peace.


sábado, 3 de julho de 2010

Forgive and be truly free.

Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much.
--Oscar Wilde

According to a Japanese legend, two monks were walking down the road when they saw a finely dressed young woman standing before a large mud puddle. She explained that she had no way of crossing the water without ruining her clothes. Without saying a word, the first monk picked her up in his arms and lifted her safely across the obstacle.

A few hours later the second monk said in an accusatory tone, "How could you have picked up that lady? Don't you know that the rules strictly forbid us to touch a member of the opposite sex?" His friend smiled and then replied, "I put the woman down back at the puddle. Are you still carrying her?"

Like the second monk, many of us are still carrying old hurts, resentments, and lost opportunities that we picked up many mud puddles ago. As long as we remain stuck in the past, we cannot fully hear the inner voice, which speaks to us in the present. Thus, in order to tap our intuition, we need to release and heal our unfinished business.

By following the example of the first monk, we can put the past down and walk on. See your past experiences as teachings that have guided you to this present moment. An endless array of opportunities and possibilities lie before you. Immerse yourself in this good, and the old hurts will have no place left to make their home.

You are reading from the book:

sexta-feira, 2 de julho de 2010

Narrow vision...

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.
-- Seneca


When we reach a stressful time in our lives, our vision gets narrow. We fail to see the options and possibilities we have. If we give ourselves over to our worries and fears, our sight closes down even further. Finally, we reach the point of blindness to reality and to all the support around us. In our fearful blindness we say with conviction, "This is too difficult! There is nothing I can do."

Spiritual people strive to keep one eye on the horizon, even in a worrisome situation. They breathe deeply so they do not tighten up or close off their exchange with the world. They return to the relationship they have with their Higher Power, trusting the process to carry them through - and they open their eyes to quietly take in the possibilities before them.

Close to my Higher Power, I have a place of calm in the midst of difficulty and see the possibilities and dare to act upon them.

You are reading from the book:

quinta-feira, 24 de junho de 2010

Never quit....

Don't quit five minutes before the miracle happens.
--Anonymous

When we came into the Program, most of us had very little to show for our lives. We believed in nothing. We had experienced great disappointments. The greedy creditor that was our addiction had stripped away everything of meaning to us. We were left with nothing but pain and misery.

Now we hear incredible stories of recovery. People tell how, by following certain simple instructions and honestly working a Program, they were freed from the grasp of their addiction.

Every once in awhile we hear a story that sounds remarkably like our own. We are told that through work and the help of a Higher Power, we too can receive a miracle.

The most important miracle I can expect and count on each day is the freedom from my addiction. I can trust that if I stay close to the Program, the miracle will be repeated, one day at a time.

You are reading from the book:

sexta-feira, 18 de junho de 2010

We are great

We Are Who We Think We Are

How we think about ourselves has an impact on what we do. If we decide that we are less of a person because we have an illness, then we may not fulfill our potential. If we decide our illness will consume our every thought and action for the rest of our lives, then it probably will. If we decide that we will always be a victim and our life will bring us nothing but misfortune, then our life may just turn out that way.

On the other hand, if we begin to believe positive things about ourselves, eventually our outlook on life will become positive as well. When we believe that we are lovable, that we can cope with our illness, and that we are no less of a person because of it, then this is what shall be. We can change who we are by changing who we believe ourselves to be.

Today, do I remind myself of my abilities, my choices, and my opportunities?

Thought for the Day

My attitude and perspective can make life more positive and joyful.

quinta-feira, 17 de junho de 2010

I am protected

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

It has been proved that we afflicted persons cannot recover by our own will power. We've failed again and again. Therefore, I believe that there must be a Higher Power that helps us. I think of that Power as the grace of God. And I pray every morning for the strength to stay rational today. I know that Power is there because it never fails to help me. Do I believe that this program works through the grace of God to help me?

MEDITATION FOR THE DAY

Once I am born of the spirit, that is my life's breath. Within me is the Life of life, so that I can never perish. The Life down through the ages has kept God's children through peril, adversity, and sorrow. I must try never to doubt or worry but to follow where the Life leads me. How often, when I am least aware, God goes before me to prepare the way, soften a heart, or put aside a resentment. As the Life spirit grows, my natural wants become less important.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY

I pray that my life may become centered in God more than in myself. I pray that my will may be directed toward doing God's will.

You

domingo, 13 de junho de 2010

The voice of the Spirit

Many of us achieve only the semblance of communication with others; what we say is often not contingent on what the other has just said, and neither of us is aware that we are not communicating.
--Desy Safan-Gerard


When we don't listen fully to each other, when we don't revere the Spirit within others that's trying to talk to us, we destroy the connection that wants to be made between our Spirits. Our inner selves have messages to give and messages to receive for the good of all. Our ego selves often keep us from hearing the very words that would unravel a problem in our lives.

How hard it is, how often, to be still and to fully listen to the words, rather than the person. How much more familiar it is to filter the message with our own ongoing inner dialogue - our own ongoing continual assessment of another's personhood at the very time our higher power is trying to reach us through them.

There really are no wasted words. Messages are everywhere. We can learn to listen.

I will hear just what I need to hear today. I will open myself fully to the words.


quarta-feira, 9 de junho de 2010

A Coragem

We need the courage to start and continue what we should do, and courage to stop what we shouldn't do.
--Richard L. Evans


What is courage? Many of us think it involves surviving against all odds. Some of us believe courage is personified by an individual like Helen Keller, who coped with many physical defects to vastly change her life and the lives of those around her. Others of us believe courage is personified by people like astronaut John Glenn, who took risks trying something new knowing he could fail.

Are we courageous? Compared to those people we would probably say no. Yet we are because we have taken risks to change our lives. Being willing to change is an act of courage. Believing in change and forging ahead on the new, uncharted path is an act of courage.

We are the only ones who can change ourselves. Just as Helen Keller and John Glenn made decisions to alter their lives, so do we make decisions to risk changes. Whether we started on our new way of life years ago, days ago, or even hours ago, we are filled with courage because of the decisions we made.

I can say the Serenity Prayer and remember my courage.