|
Step 8
<http://www.recoverycartoons.com/html/steps2004/step08.html>
The weekly meeting topic is:
"I am new, At a meeting they told me to get a sponsor.
Can they find me a job and help me with my finances?
What else can a sponsor do for me?"
to share please visit
<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/twelvestepsoulfood4thespirit/>
or email
twelvestepsoulfood4thespirit@yahoogroups.com
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Please Be There For The Newcomers*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
March 30
My Higher Power is guiding me with my positive attitude today.
Negatives are something I no longer choose to live with.
I feel positive strength pour through me
as I release all negative thoughts.
written by ~ Ruth Fishel
"Time for Joy"
PLEASE visit and check out Ruth's new book
LIVING LIGHT AS A FEATHER is arriving at bookstores now!
She even interviewed me for the book :)
If you would like a signed copy you can
order it at <http://www.spirithaven.com/> or email her at
spirithaven@... or call at 508-420-5301.
Check out her collection of
light, nourishing and nurturing Books and Tapes
& some touching and embracing Greeting Cards
<http://www.spirithaven.com/>
for inspirational messages email
spirithaven@...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Just for Today*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Forgiven
There I sat,
all tattered and torn.
All that I did,
was constantly morn.
All of my pain,
I blamed on another,
My husband, my children,
my father, my mother.
Yet I know today,
that I am to blame,
for deep in my heart,
I carried such shame.
Now that I know,
that I am forgiven,
every new day,
is life worth the living.
Forgiving ones self,
Is a must to be done,
Then we'll have a life,
That's second to none.
Rebecca Ann Bowlin
rbowlin14@...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Don't Use*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
If anyone has any original recovery poetry that they
would like to share with us please copy and paste it into the body
of an email and send it to me, Thanks for your support and contributions.
What I can't do alone, We do together.
In loving service, Scott ~ YOUnMEnHP@...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*No Matter What*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Inner Beauty
<http://www.wisehearts2.com/ibnj.htm>
Choosing A Response
<http://www.eccentrix.com/members/wisehearts/CR.htm>
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Make A Meeting*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Just For Today
March 30 God - centeredness
"Gradually as we become more God-centered than self-centered,
our despair turns to hope." Basic Text p. 92
What a glorious thing to have hope! Before coming to Narcotics
Anonymous, many of us lived lives of utter hopelessness. We believed we
were destined to die from our disease.
Many members speak of being on a "pink cloud" their first months in the
program. We've stopped using, made some friends, and life looks
promising. Things are going great. Then reality sets in. Life is still life—
we still lose jobs, our partners still leave us, friends still die, we still get
sick. Abstinence is no guarantee that life will always go our way.
When the reality of life on its own terms sets in, we turn to our Higher
Power and remember that life happens the way life happens. But no
matter what occurs in our recovery we need not despair, for there is
always hope. That hope lies in our relationship with our Higher Power.
This relationship, as expressed by the thought in our text, develops
over time: "Gradually we become more God-centered". As we rely more
and more on the strength of our Higher Power, life's struggles don't have
to drag us into the sea of despair. As we focus more on God, we focus
less on ourselves.
Just for today: I will rely on my Higher Power. I will accept that,
regardless of what happens, my Higher Power will provide me with the
resources to live with it. pg. 92
Just For Today Daily Meditation is the property of Narcotics Anonymous ©
1991 by World Service Office Inc.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Get Involved In Service*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
If you are enjoying this daily recovery email,
Please pass on 12 Step Soul Food For The Spirit to your online friends,
"We can only keep what we have by giving it away."
If you have received this as a forward
and would like to subscribe please email
12StepSoulFoodForTheSpirit-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Thanks, In loving service, Scott :)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Get A Sponsor*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The weekly meeting topic is:
"I am new, At a meeting they told me to get a sponsor.
Can they find me a job and help me with my finances?
What else can a sponsor do for me?"
to share please visit
<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/twelvestepsoulfood4thespirit/>
or email
twelvestepsoulfood4thespirit@yahoogroups.com
This is a DIFFERENT Yahoo Club you
MUST join this club in order to participate
Yahoo! Clubs Twelve Step Soul Food 4 the Spirit
<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/twelvestepsoulfood4thespirit/>
A Safe Place to Share , Discover and Recover.
This a message bulletin board meeting, where people post on the
weekly topic. It takes only 1 minute to enter a password and
username. Please go this page on the upper right hand corner and click
the join club link, sign in and go to the left hand side and click
messages to read what others have shared and click on the post link,
now you can share on the topic of the week or whatever you would like.
There is a lot of good experience, strength and hope in here as well
as newcomers who need our support and love, PLEASE stop by.
Thanks for your participation and support :)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Use Your Sponsor*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Meditation of the Day
<http://www.hazelden.org/servlet/hazelden/thoughts>
Daily Meditation for ALL 12 Steppers
<http://www.open-mind.org/Daily/>
Dr. Twerski's Sober Thought of the Day
<http://www.gatewayrehab.org/March.html>
NEED HELP Pick a topic Daily Meditation
<http://www.hazelden.org/servlet/hazelden/thoughts/search.html>
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Be A Sponsor*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
LOVE AND TOLERANCE
Love and tolerance of others is our code.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84
I have found that I have to forgive others in all situations to maintain
any real spiritual progress. The vital importance of forgiving may not be
obvious to me at first sight, but my studies tell me that every great
spiritual teacher has insisted strongly upon it.
I must forgive injuries, not just in words, or as a matter of form, but in
my heart. I do this not for the other persons' sake, but for my own
sake. Resentment, anger, or a desire to see someone punished, are things
that rot my soul. Such things fasten my troubles to me with chains. They
tie me to other problems that have nothing to do with my original problem.
Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Work The Steps*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Twenty-Four Hours A Day by Hazelden/ March 30th
A.A. Thought for the Day
Before I met A.A., I was very unloving. From the
time I went away to school, I paid very little
attention to my mother and father, I was on my
own and didn't even bother to keep in touch with
them. After I got married, I was very
unappreciative of my spouse. Many a time I would
go out all by myself to have a good time. I paid too
little attention to our children and didn't try to
understand them or show them affection. My few
friends were only drinking companions, not real
friends. Have I gotten over loving nobody but my
self?
Meditation for the Day
Be calm, be true, and be quiet. Do not get emotionally
upset by anything that happens around you. Feel a
deep, inner security in the goodness and purpose
in the universe. Be true to your highest ideals. Do
not let yourself slip back into the old ways of reacting.
Stick to your spiritual guns. Be calm always. Do not
talk back or defend yourself too much against
accusation, whether false or true. Accept criticism
as well as you accept praise. Only God can judge the
real you.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may not be upset by the judgment of
others. I pray that I may let God be the judge of the
real me.
"Twenty-Four Hours A Day" is a © Copyrighted book of
Hazelden Foundation. No portion of this publication may
be reproduced in any manner without the written
permission of Hazelden.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*You Are A Miracle*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Deal With Panic & Anxiety
I can still remember this day.
It was shortly after my divorce I was a single parent
with no money and two young children.
It came upon me suddenly, out of the blue.
I couldn't breathe. My chest hurt. My heart hurt.
I couldn't stop it. I panicked.
The more I panicked, the worse it got.
I called 911. The ambulance came.
They gave me some oxygen, then politely told me not to worry;
it was just a panic attack.
I had experienced another one
of those attacks, as long time ago.
Right after I first married the children's father,
I had shut myself down from anxiety.
I couldn't breathe, couldn't speak from the fear I felt.
Many people experience panic and anxiety attacks.
Maybe you've had only one or two incidents of it;
maybe panic and anxiety make regular
appearances in your life.
Most people I've met have experience fear.
These are a few little clues I've learned that
have helped me to deal with my own attacks.
* Breathe. Whenever we panic, our breath comes
low, awkward spurts. By deliberately breathing slowly
and calmly, we can slow our panic down. We feed it
by breathing fast. We put our bodies on hyper alert.
If we breathe as were through we're relaxed,
our bodies will start slowing down.
* Don't respond to your panic with more fear.
sometimes we double what we're going through
by having an emotional reaction to our initial
reaction to our initial reaction. We're afraid,
because we're feeling fear. Let yourself go
original feeling without reacting to yourself.
* Instead of focusing on your fear, let yourself
be aware that you're feeling it, but do this.
Your panic will want you to do something else,
something that feeds panic and makes it grow.
Do something calming and quiet even though
that activity doesn't feel right to you. It could
be reading a meditation, listening to some
quiet music, taking a shower, or saying a prayer.
We all have things that help us calm us down.
Find something that works for you.
If panic and anxiety are a continual problem,
seek professional help.
But if they are only isolated incidents in your life
you may be able to help yourself.
One tool that has never let me down when it comes to
anxiety and fear is working Step One of the Twelve Step program.
I admit that I'm powerless over my panic
and fear, and my life has become unmanageable.
Then I ask God what I need to do next.
Don't let your fears run from your life.
Make it a goal to get through them.
Ask them what they're trying to tell you.
You may be on a path that's new, and
your body is just reacting to that.
There may be a hidden emotion underneath all this fear,
something you'd rather not see.
Or maybe you and your life are just changing so fast
that everything in your world is brand new.
Be gentle and loving will yourself and others.
God, help me welcome all the new experiences in my life.
Give me the courage to calmly walk my path today,
knowing I'm knowing I'm right where I need to be.
Melody Beattie ©
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Keep It Simple*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Blessing , David Spangler
<http://www.spiritsite.com/writing/davspa/part1.shtml>
<http://www.spiritsite.com/writing/davspa/part2.shtml>
<http://www.spiritsite.com/writing/davspa/part3.shtml>
<http://www.spiritsite.com/writing/davspa/part4.shtml>
<http://www.spiritsite.com/writing/davspa/part5.shtml>
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*One Day At A Time*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It's Not About the Horse
by Wyatt Webb
If you want to deal with your demons, it's appropriate to make a pit stop at
a place as hot as hell--Tucson, Arizona, in the summertime. It's 100-plus
degrees right now--with dark, ominous clouds erasing the Santa Catalina
mountaintops in the distance. It's the monsoon season, which means big
storms. But for the five women and two men sitting on hay bales in front of
Wyatt Webb, it appears that there are bigger storms brewing.
A sweet, musty smell of horse lingers in the air, and for no reason at all,
a 1,300-pound chestnut gelding fittingly named Monsoon rears and tears off
in a sweating gallop. This is his way of welcoming people to a new form of
therapy that blends horse sense with common sense. Monsoon's massive body,
thick mane, and tail fly through the air as he releases a high-pitched
scream that rips into your eardrums and rattles your insides.
Wyatt's just as much in awe of this beautiful animal as everybody else is.
He tells the group, "That's sheer joy. It's also an emotion that's somewhat
foreign to most of us humans on a daily basis."
Perhaps it's time for an introduction.
"My name is Wyatt," he says to the seven people in front of him. "Welcome to
the Equine Experience."
By the looks on their faces, these people are ready for an experience. They
don't appear to have felt joy for some time. But they miss the feeling, so
that's why they're here. They could clearly be elsewhere, but they chose the
Equine Experience, which is offered every day of the year at Miraval, one of
the top resorts in the world. Even though the people gathered in front of me
certainly have the means to be doing something else at this particular point
in time, they wouldn't prefer a seat in first class, or a velvet-covered
cushion in the lobby of the Four Seasons--they're right where they belong.
Wyatt starts the session by telling these folks that he's not here to change
anybody's life. "I don't have the power to do so," he says. "I don't have
your answers. To allow you to think that I do would be a complete lie and a
total disservice to you.
"Now I'm certainly not here to argue with or discredit traditional
therapeutic modalities. I'm not accusing anybody of doing a shitty job or
saying that traditional psychotherapy isn't helpful. But I certainly hope
that we can add to whatever already exists in the therapy world as you know
it."
Wyatt then shares with them what was told to him by Logan, the counselor
who, 22 years ago, helped save his life, his mind, and his very soul. What
he said was this: "If you're to achieve the peace, joy, and spiritual
fulfillment that you want so badly, it depends upon one thing and one thing
only--your willingness to simply do something different."
So to those clients who have spent half a lifetime in therapy with minimal
results, Wyatt smiles and states the obvious: "If the practice that you've
been involved with hasn't produced definitive changes, then guess what? It's
not working. Maybe what you're doing could be remedied so that you can
discover what does work."
Now, even though Wyatt has been a practicing therapist for a number of
years, his tools don't involve a leather couch and his helpers don't arrive
in suits or high heels. Of course, they wear shoes--but not the kind they
sell at Bloomingdale's.
"You're going to clean some hooves," he tells the group, "and you're going
to groom the horse. How you relate to this animal will tell us what you've
learned over the course of your lifetime concerning how you relate to all
living things. Your basic training has come from learning how to treat
people." He pauses and adds, "Remember one thing: It's not about the horse.
I mean, sure, I can teach you a few basic skills that will keep you safe in
any barn in the world, but what we're here to look at is what you've learned
over the course of your lifetime that either works for or against you in
your relationships."
He stops for a second and then continues. "Keep in mind that you've been
conditioned to be externally focused in all of your relationships. This is
one of the true impediments to our being able to learn anything about
ourselves. Let me ask you this: How much time do you spend during the day
wondering what others are thinking and feeling, and concocting stories about
why they're behaving as they do? See, as long as I'm focused on you in such
a manner, it will be impossible for me to connect with you because I'm not
present with myself.
"So, what I suggest you do is pay attention to what you're thinking and pay
attention to what you're feeling. Know that these two things dictate the way
you live your life. By focusing your attention internally as opposed to
externally, you'll be able to be present enough to connect with any other
living thing, which will also cause you to take responsibility for your life
and how you live it. Will I judge you? Of course not! But I will observe."
Wyatt promises these people that today he will pay attention. "Ask me for
help if you need it," he tells them. "I pledge to tell you the truth, to be
kind, but sometimes to be blunt. Together, let's examine the stories you're
making up to see how many of them are based in reality. Personally, prior to
the age of 36, almost every story I had was based in a lie. But I'd like you
to remember that it doesn't take nearly as many words to tell the truth as
it does to bullshit somebody."
Here he switches gears, for it's time for a few specifics. "The horses are
the same for every person who chooses to be with them. Whichever horse you
choose will serve as a mirror to your energy system--what you think, what
you feel, and every move your body does or doesn't make."
He makes it clear that the person dealing with the horse is the one who
tells the whole story. And most of the stories he sees have one thing in
common: pain. Most of this pain is rooted in self-doubt and fear. For
instance, one man in the group says, "I can't remember when I didn't hurt. I
think it's the world that messes us up."
"Well," Wyatt asks him, "whose job is it to clean up the mess?"
Then he turns to the audience and says, "We've been imprinted. We're born
being called 'bundles of joy.' Well, that's true. Babies generally are full
of joy--they're born happy and remain so unless they're hungry or
experiencing some discomfort. Once that's alleviated, they're right back in
the joy state. They're at one with everything when they arrive on the
planet. They run on pure emotion.
"They don't know what it means to doubt themselves or to be afraid until
about five days into the trip, when they begin to soak up the energy of the
adults," Wyatt says. "Then they feel the inconsistency. At this point in
time, welcome to a world full of scary people.
"Every culture I've ever been subjected to appears to be frightened," he
explains. "I've been working as a psychotherapist for 20 years, and if I
could boil down every problem that ever walked through any office that I've
occupied--and this includes when I've been alone in the office--every human
being suffers from two things in varying degrees of intensity, two things
that are taught to us. They're called self-doubt and fear.
"There's the fear of physical harm and of emotional harm. There's the fear
of not being good enough. There's the constant fear of being discovered. In
fact, I've done a lot of team building with corporate systems, and what do
you think the one thing that CEOs, presidents, and vice presidents of
companies don't want the people working for them to know? They don't want
anyone to know that at any given moment, they're completely clueless about
what they're doing. I've been privy to and a part of this phenomenon by
watching everyone run through the world 'bluffing it.' It seems that most
people truly aren't aware of what they're doing."
Wyatt's next words take the concept to a deeper level. "Anyone who really
wants to grow, expand, and know who they are has to travel uncharted
territories all the time. So that kind of person has to live in a world of
'I don't know,' which is scary, but that's the only place where you learn
anything. What you always find on the opposite side of fear and self-doubt
is joy. Joy is our birthright--we're born with it. But it gets taken away
from us and we have to go back and reclaim it.
"So, what we'll do today is not about discovering who you are. It's about
remembering who you are," he says. "End of story."
Wyatt gives the group some things to think about. "Why do we continue to
fight with each other? Thousands of years ago, we began with hand-to-hand
combat. Then we picked up some stones, which was followed by the fashioning
of weapons. Now we have the means to eradicate ourselves from the planet. We
even have the audacity to call this 'progress,'" he says. "The problem is
that we're afraid, and that's the reason we fight each other. We keep making
it about other countries or religions, and it's not. Why can't we sit down
and talk about what we're afraid of? We're afraid to tell the truth."
Wyatt shakes his head and mentions that Monsoon solidified this theory for
him about a year ago. "One day I was riding him, and I was transitioning
from the walk to the trot to the canter. It's called 'changing gaits.' The
walk to the trot--no problem. But even after ten years of riding, the power
of that canter still scares me. I tried to push Monsoon into a canter twice,
and both times I miscued him. My fear had me off balance--literally and
figuratively. So, I eased back to the trot, and I got frustrated. Like I had
done 10,000 times before when things weren't going my way, the tail started
wagging the dog, so to speak. I was the friggin' dog, and here we were in a
mess again.
"I was about to move into a canter for the third time, and again I felt that
I was off balance. This time, I was determined to win. I said, 'The hell
with it,' and cued him anyway. Monsoon shifted his massive frame, and I felt
his power ripple underneath me." Wyatt pauses and takes a look at his
audience, who seems to have forgotten about the prickly hay bales or
threatening storm clouds.
"I was so off that most of my weight shifted forward, which in the horse
world is called 'throwing the horse on the forehand.' This was his cue to
stop. And he did. I flew over his head about 20 feet onto the ground. If I
hadn't had a helmet on, it would have killed me. I hit the ground with a
bang! People heard it all the way back at the barn, some 40 yards away.
"Somehow in my daze, I managed to get up, checked to see if I was dead, and
brushed the dirt and muck off. Meanwhile, Monsoon was looking at me as if to
say: 'What the hell are you doing down there?'
"In that humiliating, spirit-crushing, bone-aching, ah-ha! moment, a light
bulb went off in my head. I thought to myself, I finally get it. Anytime I'm
in a relationship with any living thing and I have the need to win, the
possibility for connection and closeness is over. All I ever wanted was that
closeness and connection. In fact, I think we're all homesick for it.
"At the time, I wish I'd just been able to get honest enough to back off and
go, 'Wyatt, you're off balance. Pull up or you'll get hurt.' But do you
think I could even go to that place? I had to damn near kill myself to
figure it out. I had this lesson to learn, and my spirit was saying, 'Yes,
it's going to be a tough one. So let's go.'
"Thankfully, my spirit also said, 'Put your helmet on, you damn fool, so you
can live through it and we can learn it," Wyatt says.
He goes on to explain that he's never had that same issue with Monsoon ever
again. "I've had that problem with a few people," Wyatt laughs, "but I've
been able to reign it in because when I find myself trying to win, it's time
to stop. Because somebody has to lose. This whole culture is set up this
way. We've got to win, which means we're going to lose. It means that we
cannot even hope to connect with each other." As he gazes at the crowd of
onlookers, it seems like they finally get it.
For Wyatt, it's all about connection, and the first step to healing is
connecting with a horse. Those who want to connect have issues that include
mental, physical, and emotional abuse not limited to marriages on the rocks,
parent-child relationships gone bad, and much worse concerns including rape
and abandonment.
Now it's time to get to work. The group is brought into a large arena and
each person is told to choose one of the six large, inquisitive horses
waiting for them. Next to each animal is a small bucket with tools to clean
the horses' hooves, and various other grooming utensils associated with
preparing a horse for saddling.
Wyatt tells everyone to approach their horse and greet the animal at its
shoulder. He takes aside one young man and suggest that he stop rubbing the
horse for dear life.
"Try to leave a little fur on the horse, because the sun is gonna come out
and I don't want him to get burned," he says quietly to the young man. "You
also don't need to sweet-talk him."
"I'm trying to get him to like me so he'll cooperate," says the man.
"So," Wyatt asks, "is this one of your learned behaviors? Is your motto: If
I'm nice to you, then you must be nice to me back?"
"I guess I always try extra hard to get people to like me," says the young
man. "I figure if I'm the nicest person in the whole room, people will have
to be nice to me back."
"Let me suggest to you the fallacy behind that one," he explains. "You're
not really being nice to anyone. You're being manipulative. You're only
acting nice in the hopes of preventing people from rejecting you. True
kindness comes with no charge. Later on, the universe just pays you back."
The mini-dramas being played out on this sandy desert floor can easily
become much more serious, though. For example, Katie, a young lawyer whose
parents abandoned her and sent her to live in various foster homes is afraid
of her horse because she's scared to death of being rejected again.
"If you walk through your fear that something must be wrong with you, then
what you always find on the other side is that there's nothing wrong with
you. And there's nothing to be afraid of," he tells her.
"What happens then?" the woman asks, sobbing.
"When you get to that other side, there's only one thing waiting--joy."
Those wanting that feeling are looking for some help--and God, does Wyatt
understand how they feel. After all, it's impossible for him to forget his
very first client. This guy was the toughest bastard he's ever worked with,
and he almost made Wyatt give up on everything.
That man was Wyatt himself. . . .
This article is excerpted from It's Not About the Horse, ©, by Wyatt Webb.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Hay House Inc. www.hayhouse.com
About the Author:
Wyatt Webb survived 15 years in the music industry as an entertainer,
touring the country 30 weeks a year. Realizing he was practically killing
himself due to drug-and-alcohol addictions, Wyatt sought help, which
eventually led him to quit the entertainment industry. He began what is now
a 20-year career as a therapist. Today he's the founder and leader of the
Equine Experience at Miraval Life in BalanceT, one of the world's top
resorts, which is also located in Tucson. http://www.miravalresort.com/
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*First Things First*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Belonging
You test yourself with memory prompts
write your day in a book
You leave signs of your passing where you can
to secure a piece of illusive timespace
however fleeting, however scant
As if attempting to mark space or time
will guarantee the belonging is authentic
Be real to yourself
and you will belong there
Be real with others
and you will belong with them
They will belong with you
The memory is the bonding, you see:
An assemblage of touch, glances, unstated understandings
The mental, spiritual, heartfelt bonds
formed for belonging
Those that remain in preserves/reserves
are not of the physical dimension
The belonging searches to live
with intense expression inside
in real time, in real space
where it counts
it lives in the soul
Listen to the belonging of you
to yourself
to the people of unconditional love
they belong to you
Listen and be long in the duration
in the taking in
of the gift of its security...
be...
long...
there..
Love
Stella
© 2001 Stella Raymonde Savoie Johnson
Stella's monthly SoulZine features inspiration from articles,
meditations, affirmations, floral and herbal healers. Join here:
http://she.soulopen.com
Looking for alternative healing? Nutritional and Herbal help:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/herbalmenopause
Looking for Support in your Healing and Recovery? Come see:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/healingfromprocrastination
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Easy Does It*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Now
Imagine you are a sycamore seed
the wind has blown you far away
you land on barren soil.
For years you try to grow but you can't
suddenly rain comes aplenty,
the soil gets all that is necessary for a fruitful life.
The shrub grows and grows.
it is no longer small and insignificant
but large and very beautiful.
It dwarfs all that once dwarfed it.
Liken your life to this shrub,
with out god and your faith
you are just a stunted shrub.
God is the sun and God is the rain.
so that you can go forward and grow.
If you rise above all that used to surround and dwarf you
it can not be a bad thing. it is just you, being really you.
Some people have the sun and the rain but they fail to
put out the roots deep enough to blossom.
Do not fear of what you cannot control
have faith in the now.
It is all we have.
And let not the fear of fear hurt you.
To arrive somewhere means you must have journeyed.
So find who you are ,then you will know,
what you were really meant to be.
Howard
howie590@...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Live And Let Live*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Your Destiny
When all is said and done
Your at your end of your road
Whose path will you follow
What changes will you make to carry your load
Are you afraid to make another mistake
You have to have faith
To get along
God will bless you
With a new song
Don't say you are blind
Don't say you can't see
For the road you travel
Is your destiny
Stop
Drop
To your knees
And pray
Ask yourself what you want to say
You are welcomed here any day
Give it to God
Leave the results in His hand
He is the one who will always understand
Your motives are yours alone
Your love shall always
Be at your home
Daniel M Corkery
9/14/2000
DMCDREAMER1@...
DMCDREAMER's Page of Poetry
<http://www.geocities.com/dmcdreamer/>
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Keep The Focus On You*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It is good to have an end to journey toward;
but it is the journey that matters in the end.
Usula K. LeGuin
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Let God and Let Go*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit
makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.
James Buckham
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Come*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Worrying about the future is like trying to eat the hole in a doughnut.
It's munching on what isn't.
Barry Neil Kaufman
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Come To*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
If we are to experience the greater oneness with the Spirit inwardly,
then we must remain open to support our connection outwardly as well.
We must be willing to do unto others what God,
though the Spirit, would do through us as the expression.
John Morton (From: The Blessings Already Are)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Come To Believe*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Meeting makers make it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Look For The Beauty*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Those who make meetings regularly stay clean.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Today Is A Gift*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Many meetings ~ Many chances
Few meetings ~ Few chances
No meetings ~ No chances
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Keep Stepping*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Those people who don't make meetings aren't around
to see what happens to people who don't make meetings.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Stay In The Light*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There is a difference between being at a meeting
and being in a meeting
*~*~*~*~*~*~*Put Gratitude In Your Attitude*~*~*~*~*~*~*
12StepSoulFoodForTheSpirit does not endorse any of the
advertisements that may appear in this daily mailing.
Advertising is the price that we pay for a free list server
that yahoo groups provides.
Putting together these Daily Recovery Emails has been such
a blessing for me, Thanks for your support and contributions,
"What I can't do alone we can do together." If you have any
original poetry or submissions that you would like to send to
me you can email me at
12StepSoulFoodForTheSpirit-owner@yahoogroups.com
or YOUnMEnHP@...
"12 Step Soul Food for the Spirit" is intended to give readers ,
inspiring and thoughtful messages. To help fulfill our primary
purpose which is to carry the message to the alcoholic/addict
who still suffers. A spiritual adventure, a journey inwards this
has a vision of opening and touching, each and everyone,
with the Loving Power and Presence of the Spirit within."
We invite you to share the writings by forwarding today's
message to others. Share "12 Step Soul Food for the Spirit"
with friends and loved ones: Please keep passing this along to
online recovery friends "We can only keep what we have by
giving it away." Anyone can subscribe to this free daily e-zine
by sending an Email message to:
12StepSoulFoodForTheSpirit-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and
write subscribe in the subject line.
Under Bill s.1618 TITLE III passed by the 105th U.S. Congress
this letter cannot be considered spam as long as the following words
are included:
To unsubscribe to to this list send an Email message to:
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or go to the website and unsubscribe
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~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*One Promise, Many Gifts*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Adult Children of Alcoholics
http://www.AdultChildren.org/
Al-Anon/Alateen
http://www.al-anon.org/
Alcoholics Anonymous
http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/
Alcoholics Anonymous Deaf and Hard of Hearing
http://www.dhh12s.com/access.htm
Artists Recovering through the Twelve Steps
http://www.artsanonymous.org/
Clutterer’s Anonymous
http://www.clutterersanonymous.net
Cocaine Anonymous World Services
http://www.ca.org/
Co-Dependents Anonymous Home Page
http://www.codependents.org/
Crystal Meth Anonymous
http://www.crystalmeth.org/
Criminal and Gangs Anonymous
http://www.angelfire.com/id/CGAnonymous/
Debtors Anonymous: A Twelve Step Fellowship for…
http://www.debtorsanonymous.org/
Dual Recovery Anonymous - a 12 Step program
http://www.draonline.org/
Eating Disorders Anonymous
http://www.eatingdisordersanonymous.org/
Emotions Anonymous
http://www.emotionsanonymous.org/
Families Anonymous
http://www.familiesanonymous.org/
Gamblers Anonymous Official Home Page
http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/
Hepatitis C Anonymous
http://www.hcvanonymous.com/
HIV Anonymous
http://www.hivanonymous.com/
The Marijuana Anonymous
http://www.marijuana-anonymous.org/
Methadone Anonymous
http://www.afirmfwc.org/methanon.htm
Narcotics Anonymous Official Homepage
http://www.na.org/
Nar-Anon is a family support group
http://www.nar-anon.org
Nicotine Anonymous (WWW Home Page) NA Home Page
http://www.nicotine-anonymous.org
Overeaters Anonymous
http://www.oa.org/
Parents Anonymous
http://www.parentsanonymous.org/paIndex1.htm
Rape Survivors Anonymous
http://www.rsaws.org/
Recovering Couples Anonymous
http://www.recovering-couples.org
Sex Addicts Anonymous
http://www.saa-recovery.org/
Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous
http://www.slaafws.org/
Shoplifters Anonymous
http://www.shopliftersanonymous.org/
Suicide Anonymous
http://www.geocities.com/samemphis/
Survivors Of Incest Anonymous
http://www.siawso.org/
Workaholics Anonymous
http://www.workaholics-anonymous.org/
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*@¿@*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
By the grace of God and through your efforts of passing on this
email, we are reaching many recovering people in different areas of
the world. If you are receiving this, from a country outside of the
USA please send me an email and tell me where you are receiving this.
So far we reaching over 6000 recovering people in 66 countries
including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Barbados,
Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada , Columbia, Costa Rica, China ,
Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Guatemala,
Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia,
Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Korea,
Lithuania, Mali West Africa, Mozambique, Nepal, Netherlands,
New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico,
Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia , Saudi Arabia,
Scotland, Singapore, South Africa , Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Thailand, Trinidad, Turkey, United Arab Emirates,
U.S.A., Venezuela, Wales, West Indies, Zimbabwe.
Even if your country is listed
please email me, and let me know where you are from.
12StepSoulFoodForTheSpirit-owner@yahoogroups.com
Stay in the Light,
In loving service,
Scott H. from N.Y. ~ clean date 10/27/88
YOUnMEnHP@...
(\o/\o/) we are each of us angels with only one wing (\o/\o/)
/_\/_\ and can only fly by embracing each other /_\/_\
For the daily recovery email please visit me at:
<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/12StepSoulFoodForTheSpirit/>
For the weekly topic meeting please visit me at:
<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/twelvestepsoulfood4thespirit/>
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Wed Mar 30, 2005 12:55 pm
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