tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.comments2024-02-08T12:39:48.238-05:00"RECOVERY TABLE" Spiritual Awakening, Alcoholism and Addiction RecoveryBhuddinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04582636577048530680noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-18136315949029769142012-12-06T23:15:47.282-05:002012-12-06T23:15:47.282-05:00while i appreciate the things you have said here,i...while i appreciate the things you have said here,i wonder if you have possibly not grasped the real issue. I very much like the hole vs. whole and the hole as essence bit ,but for me this fear has been more about losing the ability to relate to people in or out of recovery. I have had the agonizing experience of being so afraid of being selfish , that I can no longer have or be any fun. The people around me become more and more annoyed with my "high roadednes" and I become more and more sober and alone. How can this be? I'm spiritual and they're not? I haven't quite worked this out to my own satisfaction, but i would be interested in discussing this issue with you<br />broccologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09356071669612368380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-62882654104197376742012-11-29T18:27:46.084-05:002012-11-29T18:27:46.084-05:00Great article! So insightful and eye opening. Ve...Great article! So insightful and eye opening. Very nicely written.<br />Steve Truitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03484001732946008704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-90387984443581876662012-11-17T17:08:13.495-05:002012-11-17T17:08:13.495-05:00The bondage of self, just like the bondage of alco...The bondage of self, just like the bondage of alcoholism or any other addiction, cannot be overcome by someone else s desire to make it so. It must come from a desire to change and severe pain is usually the motivating catalyst behind it. Still others see no need to change and they continue through life blaming and conspiring, searching for that one person, place or thing that will fulfill them...they seek in vain missing the point. There is no literary cure, no magic pill, but, if we ourselves live as an example, a naturally occurring phenomenon takes place, like modeling behavior. They will see inner peace in action and in wanting what we have, providing we are consistent, change can and does occur. Tac2002https://www.blogger.com/profile/14273178870273182722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-2036611107379864402012-10-25T11:31:51.310-04:002012-10-25T11:31:51.310-04:00Thanks for sharing. I needed this reminder. T)he...Thanks for sharing. I needed this reminder. T)he main problem of the alcoholic centers in his mind. The what if's sneak in and I start day dreaming of life before my rock bottom experience. <br />I start to wonder how Eve felt after eating of the fruit. She was created for a beautiful life in the garden, but lost that life in the blink of an eye. I wonder how she felt taking those first steps outside of the garden. Was she full of guilt? Was she afraid? Did she miss the simplicity and happiness of life in the garden? That’s where I am today -missing some of the things that were taken as a result of unintentional things that happened while under the influence. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05709918316748132000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-73092868893887671892012-10-24T08:17:51.266-04:002012-10-24T08:17:51.266-04:00..Thanks Jim..Thanks JimAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-12251958106724779402012-10-14T14:55:07.264-04:002012-10-14T14:55:07.264-04:00your part of the work is done, you recognized it. ...your part of the work is done, you recognized it. now, ask God to remove it. now, continue to watch for this and other defects, when they crop up... (see pg 84, after 9th step promises)Jim Cornetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09719852450441424832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-67067324826700321332012-10-05T21:11:47.007-04:002012-10-05T21:11:47.007-04:00....I had something of an epiphany while re-readin.......I had something of an epiphany while re-reading this...i became aware of just how much i tend to zero in on and dwell upon the negative aspects of people and life in general,which i think is greatly influencing/affecting my overall demeanor and disposition and personality..I've been called a pessimist on numerous occasions,and i've always justified it by telling myself that i was either wiser than them or that they were "in Denial",or both...this must be something i need to work on.. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-49430567230941371462012-10-05T18:19:17.116-04:002012-10-05T18:19:17.116-04:00That's a spiritual awakening if I've ever ...That's a spiritual awakening if I've ever heard one, a "brief moment of clarity" that the 'Big Book' describes, an act of grace. Who would've known that God was with us all along, waiting with infinite patience to manifest in our consciousness?Bhuddinihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04582636577048530680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-57361443165782386292012-10-05T17:54:03.440-04:002012-10-05T17:54:03.440-04:00I believe my higher power was working in my recove...I believe my higher power was working in my recovery long before I was aware of having a higher power. My bottom came in a very uneventful way. I was home alone and nothing out of the ordinary had happened. I was sittimg on a step in my house and just pondering why I was so miserable, all I wanted to do was die and I knew my husband and kids were just as unhappy as I. All of a suden a thought popped in my head "I think I need to stop drinking and taking all these perscriptions". Such a strange thought for me, one I had never had in my whole life. I did stop and for some reason, I'm sure it was my higher power, because I have no memory of anyone telling me to guard my thoughts...every time I had the slightest thought of drinking or using, I immediately started to do multiplication tables, naming states and their capitols, reciting poetry, any mental activity to block that thought I didn't want. I did this hundreds of times a day in the beginning and it took almost exactly a year for that thought to quit visiting me, but it did. I believe my thoughts are my spiritual estate and I am responsible for every thought I allow in my head and I stay mindful of what I am thinking and that has changed my destiny. I love your blogs, thank you for sharing and Great Big Hugs<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Penny Junehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08184909601081710739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-86633443765196924172012-10-03T21:45:56.727-04:002012-10-03T21:45:56.727-04:00...a truly REMARKABLE post Bhuddini..very helpful ......a truly REMARKABLE post Bhuddini..very helpful for me personally..im feeling dazed by the shock and awe of these powerful insights..THANK YOU so much for sharing your wisdom...<br />P.S. I joined Nottingham's group last week (mike)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-80558738998791601352012-09-29T09:35:07.997-04:002012-09-29T09:35:07.997-04:00...Thank you for recalling this very insightful an......Thank you for recalling this very insightful and practical piece of Wisdom Bhuddini..undoubtably,I will find it necessary to apply/use this at some point todayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-19971332417611603952012-09-28T15:45:59.155-04:002012-09-28T15:45:59.155-04:00I think you're absolutely right. Its so good t...I think you're absolutely right. Its so good to read what you've written.<br />RichardAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-40931623850346722992012-09-28T12:49:04.836-04:002012-09-28T12:49:04.836-04:00That is a very interesting question. I know that m...That is a very interesting question. I know that many years after I stopped I still get (albeit infrequently) "drinking dreams." Interestingly, I also get "recovery dreams" - dreams where I believe I have drank and am fretting because I need to "chip up", so to speak. What's up with that??? My guess is that it has to do with the continuing "thirst of our being for wholeness, in medieval language: union with God." Waddaya think?<br />Bhuddinihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04582636577048530680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-80944498072693447122012-09-28T09:41:41.348-04:002012-09-28T09:41:41.348-04:00I've read with great interest. Thank you for c...I've read with great interest. Thank you for creating this site. This contribution might well not be suitable; I make it as there is mention of Carl Jung. I'm referring to so-called "Drinking Dreams" that various members of AA encounter in their resting.<br />The unconscious discourses by means of symbols - this is the idiom of Nature. It would seem that that being the case, the image of drinking (or avoiding to drink) from a glass, can, bottle<br />cannot refer to the beverage alcohol, but to something else. <br />Thank you again,<br />RichardAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-33864955370755950902012-09-26T21:26:38.632-04:002012-09-26T21:26:38.632-04:00...Thank you rabbi...Thank you rabbiAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-23793197237860303392012-09-24T09:51:19.666-04:002012-09-24T09:51:19.666-04:00...Flawless.. ..definately Top Ten material..
I wa......Flawless.. ..definately Top Ten material..<br />I was contemplating on this very subject earlier this morning when it dawned on me that it could be said that we suffer to some degree from Schizophrenia,in that the life we are living may not be manifesting from our Authenic self...it seems sobriety (and the 12 steps)has afforded me the opportunity to pursue the inner dimensions of self-awareness/discovery...Your writings have been so invaluably instrumental in the process of my gradual awakening,..THANK YOU rabbi.. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-31626632870149569422012-09-22T23:36:10.619-04:002012-09-22T23:36:10.619-04:00Why everyone refer to the non they are none of my ...Why everyone refer to the non they are none of my business Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-15459133307681690262012-09-17T09:49:50.597-04:002012-09-17T09:49:50.597-04:00...a very relevant topic for me Bhuddini..i've......a very relevant topic for me Bhuddini..i've always had a problem with this area(ego)of my psyche..i tend to relish a sense of superiority over others by always(in my own mind) being 'right'..or seen from another perspective,that everyone else is 'wrong'..the solution for me that seems to work best is to repudiate the dichotomic notion of right/wrong and to view each one of us as unique individuals progressing along a sliding scale,our position on the scale depends on the Light and the willingness we have been GIVEN by the Higher Power..for instance,Thats why i now hesitate to speak badly about the antics of sincere fundamentalist Evangelicals anymore,...because i myself was once there and it was part of my journeying to get where im at now(which is'nt saying much)..... grateful for you rabbi..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-78507490642674176772012-09-16T19:25:22.538-04:002012-09-16T19:25:22.538-04:00He does make it clear that our problem (alcoholic ...He does make it clear that our problem (alcoholic addict and non-addict alike) is the duality and seeming separation of the ego-self. Chuck C. was a close friend of Ernest Holmes before Chuck sobered up, which shows that "we are always returning" as Coleman Barks says.<br /><br />Butterworth's "Discover the Power Within You" was given to me by my "spiritual mentor", Chuck W. It was the first book of a spiritual nature (incl. all the books published by A.A.) that I could accept with a truly open mind and without discounting its message because of what I could not, or would not, understand. At right about the same time (i.e., at 15 years 'stark raving sober'), Harry H., my "spiritual guide", gave me a copy of Emily Cady's book, "Lessons In Truth". Harry was the only enlightened man I have met in person.<br /><br />The matters that Chuck C. talks about in this video (and his other talks) are the same insights that those gentlemen shared with me - that is, the universal truths of unity, non-duality and transcendental consciousness that lie at the heart of all the world's great wisdom traditions.Bhuddinihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04582636577048530680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-8510106980822836122012-09-16T18:54:44.586-04:002012-09-16T18:54:44.586-04:00...this is really good rabbi!..Chuck C.'s talk......this is really good rabbi!..Chuck C.'s talk reminds me of some of the teachings i've read in the works of some of the pioneers of 20th century mystical thought such as Eric Butterworth,Ernest Holmes and even Emily Caddy..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-32582530358750869522012-09-12T18:46:54.595-04:002012-09-12T18:46:54.595-04:00Amen . . . As 'the Good Book says (and many ov...Amen . . . As 'the Good Book says (and many overlook), the Kingdom of God IS within you. And as John Lennon said: "Instant Karma's gonna get you."Bhuddinihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04582636577048530680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-19433986952524826582012-09-12T16:21:03.773-04:002012-09-12T16:21:03.773-04:00.."My sponsor often talks of a "continuo....."My sponsor often talks of a "continuous moral inventory"...yeah,I think once we have had a spiritual awakening as a result of the 12 steps then our conscience is quickened or made alive so to speak and ideally we instantly acknowledge or at the least are aware of our shortcoming(s) on-the-spot as it happens,thus we are ever-taking an inventory.<br />Anonymous raises the perennial dilema of sustaining one's Motivation on the path of transformation,all i can add is:Its a commitment and Its Work!..for me it involves a spiritual hunger and a desire to grow and develop as a whole person..once i had tasted the fruits of daily meditation (it took months) then i knew i had to have more..Nottingham rightly says that only a small percentage of us will find/have the desire to go furhter into the 'interior life'... "the Kingdom of God is WITHIN you"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-15213557514134890462012-09-12T13:46:50.955-04:002012-09-12T13:46:50.955-04:00In a Hazelden biography, Ebby T. (Bill W.'s Sp...In a Hazelden biography, Ebby T. (Bill W.'s Sponsor) tells how he and Rolland H. would, before morning coffee even, sit quietly for ten minutes attempting to let go of outside thoughts and thereby gain inner direction. Each would then write down a simple plan for their day based on that direction. I've found this to be a great technique, particularly when working with a newcomer whose thoughts about what he or she "has" to do are all over the place.<br /><br />I admire your friend who sits for a half hour in the morning. I can do that stretch in the evening, but have greater difficulty going for long stretches in the morning. This is something, it seems to me now, I must practice further.Bhuddinihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04582636577048530680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-87327636099829676142012-09-12T13:36:47.677-04:002012-09-12T13:36:47.677-04:00No need to struggle. Remember, "We have given...No need to struggle. Remember, "We have given up fighting everyone and everything. . ." For my part, I play a game I call 'Remembering God.' I note how long it is in the morning before I remember to attune to God. Usually it is before I roll out of bed. Sometimes, however, and particularly if I am rushed, hours can go by.<br /><br />Usually I spend a few minutes sitting quietly after waking up, and I follow this up by reading something of a spiritual nature - my meditation books, the book I happen to be reading, the Big Book or 12x12, perhaps even something that comes to me through my e-mail or over the internet.<br /><br />At night, (on the good nights) I meditate over a stick of incense, then I read something from any of the number of spiritual books I seem to have on the go. Rarely do I do a night time 10th Step inventory as laid out in the Big Book. My sponsor often talks of a "continuous moral inventory," and I find this most helpful. When I am off track and disturbed it is readily apparent. That is the point at which I need to address the disturbance, admit that I'm wrong (once again) and make amends.<br /><br />In the past, I've found the two readings (in the following blog posts) to be most helpful, in the morning and evening respectively:<br /><br />http://recoverytable.blogspot.ca/2011/05/on-awakening.html<br /><br />http://recoverytable.blogspot.ca/2011/03/continuing-to-take-inventory-evening.htmlBhuddinihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04582636577048530680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8749057940065570973.post-58610982716050196572012-09-11T16:57:57.252-04:002012-09-11T16:57:57.252-04:00I am struggling with this part of my program. I f...I am struggling with this part of my program. I find it hard to get into the habit or schedule of doing this in ernest. I do have contact during the day but not where I really hunker down and do the review at night of my day and in the morning asking for guidance to meet the days challenges. How do you go about this?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com