Recovery
Meditations: December 3rd
INTUITION
Don't listen to
friends when the Friend inside you says, "Do this!"
Mahatma Gandhi
The Oxford dictionary describes intuition as "immediate
apprehension by the mind without reasoning." Well, I certainly never acted
on intuition for most of my life because, in order for me to make any decision,
it had to be based on cold hard logic. I would literally make a scientific
"if - then hypothesis" based on all the possible consequences of any
action I was contemplating, and by the time I'd looked into all the possible
negative outcomes, I'd more than likely have talked myself out of it. Part of
the problem was fear that if it didn't turn out well, I would not be taken care
of. How could I trust that my Higher Power would take care of me, seeing I had
for a long time been angry at God and believed that He was definitely not there
for me?
One of the miracles of the program has been my returning
belief in a Higher Power who is always there for me when I need Him. I am
slowly learning that I just need to turn my will and my life over to Him on a
daily basis as it tells me in Step Three, and amazing things are beginning to
happen. Because I wasn't able to do this for many years, I had blocked my
intuition, which we are told is the way in which we are in direct contact with
our Higher Power. Slowly, the intuitive thoughts are returning as I work on a
daily relationship with my Higher Power, and I am now more able to act on them,
knowing that I will always be taken care of.
One Day at a Time . .
.
I will continue to
turn my will and my life over to my Higher Power knowing that my connection
with Him, my intuition, is getting stronger each day, and that I am more able
to do God's will for today.
~ Sharon S.
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Each Day A New Beginning
—Louise Bernikow
Other women share our struggle. When we treat our women friends as sisters and fellow pilgrims, we find great joy in our mutual help. We pray for the wisdom to let go our feelings of insecurity and rivalry with other women.
Rivalry is not good for us. It leads us to forget our own unique qualities. We each are the best person in the world at one thing: being ourselves. When we compete, we need to retain a balanced perspective and to think well of ourselves whether we win or lose. We run the best race we can; therefore, let us not regard other women as rivals. They are our sisters, and they, too, are doing the best they can.
Today, I will pray for the serenity that will let me see when my sisters have the same journey in their hearts as I.
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Food For Thought
The longer we maintain abstinence from compulsive overeating, the more we realize how insane we were before we found OA. Our withdrawal from people and reality into eating to excess was definitely not a sane way to live. As we work the Steps of this program, we see that many of our thoughts and attitudes were as insane as our destructive behavior.
It is our Higher Power who restores us to sanity, but He requires our surrender and cooperation. We can actively seek out the people and experiences which are life enhancing rather than detrimental to our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. The activities and associations, which went along with our compulsive overeating in the past, may have to be eliminated if we are to enjoy a sane, sober life in the present and future.
Continuing to beat our heads against the brick walls of past failures is insanity. We have a new life to live, provided we relinquish the attitudes and behavior, which we now know to be insane.
Preserve us from old insanities.
From Food for Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters by Elisabeth L. ©1980, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation.
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The Language of Letting Go
Many of us are skilled at denying and discounting what hurts us. We may endure a particular situation, telling ourselves repeatedly it's not that bad; we shouldn't be so demanding; it'll change any day; we should be able to live with it; it doesn't annoy us; the other person didn't really mean it; it doesn't hurt; maybe it's just us.
We may fight and argue with ourselves about the reality and validity of our pain - our right to feel it and do something about it.
Often we will tolerate too much or so much that we become furious and refuse to tolerate any more.
We can learn to develop healthy tolerance.
We do that by setting healthy boundaries and trusting ourselves to own our power with people. We can lessen our pain and suffering by validating and paying attention to ourselves. We can work at shortening the time between identifying a need to set a boundary, and taking clear, direct action.
We aren't crazy. Some behaviors really do bug us. Some behaviors really are inappropriate, annoying, hurtful, or abusive.
We don't have to feel guilty about taking care of ourselves once we identify a boundary that needs to be set. Look at the experience as an experiment in owning our power, in establishing new, healthy boundaries and limits for ourselves.
We don't have to feel guilty or apologize or explain ourselves after we've set a boundary. We can learn to accept the awkwardness and discomfort of setting boundaries with people. We can establish our rights to have these limits. We can give the other person room to have and explore his or her feelings; we can give ourselves room to have our feelings - as we struggle to own our power and create good, working relationships.
Once we can trust our ability to take care of ourselves, we will develop healthy reasonable tolerance of others.
God, help me begin striving for healthy boundaries and healthy tolerance for others and myself.
From The
Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©1990, Hazelden Foundation.
Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey
A man and his son headed to market with their donkey. A man on a horse passed them and asked, "Why aren't you riding your donkey?"
The man placed his son on the donkey, and they continued on their way. They passed by a family working in their fields. A young girl said. "Look at that lazy boy riding while his father is walking."
The man told his son to get off the donkey, and he climbed on. They passed a group of women and one said, "What a selfish man, making his son walk while he rides."
The man asked his son to climb up on the donkey with him. They passed a traveler on the road, who said, "That poor donkey is carrying too much weight."
Not knowing what to do, the man and his son began to carry the donkey. But the donkey kicked so violently they released their hold and the donkey ran away.
The Moral of the story: In striving to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one.
Striving to be a people-pleaser can make you feel as if what you are doing is never right, and you lose your ability to make your own decision.
I will choose to do what is right for me.
The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey
A man and his son headed to market with their donkey. A man on a horse passed them and asked, "Why aren't you riding your donkey?"
The man placed his son on the donkey, and they continued on their way. They passed by a family working in their fields. A young girl said. "Look at that lazy boy riding while his father is walking."
The man told his son to get off the donkey, and he climbed on. They passed a group of women and one said, "What a selfish man, making his son walk while he rides."
The man asked his son to climb up on the donkey with him. They passed a traveler on the road, who said, "That poor donkey is carrying too much weight."
Not knowing what to do, the man and his son began to carry the donkey. But the donkey kicked so violently they released their hold and the donkey ran away.
The Moral of the story: In striving to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one.
Striving to be a people-pleaser can make you feel as if what you are doing is never right, and you lose your ability to make your own decision.
I will choose to do what is right for me.
You are reading from the book:
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