Category Archives: 12 Steps

One Power

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The theme of two of my morning readings overlapped once again. I am tickled when that occurs, for the Universe is providing me with a stronger message to contemplate. “Love… builds and builds. It can’t be stopped. There is nothing Love can’t fix and no problem it can’t solve.” – “Everyday Joy, 365 days of ohmygod life,” by Z Egloff and Melissa Phillippe, April 8 “Through spiritual discernment, we see that we have within us a power greater than anything we shall ever contact; a power that can overcome every obstacle in our experience and set us safe, satisfied and at peace, healed and prosperous in a new light and a new life.” – “The Science of Mind,” by Ernest Holmes, page 146 I can call this power spoken about by a host of names. God. The Divine. Great Mystery. Allah. Source. Elohim. Presence. Jehovah. Spirit. Buddha. Jesus. The One. The list is exhaustive really, and truly personal, something I didn’t know was “allowed” until I walked into the 12 Steps rooms decades ago and “came to believe.” Of course, there’s Love, the sweetest name of all. As one of my favorite New Thought singers and songwriters Daniel Nahmod says, … Continue reading →

My Level of Acceptance

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“… acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation—some fact of my life—unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world by mistake… unless I accept life completely on life’s terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and my attitudes.” (pg. 417) “… my serenity is directly proportional to my level of acceptance. (pg. 420) – “Alcoholics Anonymous,” Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., Fourth Edition As the world opens up and I step out interacting with more people than I have during the past two years, I am getting the opportunity to see how accepting I am of the people, places, and situations coming across my path in my new community. Today I was disturbed by a situation, but I am grateful to know that instead of pointing the finger at it, … Continue reading →

The Spiritual Life

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“I came to this program to save my ass and found out it was attached to my soul.”– Anonymous “God gets our attention in a lot of different ways. “And now we are learning about the spiritual aspect of our life, the one we had so long neglected. Now we are partaking of God’s love—soul food—and discovering that the spiritual life is fuller and more rewarding than anything we thought possible. Nothing we do to please our body can compare to the joy of unconditional love.” – “In God’s Care*: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery,” March 31 *As We Understand God God, aka Spirit, got my attention by hitting me over the head with a baseball bat in the form of food (an eating disorder). And, I do believe it was the only way Spirit was going to get this devout atheist’s attention. Nevertheless, it was not until I was in my mid-thirties that I finally found the solution to my eating disorder, not to mention my less than joyful life and relationships. Starting my conscious spiritual journey with the Twelve Steps led me to learn about and practice additional spiritual ideas and concepts, including A Course in Miracles, … Continue reading →

Intuition, From God

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Happy spring! This is my favorite season of the year. Like many other folks, I am always reminded of rebirth and starting anew, fresh. And, sometimes, I really need that reminder… like after two-plus years of much isolation due to the pandemic and feeling a bit stuck. It was in the beginning of spring of 1990 when I started learning about and practicing the Twelve Steps, and it was truly a rebirth, BIG time. There was so much to learn, so much to incorporate into my life, along with so many supportive people coming into my life. That led to me being more receptive to try out activities that I’d not engaged in before; one of these was yoga. The corporation I worked for at the time had a fitness center, which in addition to the usual exercise equipment, offered yoga classes, a bit progressive in those days. Not only did I make use of the equipment, which was new, I attended an after-work yoga class. The instructor would end the class by having us sit in meditation (yet another new thing for me) for a few minutes, and then close with a reading from ‘some’ book. It turns out … Continue reading →

Pass It On

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“When we get interested in spirituality, few of us have any intention of getting carried away with it. We don’t consider ourselves holy. We want simply to make use of the power we have learned is available to us for the asking. But once embarked on this spiritual journey, we find that something is required of us. The love, the peace, and the joy that come to us —we have to pass on.” – “In God’s Care*: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery,” March 19 *As We Understand God The above passage has been true for me. I got into recovery seeking help with my eating disorder. That help came through in the form of the Twelve Steps, which included finding a Power greater than myself and being involved in the fellowship. Hence, I embarked—more like was thrust (happily)—onto my conscious spiritual journey. At that time, I had barely even heard the word ‘spirituality’ and surely did not see myself as holy nor expected my life to change in all areas except hopefully in the food department. Yet, with God as my focal point, a guide in to how to live (Twelve Steps), and supportive folks, my psyche, and therefore … Continue reading →

God’s Direction

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“Each of us brings different gifts along on our journey… We don’t, however, always know how to use them. Some people seem to know how to put their talents to good use. Many of us botch them until we get help from God, who gave them to us. “Each of our talents has a purpose. We weren’t given them by accident… But we don’t live up to our potential without God’s direction.” I put my talents in God’s hands so that I can live at full capacity. – “In God’s Care*: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery,” March 17 *As We Understand God I am clear that we each have talents and gifts unique to just us. I discovered more of mine when I got into Twelve Step program and got to practice Step 12, “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters and to practice these principles in all our affairs.” This step is about being of service, volunteering, and sharing your time, gifts, and talents. When called to give of myself to keep the organization operating, to strengthen my recovery, as well as to show my … Continue reading →

Early Evening Serenity

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This evening I came upon the above quote and image and it was perfect for where my heart and soul are right now. After today’s occurrences and emotions, early evening serenity is most welcomed and soothing. It made me think about The Serenity Prayer, the first prayer I uttered in the Twelve Step rooms, when I starting coming to believe. God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference. This often-recited prayer in the rooms is an excerpt from a longer prayer commonly attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr. It is considered a Christian prayer, and although its origins are a bit unclear, its impacts are not. The Serenity Prayer serves as a focal point for the very spirit of the Twelve Step program. You can see that even more so in the longer version, which speaks of living “one day at a time,” a hugely powerful slogan heard regularly, even said by folks not in the Twelve Step program. There are numerous variations of the long version; here’s one: God grant me the serenity To accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the … Continue reading →

Spiritually Alert

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“God speaks to us in many ways at many times. If we are spiritually alert, we will know it when it happens.” – “In God’s Care*: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery,” March 13 *As We Understand God When I joined a Twelve Step program, I had no problem admitting I was powerless over food and my life was unmanageable. That took care of Step One. But as a devout atheist, I really had to read a lot, speak with many people (inside and outside of the rooms) in order to take Step Two: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. I had always been looking for hard evidence to prove the existence of God—even as an atheist! If you could prove God’s existence to me, I would have become a theist on the turn of a dime! But no one could prove God’s existence with scientific evidence. Still, I needed help with my eating disorder and had to somehow come to believe in a Power greater than myself, which the Judeo-Christian traditions called God. One of the most important ideas for me espoused in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous is found … Continue reading →

Resentment is Deadly

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I have a resentment. That is deadly for me. I don’t get them often anymore; perhaps that’s due to reduced interaction with people since COVID entered our lives two years ago 😊. However, I’d like to think that my consistent spiritual practices have kept me in good stead. I had volunteered to train Sally (name changed) for a task she was assigned to at her job. I don’t know her well, but she seemed enthusiastic and even grateful. We went ahead and set an appointment on a weekend day when I would be off from my own job. When the appointment day arrived, she never showed and never called me. I got concerned that perhaps she was ill, there was an emergency, or the like. I waited a couple days to see if she would contact me, and when she didn’t, I called her office. Someone else answered the phone and said Sally was there, couldn’t talk, and would call me back. When I didn’t hear back within a couple days, I called again; this time I left a voicemail. I never received a call back. The following day I saw a copy of the completed work project that I … Continue reading →

Happy Twelve Step-versary

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Thirty-two years ago marked the most important day of my life: I attended my first Twelve Step meeting. Happy Twelve Step-versary to me! I had no clue how my life would be transformed, the extent to which it would be. Nor had I a clue as to all the wonderful people I would encounter on that path. I was a devout atheist, who for the prior five years had heard about the Twelve Step program, and had had no intention to willingly go and interact with a group of people who were going to use the ‘G’ word, i.e., God, when they spoke. That is the attitude I held despite my life-long struggle with overeating and binging; my hopelessness and despair; my aloneness because people didn’t understand me; and, a hole within me that food did not fill. After doing some inner work on myself and severing myself from some unhealthy relationships, I found myself willing to dip my toe in the water when a second person, whose experience and advice I trusted, suggested the Program as a means to help with my eating disorder. That Saturday, March 10, 1990, I went to my first Twelve Step meeting in the … Continue reading →