Category Archives: Blog starting 2022

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 →

Expectancy

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  “We are dealing with a creative Power that acts upon our thinking…It operates upon us like all other forces of nature. With this in mind, we have every right to expect all that is desirable. “The creative Power is always reacting to us as we act in It. It is always creating in our bodies and in our affairs. Consequently, we should all learn to live in a state of joyous and enthusiastic expectancy… Nothing is too good to be true. Nothing is too much to ask of that Power that can do anything.” – “365 Science of Mind: A Year of Daily Wisdom from Ernest Holmes,” March 18   “Knowing the impossibility of lack and limitation, I now declare the Spirit within abundant and prosperous. “This life gives back to me everything I give of myself.” – “Science of Mind Magazine,” March 18, 2022 When I was growing up, if I was excited about some situation or some opportunity that seemed absolutely perfect and fabulous, I was often told “it must be too good to be true.” What a depressing way to look at life and the world! We have a Power that can accomplish anything! Coming into … 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 →

Getting Back to Joy

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Ever feeling down in the dumps for no reason? I know there are plenty of reasons these days to not feel quite like oneself or joyful… plenty of external circumstances, that is. I know joy comes from within, where loving Spirit resides. Still, sometimes I really need to pull myself out of a funk. I can do that by listening and singing to music, reading, or getting outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine, to name a few ways. An additional way I can shift my energy and help me access my joy is to look at the final project I created for my recent “A Consciousness of Joy” class. It’s sort of like a vision board; it contains images and words that make me smile, sometimes make me laugh, helping me back on the road to joy. Looking at it also reminds me of the fun I had making it, being creative, and playful, which doesn’t happen often enough. Another tool in my arsenal for getting back to joy is reading and affirming powerful statements of Truth like the following: “Declare further, “Everything necessary to the full and complete expression of the most boundless experience of joy is mine … Continue reading →

Communicating with Humans vs. Spirit

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Communicating with humans is a challenge. My team works remotely and sometimes we don’t connect for days at a time. On Friday, I noticed one colleague I’ll call Cathi, a project manager, was offline, but I didn’t want to text her privately. I figured she’d decided to take the day off, either to just relax or perhaps to provide some extra emotional support to her mom who is first generation American from Ukraine and, not surprisingly, especially distressed these days. This morning, Cathi wasn’t online again. And then, I and the other two members of my team got a meeting invitation from another manager with an agenda stating it was to introduce herself to us. Uh-oh. Turns out we had a new manager and Cathi had been let go with no notice; what a shock. We are all contractors with the same staffing agency and the new manager thought we’d been told—ha! Corporate America strikes again with lack of transparency and courtesy! But it’s just not them. I was involved in another situation over the weekend where the other person refused to speak to me honorably. Communicating with humans is such a challenge—it doesn’t seem to matter that we have … 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 →

The Gift and the Giver

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“There can be no real gift unless the giver goes with it. Giving includes more than the giving of money or things; it includes the giving of service or whatever we have to others, but always the gift and the giver must go hand in hand. The surrender of everything we have and everything we are into the joy of its own self-expression—this is the way God gives. This is the way we should give.” — “365 Science of Mind: A Year of Daily Wisdom from Ernest Holmes,” March 11 Ya know, I really do get joy from giving of myself. I get to do so on a weekly basis at the very least, when I tithe to those people and organizations that nourish my spirit. Writing a check (signed by “Joyce S. Kaye and Spirit”) with a note to an individual expressing my gratitude increases the giving. Even when searching for a greeting card, I put my whole self into the task, being present through the One Mind with the intended recipient and feeling joy. The gift and the giver are one. I express my authenticity as well open myself up to being vulnerable if, for instance, the person … Continue reading →