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Post by caressa on Jan 20, 2011 10:16:41 GMT -5
Early I posted about thinking about going to a meeting. I would have had to leave about 5 minutes ago to make it there on time.
I was thinking, when you think of it, you really should go. Yet the other side of me kept thinking, "Well gee you went to two meetings yesterday." Then the other side of me was thinking, "Yes but that was Al-Anon and this one would be AA!"
Then I did a reality check! Each day, I spend 3-5 hours posting on three recovery sites. Then there is Facebook, where I often share with someone, either by e-mail or chat.
That doesn't count the number of times I go back to see if there is a new member or a person who has shared who is looking for help on an issue. I can't always do that, but I do try.
Some days, I get a thought and I run with it and make a post and share it with others, with the hope that it will help someone besides me. Other times, all I can do is copy and paste and share something that I have found that has spoken to me.
I always say a prayer before posting, even when it is something simple like HAVE A GREAT DAY or the ABCs of Recovery. It is important to be God-centered instead of centered on the great "I" am!
I share because I care. That was the message on the Angel Card that I got my name from.
I got word yesterday that we have a meeting at CAP to set up the new computers and plan for the grand opening of the new free computer access program. I will be so glad of the opportunity to get back into the community and share with others. It will bring some balance back into my life.
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Post by BW on Jan 20, 2011 12:26:21 GMT -5
Thanx Car
I too spend a great deal of time posting.. I have 5 boards to visit and pot on as a service commitment.. There are times I get a feeling of discouragement that folks do not respond or visit the postings. I too say a prayer that the postings do touch a heart. Then I have to remind myself that those results are not in my control either.
I do the postings becasue I want to..if they do help someone..that's great, even fantastic...if not...they are keeping me sober and feeding my spirit while I do them.
Our book tells us to carry the message...it does not say we are in charge of the results...Nor does it say we need to drag the person in from the street to hear the message...It only says carry it...
Then the responsibility creed says "When ever anyone anywhere reaches out for help" Anyone...anywhere..so that tells me I can't just sit still I have to be ready to go anywhere to offer a hand out...
Great topic Carressa
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Post by ravensong on Feb 9, 2011 16:21:40 GMT -5
I'm very new to this site . I've learned a lot here . I'm very thankful for that . I try to post too . I also belong to several support groups because I have severe fibromyalgia . I agree that "I post because I care and want to help when I can" I'm still new to being a member to a recovery group . My daughter is addicted to vicodens ... Be Blessed Ravensong
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Post by caressa on Feb 9, 2011 20:06:04 GMT -5
Thank you for sharing, glad you took the time to share.
I have five types of arthritis, one of them is fibromyalgia. I do not take strong medication, I am allowed a Tyenol Arthritis and an extra-strength Tyenol every 6 hours. I am also on Celebrex, Gabapentin and an new rub on gel Voltaren for Joint Pain. It is new to me, first time I have tried something like that. My doctor wrote a prescription for something a lot more expensive, but went for the cheaper on my pocket book.
On my really bad days, I am allowed one or two Tyenol #3s but most days I don't take them. As the doctor says, "You are in so much pain, you can't get high on them." Yet I always need to remember that at one time I was addicted to them and other things. I had to learn to live with the pain and not allow it to rule and run my life. It is there, it is not going away. The body only manufactures the pain to tell me I need more.
The greatest tool for pain relief is getting on the boards and sharing, meditation and prayer.
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Post by SunnyGirl on Feb 9, 2011 22:02:02 GMT -5
I'm very new to this site . I've learned a lot here . I'm very thankful for that . I try to post too . I also belong to several support groups because I have severe fibromyalgia . I agree that "I post because I care and want to help when I can" I'm still new to being a member to a recovery group . My daughter is addicted to vicodens ... Be Blessed Ravensong [/size][/quote] Thank you for sharing Ravensong.... Each time you share your thoughts on the board, you may be helping someone reading..... We all come to share our experience, strengths and hope! I qualify for Alanon & Naranon, 2 of my 3 children are addicted to either drugs or alcohol or both.... I have various other family members that suffer these same addictions. On the naranon section, there is a link I'd like you to check out. If you are new to recovery it might help... eor.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Naranon&action=display&thread=1200I've learned that by setting boundaries and learning to detach with love, I can focus on myself and what I need to change within myself. (my obsessions with fixing my loved ones) It's wonderful having you on the boards and we'd love to have you join us for the on-line meetings.... Peace on the journey, SunnyGirl
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Post by caressa on Mar 11, 2011 12:18:11 GMT -5
You are reading from the book Food for Thought Sharing
In our fellowship, we share our troubles and we share our joys - our faults as well as our assets. We will be accepted and understood, because we are with people who are like us. We may seem very different on the surface, but underneath we are all amazingly alike.
Someone has said, "I can only know that much of myself which I have had the courage to confide to you." As we reveal ourselves to others, they act as mirrors so that we may see and understand who we are.
All of us have hidden fears and buried guilts. Before we joined OA, we had no place to go with these negative emotions, and so we turned to unnecessary food. Instead of rationally facing our worries and our hurts, we ate. Even when we were happy, we found it easier to eat than to express our joy to someone else.
Sharing our thoughts, feelings, and experiences with other people shows us who we are and helps us to accept ourselves. Those with whom we share also benefit.
Grant me courage and trust so that I may share.
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Post by caressa on Mar 11, 2011 12:19:55 GMT -5
Really like this, and it made me think, it doesn't matter what we use in our life, food, alcohol, drugs, men, work, friends, etc. it is all rooted from the same source, ME!
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Post by majestyjo on Oct 27, 2014 0:36:02 GMT -5
Let it begin with me. Went to a meeting one morning and someone asked me how I was. I said, "I am good, having a great day." He said, "What are you doing here then?" I smiled and said, "Passing it on." There were days that were far from that, I went to meetings and it was there that I found myself, reflected in the faces of the people in the rooms. The words that were spoken were the words that I couldn't voice for myself. I got a little from this person, a lot from another, another I might not identify with, and another one would give me something to think about, and another would give me something that I would need later. They all contributed to my recovery, and for that, I will always be grateful. This is a we program. Without them, there would be no me!
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Post by majestyjo on Nov 11, 2014 23:07:57 GMT -5
Liked the title. My God is above all things and when I reach out to Him, I can overcome anything that is put in my path.
Have found myself saying many times over the years, "Been there, done it, wore the t-shirt." Yet when you think of what Jesus went through, my stuff doesn't amount to a whole lot. In my mind it was big, seeing my brother killed when I was three, our house struck by lightning, two abusive marriages, and four rapes on my journey to the doors of recovery. Those were just the highlights, when I look at the feelings and the little things like the car accidents, a disfunctional boss, loss of parents due to their disease, a son in addictive addiction, etc. they still don't add up to something that I do not have to use as an excuse to pick up a drink and a drug today.
This disease is 4-fold and my God heals on all four levels. Thanks to the program, I became aware, and could see things and realized that a lot of it was of my own making and looking at what I did to put myself in those abusive situations, more importantly, why did I stay in them. In my own addiction, I thought that it was what I deserved and my judgment for being me who walked in fear for most of her life. The summit was entering the doors of recovery and reconnecting with my God instead of going to Him part-time.
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Post by majestyjo on Nov 11, 2014 23:08:38 GMT -5
Don't know about any one else, but when I got sober, I realized that I had been trying to play god of my life and others. How many times did we say, "If only they had done what I told them to do, with no thought of suggesting, supporting, and keeping an open mind. As my parents and partners over the years said, "It is my way or the highway." Most times I took the highway, but many times I rebelled and had a real problem with authority. From the old tape, Who told you that your opinion matters, who asked you I what you thought? Which changed to I am the leading authority, just ask me. Feeling like I had to prove myself right, justify my existence, and change the thinking "If you don't know, you are stupid." It was hard to recognize them because I had heard them for years and they had been playing for a long time. I was 49 when I entered the doors of recovery. As I have stated before, my sponsor told me, "I don't care who your God is as long as it isn't you.
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Post by majestyjo on Dec 13, 2014 0:03:00 GMT -5
Thou hast given so much to me, Give one thing more, — a grateful heart; Not thankful when it pleaseth me, As if Thy blessings had spare days, But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.
~George Herbert
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Post by majestyjo on Dec 17, 2014 23:26:56 GMT -5
Today I was debating with myself, kept telling myself that I needed to get out before the weather hit big time. I had a hard time getting outside of the door. I kept trying to talk myself out of going, even though I knew if I didn't go this afternoon, there was a good chance I would get snowed in for at least two days. It was after 4 p.m. before I left the house. I was limiting myself. I kept telling myself I couldn't do it and as I walked to the bus stop, I was having muscle spasms and pain and I had to breathe through it and ask for help.
As I walked to the bus stop, three buses went by and I told myself it was a sign that I needed to turn around and go home, especially when I had to wait almost ten minutes for another bus (not that I was in a hurry or on a time schedule). There hasn't been sun for several days and I felt like I hadn't had that connection I needed to give me what I needed to do what I needed to do what I needed to get things done. When I think of it, it is really dumb, the sun is shining some where in the world, it is there even if I can't see it and where was my faith??? As I walked along, gave myself a talking to and said a prayer, the pain eased and by the time I got to the grocery store, things were much better.
I knew I needed to go, I had prayed and asked for the inner knowing and the guidance, so once I was there, it was like my God had me by the hand. First off was my fruit bottom all natural yogourt (NOT STIRRED) for $4.99, then marbled cheddar cheese 460 g Cracker Bell for $3.99, and cookie and muffin mix 2 for $7. and my Stouffer TV dinners 2 for $5. which are regularly $3.69 each. I bought 12 TV dinners. I also got butter for $3.99.
It may not seem much to some people, but those are extra special, specials to me. They were bought with gift cards given to me by my niece. I have had $50 worth of gift cards for 4 days. Normally, I get money and I have to go out and spend it. The day I get it is the day it is to be spent. For me to have it so long is a miracle, even though I have been in recovery for 23 years. God and I still work on this a day at a time.
Told myself I was pushing things and trying to make things happen by going out today instead of waiting for payday on Friday and yet I just knew that I had to go out today. For one thing, I had been housebound too long, and I needed to get out and get some fresh air.
Normally, when I go out I connect with someone when I go out, but my God had already put my friend Bert in my path today. He phoned me to say he had gotten some chicken and he didn't like it and did I want to try it. He didn't want to throw it out. I went and got it and I wouldn't eat it but I gave it to my son. So there was some giving and sharing and some blessings, and all told, a very good day.
Thanks for letting me share.
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Post by majestyjo on Dec 28, 2014 15:36:16 GMT -5
Sorry, can't remember if I posted these elsewhere.
For me the 12 Steps are applicable to all areas of our life. Sometimes we have to go for outside help. I was sent to several outside help centers only to find that they only taught me what I had already learned I the rooms of recovery. i.e. anger management and self-esteem.
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Post by majestyjo on Dec 28, 2014 15:37:01 GMT -5
So often they say, it isn't what you are eating, it is what is eating you.
I know I have my comfort foods and my go-to-foods, that were indicators that were my emotions were guiding my eating and that I needed to look at where my eating was taking me.
When I reach for that extra helping, when I pick up that one more, when I think more, I know I am acting out in my dis-ease.
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Post by majestyjo on Dec 28, 2014 15:37:39 GMT -5
Quote: November 26, 2014 Healing Your Sole Self-reflexology by Madisyn Taylor
Exploring our feet through self-reflexology can be an easy and free way to support our mind, body and spirit.
Our feet are home to literally thousands of nerve endings and almost seventy acupuncture points, which is why foot reflexology is so effective. By massaging and stimulating specific areas on the soles of our feet, we can provide general support for our entire body, improve sleep patterns, increase physical and mental wellbeing and also alleviate chronic conditions such as sinusitis and digestive upset. Although it is wonderful to work with an experienced foot reflexologist whenever possible, we can also develop a practice of treating ourselves to a self-reflexology treatment if we take some time for this purpose before we begin our day or in the evening to relax before going to bed.
There are a number of different ways to work the soles of your feet, including walking barefoot on river stones, rolling each foot over a golf or tennis ball, or just using your fingers and hands to massage your feet. When starting a reflexology session, it’s a good idea to begin with loosening up your ankles – rotate each foot clockwise then counterclockwise about ten times. You might also want to pinch the end of your toes, which can increase circulation and drainage in your sinuses and stimulate your pituitary and pineal glands. Then you can begin massaging the ball of your foot, the arch, and the heel. If you find that an area is tender, it may indicate some distress or dysfunction occurring in the corresponding area of the body. You may want to explore what is going on with that organ or system.
Whether we are able to spend just a few minutes a day on this kind of self-care or a full half hour, our efforts are never wasted. By taking responsibility for our own health and taking time every day to connect with our body, we can not only assist our body in letting go of stress and dysfunction, but we can also continue to support an ongoing sense of wellness and vitality.
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With all our best intentions and rich resources, why is it so hard to slow down, simplify, and care for ourselves? Why do most clearing efforts fall short or peter out? Why are we so afraid to let go? Our drive to attain and succeed comes at a great cost to the soul. We are malnourished, if not starved, when it comes to compassionate self-acceptance, awareness, and care. We yearn for simplicity but struggle to find it. We ache for balance but can't sustain it. There is no time to juggle it all, let alone clear the things and thoughts that have caused us to feel so overwhelmed in the first place. This course has been a long time coming. From short contemplations, tools, tips, new science and concepts, one-minute practices, audio meditations, videos, and personal stories - each lesson builds one upon another to develop your clearing muscle and grow new habits that will last a lifetime.
God gives you what you need. I know that a lot of my pain, especially in my feet can be released using alternative medicines and my doctors have tried many medications and they do not work. Why take a pill when they do not work or only partially work and they have all these weird side affects. They say they aren't narcotic, but I found them to be mood altering for me and that isn't acceptable to me.
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Post by majestyjo on Dec 28, 2014 15:38:09 GMT -5
Quote: December 18, 2014 Habitual Anger Unblocking the Ally by Madisyn Taylor
Anger can easily become our go-to emotion; to remedy, start noticing when and why you get angry.
Sometimes when we feel anger, it is coming from a deep place that demands acknowledgment and expression. At these times, it is important that we find healthy ways to honor our anger, remembering how dangerous it is to repress it. However, anger can also become a habit, our go-to emotion whenever things go wrong. Often this is because, for whatever reason, we feel more comfortable expressing anger than we do other emotions, like sadness. It can also be that getting angry gives us the impression that we’ve done something about our problem. In these cases, our habitual anger is inhibiting both our ability to express our other emotions and to take action in our lives.
If it’s true that anger is functioning this way in your life, the first thing you might want to try is to notice when you get angry. You might begin to see a pattern of some kind. For example, you could notice that it is always your first response or that it comes up a lot in one particular situation. If the pattern doesn’t become clear right away, you could try keeping a journal about when you get angry and see if you can find any underlying meaning. The good thing about keeping a journal is that you can explore your anger more deeply in it—from examining who in your family of origin expressed a lot of anger to how you feel when you encounter anger in others. This kind of awareness can be a formidable agent of transformation.
Anger can be a powerful ally, since it is filled with energy that we can harness and use to create change in the world. It is one of the most cathartic emotions, and it can also be a very effective cleanser of the emotional system. However, when it becomes a habit, it actually loses its power to transform and becomes an obstacle to growth. Identifying the role anger plays in your life and restoring it to its proper function can bring new energy and expansiveness to your emotional life.
For an alcoholic/addict, anger justified or not, it isn't healthy, especially if held onto, yet as it is express here, it shows us how to channel it. We need to deal with it and express it in healthy ways. It is an emotion like all others, and a normal one, and one that I internalized, while others acted out on, which generally ended up in jails, institutions and death.
I needed to find healthy ways to let it go. By walking, sharing it with others, journaling, at the suggestion of a counsellor, taking a plastic bat and hitting a pillow, talking to my sponsor, counselor, mentor, and taking it to my God and asking for healing.
Under my anger was a lot of resentment, rejection, abandonment, and unnamed emotions that I hadn't allowed myself to feel because of my continued substance abuse. Not just alcohol and drugs, but work, food, relationships, and in recovery, getting involved in service and not taking the time to work and look at myself and my own issues. Mine didn't seem important, forgetting my stuff was traumatic to me, and not allowing myself time to heal. I pooh hood it all away, because everyone seemed to be worse off or I just didn't want to look at it. As they say, we are only as sick as our secrets. I stayed sick. I stayed angry. When I quit smoking at seven years sober, it was like I was a newcomer.
Each day I have to work on my emotional sobriety.
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Post by majestyjo on Dec 28, 2014 15:38:35 GMT -5
Quote: December 22, 2014 Things that Annoy Us The Upside of Irritation by Madisyn Taylor
There will always be factors and people that we cannot control; how we respond can determine the quality of our lives.
There are many stories of spiritual masters embracing the presence of an annoying student in their community. There is even one story that documents a teacher paying an irritating person to live among his students. From an everyday perspective, this is difficult to comprehend. We generally work hard to avoid people and things that we find annoying so they don’t bother us.
From a deeper spiritual perspective, however, irritation can be an important teacher and indicator that we are making progress on our path. Being able to remain centered and awake even when we feel uncomfortable is much more impressive than doing so in an environment where everything is to our liking. No matter how good we are at controlling our circumstances, there will always be factors and people that we cannot control. How we respond to these experiences to a great degree determines the quality of our lives. The goal of spiritual development is not to learn to control our environment—which is more of an ego-driven desire. And while having some measure of control over our external reality is important, it is when we are confronted with a person or situation that irritates us and we can choose not to react that we know have made progress spiritually. It is when we have mastered our internal reality that we will have become the masters of our lives.
The more we try to eliminate annoyances, instead of learning to handle them gracefully, the further we get from developing the qualities that come with spiritual growth, such as patience, tolerance, and acceptance. It is often in the presence of people and experiences we find annoying that we have an opportunity to develop these qualities. Fortunately for most of us, our lives offer an abundance of opportunities to practice and cultivate these traits.
What do you think?
Have always heard, if I don't feed into something it can't grow. Unfortunately, my temperament wasn't the kind that could resist putting in a dig here and there and fuelling the fire. Prior to recovery, I stirred the pot and added the wood, and if I didn't light the fire I let it smolder, if I didn't put it out. Thanks to recovery, I try to smother it even if I am not so ready to completely put out the fire instantly.
Recovery is a process and it takes time and as they say, in order to find patience, you get things to tolerate to practice on. It is a lot easier said than done. It is a lot easier done when it concerns a loved one, yet tough love is difficult. It is difficult with strangers, especially with those we see as abusive and learning to be assertive instead of playing the old roles of victim, martyr, passive/aggressive, etc. It all takes time and healing and that is a gift we can give ourselves.
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Post by majestyjo on Jan 1, 2015 22:36:51 GMT -5
It has been a quiet holiday. My son has been with my, not always by choice, but out of necessity, no money to go out and party. He talked about detox, but has been detoxing here and hasn't been feeling all that great and has been cutting back on cigarettes as well. It has been thank God for wrestling and movies, along with a marathon of The Big Bank Theory. I have been grateful that I have two TVs, even though I live in a one bedroom apartment. Life can be made up of little things which bring us small pleasures. For me it has been a James Patterson book, my music, Master Chef Junior, the Food Network, and The Taste this evening and last night I brought the year in with Keith Urban and the rest of the evening, I channel surfed. We have been enjoying good food along with the opportunity of going to bed and sleeping when I felt like I needed to be there, no matter what time of day it was. Today's thoughts have been about freedom of choice. I can choose to be happy or sad. Someone keeps telling me that I am not happy. Why should I not be happy? Am I not happy, just because I am not jumping up and down in the middle of the floor? I don't have the energy! Even if there is a part of me that is feeling sad, that is okay too. It is a feeling and I have to accept that part of me too. There is a part of me that would like to move out of Hamilton, and then I ask myself, if I move out of Hamilton, "Where would I go?" There is no answer. Where ever I go, I take me with me. If I can't be happy here, I can't be happy any where, so place has nothing to do with happiness, although I would like to be in a place close to nature. Then I say to myself, "Why?" You can't drive. You are close to downtown. You are close to the library. You have a view of Hamilton Bay and an see the trees and the beauty of the city, hop on a bus or go for a walk and go to a park, so why are you trying to make your life difficult. Be happy where you are at, be in the moment and make the most of it. What aren't you doing? You aren't walking in the right direction? The park is the other way. As they say, "What needs to be changed within me and with my attitude? What do I need to change to bring about a spiritual awakening?
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Post by majestyjo on Jan 6, 2015 0:39:57 GMT -5
My son is in a big depression and I haven't been too far behind him. The only difference is that he is using and I am not. The sad thing is that I allowed him to use me today and didn't say no, and I didn't set a strong enough boundary; and I am not feeling too good about it at the moment. I am hurting, not only for myself; but for him. He wants to run, leave town, even though he knows that where ever he goes, he has to go along and his thoughts will follow him.
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Post by majestyjo on Feb 14, 2015 12:25:17 GMT -5
Have found it difficult adjusting to having a link that take me to all the readings. I am use to copying them out and sharing on certain ones daily. I need to broaden my horizons. The following is a good example. There is so much more on the new link than what I use to read and I would have missed out on the blessings and the food for thought. For so many years, I had trouble being alone with silence, always had to fill it up. Even if I was alone, I had to have that noise. When I was with someone else, heaven forbid, one of us had to be talking, there was none of that 'comfortable' silence. Never thought of it as 'refuting' it, yet in a way I can see it as a way of controlling, rebelling, fear, insecurities, and a lot of other things, that an alcoholic/addict goes through emotionally and mentally. Not too sure about Earthlings, but I think those are pretty common feelings for everyone. I like to think of it is God Space in today. As it says in Step Three, listen for the quiet and talk to God. I also need to look at what kind of thoughts I use to fill that empty space. Found this on one of my sites while I was looking for some food to calm the soul as I could not sleep. I am a firm believer in what goes around comes around. What I think, let alone what I say, is put out there and projected onto others and what goes around comes around. It is so important to be honest and open. It is even more important to think good thoughts! I am where I am in today as a result of choices made. That is why I try to make healthy choices in today. Posted in 2010. The site Star Choices is gone. thinkexist.com/quotation/the_...me/261280.htmlwww.youtube.com/watch?v=SfK7D1FyGY4Is it loving, sharing, and caring?
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