Motives

[caressa]

Be aware of your motives

"Ordinarily, everything we do is in our self-interest. Everything."

-- Anthony de Mello

"Remember, most of the things you think you need are ego trips designed to bolster your image and your perception of security.... You'll waste a lot of energy satisfying your ego only to find that, as soon as it's got what it wants, it ignores all your efforts and promptly nails another list of demands to your forehead. The ego will always try to force you to slave for its vision. I wouldn't stand for that BS if I were you."

-- Stuart Wilde

"We have no need to teach pure motives to the mind. All that is necessary to make the mind pure is to undo the negative conditioning to which it has been subjected; then we will be left with pure, unconditioned awareness."

-- Eknath Easwaran

Often when I questioned whether I was doing God's will in my life or whether I was running on self-will, my sponsor told me to examine my motives. More importantly, was is my intent behind the motive. Was it for my honour and glory? Was I looking for approval and validation outside of myself? Was I doing something to make myself look good because of the pain inside?

I have often had my motives questioned about sharing here. It has been because I care and wish to carry the message to others. Because of my health, I only get out to one meeting a week. This site and another one, help me to stay spiritually connected. I need that defense to maintain my sobriety. Not to stay sober, but for my peace of mind. They say if I don't give it away I can't keep it. I have been given many gifts of awareness in recovery, I thank you for the opportunity to share with you. When I look at things, there is always something else to learn, a new perspective to see, and new enlightenment to direct me on my journey.

[caressa]

So many times, when I question, should I or shouldn't I, I have to ask myself, "What are my motives?" What is my reason for doing this? Can I take my Higher Power with me in my decision?

As my sponsor says, '...you end up shouldn't all over the place.

[Lin]

I totally agree. When I give it away, I strengthen my program. I think posting a post here (from the heart) or replying to a post helps each of us grow.

LIN

[majestyjo]

Good food for thought. How often we did things for our own power and glory?

The Owl stands for Wisdom. It can see the deception, while others are deceived. We can fool others some of the time, but deep down we can't fool ourselves if we look to find true self-honesty within ourselves. We can transform ourselves, looking into our self-consciousness, and be enlightened to our own self truth.

[majestyjo]

My sponsor said, always examine your motives and intent. For me they go together.