Peace and serenity

[mender1]

Peace comes when one can accept that they are not the center.
Life or the energy of life,is a circle
Everyone, everthing shares the same life force call it a spirit,energy,carma etc etc.
It is important to find a way to feel this.
Sit beneath a giant tree with your back against it block out everthing, you will feel the energy flowing from the tree into you.
It seeks to have you part of the circle.
When one becomes apart of the circle they can feel the whole circle.
When I make my self the center I take myself out of the
circle.
It does not matter what belief you want to belive what doctrine you profess.
If you have eyes look around ,
someone something much much greater than i put this all together.
Nothing is by accident and nothing is written in stone for my human experience I call life.
Feel the life force all around and you can feel peace a serenity

[TxRainwater]

Fantastic way to start the day Owen. Knowing that I am not the center of the universe is such a relief!! lol
Seriously, when I stop and think about how insignificant
my being here really seems to be in the huge scale of things...I am amazed.
Life is a part of an unending cycle, like the seasons, the days....just awesome.
Good to see ya this morning hon.

Love and Light,
Brenda

[Caressa2]

One of the greatest feeling that I have experienced in recovery was at my first home group. It was a Women's Discussion Group and we stood up and joined hands after the meeting, gave out chips and read the Promises while in that circle while joining hands and closing with the Lord's Prayer.

I have come close to that feeling several times, but nthing was ever quite as powerful as that group for the first three years of my recovery. I referred to that group as my bread and butter and the Saturday morning meeting as my cake and ice cream. I went to other meetings, but it certainly was home. When I moved it was difficult for me to get there so I joined a Twelve Step Group, which ended up me being the only woman in the group. I started the circle at that group, and then I joined an open meeting with women members and brought the circle there too.

I have been back to the Women's Group several times and am often referred to as an Honorary member. When I am hurting really bad and need to get back to basics, that is one of the places I go when I can.

I am now a member of a Women's CA Discussion Group. I never used Cocaine or Crack, but I am was addicted to Codeine and a new substance called computers. I like it because I have always known I was an addict, some is good, more is better in what ever I choose to do with my life, and their material is AA literature. God willing I will be celebrating 13 years this August, and it wasn't until last year after the AA conference that the words came to me, "I used alcohol like I used everything else in my life!" That phrase brought a lot of peace and serenity to me.

I stole a glass of wine at 10, was given valium at 16, and didn't start drinking until I was 21. From the time I was 29, I was only governed by the amount that was available. Note that the change took 8 years, yet the first time I went out and drank socially I had 8 rum and coke. They told me in AA that wasn't social drinking. I said it was different than the social drinking I did before I came into recovery. In the last years of my drinking it was, "if you are going to have a drink SO SHALL I!"

[mender1]

My mother was a addict and my father a alcholic,
They would tell stories of a 3 year old who would go around and sip everyones drink and then crawl behind the couch and fall asleep.
I do not think I ever had a sober thought until i found AA.
It is kinda funny i never really knew about AA until a mircle happened.
In 81 I was sick and tired of being sick and tired and I called for help.
It was a place called Ahead and it was a hotline and I called and made a appointment.
It was made up of colledge students who were studying to be counseler's and I met a women who understood me.
I tried to stay sober but could not.
I did go to my appointments and she would tell me to keep coming back.
I opened up to her like I had never done before and that was hard for me because I was invert to the max and never let anyone and I mean anyone know the inside of me.
I had a problem as a child and studdered very bad and all my peers would make fun of me.
I had a girlfriend in the 6'th grade tell me that she could no longer go out with me because everyone said I was different, very painful so I shut out the world.
Well I went to my appointment one day and my counseler
was no longer there and they wanted me to start all over with someone new.
I knew I could not so I left to go out and stay in my addiction.
Two tears later I was once again to a point of insanity and I came home and my wife my family and my boss was sitting in my living room.
They all told me I needed help and if I did not seek it all was done as far as they were concerned.
they had already set up a appointment for me to go see a intake person for treatment.
I stayed up all night and drank and smoke one joint after another.
In the morning kicking and fighting I went to see this treatment center.
When i got there they were very busy they had 4 intake person's and all were busy with others.
I sat there for 2 hours waiting and was not a happy camper to say the least.
I wanted to go and want to go now.
I was really restless and finally after asking over and over when I would see someone.
The voulenteer who was working at the desk kept calling up stairs.
She finally said all are busy but they are sending someone down to talk to you.
They put me in this little room with a desk and two chairs.
In walked Linda my counseler from ahead at first she did not know who I was my hair had gotten long and I had a beard,but I knew at a glance who she was.
I felt peace for the first time, I agreed to sign myself in and get help.
I found AA.
You must know that I lived in Akron, Ohio and had not ben to a AA meeting or knew what it was about.
She was like a angel sent to help me.
I am sorrto say it took me nine more years before I grasp the program.
But today I say I had to keep going back out until I realized I did not want to go back out.
It does work when you work it

[Caressa2]

Thank you for sharing. You were definitely visited by an Earth Angel.

I think I shared in my story that I was in Akron, Ohio for my ex-husband's cousin's wedding. I was too sick to drink the wine at the burgandy breakfast the next morning and I was so hung over that I couldn't help with the driving home. Yet I remained in denial about my alcoholism and didn't find acceptance for two years after I got here. I think it just took me that long to detox and for the brain to clear so I could face reality.