June 6 2012 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 6 Spiritual Willingness Alcoholics Anonymous Today's AA daily reflection: "all we do is try to make spiritual progress…" Spiritual willingness and spiritual progress is action in the moment of now. We are judged by others by what we do and not what you think or feel we do unless we understand how we fit with society and the people around us. As we become more mature in our emotional expression, expressing our thinking and being part of society and included by what we do…
Step six is associated with extreme behaviour and is often expressed in the seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. In step seven shortcomings might be described as: chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness and humility. We can be at sixes and sevens with life, natural instincts versus extreme behaviour in any direction which leads us into difficulties and the actions we take within family, community and society. And we can be resentful and angry when our needs are not met for the basics of life and we see the extreme excess of others…
My personal understanding, about life and living, how I feel, which impacts on my thinking and actions will always be me developing my spiritual and emotional life. It is not about what other people do or their behaviour, it is about how I hold to my truth about what works for me. Good conscience works for me, learning the truth of life as it unfolds and how to love people and the most difficult for me is being loved back. Fear of grief and loss, then understanding and living through grief and loss has added to my temperament in the moment and within each day that passes…
Step six and step seven, in the literature of our fellowship is quite sparse and sometimes it is argued or suggested that step six and step seven are one in the same. Not so for me because step six and seven offer me balance so I may understand the boundaries. And in practising these steps, the emotional highs and lows of life are lived in the moment. I used to be stunned and numbed by situations walking away and then trying to understand my feelings and nowadays I feel life in the moment, thinking in the moment and can act in the moment of now. As I was reminded recently, life is lived best with the power of now…
How am I feeling? I love my life, even though I am below par and have had little sleep. Type I diabetes sometimes is unmanageable and the consequences are difficult. What can I do? Look after myself and be patient because some ailments take time to sort themselves out. And if I can't resolve matters I've learned to ask the help when needed. The good news is I feel okay emotionally, indeed I feel really good writing this. As M Scott Peck said in the road less travelled, if we accept life is difficult it ceases to be an issue and we can move on. And the serenity prayer is always there, can do cannot do and wisdom, and especially seeking help from any source appropriate as life goes on…
AA Daily Reflections ~ "ALL WE DO Is Try... Can He now take them all - every one? ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76
In doing Step Six it helped me a lot to remember that I am striving for “spiritual progress.” Some of my character defects may be with me for the rest of my life, but most have been toned down or eliminated. All that Step Six asks of me is to become willing to name my defects, claim them as my own, and be willing to discard the ones I can, just for today. As I grow in the program, many of my defects become more objectionable to me than previously and, therefore, I need to repeat Step Six so that I can become happier with myself and maintain my serenity."
DonInLondon 2005-2011
When I am disturbed it is for a reason and very valid to question why. When I am disturbed by people places and things, if I can see the situation through their eyes long enough to understand why, I may find a path and make choices which keep me safe and out of harm’s way... step 6, step 1, step 11 & 12
Step six problem step seven to solution... Stuck in old ways, fear, brave facing, cover up, and spinning we are the problem and will find ourselves back in it from time to time. In time we develop courage, faith and confidence to learn and be human today...
Steps work just for today; defects are at the extremes of attitudes and behaviour, balance in the middle? The wisdom comes from living them, after studying them. As we recognise how steps are working for us, we keep our books handy for daily reference and sharing, living texts for people living...
June 6 2007
Love - DonInLondon ‘Day In the Life’
Quiet and Silent Defiance versus Angry Shouting And Mad at Life
Yes the difference in my Parents. To an extent this feels the best way to describe my inheritance if you like to my understanding. The context we can experience of love first hand. I love My Mum, still alive and very much with it and everything. And I loved my Dad, long dead. My parents loved each other without question and without conditions, and believe me the conditions were sometimes very unfavourable.
That on my mind tonight, the thing about us in our fellowship is we are working life out, through listening to the wisdom of the years we all have as we share. And tonight I remained silent too long and missed sharing my feelings. So as I am able to share them I write them.
It was quite harrowing to hear of love and not love tonight, in my context I have wondered sometimes how I loved. Not too well in some ways, as my learning in early life was characterised by how my parents dealt with life. We forget if we are too self centred and obsessed that no one comes to life with a road map, and we learn as we go. As did our parents.
We all Learn from each other
What we learn can be absolutely profound and wonderful. And in the same family there can be such disharmony at times we are shocked by love and hate. We can love and hate, as we understand hateful behaviour.
I Learn, We Learned
Not only at home, but in school, community and from others we started to love along the way and then we lost the plot or they did. A combination maybe. But love can be there and then love is lost somehow.
Importance Of
Learning always how to be true, how to be deep and how to be loving and cherish what we have. Simply, it is this one life we have. The journey in sobriety these days is beyond compare to the life of hurry, moving on and being so mad at being right, nothing, especially love had much to do with where I ended up. Quite the reverse, loss of love had been the prime ingredient to undo me.
So how am I Tonight
Better informed and better able to cherish and understand without a doubt, to love without conditions and also to know when love is said and not meant.
My Father a great philosopher in so many ways, so adept and yet so broken by life and his experiences he never quite understood till the end what it was all about. My Mother another philosopher who experiences the essence of being and being spiritual in the moment. What a gift and what a mentor, actually both I realise gave me their gifts.
As denials and filters are breaking away it’s better to see the truth and know and admire and love as we may. Love is spiritual, and within, complete in every emotion for love and against love.
Tonight has been a good time to reflect that love now means I have a spectacularly different understanding and way of being.
I feel a lot more grounded, a lot more able to comprehend feelings that have always been with me and understandings which I have known and not been able to acknowledge. Now I can and get to honesty just a day at a time. And honesty may begin at daybreak and best lost by nightfall, this is our journey so often in this world.
Roads
The roads of living, the maps of the human heart, the tall stories and the fortitude to keep on going when endeavour is hardest. To let go and accept, to cherish each and every encounter and embrace life.
We are gifted so in our first breath, and spend a lifetime finding ourselves as we journey. And we come full circle well before our ending if we are lucky and make good on that first dawn with a lifetime of days living as we may.
Gifts of Life
All about us, to good and bad. Every experience made with an open mind will show us our way, and we listen to that inner voice, informed as wisdom pours in. Change is forever, and a life of endeavour is worth each step good or bad. We are fortunate when we understand our path is as life offers, not as we may will it so. Good when we understand the difference. Hindsight and wisdom, we can love it and hate it, best settle and love it, just for today.
Step 6 "Spiritual Willingness" Reading Video Link:
wrongs. Chapter 6, Into Action, Big Book From: Page 72 Thru: Page 75, the bottom of the page. 12 And 12 Step 5."
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June ~ Video Reading Chapter Six Into Action Link:
I do not speak for Alcoholics Anonymous I speak for myself. Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of unique and authentic people who speak for themselves where they will to share experience, strength and hope about recovery on a daily basis. Anonymity affords
sanctuary to find how to live sober and be open, honest and willing to learn life day by day. For me "truth," "love" and "wisdom" offer the best spiritual experience by living reality today. Into the fabric of recovery from alcoholism are woven the Twelve Steps and the
Twelve Traditions, steps to be open, honest and willing to learn, traditions to live unity, service and recovery.
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Spiritual principles ~ Forgiveness Acceptance Surrender Faith Open-mindedness Honesty Willingness Moral-inventory Amends Humility Persistence Spiritual-growth Service
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