Alcoholics Anonymous Videos | DonInLondon

Alcoholics Anonymous Blog & Video | Feb 22 2004 - 2014 | DonInLondon | Step 2 "Sanity"

February 22 Video

DonInLondon February 22, 2014: step two month: "came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." I do believe the truth will set me free. And it can be quite a struggle to find the truth when I sit at home on my own. Isolating in the old days made me capable of being armchair ruler of the world, or more importantly convinced if I were in charge, the world would be a better place. Now that's insane to believe on my own in isolation, even if I'm sober, that I know best would be an insane proposition to believe.

Capitalism is a good thing, providing the Capitalists are not in charge of it. Socialism is a good thing, providing the Socialists are not in charge of it. Communism is a good thing, providing the Communists are not in charge of it. Laissez-faire banking systems are good thing, providing the bankers aren't in charge of it. Free trade is a good thing, as long as the free traders are not working together and behind everyone's back. In other words, any system of government, economics, social systems and religion are good, providing no human is in charge of it. Fellowship works best when the individuals in Fellowship recognise that no single human power will ever make it work better than a higher power than each individual. The group conscience is more likely to establish a better truth than me!

Self-regulation is all about suggesting that individuals who have an interest in making something work, will eventually make sure whatever that interest is, it is in the public interest, especially in the banking system and politics, self-regulation has become corruption and corruption breeds contempt wherever we sit in the world. Within our Fellowship, or Fellowships, the group conscience is often called to find a path of progress for the group and help it work to the advantage of everyone from newcomer to old timer. Far from perfect, and often only good in the moment of now, the group conscience can develop into a powerful and unifying force to keep people sober one day at a time. Evolution and revolution. Sometimes quickly, more often slowly, catching up into the moment of now.

It has been quite difficult over the last twenty-four hours, physically not so good, emotionally happy as a clam at the bottom of the sea. Emotional and spiritual: over the last twenty-four hours, happy in the moment of now most definitely in all moments just about. And yet I do not forget that there are people suffering all over the world, and friends and fellows, suffering in the moment of now. In any meeting at any time of day, people will be experiencing the whole life experience on offer to anyone. Some happy, some sad, some joyful and full of mirth, some confused, some battered, some relaxing, some feeling like they are experiencing their wildest dreams, some experiencing grief so deeply felt it hurts physically as well as emotionally. This is life in the raw. In Fellowship, when feelings come back to life, we do too.

I may or may not get to a meeting later, depends on my mobility and the amount of pain. And that is life, I'm not upset because I cannot manoeuvre like I used to, when I look back, the physical and mental impacts of a hard working life do have their consequences. Some simple advice which I never took myself is to pace yourself. And if we are lucky we could live to a great age, or be cut down very young. The suggestion by many is to consume life as if there is no tomorrow, there is plenty of time to sleep when you die, it is the language of recklessness often, and life which holds too little value as the person thinking it, or the people living it to the extremes. There is richness beyond measure and thrilling experiences every single day, what matters most is how we feel life in the moment of now.

Boredom, my feelings about boredom, I was never bored by life, even when it was at its worst, life was never boring. Boredom in my opinion is a mind agitated emotionally, intellectually and spiritually, not living in the moment of now. When a person is aware of their current surroundings, emotionally and spiritually, in other words feeling life in the moment as it is, every option opens as we explore the world with our senses to the possible, and beyond if we can see the next step in our journey. Boredom is a restless spirit, not able to understand the possibilities of what next in the moment of now.

DonInLondon 2004 - 2013

Alcoholics Anonymous | February 22 2013 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 2 "Sanity" | February 22 | "common ground and the anvils of experience…" When it comes to being restored to sanity, it is all part of my understanding as part of my daily meditation. Sanity! And being restored to sanity by a higher power, always the many in recovery to be sober, always to be translated and integrated into living in the moment of now… I can still be driven into old thinking and old insanity by daily events… Not so for this day!

Learning day by day what it is to be an emotional and spiritual being, living in the present moment is difficult. And there are no guarantees what we will face today. The olden days, where life got very predictable and very mad, were manufactured by drinking over and over again, and hoping that the result would be different. Wherever we cross the line with drink, and we do not face reality without drink, the reality of drink and living in the problem is insanity for me. Life is still real when we are drunk, we are just blinkered and doped so we can't see it. Being blinkered and doped and missing the beauty of now, and also the ugly of now, means we do not make progress, we simply swerve the obvious, the truth of our oblivion and our inability to cope…

Every day a learning day, developing common ground with everyone I encounter. And, within the fellowship, sometimes we refer to the anvils of experience. Everybody has their own anvil of experience where we hammer out what we can do and what we cannot do today. We can adopt an outlook of living in problems or living in solutions. Or somewhere in between most often because most of life is not cut and dried if we are in the company of fellow human beings. How I see the world today, is most likely different to the way you see the world today because our senses work differently and because our life experience is different. At the same time, we exist together, and we have similarities which far exceed the differences, so we can live in harmony, when life is good, and even when it gets bad and worse, when it gets really ugly. Individual progress is always connected to the progress we can make together based on learning the truth, understanding the love and the wisdom which grows day by day…

Writing this daily reflection, 22nd of February 2013: I am a day late in writing this. Yesterday morning, I had breakfast with my sister, who was up in town for various reasons, both social and business. We do talk most days on the telephone and she lives a couple of hours out of town. So it was good to catch up, talk about family, talk about friends and talk about people we have known over the years. And we had a wonderful couple of hours together, sharing humour, sharing common interests and sharing our feelings about what is going on in the world and where we are today. We have very different lives. And yet we can connect on the deepest level of emotions and experiences. We both have had a lot of grief over the last few years, and although we grieve differently, the outcome is the same, we get back to living in the moment and understanding the journey so far…

I did not want to make a video yesterday, I was feeling tired and I had to sort out some practical matters which involved challenging a very big organisation about their conduct towards me. It was a telephone company which is so big it makes rules and regulations to favour the telephone company and not their customers. Indeed, the customer service experience was appalling because the company has disempowered its workforce and made them operate to and made conflicts in their systems and procedures which say they are there to provide a service to customers and yet everything is geared to profit, which is quite right, at the same time they have lost sight of what their business is all about...Customers!

A phone call, just interrupted my flow of feelings and thoughts. There are a lot of people experiencing hardship, and hardship impacts on our feelings, and sometimes feelings are so overwhelming we cannot cope. When it comes to tragic ailments which have no cure, denial of the truth is a coping mechanism. Although my mother just had a relative die. And last Wednesday she found out, and as she contacted relatives about what was happening next, a typical Yorkshire response happened. Two other relatives decided that they may go to the funeral, if they were able to fit it in with going to the supermarket and having some steroid injections. As with Yorkshire folk, there are deep feelings, acknowledged by making light of grief which is felt, and trying to fit in the funeral around the shopping and having some clinical treatment is typical of my older family generations. And talking further with my mother, she was enjoying the freedom of living in the moment and making the best of life, her life which she can cherish in the most simple of routine activities whilst still being treated for her own cancer at the same time. There is much laughter and love no matter what is going on. And although life is very serious, especially when there may be little left of it, laughter and humour and love are all intertwined and so fear of the unknown need not develop and spoil the ever present, imperfectly perfect moment of now…

Alcoholics Anonymous | February 22 2012 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 2 "Sanity" | February 22 | Today's AA daily reflection: "all about guidance." I have a strong faith in being guided by any source of wisdom which comes into my life today. Is this a faith in a higher power? Most often to me it is listening to the collective wisdom of the many people I encounter in life on a daily basis. Wherever faith comes from, which helps develop solutions, and improve my experience, strength and hope is truly a gift and a source for me to acknowledge…

Our Fellowship, "forged on the anvils of experience," continues to be forged on the many anvils of the many in recovery. With humility and as individuals we can grow and develop our experience, strength and hope and collectively as humanity nothing stands still. Humanity is evolving as we are evolving as individuals, recovery and sobriety offers me the freedom to learn and the freedom to choose next steps and next actions in my life today…

Opinions and beliefs, we all have them and there are over seven billion people on the planet. Each of us with an outlook, growing and developing through time and experience. We all have our unique and authentic experience day by day, I found it best never to undermine others opinions and beliefs and hope that as I am respectful to the world, I hope the world and people I encounter may be respectful of my outlook to good conscience and good living today…

Over the decades I'm grateful that the founders of the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous made it clear that there is no exclusion to anyone wishing to be a part of the Fellowship and the only requirement is a desire to stop drinking. No rules, no laws and regulations to exclude individuals. We are all trusted servants, each with our opinions and beliefs, and at the same time being respectful of each other's outlook even when it may feel disagreeable and wrong for us as individuals…

You are quite within your rights to follow your path, your religion and politics in the world which does not interfere with the rights of others, in line with the declaration of human rights by the United Nations. In Fellowship we are mindful not to tread on each other's toes and as the AA pledge reads, "I'm responsible when anyone anywhere reaches out the help, I want the hand of AA to be there and for that I'm responsible…" It may not be your hand or my hand today, the hope is there will be a hand in AA reaching out to offer help and when asked we will try to answer…

We all have an inner voice, and that inner voice is motivated by our personal traits and drives. From whatever source, be it a higher power, nature and providence I feel there is a moral code and I have a conscience to the good of life. Faith and belief in seeking solutions to the good of life and the good of everyone keeps me right sized in my outlook and my actions on a daily basis. Everyone contributes to life based on their beliefs and opinions on what they choose to do. Freedom of choice with a clear head and seeing the big picture and the possibilities to the good help guide me in my actions day by day…

DonInLondon 2005-2011

We are always unique and authentic individuals, living in the same day. Truth, love and wisdom are key to living. With humility we learn what works each day that we are all interdependent and connected. Sober we have freedom to choose our path, we can change as life changes today...

Sober emotionally and spiritually our inner voice rings true to the good of living ~ Shakti Gawain "Every time you don't follow your inner guidance, you feel a loss of energy, loss of power, and a sense of spiritual deadness." -/- Our inner voice informed by truth, love and listening to wisdom of others...

Our wisdom develops with an honest open and willing outlook, accepting and guided by the truth in front of us ~ Immanuel Kant "Immaturity is the incapacity to use one's intelligence without the guidance of another?" -/- Emotional and spiritual living is now, inclusive and enriched by experience and all we encounter…

Let go… out of the madness of self will run riot, and let in the Truth, love and wisdom of others ~ Shakti Gawain "When I'm trusting and being myself as fully as possible, everything in my life reflects this by falling into place easily, often miraculously." Solutions come more easily as we include and seek help without fear...

Buddha "Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue."

Sober and with humility, if we behave to others as we would like them to behave towards us ~ Anais Nin ~ "Each contact with a human being is so rare, so precious, one should preserve it." -/- and have no expectations of them, then resentments and forgiveness keep us on the potholed intrepid path of destiny, it’s not what they do, it’s what we do that gets results…

Living in the solution, honest open and willing, newcomers... ~ Anais Nin "Each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." -/-

We need love them as we cherish our closest friends and as we learn to love ourselves...

AA Daily Reflection: GUIDANCE ~ FEBRUARY 22, This means a belief in a Creator who is all power, justice, and love; a God who intends for me a purpose, a meaning, and a destiny to grow, however… haltingly, toward His own likeness and image. AS BILL SEES IT, p. 51

As I began to understand my own powerlessness and my dependence on God, as I understand Him, I began to see that there was a life which, if I could have it, I would have chosen for myself from the beginning. It is through the continuous work of the Steps and the life in the Fellowship that I’ve learned to see that there is truly a better way into which I am being guided. As I come to know more about God, I am able to trust His ways and His plans for the development of His character in me. Quickly or not so quickly, I grow toward His image and likeness...

"Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."

Step Two Video 12 And 12