Readings

For Today:

"We are apt to be very pert at censuring others, wher ewe will not endure advice ourselves." William Penn

"Recognition of my faults does not always save me from them. I find myself slipping into advice-giving, despite my distaste for someone else's advice and my conviction that we are not here to advise anyone.
When I make that mistake, I ask forgiveness of the person i tried to advise. that is the first step toward removal of this defect; and if I confess it to my group, I am even closer to attaining a measure of humility.

for today: People may seem to want my advice, but that is no reason for me to give it. In OA, I am just another member, not a counselor."

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Voices of Recovery

"The illusions I had as a compulsive overeater were at the root of my illness. When exposed to the bright light of reality these ideas - my old illusions - crumble into dust and blow away." For Today p. 134

"I carried the illusions I brought with me to this program for many years. For example, if I were a 'good girl,' life would bring me no pain; when I married, I would be taken care of: i could control people, places, and things; being thin would solve all my problems; if I had enough willpower, I could stop eating.
When I came into Overeaters Anonymous, these illusion were exposed to the bright light of the Twelve Steps, and gradually they lost their hold over me. OA gave me the courage, hope, and clarity to face my life, one day at a time, without eating compulsively. Today I believe that living in reality carries with it the widest spectrum of feelings and challenges. when I keep the Twelve Steps, and gradually they lost their hold over me. OA gave me the courage, hope, and clarity to face my life, one day at a time, without eating compulsively. Today I believe that living in reality carries with it the widest spectrum of feelings and challenges. When I keep the Twelve Steps close at hand. I have a chance to experience the promises and gifts of this program.

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In This Moment

"In This Moment, I love life.

It wasn't always so. After my husband died, I wrote a about about our marriage from the wedding to his death. I included everything I could remember, the bad as well as the good. In the year since I finished, I have gone back to reread it. I found that i left out a lot of the happy times. I was there but not there. I spent so much time thinking and talking about past resentments and projecting potential problems that I was sleepwalking through the present.

today, I live in the present. I like who i am and where I am. i enjoy each day and get the most out of it. I will never lose myself again. That's why I keep going to CoDA meetings and reading CoDA literature. Thanks to CoDA I have a life today.

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The Language of Letting Go

"Recognizing Feelings

Experiencing feelings can be a challenge if we've had no previous experience or permission to do that. learning to identify what we're feeling is a challenge we can meet, but we will not become experts overnight. nor do we have to deal with our feelings perfectly.
Here are some ideas that might be helpful as you learn to recognize and edeal with feelings.
Take out a sheet of paper. On the top if ot write, 'If it was okay to feel whatever I'm feeling, and I wouldn't be judged as bad or wrong, what would i be feeling?' Then write whatever comes to mind. You can also use the favorite standby of many people in discovering their feelings: writing or journaling. you can keep a diary, write letters you don't intend to send, or just scribble thoughts onto a not pad.
Watch and listen to yourself as an objective third person. What do you hear? Sadness, fear, anger, happiness
What is your body telling you? Is it tense and rigid with anger? Running with fear? Heavy with sadness and grief? Dancing with joy?
Talking to people in recovery helps too. Going to meetings helps. once we feel safe, many of us find that we open up naturally and with ease to our feelings.
we are on a continual treasure hunt in recovery. one of the treasures we're seeking is the emotional part of ourselves. We don't have to do it perfectly. We need only be honest, open, adn willing to try. our emotions are there waiting to share themselves with us.

Today, I will watch myself and listen to myself as I go through my day. I will not judge myself for what I'm feeling; i will accept myself.

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