Readings

For Today: "The foundations which we would dig about and find are within us, like the Kingdom of Heaven, rather than without." Samuel Butler "My resources are within. If I stand still, and don't panic, they will come to me. Terror may strike and I can live with it, going on about what I am doing. i do not have to act on every thought; feelings need not paralyze me. Each time I do what I have to do, I become stronger. When I face indecision, I ask God for an intuitive thought, a direction. It is inspiring to realize that, apart from nature, all that is good and beautiful in this world has come from human inventions and discoveries. What solutions are within me? For today: To find my own strengths, I put aside the rigid ideas and prejudices that limit my thinking. -- Voices of Recovery "True comfort is to be found in the balance and sanity of abstinence. So deep and pure is this comfort that it is well worth whatever trouble or pain I might have to pass through to attain it." For Today p. 253 "Abstinence brings such peace and freedom to my life. It brings the simplicity of being able to wear anything in my closet, of not wanting to lie when I have to list my weight on my driver's license. The years of insomnia and nightmares are over because abstinence gives me the courage to be a person I respect and like, the integrity to align my actions with my values. So when the seas of my life get stormy, I remember the phrase, 'Abstinence is a lifeboat. Stay in the lifeboat.' My disease used to tempt me into thinking being abstinent 'made me' feel the pain. Today, I understand that the more uncomfortable my feelings, the greater the freedom I'll experience by walking through the situation abstinently. Now the time and energy I spent running is available for experienceing joy. For today, I treasure my abstinence. -- In This Moment: "In This Moment, I look in the mirror and see myself. It never occurred to me to make amends to myself while looking into a mirror, as the book Co-Dependents Anonymous suggests. Before CoDA, when i looked in a mirror, I saw a person, but I never saw myself. A friend in my Step study group mentioned doing a Fifth Step in front of a mirror. When I did, I touhed some of my self abandonment, self-neglect, and self-abuse issues. The transformation was amazing, I saw me, who i really am, and I fully accepted myself. What a powerful experience. -- The Language of Letting Go "Letting go of the Need to Control The rewards from detachment are great: serenity; a deep sense of peace; the ability to give and receive love in self-enhancing, energizing ways; and the freedom to find real solutions to our problems." codependent No More Letting go of our need to control can set us and other free. It can set our Higher Power free to send the best to us. If we weren't trying to control someone or something, what would we be doing differently What would we do that we're not letting ourselves do now? Where would we go? What would we say? What decisions would we make? What would we ask for? What boundaries would be set? When would we say no or yes? If we weren't trying to control whether a person liked us or his or her reaction to us, what would we do differently? if we weren't trying to control the course of a relationship, what would we do differently? If we weren't trying to control another person's behavior, how would we think, feel, speak, and behave differently than we do now? What haven't we been letting ourselves do while hoping that self-denial would influence a particular situation or person? Are there some things we've been doing that we'd stop? how would we treat ourselves differently? Would we let ourselves enjoy life more and feel better right now? Would we stop feeling so bad? Would we treat ourselves better? If we weren't trying to control, what would we do differently? Make a list, then do it. Today, I will ask myself what i would be doing differently if I weren't trying to control. When I hear the answer, i will do it. god, help me let go of my need to control. Help me set myself and others free. ==