Living in the moment
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Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 93
Living in the moment
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
I have been musing on 11 today. My higher power (as I understand it) is the moment. When I am in my head I am usually rerunning a scene from my past or worrying about the future. I don't pray but I do meditate. I have found that it is incredibly easy to be in the moment and ridiculously hard to remember to get or stay in the moment. I think everyone has "moments" during the beginning of their recovery and one of the big ones for me had to do with a hot shower.
I had just filed divorce, the addict in my life was active and out of sight but I was still filled to capacity with stress. I was sick to my stomach. I could taste the stress and anxiety in my saliva. I did not know my ass from a hole in ground. I was scared and alone. I wandered into the bathroom and started the shower. I was going to take a quick utility shower.
I was leaning up against the wall, my mind was a ruined battlefield covered in toxic air and then I smiled. The water felt good on my skin. It was hotter than I normally like it but it felt good. I could feel each drop hit me and each drop felt good. I could hear the drops falling on the floor and they sounded good. I could smell the soap I was using. I opened my eyes and the sun was coming through the window. I could see the steam floating and swirling around. I was smiling. It felt like nothing was wrong. It was an easy feeling with no resistance or ill will.
Of course when I got out of the shower I began to feel sick again but that moment has always stuck with me. Its the same feeling I get when I garden or sit outside. For me its the moment. When I remember to get in the moment I hear, smell, see and feel things I was neglecting but were right in front of me.
Today, I try and force myself once a day to get in the moment and when I get there its the same feeling of ease, happiness and contentment...and contact. Gardening and hot showers usually do the trick for me.
Anyone care to share their personal tips or tricks revolving around conscious contact and the 11th step?
I have been musing on 11 today. My higher power (as I understand it) is the moment. When I am in my head I am usually rerunning a scene from my past or worrying about the future. I don't pray but I do meditate. I have found that it is incredibly easy to be in the moment and ridiculously hard to remember to get or stay in the moment. I think everyone has "moments" during the beginning of their recovery and one of the big ones for me had to do with a hot shower.
I had just filed divorce, the addict in my life was active and out of sight but I was still filled to capacity with stress. I was sick to my stomach. I could taste the stress and anxiety in my saliva. I did not know my ass from a hole in ground. I was scared and alone. I wandered into the bathroom and started the shower. I was going to take a quick utility shower.
I was leaning up against the wall, my mind was a ruined battlefield covered in toxic air and then I smiled. The water felt good on my skin. It was hotter than I normally like it but it felt good. I could feel each drop hit me and each drop felt good. I could hear the drops falling on the floor and they sounded good. I could smell the soap I was using. I opened my eyes and the sun was coming through the window. I could see the steam floating and swirling around. I was smiling. It felt like nothing was wrong. It was an easy feeling with no resistance or ill will.
Of course when I got out of the shower I began to feel sick again but that moment has always stuck with me. Its the same feeling I get when I garden or sit outside. For me its the moment. When I remember to get in the moment I hear, smell, see and feel things I was neglecting but were right in front of me.
Today, I try and force myself once a day to get in the moment and when I get there its the same feeling of ease, happiness and contentment...and contact. Gardening and hot showers usually do the trick for me.
Anyone care to share their personal tips or tricks revolving around conscious contact and the 11th step?
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: The Jungle
Posts: 5,435
You have the gift of writing. I could feel the shower.
The trick for me is living in the moment. I can get there through yoga or meditation but actually living every moment that way.....wouldn't that be nice! Existing in that place where the awareness of self and surroundings are so crisp.
I find myself getting caught up in the routine or tasks of the day.....perhaps.....just perhaps.....that IS living in the moment as I am neither concerned about the future nor ruminating over the past.
gentle hugs
ke
The trick for me is living in the moment. I can get there through yoga or meditation but actually living every moment that way.....wouldn't that be nice! Existing in that place where the awareness of self and surroundings are so crisp.
I find myself getting caught up in the routine or tasks of the day.....perhaps.....just perhaps.....that IS living in the moment as I am neither concerned about the future nor ruminating over the past.
gentle hugs
ke
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