Courage To Change 04/14/14

Old 04-14-2014, 08:46 AM
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Behold the power of NO
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Courage To Change 04/14/14

Many of us develop a heightened awareness of our thoughts as we recover in Al-Anon. After a while, we are able to notice the change when our thinking becomes distorted. But if we wish to put a stop to negative
thoughts, awareness is just the beginning. When “stinking thinking” takes hold of me, I must do more than just dismiss the negative thoughts. I must replace them with something positive or I am likely to
slide right back into my negative thinking. Our group ordered a collection of Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature (CAL) on audiocassettes when they were available. I have gotten into the habit of listening to them in my car when I’m driving around town. Even though I had read these CAL pamphlets many times before, hearing them spoken out loud is a different and very powerful experience. If my attitude is not good, adjusting it by listening to Al-Anon wisdom on a tape, at a meeting, or one-to- one can get me back on track.

Today’s Reminder

Today I’m going to pay close attention to what I tell myself. If necessary, I’ll stop in mid-thought, start over, and replace negative illusions with positive truths.

“What we teach ourselves with our thoughts and attitudes is up to us.”

. . . In All Our Affairs
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Old 04-14-2014, 08:47 AM
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Behold the power of NO
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Some days the daily reading is just awesome and others I feel I am posting a commercial for Al Anon LOL
I like the Quote thought: “What we teach ourselves with our thoughts and attitudes is up to us.”
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Old 04-14-2014, 10:18 AM
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My wife was flipping through the channels over the weekend and I ended up watching an interview with Sue Monk Kidd (<i>The Secret Life of Bee's</i>) on the Oprah channel "Super Soul Sunday." That was followed by an interview with Pastor Joel Osteen.
Watching the Joel Osteen segment, and hearing him respond to various callers looking for answers to their spiritual questions, I noticed how it was hard for him to do more than barely scratch the surface of their questions.
It was a good time to reflect again on what I have found in Al-Anon that I'd never had before: a program. For me, that consists of going to meetings to hear other people share their experience, strength and hope; daily readings of Al-Anon and other spiritual literature; and prayer & meditation.
To me, being on a spiritual path involves a lot of learning about myself and about the world and it rarely, if ever, comes in a big gush of wisdom...it almost always comes in a series of tiny steps. Sometimes I don't feel like I'm accomplishing anything, but I often look back at where I've been and I can see that things that didn't even seem significant have made it possible for me to progress.
Just speaking for myself, but without a spiritual program, I don't know how I'd make any progress at all!
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Old 04-15-2014, 04:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Carlotta View Post
Some days the daily reading is just awesome and others I feel I am posting a commercial for Al Anon LOL
I like the Quote thought: “What we teach ourselves with our thoughts and attitudes is up to us.”
I'm not on the boards on a regular basis, but enjoy seeing your Courage to Change posts. Many of the posts on the Friends and Family board are (by their very nature) negative, and it's a lot to see so many people struggling and suffering. Your quotes from Courage to Change are a little island of positivity and I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate what you're doing.

Thank-you!
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