Dee74

Keep at it Brain

No reason why you shouldn't be sober through Christmas and beyond, Zero - sorry about the infection though.

D

jackrussell

Your plan, Zero, sounds very positive to me. It's your enthusiasm that's the clincher. Positively-driven enthusiasm is a gift that should not be ignored or wasted. Honor it. Be grateful for it. Surf it.
Certainly, from the tenor of your posts, I don't see you being in any danger of reverting to old addictions. And there must be aspects of your job that you love. If you focus in on those, develop the mindfulness/meditation/addictions therapy stream, you just might very well be able to coast into full pension retirement. As you know, a year in your 50's or 60's ain't nearly as long as a year in your teens.
I suspect that if it's ever going to happen, Old Mr. Wisdom is likely to come knocking at the door at this stage in life.
And I'm sure that your employer's management team knows the ins and outs of addiction quite well. Nobody's about to cast any first stones from that group.

LBrain

an interesting observation about time JR, when we were 'little' the summer break from school seemed like 'forever'. Then as we get older or have kids of our own, it seems so short. There is actually a "scientific" explanation for that - or a psychological one if you will. Instead of trying to explain it, I'll give an analogy - I like analogies. To a person who earns 50,000 a year, 1000 dollars is a lot of money, To a person who earns 10,000,000 a year, 1000 dollars is NOT a lot of money. Same with time, the more time we have the more is seems compressed, or 'goes by' more quickly.

Sorry to hear that you are dealing with health issues again Zero. Stay with your mind and get through this.

Now, I have a suggestion for you. There is a group here that has a meeting on Saturday morning. An 11th step meeting.

Step 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.

The meeting starts off with ten minutes of silent meditation, then goes into discussion. There is no 'praying' except the usual closing Lord's Prayer. But the discussion is geared toward meditation, etc.

Maybe you could use that angle and start an 11th step meeting to teach people how to meditate. It wouldn't be straying from the AA philosophy of using meditation to improve your conscious contact with "your" higher power. Meditation is your higher power. I think you would be able to structure it to fit your desires to pass along what works for you. And you could keep it totally secular.

After a few introductory 'meetings' you can lengthen the meditation time to take up most of the 'meeting' after your group has a grasp on the concept. And as new people joined the group you could counsel them individually or as a smaller group to bring them up to speed. I think this would grow as people spread the word.

Just start off with reading the 11th step to open every session then tailor it to your own "program" of meditation. Problem solved. And take a Big Book with you. Gotta have the book or it doesn't count...

As for the mando and me... I've decided to focus more on chord progressions and changes - programming my hands - instead of trying to just learn songs.
Rhythm and keeping time are an integral piece of this instrument's overall function as well as sounding cool when it's your turn. So I'm going to go through some tunes picking but focus more on chording for a while. My fingers are having a hard time getting into those unnatural configurations.
But I realize now that chords I tried months ago seem natural and effortless now. PRACTICE!
Another cool day and cloudy. Perfect for starting new grass. And try to catch the Eagles football game - they're stinkin up the joint.

How's it going Vet? Staying on track?

zerothehero

Sage advice, JR.

LB, I was actually thinking about taking an 11th Step approach, only I would want people to be free to start there if they choose. I started with Step 11 and it's working for me. Until I had spent time in meditation, I wasn't ready for some of the earlier steps. I never had a sponsor, either, though I would like one if only for the connection and conversation. You guys are my sponsors, really.

LBrain

any meeting" counts as a meeting regardless of the topic, a lot of newcomers went to the saturday morning 11 step meditation meeting I went to.
I would advertise it with "newcomers welcome" or "newcomers encouraged" , anyway to make sure anyone should attend.

I also agree that having a better mind prepares one for the earlier stuff. I think you be doing a great service to get this rolling.

zerothehero

Thanks. Strange town, though. Most folks are either Christian or atheist from what I've seen. Churchgoers and head bangers. Mindfulness or Buddhism will be very foreign to most. That's part of why I seem willing to take the lead.

Vet69

You're right Zero. I agree with you. This group is my meeting. We have gotten smaller. But what the three of you say always resonates with me. I've fallen off the wagon - again. Right back on. I wouldn't get back I so quickly if this group weren't here. Thanks to all.

LBrain

Vet sorry to hear you still are back and forth. Glad to hear you are forth at the moment.

Maybe you may want to discuss why you take a drink before you do it. Even some self talk would help you overcome the urge. Keep up the fight.

LBrain

Zero, I think that if you tried to introduce Buddhism it would be a turn off to that crowd. That doesn't mean you can't start a meditation "class".
You can introduce the principals without 'labeling' it. Then over time and people ask more questions you can slowly introduce them to your 'source'.
A lot of people use meditation without the Buddha concept.

Reminds me of an old TV commercial were the lady is talking about all the benefits to the skin o a certain dish washing liquid. Then she tells the lady at the 'spa' who has her hands in a bowl, "You're soaking in it." The lady quickly pulls her hands out of the bowl...

I can't believe it but I searched and it is of course on youtube...

LBrain

I need a strap for the mando - was getting by without one, but it is becoming a necessity now - I need freedom of movement with left hand and since it's an 'A' style not much support on the bottom end,

and my leg 'falls asleep' trying to hold it up...

lots of rain on the east coast

zerothehero

When we practice mindfulness meditation we are soaking in the Buddha's way. I like it. Just soaked at the airport waiting for a plane to Philly. Anybody up for rainy outdoor dog show in NJ tomorrow?

LBrain

It's not supposed to rain tomorrow zero. But flying back out of Philly it's going to be stormy with heavy rains. Tropical storm moving up from south. You'll be at M&E I assume.

I just picked a mando strap. Actually 2 of them for four bucks. $2 each.
72" leather boot lace. Made a noose and snugged it to the pin and around the head stock with another noose knot. Checking out how I like it this way. I didn't care for under the neck extension. I am not going to buy one for several dollars until I'm sure how I like the arrangement.
In fact, this boot lace may be the only strap I ever buy... it kinda fits - looks natural with this guy. But I don't like the 'squeak' at the head stock. I wonder if all leather straps have this affect.

jackrussell

Well: in his hurley burley world of sometimes dynamic change, it's reassuring to see that some things can be counted on to be steadfast: Mando practice for LB, and dog shows for Zero! Good stuff.

I spent part of yesterday's sodden downpour in the kitchen baking a bucket of tomatoes I'd picked from the garden. The garden is FULL of them, plants drooping under the weight, plum tomatoes on the ground. We'll never get all of them before the first frost, but we like to clean, slice and bake them till they're shrunken, semi-carmelized little nuggets of flavour, then freeze them in jars.
I rocked it out listening to a blues station on songza. Felt like me and the blues was starting our fight against the oncoming winter, real friendly-like, as the sky darkened outside.
Such is fall.

zerothehero

M&E yes, then two in Penn. tomorrow is the Xolo national specialty.x

LBrain

good luck zero - hope you brought a rain coat for the next few days...

weekend won't be pretty...

I have containers of tomatoes in the fridge... and as usual, the end of season wild and drooping plants with mini-plumbs and - lots of tomatoes - last year I used my dehydrator, may gonna do it again this year, but the oven and trays sounds like a good idea cause I can control the temp better and not have to rotate the trays in my drier - the bottom tray get done quicker and if you don't keep on top of it your tiny nuggets of goodness turn into rock candy... needs constant attention
still getting peppers too

jackrussell

What veggies come out of the dehydrator tasting really good? I guess fruit works well, too? Is it alot of work?

LBrain

I've done bananas and apples in my dehydrator. It takes practice and getting used to. Unless you get one of them fancy ones.
I do deer jerkey and hunter sticks in too. Just gotta rotate the trays...

LBrain

well I stand corrected on the rain - all day here and looks like in NJ too. But it's a good rain for me. I was also out in the mud sculpting the slope in the back in preparation for a gravel path I have been 'planning' for some time. Ground has to be properly sloped first - a litle by little process with a shovel rake and hoe. But it is best to do it in the rain to see which way the water goes. Cleaned a pound of mud from my boots and letting the rain do its thing.

Vet how is the mindfulness going?
There is a link/youtube video on the weekender thread with someone talking about Buddhism and 'being your own therapist.' It's a good talk. Check it out.

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ml#post5581080

Vet69

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.

LBrain

hey, where'd everybody go?
Weekend rained out or something?

poor zero I'm sure is enjoying the weather...

I like my new strap. I can now start stop videos without having to put it (mando) down. Much better for tracking back and stopping.