The never ending journey
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 6,224
The never ending journey
In some ways I'm a slow learner, it took me 57 years to put down alcohol but, when I did, my life improved dramatically. As my friend grtgrandpa advised, Year One is the Physical -- and yes, my health improved dramatically. My blood pressure medication was reduced to almost nothing, my weight reduced slightly, my energy increased dramatically and, overall, I slept better.
grtgrandpa advised, Year Two was the Mental and it took a while into Year Two but gradually it came -- I was much quicker at crosswords and sudoku, I thought more clearly, I was able to analyse again, I was able to disassociate myself from situations and think, I calmed down almost to a point of Zen even though I still struggle to meditate.
But then, there was Year Three -- the Spiritual. I kind of heaved a big sigh about this because I simply don't have a faith -- as it were. I just, don't. So I figured that I would be a failure at Year Three and maybe I could just hobble along through Recovery.
Then ... out of the blue ... a blog that I enjoy took me to Brain Pickings and today on that site I read the words of and slow as I am, I realised even I can do Year Three.
We all can.
grtgrandpa advised, Year Two was the Mental and it took a while into Year Two but gradually it came -- I was much quicker at crosswords and sudoku, I thought more clearly, I was able to analyse again, I was able to disassociate myself from situations and think, I calmed down almost to a point of Zen even though I still struggle to meditate.
But then, there was Year Three -- the Spiritual. I kind of heaved a big sigh about this because I simply don't have a faith -- as it were. I just, don't. So I figured that I would be a failure at Year Three and maybe I could just hobble along through Recovery.
Then ... out of the blue ... a blog that I enjoy took me to Brain Pickings and today on that site I read the words of
legendary Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh
If you pour a handful of salt into a cup of water, the water becomes undrinkable. But if you pour the salt into a river, people can continue to draw the water to cook, wash, and drink. The river is immense, and it has the capacity to receive, embrace, and transform. When our hearts are small, our understanding and compassion are limited, and we suffer. We can’t accept or tolerate others and their shortcomings, and we demand that they change. But when our hearts expand, these same things don’t make us suffer anymore. We have a lot of understanding and compassion and can embrace others. We accept others as they are, and then they have a chance to transform.
We all can.
That bell or bike person
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: london
Posts: 4,978
Thich is a very inspirational teacher.
He certainly helped me with my view on things , i also found the view of Robina Courtin useful as a way into spiritual without religion as she kinda explains here :-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nasIq4E9nNg
Keep on marcher
Regards m
He certainly helped me with my view on things , i also found the view of Robina Courtin useful as a way into spiritual without religion as she kinda explains here :-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nasIq4E9nNg
Keep on marcher
Regards m
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 6,224
Thanks for that link Mecanix, I'm looking forward to investigating this more. I've always been a square peg in a round hole when it comes to things Spiritual because I don't seem to be "anything" but links like this one you put up and Thich Nhat Hanh show me that I actually am a part of something.
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Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 919
A lot of secular people in my life, including my very severe father, find peace and guidance in Buddhism. A book that I enjoy and come back to over and over again is Zen Mind, Beginners Mind by David Shunry Suzuki. I highly recommend it. It is very practical and focused, and I enjoy it a lot more than more metaphysical buddhist teachings.
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Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Strailya
Posts: 8,019
Hey Marcher
Lovely post. I also felt the same about spirituality. In the past, I was a horribly lapsed Catholic (slightly better now) but discovered spirituality as part of my recovery. Ironically, if I wasn't an alcoholic, I probably would never had made that journey. Probably the biggest change in my life (so far)
Lovely post. I also felt the same about spirituality. In the past, I was a horribly lapsed Catholic (slightly better now) but discovered spirituality as part of my recovery. Ironically, if I wasn't an alcoholic, I probably would never had made that journey. Probably the biggest change in my life (so far)
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