Starting from Empty...... - Recover A New Beginning

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Bill Donoghue

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More options Oct 31, 2:54 pm

From: "Bill Donoghue" <neveraloneneverag...@verizon.net>

Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:54:52 -0400

Local: Sat, Oct 31 2009 2:54 pm

Subject: Starting from Empty......

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Sunflower

Welcome to Bill's Place.
A collection of Friends In Recovery.
Featuring a weekly Step Study from various 12 Step Recovery literature.
With the occasional inspirational message or message pertaining to a broad spectrum of varied spiritual practices.
An open forum for discussion of the aforementioned Step Study and inspirational/spiritual practice messages.
"Dance like there's no one watching and love like you've never been hurt."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BillsPlace/

Half-Full Consciousness
Starting from Empty
We are all familiar with the metaphorical story of two people looking at the same glass and one perceiving it as half-full while the other sees it as half-empty. As much as we’ve heard this, it’s still a valuable exercise to really observe our minds and notice whether we are engaged in half-full or half-empty thinking. People will refer to themselves as being of one type or the other as if it was a permanent characteristic, but we are all capable of shifting into a half-full consciousness if we simply make the effort.

When we look at our lives with half-empty consciousness, we perceive a lack and think that the other half of what we want is missing. We are coming from a position of expectation and entitlement. On the other hand, when we look at our lives as half-full we perceive fullness. It is as if we recognize that our cup could be fully empty and so we are grateful for what we see as bounty—not something we expect or believe we are owed, but a gift. In half-full consciousness, we count our blessings. When we look at our lives we see all the elements that are in place and all the things we do have. This doesn’t necessarily mean we don’t seek more, but we seek from a place of fullness instead of from a place of lack. This fullness draws positive energy into our lives and often attracts more abundance.

If you would like to begin to make the shift into half-full consciousness, try imagining your life as an empty glass. This is your life without all the people you know, the work you do, your home, or your current state of physical wellbeing. This is just an empty, open space waiting to be filled. Once you have that feeling of openness in your mind, begin filling it with all the people, things, and places that make up your life. You may be surprised to find your glass overflowing.

Decorate Your Own Soul
After a while you learn that subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul; and you learn that love doesn't mean owning and company doesn't always mean security; and you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts and presents aren't promises; and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child.

You learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans, and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.
After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much.

So, you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone else to bring you flowers.

You learn that you really can endure, that you are strong, that you do have worth, that you are beautiful.

Reflection for the Day
So many of us suffer from despair. Yet we don't realize that despair is purely the absence of faith. As long as we're willing to turn to God for help in our difficulties, we cannot despair. When we're troubled and can't see a way out, it's only because we imagine that all solutions depend on us. The Program teaches us to let go of overwhelming problems and let God handle them for us. When I consciously surrender my will to God's will, do I see faith at work in my life?
Today I Pray
May I be free of despair and depression, those two "down D's" that are the result of feelings of helplessness. May I know that I am never without the help of God, that I am never helpless when God is with me. If I have faith, I need never be "helpless and hopeless."
Today I Will Remember
Despair is the absence of faith.

When a person is concerned only with giving, there is no anxiety.
~Gerald Jampolsky~
Whatever we give away returns to us, manifold. When we show love or understanding, when we are gentle or express genuine concern, usually the same will come right back to us. Perhaps not in kind, maybe not in ways we expected, nevertheless our gifts bear fruit.

Many of us have longed for love and security to come from others with a promise of forever; inevitably, we became anxious that, in time, that love or security would disappear. When we view life from such a narrow perspective, no amount of love can bolster our sense of worth.

How different the world looks when we unselfishly give out love rather than longingly await the love, attention, or understanding of others. We guarantee receiving the good feelings we crave every time we share those feelings with a fellow traveler.

I am in charge of what I receive from others today. I will get back what I willingly give.

Thought for the Day
I have more peace and contentment. Life has fallen into place. The pieces of the jigsaw puzzle have found their correct position. Life is whole, all of one piece. I am not cast hither and yon on every wind of circumstance or fancy. I am no longer a dry leaf cast up and away by the breeze. I have found my place of rest, my place where I belong. I am content. I do not vainly wish for things I cannot have. I have "the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. " Have I found contentment?
Meditation for the Day
In all of us there is an inner consciousness that tells of God, an inner voice that speaks to our hearts. It is a voice that speaks to us intimately, personally, in a time of quiet meditation. It is like a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. We can reach out into the darkness and figuratively touch the hand of God. As the Big Book put it: "Deep down in every man, woman, and child is the fundamental idea of God. We can find the Great Reality deep down within us. And when we find it, it changes our whole attitude toward life."
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may follow the leading of the inner voice. I pray that I may not turn a deaf ear to the urging of my conscience.

Feel free to invite your friends to this Group by using the "Invite" link at the site or
by simply sending them this URL
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BillsPlace/

"The message is hope. The promise is freedom. Just for today, you never have to use again."
Alive and Free

Never Alone Never Again
(neveralone_neveragain)

"Dance like there's no one watching and love like you've never been hurt."
Peace.
Bill
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( @ @ )
-----------------oOOo-(_)-oOOo-------------------
Bill D.
neveraloneneverag...@verizon.net
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oooO ( )
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Jimmy K.
The message is hope. The promise is freedom. Just For Today, you never have to use again.
---
"We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds.
Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath.
Today I wish you a day of ordinary miracles.
They say it takes a minute to find a special person, An hour to appreciate them, A day to love them, But an entire life to forget them."
~Canookie Girl~
Peace.
Bill

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