Thanks to the able mind of my web host, I am functioning again. It's truly disheartening when someone takes over your site and prevents you from connecting with your friends. Some folks have cold hearts I think. They deserve our prayers, however. Everyone deserves our prayers actually. Even though I am not in the middle of writing a book currently, I can feel myself racing within. The holidays have a way of affecting me like that. I do have my house decorated but no gifts purchased. And no card created. May not get them out again this year. Darn. But life is[...]
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What I Believe – You and Your Higher Power
4 I remember reading a small blue pamphlet titled Acceptance a few months into my recovery from alcoholism. I was struck by its simplicity. And its gentleness. But I was even more impressed with its effect on my mind. After the initial reading of its amazingly loving message, I could pick it up and read only a line or two and feel my shoulders relax, my mind quiet down, and my dread of a situation or judgment of the person standing before me shift into a far more peaceful place. I carried that little booklet with me everywhere. For protection. At that time I had[...]
Good heavens. It has been a month since I wrote. And I had been certain I was going to be more consistent. Can I blame old age? Well, not really, (even though on my next birthday I will be 77), but I can blame the fact that my life is full of rich and rewarding activities. I had a new book deadline that was March 1. I sent the book to the publisher on February 29th. Just under the wire. It's a book of 51 essays I wrote about living the principles of A Course in Miracles, which is another very important spiritual pathway to me, one that I believe is very compati[...]
How very quietly this reminder sets the stage for both a peace filled and a joy filled day. I have found this simple prayer a perfect way to begin every morning. Life is really meant to be this simple, I think. Asking one's self, moment by moment, if what we are about to do or say is truly helpful to the circumstance or the person in our presence, guides us to do only what really should be done. It reminds me of the question I have heard many others voice: "Is what I am about to do consistent with what God would have me do?" When the answer is no, we must make[...]
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. Step Eleven softens my heart every time it’s the topic of discussion in one of my meetings. That wasn’t the case when I first got sober however; it wasn’t the case for the first year or two. Not because I didn’t believe in the possibility of the power of prayer or meditation; but because I had never tried it before walking into AA. And then when I did, I simply couldn’[...]
It's with great relief that I believe the title of this post. Not so many years ago I would have scoffed if someone told me to go to God with a problem. I can still hear my words. "Are you kidding me? God? I think not!" How recovery has changed my life. And absolutely for the better. I have come to believe that every thing that happens has been "charted" to happen, and every person I meet, I agreed, at another place and time long forgotten, to meet. I don't need to fret about any situation, unless I choose to. Worrying can be a response I no longer make. Trus[...]
Every person you and I travel these roads with have made their trek to us because they need us and what we know as much as we need them for what they can teach us. Iʼve mentioned this idea before no doubt but itʼs one worth further emphasis, I think, because of the importance of the journey we share. Knowing that every person is specific to our education means we donʼt have to be fearful about the experiences that present themselves. We have been guided to each experience and we will be led through it too. I have heard it said in many gatherings, that[...]
Our journeys through life are often bumpy, some days very bumpy, but they are always in concert with God. God is every where we are. God was every where we ever were. In the silence. The moments of angst. The hours of confusion and doubt. We simply can’t be where God is not. Even when we feel alone, we aren’t alone. Especially when we feel alone, we aren’t alone. Learning to open our hearts to God and God’s place on our spiritual path is one of the messages we were born to learn. Perhaps you are wondering how to open your[...]
My newest book: LIVING LONG, LIVING PASSIONATELY, 75 (and counting)WAYS TO BRING PEACE AND PURPOSE TO YOUR LIFE, was released Sept 1 by Conari and is available on Amazon and in bookstores. I am thrilled with it. I guess I'd have to say that I have been thrilled about every book I have published, but this one does feel a bit different. Perhaps that's because it's not specifically for folks in recovery, although I'd have to say that every book I have written has quite miraculously appealed to a wider audience than just recovering folks. This fact has convinc[...]
Karen's Musings, Reflections in the Mirror - You and Yourself, What I Believe - You and Your Higher Power
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Our need for one another is what heals us. . .
Admitting our vulnerability, dare I say fear and feelings of inadequacy, is what opens the door to our healing. Of this I am certain. And yet, we all know folks who simply can't "go there." And each of us has been one of those people in the past. Maybe the very recent past, in fact. There is no shame in that. It's so very human of us to want to appear to be different than we really are, particularly if we think the stakes are high. And there is no shame in that either. Being human isn't all that easy at times. I have talked about my emotional roll[...]