| Nicol
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"Vision is, I think, the ability to make good estimates," wrote Bill W., the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. "Some might feel this sort of striving to be heresy against 'One Day At A Time.' But that valuable principle really refers to our mental and emotional lives, and means chiefly that we are not foolishly to repine over the past nor wishfully daydream about the future."
Today I Pray
I pray that the bright colors of this day may not be blurred by muted vagaries of the future or dulled by storm-gray remnants from the past. I pray that my Higher Power will help me to choose my actions and concerns out of the wealth of busyness that each day offers.
Today I Will Remember
I will not lose for today, if I choose for today. :wink: |
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Sat Mar 17, 2007 11:19 pm |
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| Rareflowers
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Very gracefully stated, Nicol. You have a wonderful way with words. For the folks who aren't in any program, it basically means:
" If you have one foot in the past, and the other foot in tomorrow, you are peeing on today."
I just talked with a friend of thirty years who has been in Nar-Anon for nearly twenty years. He was one of the first to know about the miracle of my God Blessed ability to walk again. He said, "Now that you can walk again, walk to the nearest hospital and volunteer!"
Spread the word. Don't talk the talk if you can't walk the walk!
Peace
Rose |
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Sun Mar 18, 2007 5:58 pm |
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| Nicol
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Yesterday was a rough day!!! My dis-ease was talking in my ear ALL day!!!! I truly did not feel good and I just wanted to go into my cave and hide out...It was a good thing that my Healthy Self reminded me that I was just tired and not feeling well and that I was not hungry. OMG for real...My dis-ease was messing with me in a big way...My inner tyrant was going on and on...My inner tyrant is the oppressive, overly restrtictive, critical, intimidating, authoritatative part of me...I'm glad that I fell esleep and did not take that first bite and fall back into my disease...
TODAY I REAFFIRM MY COMMITMENT TO MY RECOVERY
Today I reaffirm my commit to myself and to my most important project--My Recovery!! My recovery, this wonderful broadening of potential, deserves my devotion, my time and my energy.
I give full attention to my recovery journey today. My senses are clear and my self esteem is enhanced as I honor who I am today. Nothing can sway me from discovering myself. My fear dissolves as I lovingly and honestly look at my present , my past and my Self.
Today I am renewed in this exploration of me called Recovery. And if I find the exploration an arduous one, I know that the sturggle will bring a new and gratifying vision of myself.
AMEN |
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Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:05 pm |
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| Rareflowers
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Bump. This thread is just too full of wisdom to let lag. Hey, Nicol!
Rose |
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Thu Mar 22, 2007 4:26 pm |
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| Nicol
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TODAY WAS ANOTHER ROUGH DAY~AAAAHHH!!! WORK WAS HARD~I HAD TO MAKE A DECISION~AND WHAT-EVER WAY I CALLED IT ~NOBODY WOULD BE HAPPY. I FELT PRESSURED TO BE A "BOSS" WHEN I WANTED TO BE A LOVING PARENT AND IT WAS JUST PLAIN UNCOMFORTABLE...
I CAME HOME LIKE A PUDDLE AND JUST WANTED TO HIDE...INSTEAD I SHARED HOW I WAS FEELING WITH LAURA AND SHE LISTENED...THEN I TOOK A LONG HOT SHOWER AND I PRAYED AND NOW I AM JUST GIVING TIME~TIME...
"I CAN HOLD ONTO FEAR THAT SERVES THE PURPOSE OF KEEPING COMPULSION ALIVE, OR I CAN TURN MY LIFE--ONE MOMENT AT A TIME OVER TO GOD."
I CHOOSE TO LIVE IN FAITH TODAY.
PRAYERS FOR PEACE,
NICOL |
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Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:47 am |
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| Rareflowers
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I'm sorry that today was rough for you, Nicol. I had a head-achy day today too. Fridays are always tough for an investor or a day-trader. I'm a day-trader, but am also well invested in funds that go into my Roth, and pay good dividends. I had to make a tough call today. Five minutes before the closing bell, I sent in my order and it was executed. It is now out of my hands and there is nothing I can do with it until Monday. I am so glad I learned the emotional side of that. Once the ball leaves my hands, it is no longer my problem. The ball will go wherever it will. Hopefully up, tho!
Twenty years ago, someone did an intervention on me. I was so angry with them for butting into my life, my family, and telling me what to do. Don't you just hate it when someone else takes your inventory? It took a long time to accept that, but today I am so grateful that they did. They changed my life for the best. God knows where I would have wound up without it. I can testify to the changes walking with God has given me. I testified on the Christian thread that God gave me the miracle of being ab le to walk, jog, race up the stairs, dance, shop, haha, and everything else that came with that. And my Acceptance is almost immediate, too.
Thank God I found the program. May the peace of Christ be with you.
Rose..... YEAH!!!!!!!!!!! |
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Sat Mar 24, 2007 12:49 am |
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| Nicol
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I still have my cold, work was crazy again today, blah blah blah and OH YEA~IT'ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ FRIDAY!!!!! :wink:
WHAT WE TURN OVER~TURNS OUT~
I AM SO GREATFUL THAT I FOUND THE "BEACH," BECAUSE THIS FOOD PLAN FITS ME LIKE A GLOVE...IF I HAD, HAD PHYSICAL CRAVINGS...IT WOULD HAVE BEEN WAY-WAY HARDER TO KEEP MY FACE OUT OF THE FOOD!!!
I'M KEEPING IT GREEN~EXPERIENCE HAS SHOWN ME TIME AND TIME AGAIN...THAT I CAN'T HEAR GOD'S VOICE WHEN MY FACE IS IN A BAG OF CHIPS OR AT THE BOTTOM OF AN ICE CREAM CONTAINER...
Peace,
Nicol |
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Sat Mar 24, 2007 12:53 am |
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| Nicol
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We admitted we were powerless over our dependencies- that our lives had become unmanageable.
--Step One
Accepting powerlessness is a prerequisite of recovery. As adult children, the very idea may seem puzzling or even laughable. Haven't we felt powerless all along? Shouldn't we be trying to move away from powerlessness and toward power?
But in the "program" we've found powerless to have a different meaning. We see how we have exhausted all the nonproductive, ineffective ways to deal with our situation. Powerlessness here means we're giving up on willpower, force, and intellectualizing because they just didn't work.
When we admit we are powerless we are saying that we are through trying to do it on our own - finished with attempts at recovery, which are centered around our own will-power, strength or cunning. To lay down our old failed powers is not much different, after all, from laying down a broken old bike with two flat tires. It was better than nothing, but now we have a new means of moving on our way.
Today, I am relieved and grateful to unburden myself of unrealistic expectations. |
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Tue Mar 27, 2007 4:42 pm |
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| Rareflowers
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| For me, I couldn't admit I was powerless until I hit my "bottom". Sometimes, tho' we can Raise a person's bottom so they don't get off the elevator at basement level. We do this through interventions, meetings, reading and posting or talking about it. We leave leaflets around, hoping they will be picked up. Today I ask the Lord to keep me humble before Him, and to be able to reach out to others in a kindly way. |
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Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:33 pm |
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| Nicol
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If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.
- Abraham Maslow
When I am able to take a long view of my problems, I can sometimes see that I'm using inappropriate tools to try to solve them. What's necessary for me to do is to move away, to detach. That may show me a whole new context into which my problem fits, and in which it may not even be a problem.
Detachment is hard to achieve when I am deeply hooked into a situation. When I send myself drastic messages like "now or never!" I'm pressing my nose right up against the problem - a position in which it's difficult to maintain a balanced view. To stop and say, "If not now, then perhaps some other time," unhooks me and lets me remember that life is richer and more varied than I thought when I was hooked.
Crisis thinking can be like a hammer - it flattens everything. This can be our way of trying to control the outcome of our individual struggle. But when we remember that we make up only small parts of one grand and beautiful design. We can surrender our problems to it.
To be a competent worker, I will seek out the tools that are best suited to my task.
Prayers for Peace,
Nicol |
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Tue Apr 10, 2007 3:17 pm |
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| Nicol
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I am still amazed, after years of working at RECOVERY, how easily I can begin to talk myself out of attending my meetings. I am also still amazed at how good I feel when I go.
--Anonymous
We don't have to stay stuck in our misery and discomfort. An immediate option is available that will help us feel better: go to a meeting, a Twelve Step support group.
Why resist what can help us feel better? Why sit in our obsession or depression when attending a meeting - would help us feel better?
Too busy?
There are 168 hours in each week. Taking 1 or 2 hours a week for a meeting can maximize the potential of the remaining 166 hours. If we get into our "codependent stuff," we can easily spend a majority of our waking hours obsessing, sitting and doing nothing, lying in bed and feeling depressed, or chasing after other people's needs. Not taking those 2 hours for a meeting can cause us to waste the remaining hours.
Too tired?
There is nothing as invigorating as getting back on track. Going to a meeting can accomplish that.
Today, I will remember that going to meetings helps me. |
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Sun Apr 22, 2007 12:11 am |
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| Nicol
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Resentments are sneaky, tricky little things. They can convince us they're justified. They can dry up our hearts. They can sabotage our happiness. They can sabotage love.
Most of us have been at the receiving end of an injustice at some time in our lives. Most of us know someone who's complained of an injustice we've done to him or her. Life can be a breeding ground fro resentments, if we let it.
"Yes, but this time I really was wronged," we complain.
Maybe you were. But harboring resentment isn't the solution. If it were, our resentment list would resemble the Los Angeles telephone directory. Deal with your feelings. Learn whatever lesson is at hand. Then let the feelings go.
Resentments are a coping behavior, a tool of someone settling for survival in life. They're a form or revenge. The problem is, no matter whom we're resenting, the anger is ultimately directed against ourselves.
Take a moment. Search your heart. Have you tricked yourself into harboring resentment? If you have, take another moment and let that resentment go.
God, grant me the serenity that acceptance brings. |
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Thu Apr 26, 2007 3:47 pm |
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| Nicol
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Are You a Compulsive Overeater?
This series of questions may help you determine if you are a compulsive overeater.
1. Do you eat when you're not hungry?
2. Do you go on eating binges for no apparent reason?
3. Do you have feelings of guilt and remorse after overeating?
4. Do you give too much time and thought to food?
5. Do you look forward with pleasure and anticipation to the time when you can eat alone?
6. Do you plan these secret binges ahead of time?
7. Do you eat sensibly before others and make up for it alone?
8. Is your weight affecting the way you live your life?
9. Have you tried to diet for a week (or longer), only to fall short of your goal?
10. Do you resent others telling you to "use a little willpower" to stop overeating?
11. Despite evidence to the contrary, have you continued to assert that you can diet "on your own" whenever you wish?
12. Do you crave to eat at a definite time, day or night, other than mealtime?
13. Do you eat to escape from worries or trouble?
14. Have you ever been treated for obesity or a food-related condition?
15. Does your eating behavior make you or others unhappy?
Have you answered yes to three or more of these questions? If so, it is probable that you have or are well on your way to having a compulsive overeating problem.
THERE IS HELP?
"TOGETHER WE CAN DO WHAT WE COULD NEVER DO ALONE!!" |
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Sun Apr 29, 2007 12:35 am |
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| Nicol
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Many of us just did what other people did. We ate & ate. But we felt so different from "normal" people. Why? Because of the way we ate and because eatting so unfulfilling for us. It's a joke among us recovering COE's that we tried so hard to look normal.
Non-coe's didn't know our torment, didn't know that we lived in another world. While high on added sugar & refined carbs, we felt moments of euphoria and false well being. When the food wore off, we suffered centuries of misery. Both are feelings that "normal" people did not experience.
In the fellowship of OA, however, we share all our feelings because we know that we are among friends, we know that we are finally home.
Do I share my true feelings with others?
Higher Power, I pray for the willingness to see my true feelings more clearly and to share myself with my fellow COE/FOOD ADDICTS. |
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Wed May 02, 2007 3:22 pm |
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| Nicol
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Good feelings can become a habitual part of our life. There is absolutely no virtue in the unnecessary suffering, which many of us have felt for much of our life. We don't have to allow others to make us miserable, and we don't have to make ourselves miserable.
A good day does not have to be the "calm before the storm." That's an old way of thinking we learned in dysfunctional systems. In recovery, a good day or a good feeling doesn't mean we're in denial. We don't have to wreck our good times by obsessively searching for or creating a problem.
Enjoying our good days doesn't mean we're being disloyal to loved ones who are having problems. We don't have to make ourselves feel guilty because other people aren't having a good day. We don't have to make ourselves miserable to be like them. They can have their day and their feelings; we can have ours.
A good feeling is to be enjoyed. More than we can imagine, good days are ours for the asking.
Today, I will let myself enjoy what is good. I don't have to wreck my good day or good feeling; I don't have to let others spoil it either. |
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Thu May 17, 2007 3:33 pm |
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