by Andy

Russian Meteor-A time for gratitude

During my break at work yesterday I decided to take a look at the news on the Internet, that is when I first learned of the meteor that had exploded over Russia. I even spent the next 15 minutes

Meteor over Russia

Meteor over Russia

watching the videos of this on youTube. I grabbed every one I could to show them what had happened. Most people’s responses were, ” pretty cool” or “Wow”, and after watching the videos they just went about their business.

This event, for some strange reason, had a very strong impact on me. I was overwhelmed with a strong sense of gratitude. That whole situation could have been much much worse. If the meteor had been just a little bit bigger the devastation would have been uncomprehensible. A lot of lives would have been lost.

As I’ve mentioned before in previous blog posts I have been reading Eckhart Tolles books in my effort to break away from my ego. This event was an Ah-Ha moment for me, It opened my eyes to the fact that yes, it’s true, we’re a very small planet in a very vast universe. It’s really not all just about me and the unconditioned environment that my ego has created for me. There really is a whole lot more out there and I have absolutely no control over any of it. This realization gave me an overwhelming feeling of gratitude unlike any feeling of gratitude that I’ve ever had before.

I feel that a door has opened to a new level of awareness for me. With this feeling of gratitude also came a new feeling of peace within me. This level of peace that I feel is something brand new and very exciting. I can now truly see and feel the difference between the conditioned and unconditioned mind.

This journey of mine keeps getting better and better and I am extremely thankful that there was no loss of life, or should I say, forms?

by Andy

Where has the time gone?

Where has of the time gone?  It is now February 2013, I have just finished reading my first blog post “A sign from my higher power ” that I had written back in September of 2011. I have neglected this blog for too long.  It is time to get back in the saddle again and start writing,  because over the last year and half I have learned so much that I would like to share.

My attendance at meetings of alcoholics anonymous has dwindled down to about one a month, if that.  Meetings to me, have become somewhat tedious and I find that oftentimes I start building up resentments while I’m at the meeting.  I feel that I am in a different place compared to most people in the meetings that I attend.  I am bound and determined to fix myself, face my demons and find nirvana.  I get the feeling that most of the people that are attending the meetings do not really want to fix themselves they just seem to enjoy the company while they wallow in their own self-pity.  Granted, if that is what keeps them sober then more power to them, but that is not for me.

I feel that there needs to be a life beyond alcoholics anonymous.  Life is ever changing, we as human beings need to grow and evolve.  I have attended a few retreats in my area.  While I was at these retreats I started to meet people that I would only see at the retreats.  It was from these people that I learned that yes, there is life after alcoholics anonymous.  I found that these people, both men and women, were the people that really wanted to be better, too overcome their alcoholism.  They attended the retreats to stay connected with the community and to share their courage, strength and hope.  I found it interesting how very few people were interested and found that if it to be somewhat disheartening.

I have been spending most of my time the past year reading the books of Eckhart Tolle.  His writings have really pointed me in the direction that I need to travel to help deconstruct my ego.  I have by no means reached nirvana yet, nor am i enlightened, but I can see and feel progress.  My everyday constant fear has now dwindled down to just a few times a day for a few brief moments.  To me, this is huge.  I am now also able to separate myself from my thoughts and realize that they are just thoughts, nothing more.  Although I still find myself getting caught up in my thoughts like they were a runaway train taking me deep into the abyss of my unconscious mind, that is OK, it’s progress, not perfection that counts.

The past few years has been extremely good.  I am feeling full of vigor and excitement for the future.  I’m looking forward to posting more articles on a regular basis sharing my version of courage, strength and hope.

by Andy

4th Step Worksheet – Fears

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Fear is amazingly powerful. Fear can overwhelm you, control you and devastate your life. Like many other alcoholics I drink because of fear. I drink to suppress the hundreds of fearful thoughts that travel through my mind.

Until several months ago I never really fully understood how much control fear has over me. I now fully understand that for me to conquer my alcoholism and my host of other character defects I must first understand and overcome my fears.

In order for me to release and fully understand my fears, I need to write it out. Writing is my release, so I developed this fear worksheet that gives me more room to write what is going on in my head.

My 4th Step Fears worksheet is available below, FREE for those of you that wish to use it.

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Please provide your name and email address for your free download.

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If you like the worksheet, please give it a digg or a tweet or leave a comment. It would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

by Andy

Three Steps to Quit Smoking During Recovery

There is no two ways about it, quitting smoking is very hard to do. Quitting smoking while in the first few months of recovery can be even tougher. When you first go into alcohol recovery the general rule is to not even attempt to quit smoking until after your first year of sobriety. There is just too much going on in your first year of sobriety and you need to focus on your recovery. I’m a firm believer in this. One task at a time until you master the task.

However, here comes the do as I say not as I do part, smoking was driving me nuts. I really hate the smell of cigarettes and I was sure that I would never meet the women of my dreams if I was stinking like cigarettes. So against others advice I embarked on the quit smoking path. I have quit smoking twice before. Once for 13 years and another time for six months. My recollection of both occasions was that it wasn’t that bad, not fun, but not that bad.

Boy, was I wrong! It was tough, really tough. I had about six false starts before it kicked in. It wasn’t until I actually went to my doctor about this, something I normally never do. He gave me the usual talk we all hear over and over about quitting smoking but it was his last comment to me that hit home. He said, “Your just not ready to quit right now, when you’re ready, you’ll quit” That statement made perfect sense. This is so Step 3. It fit into everything I was learning from AA about turning everything over to my Higher Power. When my Higher Power feels I’m ready, I’ll quit. So I just let it go, and stopped fussing about quitting. A few weeks later, completely out of the blue, I woke up on a weekend morning and said to myself, today is the day I quit. As of today I have not had a cigarette for 160 days!!!

Turning the problem over to my Higher Power was a winner for starting and was definitely Step One. But dealing with the day to day nicotine withdraw was still going to be tough. Here is what I did to get here where I am at today…..

Step One – That Sunday morning, I cruised over to Costco and picked up a box of Nicoderm Cq Step 3 patches. (this was like the 5th time because of my false starts). Costco has the best over the counter price but you can find good deals at Amazon if Costco doesn’t work for you. I started the patches that day. and ran the whole course

Step Two – Meditation. I really believe that meditation is the key to my success so far. The NicoDerm helps take the edge off but meditation really brings it home when it comes to changing my thought process. Now your probably going to laugh but I found this great meditation article on eHow. It is definitely worth a read, it helped me greatly. ( Link to eHow Meditation Technique ) If this technique doesn’t work for you then find another. There are lots of resources out on the Internet for meditation techniques. What ever technique you choose, be sure to practice it at least once a day if not more. The benefits that you receive will astound you.

Everyone is different, that is why we are all unique. This is what worked for me and I’m sure will work for you. These 3 simple steps have me cigarette free for the last 160 days.  Implement my plan or just take one or two of the steps and add them to your own quit smoking plan. Your success is guaranteed!

I would love to hear how you have quit smoking or are planning on quitting smoking.  Share your story, you will be helping someone out, we all have valuable nuggets of information that need to be shared.