Latest / Sober Readings / "Made A List..."
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Welcome everyone to Silver Readings. My name is Scott. Today is Saturday, the 8th of August. Let's begin today's episode with the Serenity Prayer. God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Today's reading from Daily Reflections made a list. Made a list of all persons we had harmed. Da dot. That's from the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 77. And that's of course the beginning of step eight. When I approached the eighth step, I wondered how I could list all the things I had done to other people since there were so many people, and some of them weren't alive anymore. Some of the hurts I inflicted weren't bad, but they really bothered me. The main thing to see in this step Was to become willing to do whatever I had to do to make these amends to the best of my ability at that particular time. Where there is a will, there's a way. So if I want to feel better, I need to unload the guilt feelings I have. A peaceful mind has no room for feelings of guilt. With the help of my higher power, if I am honest with myself, I can cleanse my mind of these feelings. Today's reading from twenty four hours, August eighth, AA thought for the day. For a while we are going back to the big book, Alcoholics Anonymous, and pick out passages here and there so that they may become fixed in our minds a little at a time, day by day as we go along. There is no substitute for reading the big book, it is our Bible. We should study it thoroughly and make it a part of ourselves. We should not try to change any of it. Within its covers is the full exposition of the AA program. There is no substitute for it. We should study it often. Have I studied the big book faithfully? The meditation for the day. All of life is a fluctuation between effort and rest. You need both every day, but effort is not truly effective until first you have had the proper preparation for it by resting in a time of quiet meditation. This daily time of rest and meditation gives you the power necessary to make your best effort. There are days when you are called on for much effort, and then comes a time when you need much rest. It is not good to rest too long and it is not good to carry on great effort too long without rest. The successful life is a proper balance between the two. And today's prayer for the day. I pray that I may be ready to make the proper effort. I pray that I may also recognize the need for relaxation. Today's meditation from Touchstone. I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. It's amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor. That's a quote from D H Lawrence. Focusing on pain or having difficulties can put us in a rut, and we neglect the other things in our lives. A simple task like making marmalade can be a brief vacation. We change our thought patterns when we change activities. The simple action of doing something pleasant might inject a new feeling into our outlook. Sharing a problem with a friend may be all we need to see it more clearly or let it go. Moving from Busy physical activity to a few moments of quiet contemplation creates an inner balance. A problem that seems overwhelming at night may be met with new insight and new energy after a night's rest. We don't have to continue feeling like victims of circumstance or remain stuck with a nagging problem. Just like changing the subject of a conversation, we can change the subject of our attention for a time. When we do, We regain our sense of hope and change our responses. Today I will give myself a break when I become caught or obsessed with a problem. And for today's final reading, I'm gonna read from The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it. And I'll explain after. And so today I'm gonna read the introduction, and it's called The Smoky Mirror. Three thousand years ago, there was a human just like you and me who lived near a city surrounded by mountains. The human was studying to become a medicine man, to learn the knowledge of his ancestors, but he didn't completely agree with everything he was learning. In his heart, he felt there must be something more. One day, as he slept in a cave, he dreamed that he saw his own body sleeping. He came out of the cave on the night of a new moon. The sky was clear and he could see millions of stars. Then something happened inside of him that transformed his life forever. He looked at his hands, he felt his body, and he heard his own voice say, I am made of light. I am made of stars. He looked at the stars again and he realized that it's not the stars that create light, but rather light that creates the stars. Everything is made of light, he said, and the space in between isn't empty. And he knew that everything that exists is one living being, and that light is the messenger of life because it is alive and contains all information. Then he realized that although he was made of stars, he was not those stars. I am in between the stars, he thought. So he called the stars the tonal and the light between the stars the nagual. And he knew That what created the harmony and space between the two is life or intent. Without life, the tonal and the nagual could not exist. Life is the force of the absolute, the supreme, the creator who creates everything. This is what he discovered. Everything in existence is a manifestation of the one living being we call God. Everything is God. And he came to the conclusion that human Perception is merely light perceiving light. He also saw that matter is a mirror. Everything is a mirror that reflects light and creates images of that light. And the world of illusion, the dream, is just like smoke which doesn't allow us to see what we really are. The real us is pure love, pure light, he said. This realization changed his life. Once he knew what he really was, he He looked around at other humans and the rest of nature, and he was amazed at what he saw. He saw himself in everything, in every human, in every animal, in every tree, in the water, in the rain, in the clouds, in the earth. And he saw that life mixed the tonal and the nagual in different ways to create billions of manifestations of life. In those few moments he comprehended everything. He was very excited, and his heart was filled with peace. He could hardly wait to tell people what he had discovered. But there were no words to explain it. He tried to tell the others, but they could not understand. They could see that he had changed, that something beautiful was radiating from his eyes and his voice. They noticed that he no longer had judgment about anything or anyone. He was no longer like anyone else. He could understand everyone very well. But no one could understand him. They believed that he was an incarnation of God, and he smiled when he heard this and he said, It is true, I am God, but you are also God. We are the same, you and I. We are images of light, we are God. But still the people didn't understand him. He had discovered that he was a mirror for the rest of the people, a mirror in which he could see himself. Everyone is a mirror, he said. He saw himself in everyone. But nobody saw him as themselves. And he realized that everyone was dreaming, but without awareness, without knowing what they really are. They couldn't see him as themselves because there was a wall of fog or smoke between the mirrors. And that wall of fog was made by the interpretation of images of light, the dream of humans. Then he knew that he would soon forget all that he had learned. He wanted to remember all the visions he had had. So he decided to call himself the smoky mirror so that he would always know that matter is a mirror, and the smoke in between is what keeps us from knowing what we are. He said, I am the smoky mirror, because I am looking at myself in all of you, but we don't recognize each other because of the smoke in between us. That smoke is the dream, and the mirror is you, the dreamer. And there's also a short quote here at the end of the introduction by John Lennon, and it says, Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see. And that was the introduction from the book The Four Agreements, a Toltec wisdom book by Don Miguel Ruiz. The Four Agreements, be impeccable with your word, don't take anything personally, don't make assumptions, and always do your best. Can be useful principles in sobriety. Being impeccable with your word means practicing honesty, keeping our commitments, and avoiding gossip or harmful speech. Not taking things personally helps us stop allowing another person's mood, criticism, or behavior to control our emotional well being. Avoiding assumptions encourages us to communicate directly instead of creating stories in our own minds that can lead to resentment, fear, and isolation. The agreement to always do our best fits especially well with recovery because our best will look different from one day to the next. Sobriety isn't always perfect. It's about willingness, progress, and continuing to show up. When we fall short, we can learn from it, make amends when necessary, and begin again without beating ourselves up. Like the 12 steps, these agreements encourage us to examine our own behavior rather than trying to control everyone around us. And that keeps us focused on the one life we can actually change, which is our own. And so if you haven't read The Four Agreements, I would highly recommend it. It is definitely in the top five of my favorite books, and I've read it two or three times at least. And so that's gonna do it for today's episode of Sober Readings. I hope you enjoyed that. If you did, do me a huge favor and hit that like button, and share, and subscribe. And if you'd like to be a guest reader on the show, I would love to have you. Just send me an email at sober readings with Scott at gmail.com. Also, if you'd like to drop a dollar in the virtual donation basket, just go to my website, soberreadings.com and click the donate button. So again, thank you so much for listening today. Stay sober, keep reading, and I'll catch you in the next episode. Until then, take care of yourselves and each other. And remember, just for today, don't drink, go to a meeting, and keep coming back. Have a great day everyone, and as my friend Larry says, best day ever.