Blog entry for:

Wed, Aug 10, 2005 05:41:00 AM


α maintenance of conscious contact ω
posted: Wed, Aug 10, 2005 05:41:00 AM

 

there once a time when i paid lip service only to the benefits of regular prayer and meditation in my life. maintaining any sort of mystical connection with the something i cannot physically sense, seemed as ridiculous to me as carrying a lucky rabbit‘s foot. in my ego-centric arrogance i viewed anything that required FAITH as merely ignorant superstition. and so when i was told that i had to find a HIGHER POWER that worked for me and pray for the ability to stay clean everyday, i thought there was no way i would ever get this program, after all i am not stupid enough to discard a seemingly rational and logical belief system for an irrational superstition.
well over time i got desperate. i could not stay clean by myself and i finally reached a point where i decided that possibly i needed to open my mind to possibilities i had not considered.
honestly i have been praying since my first day clean, because my sponsor told me to. at first i was praying to ‘ whatever was out there ’ and let it go at that. right here and right now, after a few steps, and a few days clean, i allow myself the luxury of not only believing in a POWER THAT KEEPS ME CLEAN AND PROVIDES FOR ALL MY NEEDS, but doing my best to maintain my conscious contact with that POWER through daily prayer and meditation. so what exactly is my payoff for being diligent in this daily activity?? an interesting question. i get to stay clean another day. i find myself going through my days leaving a smaller wake of dissension and chaos. and i feel like i am connected to something more than my narrow physical perceptions. no i am not ready to chuck it all and go live in some cave in the himalayas, nor am i ready to open a storefront church and preach about the glories of THE POWER THAT KEEPS ME CLEAN AND PROVIDES FOR ALL MY NEEDS, but i am ready to state unequivocally that i am clean today and it is not through any power that i inherently possess. and for me that is payoff enough for the small bit of my daily life that i devote to prayer and meditation.
∞ DT ∞

 

djtConsulting Brand
The views expressed on this page are solely the opinion of the author.
While the author is a member of a 12 Step recovery fellowship, these writings are not intended to endorse or express the published wisdom of any fellowship.
These writings are not meant to be socially or politically correct, and if you take issue with any opinions expressed, please seek the guidance of someone wiser than me.

Another Look!

prayer and meditation 153 words ➥ Tuesday, August 10, 2004 by: donnot
∞ my active addiction was more than just a bad habit waiting to be broken by force of will ∞ 290 words ➥ Thursday, August 10, 2006 by: donnot
μ my addiction was a negative, draining dependence that stole all my positive energy. μ 462 words ➥ Friday, August 10, 2007 by: donnot
α my first contact with a Higher Power, has grown into a life full of freedom. Ω 372 words ➥ Sunday, August 10, 2008 by: donnot
∀ my addiction was so total, it prevented me from developing any kind of reliance on a Higher Power ∀ 710 words ➥ Monday, August 10, 2009 by: donnot
— from the very beginning of my recovery, a HIGHER POWER has been  — 497 words ➥ Tuesday, August 10, 2010 by: donnot
+ of course i pray when i am hurting, HOWEVER + 433 words ➥ Wednesday, August 10, 2011 by: donnot
¤ the POWER that fuels my recovery continues to ¤ 675 words ➥ Friday, August 10, 2012 by: donnot
¶ for the first time ever, i seek release from ¶ 548 words ➥ Saturday, August 10, 2013 by: donnot
∼ that first freedom: the release from my compulsion to use, ∼ 815 words ➥ Sunday, August 10, 2014 by: donnot
˜ regular prayer ˜ 740 words ➥ Monday, August 10, 2015 by: donnot
⇿ maintaining a life ⇿ 722 words ➥ Wednesday, August 10, 2016 by: donnot
🢅 the direction, 🢄 620 words ➥ Thursday, August 10, 2017 by: donnot
🌱 more than 🌱 641 words ➥ Friday, August 10, 2018 by: donnot
🎁 learning to receive 🎁 621 words ➥ Saturday, August 10, 2019 by: donnot
😒 a negative, 😒 479 words ➥ Monday, August 10, 2020 by: donnot
😉 force of will 😎 476 words ➥ Tuesday, August 10, 2021 by: donnot
🍨 my new 🍨 550 words ➥ Wednesday, August 10, 2022 by: donnot
🤔 to be 🤐 536 words ➥ Thursday, August 10, 2023 by: donnot
Spacer Image

☯ The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao ☯

THE TAO TEH KING, OR THE TAO AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS
by Lao-Tse
Translated by James Legge

Book 2

2) Shall we then dispense with correction? The (method of) correction
shall by a turn become distortion, and the good in it shall by a turn
become evil. The delusion of the people (on this point) has indeed
subsisted for a long time.