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In discussing Steps 2 and 3, I'm going to share my arduous journey from atheist, to agnostic and to the experience of a loving Higher Power. I have had a very hard time with the word believe, so I have approached it in a different way. Come and learn how I solved the belief issue. I will also talk about how I live those Steps today. Join me December 7th.
~Dick Y.
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In the past couple of decades, Buddhist meditation has helped me work my 12-Step programs. On Saturday, May 11 I’ll introduce Buddhist mindfulness meditation and some of the fundamentals of Buddha's teachings. I’ll talk about how the 12 Steps and Buddhist practices merge and diverge, and take a deeper look at one Buddhist concept: impermanence, and my journey with it. We’re looking forward to having you join us on this expanded spiritual journey.
~Dick Y. In Step 3, we made that decision to turn our will and our life over to the care of God as we understand God. This can be painful.
But the pain I suffer is not actually in turning my life and will over to the God of my understanding. My pain is in my resistance to turning my life and will over to the God of my understanding. Join us on Saturday, November 10, when I’ll say more about this distinction! ~Dick Y. In working Step 11, which is all about trying to improve my conscious contact with my higher power, asking myself certain important questions can help.
What's my level of awareness of God's presence and action in my life? High, midrange, pretty low? Where do I put most of my focus and energy? Getting things, doing things, owning things—or somewhere higher and deeper? What’s my level of inner awareness—that is, how conscious am I of what's going on inside me? Is there anxiety, resentment, judgmentalism, fear? Come join us on May 12, when I’ll explore these questions with you. ~Dick Y. On Saturday, I'll talk about Step 3, Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.
You've got to be kidding me. I'm not going to turn my life and my will over to anybody. I run my own show. It took a long time and a lot of pain to become humble and open myself to this step. Once I made the decision, it's been a great journey. What about you? Who runs your show? Let's explore this together on Saturday. ~Dick Y. Emotional sobriety — it's the next frontier. I have worked this subject for 55 years; it's been hard but more than worth it. Why? Because of the joy, freedom, peace, serenity, and love that I live in now. I still have more work to do, and that's great, because each time I go through another character defect I get a little healthier. (Let's not be afraid to work the program!)
~Dick Y. So — why am I so angry all the time? Why is my behavior so outrageous? Why can't I maintain relationships and more? Who’s responsible for this? How can it change?
How can I change? Let's explore emotional sobriety together on April 8. ~Dick Y. My focus this month will be on Step 1 and my unmanageable life.
When I admitted that my life was unmanageable, I found some internal freedom. But it wasn't long after my admission of unmanageability that I started to take things back. Like my desire for power and control, my anger, and my resentment. I never realized that when I took these things back I was setting myself up for suffering. Living with the desire to control everything through anger and resentment is not healthy and causes a lot of pain. I’ll be sharing my experience with these issues on Saturday, October 8. Come join us on this journey. ~Dick Y. What are spiritual experiences? Is there such a thing as a spiritual awakening?
Bill and Bob became awakened and transformed. As I’ve done my best to walk with them, I’ve found that spiritual experiences and spiritual awakening add up to a great mystery –– and that's why they’re so powerful. Come and explore these themes with us on May 14. ~Dick Y. “Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.”
Are you kidding? For most of my life, humility meant humiliation, and I’ve known plenty of that. But in the last couple years I've been working on a new path to humility. For the first time, I feel I really can “humbly ask him.” Join us on Saturday. I’d like to share my discoveries with you. ~Dick Y. |
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