Spirituality – Author Dallas H

(into my world)

Rest, if you so choose, on my window- sill and share a few scattered crumbs of daily impressions that I have scribed over the years.

In 2006, I added to my collection of daily meditation books, an edition of Chicken Soup for the Recovering Soul by Jack Canfield who drew on excerpted passages from his previous books. Additional credits go to [et al.] Mark Victor Hanson, Peter Vegso, Gary Seidler, Theresa Peluso, Tian Dayton, Rokelle Lerner, and Robert Ackerman

This particular gem is composed of three hundred and sixty -five pages of uplifting quotes by well known, renowned individuals, as well as proverbs shared around the world and throughout history. A brief related paragraph and a quote sums up these pearls of wisdom and then invites the reader to share their own perceptions on space provided at the bottom of the page.

In 2006, I already had 18 years vested in my own recovery program and I am not quite sure when I composed all of my responses. But I do not believe they all materialized that same year. What I do know, is that they are reflective of who I was, and what I was feeling, on whatever day I penned them. Shared below are some of those thoughts preceded by a passage or two that prompted them.

Change is generally regarded as positive, but it can be destructive as well. When running toward change, ask yourself, “From what am I running?” Are you leaving behind a family, a job, a reputation, or troubles that are overwhelming?

Elaine Young McGuire

I’ve never considered change from this perspective. The program has instilled in me another option: Run in place, lean on a friend, and I might just find a solution to my problem.

At times in the past, my love had been hidden, blocked off by impenetrable clouds. No light or love came through. In my family the love we felt for each other often got cloudy with broken promises, fear, anger, and confusion.

Rokelle Lerner

In the midst of chaos there is no season of love. It gets lost in the confusion and fighting the elements. The seasons of hope and love ae unattainable in the storms of addiction.

Powerful emotions stir as I recall the places from which I have come.

Godwin H. Barton

In my addiction, and in years prior, I seldom acknowledged emotional pain. Instead, I drank it away. I didn’t laugh much either. I lived my life flat-lined. Experiencing very few in depth feelings. I missed a lot. Today, I welcome both joy and sadness. They tell me I am alive.

Early in my recovery A.A. members told me, “Let us love you till you can love yourself.” I surrendered. As my sobriety grew, they offered, “Don’t get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired.” I accepted. When they advised, “it’s the first drink that gets you drunk, just stay away from that first drink.” I understood.

Dorri Olds

The simpler the saying, the more specific its meaning. The slogans in my twelve- step program are to the point. You can’t get caught up in any unnecessary window dressings. There is nothing to unravel.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our job is to be vessels through which God can work His miracles: Like holding a child close, or lending an ear, or simply wearing and sharing a smile.

Most people live in a very restrictive circle of their potential being. We all have reservoirs of energy and genius to draw upon of which we do not dream.

William James

By expanding my creativity, I am enriching my Spirituality, because when I am emersed in whatever I am creating, I am divorced from self.

Argue for your limitations and sure enough they’re yours.

Richard Bach

I can think my way into a fearful, lazy person. Or self-talk my way into a healthy vibrant soul. It’s all about the messaging I choose to believe.

I honor my own experience and personal truth. I know that no one from my past needs to see things the way I do for me to get better or move on.

Tian Dayton

Two sisters raised in the same home, garnering different strengths, and harboring different hurts. Two distinct perceptions, two contrasting interpretations of their own truth.

The finest qualities of our nature can be preserved only by the most delicate handling.

Henry David Thoreau

I feel safest around gentle souls. They are so unassuming and offer only love. Advice can be purchased anywhere, but gentleness has no price, it is freely given, no strings attached. Dad was a gentle soul.

I have something now that I did not have as a child in an alcoholic home. I have choices. I will be an adult child of an alcoholic until the day I die. But I am not going to die one more day because I am an adult child of an alcoholic.

Robert J Ackerman

Being an adult child and acting like one are worlds apart. It is my behavior that sets the example, not my instincts, which may still reflect some nagging issues.

Today is today. Today is not yesterday, crushing you with the mistakes you have made. Today is not tomorrow, which is always out of your gasp. But you can take hold of today. You can face it. You can deal with it. You can rejoice in the gift that it is.

Sharon Siepel

God, When I am in a state of projection and missing out on the moment, help me pull the blind down on tomorrow, until its sun dawns.

Despite the miracle in my life, recovery remains a day-to-day process. It began with the supernatural power to forgive and it continues with a grateful and ever repentant heart. Miracles do happen. Seekers do get healed. Lives can be forever changed. Recovery is not just a road; it is a reason.

Rev. Ed Donnally

Twelve step programs disprove the assertion that people can’t change. I see it again and again. I am surrounded by it in the program. What a blessing to witness the miracles.

There is no need to prove the truth. Trying to do so shows only your own stubbornness. Truth will always reveal itself at the right moment and at the right place. You need be concerned only with living true to your own self. Focusing on your own part is more useful than passing judgement on others.

Brahma Kumaris: World Spiritual University

I am only responsible for my own thoughts and behaviors. That is a big enough job to handle. When I remain true to myself, I am owned by no one.

To know what you prefer instead of what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to keep your soul alive.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Lord, help me maintain my autonomy, lest I lose myself in others, and what I assume are their expectations of me.

The above were excerpts through June. Saving the other half for later. Thanks for reading.

I wonder how many of us throughout the years have lovingly tended either a vegetable or a flower garden, or perhaps both? We planted flora, grasses, and veggies in carefully selected plots of soil that we ardently tilled to perfection. We purchased the healthiest plants we could find. Selected flower seeds and arranged them according to their color contrasts and height in order to affect the most eye-popping exhibits in our neighborhoods. No sacrifice was too demanding. On throbbing bent knees, and often in the blazing sun, we weeded, fed them nutrients, and quenched their undying thirst. It seemed a small sacrifice as we anticipated the fruits of our labor. And then, we fluffed our feathers for doing such a great job, and patiently sat back, relaxed, and expected nature to take its course so we could gather our bounty.

Before long we were rewarded for our effort. The flowers began to unfurl their petals in a variety of beguiling pastels and ravishing radiance. The vegetables produced succulent edibles that satisfied even the most persnickety palate.

So great was our satisfaction that we continued to sow and reap this pleasure year after year: Adding, subtracting, and retaining our favorites, we became expert gardeners.

But as we aged, some of us realized that alongside our beautiful gardens, there lay an untilled plot bereft of tending. It shed its undefined emptiness across the spectrum of our souls.

I wrestled with this dilemma for some time, and after discussing it with like-minded friends, it finally dawned on me: The missing entity in my own backyard was a Spiritual Garden.

But where and how should I begin? What space would provide the most verdant soil in which to grow such a garden? Certainly, not the one between my ears. That space is often either too barren to feed my fledging faith or too full of random chaos and garbage to nurture any kind of Spirituality. Spirituality should reflect an Island of peace and serenity, right?

Since just the right space hadn’t manifested yet, I decided to focus on what I wanted to grow in this Spiritual Garden and how I might expand that. For starters, I sifted through some of the virtues that I felt I might be lacking. A few of the obvious ones begging my attention were Patience, gratitude, and humility.

I knew I had a small pittance of the three, but like tiny, neglected buds, they rarely bloomed. And so, in order to make them flourish, I began gathering bits and pieces from those who I knew had an abundance of them. My sister, for instance, both possessed and actively practiced her gratitude. It manifested itself in her radiant smile, a genuine interest in others, and her commitment to a daily ritual of prayer and meditation.

My AA sponsor was another source of inspiration. If she was ever frustrated by my rebellious nature, or weary of raising the curtain on new perspectives, she never showed it. Instead of pointing out my misconceptions, she simply sat back and allowed me to spout off a bevy of excuses that proved I wasn’t an alcoholic: Until that is, I was overwhelmed by the thunder of the stupidity that was bouncing back. God, did I really believe that bull….? She must have prayed for patience, and God sent her me.

Humility was really tricky. I didn’t quite understand that principle. I thought that every time I hung my head, hid my merit, and profusely apologized for being myself, that I was being humble. Or, that those boisterous braggards, always vying for attention, were the only ones who lacked humility. It wasn’t until I was further along in the program that I finally realized that true humility is an acceptance of who one truly is, the good and bad. It is about recognizing our humanness.

Once I had my starters, I assembled a few basic tools and continued searching for a plot that could accommodate my new garden’s unfolding. I looked high and low, but nothing jumped out. Those being considered were either lacking spontaneity, the perimeters were too small to support expansion, or the foundations were too rocky and unyielding to harbor any serenity. The expedition was wearing me out. It had become a crusade. With every accelerated beat of my heart, my anxiety was mounting. What if such a place didn’t exist?

Realizing that I had hit a wall, I decided to put it aside for a while. Then, one evening, as I was scrolling through Facebook, I came across a video that captured the responses of several babies, who, thanks to a new hearing device, were experiencing the sound of their mother’s voice for the very first time. It was miraculous.

Tears welled as I watched the animated joy spreading across their faces. I could literally feel the increased drumming of my own heart. I had found the source of my dilemma. My Spiritual Garden could only emanate from the heart; a space that was unencumbered by ego and other frivolous distractions. My garden had finally found a home. Its pulse is in sync with every beat of my heart. Thus, I began to plant one earned value at a time, allowing it to take hold according to my Higher Power’s schedule.

Tag: Spirituality

Through My Window

Looking for My Gardens Pulse.