Hinduism. a word or formula, as from the Veda, chanted or sung as an incantation or prayer. an often repeated word, formula, or phrase, often a truism: If I hear the “less is more” mantra one more time, I’ll scream.”
“GOD has a plan for me. It is hidden within me, just as the oak is hidden within the acorn, or the rose within the bud. As I yield myself more fully to God, His Plan expresses itself more perfectly through me. I can tell when I am in tune with it, for then my mind and my heart are filled with a deep inner peace. This peace fills me with a sense of security, with joy, and a desire to take the steps that are a part of the Plan.
God’s Plan for me is a perfect part of a larger Plan. It is designed for the good of all and not for me alone. It is a many-sided Plan and reaches out through all the people I meet. All the events and people who come into my life are instruments of the unfolding of this Plan.
God has chosen those people He wants me to know, to love and to serve. We are continually being drawn to one another in ways that are not coincidental. I pray that I may become a better instrument to love and to serve and that I may become more worthy to receive the love and service of others.
I ask the Father within me for only those things which He wants me to have. I know that these benefits will come to me at the right time and in the right way. This inner knowing frees my mind and heart from all fear, greed, jealousy, anger and resentment. It gives me courage and faith to do those things which I feel are mine to do. I no longer look with envy at what others are receiving. Therefore, I do not cut myself off from God, the giver of all good things.
God’s gifts to me can be many times greater than I am now receiving. I pray that I may increase my capacity to give, for I can give only as I receive, and receive only as I give.
I believe that when I cannot do those things I desire to do, it is because God has closed one door only to leave ajar a better and larger door. If I do not see the door just ahead, it is because I have not seen, heard, or obeyed God’s guidance. It is then that God uses the trouble of seeming failure which may result to help me face myself, and see the new opportunity before me.
The real purpose of my life is to find God within my own mind and heart, and to help my fellowmen. I thank my Father for each experience which helps me to surrender my will to His Will. For only as I lose myself in the consciousness of His Great Presence can His Plan for my life be fulfilled.” Matt Talbot
If you have a resentment you want to be free of, if you will pray for the person or the thing that you resent, you will be free. If you will ask in prayer for everything you want for yourself to be given to them, you will be free. Ask for their health, their prosperity, their happiness, and you will be free. Even when you don’t really want it for them, and your prayers are only words and you don’t mean it, go ahead and do it anyway. Do it every day for two weeks and you will find you have come to mean it and to want it for them, and you will realize that where you used to feel bitterness and resentment and hatred, you now feel compassionate understanding and love. Big Book pg. 552
Selfishness – self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt.
So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn’t think so. Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness. We must, or it kills us! God makes that possible. Big Book pg. 62
And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation – some fact of my life – unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world by mistake. Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely on life’s terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes. Big Book pg. 417
Perhaps the best thing of all for me is to remember that my serenity is inversely proportional to my expectations. I must keep my magic magnifying mind on my acceptance and off my expectations, for my serenity is directly proportional to my level of acceptance. Big Book pg. 420
It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us. If somebody hurts us and we are sore, we are in the wrong also. But are there no exceptions to this rule? What about “justifiable” anger? If somebody cheats us, aren’t we entitled to be mad? Can’t we be properly angry with self-righteous folk? For us of the human race these are dangerous exceptions. We have found that justifiable anger ought to be left to those better qualified to handle it. Twelve & Twelve pg. 90 When we speak or act hastily or rashly, the ability to be fair-minded and tolerant evaporates on the spot. One unkind tirade or one willful snap judgment can ruin our relation with another person for a whole day, or maybe a whole year. Nothing pays off like restraint of tongue and pen. We must avoid quick-tempered criticism and furious, power-driven argument. The same goes for sulking or silent scorn. These are emotional booby traps baited with pride and vengefulness. Twelve & Twelve pg. 91
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see. John Newton
I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be. Thank God, I am not what I used to be.
MAN IN THE GLASS
When you get what you want in your struggle for self And the world makes you king for a day, Just go to a mirror and look at yourself And see what THAT man has to say.
For it isn’t your father or mother or wife Who judgment upon you must pass; The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life Is the one staring back from the glass.
Some people may think you a straight-shootin’ chum And call you a wonderful guy, But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum If you can’t look him straight in the eye.
He’s the fellow to please, never mind all the rest, For he’s with you clear up to the end. And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test If the man in the glass is your friend.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of life And get pats on your back as you pass. But your final reward will be heartaches and tears If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.
JUST FOR TODAY
1. Just for today I will try to live through this day only, and not tackle my whole life’s problem at once. I can do things for 12 hours that would appall me if I had to keep them up for a lifetime.
2. Just for today I will be happy. This assumes that what Abraham Lincoln said is true, that “most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Happiness is from within; it is not a matter of externals.
3. Just for today I will try to adjust myself to what is, and not try to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my family, my business, and my licks as they come and fit myself to them.
4. Just for today I will take care of my body. I will exercise it, care for it, nourish it, not abuse or neglect it, so that it will be a perfect machine for my bidding.
5. Just for today I will try to strengthen my mind. I will learn something useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read something that requires effort, thought, and concentration.
6. Just for today I will exercise my soul in three ways: I will do somebody a good turn and not get found out; I will do at least two things I don’t want to do, as William James suggests, just for exercise.
7. Just for today I will be agreeable. I will look as well as I can, dress as becomingly as possible, talk low, act courteously, be liberal with praise, criticize not at all, nor find fault with anything — and not try to regulate or improve anyone.
8. Just for today I will have a program. I will write down what I expect to do every hour. I may not follow it all exactly, but I will have it. It will eliminate two pests: hurry and indecision.
9. Just for today I will have a quiet half-hour all by myself and relax. In this half-hour sometimes I will thank God, so as to get a better perspective of my life.
10. Just for today I will be unafraid, especially I will not be afraid to be happy, to enjoy what is beautiful, to love, and to believe that those I love, love me.
YESTERDAY–TODAY–TOMORROW
There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension. One of these days is YESTERDAY with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. YESTERDAY has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back YESTERDAY. We cannot undo a single act we performed; we cannot erase a single word we said…YESTERDAY is gone. The other day we should not worry about is TOMORROW with its possible adversaries, its burdens, its large promise and poor performance. TOMORROW is also beyond our immediate control. TOMORROW’S sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds- but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in TOMORROW for it is yet unborn. This leaves only one day…. TODAY. Any man can fight the battle of just one day. It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities…. YESTERDAY AND TOMORROW that we break down. It is not the experience of TODAY that drives men mad– it is remorse and bitterness for something which happened YESTERDAY and the dread of what TOMORROW may bring.
LET US, THEREFORE, LIVE BUT ONE DAY AT A TIME!