Freedom from and Freedom to…
We are often very hard on ourselves in recovery from addiction. I am.
I forget that the happiness and freedom that is promised by the AA program and by Buddha, is the end result of doing the work. Otherwise, I might as well be hammering boulders on a prison farm.
This week, I wrote about how the AA Step 10 and Buddhism’s guidelines help us to maintain equanimity and peace of mind.
How Culture Shapes Your Perception
In this short video, Prof. Lindquist introduces the idea that the study of emotion derives from two intellectual lineages—Medicine and Anthropology.
She is adept at explaining the connection between biology and culture in the evolution of our emotions.
“How we are feeling determines what we see”, is a fascinating concept that could explain why some days the worst of drivers on the road have no impact on me and other days I could murder someone I love for not indicating a left-hand turn.
Don’t let others walk through your mind…
with their dirty feet
Is my mind the greatest asset or my biggest foe?
It’s bad enough that I let other people’s bad thoughts effect (infect?) my mind, but worse than that, I talk crap to myself.
Trying to speak to myself as if I was counselling my best friend is not easy.
Dharma Shakti reminds us that consciousness and a healthy mind is our own responsibility and cannot be given us by someone else.
Sometimes We Have To Go Without
I received this poignant article in the mail this week. It’s written by Ken Wells and so accurately portrays the generational shame that permeates families, including mine.
“My dad had his own unfulfilled developmental needs that he brought to the marriage. Both were emotionally shortchanged and throughout their lives never recognised the emotional shortchange that happened to them from their parents. They certainly had no idea how to address the deficit or to effectively get the change back. The emotional deprivation was transferred to the next generation, which included me and all my siblings”.
love alwaz
mike