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Uncertainty

3/31/2016

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​“I don’t know,” “I’m not sure,” and “I don’t know what’s right for you,” are answers that don’t always make us comfortable. We want to have the answers for others and also for ourselves, but sometimes the answers we think we know are not based on facts or truth. By holding on to these “answers” we often become unable to accept the facts, the truth, or the light. When we hold our opinions lightly we can readily allow divine answers to come to us.
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Moving Forward

3/30/2016

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​Our past is only what brought us to where we are today. It doesn’t have to be what determines our direction for the future. If our past was positive and we have found joy and happiness, then we can choose to continue going in the same or a similar direction. But, if our past was less than stellar and we would rather dismiss it or forget it, then we can choose to learn the lessons but move into an altogether new direction. We don’t have to be defined by a negative past, and we don’t have to be afraid to make the needed changes—even if those changes are drastic—in order to make a better future.
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All are Welcome

3/29/2016

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​One of the things Religious Recovery is proud of is our acceptance of people. Our meetings often host people from a variety of backgrounds and a variety of religious beliefs. We hope to help people understand that, yes, we are diverse, but that our diversity can be healthy and not a cause for debate or hate. When we understand that most people accept their backgrounds as normal, then we can let go of the prejudices more easily and make room for caring and sharing.
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Weekly Newsletter: Minimize Mistakes

3/29/2016

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​     No matter what we do in life, we will make mistakes. Religion has taken many of these mistakes and decided to call them sins. The problem is, however, that once we put this evil connotation with them, it changes the way we handle them. Mistakes are simply that, mistakes. Sins, however, according to some religions, require repentance and restoration. I cringe to think that a loving Creator would be so easily moved to disown His children.
     This isn’t simply a matter of major sins that need to be forgiven. They claim that sin is sin, and any break with the Creator requires confession, repentance, and restoration. To be fair, not all believe this way, but the general idea of sin and repentance is a strong religious concept.
     What if we were to minimize the role sin plays in our relationship with the Creator? Is our union with The Divine so fragile that we must be on guard every minute of the day? If I can overlook and forgive the “sins” of my children (against me), then surely The Divine overlooks our mistakes more readily than we do if The Divine truly is Love. I suggest we call sins mistakes, and I suggest we minimize the power of those mistakes to separate us from Divine Love. Mistakes are easier to forgive and forget. Nothing can separate us from the love of The Divine. Nothing.
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The Middle Path

3/28/2016

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​Quite often the best path is the middle path, the path of balance. Sometimes, however, finding and staying on that middle path is quite a challenge. It’s much like a golfer trying to drive the ball down the middle of the fairway. We tend to spray the ball left or right, making our path to the green much longer and more difficult. The middle path, the path of balance means forgiving but not being a doormat, loving but not letting others take advantage of our love, finding peace with our lives while still striving to improve our world and our circumstances. 
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Freedom from the Pain of the Past

3/27/2016

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​We look for ways to heal from the emotional baggage of the past, and one important form of healing is forgiveness. But just because we forgive, it doesn’t mean we forget. We remember so that we are able to avoid being hurt in the same fashion again. The hurts were real, but through forgiveness and love we don’t have to be controlled by what happened in the past. 
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Have Some Fun

3/26/2016

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​Spiritual and religious people don’t have to be deadly serious. Life is a roller coaster ride of many experiences, and when we get too serious about ourselves and our world, we miss the point. Fun, laughter, happiness, joy, excitement, and just enjoying life should all be part of our spiritual/religious experience. I have no doubt that we were given a sense of humor for a reason. Let’s keep things fun and lighthearted. 
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Silence is Golden

3/25/2016

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​Silence benefits us on our spiritual path because it allows us to be quiet long enough to hear the voice of The Divine. There is another and perhaps more obvious benefit to silence. Keeping our mouths shut can often keep us out of trouble and out of conflict. Not everything has to be questioned. Some battles are not worth fighting, and silence can often be our best ally. So we disagree on which religion is the best, or which political candidate is the best, or which sports team is the best. As long as we can agree to disagree, fine. But if our disagreements lead to arguments and fights, then silence can bring peace to an otherwise tense situation.
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Divine Appointments

3/24/2016

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​We are connected to individuals destined to make a difference in our lives. They will appear at just the right time and in the right place. We can trust that these divine connections will happen. We do not have to look for them or force them. There may be times when we thought a person was meant to be one of those divine connections, only to later discover that we were wrong. Let’s relax and let the Universe unfold. 
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The Simple Life

3/23/2016

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​In order to keep our heart free from hate, we must forgive. In order to keep our minds free from worry, we must live in the present moment. By living simply, and simply living, we lower our expectations and appreciate what we have. Our lives thrive when we treat others kindly and love wildly. 
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Learning Lessons

3/22/2016

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​I often wonder where our dreams come from. If they come from outside of us, then that seems to be proof of another reality. But, if they come from our own imagination and creativity, then they seem to be from a part of ourselves that is not connected to our physical body. Perhaps the teaching that this life is a school and that we are here to learn lessons is true. Or, perhaps we simply need to relearn the lessons that we once knew and that present themselves to us in different ways during times when we are awake, but also when we dream.
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Weekly Newsletter: Trial by Error

3/22/2016

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     Life is full of challenges, and we tend to label these as good or bad. But, what if we considered them neither? What if we simply allowed all experiences to play out without giving them a value judgment?
     We make countless mistakes on a regular basis. If we were to categorize these events and label each as good or bad and stacked them away on a shelf, would the good containers outnumber the bad ones? I recall learning to play the trumpet. I made plenty of mistakes—too many to mention. But, had I given up, I never would have known any measure of success. Our lives are filled with many trials, and we often overcome these trials not through perfect performance, but because we fail and try again.
     If we were to go back to our storage room and look through the boxes that we categorized as bad, we might be surprised to learn that as we look back over the situations, we might change our minds and move many of the boxes from the “Bad Experiences” shelves and place them on the “Good Experiences” shelves. 
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Positive Judgments

3/21/2016

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​If we believe that people are evil, selfish, cruel, and mean us harm, we will tend to attract those qualities into our lives until it becomes our reality. On the other hand, if we believe people are essentially good, generous, kind, and want what’s best for us, then we will tend to attract positive people. Let us withhold negative judgments and offer only positive judgments. Then we will be more positive and attract more peace and love.
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Good Enough?

3/20/2016

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​We want people to like us. We want people to accept us, appreciate us, and we want to be loved for who we are and not for who they want us to be. We might never be good enough for some people, but that is their problem—not ours. We are good enough for The Divine, and that is good enough for me. 
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Be Heard

3/19/2016

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​Perhaps we think that we will be heard if we just speak enough words. But often we are heard more clearly when our words are few. In stillness we can open our hearts and allow it to speak through tears of joy or sorrow. Our eyes can share in loving and understanding ways, and the language of our bodies can speak when words elude us. Be still, and be heard.
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Take a Leap

3/18/2016

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​Sometimes we can overthink a decision and miss an opportunity. Of course, the opposite can be true in that we can also make a decision before giving it ample consideration. Balance is usually the best course of action, but there are times when we throw caution aside and take a leap. 
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Make Life Better

3/17/2016

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​Every day holds opportunities to make our lives, and the lives of others, better. It’s not complicated. We simply choose to laugh, love, give, share, be grateful, live simply, and promote peace within ourselves and within our world. To simplify it even more, love with all our hearts.
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Be Planted

3/16/2016

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​There are times in our lives when we feel as if we are emotionally dead. These times are so dark and dreadful that many times we wish we were physically dead, too. Even though these times might have been self-inflicted, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a way out. A seed that is buried in the earth is actually not buried, but planted. The Divine will take a dark, dismal situation and use it to bring us back to the Light. 
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Let Resentment Go

3/15/2016

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​Resentment affects us much more than the people we resent. In fact, those we resent often don’t care about how we feel about them, and many won’t do anything to help us to release our resentment. It is up to us to deal with our resentment. If we hold on to it, we only hurt ourselves. If we release it, our hearts and lives are no longer affected by it. Someone might have hurt us, and we might be angry and feel cheated, but holding onto resentment only makes us bitter. Why should we let resentment steal our ability to love and be loved?
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Weekly Newsletter: Misunderstood

3/15/2016

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     At times things happen that are misunderstood. What we attempted to do was perceived differently by others and, as a result, bad feelings arose. Step Nine addresses this problem from the vantage point of the one whose intentions were good, but the result was less than positive. The inference in this Step is that even though our intentions were good, the result might still have hurt, disappointed, or even abused someone, and we should forgive ourselves for any harm we may have caused.
     We also need to consider this Step from the vantage point of the person who has been harmed but who may not realize that it was unintentional. Of course, that doesn’t lessen their pain. Not until they come to realize that no ill will was intended can the injured party begin to let go of the hurt and grant us the forgiveness we seek.
     If we are the ones in the place where we have been hurt and it seems to have been cruelly intended, then we can overcome the situation by looking at it from a different perspective. Why did they do what they did? Was their intention to do good or harm? As much as possible we look for the good, the loving, and the kind actions, even if they seem to be missing. After all, we have the ability to rewrite history and to make of our past what we want it to be. No one is responsible for our feelings except us. We choose the perception we want to believe. We choose the feelings we experience as a result of our perception, and we also decide whether we will live in peace or in conflict.
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Learning from Mistakes

3/14/2016

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​The process of trial and error is often our best teacher, and mistakes are often our best lessons. Unfortunately when we fail to learn our lessons, we will continue to make mistakes. The lessons will present themselves in different forms because that is the Universe’s way of getting us to see the situation from different angles. Once we have that ah-ha moment, the lesson is learned and we can move on to a different lesson. 
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One Word at a Time

3/13/2016

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​Sometimes a person asks me how I manage to write books. They think I must be extremely disciplined. The secret is simple. When I am writing a book, I write a little every day, and often I take off on the weekends. Things will get done, and we will move forward in life as long as we do not stop. 
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Don't be "should" On

3/12/2016

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​Don’t let people “should” on you, as in, “You should have done this or that …. ” What is done is done, and there is nothing we can do to change the past. But, we can learn from it, and if we sense that we failed in any way, we can choose to determine to make better decisions in the present. Holding onto the past, holds us up from our present.
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Loving Changes

3/11/2016

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​Walking away from behaviors that doesn’t serve us can be difficult. These behaviors might or might not be devastating but can be as simple as moving away from certain forms of foods that aren’t good for us. It can also be moving away from destructive behaviors that can bring life-altering changes if left unchecked. Making small or large changes in behavior to make our lives better, stronger, or more loving are ways in which we love ourselves and honor our journeys.
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Keys to Happiness

3/10/2016

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​Here is a simple formula for happiness: don’t judge, forgive, and love. The more we are able to accomplish these practices, the more happiness we will bring into our own lives and also into the lives of everyone around us. 
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  • Home
    • Welcome
    • Questions
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  • Reviews
  • Meetings
    • Indiana
    • Ohio
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    • Every Path Leads Home
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    • Set Your Course
  • Social Media
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