Thursday, February 16, 2012
The Thought-Life Connection (TLC) Workshop on February 15th discussed the Way Of Life found in the 12 Steps that is applicable to anyone who wants to change their life for the better. We discussed the need for our gaining a new perspective, looking out from our center into our universe. Below are two applications that will help in acheiving this goal. Review and contemplate these until the assignment about ‘flip-flopping’ is posted with the new apps in the next couple of days! HAVE FUN!!!
Who are you to the Universe?
Look as far as you can see… Look up and think of what is past your vision – imagine what is out there… Now look left as far as you can see – think past your vision and imagine how far it all goes… Now look right and think how far does it go? Just imagine… Look down through the earth to the other side and imagine, how far does it go?
Now look forward and imagine what’s out there and how far does it go? During the day just think for a second, and imagine the earth just flipping over to the other side and now you can see the night sky with the endless stars…. During the day know always… There past the blue sky that comes from the sun’s reflection of the blue oceans and that’s why the sky is blue… So when a child asks why is the sky blue? You have something to tell them…
And now, look back and realize you have come full circle and seen the entire universe… Now the most important part of it all: Realize YOU are the center of the universe and all of it extends from you… All of it extends from you…
Now who are you? You are ONE with it all because it all extends from you…
Getting a broader perspective…
In terms of the economy right now and what’s happening in your personal life… Sometimes we get caught up in our own little world, and the world gets so small… Especially when we get into our problems and we can’t see any solution… We’re just engulfed in our problems. We’re overwhelmed with stress, we’re walking with anxiety, and we’re shaking inside, we don’t know what to do about it and the world just gets smaller and smaller… All of a sudden we find ourselves irritated by everything and everybody…
What has happened is, we’ve lost perspective… To get a new perspective we widen the hoop and we think about: if you live in America and you were born in America, think about how fortunate you are and the amenities you get to have in your life… Like a vehicle, food and shelter, and a nice home, good clothes… People in Third World countries spend their whole day looking for a meal, maybe even miss a meal a day, and they do this every day, seven days a week. You know, we complain about going to work, we complain about having to work so hard to pay our bills, that we’re not getting paid enough, and there are people out there begging for food… begging for money to buy food… no clothes, no shoes…
We need to get perspective. It isn’t about being imbalanced; it’s about creating balance. It isn’t about feeling self-righteous.
When we get caught up in our own little world, it’s about finding a way to breathe a little bit. And remember that everyone struggles… On page 114 in the 12 Steps &12 Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous it states in there that “our basic troubles are the same as everyone else’s.” It is such an important principle to remember when you are feeling the anguish of life. It is important to just breathe and realize that your troubles are the same as everyone else’s. When you feel that anxiety and you’ve gotten caught up in your emotions, and the world is just getting tight and it’s hard to breathe, you have to recognize that you’ve lost perspective. And, it’s very easy to get perspective. Go on the internet; look up some Third World countries… Find a way just for the purpose of perspective… Maybe send a dollar to a charity…
But, widen the hoop. Think about what other people are doing and then widen the hoop further. Imagine your planet from space and realize this planet has been unfolding for five billion years… In the essence of time what are our problems about based on the unfolding of this planet at five billion years? They mean nothing… Widen that hoop… People struggle every day… Smile and laugh… This is the life you have… Don’t wait for tomorrow. We can’t afford to be stressed today…
Laugh today… Get perspective… Make it a point to see how other people feel… The struggles they go through. Be empathetic…
We sit here sometimes and we lose perspective… It’s always out there… There are people who are living a comfortable life who don’t stress out… Remember that too because you’ve got to see everything. There are people living better than us and worse than us. We’re trying to get balance. Widen the hoop… Consider and ask God to show you that you’ve lost perspective and ask God and let God know that you’ve lost perspective and to show you how to see those things to uplift yourself.
Much Love,
K.C.
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Empthay is to feel intellectual or emotional identification with another..
Thank you KC for this application. It is true for me that I tend to focus on my world and when I am having problems or anxiety, it most always is from my skewed perception. I am learning to reconize when I am caught up in my own small world. It has been extremely helpful for me to spend some time each day in communion with my Higher Power. I am learning to find my truths. Not to isolate and wait until my world is so small I can barely breathe. It is through TLC that I have had this “Spiritual Awakening” I am truly grateful for the gift of TLC. Today I know I have a perception problem… When I do the work and am truly open and honest, I find my world opening wide and happiness surrounds me and life is beautiful…When I am open to the limitless possiblities I find that I am at my best and am able to reach out and help others..