keitbraycoach  

MORE ON THE GOD THING
I am not, today, a religious person, but to move from a low start point to a life I love today, I had to understand what god is to me. It is safe to say, at my lowest hour, I was spiritually bankrupt. I was the centre of my own universe and I tried to control all within it. For a long period it seemed to work; then it flew apart leaving me with a life without centre.
I believe in the psychology of the 12 steps and a concept of a Higher Power as you personally understand that power. G.O.D.- good orderly direction comes from that source, my higher power, and my higher power (we all label, let's label it God for discussion) is my life's centre.
There are a million words written about this topic. I related to the words below. If you are struggling as I did, they may be relevant to you.
"GOD as WE UNDERSTAND GOD
God is subtle, but He is not malicious -Albert Einstein

 Recovery is an intensely spiritual process that asks us to grow in our understanding of God.  Our understanding may have been shaped by early religious experiences or the beliefs of those around us.  We may wonder if God is as shaming and frightening as people can be.  We may feel as victimized or abandoned by God as we have by people from our past.
Trying to understand God may boggle our mind because of what we have learned and experienced so far in our life.
We can learn to trust God, anyway.
I have grown and changed in my understanding of this Power greater than myself.  My understanding has not grown on an intellectual level, but because of what I have experienced since I turned my life and my will over to the care of God, as I understood, or rather didn't understand, God.
God is real.  Loving.  Good.  Caring.  God wants to give us all the good we can handle.  The more we turn our mind and heart toward a positive understanding of God, the more God validates us.
The more we thank God for who God is, who we are, and the exact nature of our present circumstances, the more God acts in our behalf.
In fact, all along, God planned to act in our behalf.
God is Creator, Benefactor, and Source.  God has shown me, beyond all else, that how I come to understand God in not nearly as important as knowing that God understands me."

The thought of a power greater than self can be daunting. Why would a loving being allow the horrors we hear of on a daily basis, particularly as related to children, happen? It is a question I have no answer to and today I have faith that the higher power that I have come to experience and know is not to be understood, but listened to from within. Since having awoken spiritually again, to many positive coincidences have occurred, and I have that irrational thing called faith and know things happen for a reason, and that reasoning does not come from me.
I love spiritual growth and the higher power I know that is at work in my life today. It keeps my spiritual tank full. Ever want to freely kick this around, contact me through khbray@rogers.com. Let's grow together.

 

 

 

 

I'll Make You Happy--NOT!
FINALLY, we've had some signs of summer the last few days. Thought it might never come. What happened to global warming?
Did it make me happy?
No. I was happy despite the lousy weather, but nice days allow me to do things that I enjoy, and my doing pleasurable and active in the outdoors add to my happiness.
Get the picture? Happy is my responsibility to myself. No one else can make me happy.
I spent a life time trying to make others happy. It was important to me. Whether it is at work, in personal relationships or with family, I wanted to please others. I'm sure at times I did things that added to a person's day in a positive way. Funny, despite what I did, those that were genuinely happy stayed happy despite my actions, and those who were generally unhappy stayed unhappy despite my best efforts! Wonder if that was because I was not a happy camper pre recovery?
Making others feel that for me to be happy I had to have them happy was making others responsible for my happiness, and pre life recovery, I tended to blame others for my state of mind and events that had a less than acceptable outcome.
The process of creative life recovery has allowed me to be a happy person most of the time. I have a set of principles and a daily balance program I do my best to live every day. I do know that my change in character has been an example to others and has led to some great discussion and mentoring that has allowed them to become happy through their own efforts. Funny how well life can work if we understand and accept our issues set some goals and build a plan. Most importantly, we have to take responsibility for ourselves and take ACTION to get any positive results. For me, to do these things, I required "outside" help as well as a fellowship for support. I led to happiness over time!
"Happy" is a simple word that means different things to different people. Unhappy is a state of mind that many of us recognize, particularly when we are constantly honestly unhappy with ourselves on the inside daily. We can mask it to others, but we know the truth.
Looking for a dose of long term happy? Want to discuss where YOU might find it? I can't make you happy, but I have a good idea of what will and how you might get there. Give me a shout a khbray@hopeserenity.ca or a call at 705 201 1027.