alcohol and spirituality

[trixietrack]

alcohol and spirituality

I think bootcamp was trying to express something about letting go of your ego and just being.
which is actually not such an easy task.
to detach oneself from mundane desires and to trancend to a higher level is supposed to be a lifetime journey.

[slightlysuze]

alcohol and spirituality

me a grasshopper too LOL....or glasshopper as we used to call him...........


Suze x

[middlepathpilgrim]

alcohol and spirituality

As I have understood it, when we believe ourselves to be apart from the Whole (Cosmos, Consciousness, All That Is, etc.) that is where the yearning/illusion/craving comes in---by believing ourselves to be separate from Everything we are then in an "ego" state. Hence, if we acheive wholeness (Enlightement, Merge with the All, etc.) we then drop the ego and become One with All, that is No Ego. Very simple... kinda.:H

Anyhoo, that's my basic understanding. (Think that's what BCB might be saying.) Hope that helps.

Gloria

How did Buddha order his hot dog? "One With Everything." Yeah, I know, really bad. Couldn't resist.

[bootcampbarbie]

alcohol and spirituality

i'm going to find some of my earlier works that i've read and that i've written. then i can explain some of what i'm speaking. i don't want it to appear over your head. so odd that should be that way. it isn't over your head at all. it is merely words you haven't heard or a way of thinking you haven't explored. that is all. as you expand your way of thinking something new opens up. that is all. i'm simply trying to open up a way of exploring the ego space which is well what we have to deal with. so i'm sorry but you aren't going to transcend that unles you are here to well become full liberated and well maybe 1% of the planet is on that path. so well, you get to deal with moving up on levels of the ego. but there are so many levels that will have you go past addiction and on to that path of enlightenment that it is beautiful but it is still ego state. well again nothing i say is true just my research.... from what i have been studying for 30 years.
read david hawkins.. power vs. force that is the first he wrote. and he was a addict and alcoholic amazing...
tomorrow i'll find a book and my writings and try to write something that will make some sense. tis hard when you've been working so long to well say in a sentence what you've been doing for 30 years.

[tawnyfrog]

alcohol and spirituality

Thank you boots. I shall look forward to that.

[satori]

alcohol and spirituality

middlepathpilgrim;230129 wrote: As I have understood it, when we believe ourselves to be apart from the Whole (Cosmos, Consciousness, All That Is, etc.) that is where the yearning/illusion/craving comes in---by believing ourselves to be separate from Everything we are then in an "ego" state. Hence, if we acheive wholeness (Enlightement, Merge with the All, etc.) we then drop the ego and become One with All, that is No Ego. Very simple... kinda.:H

Anyhoo, that's my basic understanding. (Think that's what BCB might be saying.) Hope that helps.

Gloria

How did Buddha order his hot dog? "One With Everything." Yeah, I know, really bad. Couldn't resist.

Yep - that's kind of it - but HOW to do it is the more tricky part - that DOES take a lifetime of practice.


And - that joke is not bad BTW!


Q. Why could the Buddhist not vacuum behind the sofa?

A. Because .......he had no attachments!


THAT one is not bad either ......... it just ..."is"




Love

Satori

xxx

[wonderworld]

alcohol and spirituality

Love this thread. Also a Buddhist and recovering navel-gazer.

A word or 2 on the ego. I am coming to an understanding that.......ego's not an enemy! (yay!!!) And what the heck is it anyway?

I have a great article from the Summer 2007 Tricycle Buddhist magazine called "Hang on to Your Ego" by Thanissaro Bhikkhu - an Abbot at a Monastery in San Diego.

He talks about a difficulty that many Asian Buddhist teachers -including the Dalai Lama- have encountered with us Western students - a kind of baseline self hatred which is the expression of a toxic superego endemic in our culture. And how the term "egolessness" applied in Buddhist teachings on "not self" have been adapted by us in a distorted way at times. He says:

"Buddhist communities in the west have also begun to recognize this problem and have coined the term "spiritual bypassing" to describe it: the way people try to avoid dealing with the problems of an unintegrated personality by spending all their time in meditation retreats, using the mantra of egolessness to short-circuit the hard work of mastering healthy ego functioning in the daily give and take of their lives." .........

".......If your ego functions are healthy and well-coordinated, they give you a consistent sense of priorities as to which forms of happiness are more worthwhile than others; a clear sense of where your responsibilities do and don't lie; a strong sense of your ability to judge right and wrong for yourself; and an honest sense of of how to learn from your past mistakes for the sake of greater happiness in the future."

Would be happy to mail a xerox of the article to anyone -just pm an address.

He goes on to talk about how, when the ego is aligned with 'right view', in Buddhist terms, we are working with it in the most beneficial way. Not entirely different from the Judeo-Christian/12step notion of aligning one's personal will with "God's will". Functioning more from your 'higher power', rather than your 'lower power' ( a term I recently heard in a meeting which cracks me up. I have a very well-developed 'lower power' !) Being a Buddhist, a non-theist, in the 12 step world, is a bit of an enigma, but I like the challenge.

I have no fantasies about fully dissolving my "self" in this lifetime. But I hope to continue to befriend ALL of it/her and work together for positive outcomes.

Luv wonder xx

[middlepathpilgrim]

alcohol and spirituality

Q. Why could the Buddhist not vacuum behind the sofa?

A. Because .......he had no attachments!


THAT one is not bad either ......... it just ..."is"


Oh my! Satori, you are a stitch! Thanks, I needed that.

One of the greatest gifts I was ever given was a small note left on my breakfast counter by a Buddhist friend. I had been going through a particularly bad time and nothing made sense, nothing was right. The note simply said "It is as it is." Somehow that made it all better. Still does. I just have to get my preferences off it. (How I'll get my preferences off the wretched dead refrigerator and empty bank account are beyond me right now. Breathe, breathe. Center, dammit! Center!)

Do you know DailyOm? Start my day with the DailyOm message (DailyOm.com) and then my OshoZen card. Just a good way to get my "new eyes" for the day.

Thanks again for the laugh. Gotta run and manifest a major appliance.:H

Much love,

Gloria

[CaptJBean]

alcohol and spirituality

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God,
if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and
love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do
list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.

That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.

[CaptJBean]

alcohol and spirituality

Maybe addictions are an attack on our spirit... on our soul... in order to rob us of who we are.

[KateH1]

alcohol and spirituality

There are so many reasons that I am drawn to Buddism. I have been studying this most ancient of Spiritual Paths for many years, I often attend services at the Temple downtown. Visiting the temple is truly one of the most tranquil and serene, uplifting experiences for me.

Things I love about Buddism:
Buddism is Total love and respect, love and respect for all living things, respect for the earth.

In Buddism, we are each accountable for ourselves, our actions, our reations and our ever evolving process.

Never would a Buddist use harsh powers of persuasion or fear to attempt to force another to adopt the Buddist beliefs or practice. It is all about setting an example for others to want to join. A Buddist does not judge others, nor does one try to inflict guilt or pain to another. We would rather quietly pray for all to work towards enlightenment.

How does this relate to alcohol and spirituality? The closer we come to true peace and enlightenment, the further away thoughts of using any mind numbing chemicals becomes.

Peace to All,
KateH

[CaptJBean]

alcohol and spirituality

-------Rick Warren (REMEMBER HE WROTE "PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE") You will
enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having
cancer and him having "wealth" from the book sales. This is an
absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren,

"Purpose Driven Life " author and pastor of Saddleback Church in
California

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a
nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last
forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body--
but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions
of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God
wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life
isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just
coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character
than your comfort.

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making
your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of
life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the
toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark
time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe
that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of
like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something
good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something
bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something
good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.

If you focus on your problems, you're going into
self-centeredness,"which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of
the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself
and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of
thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for
her.

It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her
character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a
testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For
instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million
copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with
before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego
or for you to live a life of ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety
and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide
what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our
lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.

Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from
the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace
Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor , care for the
sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since
I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be
able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions?
Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or
am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God,
if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and
love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do
list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.

That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.

[CaptJBean]

alcohol and spirituality

The problem I had with Buddah... I was apart of that group they were very much a cult... and alway had a way of putting their hands in your pocket for more and more money... make no mistake... they are not as much interested in you as they are in your check book!!! more than any religious organization I have ever known...

[KateH1]

alcohol and spirituality

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm Jbean..."Part of a Group"??? Please enlighten me. Cult? Please explain?
In all the years that I have associated with Buddist's, I have been treated to amazing spiritual experiences, provided with support and love, treated to amazing feast's of all sorts. I have been treated with nothing but unconditional love, never condemnation and never, not ever have I been asked for money.

Yet, in the Christian community I have been "preached at", condemed and preached at again. Money......hmmmmmmm. how many Buddist monks own their own mansions? How many christian ministers own their own private jets? Anytime that I have attended any Xtian function, I have not only been asked for money at that time, but they made sure to get my address to ask for more money. Christianity is all about money and guilt.

[CaptJBean]

alcohol and spirituality

Think you've been going to the wrong church there kiddo...
The Good News Bible and The Grace of God is Now Upon You...
and my dear... the price was paid by Christ Blood... and it didn't cost you a dime....