Some great quotes..

Some great quotes that Ajahn Brahm makes quite often.. I loved some of these so I thought I would share them. He has the standard 'This too will pass', but I include it just to demonstrate the similarities between what he is talking about and AA I suppose. I love step 11 practitioners. Well not ALL of them, but I occasionally am very inspired by them. Some of these are gems. I love em :)
btw Ajahn Brahm has loads of talks on youtube on the BuddhistSocietyWA's Channel if you ? like that kind of thing. I find them very helpful for getting a good nights sleep during exams :)
Anyway, Hope you are having a volcanic dust-free weekend :) Meanwhile here's the quotes:

Whatever you think it's going to be..
It will always be something different.

"Never allow your knowledge to stand in the way of truth."

"The secret to life is... Everything is out of control"

"Pushing the wheelbarrow is easy, its the thinking about it that is hard"

"Suffering is asking from the world what it can never give you"

"The door of my heart will always be open to you, no matter what you did, who you are."

We should always be grateful for the faults in our partner because if they didn't have those faults from the start, they would have been able to marry someone much better than us.

How many times should you forgive someone? Always "one more time."

There is no right or wrong decision, only a decision with consequences

"What is the Law of Khamma in short? You get everything you deserve."

"This is good enough"

"A Busy person is not someone who has lots to do...Busy person is someone who does too many things at the same time"

"The purpose of life is finding the purpose of life"

Anger comes from frustrated plans..

Less expectations..Less Anger...

"When you expect less you can appreciate more"

What's the challenge in loving someone who's perfect?

Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes.
That way, if he gets angry, he's a mile away and barefoot.

"Teach your child two things - teach him to be honest and to question."

"Complaining is finding faults, wisdom is finding solutions"

Better to Light a Candle than Complain about the Darkness

"It's very compelling, very attractive to have a big daddy in the sky or a big mummy in the sky who will actually make sure that everything is okay for you and will make sure that all your problems disappear... BUT, you know, we're grown up now."

"When the stock market goes down, spiritual values go up."

Buddhist aircon: When it's cold outside, keep a warm heart. When it's warm outside, keep a cool head.

"Don't allow others to control your Happiness"

This too will pass.

A quote seen on packaging for a perfume called 'Falling in love'

'When it comes to love you need not fall but rather surrender.
Surrender to the idea that you must love yourself before you love another.
You must absolutely trust yourself before you can absolutely trust another and most importantly you must accept your flaws before you can accept the flaws of another.'

Seen on the side of packaging of a new perfume called 'Falling in love'

I have heard these ideas expressed before, but I just liked this summary of them. I have found all the above statements to be true. I believe it expresses the true meaning of 'love your brother as you love yourself'.

Although I'm very clear about the things I have learned to date, I would not describe myself as the 'arrogant personality'. I have ALWAYS doubted myself, at every step, regardless of the level of proficiency I achieve in any area. Not everyone is like this. So for me, learning to trust myself has been very important in recovery. I think this is the main motivation to shed a sponsor in the traditional aa sense after having been taken through the steps once. For me it has been very healing to resist the urge to constantly cross reference my ideas about what is best for me with outside sources in aa. 'External validation' I think they call it. Anyway I can only speak for myself, but that's what works for me. When I have encountered Sponsees that desperately want me to do all their thinking for them, or become responsible for problem solving all their 'stuff', I try to throw them back onto their own resources. Asking questions such as 'well what do YOU think you should do?' and things like that.
Other times I have to order people about a bit because they are just way too cocky and confident for their own good. They're all different.
I'm on the other end of the scale, totally lacking in confidence, so learning to trust myself is important work.

I love what this passage says about relationships. I have found it to be true there too. We really can only relate to what we believe deep down we deserve. And if we think we are useless, know nothing slobs, then its very hard to accept love from other people.
Oh well. All grist for the mill. Our work is just never done! The journey never ends, but I don't mind doing the work a day at a time..

Also, just to add, that this statement is also an expression of the principle of Metta meditation practice. This is a 'heart' practice, where we try to cultivate good will toward ALL sentient beings.
Westerners are sometimes surprised that the starting point of the meditation is to cultivate good will toward ONESELF. This is no accident. It is because we just CANNOT love others if we still secretly hold ourself in contempt for being flawed.

Funnily enough, it has mainly been through talking to newcomers and trying to help other alcoholics that I have learned to have a compassionate view of my own flaws. So often I see myself in them, and that's when the healing takes place. They truly are a blessing. I could not have achieved the peace of mind I now have without them.

Happy Quotes. From places other than the Big Book

It is a spiritual axiom that EVERY time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with US.
Step 10. 12 Steps and 12 Traditions.

Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?

If you're happy, would you please inform your face!

Sober not Somber

Service is Gratitude in action.

I complained because I had no shoes; until I met a man that had no feet

We don't see things as they are, we see them as WE are.
Anais Nin.

I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become.
Oprah.

Then he did something else that was to become an A.A. classic. It all went on a little card about golf-score size. The cover read: "Middleton Group #1. Rule #62." Once the card was unfolded, a single pungent sentence leaped to the eye: "Don't take yourself too damn seriously."
Tradition 4. 12 Steps and 12 Traditions

Bludgeoned and beaten into Humility by unremitting suffering.
'We saw we needn't always be bludgeoned and beaten into humility. It could come quite as much from our voluntary reaching for it as it could from unremitting suffering.'
Step 7. 12 Steps and 12 Traditions.

Anger, that occasional luxury of more balanced people, could keep us on an emotional jag indefinitely. These emotional "dry benders" often led straight to the bottle. Other kinds of disturbances--jealousy, envy, self-pity, or hurt pride--did the same thing.
Step 10. 12 Steps and 12 Traditions.

Happiness IS an inside job

Maybe good, maybe bad, who knows?
Taoist Parable.

Neither 'good' or 'bad', 'right' or 'wrong', It just IS.
Buddhist.

It's ALL alright.
(Revered Buddhist monk whose name I didn't write down when I heard this quote.)

EVERYTHING is teaching us.
Ajahn Chah

Yesterday’s history. Tomorrow’s a mystery, Today is a Gift, that's why they call it The Present

If the people in your life really DO treat you badly, whose responsibility is it?

If you miss the bus, it wasn't your bus

A quote that sprung to mind.. (that I like)

For some reason when I think of Tibetan Masters and the Deities they refer to as part of the services they provide to the world, it reminds me of the the last (dying) quote of the 'Warrior' style Replicant in Blade runner. They, (meaning the Rinpoches and Lamas) describe a world I cannot even begin to imagine, but that I trust exists. -because I trust their personal integrity, and the integrity of the Buddhist teaching. It conjures up the poetry of other worlds, seen through the eyes of a trusted servant. So I looked it up, and repeated the film quote here.
I often use poetry and music to evoke sentiments felt in recovery that I struggle to articulate in my own words. They are very useful tools in describing inner worlds, that are far removed from logic and the senses. Something more felt than experienced suppose. Poetry, films, stories, fairytales and archetypes are all very useful tools in recovery. I encourage you to make use of them. If they nourish you, that is. Not if they disturb you, or increase your discomfort.

I think what I'm trying to say is that I feel that the Rinpoches and Lamas inhabit an extraordinary world, seen only by people with their advanced level of skill and ability, that would seem terrifying and utterly alien to ordinary people like you and me. So I see a bit of the life of a Rinpoche in the life of this Replicant in blade runner.
And I LOVE the qualities of toughness that the replicants have in this film, as I see (the right kind of) toughness as a VITAL commodity for achieving spiritual growth. It's not for sissies!

Anyway, here's the quotes...

If only you could see what I've seen with your eyes.

I've done questionable things. ... Nothing the god of bio-mechanics wouldn't let you in heaven for.

I thought you were supposed to be good. Aren't you the good man? Come on! Oh, Deckard! Show me ... what you're made of.
Proud of yourself, little man?
You better get it up, or I'm gonna have to kill you!
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave!

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams ... glitter in the dark near Tanhauser Gate. All those ... moments will be lost ... in time, like tears ... in rain. Time ... to die.

My Favorite Old Timer's Sayings

THE NEWCOMER IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE ROOM
Take it on TRUST
Just do what makes you feel COMFORTABLE
It’s a cinch an inch, but it’s hard by the yard
We are SURE God wants us to be happy, joyous and free.
(in reference to statements from the Big Book) -Doesn't say, 'except for Mary, or John, or David'.
The more you put in, the more you get out
The people that matter don’t mind, and the people that mind, don’t matter
Those who do NOT RECOVER are people who cannot or will not COMPLETELY give themselves to THIS simple program. (not the Hazeltwig Programme)
EVERY time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with US
Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our CONSTANT thought of others and how we may help meet their needs
Wear life like a loose garment, not like a hair shirt!
Just do your lousy best
Wise people learn from their own mistakes. Smart people learn from other people’s
What would be the LOVING thing to do?
Stick with the winners
(On choosing Sponsors) Have they got what you want?
Do they look as though they are enjoying their sobriety?
What are they like in the traffic?
Are they comfortable in their own skin?
The good is the enemy of the best
Your job now is to be at the place where you may be of MAXIMUM helpfulness to others
Keep on the firing line of life with these motives and God WILL, (not might) keep you unharmed
Its better to be in AA pretending to be an alcoholic, than to be 'out there', pretending you're not
It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice
(on advice about talking in meetings) Its says we ought to share in a 'GENERAL' way. Not a blow by blow account!
Feeling without action is Sentimentality. Action without feeling is an empty gesture

Not entirely sure about these ones..
If life was fair, you would be dead'
You can’t transmit something you haven’t got
Love people and use things, not love things and use people
Sick and tired of being sick and tired
Look but don't stare

Some Quotes & Acronym's

A drunk is a sick human being trying to get well, not a bad one trying to be good
Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation - some fact of my life unacceptable to me & I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is suppose to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world by mistake.

Alcohol is a perfect solvent: It dissolves marriages, families & careers
Alcoholism is the only disease that tells you, you don’t have it
An alcoholic is someone whose feet are firmly planted in thin air
An ingrate is someone who bites the hand that feeds him, then complains of indigestion
Call your sponsor BEFORE you pick up a drink
Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to overcome it
Cunning, Baffling, Powerful & Patient
Death, Insanity or Recovery
Denial is Not a River in Egypt
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Do what you did & get what you got
Don’t use even if your ass falls off
Don’t drink, don’t think & go to meetings
Don’t give up before the miracle happens
Don’t work my program, or your program, work “the program”
Embrace the journey
Everything happens for a reason
Faith chases away fear
Faith without works is dead
Fake it ’til you make it
Get to the meeting early & go to the meeting after the meeting
God speaks through other people
God will not close one door without opening another
Gratitude, that’s the attitude
Half measures availed us nothing
Happy, Joyous & Free
He who laughs… lasts
Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less
I came, I came to, I came to believe
I like to get a good jump on worrying about something
I may have another drunk in me, but do I have another recovery?
I need just enough to tide me over & then I need MORE
If I woke up today feeling like I did every day when I drank, I’d take myself to the emergency room
If you don’t want to slip, stay away from slippery places
If you wonder if you’re an addict, you probably are
If you don’t have a higher power, borrow mine
If we knew which drink would cause “wet brain,” we’d stop just before it
I’m really a very persuasive person; I can convince myself of anything
Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over & over again, expecting different results
It gets better
It’s not easy to find happiness in ourselves & it’s impossible to find it elsewhere
It’s okay to look back at the past - just don’t stare at it
I’ve been sober & I’ve been drunk.
Sobers better - I think I’ll stay sober
Just for today
Keep coming back, it works if you work it
Keep it simple
Keep your hands in your pants & give the newcomer a chance
Let go & let God
Live for today. Yesterday’s history. Tomorrow’s a mystery
Live life on life’s terms
My worst day sober is better than my best day drunk
None of us came here on a winning streak
Ninety meetings in ninety days
Not everything that is faced can be changed but
nothing can be changed until it is faced
Once an addict, always an addict
Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic
One is too many, a thousand never enough
One Day at a Time
Pray daily, God is easier to talk to than most people
Poor me, poor me, pour me another drink
Progress, not perfection
Put one foot in front of the other
Recovery is a journey, Not a destination
Resentment is like letting someone live rent-free in your head
Serenity is not freedom from the storm but peace amid the storm
Short version of the Serenity Prayer – “Screw it”
Sobriety is not for people who need it,
it’s for people who want it
Steps 1, 2 & 3: I can’t, God can. I think I’ll let Him
Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem
Sure I had a drinking problem,
but I looked at it more as a drinking opportunity
The easier, softer way is one through twelve
The elevator’s broken, take the steps
The fear of feeling the pain is worse than the pain itself
The mind is like a parachute, it works better when it’s open
The pain is the arrow coming out, not the arrow going in
This too shall pass
The alcoholic’s mind is like a bad neighborhood,
don’t go there alone
The definition of an alcoholic:
an egomaniac with an inferiority complex
Time takes time
Trust God
Try to be grateful & resentful at the same time,
you can’t serve two masters
Today, “we” have a choice
Turn it over
Two things you have to do to become an old-timer:
don’t use & don’t die
United We Stand… Divided We Stagger
Unity, Service & Recovery
Unless I accept my virtues, I will be overwhelmed with my faults
We have to give it away to keep it
We are without a defense against the first drink;
our defense must come from a power greater than ourselves
We’ll love you until you learn to love yourself
We’re only as sick as our secrets
We’re not human beings sharing a spiritual experience…
but spiritual beings sharing a human experience.
What if there is no God? Believe anyway
When you are in it up to your ears, keep your mouth shut
When we were using, we didn’t have relationships,
we took prisoners & held hostages
When the pain of staying sober becomes less than
the pain of getting drunk, you’ll stay sober
Where do I find recovery? Twelve steps past any lengths
Worry doesn’t prevent disaster; it prevents joy
Write a gratitude list & count your blessings
You are right where you are supposed to be
You can always tell an alcoholic, but you can’t tell him much
You can’t think your way into a new way of living…
You have to live your way into a new way of thinking
You reap what you sow
You’re ready for sobriety when the alcohol doesn’t work anymore

Acronym’s
A.B.C. - Acceptance, Belief, Change
A.C.T.I.O.N. - Any Change Toward Improving One’s Nature
B.I.B.L.E. - Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth
D.E.N.I.A.L. - Don’t Even Notice I Am Lying
E.G.O. - Edging God Out
F.A.I.L.U.R.E. - Fearful, Arrogant, Insecure, Lonely, Unsure, Resentful, Empty
F.E.A.R. - Face Everything & Recover / Fuck Everything & Run
False Expectations Appearing Real
F.I.N.E. - Fucked up, Insecure, Neurotic & Emotional
F.U.B.A.R. - Fixed Up (Fucked Up) Beyond All Recognition
G.O.D. - Good Orderly Direction / Group Of Drunks
H.A.L.T. - Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired
H.E.L.P. - Hope, Encouragement, Love, Patience
H.O.W. - Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness
S.L.I.P. - Sobriety Lost It’s Priority / So Long, I’m Perfect
S.O.B.E.R. - Son Of a Bitch, Everything’s Real
T.I.M.E. - Things I Must Learn

As Gentle as Doves, but as Wise as Serpents

This was Jesus's advice to his Disciples when they went out to carry 'their message'.
It's VERY smart advice in my opinion!

YOU SNOOZE YOU LOSE

Please do NOT leave your brains at the door when it comes to being Spiritual!!

This is NOT about some fluffy, spaced-out, cloud cuckoo land where we all hold hands and 'share' (Pass the bucket!)

Being GULLIBLE is NOT Spiritual
TRUSTING BLINDLY AND UNTHINKINGLY is NOT Spiritual
NOT USING YOUR BRAIN is NOT Spiritual

Please use your Brain!!
NOT in the service of your various neuroses!
But in the service or understanding, awareness, and wisdom.

Chapter 9. THE FAMILY AFTERWARD
page 130
We have come to believe
He would like us to keep our heads in the clouds with Him,
but that our feet ought to be FIRMLY PLANTED ON EARTH.

Chapter 9. THE FAMILY AFTERWARD
page 130
We have found nothing incompatible
between a powerful spiritual experience
and a life of SANE AND HAPPY USEFULNESS.

Treat ALL Perception as HIGHLY SUSPECT

Chapter 5, How it Works, page 58
Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas
and the result was NIL
until we let go ABSOLUTELY.

Confidence is the feeling you sometimes have before you fully understand the situation.

Alcoholics are very opinionated and often wrong, but never in doubt.

Chapter 11, A Vision for You, page 164
We realize we know only a little.

'Doubt may be an uncomfortable state of mind but certainty is ridiculous.' ~Voltaire

'There are no facts, only interpretations.' ~Friedrich Nietzsche

'Are you sure?' ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Learn to distrust even the MOST compelling
reactive or negative habitual reactions


I now know that even when I have a compelling belief
that something is inherently 'wrong',
that if it is one of the aspects of life I have great difficulty in coming to terms with or accepting,
that my interpretation is highly likely to be BS.

This is easy to say in theory but very difficult to practice
when all my buttons are pushed and I experience internally
what can only be described as some sort of rage.

Sometimes it's like someone threw a grenade in my head or something!

Thank god for 'restraint of tongue and pen'.
Otherwise I would dig myself a bigger hole.

I need to go to any lengths to bite my tongue, reserve my judgement
and keep my (temporarily vitriolic) opinion to myself.

Therefore not 'act out.'
The mood ALWAYS passes
and I see it much more impartially once I've cooled down.