Monday Thoughts 11/4/2019

“When we shift our perception, our experience changes.”  ~~Lindsay Wagner

“Our minds influence the key activity of the brain, which then influences everything; perception, cognition, thoughts and feelings, personal relationships, they’re all a projection of you.”  ~~Deepak Chopra

“I think the perception of peace is what distracts most people from really having it.”  ~~Joyce Meyer
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#6 Life can be ordinary or it can be great.

Greatness is mine by a conscious effort.
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In our WFS Program booklet it states, “In early sobriety, our perceptions of life begin to change.  We often go through a period of feeling not fully alive.”  If you look up the antonym of perception, you might find such words as; misunderstanding, misconception, ignorance or unconsciousness.  These words describe quite well, the living of life before sobriety.

The WFS New Life Program and Statement #6 aid in developing perceptibility and awareness.  This Statement focuses on conscious effort, which enables past or outdated judgments to shift.  It is easy to recall times before sobriety in which mountains were made from molehills, only to realize later that it was my perceived perception which increased the size of the experience.  This dissolved any ability to feel contentment.

Whether life feels ordinary or great, sobriety and recovery employ clarity and Statement #6 encourages continued effort.  This week ruminate on how your perceptions in life have changed on your recovery journey.  How has this affected who you are?   What has changed for you? What are you aware of now that you weren’t before?

Hugzzz

Karen
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Hi 4C Women,

Back in 2009, Nancy Cross asked 3 questions that were quite challenging for me at that time.  So much has happened since then and I wondered if the questions would be as difficult to answer now as they were back then.  Here they are:

1.       What do you want to keep in your life?

2.       What do you want to change?

3.       What do you want more of?

Today, my answers, my perceptions are probably similar yet I go about achieving them in a different way because I am different.  What helped was another post by Nancy in 2011 (I had 2 years to work on the 3 challenging questions) and part of her message included guidance by Janet Grace Ortigas.

1.       Explore

2.       Be more adventurous – doing something new or different once in a while

3.       Challenge yourself – doesn’t matter what it is, push yourself a little and see how it builds your self confidence

4.       Plan an adventure

5.       Do volunteer work

6.       Get a hobby – do something you love the most and follow your passion

7.       Laugh more

8.       Live in the now

What I learned from this message is that life can be ordinary and great in small bits of time and effort.  I can take a new way home and find places that I didn’t know existed; take a class in art or dance and either learn something or laugh at my efforts (#7); volunteering can be so rewarding as you give back and receive the joy of knowing you are making a difference; living in the now rather than the past is a gift you give yourself to be able to create the great and appreciate the ordinary.

Bonded in learning what creates greatness in your life and appreciating the ordinary in recovery, a 4C sister.