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January 15, 2012
2 notes


It’s time for me to realize that my attitude - toward the life I’m living and the people in it - can have a tangible, measurable and profound effect on what happens to me day by day. If I expect good, then good will surely come to me. And if I try each day to base my attitude and point of view on a sound spiritual foundation, I know it will change all the circumstances of my life for the better, too. Do I accept the fact that I have been given only a daily reprieve that is contingent on the maintenance of my spiritual condition?

I really like this.  It is so true.  Every time I go through  difficult time, which we will always have those, I thank my Higher Power already for the outcome and lesson He has in store for me.  I do not dwell on why it is happening or poor me.  I try to stay in an attitude of gratitude for the spiritual path that I am on. 

You are reading from the book:

A Day at a Time (Softcover) by Anonymous

(Source: lahacienda.com)

Tags: spirituality la hacienda treatment center

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January 01, 2012
3 notes

The Great Reality

Deep down in every man, woman, and child is the fundamental idea of God.
It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things,
but in some form or other it is there.
For faith in a Power greater than ourselves,
and miraculous demonstrations of that of that power in human lives,
are facts as old as man himself…
We found the Great Reality deep down with us.

Alocholics Anonymous, P.55

I love this!  A few years ago, on one of the morning shows, there was a story about some parents who were raising their child as an atheist.  They showed a whole segment that they had pre-recorded about their life. At the end of the show, they did a live interview with the parents and their child.  The newsanchor asked the child, “Do you believe in God?”  The child immediately said “yes”.  His parents looked down at him in disbelief; then he looked at them and immediately said “oh, I mean no, I don’t.”  His immediate response reflected the great reality in his heart.  This example to me epitomizes the passage above.

(Source: lahacienda.com)

Tags: spirituality la hacienda sober and spiritual

Photoset
December 13, 2011
2 notes

Quite a few people are turned off by the spiritual path presented in AA.   However, all the program asks of you is to be open-minded and willing.

“To be doomed an alcoholic death or to live on a spiritual basis are not always easy alternatives to face.

But it isn’t difficult.  About half our original fellowship were of exactly that type.  At first some of us tried to avoid the issue, hoping against hope we were not true alcoholics.  But after a while we had to face the fact that we must find a spiritual basis of life-or else.  Perhaps it is going to be that way with you.  But cheer up, something like half of us thought we were atheists and or agnostics.  Our experience shows that you need not be disconcerted.”  Alcoholics Anonymous, p.44 

Today there a quite a few resources that address this subject and Judy in The Store has some great books that are listed above.

Have a great sunlight of the spirit filled day.        

(Source: lahacienda.com)

Tags: aa and spirituality la hacienda treatment center spirituality recovery and spirituality

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November 13, 2011
2 notes

Meditation

Before AA, I wanted more than anything else to get sober.
That was a positive thought, and it was a prayer that was answered.
Once my closed mind was pried open, once I consciously tried to meditate
and increase my conscious contact with God, my life started to straighten out,
and has continued to improve ever since.
I can look back and see where I received guidance
and where I made right decisions without ever knowing
that I was doing so, or why.

- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 2], p. 175

There is no need to use a kitchen timer anymore for meditation. Check out the apps below. I use both!

Tags: la hacienda treatment center meditation spirituality

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November 06, 2011
1 note
ClarityI know better than to not trust God. But sometimes, I forget that.When we are in the midst of an experience, it is easy to forget that there is a Plan. Sometimes, all we can see is today.If we were to watch a weaver sewing a tapestry for only a few moments, and focused on only a small piece of the work, it would not look beautiful. It would look like a few peculiar threads randomly placed. How often we use that same, limited perspective to look at our life - especially when we are going through a difficult time.We can learn to have perspective when we are going through those confusing, difficult learning times. When we are being pelted by events that make us feel, think, and question, we are in the midst of learning something important.We can trust that something valuable is being worked out in us - even when things are difficult, even when we cannot get our bearings. Insight and clarity do not come until we have mastered our lesson.Faith is like a muscle. It must be exercised to grow strong. Repeated experiences of having to trust what we can’t see and repeated experiences of learning to trust that things will work out, are what makes our faith muscles grow strong.Today, I will trust that the events in my life are not random. My experiences are not a mistake. The Universe, my Higher Power, and life are not picking on me. I am going through what I need to go through to learn something valuable, something that will prepare me for the joy and love I am seeking. You are reading from the book: The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie (photo via)

Clarity

I know better than to not trust God. But sometimes, I forget that.

When we are in the midst of an experience, it is easy to forget that there is a Plan. Sometimes, all we can see is today.

If we were to watch a weaver sewing a tapestry for only a few moments, and focused on only a small piece of the work, it would not look beautiful. It would look like a few peculiar threads randomly placed. How often we use that same, limited perspective to look at our life - especially when we are going through a difficult time.

We can learn to have perspective when we are going through those confusing, difficult learning times. When we are being pelted by events that make us feel, think, and question, we are in the midst of learning something important.

We can trust that something valuable is being worked out in us - even when things are difficult, even when we cannot get our bearings. Insight and clarity do not come until we have mastered our lesson.

Faith is like a muscle. It must be exercised to grow strong. Repeated experiences of having to trust what we can’t see and repeated experiences of learning to trust that things will work out, are what makes our faith muscles grow strong.

Today, I will trust that the events in my life are not random. My experiences are not a mistake. The Universe, my Higher Power, and life are not picking on me. I am going through what I need to go through to learn something valuable, something that will prepare me for the joy and love I am seeking.

You are reading from the book:

The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

(photo via)

Tags: la hacienda treatment center wisdom family spirituality

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October 30, 2011
18 notes

Communication

Oh my goodenss, this is true for everyone in this world but think how magnified it is with the alcoholic and addict and our insane thinking! 

To assume what other people are thinking or feeling without asking them is to invite misunderstanding. Just as disastrous is to assume other people know what we want or need without our telling them. Many potentially good friendships and marriages perish because of our false assumptions and our lack of honest communication.

Do we assume others can’t live without us or wouldn’t know what to think or feel unless we told them? Do we take for granted that “silence means assent”? Do we assume others don’t have time for us, or don’t care about us, if they don’t call or go out of their way to talk to us? Do we think others can read our minds without our ever opening our mouths?

Since we can only assume the same limited or distorted thoughts of others that we have of ourselves, we each need to take the initiative to ask probing questions and give honest responses in our relationships.

TODAY I will not make the mistake of projecting my feelings onto others. I will initiate honest and open communication.

You are reading from the book:

The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes

Tags: staff relationships good communication spirituality la hacienda treatment center

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October 16, 2011
14 notes
Pain In every AA story, pain has been the price of admission into a new life.  But this admission price purchased more than we expected.  It led us to a measure of humility, which we soon discovered to be a healer of pain.  We began to fear pain less, and desire humility more than ever. -As Bill Sees It, p.291

Pain

In every AA story, pain has been the price of admission into a new life.  But this admission price purchased more than we expected.  It led us to a measure of humility, which we soon discovered to be a healer of pain.  We began to fear pain less, and desire humility more than ever.

-As Bill Sees It, p.291

Tags: spirituality la hacienda

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September 04, 2011
9 notes

The Mighty Power of a River

Some of you are familiar with one of our special tracks at La Hacienda, the optional Christian Focus track.  You also may remember Lee Roy from a previous post, he facilitates this group.  Part of his job includes baptisms in the Guadalupe river.  Below Lee Roy talks about the experience.  

“As we felt new power flow in, as we enjoyed peace of mind, as we discovered we could face life successfully, as we became conscious of His presence, we began to lose our fear of today, tomorrow or the hereafter. We were reborn. “  —The promise from page 63 of The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

Sound familiar?
To some it takes us back to Jesus talking to the big shot that visited Him at night because he didn’t want his peers to know he was talking to a strange prophet. Jesus simply told him “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”  John 3:3

To others it is the feeling of freedom from enslavement to a drug or king alcohol and knowing that God loves us and cares for us and is giving us mercy rather than punishment; that he loves us not because of what we have done, but in spite of our behavior. It is learning that we are, as they used to say, “sick not sorry”.

It is in that moment that many patients feel the urge to take Step Three to the next level and ask to be baptized. This year we did the first one on January 8 and a host of believers followed. I always tell them we can do this in a church, but they feel closer to reality by doing it in the river.  In the rite of baptism we do here at La Ha, just as John the Baptist did, we go totally under the water, symbolic of the old person dying, then coming up again and, as Jesus said, being born again.

 Ed Johnson and I have documented 32 baptisms this year and we count up 458 since starting in 2004. -Lee Roy Loeffler

Ed giving Lee Roy a hand!

**This is completely voluntary and not a requirement in the treatment plans at La Hacienda.***

Tags: spirituality baptism alcohol addiction drug addiction

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August 28, 2011
5 notes

Seven Questions for a Spiritual Home

Last year my friend Gregg Taylor with Mercy Street in Houston, did a lecture for the patients about seven key questions when engaging in a community of spiritual growth.  I received his permission to share them with you.  But first, a little bit about Mercy Street:

“Our community forms a mosiac of people diverse in our experiences and backgrounds but common in our desire to seek a closer relationship with God.  Whether you have faith, struggle with your faith or have lost your faith, Mercy Street opens its doors to people seeking a spiritual roof over their head.”

These seven questions are for anywhere you seek a spiritual connection——AA meetings, a church, a temple, a mosque, etc.

  1. Do you feel you are encouraged in your potential rather than condemned in your brokenness?
  2. Are the people, including the leadership, honest and open about their addiction and/or pain and do you feel the community is a safe space for you to honetly and openly work your recovery?
  3. Do you get the sense that you presence here is life giving to yourself and to others?
  4. Are your questions, doubts, and confusion invited and embraced as part of the human journey?
  5. Does belonging in community take precedence over believing certain creeds?
  6. Are you encouraged to live into forgiveness, grace, and healing or are you inundated with sin, judgement, and condemnation?
  7. Are you deepened in love and inspired by hope?

Tags: spirituality

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August 21, 2011
4 notes
Most everything good in my life has been a result of a struggle.  We often hear that our Higher Power won’t give us more than we can handle.  I once heard a friend say that of course our Higher Power gives us more than we can handle, that way we rely on Her/Him/It and not on ourselves. Have a great Sunday. (photo via)

Most everything good in my life has been a result of a struggle.  We often hear that our Higher Power won’t give us more than we can handle.  I once heard a friend say that of course our Higher Power gives us more than we can handle, that way we rely on Her/Him/It and not on ourselves.

Have a great Sunday.

(photo via)

Tags: spirituality