When I was a member of a Catholic Monastery, we ran a retreat center for all of the various "Anonymous" groups. Our facilities could hold up to 65 visitors. Each week, we would have a whole new set of people come to get away from their regular routines to find the support they needed to help them "restore themselves to sanity" (Step 2) and to "turn their will and lives over to the CARE of God" (Step 3). All day/night long, they would have a marathon of meetings where a tremendous amount of Healing took place, through the fellowship of the Anonymous programs.
The "Guardian" of my monastery (the head monk) was an admitted Alcoholic and actively participated in the AA program. As Guardian, it was his role to instruct the younger "monks-in-training" to learn about and progress in the Spiritual Life. Although there are incredibly important "Doctors of the Church" who were experts in Spirituality (my favorites... St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross and St. Thérèse of Lisieux), it was our Guardian's belief, after having been a monk for over 50 years, that the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous was the most powerful, practical approach to growing in the Spiritual Life! Although it was not required of us to learn about and attend meetings, he highly encouraged us to do so. He would say, "If you don't want to do our monk schedule, you can go to the meetings for fun." Well... even though I have never done drugs or have been drunk in my life, I decided to check it out, and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! The 12 Step can bring about PROFOUND HEALING and either introduce people to Spirituality or Reconnect people to it. These Steps can be followed by anyone, regardless if they are an addict or not. The first step saying "our lives had become unmanageable" can mean for the non-addict, that their lives had become a jumbled puzzle that was too hard to figure out how they got there and what to do next. To the addict, only they can fully understand how unmanageable it has become. Where the word "Alcohol" or "Alcoholic" is used in ANY/ALL of the Anonymous literature, just replace those words with what you're struggling with... Crystal Meth, Cocaine, Food, Gambling, Marijuana, Narcotics, Nicotine, Sex etc. The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous
12 Step Anonymous Programs
Please email me at [email protected] if you want me to help you work the Steps and provide you with Life Coaching and/or Spiritual Direction... My own approaches to help you reconnect to your Spirituality and HEAL the past wounds and traumas that you're still carrying with you. In your email, please share your circumstances and what type of help you need. Until then... PEACE and LOVE Always - Paul
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EMOTIONAL MOMENT - THE BEAUTY OF THE UNIVERSE TOGETHER - JOIN US... On EARTH as it IS in HEAVEN!!!6/23/2020 In this reading given to the Capricorns on June 23, 2020 I had a most unexpected EMOTIONAL MOMENT where we stood there together in AWE of the BEAUTY OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE!!! You see that I invite the Aquarius and ALL OF YOU to JOIN US, HERE On EARTH as it IS in HEAVEN!!!!!! The movies usually dress up these characters really well... lots of gloomy, terrifying makeup and some perfect music will raise the hairs on your neck without a doubt! BUT, how close are these beings to the real thing (if there is such a real thing!)??? Let me start off by saying, Yes, there are spirits, ghosts, or "poor souls" (as the good old Catholics would call them) who are in a state of wandering or "limbo/purgatory." They are caught in that realm because they basically didn't "get it" in their time spent here on the earth. Imagine your friends, family or other people in your life who just don't "get it "... they sort of wander around on the earth in this lifetime with no passion, no life, no meaning, and they continue this same wandering pattern in the next life. So... How does one get into "Heaven?" Well... I believe that what I am about to share came from one of the writings of a Trappist monk. It is "right on" if you ask me. The concept goes something like this... Heaven is the "place" or state of being where the part of you that is "God-Like" dwells. As humans we have both a human and DIVINE nature... a part of us which is God-Like. We were created in the "image and likeness of God." "Heaven" is that part of us which is "God-Like." So the question is, What is God-Like???!!! God is Pure LOVE God is Pure LIGHT God is Pure HAPPINESS God is Pure JOY God is Pure HARMONY God is Pure PEACE GOD IS PURE... GOD IS OK... so... the part of us that is God-Like goes to Heaven! The part of us that is LOVE, LIGHT, HAPPINESS etc. is that part of us that will "BE" in Heaven. The next question is... How much of YOU is LOVE, LIGHT, HAPPINESS etc???!!! Scan your being right now... imagine your boundaries as a human... you occupy a certain amount of space, right? How much of you is Love? How much space within you is Light? How much is Happiness??? Get the idea? Those people on this earth that wander... the people with no PASSION, no Love for LIFE, are those souls in Limbo who had a lifetime to "GET IT" but didn't! If you aren't growing your capacity to LOVE here on this earth, what are you doing???!!! Is There Help for the "Poor Souls?" ABSOLUTELY!!! What prompted me to write this article was something that happened to me during a nap I was taking this afternoon. In a very "lucid dream" a wandering soul kept trying to get close to me. I could see his arm in the shadows... he kept moving around restless, in and out, in and out (like pacing back and forth). I laugh as I write this now, because I asked him, "What kind of an Angel are you?" Like, "I've never seen an Angel like you... so hard to communicate with, so jittery!" I would ask him questions and he could barely talk... just so un-interesting, with no depth, no "passion" etc. I realized that this wasn't an Angel at all, it was a "Lost Soul." Truly, without a doubt, a soul with no meaning, no purpose, nothing to look forward to... totally in "Limbo." He had a friend with him, a girl who was even further back in the shadows. I could feel her presence, but she was so "shy" (like her friend) that she couldn't/wouldn't come into the Light for me to see her. I asked what his name was and it was very difficult to understand him. He reminded me of so many of my friends who are homeless people and drug addicts. These addicts are called "Tweakers"... always pacing back and forth, always mumbling... many are paranoid schizophrenic. At this point I am wondering why this spirit is coming to me. I asked my Angels, and they said that, "This soul has been assigned to you (Paul)... you are to help him find the Light." OK... WOW.... BIG TASK!!! Not being sure where to start, I somehow got him to tell me his name (Jessie) and I asked him if he wanted my help. I told him that he needed to trust me. So, once he agreed I asked him what his "Passion" is? I SWEAR the only thing I remember him saying was, "Partying." LOL... OH MY GOSH!!! Because I have so many homeless friends with this same mindset, with whom LOGIC is of no use, I wasn't sure what to do next. Was this going to be a life-long project for me? I have to worry about my own soul, let alone this guy's! Plus, that girl he was hanging around... she came as part of the package! So, I turned to who I always turn to when I need HELP!!! Mary... The Mother of Jesus! They call her the "Mother of PERPETUAL Help"... the "Queen of the Angels" and boy did I need help!!! I took Jessie over to Mary, who is ALWAYS there for us when we need her, and I put my hand on her cloak. (This makes me think of kids who are always pulling on their mother's clothes, but this doesn't bother them), and I said to her, "This is my friend Jessie... he needs your help. He needs to receive the Light." So, I placed him in her arms, like Jesus' body is draped over Mary's arms in the statue "Pieta." His weak and lifeless body in her arms lay there as she placed her hand on his head. She began to caress his forehead and hair, and with each stroke his soul began to come alive until he was finally completely whole, but now he was a little boy. She told him to, "Go play with the other kids"... there were many other "little" or "baby" souls who were all playing like kids on a playground. Mary was running some sort of "childcare" facility for all of these newly re-born souls!
So, I looked back and I saw his "girlfriend" and I asked, "Do you want to come to?" She smiled, and said, "Yes"... putting out my hand, she grabbed it very tightly and practically RAN to Mary who so gladly took her into her arms to take care of her!!! I had never done this before and I was reminded of a friend of mine's friend who we think has been a wandering soul. I called out for her and she came forward. I told her that she was wandering because she put too much emphasis on holding on to THIS life throughout her illness, and not loving "LIFE" in general. LIFE is eternal and we need to release our attachment to the physical realm. Let the Love of ALL LIFE permeate our being, not the love of our human life. She understood. I also told her that she was also too attached to the love of her husband. She loved HIM, instead of LOVING EVERYTHING. Meaning, she was so attached to the physical aspects of her husband, that she had nothing in the next life to call LOVE. Remember the first part of my article? That part of you which is God-Like will go to Heaven! So... because she was so attached to the physical aspects of this life, she had nothing take take with her into the next life! I then offered to take this friend to Mary and she said that she wanted to, so I guided her over, and this time, instead of this soul becoming a child, she was more like a teenager soul. Mary told her that she needed to help the younger souls out with their development... a "babysitter." I take this to mean that this person had learned a lot in life and was more "mature" than the first two wanderers. Instead of starting as an infant or toddler, she was further along on the journey than they were. The Point to All This??? Be God-Like! |
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