Dr. Harry M. Tiebout
Being exposed to the writings of Dr. Harry Tiebout early in my sobriety has profoundly impacted my psyche and my approach to applying the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous in my life.
Dr. Harry M. Tiebout, a psychiatrist, was an early pioneer in coupling the principles and philosophy of Alcoholics Anonymous with psychiatric knowledge of alcoholism. A strong supporter of A.A. throughout his life, he consistently worked for acceptance of his views concerning alcoholism the medical and psychiatric professions. He served on the Board of Trustees for A.A. from 1957 to 1966, and was chairman of the National Council on Alcoholism in 1950.
SURRENDER VERSUS COMPLIANCE IN THERAPYWITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ALCOHOLISM
match calamity with serenity
"Just to the extent that I do as I think God would have me do does It enable me to match calamity with serenity".
This concept is the foundation for my life today. Am I reaching out for inspiration in this moment right now. Today I can make my day about doing what I think God would have me do with no argument. "I think God would have me read some spiritual literature this morning". I will pause and ask what to read and then read what comes to mind. " I think God would have me meditate", I will pause and ask if that is It's will for me right now and if I sense that it is I meditate. "I think God would have me shower", I will pause and ask It if that is It's will for me right now. Then when I do as I'm intuitively guided to do in this moment, I can surrender right now to the idea that this is what I think God's will is for me and I can do the next right thing in complete surrender and oppeniess with no argument. No argument internally means that I will have a quiet mind or serenity. This is a practice that I get better at over my lifetime.
"God please guide me in everything that I do today, right now. Help me to do as I think you will have me do. Thank you for quieting my mind and allowing me to be present for my life today."
Higher Power is the Principle and I am It's agent.
Today my Higher Power is the Principle and I am It's agent.
I am here to represent "It" (God). I am only here to be truly helpful. I am here to represent "It", the Something that has all knowledge and all power. When I forget this I become mesmerized by the material world which in turn energizes my selfish, self centered thought life that is made up of all my past experiences and delusions and fears. When my delusions and fears are activated I feel the need to protect my material self and feel that I am separate from others.
In this moment I surrender to bringing Gods love into all that I do and to be a representative of God, I never have to worry about what to say or what to do when I'm turning to Something instead of fear. The Right Answers are always there the moment that I need them.
Something make me an instrument of Your peace. Heal me as I allow You to teach me to heal.
The Bondage Of Self,
In this moment I am free from the bondage of self, free from my old ideas and my old opinions and fears. In this moment, the one that I am in right now I have perfect trust that the universe is with me and is providing me with everything that I need to be in Joy. Until I surrender to this moment being exactly where I am and perfect in every way, I waste my true creative powers on useless attempts to please self and to be more comfortable in the material world. Surrendering to this moment is the most natural thing I can do, and requires very little effort because it is just surrendering to what IS. My Higher Power and I are already one and it is only the belief in two powers that keeps me separate right now. I will not deny myself the sweetness of this moment. I go deeply into the relationship with my Higher Power right now by rightly relating myself to IT. "I pray that I might have the consciousness of Your presence right now. Help me to be present to this moment right now. Help me to join with you right now to be the person that you would have me be on this earth ride. Thank you for your love and protection.” Amen
Love My Life
"In order to love my life I must first become aware of what my life is. My life is not what is going on outside of me. My life is not my wife or my job or where I live or my hobbies. Its not my weight or my hair color or how much money I have in the bank. My life is what is going on inside of me, My life is my thought life. In order to become aware of my life, my thought life, I have to start to look inside. For me this is a difficult and painstaking process. First because I seem to be constitutionally incapable of being honest with myself. How do I see myself as I really am and how I really think if I’m incapable of being honest with myself. For me this process started with a 12 step program. I had to hit an emotional, physical, and spiritual bottom in my life where I had no other options but to start to look inward. What I found was that I have a mind that is unsatisfiable. A mind that talks to me in my own voice. A mind that is programmed to find fault wherever it looks and that is full of opinions that keep me locked in ignorance and conflict with those around me. This mind that has been forged out of my apparent perception of what it means to be me and all of my experiences seen through this warped mind have built a faulty character that finds it difficult to live and be at peace in this world. The world of my perception, is a world of time and of change, of beginnings and endings. A world of loss and scarcity. My world is based on my perception of what I think happened and not on the Truth. Because I am incapable of being honest with myself, the world I live in is a world of miss perceptions that have been learned over a lifetime, and keep me separate from the Truth.
The Truth is accessible right here right now always. In order to access the Truth I have to be willing to let go of all my old ideas, basically everything I think I know. To be free of the story that I have built about how life should be based on my perception of what has happened in my past and my fears of the future. Learning to live fully present and aware is a lifetime process.
Today I love my life, my inner life. I find it easier and easier to accept what Is and as I become more present everything I ever wanted is becoming attracted to me. I am finding the peace and the stillness inside of me and as that happens my outsides are getting better and better. More and more today I find that I always have everything I need to be in joy in this moment, right now. I hope that you will join me on this journey to right here and right now as we continue to grow deeper into loving our lives.”