Unity in the 12 Step Programs

I am in a 12 Step Program.

I have been in one for a long time.

I usually don't talk much about it outside of the 12 step program. Heck I spend most of my time in my REAL life with REAL people who could care less that I am in a 12 step program and they don't even know what a 12 step program is, OR , I am with my 12 step people and we are engaged in deep conflict with each other over 12 step issues.

For you see I have been around for a while. I have had the psychic shift. I know that HP exists. I don't even need to tell you about it. I don't care if you know that I know. Like it says God either is or isn't. For me... it IS. I have resigned from the debating society. I don't care if you think God is a light bulb or some old guy in the sky with a book keeping track of your every move. I don't care if you think god is an elephant  or Elvis. It is none of my business. I feel the flow of it and from the time that my eyes pop open, after I am amazed that they pop open at all I say to my self , OK self... here goes another day... HP lets roll.

Anyway...

Back to unity.

Recently I attended a CA convention put on by CALA. It was remarkable. So much fun. Great speakers, Dances ... UNITY!
I live in Orange County. A few miles down the 405 freeway from LA. I did not even know that the convention was going to happen.
It is not important how I ended up at the convention.. we will call it a God thing.. the important thing is that I was there.

In the old days... I'm starting to sound like an old timer now. My old hard core AA sponsor used to say to me.. Son... all you have to do to become an old timer is Don't drink and don't die. I never thought that I would become an old timer at 42. Sad that with 22 years of sobriety I would feel like an old timer saying my sponsor said bla bla bla.. and In the old days.. we used to do so and so BUT in the old days we would go to that convention. Hundreds of us from Orange County would pack our bags and head on up to the CALA convention.

While I was there I was looking through the archive case.. again another sign that I'm getting dusty, and seeing the t-shirts on display in a case which i had owned. It was at first shocking to think that events which I had been to and silly t-shirts that I owned were being treated like something discovered in an Egyptian pyramid.. but that is for a different article. My point is I was astonished that there was a lack of support from Orange County to support the convention.

Then I remembered back one week to my regular Friday night meeting that I attend. We are the oldest Friday meeting in Orange County. We have been getting together for over 20 years. I will be honest we have gotten to the point after all that time where we are now bickering over how bad that our meeting is. Why no newcomers are coming and it seems like the meeting is about to split in half. I have had discussions with people recently that some hope that half of the group will go find a new place to have their own dam meeting so that the rest of us can just be in peace. How is that unity for you?

I mean 20 years of sitting and staring at the same people, saying the same old thing every week can get really boring. Especially when they are crazy people like us. Over 20 years many of us have married each other, divorced, remarried each other and still we sit in the same room. Some of us have had kids and now the kids are sitting in the rooms. Some of us have started businesses with each other and the business have failed. Some of us have been coming in and going out for 20 years and dealing with all of the pain and suffering that goes with that.

I for one have actually ramped back my meeting attendance and choose to work one on one with people because when I go to meetings I get so upset at the petty arguing and bickering that goes on. I have my few meetings that I attend on a regular basis and my other 5 nights a week are spent in regular one on one book study meetings with my new sponsees. I tell them that this is what is important. I show them that this is how I was taught. I apologize for the actions of other members of the program and I tell them that it is their duty to carry the message.

It may be time to return and help rebuild the unity.

I just don't know how.

I'm sure HP will show the way... if he keeps letting me open my eyes tomorrow.

Thank you CALA for showing me what a thriving unity filled program is like. If anyone would like to see it, feel it head up there or at least go to next years convention. You will not be disappointed.

 

(no subject)

 Just logged back into my account. Actually forgot that I had it.
I logged back into a game that I used to play alot. Igormud at igormud.org
I found a group on here.

My name there was Basho of the Mauve Brigade.

Amazing what you find on the interent.

Implementing the Singleton Design Pattern in .NET 

using System;
namespace Singleton
{
  public class Singleton
  {
    private static Singleton _instance = null;
 
    private Singleton(){}
 
    public static Singleton Instance()
    {
      if (_instance == null)
      {
        _instance = new Singleton();
      }
      return _instance;
    }
 
  }
}
 
http://aspalliance.com/827_Gang_of…

 
Let us go over the code to see what happens.  First we create a class named Singleton.  It has a single member variable of type Singleton named _instance that is initialized to null.  This is the one instance of the class that all of our programs will use.  We make the constructor of the class private so that programs cannot create instances of the class directly.

The one function created for the class is named Instance and returns an object of type Singleton.  In the function we simply check to see if the internal variable is null, and if so create a new one.  This instance is then returned.

To verify our code the following can be run.
Listing 2
Singleton S1; 
Singleton S2; 

S1 = Singleton.Instance(); 
S2 = Singleton.Instance(); 
MessageBox.Show(S1.Equals(S2).ToString());
This will show true in the message.

The above code is fine for single threaded applications.  Now we will examine a thread safe version of the singleton.
  • Current Mood
    busy

pramanavarttika -

I came accross a term that I am going to research 
Pramanavarttika - dependent origination - resedu of karma 

http://www.lioncity.net/buddhism/i…

http://www.lioncity.net/buddhism/i… -
"One of the great attractions of Buddhism in the West is its lack of dogma, amicability to the modern (read scientific) mind, and its openness toward atheists and agnostics. This fact has led to Buddhism being questioned as a religion at all, and posited as a mere philosophy. My contention is that Mahayanistic Buddhism is, indeed, a religion, and furthermore, can be seen as a unique expression of God's love in that it is able to reach out to people--via what the Buddha called 'skillful means'-- as they are, and in a mode they are capable of understanding.

The Theravada is the only remaining school of what is [somewhat derogatively] called the Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle). Though not a precise definition, Theravadic Buddhism focuses on the literal words of the historical Buddha as a path to self-enlightenment. What it encompasses could be called a philosophy of the mind, but, from a Mahayanistic point of view, is merely the foundation for a complete understanding of the Dharma. The Mahayana is not a vehicle to save yourself, but an ideal, in which one seeks not just her own salvation, but that of all sentient beings. This is exemplified in the figure of the Bodhisatva. The question to answer is what is salvation in Mahayanistic terms?"

--------------------------------------------
hmmm note that this may be why I was attracted to this line of thought as when I began my quest for a power greater than myself I was (athiest perhaps) though I think not becasue I was so anti  god that I hated god. I knew god existed and was actualy hiding from god. I hated god. But I digress. 

I am risking sounding like a lunitic but what is most attractive about the path of the buddha is the potential to actually eliminate the roots of hatred and negative thought from ones mind. As a practitioner of the 12 step program it is mentioned in our book of the psychic shit which occurs. Sometimes quickly some times slowly. We can have an educational variety of spiritual awakening. Independent of a dogmatic "GOD" this is accomplished via a "POWER" greater than ourselfs. Miracle - who cares what it is called. 

Using the verbage of our bood we have, after walking our path for a while a "SPIRITUAL AWAKENING" AS a RESULT of our steps... 
BUT we must continue to PRACTICE the principals in ALL of our afairs. OR we can fall back asleep. 

We then head out and have to help others WAKE up. ---- 

  • Current Mood
    calm

Ok here we go

the first of many we hope. 

some thing sort of scarry. I just got this sent from a friend via email. I mentioned this in my profile. i have been sober for a few years now. i have also been interested in buddhist thought. but i question everything. 

i just joined a new thing called e-sanga. I always feel wierd being part of a community. i never feel like i quite fit in. this is one of the reasons why. soon as you trust people something strange happens. 

----
I take no responsibility if this is accurate information or not. 

Dear Fellow AA Members:
 
 Please forward this email to as many members of AA as possible nationwide. We need your help.
 
Steve Tate is a fellow member of AA. His wife Francine has been reported missing. Details can be viewed at http://www.channel3000.com/news/13… <http://www.channel3000.com/news/13…>  
 
 
Prior to her disappearance, Steve and his wife had taken a member of AA into their home. He had been traveling the country, using the local general service offices to find meetings and contact AA members. He would frequently stay at AA member’s homes. This person is currently considered a Person of Interest for questioning only. The local officials feel he may have important information regarding this case.
 
His description is as follows:
 
*     Name-Randy
*     White Male
*     35 to 40 years old
*     5’-6” tall
*     Thin build, approximately 135 lbs
*     Brown shoulder-length hair, usually pulled back in a ponytail
*     Crooked teeth
*     Sun-weathered skin
 
An important detail is that Randy was traveling with a 7-month old puppy, possibly a black lab mix. He kept the dog on a red leash and appeared to have a great deal of affection for the dog.
 
If anyone has seen this individual, please contact the State of Wisconsin Dane County Sheriff’s office at the following number. Dispatch @ 608-255-2345, callers can remain anonymous and there is no caller ID on this phone.
 
Please remember that he is only a PERSON OF INTEREST and should not be detained. 
 
Thank you for you help and support.
 
 Steve