ACA Meetings

ACA groups tend to focus on understanding the specific behavior and attitude patterns we develop while growing up.

Attendees working the Steps begin to see more clearly that which is positive and healthy in themselves.

Experience, strength, and hope is shared among attendees.

Each meeting and each meeting group is different. Many will be a good fit for you, some will not. Try a few.

In meetings we: found hope, found out about recovery, learned about awareness, and learned about 're-parenting' ourselves. We practiced expressing hurts and fears and got rid of shame and blame. We learned we could be successfully responsible for the solution to our problems. We let a bit more joy, serenity, and happiness into our lives.

We learned that 'group consciousness' could be a powerful help. We learned new lessons from old experiences. We found effectiveness. We raised our consciousness of reality, awareness, love, acceptance, and more.

We became better livers. 

 

Play Affirmations

~ I am ready and willing to learn to be responsible for enough play in my life now.
~ I am ready, willing, and able to learn to have the result I expect from my act well in mind here and now.
~ I am ready and willing to learn to check my expectations for reasonableness now.
~ I am ready, willing, and able to learn to enjoy those with whom I am now.
~ I am ready, wiling, and able to know what it means to feel close to the wounds of the world here and now.
~ I value honesty and freedom here and now.
~ I am ready and willing to let a literate traveler into my life now.
~ I am ready to learn to see play as movement for recreation today.
~ I am willing to see play as fun today.
~ I am ready to learn to see play as dancing for joy today.
~ I am ready and will to learn to let a lover of reality into my life now.
~ I can choose my playmate now.
~ I am ready, willing and able to learn to improve a skill of mine now.
~ I am ready and willing to learn to play teacher now.
~ I am ready to learn to acknowledge here that I did not play enough on my recent trip to Uruguay and Ecuador.
~ I am ready willing, and able to learn to better cooperate with the the all now.
~ I intend to describe my desire more realistically this year.
~ I propose to recognize my happiness here and now.
~ I am ready and willing to learn to consider the implications of this goal now.

Denmark

Before 4500 BC big things were happening among the Ertebolle folk in Denmark. But, by that time, they were also learning new age stuff from the Danubian people.


More recently the World Gallup Poll published that the Danes are some of the happiest people on earth. Very little is rotten in Denmark. Even so, things aren't perfect there. Just as they feel that they are getting things just about right, the world changes and they begin to readjust.


They have become pretty good a readjusting, in part, because of their politics. You might think that, being a small country of seeming homogeneity, politics would be simple. Not so; there is contention. There seems to be a great variety of political vies among these Norsemen and women.


They have a multiparty system of government. It seems usual to see, what we might call and administration, a government made up of from four to six parties. They define a party much as we used to: a defined group of people with somewhat shared views, who can cooperated enough to to support a platform and representatives. Representation is proportional.


Its a parliamentary system. I'm not an authority on the system, but the main idea seems to be that an 'administration' can't govern against a majority in Parliament(Congress).


Some of the things that Danes seem to truly appreciate in their government are:
~ transparency,
~ openness in action and communication,
~ accountability,
~ knowing who is doing what,
~ knowing what each representative and party is doing for whom,
~ proportional representation,
~ consensus building.


We might benefit by learning a bit more about proportional representation.

Renewal Affirmations

~ I am ready to learn to let more good judgment into my life here.
~ I am ready to learn to let more happiness into my life now.
~ I am ready to learn to let more gratitude into my life right here.
~ I am ready to learn to better know the nature of self right now.
~ I am ready to learn to better know the nature of criticism here and now.
~ I am ready to learn to better understand the nature of nourishment right here and right now.

Taxes

I thought that it was good that we, the people, cooperate by pooling our money to improve our chances for well-being and happiness. I did think that we would keep a better eye on it.


I still think that such cooperation can contribute to our health and happiness. However, letting other people use our to pay a few Colombians kill many Colombians does not make me happy. Letting a few people in the U.S. pay a few Pakistanis kill other Pakistanis in their own country does not seem to be contributing to my good health. 

Intimations of an Ancient Heartland

Long before the Seven Nations Confederation of First Peoples was a Seven Hundred Tribes and Chiefdoms system. It lasted for an amazingly peaceful thousand years. There is much I don't know about this system and I hope that you will tell me more.

I believe that in the minds of elders of peoples like the Algonquin, Arkansas, Blood, Calusa, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Delaware, Huron, Illinois, Iroquois, Kickapoo, Menominee, Miami, Mohawk, Natchez, Onondaga, Osage, Ottawa, Owasca, Pawnee, Pottawatomie, Seminole, Shawnee, Seneca, Whyandotte, and many others there is a memory of those times. Dances and chants of atlatl, mega-fauna, travels, and revered ancestors may relate to those times.
Tell me more. Let's share.

The kept strong for long; before the time of corn. The time is long, but the blood is the same. Perhaps what kept them strong was: a trade and commerce as holy and sacred as it was competitive; an ongoing dialogue and interaction which was  respectful even when carried on in sign language; a highly varied diet of fresh nutritious food including gardens of produce largely unknown to us now and usually lots of hickory nuts;
an avoidance of monoculture; a well developed appreciation of art, craft, and beauty shown in many ways(they loved their pan pipes and sometimes covered them in copper or even silver); a love of wood and water which lead those people to use them and benefit from them well. They had been great hunters who had so long appreciated the atlatl that it had become part of their spiritual life. They lived a life that was the imperfect life of all men, but one that made them strong, and happier than most.

Some of the source of their strength and happiness can be found in the oldest songs and dances, and in the old stories.

There was an excellent trail for them, they especially like the fresh water of lakes and rivers, but knew the salt waters too. The wetlands were  source of wealth for them.

For, perhaps, 10,000 years of ups and downs they thrived through the changes on the land.
Many of of the present cities, states, rivers, streams, and lakes carry their names through time. Let's know them better. I would know them better. We live among them still.

Let's share what we know, imagine, suspect, and believe of them. The more we know of them the better are our chances to live long and prosper.

Familiar Affirmations

~ I am ready and willing to learn that there is a trust which leads to happiness here.
~  I am ready and willing to learn to know that all proceeds lawfully now.
~  I am ready and will to learn to know that the world and beyond is all right now.
~ I am ready and willing to learn to know that my excellent discernment is imperfect now.
~ I can trust that it is okay to loosen my attachment to my preferences now.
~ I can trust that it is okay for me to let go of a longing or an aversion here.
~ I can trust that it is okay for me to  let go of a hairsbreadths distinction now.
~ I can trust that it is okay for me to be less for and against now.
~ I can trust that it is okay for me to avoid a struggle between good and evil now.

Affirmations:

~ I am ready to learn that there is a trust which leads to happiness here.
~ I am ready to learn to know that all proceeds lawfully here.
~ I am ready to learn to know that the world and beyond is alright here.
~ I am ready to learn to know that my excellent discerment is imperfect here.
~ I can trust that it is okay for me to loosen my attachment to a preference of mine here.
~ I can trust that it is okay for me to let go of a longing or aversion here.
~ I can trust that it is okay for me to let go of a hairsbreadth distinction of mine here.
~  I can trust that it is okay for me to be less for and against here.
~ I can trust that it is okay for me to avoid the struggle between good and evil here.

Nurture happiness

A well chosen group may prove an excellent way to nurture happiness. When it doesn't, move on.

I give myself a better chance to discover my wrong assumption. I give myself a better chance to have a great day.

Character building enhances my happiness.

My Life

I am making room for more happiness.

Hate and lust are nearly gone from my life. I am gradually letting go of inappropriate fear and excessive attachment. More room for happiness.

I remember that introspection is a good first step to positive transformation. I also remember that I don't have to do anything. Happy days.

Remembering that I choose it for myself is a happy thought.

The World Was Wrong

I was feeling proud of my skills of discernment, intention, and awareness. And, at the same time, wondering at my feelings of unhappiness in recent days.

I am used to a fair amount of happiness and a lot of cheerfulness in my days, but for a time it just wasn't there.

I now suspect I was making myself feel impotent by noting that things were not just as I felt they should be, and doing a lot of interior grunting and groaning in wasted attempts to get  American citizens to act as I felt they should. Even American medical professionals, who should know better, were not acting as I thought they should. The world was wrong.
Worse, it was ignoring my attempts to right it!