SSS Inner Boundaries—P, P, & P!!!

Inner Boundaries—Personal, Prayerful & Protective

_640-sss-inner-boundariesAs we grow into our Splendid Spiritual Selves it becomes apparent that inner boundaries are probably more important than external boundaries. What’s happening inside us, our minds, our emotions, our bodies and how we react and act to our thoughts, feelings and pains and pleasures are the keys to freeing our Splendid Spiritual Selves (SSS). We become spiritual beings living in peace, joy and freedom.

Yes, external boundaries, those we have with friends, families, co-workers and strangers are very important too. Personal (external) boundaries, per Wikipedia, are guidelines, rules or limits that a person creates to identify reasonable, safe and permissible ways for other people to behave towards them and how they will respond when someone passes those limits.

_640-boundariesWe know and love ourselves or others that need time and space in the morning to have their coffee and go to the bathroom (No. 2 as Dad would say). Same for those of us who seek quiet time to pray and meditate in solitude alone with God. Boundaries aren’t far from habits and habits tell us how to communicate with other people and how they should communicate with us if they want a positive interaction.

 

But what are inner personal boundaries and how are they the foundation for living a life here on Earth as a realistic spiritual being?

__sss-640-inner-boundariesAs can be seen in the Splendid Spiritual Self schematic (that’s one too many s’s by the way), there are One-Way Personal, Prayerful & Protective Inner Boundaries between the SSS and our mind, emotions and body.

These Inner Boundaries are one-way from the SSS to the mind, emotions and body. In a spiritual state, only the spirit, can impact the mind. In a spiritual state, only the spirit can impact emotions. In a spiritual state, only the spirit can impact the body. To get to that spiritual state, to be your Splendid Spiritual Self, the learning is that this are only one-way connections and not two-way enabling the mind, emotions and body to impact our spiritual state.

negative-emotionsSounds simple right? But it is not. In a worldly sense we like to think and act that our emotions are real and true and they are but only to a limited degree of being experienced. It is easy to get emotionally intoxicated in today’s world watching TV and being manipulated in a sea of news. Sometimes it seems as if we are a bobber, unattached and drifting, in today’s dramatic current sometimes hitting shore (or the bottom) amidst tumultuous waves of even stronger emotions of which we have no control over.

practice-the-pauseUnless, of course, we have a steady Splendid Spiritual Self (again, one too many s’s by the way) and have established a One-Way Personal, Prayerful & Protective Inner Boundary between SSS and our emotions. It’s a delight to identify, accept and feel our emotions for what they are and not dictate our life or lifestyle.

Ditto for our mind (both the logical working mind and the SPAM monkey mind) and our body (nutrition and exercise; pain and pleasure).

images-notrmalAs important to note is that there are no direct habitual connections or pathways in between the mind, emotions, and body. Any interaction between them comes from our Splendid Spiritual Self. Note the “from” direction and note the prayerful perspective of these connections. The Splendid Spiritual Self is sensitive and continually monitoring our mind, emotions and body and lifting up those inputs into our spiritual awareness. Once aware, and always aware, our SSS takes the necessary spiritual and real action to maintain its self-growth and to live in peace, joy and freedom in a worldly sense.

Your own unique Splendid Spiritual Self can be developed through the TROML Process.

Be free, be revitalized for “the rest of your life.”

TROML Baby,

Your Personal Revivalist,

Anonymous Andy

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No Perfection, Just Perseverance gets You to Your Splendid Spiritual Self…

TROML isn’t a Club of Perfection to be used to beat yourself down anymore…

TROML is a Club of Perseverance to be used to lift yourself up forever more…

1We need to escape, get outside our selfish self, our Silly Ego…

Once outside of ourselves, we let our God, direct our thinking…

Once outside of ourselves, we let our God, inspire our decisions…

Once outside of ourselves, we let our God, show us the next step to take…

TROML isn’t a Club of Perfection to be used to beat yourself down anymore…

TROML is a Club of Perseverance to be used to life yourself up forever more…

2To find our Splendid Spiritual Self, we let go of fears that immobile us without us ever knowing…

To find our Splendid Spiritual Self, we let go of resentments that distract us without us ever knowing…

To find our Splendid Spiritual Self, we let go of our self-denials that imprison us without us ever knowing.

To find our Splendid Spiritual Self, we let go of our Silly Ego that tricked us without us ever knowing…

TROML isn’t a Club of Perfection to be used to beat yourself down anymore…

TROML is a Club of Perseverance to be used to life yourself up forever more…

3 with cloud thoughtWe establish one-way personal boundaries and realize that there is no such thing as perfection.

We establish one-way personal boundaries and realize that there is no such thing as controlling others.

We establish one-way personal boundaries and realize that there is no such thing as all or nothing thinking.

We establish one-way personal boundaries and realize that there is no such thing as judgmentalism.

TROML isn’t a Club of Perfection to be used to beat yourself down anymore…

TROML is a Club of Perseverance to be used to life yourself up forever more…

4TROML is a process to find and transition to our Splendid Spiritual Self within our being…

TROML is a process to know and love our God within our being…

TROML is a process to discover and embrace our True Self and Trusting Ego within our being…

TROML is a process to cradle and nurture our Eternal Child within our being…

TROML isn’t a Club of Perfection to be used to beat yourself down anymore…

TROML is a Club of Perseverance to be used to life yourself up forever more…

5TROML develops into a one-way protective boundary to our Splendid Spiritual Self…

TROML utilizes our minds for logical thinking as needed by our Splendid Spiritual Self…

TROML lets us identify, accept and feel our emotions in a natural manner to enhance our Splendid Spiritual Self…

TROML strengthens our body with nutrition and exercise to be a healthy host for our Splendid Spiritual Self…

TROML isn’t a Club of Perfection to be used to beat yourself down anymore…

TROML is a Club of Perseverance to be used to life yourself up forever more…

6Hey, your Splendid Spiritual Self, come join me on the bright sunny cloud of life…

Hey, your Splendid Spiritual Self, come now as we are not here and not there yet…

Hey, your Splendid Spiritual Self, come and get connected to all of humanity…

Hey, your Splendid Spiritual Self, for TROML and beyond, no perfection, only perseverance required…

Have a TROML Day Today!

Your Personal Revivalist,

Anonymous Andy

Got TROML

 

 

Are you living a Digitized Life with No Real Relationships with Others, Self & God?

1It seems to me that, in an increasingly digitized world, the outside world of busy-ness, commerce, materialism and over-the-top excitement at times, is more penetrating than ever! It seems to me that the business world, the marketers with focus groups of people before me, know more about me—my wants, my needs, my desires, and especially my emotions, a year-older me, than I do by the time my next birthday comes around.

But they don’t know the real me—that Splendid Spiritual Self of me—that is an entity of itself, a combination of my True Self/Trusting Ego, God Within Me (he is within you too), and my Eternal Child Within. That Splendid Spiritual Self has one-way boundaries with my mind, my body and my emotions. They can’t get to me, they are going the wrong way on a one-way street with huge traffic control spikes, and they can’t move an inch. That’s a physical example, the Splendid Spiritual Self, once recognized and developed, has more powerful protection than we can imagine. Living in today’s world, no matter how harsh or extreme, becomes simple and simply effective and fun!

2But first you have to find that Splendid Spiritual Self within you. We all have one. We all have a Splendid Spiritual Self within our mind, body, spirit and emotions. But it not a mental entity, it is a spiritual one.

TROML, a dynamic self- realization process, is what helped me find my Splendid Spiritual Self. It’s not easy and there are many false positives, many false sure finds displayed and unknowingly mired deep in our resentments, fears, blatant dishonesty to ourselves courtesy of our Silly Ego. It’s well worth the TROML Journey to finally find peace, joy and freedom in life.

Gone is perfectionism towards ourselves or others, the need to harshly control ourselves or expect to have control over others, the all-or-nothing, black-and-white thinking that seems to be dividedly pervasive in our world today and simply is not a realistic way to live and judgmentalism in all its subtle and obvious forms coming to and from us.

3It’s a whole new world coming from deep within ourselves to confront and keep the digitalizing forces of the world at a safe boundary distance. Our growth comes from within and once we change, the world changes too!

Are you living a Digitized Life with No Real Relationships with Others, Self & God?

Get TROML today, this could be the first day of the rest of your life!

Become a TROML Baby today!

Have a TROML Day today!

Your Personal Revivalist,

Anonymous Andy

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My Daily Script with new TROML Journal No. 142

1This is My Daily TROML Script and I read it out loud as I Pray & Meditate for 30 minutes every Morning Upon Awakening and every Evening Before Sleeping.

I find a quiet, safe, comfortable place, begin with noticing my breath & heartbeat, I am present in the moment… open God Box & Gratitude List.  Have first glass of water in the morning…

I AM abundant LOVE, inspired by God, powered by God to do His Will with the life of Anonymous Andy. I AM peaceful, joyous & free transitioning to a Spiritual Life while here on Earth. I AM grateful for the gift of life and live to give love in any way possible for “the rest of my life.” TROML Baby AM I.

2My eyes open Upon Awakening as my “Splendid Spiritual Self (SSS)—my True Self/Trusting Ego, God Within Me & my Eternal Child Within.” This is a place of peace, joy & freedom with one-way boundaries to my Mind, Emotions and Body. I transition freely from my SSS to my working mind; accepting emotions, feeling them and taking care of myself emotionally; with good nutrition/exercise feeling pain & pleasure in my body.

I am a compulsive overeater and a sugar addict. I seek recovery through TROML, living & working the Twelve Steps and being 3-0-1 No Sugar Abstinent (3 meals a day, 0 (no) eating in between, 1 day at a time) for this day only.

As an Adult Child of an Alcoholic (ACOA) I read the 14 Characteristics of an Integrated Person.

2My “Splendid Spiritual Self (SSS)” is built on a foundation of these spiritual awakenings:

S1:   No contempt (judgement or expectations) prior to investigation.

S2:   Outside irritants indicate something not spiritually sound within me.

S3:   I know, trust, & rely upon the truth that God IS more powerful than my Silly Ego & self-will.

S4:   I accept people, places, things & situations without judgment for the rest of this day.

S5:   I will not automatically apply one part to the whole or vice versa.

S6:   Am I justifying, rationalizing, or denying the truth about myself, others or my life situation.

S7:   To be completely spiritually oriented is to have & live as my “Splendid Spiritual Self.”

S8:   Only my True Self/Trusting Ego, God, & my Eternal Child will reside within me.

3?4 Trusting Ego vs. Silly Ego 4? Silly ego if Perfectionism, Control, All-or-Nothing Thinking or Judgmentism is present or requested.

?4 Ask God 4?   When I am anxious, doubtful, indecisive, unsure or slipping on my abstinence I will ask God to 1) free me of myself, my ego; 2) direct my thinking; 3) inspire my decisions; & 4) show me the next step to take. BE as accepting, loving & compassionate first to myself, then to others, as God is to me.

 

Step 3 Prayer:   God, I offer myself to Thee, to build with me and do with me as Thou wilt. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Love, Thy Power & Thy Way of Life. May I do Your Will always.

Do not abandon myself or my relationship with God.

Step 7 Prayer:   My Creator, I am now willing that You should have all of me—good and bad. Take away every single defect of character that stands in the way of my usefulness to You  saw my fellows. Grant me strength to go out from here to do Thy bidding. May I do Thy Will always.

4Do NOT isolate- trust, feel & share.

I am aware of and accept feelings and emotions. I feel X, when Y, because Z… I feel them completely before trying to resolve them. With God’s Love, Direction & Power I move through them, making personal choices, and by taking necessary and reasonable actions including thoughts, words, and behaviors.

Emotions & feelings are not facts. I choose to be, as God wills, abstinent in terms of emotional responses, abstaining from turning to food to self-medicate, anesthetize & escape from feelings & emotions.

Establish reasonable personal boundaries—abstinence, spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically.

I AM exactly where I need to be at this moment in my life.

5I make personal choices as do others, for which I and they are individually responsible for and accepting of any consequences.

I choose to be 3-0-1 No Sugar Abstinent (3 meals a day, 0 (no) eating in between, 1 day at a time) today ODAT. I am not perfect and do not have to be. When I have slips. I recover.

Be clear, present and abstinent in life.

Be free of any resentments, fear, dishonesty and my Silly Ego.

 

Love & nurture myself first, then love & nurture all other human beings.

Read the Daily Affirmation from ACA’S Strengthening My Recovery.

Be Anonymous Andy, my Splendid Spiritual Self in life!

Having a TROML Day today!

Your Personal Revivalist,

Anonymous Andy

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Inspired to be Free; Living Life within a Splendid Spiritual Self…

What do I mean by a “Splendid Spiritual Self”?

1It’s a spiritual place or space one can go to with the full realization, awareness, and commitment that only their True Self, their God Within Them, their Trusting Ego and their Eternal Child Within reside there and within their self. The False Self and survival traits they created to survive their childhood that was impacted by alcoholism or other dysfunctional behavior and their Silly Ego have been gradually silenced and excluded from their Spiritual Being. They realize that they are not God in any manner or intent but that God does reside within them and they are committed to do God’s Will, as they understand God, with “The Rest of their Life” A healthy Eternal Child Within keeps hope and the sense of wonder alive, well and thriving in every moment of their life. TROML Baby are they!

2How does this impact one’s life? Tactically, developing a “Splendid Spiritual Self” means that the person is released from ongoing, continuous diversions of mind, emotions and body, including any addictive behaviors. In one’s overall life journey, it means that the person lives in peace, joy and freedom and is able to fulfill their primary purposes in life, whatever they may be.

 

I am an interactive, solution-focused life coach with a treatment approach providing support and practical feedback to help you address your current life challenges or long-standing issues. I have extensive experience working with individuals concerned with anxiety, depression and grief.

3We will work in a collaborative fashion as I draw from my extensive education, training, and practical experience to design an individualized, collaborative treatment plan for you. TROML is a dynamic self-realization process that removes faulty thoughts and feelings that create mental, emotional, physical and spiritual pain. TROML takes you into a deep exploration of yourself that allows you to discover and know your True Self. We will rediscover, reaffirm and set free your Eternal Child Within.

You will come to know TROML as an integrative approach to heal your mind, body, & spirit. You will find a safe and caring environment that is down to earth and practical. I believe change is possible and that we will quickly be able to get to the heart of your matter.

4In my practice, I value a holistic approach addressing body, mind and spirit. Our sessions will call you to personal responsibility and commitment to make changes that will enrich your life. No matter the past, healing is possible, the present precious and the future is yours to create. Learn to change your thinking, manage your emotions, act from your values and live a life that reflects your best self.

I believe all of us have a longing for wellness and a natural impulse to heal. I will engage you to be positive and to find, identify and implement your solutions. I believe that when we together listen to you in a new way that the answers to your problems will become obvious. Viable answers to your problems already exist within you.

6I have been in private practice since being certified as a life coach in 2011. I am the creator of TROML and have actively and consistently utilized it and perfected its easy-to-use and effective design since 2000.  I wish you to be well, at peace, with joy and freedom, with or without the benefit of TROML and my services. If you like, you can schedule our first appointment on my website.

Have a TROML Day today!

Your Personal Revivalist,

Anonymous Andy

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Desperate Times need New Thinking & Spirit in Order to Change Ourselves…

1There is the addictive cycle as described in Hazelden’s “A Guide to the Big Book’s Design for Living with Your Higher Power, the workbooks of Alcoholics Anonymous:

One.   You feel restless, irritable, or discontented.

Two.   You remember the good feelings alcohol, drugs or food brought in the past. The thought that you can drink and use like normal people becomes an obsession.

Three.   This overpowering idea (obsession) leads you to take a drink, use drugs or compulsively overeat food and sugar in spite of past problems related to your drug use.

Four.   You take a drink, use drugs or take that first compulsive bite of food or sugar. At this point, because of the allergic reaction, you crave more drinks, drugs or food and sugar. So you continue drinking, using drugs or compulsively overeating.

2Five.  What follows is a drug or drinking or compulsive eating spree that causes your behavior to go out of control.

Six.   Afterward, you feel sorry (remorseful).

Seven.   You make a promise (resolution) never to drink alcohol, use drugs or overeat food and sugar again.

When this happens repeatedly, it becomes the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Compulsive Overeating Cycle.

As a compulsive overeater and sugar addict I know this cycle well.

3 Peace-love-joy-freedom-from-cfact-628x353Here’s how God and Overeaters Anonymous has helped me change this cycle as I worked the Steps and found abstinence. For compulsive overeaters and sugar addicts like me, I can attest that Abstinence comes with completing Step 9 as promised in the original, first edition of the Overeaters Anonymous book. It is a beautiful process, not easy or pain-free but net net overall just another small hill to climb before coasting downhill for the rest of your life as an integrated person, coming at life from within with your True Self, God, a Trusting Ego and your Eternal Child Within!

So this is my response to the addictive personality when I am abstinent and in recovery:

4One.   Life is life and there are going to be good times and bad times, crazy thoughts, wild emotions and feelings and only one body to sustain us in life. Getting outside of myself, my Sill Ego and accepting my powerlessness over food and sugar is essential for me. I am not a normal eater. I have a disease. I am a normal human being, none of us are perfect. I am of good character and with the exception of food and sugar, my willpower is very powerful. More importantly, being in relationship with God and submitting my will to do His Will with my life is extremely powerful. I seek inspiration in life and there is always power to be found if I have the right perspective. My TROML, Al-Anon, AA, OA and ACA life journey has been amazing. So thankful for being abstinent today and living life to its fullest through TROML!

5Two.   I remember to see the hook as well as the bait. I love nostalgia and remembering the good old days but I also remember, accept and deal with the impact that alcoholism had on me as a child growing up. My parents were good people but my father had a disease which was at its worse during my formative years. The disease impacted me in terms of emotional abandonment. My father stopped drinking and did not have another drink for the last 25 years of his life. He is a hero and inspiration to me and my Mom is a saint! If Dad can give up sugar in the alcohol I can give up sugar in the food.

6Three.   The only overpowering idea in my life today is my love, devotion and commitment to God to do His Will with my life. All other relationships and worldly pursuits, especially those generated by my Silly Ego are second or lower in priority. TROML, Overeaters Anonymous, Abstinence and the Twelve Steps brought me to a life of peace, joy and freedom and I will, based on God’s Will for me, doing everything possible to maintain my beautifully present now and eternal later life.

Four.   I don’t take that first compulsive bite. I accept as reality having the disease of compulsive overeating and sugar addiction. I do have occasional slips when I choose to abandon myself and my relationship with God. Thankfully they are momentary slips and not drastic monthly or yearly relapses like in my past life. I choose to not live in isolation and seek help spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically from within, above and outside my self.

7Five.   My acceptance, love and compassion for myself first and then other human beings go out of control. I review my spiritual journey which starts with no contempt prior to investigation. I don’t know what will happen today nor is it my responsibility to control it. Like me it surely will not be perfect but how I think, how I approach the day will make it perfectly imperfect as long as I remain abstinent. Peace, joy and freedom TROML Baby!

Six.   I have nothing to feel sorry for in my life. No poor me, pour me another milkshake to comfort me, woe is me thinking in my life. I live in my Splendid Spiritual Self with reasonable boundaries on utilizing my mind, emotions and body a directed by God. Today I learned that I need to take care of myself emotionally and can only do this with God’s help and my determination to stay spiritually fit in life.

8Seven.   The promises of Alcoholic Anonymous as written on Pages 83 & 84 of the Big Book are coming true for me and I am very grateful. “If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past not wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude in life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us—sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.”

9The addictive cycle dissolves into the truth, spirit and joy of our human existence.

We have free will, we have choices to make with consequences to live out…

The power is within you from birth to live a normal human life filled with peace, joy and freedom. If one part of that life is diseased to the extent it is sickening the rest of your life then TROML as an umbrella program and the right Twelve Step process can help you resolve that in your life, God willing and God requested.

There are no easy answers in life but there are clear choices to be made with a clear, present mind and spirit.

I wish you well on your journey in life.

If I can help in any way please contact me now.

Have a TROML Day today!

Your Personal Revivalist,

Anonymous Andy

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A Sharpened Spiritual Surrender Takes me to the Next Level…

1In sports performance and in life we like to think of “taking things to the next level.” Little did I realize that is exactly what I needed to do with my own TROML Program. Of course, my Ego, especially my Silly Ego (versus my Trusting Ego), likes to trick me into thinking I am all powerful and exceptionally responsible for all my successes in life, except when I am not, which is pretty much all the time. In reality I did need to “take things to the next level,” specifically my TROML Program, after all these years, 15, almost 16 to be exact. Any kind of surrender, or realignment of one’s perspective on life takes time, especially a “Spiritual Surrender.” In fact it is a lifetime journey to discover, develop and release our spiritual insides, our True Self and Eternal Child Within.

New TROML phrase—”to live the Spirit Within,” which is the opposite of “kicking the bucket” or even “doing your bucket list.”

2So previously, you might recall my recent spiritual evolution (as documented in my TROML Daily Script) has been to accept, love and be compassionate to myself (as God directs my thinking); to realize that God is more powerful than my Silly Ego (while directing and aligning my Trusting Ego) at all times in all situations; be diligent and vigilant to challenge my Silly Ego to detect when I am justifying, rationalizing, or denying the truth about myself, others and my life situation. These, like focusing on being on an inspirational thought life, from awakening to retiring, are all mental processes.

I need to take my basic life orientation one level higher from the mental to the spiritual level. To be completely spiritually oriented is to have a “Spiritual Surrender.” Taking another step in the direction of peace, joy and freedom, being The Ultimate Love, while living out my life as a human being in our One World. Some mysterious and a bit complicated or hard to understand? Not really, it is simple.

3When my basic mode of operation is spiritual, I simply go into and out of the physical, mental and emotional as needed, yet always interpreting, understanding and perceiving life as a spiritual being. For instance, thought comes into my head, take the garbage out, I filter the thought to insure it is motivated by my Trusting Ego versus my Silly Ego. Basic need, so I take the garbage out while returning to my spiritual self. I feel a cramp in my leg, decision is made to leave the spiritual (and peaceful and joyful and free) space and access the physical, triggering the mental, making a decision to rub the cramp out and eat a banana, while returning to my spiritual self. I feel sad hearing some sad news so I leave my spiritual sense and identify, accept and let be the emotion of sadness. Is an action (not a reaction) needed? Knowing feelings and emotions are real but not really facts all the time I am careful to filter my thoughts to insure it is motivated by my Trusting Ego versus my Silly Ego.

Feels like a flowchart or complicated scenario with no time to think?

4Actually it is a return to our newborn self with an innate sense of heart and spirit to do the right thing. In fact, inventorying some recent thoughts, words and behaviors, through the ‘Spiritual Surrender” perspective, enlarges our Trusting Ego and develops confidence to apply simply and correctly to the next significant life event.

Of course this may be meaningless to your TROML Program. I share it as an example of how the TROML Process keeps processing new resources that come with new energy in one’s life. In reality, once you work the TROML Program by completing the 17-Day eTROML Playbook, the TROML Process begins working you!

Have a TROML Day today!

Your Personal Revivalist,

Anonymous Andy

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I am Willing to be Willing…

1I am willing to be willing…

To become the truth that I am in life…

To know my life experience clearly and passionately…

Of every moment, every disappointment, every inspiration…

I am willing to be willing…

To see my imperfections, to be released from my imperfections…

To see my tendencies to want to control, to be released from the compulsion to control…

To see the limitations of my Silly Ego, to be released from any self-imposed limits in life…

2I am willing to be willing…

To live in peace, joy and freedom without any need for excitement…

To live fearlessly in the moment with inspired power…

To live without resentments for what was or what wasn’t…

I am willing to be willing…

To be a contributing citizen of this world…

To live my faith and have faith in other human beings as they live out their faith…

To participate in a truthful, compassionate and loving world community…

3I am willing to be willing…

To be free of myself once and forever and be all in outside of me…

To think like the inspiration in the mind of all people of the world…

To be inspired to make decisions accordingly…

I am willing to be willing…

To bring Heaven closer to Earth and live in that in between place…

To accept, love and be compassionate to my self and the inspiration within…

To accept, love and be compassionate to others and their inspiration within…

4I am willing to be willing…

To live within a spiritual being while living a realistic life…

To use my mind and emotions as needed to support my spiritual life…

To use my body and inspirational energy to support my spiritual life…

I am willing to be willing…

To see beyond what seems to be in the world today…

To see beyond what seems to be within me today…

To see beyond what seems to be within others today…

7I am willing to be willing…

To live my life in a clear and present manner moment-by-moment…

To seek inspiration and connect to the associated inspiring power…

To simply be the God Within me, my Eternal Child Within, my Trusting Ego and my True Self…

I am willing to be willing…

Have a TROML Day today!

Your Personal Revivalist,

Anonymous Andy

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Stepping from the Bridge of Reason to the Shore of Faith…

1 father sonI am no different than my father, we were both addicted to sugar at times in our lives. His came in the form of alcohol. Mine came in the form of food and pure sugar itself. Finding his strength in God, Dad stopped drinking for the last 25 years of his life. I remember his free spirit which would occasionally break out in wordy expression singing an Al-le-lu-ia unexpectedly. I am not an alcoholic. I am a compulsive overeater and a sugar addict. I have been in recovery for nearly four years and abstinent for the last three years though there are still times that I abuse sugar and compulsively eat. Sugar slips for me are a mistake. I see them today as a Godsend to remind me that I have much work to do addressing my shortcoming and character defects. I now know deep in my heart and soul that I am not a mistake of any kind. However, my long term fate is yet to be determined. I hope to live a long life, at least to the age of 90, with the good health. God willing I am entirely ready, willing and humbling pray for that opportunity!

2The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous speaks to the need for a spiritual awakening, a spiritual experience and a spiritual commitment and solution through abstinence and working the Twelve Steps. Stepping from the Bridge of Reason to the Shore of Faith is how they put it in Chapter 4 (see excerpts below).

For me, as a compulsive overeater and sugar addict, there was and is only one bridge to take to the faithful landing needed to experience a life of peace, joy and freedom—what I refer to as the Ultimate Love. That bridge was abstinence from sugar, binge foods and compulsive eating behaviors and working the Twelve Steps as suggested by Overeaters Anonymous. For me, abstinence and working the steps were intertwined and abstinence did not come until, as promised it came in, finishing Step 9—Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. My abstinence is of the perfectly imperfect variety, so is my working the Steps and so am I.

3I tried to cross many bridges to freedom in my life, some with short term success, some were at best, looking back, dismal failures on my part. I could easily look upstream and see the big beautiful bridge of self-illusionment, diets, exercise, mind games and limited spiritual growth. That bridge always seemed to collapse when I successfully lost the weight I intended to lose. I didn’t realize God was telling me to go deeper, be more thorough and be more honest with myself, Him and others. Perfection, control and a judgmental way of thinking, being and living is not the way to the Shore of Faith and beyond to a meaningful life based in peace, joy and freedom.

4I can easily look the other way downstream to the tidal marshes and outright swamps that I tried to pass through in life when I thought I was growing but in reality I was going in circles downward into the endless pit of depression, self-pity and not knowing myself or God at all. Food and sugar led me there and I stupidly followed thinking I deserved it or simply denied the truth of my addiction to myself.

5For me, as a compulsive overeater and sugar addict, there was and is only one bridge to take to the faithful landing needed to experience a life of peace, joy and freedom—what I refer to as the Ultimate Love. That bridge was abstinence from sugar, binge foods and compulsive eating behaviors and working the Twelve Steps as suggested by Overeaters Anonymous.

As I left the Island of Isolation in my life I could apply logic and reason as they outlined in the Big Book to come to an understanding of the reality of faith in my life. How to step from the Bridge of Reason to the Shore of Faith (see Chapter 4 excerpts below) is clearly and reasonably demonstrated. As an Adult Child of an Alcoholic (ACA) and a trained engineer at one time in my life I like programs and feel comfortable having a program lead me to a programmatic solution. But in reality that solution is not a program at all. It is a completely free way of looking at life anew each day I wake up and open my eyes. Yes, there are patterns in our lives but we also connected the dots that in a universal perspective were never connected. But we can unconnect what we connected for all the right reasons way back when—such as surviving periods in our lives that just needed to be survived.

6Leaving the Island of Isolation and stepping from the Bridge of Reason to the Shore of Faith am I… like I use to sing in grade school No Man is an Island… come join me…

Have a TROML Day today!

Your Personal Revivalist,

Anonymous Andy

 

 

Excerpts from Chapter 4, We Agnostics, of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous (Pages 44-57).

8You may be suffering from an illness which only a spiritual experience will conquer… To one who feels he is an atheist or agnostic such an experience seems impossible… To be doomed to an alcoholic death or to live on a spiritual basis are not always easy alternatives to face… But it isn’t so difficult. About half of our original fellowship were of exactly that type (atheist or agnostic)… After a while we had to face the fact that we must find a spiritual basis of life—or else… Our experience shows that you need not be disconcerted. If a mere code of morals or  better philosophy of life were sufficient to overcome alcoholism, many of us would have recovered long ago… Our human resources, as marshaled by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly. Lack of power, that was our dilemma. We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves...

9We have written a book which we believe to be spiritual as well as moral. And it means, of course, that we are going to talk about God. Here the difficulty arises with agnostics… For we have re-opened a subject which our man thought he had neatly evaded or entirely ignored. We know how he feels. We have shared his honest doubt and prejudice. Some of us have been violently anti-religious… With that rejection we imagined we had abandoned the God idea entirely. We were bothered with the thought that faith and dependence upon a Power beyond ourselves was somewhat weak, even cowardly. We looked upon this world of warring individuals, warring theological systems, and inexplicable calamity, with deep skepticism

11We found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and express even a willingness to believe in a Power greater than ourselves, we commenced to get results, even though it was impossible for any of us to fully define or comprehend that Power, which is God… Much to our relief we did not need to consider another’s conception of God… As soon as we admitted the possible existence… we began to be possessed of a new sense of power and direction, provided we took other simple steps (The Twelve Steps)…  We found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the Realm of Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive; never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, to all men (and women).

13When, therefore, we speak to you of God, we mean your own conception of God… Do not let any prejudice (contempt prior to investigation) you may have against spiritual terms deter you from honestly asking yourself what they mean to you… but if we wished to grow we had to begin somewhere. So we used our own conception, however limited it was.

14We needed to ask ourselves but one short question. “Do I now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power greater than myself?” As soon as a man can say that he does believe, or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on his way. It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be built. (From Appendix II, Page 567: The terms “spiritual experience” and “spiritual awakening”… shows that “the personality change” sufficient to bring about recovery from alcoholism” has manifested itself among us in many different forms.)

We often found ourselves handicapped by obstinacy, sensitiveness, and unreasoning prejudice. Faced with alcoholic destruction, we soon became open minded on spiritual matters… In this respect alcohol was a great persuader. It finally beat us into a state of reasonableness.

16The reader may still ask why he should believe in a Power greater than himself… The twentieth century readily accepts theories of all kinds, provided they are firmly grounded in fact. We have numerous theories, for example, about electricity. Why this acceptance? Simply because it is impossible to explain what we see, feel, direct, and use, without a reasonable assumption as a starting point.

Everyone nowadays (1939), believes in scores of assumption for which there is good evidence, but no visual proof. And does not science demonstrate that visual proof is the weakest proof? It is being constantly revealed, as mankind studies the material world, that outward appearances are not inward reality at all. The prosaic steel girder is a mass of electrons whirling around each other at incredible speed. These tiny bodies are governed by precise laws, and these laws hold true throughout the material world. Science tells us so. We have no reason to doubt it.

17We read wordy books and indulge in windy arguments, thinking we believe this universe needs no God to explain it. Were our contentions true, it would follow that life originated out of nothing, means nothing, and proceeds nowhere. Instead of regarding ourselves as intelligent agents, spearheads of God’s ever advancing Creation, we agnostics and atheists chose to believe that our human intelligence was the last word, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and end of all. Rather vain of us, wasn’t it?

We, who have traveled this dubious path, beg you to lay aside prejudice, even against organized religion… those faiths have given purpose and direction to millions. People of faith have a logical idea of what life is all about… many spiritually-minded persons of all races, colors, and creeds were demonstrating a degree of stability, happiness and usefulness which we should have sought ourselves... We talked of tolerance, while we were intolerant ourselves… We never gave the spiritual side of life a fair hearing… They (approaches and conceives of the Power which is greater) are questions for each individual to settle for himself.

18Every one of them has gained access to, and believes in, a Power greater than himself. This Power has in each case accomplished the miraculous, the humanly impossible…there has been a revolutionary change in the way of living and thinking… they found that a new power, peace, happiness, and sense of direction flowed into them… This happened soon after they wholeheartedly met a few simple requirements… Leaving aside the drink question, they tell why living was so unsatisfactory. They show how the change came over them. When many hundreds of people are able to say that the consciousness of the Presence of God is today the most important fact of their lives, they present a powerful reason why one should have faith.

20This world of ours has made more material progress in the last century than in all the millenniums which went before. Almost everyone knows the reason…. The spirit of modern scientific inquiry, research and invention was almost unknown (in ancient times)… men’s minds were fettered by superstition, tradition, and all sorts of fixed ideas… Are not some of us just as biased and unreasonable about the realm of the spirit as were the ancients about the realm of the material? …but in most fields our generation has witnessed complete liberation of our thinking… Is not our age characterized by the ease by which we discard old ideas for new, by the complete readiness with which we throw away the theory or gadget which does not work for something new which does?

22We had to ask ourselves why we shouldn’t apply to our human problems this same readiness to change our point of view… Our ideas did not work. But the God idea did. We agnostics and atheists were sticking to the idea that self-sufficiency would solve our problems… others showed us “God-sufficiency” worked for them… Logic is great stuff. We liked it. We still like it. It is not by chance we were given the power to reason, to examine the evidence of our senses, and to draw conclusions…. We had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is, or He isn’t. What was our choice going to be?

Arrived at this point, we were squarely confronted with the question of faith. We couldn’t duck the issue. Some of us had already walked far over the Bridge of Reason toward the desired shore of faith. The outlines and promise of the New Land had brought luster to tired eyes and fresh courage to flagging spirits. Friendly hands had stretched out in welcome. We were grateful that Reason had brought us so far. But somehow, we couldn’t quite step ashore. Perhaps we had been leaning too heavily on Reason that last mile and we did not like to lose our support.

21That was natural, but let us think a little more closely… Yes we had been faithful, abjectly faithful to the God of Reason. So, in one way or another, we discovered that faith had been involved all the time! We found, too, that we had been worshippers. Had we not variously worshipped people, sentiment, things, money, and ourselves? And then, with a better motive, had we not worshipfully beheld the sunset, the sea, or a flower? Who of us had not loved something or somebody? How much did these feelings, these loves, these worships, have to do with pure reason? Little of nothing, we saw at last… Did not these feelings, after all, determine the course of our existence? It was impossible to say we had no capacity for faith, love, or worship. In one form or another we had been living by faith and little else.

23Imagine life without faith! Were nothing left but pure reason, it wouldn’t be life… Hence we saw that reason isn’t everything… we had been seeing… a spiritual liberation from this world, people who rose above their problems… we had seen spiritual release… Actually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man, woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God… For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as old as man himself.

We finally saw that faith in some kind of God was a part of our make-up... Sometimes we had to search fearlessly, but He was there. He was as much a fact as we were. We found the Great Reality deep down within us. In the last analysis it is only there that He may be found. It was so with us.

If our testimony helps sweep away prejudice, enables you to think honestly, encourages you to search diligently within yourself, then, if you wish, you can join us on the Broad Highway. With this attitude you cannot fail. The consciousness of your belief is sure to come to you.

In this book you will read the experience of a man who thought he was an atheist (Our Southern Friend, Page 208)… Our friend was a minister’s son… he became rebellious at what he thought an overdose of religious education…. Post-war disillusionment, ever more serious alcoholism, impending mental and physical collapse, brought him to the point of self-destruction…

25He was approached by an alcoholic who had known a spiritual experience…

“If there is a God, he certainly hasn’t done anything for me!”

“Is it possible that all the religious people I have known are wrong?”

“Who are you to say there is no God?”

This man recounts that he tumbled out of bed to his knees. In a few seconds he was overwhelmed by a conviction of the Presence of God… The barriers he had built through the years were swept away. He stood in the Presence of Infinite Power and Love. He had stepped from the Bridge of Reason to the Shore of Faith. For the first time, he lived in conscious companionship with his Creator.

His alcoholic problem was taken away. That very night, years ago, it disappeared. Save for a few brief moments of temptation the thought of drink has never returned; and at such times a great revulsion has risen up in him. Seemingly he could not drink even if he would. God had restored his sanity.

26What is this but a miracle of healing? Yet its elements are simple. Circumstances made him willing to believe. He humbly offered himself to his Maker—then he knew.

Even so has God restored us all to our right minds. To this man, the revelation was sudden. Some of us grow into it more slowly. But HE has come to all who have honestly sought Him.

 

When we drew near to Him He disclosed Himself to us!

Have a TROML Day today!

Your Personal Revivalist,

Anonymous Andy

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Before Death Parts You, Start a TROML Journal Today…

640 Journal will genuinely improve your life“I started to write about my day… but I had so many bad things happen that I didn’t know where to start! …I made a list of everything that had happened and ended up with ten things. I was so down in the dumps, I decided to look at the negative aspects of each event and, for recovery, write the positive aspects… I felt helpless and sometimes hopeless… Death isn’t easy to accept , especially when it is slow and painful for a loved one. I hate it. Then I wrote down the positives of my dad dying. Yes, there were some positives! I had discovered I had been given this opportunity to get to know my dad… Death brought the opportunity to say, “I love you”! It was never said much in our house, just always understood… Just recently he had started saying “I love you too”! Wow! I had been waiting my whole life to hear those words. Death made that possible. So I went through my list of bad things like that, listing the negatives and the positives. Amazingly, the positives far outweighed the negatives. Imagine that! I finished writing and took a nap. I needed some rest. I felt better.”

Excerpted from Taste of Lifeline, Page 76, a publication of Overeaters Anonymous.

journalWriting, creating a TROML Journal of memories and thoughts is key to the TROML Process. In fact it is were the magical TROML transformation occurs first—because TROML is a journal-based self realization process with a patented method of creating, reviewing and projecting our life experiences. To write, you have to think. To think you have to be. To be you have to learn and grow continuously throughout the course of our lives. TROML is a;; about awareness and extracting inspiration out of our life experiences and then formatting the world with our uniqueness and creativity versus the world trying to determine our life’s purpose.

Before Death Parts You, Start a TROML Journal Today…

CLICK here to get started today creating your own TROML Program!

Have a TROML Day today!

Your Personal Revivalist,

Anonymous Andy

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