What is Hell?

If we compare the dream of human society with the description of hell that religions all around the world have promulgated, we find they are exactly the same. Religions say that hell is a place of punishment, a place of fear, pain, and suffering, a place where the fire burns you. Fire is generated by emotions that come from fear. Whenever we feel the emotions of anger, jealousy, envy, or hate, we experience a fire burning within us. We are living in a dream of hell....

If you consider hell as a state of mind, then hell is all around us...

We are already in hell, including the people who tell us that. No human can condemn another to hell because we are already there. Others can put us into a deeper hell, true. But only if we allow this to happen...

Every human has his or her own personal dream, and just like the society dream, it is often ruled by fear. We learn to dream hell in our own life , in our personal dreams.....those are anger, jealousy, hate, envy, and other negative emotions...

Taken from The Four Agreements: A Toltec Wisdom Book P. 14

I spent many years in hell....the hell and insanity of alcoholism. Only I never knew it was hell and for a long time I thought it was normal and that everyone lived as I did. No longer do I want to be ruled by anger, fear, jealousy, hate, envy and the like.....Life is too short and there is way to much wonderful in it. I still fall short of that dream at times, but the difference today is that they are moments and they pass. I am making a new dream today, it's a work in progress, but it is already more than I ever dreamed possible and I know it's only gonna get better.

Why Do We Cause Harm?

Meditation:
All evil karma, ever committed by me of old,
On account of my beginningness, greed, anger and ignorance,
Born of my body, mouth and thoughts,
Now I attone for it all.

The three poisons of greed, anger and ignorance
are the root cause of harmful thoughts, words,
and actions. Each of these qualities arise because
we are not comfortable with the way things are.

How can I stop a spiraling descent into fear and violence? Forgiveness is the first step. We see that all of us are capable of acting from greed, anger, and ignorance, and than we forgive the transgressor, not the act.

Just one act of forgiveness can change our whole lives and pervade the whole universe.

Taken from Heart of Forgiveness by Madaline Ko-I Bastis

The Brick

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?" The young boy was apologetic. "Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do," He pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop..." With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. "It's my brother, "he said "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me." Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. "Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy! push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door.. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: "Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!" God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice to listen or not.

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring. He sends you a sunrise every morning Face it, friend - He is crazy about you!

God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

This is something I have struggled to remember.....If God brings it to me, he will bring me through it.....Maybe someday I will stop fighting and trust in my Higher Power:

Today I am grateful for:

• Another Day
• Good Health
• Enough
• My husband and kids
• My dogs
• AA
• My AA family
• Sponsees to work with
• Great sponsors to ask advice of
• Liam.....and a great road trip to explore AA meetings
• feeling my Higher Power's presence today....
• The moon rise to drive home with