Thought for today:

When we first walk into a Visions meeting we may feel like a child, and kind of silly.  What is the point of taking scissors t paper and pasting images from magazines?

In the program we talk a lot about Visions – our hopes, dreams and goals for the future. If we aren’t in the habit, it’s hard to imagine visions of what we truly want.  It feels silly.

We know what we “should” want, but we dare not speak what we “really” want.  Sometimes responsibilities have required us to put dreams aside, but permanent postponement is not meant as a way of life.

Our disease tells us we must be subservient, that we owe a debt we can never repay, but the truth is that we can dream, and we can devote a portion of ourselves to our dreams, one day at a time, preparing the groundwork.

Dreams are by nature unrestrained, going beyond practicality and into the possible.  We need to think outside the box – or “right size the box”(1) – depending on our circumstances.

When we allow our innermost hopes to surface, “possibility thinking” (2) becomes available.  It is only when we stifle dreams and force ourselves into mundane ritualistic life that dreams are shut down, put on hold.

Am I letting myself dream a little?

Meditation for today:

Picture yourself where you want to be five years from now – the home, the transportation, the friends, the work, or no work at all.  Picture the decor, vividly.  In what part of the world is it?  Which neighborhood?  Can you taste the breakfast you would have?  Make this as concrete as you can, and write out a short narrative about it.

Next, picture one year from now, on your way to that vision.

Next, one month from now.

Next one week.

Now, for today.(3)

Enjoy working toward your vision!  It Is truly Higher Power -inspired, if it comes from your heart.

Affirmations for today:

My Vision is to _________ by ________.

In order to achieve my Vision, I will take this small step today: I will ___________________.

I will allow myself a small amount of time today, and every day, to unfold my dream, my Vision, and to honor my new way of life.

Prayer for today:

I pray to always be made aware of the spirit in me, even if I resist that awareness.  I pray that I always honor the still, quiet voice of reason that shatters through my denial and my obstinate attitude.  May I let the spirit loose to play in my heart.

Here are some books that helped inspire this article:

(1) Some of the ides for this post came from the entrepreneur’s must-read, Why Not?: How to Use Everyday Ingenuity to Solve Problems Big And Small.  It’s a primer for fresh thinking, for problem-solving with a purpose, for bringing the world a few steps closer to the way it should be.  Idealistic? Yes. Unrealistic? According to Why Not? authors Barry Nalebuff and Ian Ayres, no.

Illustrated with examples from every aspect of life, Why Not? offers techniques which will help you take the things we all see, every day, and think about them in a new way. Great ideas are waiting. Why not be the one to discover them?

(2) Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do! Name your problem, and you name your possibility!  That’s the message in Dr. Robert H. Schuller’s new  bestseller, Tough Times Never Last, But  Tough People Do!  Dr. Schuller shows you how to build a positive self-image, no matter what  your problem.  Whether it’s unemployment, poor  health, loneliness, fear or anything  else that blocks your success, you can turn your  negative into a positive. No matter how tough  times get, you have the potential to achieve the best  of life. Through Dr. Schuller’s dynamic  principles, you can learn:

• 4 ways to evaluate a  new idea
• 10 commandments of possibility thinking
• 5 principles for putting problems in a proper  perspective
• 18 principles of leadership
• 5 phases  necessary for the faith to move mountains
• 5 ways  to overcome a ‘brownout’ and prevent a burnout
• 25 action words to get you started and never let  you quit

(3) How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously*: Based on the Proven Principles and Techniques of Debtors Anonymous is a simple, proven-effective formula for freeing yourself from debt—and staying that way.  Some of the concepts you will find are:

OUT OF THE RED
• Do this month’s bills pile up before you’ve paid last month’s?
• Do you regularly receive past-due notices?
• Do you get letters threatening legal action if immediate payment is not made?
• Do the total amounts of your revolving charge accounts keep rising?

INTO THE BLACK
Whether you are currently in debt or fear you’re falling into debt, you are not alone. Sixty million Americans—from doctors to secretaries, from executives to the unemployed—face the same problem and live under the same daily stress. Based on the proven techniques of the national Debtors Anonymous program, here is the first complete, step-by-step guide to getting out of debt once and for all. You’ll learn

• how to recognize the warning signs of serious debt
• how to negotiate with angry creditors, collection agencies, and the IRS
• how to design a realistic and painless payback schedule
• how to identify your spending blind spots
• how to cope with the anxiety and daily pressures of owing money
• plus the three cardinal rules for staying out of debt forever, and much more!

This book is neither sponsored nor endorsed by Debtors Anonymous. A recovered debtor, the author is intimately familiar with the success of the Debtors Anonymous program.

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