All posts by Hugh Smith

Higher Power

We don’t even know what normal ” feels” like.

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We will learn that there is a God who is supposed to love us and take care of us, but we are afraid to let go of who we believe we are, or what we feel we have to be. Trust is something that we have given up a long time ago. Trust is hard for us, especially when we feel that life, people and our circumstances have completely let us down. For so long now unpleasant feelings have led us to believe that we have no right to happiness, now or in the future. We have grown up with a sense of suspicion of those around us who appear happy and satisfied with life.  Instead we find it safer to back away from too much involvement with other people, because they would see how bad we really are if they got to know us and then our secret would be out. We don’t ever know what “normal”  feels like, because we constantly feel so hollow and empty inside.”

Sources: I’ll do it when I feel better. (1986, 2013) Depressed anonymous publications. Louisville.

Depressed Anonymous, 2nd edition.  (1998, 2008) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville.

Fellowship, The 12 Steps

Depression is so unpredictable and unchanging

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Life is unpredictable. Every living organism operates with a certain amount of unpredictability and uncertainty. The uncertainty of life creates in us a desire for predictability. If we did not believe in the possibility of change, we would all be hopelessly lost and forever  bored. Hope would be lost.  Potential far a better life would never exist. When there is hope, change is possible. The experience of depression is much the same. Depression is so predictable and unchanging that we lose hope for the pain of our isolation ever coming to an end.”

Introduction to Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition. (2011) Depressed Publications. Louisville.

This introduction introduces the journey of the author and founder of Depressed Anonymous. He based this important program of recovery on the 12 steps of AA.  In the introduction, there is a short autobiography of the founders’ life during his depression experience and the how life   was after his complete recovery.

Quoted from Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition (2011). Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. Pages 19-23.

DA Literature, Depressed Anonymous, Fellowship

I’m ready for the good things now !

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I’m slowly finding out the my life is not as horrible  as I’ve made it out to be. I used to tell myself that since it happened before, it will happen again – and that simply is not true. Yes, my  past was horrible and it’s no wonder I ended up with depression. I want out of it and the only person to get me out is me. There is not a magic wand to transport you to the life you want. Everyone knows what they wish their life could be like – so do it!  Make the changes you have to make, trust in God and always remember that good things come to those who wait. I’ve waited over half my life. I don’t have to be a victim of my past or my mind anymore. I’m more than ready for the good things! With love and hope!

SOURCE:    A member of the Depressed Anonymous fellowship. You can find more of her story in the PERSONAL STORIES section of Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition. (2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. Pages 120-121.

NOTE: For more literature resources please VISIT THE STORE at our site WWW. DEPRESSEDANON .COM.

Hope

Hope is Something more, Someone more, so keep going!

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In Man’s  Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl describes  how hope is a key to survival and the heart amid the horrors of a concentration camp. The prisoner who was able to find meeting – in nature, in the memory of a loved one, and a generous act – would more likely not to give up. When we hope, in whatever circumstance, the future we long for comes closer, an experience of mind and heart that sustains us now and impels us forward.

Thomas Aquinas named hope as a theological virtue. It is a gift from God that we receive now, fueling our journey to a fuller union with God. Hope is the way God encourages us. It stirs up memory of God’s abiding faithfulness. Hope expands our vision beyond the immediate horizon. It breaks open our heart to dispel fear. It stokes our imagination to realize unexpected opportunities. Hope whispers, or shouts, when we need it “There is Something more, or Someone more, so keep going!”

Hope is not sentimental optimism. Optimists to easily escape reality, denying challenges in making promises that the are hard to keep. When we hope, we face reality because God is found in what is real. We know that things  may not turn out as we want, but we strive  valiantly nonetheless.  God is faithful, we insist, so there is meaning even in the toughest and most unexpected circumstances.

When we hope, we live generously and gratefully in the present because deep down we know that all will be well – not perfect, but well. With every word or deed steeped in  hope, the future opens up to reveal a present beyond our imagining. ”

Source:  Fr. Kevin O’Brien

The Ignatian  Adventure: Experiencing  the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius in Daily Life.

 

Kevin O’Brien, SJ, is Dean of this Jesuit school of theology of Santa Clara University he is author of the nation adventure: experiencing the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius and daily life.

 

12 Step Meeting, Belief, Depressed Anonymous, Fear, Mindfulness, The 12 Steps

Unpleasant Emotions Such As Fear, Anger, Resentments And Tension Work Against Recovery

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”  I don’t believe that you can  snap out of your depression, or suddenly and dramatically get your life turned around by going to one Depressed Anonymous meeting, or reading the 12 Steps five times hour. It just doesn’t happen that way, especially if you have lived with your depression for any length of time.  Even though we emphasize that your depression is not a disease, we do want you to know that a depression over a long time could cause physical problems and upset the metabolism of the human organism… unpleasant emotions such as fear, anger, resentment, tension and depression work against recovery.

Source: Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition. (2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. Page 31.

Miracle Thinking, Mutual Aid

Miraculous power

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FAITH, PRAYER AND MEDITATION PROVIDE THE BELIEVER WITH MIRACULOUS POWERS!

 

“Deep down in every man,  woman and child is the fundamental idea of a God.  It may be obscured by calamity, by pump, by worship of other things, but in some form or other it is there. For faith in a power greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives are facts as old as man himself.

“Faith may often be given through inspired teachings or a convincing personal example of its fruits. It may sometimes be had through reason. For instance, many clergymen believe that St. Thomas Aquinas actually proved God’s existence by sheer logic. But what can one do when all these channels fail? This was my own grievous dilemma.

“It was only when I came fully to believe I was powerless over alcohol or depression, only when I appealed to the God who just might exist, that I experienced a spiritual awakening. This freedom-giving experience came first, and then faith followed afterwards-a gift indeed!”

Bill W., co-founder of AA shares this thought in Alcoholics Anonymous, p.55 and in a letter, 1966.

Fellowship, Hope

Only by sharing my pain can I hope to reduce its size.

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“Empowerment and prevention are two realities that give us the push and the power for talking day after day with persons still suffering from depression. I know that some who hear about us will go with an expectant faith that they will find hope and peace in this group(Depressed Anonymous).  This hope in itself may keep them from sliding down the slippery slope of depression. Life is too short and the pain so devastating.  Only by sharing my pain can I ever hope to reduce its size.

Today I can experience hope. I will believe I can live this day with pleasant thoughts. I will do one activity that will give me hope and light for today.

Today I will believe that I can live this entire day “hopeful” and that I can return to the above activities anytime and as many times as I need,  just for today.”  

SOURCE: I will do it when I feel better. (2016) . Louisville.  Page 70.  Quoting from  Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition. (2011)Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. Page 136.

 

Uncategorized

Hope can exist only in the state of uncertainty.

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“Hope can exist only in a state of uncertainty. That certainty means total certainty. That security means to be without hope. The prison of depression is built with the bricks of total certainty.

Certainty. Security. No hope. To hope means to run the risk of disappointment.  Avoid disappointment. Stay depressed.
To be insecure means not to be in control. Stay in control.  Be  depressed. To be uncertain means  to be unsure of the future. Predict the future with certainty. Stay depressed.

Hope  can only exist when there is uncertainty.   Absolute certainty means complete hopelessness. If you want to live we must have freedom, love and hope. So life must be an uncertain business. That is what makes it worthwhile.”

Source: The way out of your prison. Dr. Dorothy Rowe, 1983, 1996 (2nd edition). Fount. London.

Hope is to seek things and have the expectation that what we desire will  come true .  In the matter of depression Dr. Rowe warns us that when we predict that we will always be the way we are is to predict a life of certainty but one that is without hope. In the way we construct our world we would begin to live with some uncertainty and with this uncertainty  we  are  going to little bit by  little bit accept  some pain, hurt and disappointment in our life. This is not bad but is not always pleasant. When we are depressed it is not so important always  to know how we got to be depressed but what is is important is how we see our depression. Do we believe, like Dorothy Rowe, that we will always see our self as bad worthless, unacceptable to our self and to others when we are depressed? If this is the way that we want to look at ourselves then we are sure to believe that we will never change. We hold these beliefs about ourselves as immutable truths – absolute and ever binding. This is this thing about depression – we believe it will always be this way – namely, this hollow feeling and the deadly emptiness that we carry around in our bodies, day after day, year after year.

… To live with uncertainty is to live with some hope that our tomorrow will be different than our today. We hope for things not yet seen. We hope for things to be different. This is the identity of the person who is working the 12 steps of Depressed Anonymous…”

Source:  How to find hope and let it blossom.  Depressed Anonymous Publications. 1995. Pages one – two.

Higher Thoughts for Down Days, Meditation, Prayer, Purpose

A conscious contact with God and learning in quiet

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“In 1941, a news clipping was called to our attention by a New York member(A.A.). In an obituary notice from a local paper, there appeared these words: “God grant us the serenity to accept the things that we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Never had we seen so much A.A., in so few words. With amazing speed the Serenity Prayer came into general use. ” Bill w., in A.A., comes of Age. P. 196.

“In meditation, debate has no place. We rest quietly with the thoughts or prayer of spiritually centered people who understand, so that we may experience and learn. This is the state of being so that so often discovers and deepens a conscious contact with God. ” Bill W., Twelve and Twelve. PP. 100-101.

In our 365 daily meditation book Higher Thoughts for Down Days, we are provided with timely and upbeat thoughts for each day of the year. The Higher Thoughts, can and will, give us a chance to slow down, think and reflect upon that which will give us the motivation to live just for today. One thought, just a few minutes a day, reflected upon through out our day, will provide us with an opportunity to spend a quiet time with our God.

Today’s Meditation

“We are all part of the large and ever growing family tree. It is our purpose to give life and to share our life with those around us. I want to, by my conscious contact with God, let God deal with me according to his plan. Right now I don’t have a plan. “Old things are passing away. Behold all things are becoming new, do you not perceive it? ” Isaiah.

SOURCE: Copyright(c) Higher Thoughts for down days: 365 daily thoughts and meditations for members of 12 step fellowship groups. Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. January 11, page 8.

VISIT THE STORE and learn more about this important work. This Book is also available on the KINDLE as an eBook. Also available in a paper book edition.

Belief, Fellowship, Mutual Aid, Spiritual Heroes, Spirituality

Spiritual Kindergarten

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“We are only operating a spiritual kindergarten in which people are  enabled to get over drinking and find the grace to go on living  to better effect. Each man’s theology  has to  be  his own quest, his own affair.”  Letter. 1954.

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“When the Big Book was being planned, some members thought that it ought to be Christian in the doctrinal sense. Others had no objection to the use of the word “God,” but wanted to avoid doctrinal issues. Spirituality, yes.  Religion, no. Still others wanted a psychological book, to lure the alcoholic in.  Once in,  he could take God or leave Him alone as he wished.

To the rest of us this was shocking, but happily we listened.  Our group conscience was at work to construct the most acceptable and effective book possible.

Every voice was playing its appointed part. Our atheists and agnostics widened our gateway so that all who suffer might pass through, regardless of their belief or lack of belief.”

A.A., Come of Age.