Do you believe all things happen for a reason?
Do you believe that God can do for us things that we can’t do for ourselves?
Do you believe in coincidence, or that there is no such thing as coincidence?
What “higher power moments” have you experienced? (Step 2 moments)
What happens when you view them as miracles rather than coincidences?
When have you said “I have no idea how that happened?” (and were grateful for it!)
Today, we're talking about miracles, coincidences, and belief. We share some of our own and some of yours. We might follow this outline:
- Definitions of “miracle”
- a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.
- a highly improbable or extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment that brings very welcome consequences.
- Scrabble points: 11 (http://www.dvorkin.com/scrabscor.php)
- Definitions of “coincidence”
- a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection
- Scrabble points: 18
- What miracles have you experienced in your life?
- In your recovery (if different).
- When you view a positive, unexplained event as a miracle instead of a coincidence, how does that change your experience?
- How does it change you?
- “When I seek, I find; when I look, I notice.”
Readings and links
- How Al-Anon Works, Step 12
- Hope for Today, July 29.
- Quote from Einstein
- Psychology Today: How to Use Meaningful Coincidences
- Wikipedia article about Miracles.
- Books about God Winks.
- The podcast episode about our first meetings.
Music and video clips
Miracle on 34th Street: clip “Susie Believes”
The Polar Express
The Loving Spoonful: Do You Believe in Magic
This was such a wonderful episode! Thank you! I choose to see the miracles in my daily life. In gratitude, we remember what a GIFT our lives are; we SEE the miracles in our lives through hard work in the Program.
It’s a promise of working the 12 steps in Alanon, “Our sight, once clouded and confused, will clear and we will be able to perceive reality and recognize truth.” As you said, “When I look, I notice.”
I wanted to note, too that I’ve always loved Andrew Wyeth’s painting “Christina’s World”, which would take me pages to explain in detail (both my interpretation of the painting and why I love it).
The gist is Christina has Charcot-Marie Tooth (CMT) disease, which causes weakness in the feet and lower leg muscles. So, while Christina appears to be far from home in the painting, she is not. It is because of her struggle, not being able to walk, she must crawl and the home appears so far.
As Wyeth wrote, “If in some small way I have been able in paint to make the viewer sense that her world may be limited physically but by no means spiritually, then I have achieved what I set out to do.” Through our spiritual pursuits, we recognize that we are not limited.
I’m so grateful that after being completely affected by active addiction, I can focus my attention and thoughts in a productive way and enjoy a happy, joyous, and free life!
http://mentalfloss.com/article/64001/15-things-you-might-not-know-about-christinas-world
Eric, Loved, loved the picture of your dog and the Wyeth picture in view also. I think your Rudy saw the picture as a suggestion , so he therefore, complied. I, too, love that picture for many reasons. Your dog looks like a close match: it is a trim dog and a long nose. It would be hard for me not to see that as a message; a miracle. I have a picture of Wyeth near my dresser and I was staring at it just this morning. Is it a coincidence that I listened to your podcast today and you talked about this very picture that I love so much? No, I don’t think so. Not quite sure what it is that is talking to me, but I am definitely listening.
Thank you Donna.