“In exchange for a bottle, a hangover, and a nightmare, you’ve given me a life worth living.”

Three readings. A song that says the rest. And inspiration for whatever this day is here to teach.

A lone surfer riding inside a great curling wave

Read — the readings that opened the day

Excerpt From The End of Your World

Adyashanti

“Spiritual awakening is a remembering. It is not becoming something that we are not. It is a remembering of what we are, as if we’d known it long ago and had simply forgotten. At the moment of this remembering, if the remembering is authentic, it’s not viewed as a personal thing; that would imply that it is the ego that awakens or becomes enlightened.”

Adapted from The End of Your World

The Book

Alan W. Watts

“This mysterious something has been called God, the Absolute, Nature, Energy, Space, Mind, Being, the Infinite - names and ideas which shift in popularity and respectability with the winds of fashion. All might be dismissed as nonsense if the notion of an underlying Being were no more than a product of speculation. Yet, these names are often used to designate the content of a vivid and concrete experience—the ‘unitive’ experience of the mystic, found in almost all cultures at all times and is available to anyone.” Adapted from The Book,

Adapted from The Book

Meditation for the Day / Prayer for the Day

Meditation for the Day “Carry out God's guidance as best you can. Leave the results to Him. Believe that the guidance God gives you has already been worked out by God to produce the required results according to your case and in your circumstances. So follow God's guidance according to your conscience. God has knowledge of your individual life and character, your capabilities and your weaknesses. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may live according to the dictates of my conscience. I pray that I may leave the results to God.”

Reflect — Steve L.'s own words

Celebrating birthdays and anniversaries is such a gift. Yesterday, there were a few, and a call to some friends took me out of myself and gave me connection. A group text offered love, humor, sarcasm with a depth of personalities, in the past heightened by alcohol & chemicals. Today, I can see I was really dulling my senses; laughing at a friend with a seemingly fake moustache, a fake name used by another friend when he went into bars brought real belly ache laughter and gratitude. That used to be me!

For many years, “Who am I?” was a question I struggled with; I was lost in a drug and alcohol haze, and sober, I wasn’t sure either.

A whole new life, rich in awareness, friendships, with Laughter and tears, has opened up, and continues in sobriety.

Walking down the State Street Promenade, bars and restaurants were filled for the FIFA World Cup Finals. Surrounded by 100’s of people, we got seated at a table for 2 by a big screen TV, ordered food and found ourselves screaming at a record number of saves by the Argentinian team's goalie. People from all over the world were gathered there; Coke Zero & Iced Tea were enough to have us fully engaged. Yet, I was conscious of my disease at work. Hot girls, big shot guys, fast cars pulling up outside, and marketing on TV were like shiny fish lures in my brain. I got distracted more than once! I gave a sigh of thanks to tell the difference between fantasy and reality, most of the time, as Gail just rolled her eyes. Normies just don't get it!

Leaving for the airport afterwards, the week in Santa Barbara seemed like a dream. It’s sometimes been a hard road, as Van Morrison describes. But there is a Power working. Maybe IT was there all along?

Arriving home, unpacking and getting into bed, I did a quick reflection. In exchange for a bottle, a hangover, and a nightmare, you’ve given me a life worth living. Thank you again for telling me to keep coming back.