Walked Through The Fire

"The ground for compassion is established first by practicing sensitivity toward ourselves.  True compassion arises from a healthy sense of self, from an awareness of who we are that honors our own capacities and fears, our own feelings and integrity, along with those of others.  It is never based on fear or pity but is a deep supportive response of the heart based on the dignity, integrity, and well-being of every single creature.  It is a spontaneous response to the suffering and pain we encounter.  It is our feeling of mutual resonance and natural connectedness in the face of the universal experience of loss and pain.  As our own heart is opened and healed, it naturally seeks the healing of all it touches.  Compassion for ourselves gives rise to the power to transform resentment into forgiveness, hatred into friendliness, and fear into respect for all beings.  It allows us to extend warmth, sensitivity, and openness to the sorrows around us in a truthful and genuine way."

Jack Kornfield

Tantric:  Involving the doctrines or practices of Buddhist or Hindu tantras, in particular the use of mantras, meditation, yoga, and ritual.

Once again I find that the simple spiritual tools and principles that we use in Alcoholics Anonymous are the simple spiritual tools and principles that have been around for five thousand years.  Especially this idea that those of us who have been through a painful time of our lives, who have been tested by fire, burned to our inner core, are the people best situated to pass along a message of recovery to someone else.  In The Big Book we hear the skeptical and resistant newcomer say something along the lines of "Yes, that's me, I drink like that" over and over.  No one likes to be told what to do by someone who hasn't had to do that very same thing.