LOCAL ALATEEN MEMBER SHARINGS

From the District 21 Day of Sharing on November 12, 2005

"Hand To Hand, Heart to Heart"

Spiritual Awakening

Small Group Category: A Higher Power Working Through Nature

Question: Since coming to Alateen, Have I become more aware of messages from a Higher Power?

Responses:

- God speaks to me through meetings

- Alateen is a form of Higher Power

- God was loving me even when I didn't know it

- I think better in nature

- Some of us find that nature is our Higher Power.

Question: What in Nature brings me a feeling of Spiritual Awakening as described in the Twelfth Step?

- Laying in the grass and looking up at the sky brings me peace
- The sky, water, the mountains, the Grand Canyon
- Being in Nature helps me think better
- Drawing
- Wide Open Spaces

Question: Can I recall experiences of nature that have encouraged me to trust the process of my life more fully?

- Seeing animal signs at a time of prayer
- Rainbows appearing at critical times of my life
- Premonitions of people in my life and events
- Having a feeling of good or bad when I meet new people

Question: Do I see beauty in Nature?

- Yes, because it is so pretty.
- I like looking at pictures of Nature
- Yes, but I also see see pain too, especially in alcoholic families.

Question: What insight have I received from some of God's other creatures?

- Puppies give me good vibes
- Babies show me how feelings can change from one minute to the next
- Kittens give be good vibes
- Snakes make me happy

Question: When has an experience in nature given me reassurance and hope?

- Thinking of the people I would hurt if I hurt myself.
- When I see a rainbow, I feel hopeful
- The leaves on the trees keep coming back, that gives me hope.
- The colors of the leaves change, just like I change too.
- Some music gives me reassurance and hope.
- My horse and my dog make me feel better.
- Reading brings me into another world.

Question: Where in nature have I found the advice of my Higher Power?

- Look up at a cliff near our home, it calls to us, draws us in.

Question: When did I last take a walk with my Higher Power?

- When I ran away into the swamp.
- I don't think I ever did.
- A month ago, when I saw a ghost.
- From high above Syracuse, looking down at the city, Onondaga Lake, and the hills in the background.

Question: What areas of my life have I seen growth in now that I come to Alateen?