Step 7: Confusion, Stress, Accomplishment, and Relief

It's been a busy few weeks; but well worth the effort.  Stressful effort at that.

Steps for Anyone:

The Monday night "teacher" was yours truly.  Following up on my last posting on June 9th, we had a group of about twenty people attending where Step One was offered in three different versions.  This was less about me talking and more about an opportunity to show the group how we do "12 & Zen" once a month.  And that we did.  We all sat with one's Step One of the day, meditated with the tigers and the strawberry koan, and then had our discussion.  I think the discussion went OK but not to the depth or intimacy that happens with 12 Step people.  A good evening none-the-less.

Now in Paperback:

Over the last six months, I've been adding to my book, Twelve and Zen -- When the 12 Steps Meet Zen Koans.  It's about 25% larger and it feels more complete now.  Re-submitting the eBook version was exasperating.  I don't follow directions well, especially since some of the technical jargon is foreign to me.  But eventually the eBook version was accepted and available at the Kindle Store.

The good news here is that there is now a paperback version that was published via CreateSpace.
This book is sold at Amazon Books.  Again, a real struggle for me.  The first time I submitted the book it came back "There are 7 errors that need correcting."  Type, type, type, resubmit -- "There are 5 errors that need correcting."  Gasp!  Type, type, type, resubmit -- "There are two errors that need correcting."  You get the idea.  Eventually it was accepted and ready for sale.  The best thing about paperbacks is all the room in the margins for scribbling notes.

A link to both:  http://tinyurl.com/mky4kcy

Yesterday We Humbly Asked:

Our usual "12 & Zen" met yesterday evening, sitting with Step Seven.  Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

Koan:  "What is the Way?  A clearly enlightened person falls in a well."

When we are humble, aren't we giving up our control of matters?

What is the Way?  Our group had many Ways, just the way I expected.  Everything from the BIG Way to the way things happened today, the way we make our choices.

We all agreed that we are already enlightened, but we don't seem to be aware of this in our daily lives. So of course we can and do fall into wells all the time.  In the falling we have no control.  Our "wells" take many forms but they are all about the unknown.

Confusion, stress, accomplishment, and relief, otherwise known as living... I do feel relief today, with a good sense of accomplishment and lots of gratitude,  knowing that this Path we are sharing is a good.

Bill K.