connections Archives | Karen Casey

Reflections in the Mirror - You and Yourself

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July 13, 2010

Are you doing the same old thing expecting a different outcome?

The first time I heard that the definition of insanity was repeating the same behavior, over and over again, expecting different results; I knew my name had been called. I simply had never known I could make an entirely new choice in how I interpreted what others were doing or saying. Nor did I understand that I could choose a decidedly different response to the data presented to me. My learning curve was steep, I must say. How lucky I feel that my journey was to include the 12 step path. It's nice to be able to acknowledge that I have grown with the help[...]

Circle of Family and Friends - You and Your Personal Community

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June 29, 2010

Connecting with old friends. What a joy. . .

I just returned from a week end in Chicago with fourteen dear friends from high school. There are so many sweet memories running through my mind that I don't know which one to savor first and longest. Starting with my roommate is no doubt a good beginning. Ellen is her name and we hadn't been particularly close in high school but we were in the same group. We called ourselves "the Superlatives." We were certain then, that we were, and deserved to be, the envy of all the other girls in the school. Needless to say we made a few enemies along the way. B[...]

Karen's Musings

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May 20, 2010

Moving north. . .

My winter sojourn in Naples, Florida has come to an end. My husband and I head to Minnesota today, with a stop in Tampa for me to do the Hazelden Womens Healing Conference, a program that Hazelden has been offering in various locations around the country for fifteen years. It's really a wonderful program and CEU credits are awarded for attendance. It's always a two day program, a Friday and a Saturday. Check my web site (www.womens-spirituality. com) or the Hazelden web site: www.hazelden.org for dates and locations. It's always with mixed feelings that I[...]

Reflections in the Mirror - You and Yourself

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April 23, 2010

Opening our hearts to one another. . .

Because of a piece I have been writing for a workshop, I have been thinking about the importance of having an open heart if we want to heal and help others heal too. Only very recently I found myself in a downward spiral emotionally, a spiral not unfamiliar to me. I have suffered from chronic depression for much of my life. I am happy to say I have received help for it, but I can still wander into the shadowy places if I turn away from the people and experiences God has sent to help me grow. What makes me withdraw, emotionally, remains a mystery but every few[...]

Circle of Family and Friends - You and Your Personal Community

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March 22, 2010

Detaching with love seems like an oxymoron to some. . .

When I first heard the suggestion to detach from another person, I interpreted it to mean to sever all ties, all communication. Considering it was a relationship partner I was supposed to detach from, I found the suggestion out of the question. What I had failed to understand at that time and frankly, for many months to come, was that detachment didn't mean to literally turn my back on some one. But rather to shield my emotions from the behavior of others. To let others do whatever they did without my own emotions jumping on their roller-coaster. It wasn[...]

Your Experience, Strength and Hope

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December 12, 2009

Simple things we can do to become more hopeful. Now. . .

1. Ask God for help. 2. Let go! 3. Surrender. 4. Do one thing to inspire joy in some one else’s life each day. And make a note of this in a small note book. 5. Choose kindness with every response and feel it change your heart. 6, When feeling hopeless, choose a fond memory to change your perception. 7. Make a gratitude list to help you recall the good that has already happened. 8. Praying for others will change our hearts. 9. Peaceful acts create more hope in us and the world. 10. Using a gentle voice, always, can create more hope in us and others too[...]