AN INSIDE LOOK
We want to find exactly how, when, and where our natural
desires have warped us. We wish to look squarely at the
unhappiness this has caused others and ourselves. By
discovering what our emotional deformities are, we can
move toward their correction
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.43
Today I am no longer a slave to alcohol, yet in so many
ways enslavement still threatens--my self, my desires,
even my dreams. Yet without dreams I cannot exist; without
dreams there is nothing to keep me moving forward.
I must look inside myself, to free myself. I must call
upon God's power to face the person I've feared the most,
the true me, the person God created me to be. Unless I can
or until I do, I will always be running, and never be truly
free. I ask God daily to show me such a freedom!
***********************************************************
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Second, alcoholics recover their faith in a Power greater
than themselves. They admit that they're helpless by
themselves and they call on that Higher Power for help.
They surrender their lives to God, as they understand Him.
They put their drink problem in God's hands and leave it
there. They recover their faith in a Higher Power that can
help them. Have I recovered my faith?
Meditation For The Day
You must make a stand for God. Believers in God are
considered by some as peculiar people. You must even be
willing to be deemed a fool for the sake of your faith.
You must be ready to stand aside and let the fashions and
customs of the world go by, when God's purposes are thereby
forwarded. Be known by the marks that distinguish a believer
in God. These are honesty, purity, unselfishness, love,
gratitude, and humility.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be ready to profess my belief in God
before others. I pray that I may not be turned aside by
the skepticism and cynicism of unbelievers.
***********************************************************
As Bill Sees It
Anger--Personal
and
Group
Enemy,
p.
98
"As the book 'Alcoholics Anonymous' puts it, 'Resentment is the
Number One offender.' It is a primary cause of relapses into
drinking. How well we of A.A. know that for us 'To drink is
eventually to go mad or die.'
"Much the same penalty overhangs every A.A. group. Given enough
anger, both unity and purpose are lost. Given still more 'righteous'
indignation, the group can disintegrate; it can actually die. This is
why we avoid controversy. This is why we prescribe no punishments
for any misbehavior, no matter how grievous. Indeed, no alcoholic
can be deprived of his membership for any reason whatever.
"Punishment never heals. Only love can heal."
Letter, 1966
***********************************************************
Walk in Dry Places
Keep it Simple, BUT not simple-minded
Working the Steps.
Dr. Bob Smith left little in the way of written material for AA's
future. His phrase "Keep it Simple," however, is now a guiding slogan
in the program. What did he really have in mind with this final piece
of advice?
We can take it as certain that Dr. Bob…. A highly intelligent man… was
not saying that we shouldn't use our heads for real thinking and study.
One of the blessings of sobriety, in fact, should be the ability to
think clearly and effectively. It would be a mistake to believe that
one must renounce a brainpower and education in order to stay sober.
The real aim of "keeping it simple" should be to stay mindful of the
principles and essentials that are key to everybody else. Even the most
difficult subject can usually be mattered by processes of
simplification. The deepest book, for example, is still composed of
only twenty-six letters.
We can "Keep it Simple" by building or lives around the principles of
the Twelve Step program. When we discover new ideas, they'll reinforce
and expand what we've already learned. In this way, we should always be
learning and growing… which is beautiful simple, but certainly not
simple-minded.
I'll be grateful today for the ability to think and to understand
complicated subjects. With a strong foundation in the bedrock
principles of AA, I can use my mind in constructive and progressive
ways.
***********************************************************
Keep It Simple
It's a simple formula: Do your best and somebody might like
it.---Dorothy
Baker
Our program is a selfish program. It tells us to let go of what
others
think. We're staying sober for ourselves, not for anyone else. Our
body
and our spirit are at stack. And we know what we need to do to stay
sober.
If we fell shaky about going to a party, we don't go---no matter who
gets
upset.
If our job makes it hard to stay sober, we get a different one---no
mater
who it upsets. It's simple we must take good care of ourselves before
we
can be good to others. In doing this, we learn how to be a friend, a
good
parent, a good spouse. we have to care for ourselves to have good
relationships. Do I believe it okay to be selfish when it comes to my
program?
Prayer for the Day : Higher Power, help me do what is best for my
recovery, no matter what
others think.
Action for the Day: I will remind myself that staying sober is
simple.
I don't use
chemicals.
And I work the program.
***********************************************************
Each Day a New Beginning
Life is patchwork--here and there, scraps of pleasure and despair.
Joined together, hit or miss. --Anne Bronaugh
As you look ahead, to this day, you can count on unexpected
experiences. You can count on moments of laughter. And you can count on
twinges of fear. Life is seldom what we expect, but we can trust that
we will survive the rough times. They will, in fact, soften our edges.
Pleasure and pain share equally in the context of our lives.
We so easily forget that our growth comes through the challenges we
label "problems." We do have the tools at hand to reap the benefits
inherent in the problems that may face us today. Let us move gently
forward, take the program with us, and watch the barriers disappear.
There is no situation that a Step won't help us with. Maybe we'll need
to "turn over" a dilemma today. Accepting powerlessness over our
children, or spouse, or co-worker may free us of a burden today. Or
perhaps amends will open the communication we seek with someone in our
lives. The program will weave the events of our day together. It will
give them meaning.
Today, well lived, will prepare me for both the pleasure and the pain
of tomorrow.
***********************************************************
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth
Edition
WE AGNOSTICS
Imagine life without faith! Were nothing left but pure reason, it
wouldn’t be life. But we believed in life—of course we did. We could
not prove life in the sense that you can prove a straight line is the
shortest distance between two points, yet, there it was. Could we still
say the whole thing was nothing but a mass of electrons, created out of
nothing, meaning nothing, whirling on to a destiny of nothingness? Or
course we couldn’t. The electrons themselves seemed more intelligent
than that. At least, so the chemist said.
p. 54
***********************************************************
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth
Edition Stories
FLOODED WITH
FEELING - When a barrier to God collapsed, this self-described agnostic
was at Step Three.
I do know that my
life is different now. I haven't had a drink since I came to
A.A. I have fewer resentments, and I don't spend much time
thinking about the past. I've found my experience can be of help
to other people. I have come to believe that hard times are not
just meaningless suffering and that something good might turn up at any
moment. That's a big change for someone who used to come to in
the morning feeling sentenced to another day of life. When I wake
up today, there are lots of possibilities. I can hardly wait to
see what's going to happen next.
I keep coming back because it works.
p. 374
***********************************************************
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Ten - "Continued to take
personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."
A spot-check inventory taken in the midst of such disturbances can be
of very great help in quieting stormy emotions. Today's spot check
finds its chief application to situations which arise in each day's
march. The consideration of long-standing difficulties had better be
postponed, when possible, to times deliberately set aside for that
purpose. The quick inventory is aimed at our daily ups and downs,
especially those where people or new events throw us off balance and
tempt us to make mistakes.
pp. 90-91
***********************************************************
I
came
to
this
program
to
save
my butt and found out it was
attached
to my soul.
--Anonymous
Just beyond the night, another day is breaking, bringing hope to all.
--D. Hockaday
Newness opens eyes
Be in love, at peace with all
Travel to know joy
--Tara
"Change is simply a combination of growing up and gaining
knowledge."
--Jill Thomas
God, help me stay alert to the lessons of today.
-Melody Beattie
"If you're not feeling God's Presence, who moved?" God exists
everywhere. Whenever we feel abandoned by God, remember, it is we
who have moved. God is always fully present to us when we
remember to open our hearts to that Presence.
--Mary Manin Morrissey
***********************************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
LIES
"It takes a wise man to handle a
lie; a fool had better remain
honest."
--Norman Douglas
As a drinking alcoholic I was telling so many lies to cover the lies I
had
previously told that I got lost in a maze of untruth! Most of the lies
were stupid, irrelevant and harmless - but they were all aimed at
building up my ego. Making me look good. Telling people I had more.
My memory could not keep up with my tongue and I became guilty,
ashamed and embarrassed.
Today I need to remember that there is nothing any lie can give me
that I need; there is nothing in the world of fabrication that I need; I
have what I need.
Today I have a relationship with a God and Friend that I can
understand and be vulnerable with; I don't need to be perfect to be
loved.
Help me to seek the good life in those things that are good.
***********************************************************
"You
are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He
who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."
1 John 4:4
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be
put away from you, along with all malice.
Ephesians 4:31
***********************************************************
Daily Inspiration
There is no good enough reason to ever feel we are a
failure. No matter how hard we fall, God is there to restore our spirit
and forgive our past. Lord, help me to understand that it is this
moment that counts, not the last one and with each new moment, I have a
new beginning.
They are wise who depend on God. Lord, Your perfect law revives my
soul. Keeping Your law makes me rich.
***********************************************************
NA Just For Today
Happiness
"We come to know happiness, joy and
freedom."
Basic Text p. 88
If someone stopped you on the street
today and asked if you were happy, what would you say? "Well, gee,
let's see... I have a place to live, food in the refrigerator, a job,
my car is running... Well, yes, I guess I'm happy" you might respond.
These are outward examples of things that many of us have traditionally
associated with happiness. We often forget, however, that happiness is
a choice; no one can make us happy.
Happiness is what we find in our
involvement with Narcotics Anonymous. The happiness we derive from a
life focused on service to the addict who still suffers is great
indeed. When we place service to others ahead of our own desires, we
find that we take the focus off ourselves. As a result, we live a more
contented, harmonious life. In being of service to others, we find our
own needs more than fulfilled.
Happiness. What is it, really? We can
think of happiness as contentment and satisfaction. Both of these
states of mind seem to come to us when we least strive for them. As we
live just for today, carrying the message to the addict who still
suffers, we find contentment, happiness, and a deeply meaningful life.
Just for today: I am going to be
happy. I will find my happiness by being of service to others.
***********************************************************
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Any time you sense you are getting
overrun by outside influences and losing your feelings, put your
attention inside your body. Relax. . ., let your breath sink low. . .,
breathe in your abdomen. . . . --Anne Kent Rush
When we are feeling as though all our
energy is scattered throughout our bodies, we need to practice
centering, or focusing this energy into one place. Our center may
change from day to day, and each of us feels it differently.
When we're walking, we may feel power
coming from our hips and spreading through the body, heart, and mind.
When we're in a meditative mood, we may feel warm energy at the back of
the head. At other times, we might feel a real centering place in the
middle of the chest, right where our heart and arms and breathing come
together. There is no one way to be at peace. Centering is a way for
each of us to find and picture to ourselves our focused energy. When we
can do this, we increase our power to bring about those things we want
from life, those things we really do deserve.
Where is my energy right now?
You are reading from the book
Touchstones.
I'm not into isms and asms. There
isn't a Catholic moon and a Baptist sun. I know the universal God is
universal.... I feel that the same God force that is the mother and
father of the pope is also the mother and father of the loneliest wino
on the planet.
--Dick Gregory
In this program we seek conscious
contact with God as we understand God. Some people understand God in
very specific ways as a Jewish God, or a Christian God, or Moslem
Allah. Others understand God in very general and unspecific ways. To
some, God is the spirit of group relationships, the deeper
consciousness of each man, or the whole of creation. When the word God
is used in this program, it respects the different knowing of each
person.
Whatever understanding a man has, this
program includes his perspective. It dictates none. This is a spiritual
program, not a religious one. We often see our Higher Power was with us
as a helpful force, long before we knew about it.
Today, I am grateful for God's care.
May I learn to increase in trust and. knowledge of God.
You are reading from the book Each Day
a New Beginning.
Life is patchwork--here and there,
scraps of pleasure and despair. Joined together, hit or miss. --Anne
Bronaugh
As you look ahead, to this day, you
can count on unexpected experiences. You can count on moments of
laughter. And you can count on twinges of fear. Life is seldom what we
expect, but we can trust that we will survive the rough times. They
will, in fact, soften our edges. Pleasure and pain share equally in the
context of our lives.
We so easily forget that our growth
comes through the challenges we label "problems." We do have the tools
at hand to reap the benefits inherent in the problems that may face us
today. Let us move gently forward, take the program with us, and watch
the barriers disappear.
There is no situation that a Step
won't help us with. Maybe we'll need to "turn over" a dilemma today.
Accepting powerlessness over our children, or spouse, or co-worker may
free us of a burden today. Or perhaps amends will open the
communication we seek with someone in our lives. The program will weave
the events of our day together. It will give them meaning.
Today, well lived, will prepare me for
both the pleasure and the pain of tomorrow.
You are reading from the book The
Language of Letting Go.
Self Care
I don't precisely know what you need
to do to take care of yourself. But I know you can figure it out.
--Beyond Codependency
Rest when you're tired.
Take a drink of cold water when you're
thirsty.
Call a friend when you're lonely.
Ask God to help when you feel
overwhelmed.
Many of us have learned how to deprive
and neglect ourselves. Many of us have learned to push ourselves hard,
when the problem is that were already pushed too hard.
Many of us are afraid the work wont
get done if we rest when were tired. The work will get done; it will be
done better than work that emerges from tiredness of soul and spirit.
Nurtured, nourished people, who love themselves and care for
themselves, are the delight of the Universe.
They are well timed, efficient, and
Divinely led.
Today, I will practice loving
self-care.
Today I can make peace within myself
without needing the approval and agreement of others. Today I can love
and respect people who do not always share my view of the world. --Ruth
Fishel
**************************************************
***********
Journey To The Heart
April 8, 2013
Enjoy the Adventure
It was a cold night in Sedona,
Arizona. An unexpected snowstorm had passed through the usually warm
city, dumping several inches of snow in a short time. The electricity
was off. The cabin I was staying in was freezing.
Great, I thought. I get to spend my
last evening in Sedona fighting off hypothermia alone in the dark. I
put on a heavy sweater, then wrapped myself in a blanket, trudged to a
phone booth, and called a friend to complain.
“Change your perspective,” he said.
“Pretend you’re four years old. Get your flashlight. Then make a tent
in your bed out of all the pillows and blankets you can find. Enjoy the
adventure.”
At first I balked, then I decided to
try this idea. I made the tent. Bundled up. My complaints quickly
turned to memories of what it was like to be a child, to play with
life, to play with all the experiences life brings. Soon I fell asleep.
When I awoke in the morning, the heat
was back on. The lights had returned. The snow had stopped falling.
Capped in a frosty layer of white, the breathtaking city of rust-iron
mesas looked like a wonderland. I had learned another lesson, practical
and simple.
Change your perspective and enjoy the
adventure. Let the child in you come out to play.
**************************************************
***********
Journey To The Heart
Enjoy the Adventure
It was a cold night in Sedona,
Arizona. An unexpected snowstorm had passed through the usually warm
city, dumping several inches of snow in a short time. The electricity
was off. The cabin I was staying in was freezing.
Great, I thought. I get to spend my
last evening in Sedona fighting off hypothermia alone in the dark. I
put on a heavy sweater, then wrapped myself in a blanket, trudged to a
phone booth, and called a friend to complain.
“Change your perspective,” he said.
“Pretend you’re four years old. Get your flashlight. Then make a tent
in your bed out of all the pillows and blankets you can find. Enjoy the
adventure.”
At first I balked, then I decided to
try this idea. I made the tent. Bundled up. My complaints quickly
turned to memories of what it was like to be a child, to play with
life, to play with all the experiences life brings. Soon I fell asleep.
When I awoke in the morning, the heat
was back on. The lights had returned. The snow had stopped falling.
Capped in a frosty layer of white, the breathtaking city of rust-iron
mesas looked like a wonderland. I had learned another lesson, practical
and simple.
Change your perspective and enjoy the
adventure. Let the child in you come out to play.
*********************************************
More Language Of Letting Go
Stop trapping yourself
“I found myself staying at home on
weekends, not wandering far from home,” a woman said. “I was expecting
myself to be there for my daughter whenever she wanted me, just like
when she was a child. The problem was, she was in her mid-twenties and
didn’t even live in the same city anymore.”
It’s easy to paint ourselves into a
corner with what we’ve grown accustomed to expecting from ourselves.
Sometimes we can work so hard to build that career, get that
relationship, or become a certain way that we start living up to an
image of ourselves that has become outdated.
Stop trapping yourself.
Those goals might have been what we
wanted then, but they don’t work anymore. And just because we achieved
them doesn’t mean we can’t go on and do something else. What do you
expect from yourself? Have you taken a look? Do your expectations
reflect the genuine desires of your heart, or do they reflect something
else?
Are you grumbling and complaining
about some aspect of your life– something you’re expected to do but
resent? Maybe the only person expecting you to do that is yourself.
Expectations can be subtle little things. Take them out and examine
them. If some of them are outdated or useless, maybe it’s time to throw
them away.
Can you feel the rush? Listen quietly.
It’s there. It’s the sound of a life and spirit being set free.
God, help me aet myself free from
ridiculous and unnecssary expectations.
Activity: If this were the last ten
years of your life, what would you be doing? Where would you be living?
What would you be doing for fun. work, friendship, and love? If the
answer is different from where you currently are, maybe you should be
someplace else.
*********************************************
Short Getaways
Taking A Day Trip
When vacations are not possible,
consider a daytrip as an alternative for renewal and feeding your soul.
We tend to think of a vacation as
something that requires an enormous amount of preparation, but small
daylong excursions can be just as refreshing and fulfilling as their
lengthier counterparts. A short drive can be the channel that
transports you into a world of novel experiences and blissful
relaxation. Solo day trips can be a wonderful way to unwind from the
stresses of routine existence while simultaneously feeding the soul.
And when you choose to share your day trip with someone you care about,
a leisurely drive becomes a chance to talk about childhood, recall
favorite songs, or simply spend time enjoying one another's presence.
You may be surprised to see how many
day-trip possibilities exist within a mere hour's time from your home.
Forests, beaches, lakes, mountains, rivers, and deserts can serve as
the perfect spot for a minivacation. The physical and mental
rejuvenation you experience in an unfamiliar and engaging setting are
enhanced by meditation, journaling, deep breathing, or just being still
with nature. Though the cost of gasoline can make taking a day trip
seem frivolous, and our commitment to environmental well-being may
cause us to hesitate before utilizing our cars in this manner, there
are numerous ways we can effectively offset our carbon signature while
still seeing to the needs of ourselves on a soul level.
Since day trips tend to require much
smaller investments of time and money than traditional outings, you can
enjoy a diverse range of experiences day by day. On one weekend, you
may be motivated by a need to connect with your natural heritage to
explore a vast state park or nature preserve. On another, your
curiosity can inspire you to visit a historical site that has long
piqued your interest. In the end, where you go will often be less
important than your willingness to broaden your horizons by removing
yourself from the environment already so familiar to you. Each
minigetaway you take will imbue your existence with a sensation of
renewal that prepares you for whatever lies ahead. Published with
permission from Daily OM
*********************************************
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
Time after time, we learn in The
Program, newcomers try to keep to themselves “shoddy facts” about their
lives. Trying to avoid the humbling experience of the Fifth Step, they
turn to a seemingly easier and softer way. Almost invariably, they
slip. Having persevered with the rest of The Program, they then wonder
why they fell. The probable reasons is they they completed their
housecleaning. They took inventory all right, but hung on to some of
the worst items in stock. Have I admitted to God, to myself, and to
another human being the exact nature of my wrongs?
Today I Pray
That I may include all of the
sleaziness of my past, my cruelties and my dishonesty, in a complete
moral inventory of myself. May I hold back nothing out of shame or
pride, for the “exact nature” of my wrongs means just that — a thorough
and exact recounting of past mistakes and character flaws. We have been
provided with an appropriate “dumping-ground.” May I use it as it was
intended. May all my throw-sways, the trash and outgrown costumes of
the past, be foundation “fill” on which to build a new life.
Today I Will Remember
Trash can be a foundation for
treasures.
*********************************************
One More Day
Believe me, every man has his secret
sorrow, which the world knows not, and oftentimes we call a man col
when he is only sad.
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Let a person seem aloof or display a
need to be apart from others, and we automatically assume we are
getting a old shoulder. yet none of us has any ideas of all the
components of another person’s life and feelings. We’re usually
ignorant of others people’s personal characteristics. Sadness, shyness,
and fear are just a few traits which can be misinterpreted.
Little disappointments, large
failures, loss of a dream or a loved one — these are all problems which
any one of us can have, but few can share. We can choose to overlook
the real and imagined wrongs of others by reminding ourselves of how
little we really know of each other.
My understanding of other people’s
problems has been enhanced by my own illness, and I will not be so
quick to judge.
************************************
Food For Thought
The Enemy Within
Why do we self-destruct? The problem of evil has been with us ever
since the serpent tempted Eve to eat the apple. We often feel at war
internally, one self-fighting another self.
There are forces that would have us abandon our program, and usually we
find the temptation coming from within. We become careless, bored,
lackadaisical in our efforts. Instead of disciplining ourselves to
further spiritual growth, we rest on our oars and then wonder why we
are drifting downstream!
There is nothing wrong with our bodily appetites, except when we allow
them to take control. Then they will destroy us. Sane, healthy living
requires that we acknowledge our spiritual needs. When our Higher Power
is in control, we work for emotional and spiritual growth as well as
physical satisfaction. Instead of being divided internally, we are
integrated. The enemy within is subdued in the only way possible - by
God's power.
Defeat the enemy within me. Lord.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
~ Willingness ~
I cannot change what I am unwilling to
face.
James Baldwin
Before I found this program I was
locked in a battle with myself. I knew I was eating too much, and I
couldn't help myself. I tried to control my eating, and for a while, I
was able to keep the upper hand. Then something would happen in my
life, and I'd lose that control.
I couldn't face the fact that I was a
compulsive eater. I couldn't bear to think that I had a disease that
kept me in bondage to food. So during the time I was in denial about my
eating, I continued sinking deeper into my disease of compulsion. I
sought comfort in food, and did some serious damage to my body, to my
self-esteem, and to my relationships.
It was only after I hit bottom that I
realized that I had to face the facts. I had a disease that had me in a
death grip, and there wasn't one thing I could do about it. When I
found this program, I found hope. I discovered a Higher Power who could
help me do what I'd never been able to do before. I slowly began to see
the changes I'd tried all my life to effect on my own. But it didn't
happen until I became willing to face the truth, until I became willing
to ask God for help.
One Day at a Time . . .
I am willing to face my disease
and let my Higher Power help me
overcome it.
~ Jeff ~
*****************************************
AA 'Big Book' - Quote
If we are planning to stop drinking,
there must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking notion that
someday we will be immune to alcohol. - Pg. 33 - More About Alcoholism
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Many times non-program people will go
off on tangents of what religious, spiritual, or philosophical paths we
now take. We do not engage with this type of conversation. We simply
know that we will not drink or use drugs this hour and we will hang
around other people who are doing the same thing.
I don't need to figure anything out
right now. It is alright to not engage in any confrontation and simply
be in recovery.
Learning from Life
There are no 'buts' today. I am what I
am, others are what they are, life is what it is. I will not
parenthesize my growth with a 'but,' or hold back my forward-moving
spirit with second-guesses. For today, I am living with things as they
are. As I give this gift to myself I feel relieved. I am exactly where
I am meant to be, learning what I need to learn. All I need do is move
through situations with willingness to learn and openness to feel. When
feelings are brought up, I can accept them as what is happening within
me-no need to resist and analyze them. I can witness, allow, observe,
share and process rather than shut down and hide. I can tolerate the
intensity of my own inner world. I trust that my life is unfolding in
such a way that what I need to learn will be before me. I am willing to
learn.
I see the 'table prepared.'
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
People will tell you to 'work' the
steps and that may lead you to believe that the steps are our work in
recovery. Working the steps is not doing our work, they are the
foundation for doing our work. Our work is getting into the trenches
and helping others.
When my life is not working the way I
want it to, I find I may not be doing my real work.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
It gets worse, so you have to get
better.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I can make peace within myself
without needing the approval and agreement of others. Today I can love
and respect people who do not always share my view of the world.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
We're blessed with a disease where
we're forced to love people. - Terry
*****************************************
AA Thought for the Day
April 8
Reprieve
It is easy to let up on the spiritual
program of action and rest on our laurels.
We are headed for trouble if we do,
for alcohol is a subtle foe.
We are not cured of alcoholism. What
we really have is a daily reprieve,
contingent on the maintenance of our
spiritual condition.
Every day we must carry the vision of
God's will into all of our activities.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 85
Thought to Ponder . . .
AA is spiritual, is the eye of the
hurricane, is my refuge and my comfort.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
K I S S = Keeping It Simple,
Spiritually.
~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
Change
"Let us never fear needed change.
Certainly we have to discriminate
between
changes for worse and changes for
better.
But once a need becomes clearly
apparent in an individual,
in a group, or in AA as a whole,
it has long since been found out
that we cannot stand still and look
the other way."
Bill W., Box 1980: The AA Grapevine,
July 1965
As Bill Sees It, p. 115
Thought to Consider . . .
We're responsible for the effort - not
the outcome.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C H A N G E
Choosing Honesty Allows New Growth
Everyday.
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Objectivity
Step Four: Made a searching and
fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
"They comfort the melancholy one by
first showing him that his case is not strange or different, that his
character
defects are probably not more numerous
or worse than those of anyone else in A.A. This the sponsor promptly
proves
by talking freely and easily, and
without exhibitionism, about his own defects, past and present. This
calm, yet realistic,
stocktaking is immensely reassuring.
The sponsor probably points out that the newcomer has some assets which
can
be noted along with his liabilities.
This tends to clear away morbidity and encourage balance. As soon as he
begins to
be more objective, the newcomer can
fearlessly, rather than fearfully, look at his own defects."
1952, AAWS, Inc.; Printed 2005; Twelve
Steps and Twelve Traditions, pg. 46
*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Awareness is the most accessible
doorway to spirituality."
Emotional Sobriety II
Ames, Iowa, July 2010
"Binge Thinker,"
Emotional Sobriety II: The Next
Frontier
~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve
Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*
If we are planning to stop drinking,
there must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking notion that
someday we will
be immune to alcohol.
Pg. 33 - More About Alcoholism
"We know what you are thinking. You
are saying to yourself: "I'm
jittery and alone. I couldn't do
that." But you can. You forget that
you have just now tapped a source of
power much greater than yourself.
To duplicate, with such backing, what
we have accomplished is only a
matter of willingness, patience and
labor."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A
Vision For You, pg. 163~
Whenever our pencil falters, we can
fortify and cheer ourselves by remembering what A.A. experience in this
Step has meant to others.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.
82
Misc. AA Literature - Quote
Anger--Personal and Group Enemy
'As the book 'Alcoholics Anonymous'
puts it, 'Resentment is the Number One offender,' It is a primary cause
of relapses
into drinking. How well we of A.A.
know that for us 'To drink is eventually to go mad or die.'
'Much the same penalty overhangs every
A.A. group. Given enough anger, both unity and purpose are lost. Given
still
more 'righteous' indignation, the
group can disintegrate; it can actually die. This is why we avoid
controversy. This is
why we prescribe no punishments for
any misbehavior, no matter how grievous. Indeed, no alcoholic can be
deprived of
his membership for any reason whatever.
'Punishment never heals. Only love can
heal.' LETTER, 1966
Prayer For The Day: Dear Father, thank you for this day. Help
me better myself and those around me.