EQUAL RIGHTS

At one time or another most A.A. groups go on rule making
benders. . . . After a time fear and intolerance subside.
[and we realize] We do not wish to deny anyone his chance
to recover from alcoholism. We wish to be just as inclusive
as we can, never exclusive.
"A.A. TRADITION: HOW IT DEVELOPED." pp. 10, 11, 12

A.A. offered me complete freedom and accepted me into the
Fellowship for myself. Membership did not depend upon
conformity, financial success or education and I am so
grateful for that. I often ask myself if I extend the same
equality to others or if I deny them the freedom to be
different. Today I try to replace my fear and intolerance
with faith, patience, love and acceptance. I can bring these
strengths to my A.A. group, my home and my office. I make
an effort to bring my positive attitude everywhere that I
go.
I have neither the right, nor the responsibility, to judge
others. Depending on my attitude I can view newcomers to
A.A., family members and friends as menaces or as teachers.
When I think of some of my past judgments, it is clear how
my self-righteousness caused me spiritual harm.
***********************************************************

As Bill Sees It

A.A.--the Lodestar, p. 147

We can be grateful for every agency or method that tries to solve the
problem of alcoholism--whether of medicine, religion, education, or
research. We can be open-minded toward all such efforts and we can
be sympathetic when the ill-advised ones fail. We can remember that
A.A. itself ran for years on "trial and error."

As individuals, we can and should work with those that promise
success--even a little success.

<< << << >> >> >>

Every one of the pioneers in the total field of alcoholism will
generously say that had it not been for the living proof of recovery in
A.A., they could not have gone on. A.A. was the lodestar of hope and
help that kept them at it.

Grapevine, March 1958

***********************************************************

Walk in Dry Places
 
Everyday risks.... Courage
We have to take certain risks if we hope to achieve anything. Applying for a job entail a risk of reject. Saving money carries a risk of losing it. Falling in love can result in heartbreak.
We have to take such risks because life is ordered that way.  We are hear to learn, and learning includes pressing into unknown situations where we could fail.
God could have created us in such a way we could either avoid risks or not unduly concerned about the. Animals, for example, live with risks but do no seem to worry about them.
We must accept risk as part of God's plan for us.  We also are given tools for working with uncertainties. We have our innate intelligence and a capacity for prudent, reasoned action. We have friends who will help us. Above all, we have our Higher Power, who guides and directs
us through all sorts of risky conditions.
I cannot face life without also facing uncertainties. Today I'll accept risk as a prt of ordinary living.

***********************************************************

Keep It Simple

Who dares nothing, need hope for nothing.---Johann Fredrich von Schiller
As we grow in recovery, we'll need to change our behaviors, values, and beliefs to stay sane. This take courage. Courage is doing what is needed in spite of fear.
Courage means facing what we can't change. We can't change the fact that we have hurt people. We can't change the fact we have an illness. And we can't change the fact that we need help from others.
Courage also means facing those things we can change. We need courage to be honest, to have faith, and to be humble. And we need courage to let people know how important they are.
Prayer for the Day:  Courage is more than being tough. Courage means being human. Higher Power, grant me the courage to stay sober and live a spiritual life.
Action for the Day:  Today, I'll have an attitude of courage. I'll talk in my meeting. I'll offer help where it is needed. I'll have the courage to say no when needed.

***********************************************************

Each Day a New Beginning

Spiritual power can be seen in a person's reverence for life--hers and all others, including animals and nature, with a recognition of a universal life force referred to by many as God.  --Virginia Satir
Taking the time, daily, to recognize the spiritual force in everyone and everything that is all about us, encourages us to feel humble, to feel awe. Reflecting on our interconnections, our need for one and all to complete the universe, lessens whatever adversity we might feel as we struggle with our humanity.
Our spiritual power is enhanced with each blessing we give. And as our spiritual power is enhanced, life's trials are fewer. Our struggle to accept situations, conditions, and other people, or our struggle to control them, lessens every day that we recognize and revere one another's personhood, one another's existence.
I can teach myself reverence, and I can begin today. I will look for "the Spirit" everywhere, and I will begin to see it.

***********************************************************

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards

Many alcoholics are enthusiasts. They run to extremes. At the beginning of recovery a man will take, as a rule, one of two directions. He may either plunge into a frantic attempt to get on his feet in business, or he may be so enthralled by his new life that he talks or thinks of little else. In either case certain family problems will arise. With these we have had experience galore.

pp. 125-126

***********************************************************

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

The Keys Of The Kingdom

I experienced some of the pleasure of social drinking when I was sixteen.  I definitely like everything about alcohol----the taste, the effects; and I realize now that a drink did something for me or to me that was different from the way it affected others.  It wasn't long before any party without drinks was a dud for me.

p. 269

***********************************************************

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Twelve - "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs."

But not so with alcoholics. When A.A. was quite young, a number of eminent psychologists and doctors made an exhaustive study of a good-sized group of so-called problem drinkers. The doctors weren't trying to find how different we were from one another; they sought to find whatever personality traits, if any, this group of alcoholics had in common. They finally came up with a conclusion that shocked the A.A. members of that time. These distinguished men had the nerve to say that most of the alcoholics under investigation were still childish, emotionally sensitive, and grandiose.

pp. 122-123

***********************************************************

God, help me realize that to do your will for me today, in however a
small way, I must let go of my own will.
--Day By Day

No matter what happens, I must get on with my life.
--Ruth Humlecker

"Today I'll use the slogan, 'How important is it?' It will help me think
things through before I act and it will give me a better picture of just
what is important in my life."
--Alateen--One Day At A Time

Sometimes laughter is the next lesson we need to be learning.
--Melody Beattie

If your sobriety isn't your absolute top priority, the most important
thing in your life, you're going to get drunk again.
--"Things My Sponsors Taught Me" Paul H.

***********************************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

CHRISTIANITY

"He who begins by loving
Christianity better than Truth will
proceed by loving his sect or
church better than Christianity,
and end in loving himself better
than all."
--Samuel Taylor Coleridge

My program for recovery from addiction is spiritual and not religious. I
believe that spirituality encompasses all that is good and noble in all
the great religions of the world. It cannot be confined or limited to one
religion or denomination. Spirituality stops the recovering person from
looking for the differences; it stops the arrogance and prejudice; it
stops the division and separations that feed the disease. Spirituality
emphasizes the inherent unity of man. It teaches the most stubborn of
men to hold hands.

God the Creator is revealed in the variety of His universe. I can find
Him in the sunset, the variety of animals, the love and care of family
and friends, the excitement and vision of poetry and art, the
inspiration of music. Spirituality is . . .!

Kneeling before the beauty of Your creation I whisper "Amen".

***********************************************************

A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain
honor.
Proverbs 29:23

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:32

I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
John 14:6

"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not
become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."
Gal 5:25-26

***********************************************************

Daily Inspiration

Expect more of yourself than you do of others and you will save yourself much stress and disappointment. Lord, help me to see how capable that I am.

God is always at work in your life. Notice His light on the events of your day. Lord, I sometimes look without really seeing. Help me to pause and notice.

***********************************************************

NA Just For Today

As We Understand

"We examined our lives and discovered who we really are. To be truly humble is to accept and honestly try to be ourselves."
Basic Text, p. 35

As using addicts, the demands of our disease determined our personality. We could be whoever or whatever we needed to be in order to get our "fix." We were survival machines, adapting easily to every circumstance of the using life.

Once we began our recovery, we entered a new and different life. Many of us had no idea what behavior was appropriate for us in any given situation. Some of us didn't know how to talk to people, how to dress, or how to behave in public. We couldn't be ourselves because we didn't know who we were anymore.

The Twelve Steps give us a simple method for finding out who we really are. We uncover our assets and our defects, the things we like about ourselves and the things we're not so thrilled about. Through the healing power of the Twelve Steps, we begin to understand that we are individuals, created to be who we are by the Higher Power of our understanding. The real healing begins when we understand that if our Higher Power created us this way, it must be okay to be who we really are.

Just for today: By working the steps I can experience the freedom to be myself, the person my Higher Power intended me to be.

***********************************************************

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not. --Ralph Waldo Emerson
The little rabbit stood alone, watching her family and friends hop and skip about her in the forest, playing her favorite rabbit game. Try as she might, each time she attempted to join in, she tripped about awkwardly. When this happened, the other rabbits laughed uproariously at her and called her "Grace." Soon even she forgot her real name. But in the moments when Grace was alone, she danced around the trees with ease. She was as smooth and graceful as any ballerina. An old owl sat high above her one night, watching her intently. The moonlight streamed through the treetops like a soft spotlight and he sat and watched as little Grace moved in and out of the moonbeams. Finally he said, "Grace, you are more graceful than any creature I've ever seen." Grace was startled that someone had been watching her, but listened carefully to the wise owl's words as he continued. "You have carried this beauty within you all the time, but locked it inside when you tried too hard." If we remember to relax and trust in ourselves, we, too, will discover that we are able.
What hidden ability can I set loose today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
I sidestep the either/or choices of logic and choose both. --Ken Feit
Men like us have often had a lifestyle guided by either/or logic. We think we must either conquer the challenge we see before us or we will be failures. We think loved ones must either meet our needs or they do not love us. We think we must either be perfect or we are unacceptable.
Let us now step back from the rigidity of such unhealthy logic. Much of human experience and many answers to our problems don't come in neatly tied packages. As we learn to think and feel in more flexible ways, we find life gets better. Using our intuition at times, rather than always following rigid rules for life, improves the recipe. The arrogance of our thought process has sometimes told us we had the answer, but it closed us to the growth which only comes by trusting our feelings. If we make mistakes, we can learn from them and go on. Many of the most ingenious inventions came not by rigidly following rules, but by following an inner feeling.
Today, I will be open to more possibilities in my thinking.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Spiritual power can be seen in a person's reverence for life--hers and all others, including animals and nature, with a recognition of a universal life force referred to by many as God. --Virginia Satir
Taking the time, daily, to recognize the spiritual force in everyone and everything that is all about us, encourages us to feel humble, to feel awe. Reflecting on our interconnections, our need for one and all to complete the universe, lessens whatever adversity we might feel as we struggle with our humanity.
Our spiritual power is enhanced with each blessing we give. And as our spiritual power is enhanced, life's trials are fewer. Our struggle to accept situations, conditions, and other people, or our struggle to control them, lessens every day that we recognize and revere one another's personhood, one another's existence.
I can teach myself reverence, and I can begin today. I will look for "the Spirit" everywhere, and I will begin to see it.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Letting Go of Self Doubt
A married woman who had recently joined Al Anon called me one afternoon. She worked part time as a registered nurse, had assumed all the responsibilities for raising her two children, and did all the household chores, including repairs and finances. I want to separate from my husband, she sobbed. I cant stand him or his abuse any longer. But tell me, please tell me, she said, do you think I can take care of myself? --Codependent No More
Not only is it okay to take care of ourselves, we can take good care of ourselves.
Many of us, so confident about our ability to take care of others, doubt our inherent strength to care for ourselves. We may have come to believe, from our past or present circumstances, that we need to take care of others and we need others to take care of us. This is the ultimate codependent belief.
No matter where this self-defeating belief was born, we can release it and replace it with a better one, a healthier one, a more accurate one.
We can take care of ourselves whether we are in or out of a relationship. Everything we need will be provided. We will have loved ones, friends, and our Higher Power to help.
Knowing that we can take care of ourselves doesn't mean we wont have feelings of fear, discomfort, doubt, anger, and fragility at times. It means we practice courageous vulnerability, as Colette Dowling called it in Cinderella Complex. We may feel scared, but we do it anyway.
Today, God, help me know how I can take care of myself.


Nothing can stop me from feeling wonderful today. I am filled with all the wonder and splendor of the universe and I pass these on to everyone I meet. --Ruth Fishel

**************************************************

Journey to the Heart

Let the Universe Support You

Who or what is your source of power? Who or what are you connected to?

Watch yourself as you go through your days. Where do you get your nurturing, your support, your empowerment, your energy? Does it all come from one person? Do you have a multitude of sources? Do you consider God, the Divine, your ultimate source?

There was a time when many of us made one person our only source. That time is past. Although special people are in our lives to be a special support, one of our lessons has been to broaden our connections, to connect to the universe, to open up to all the love and support that is there for us. If we use for our source only one person, one job, one place, one situation, we may encounter problems. Searching for many sources of support is a sign of our growth, a sign that we are continuing on our journey.

Value and cherish the people in your life who feed your soul and nurture your heart. Value and cherish the people who are special to you, who you hold dear, who help support you. But don’t limit your connections. Open your heart to a living universe. Open your heart to Divine love.

Know that if you can’t get what you need from one person or place, it is because the universe has something or someone better for your needs and your growth.

Who and what are you connected to? Are you willing to become connected to the universe?

Open your heart, your mind, your soul, and let the universe teach you about Divine love. Stop limiting your source to only one person. Open to a limitless source of support and energy. Open to the universe.

**************************************************

More language of letting go

Say when it’s time to focus

I was getting ready to make a skydive. I had a lot going on at the time– problems with construction workers, some phone calls I needed to make.

“Put it all aside for right now,” Andy, my jump master said. “The only thing in the world you’re going to focus on for the next hour is the skydive you’re going to make. You don’t want to be jumping out of that plane with other stuff going on in your mind.”

I did what he said. I deliberately pushed aside all other thoughts of people, what they were feeling, what I had to do, and how they were going to respond.

“That’s one of the benefits of skydiving,” Andy said. “It’s really taught me to focus my mind.”

Sometimes we get interrupted. Sometimes it’s good to let our consciousness flow and our minds wander. Sometimes it’s time to focus on one task and let others care and ideas slip away. We have so much power in this marvelous world. One of the powers available to us is dedication, commitment, and focus on the task at hand.

Learn to focus on one thing you want to do. If you’ve been struggling with and procrastinating about something, make a commitment to focusing on that task until it’s done.

God, help me learn to focus my energies on the essential tasks at hand.

**************************************************

Capturing Life’s Flavor
Taking a Field Trip by Madisyn Taylor

Adding variety to your life in the form of a field trip can break up the monotony of your days and lead you to adventure.

When we were children, few words were more exciting to hear than the phrase “field trip.” Field trips were a break from schoolwork and an opportunity to go on an adventure with friends. Now that we are grown ups, taking a field trip can be just as fun and memorable – if only we were willing to sign our own permission slips so we could go on one.

Allowing yourself to get stuck in your routine can make life seem boring. Adding a touch of variety to your life in the form of a field trip can break up the monotony of your days and lead you to adventure. Unlike the jaunts that were regulated by teachers or monitored by parents, taking a field trip as an adult can lead you anywhere you want. You can go on a daylong retreat or spend just a few hours at your destination. A field trip can be an opportunity to explore a new landscape or discover something about yourself. Taking a day trip to another town or visiting an unfamiliar spot in your neighborhood can be educational and fun. There is also much to be said for finding a beautiful spot under a tree where you can read a book. You can even go to one of your favorite spots and allow yourself to experience it as if you were visiting there for the first time. Going on a field trip is as much a state of mind as it is a change in the scenery.

During a “grown up” field trip, schedules, clocks, and duties are put aside so you can focus wholeheartedly on mindfully enjoying yourself. Planning a field trip can be almost as fun as going on one. A field trip is an excursion to look forward to and an experience to be savored after the fact. Wherever you decide to go and whatever you decide to do, going on a field trip can add much pleasure and excitement to your life. Published with permission from Daily OM

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

We’ve all had times when we felt alienated, when it seemed we had nowhere to turn and no one to turn to. When we don’t know which way to turn, when there seems to be no one to help us, even then we’re not alone or without help, the presence of God is always with us. When we need strength or courage or comfort, God is there with us as the help we need. Even before we turn to God, His love reaches out to us; His loving Spirit in us hears our cry and answers us. Do I truly believe that I no longer need be alone?

Today I Pray

May I never be alone, even in a place by myself, if I take time to talk to my Higher Power. May He be my companion, my joy, my ever-present help in trouble. May the knowledge of His constant presence fill me with calm, so that I will not fear either the solitude of my own room or alienation in a roomful of people.

Today I Will Remember

Listen for the presence of God.

**************************************************

One More Day

Very few live by choice. Every man is placed in his present condition by causes which acted without his foresight, and with which he did not always willingly operate.
– Samuel Johnson

How does a person cope with a chronic illness? Our lives are formed by the events around us; these events often move forward of their own volition, without our permission or even our willingness. Now that the problem is obvious, living with that change will test our characters.

Those of us who have learned to cope with radically altered lifestyles and who can still love, laugh, and cry are survivors. We may not like our portion in life, but we are determined to handle it well.

I haven’t chosen all the changes in my life, but I can choose to accept the changes and to live a warm and sharing life.

************************************

Food For Thought

Patience

The person who is a compulsive overeater is often someone who wants what he or she wants right now, if not before. When we take inventory, many of us realize that impatience is one of our most troublesome character defects. We are impatient with other people when they do not see things our way, we are impatient with the slowness of weight loss, and we are impatient when we do not seem to be making emotional and spiritual progress.

Cultivating patience helps us tremendously with our program. We grow in patience when we give God control of our lives and decide to live according to His timetable. If we accept what happens to us as the will of a Higher Power, we are better able to treat even the unpleasant situations as learning experiences. We become more patient with ourselves when we view our failures as opportunities to try again.

Fruitful growth is slow. Only weeds grow quickly. Acknowledging powerlessness builds the patience to persevere with what we can do and the faith to leave the results to God.

Trusting in You, may I learn patience.

*****************************************

One Day At A Time

Serenity
"Serenity is not freedom from the storm,
but peace amid the storm."
Anonymous Quote

Why is serenity so important to our recovery? Because darkness cannotexist where there is light! If we can maintain a serene state of mind as established through our faith in HP and the BB Promises, negative emotions and behaviour will have no power over us. Stress, fear, compulsiveness, obsessiveness, resentment, guilt, shame, willfulness, doubt, distrust, greed and envy, have no power over a mind that is kept in serene repose. Serenity allows us to see situations clearly and makewise decisions. Most importantly, by maintaining a serene mind, we keep the door to our High Power open.

One Day at a Time . . .
I will face each challenge with grace and serenity.
~ Rob R.

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

I do not hold with those who believe that alcoholism is entirely a problem of the mental control. I have had many men who had, for example, worked a period of months on some problem or business deal which was to be settled on a certain date, favorably to them. They took a drink a day or so prior to the date, and the phenomenon of craving at once became paramount to all other interests so that the important appointment was not met. These men were not drinking to escape; they were drinking to overcome a craving beyond their mental control. - Pgs. xxix-xxx - 4th. Edition - The Doctors Opinion

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

We all share fear. Fear is at the root of our illness. The conquest of fear is the greatest labor of the newly sober.

I offer my fear to my Higher Power, God as I understand You.

I Am Not Alone

Today, I know that, with God's help, I can do anything I need to do. When I feel alone or shaken up, I can ask for help within myself and know that it is there. Each of us is ultimately alone. Each of us has to learn our own lessons; that is, what we are here to do. We can't learn anyone else's lessons for them, and learning our own is difficult enough. To plow through my own psyche and face the insecurity and wounds that are there is all that I can handle. To try to live other people's lives for them is to separate myself from God because my first access to God is through and within me.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Living life on life's terms,' just what does this mean to us? It doesn't mean we will get a brownie button for every day we stay abstinent. It simply means life can be tough and we can stay sober if we chose to live by principle.

'Don't you worry none, just take it like it comes, one day at a time.' Song, One Day at a Time

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Religion is for those who want life after death. Spirituality is for those who want life BEFORE death!

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Nothing can stop me from feeling wonderful today. I am filled with all the wonder and splendor of the universe and I pass these on to everyone I meet.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

When I look back over my childhood, all I really remember is...Me. - Bob D.

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AA Thought for the Day

May 28

Resentments
If you have a resentment you want to be free of,
if you will pray for the person or the thing that you resent, you will be free.
If you will ask in prayer for everything you want for yourself to be given to them, you will be free.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 552

Thought to Ponder . . .
We are prisoners of our own resentments.
Forgiveness unlocks the door and sets us free.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Attitude Adjustment.

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~

Prayer
"On awakening let us think about
the twenty-four hours ahead.
We consider our plans for the day.
Before we begin,
we ask God to direct our thinking,
especially asking that it be
divorced from self-pity,
dishonest or self-seeking motives."
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 86

Thought to Consider . . .
Faith dares the soul to go beyond
what the eyes can see.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
CRAP
Carry Resentments Against People

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

Humility
STEP FIVE: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
"Another great dividend we may expect from confiding our defects to another human being is humility a word often
misunderstood. To those who have made progress in A.A., it amounts to a clear recognition of what and who we really
are, followed by a sincere attempt to become what we could be. Therefore, our first practical move toward humility
must consist of recognizing our deficiencies."
1952, AAWS, Inc.; Printed 2005; Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pg. 58

*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"The most beautiful gifts of my life come to me in packages I do not recognize at first glance. In fact, I often don't see
them until I've stumbled over them. Yet I know that when I go about my business in service to AA and to others these
gifts will appear, usually in the most unexpected places."
Costa Mesa, Calif., February 1993
"The Gift of Sobriety,"
AA Grapevine

~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*

"'There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which
is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in
everlasting ignorance, that principle is contempt prior to
investigation.'"
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Appendice II, Spiritual
Experience, pg. 568

"Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and
fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We
discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we
have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone
we can help. Love and tolerance of others is our code."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 84

To escape looking at the wrongs we have done another, we resentfully focus on the wrong he has done us.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 78

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

When I am felling depressed, I repeat to myself statements such as these: 'Pain is the touchstone of progress.'...'Fear
no evil....'This, too, will pass.'...'This experience can be turned to benefit.'
These fragments of prayer bring far more than mere comfort. They keep me on the track of right acceptance; they
break up my compulsive themes of guilt, depression, rebellion, and pride; and sometimes they endow me with the
courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. GRAPEVINE, MARCH 1962

Prayer For The Day: Dear Lord, our time on earth is short. Please help me realize that it is not the amount of time, but the quality of the time I spend that counts.