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

As Bill Sees It

Fear And Faith, p.263

The achievement of freedom from fear is a lifetime undertaking, one
that can never be wholly completed.

When under heavy attack, acute illness, or in other conditions of
serious insecurity, we shall all react to this emotion--well or badly, as
the case may be. Only the self-deceived will claim perfect freedom
from fear.

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

We finally saw that faith in some kind of God was a part of our
make-up. Sometimes we had to search persistently, but He was
there. He was as much a fact as we were. We found the Great
Reality deep down within us.

1. Grapevine, January 1962
2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p.55

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

Walk In Dry Places

The Good that I do____ Action
Why do we hold back when we’re offered the opportunity to help others or to do something unusually kind?  Why is it that many people are reluctant to give of themselves unless rewarded with recognition or praise?
We may hold back because we do not understand that any good action always brings its own reward. Despite Shakespeare’s timeless saying, the good we do is not “interred with our bones”… it does survive, now and in the future.
We’ve learned in Twelve Step programs that it’s not really satisfying to work only for recognition and praise.  There also has to be a confident feeling that our efforts are contributing to a large good with a worthwhile purpose.  That’s what makes AA so special to people who are completely devoted to it… we know that anything done for AA makes the world a better place.
We should also know that those who can help others are fortunate, well-favored people.  Others may want to help, but lack the tools.  We have the tools to give the help that changes lives----  and the world.
The good that I do today is a treasure I’ll always possess.

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

Keep It Simple
 
Love doesn’t make the world go around. Love is what makes the
ride worthwhile. ---Franklin Jones
Before recovery, anger, self-pity, and sadness often filled our hearts.
The world went on. We came to hate the ride.
In recovery, love fills our hearts. We begin to love life. Love is really
caring about what happens to other people. Love is what makes the
ride worth it
We find much love in our program. People really mater to us. We really
matter to others. For many of us, we learn how to love in our meetings.
The program teaches love because the program is love.
Prayer for the Day:  I pray that I’ll welcome love into my heart and
others into my life. Love brings me closer to my Higher Power.
Action for the Day:  I’ll list all the people I love and why they matter
to me.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

Praise and an attitude of gratitude are unbeatable stimulators . . .
we increase whatever we extol.  --Sylvia Stitt Edwards
What outlook are we carrying forth into the day ahead? Are we feeling
fearful about the circumstances confronting us? Do we dread a planned
meeting? Are we worried about the welfare of a friend or lover?
Whatever our present outlook, its power over the outcome of our day
is profound. Our attitude in regard to any situation attracting our attention
influences the outcome. Sometimes to our favor, often to our disfavor if
our attitude is negative.
Thankfulness toward life guarantees the rewards we desire, the rewards
we seek too often from an ungrateful stance. The feeling of gratitude is
foreign to many of us. We came to this program feeling worthless,
sometimes rejected, frequently depressed. It seemed life had heaped
problems in our laps, and so it had. The more we lamented what life
"gave us," the more reasons we were given to lament. We got just
what we expected. We still get just what we expect. The difference is
that the program has offered us the key to higher expectations.
Gratitude for the good in our lives increases the good.
I have the personal power to influence my day; I will make it a good one.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

PREFACE

Because this book has become the basic text for our Society and had helped such large numbers of alcoholic men and women to recovery, there exists strong sentiment against any radical changes being made in it.  Therefore, the first portion of this volume, describing the A.A. recovery program, has been left untouched in the course of revisions made for the second, third, and fourth editions.  The section called "The Doctor's Opinion" has been kept intact, just as it was originally written in 1939 by the late Dr. William D. Silkworth, our Society's great medical benefactor.

p. xi

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Stories

My Chance To Live

A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.

In no time at all I had arrived, or so I thought.  I had a bunch of friends to hang around with.  We did exciting things:  skipping school, taking road trips, drinking were all part of this new life.  It was great for a while.  Getting hauled into the principal's office or being questioned by the police, things I would have been ashamed of before, were badges of honor.  My ability to come through these events without giving away information or being unnerved brought me respect and trust among my peers.

p. 311

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Eleven - "Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films."

Let's see how these two contrasting ideas--attraction and promotion--work out. A political party wishes to win an election, so it advertises the virtues of its leadership to draw votes. A worthy charity wants to raise money; forthwith, its letterhead shows the name of every distinguished person who support can be obtained. Much of the political, economic, and religious life of the world is dependent upon publicized leadership. People who symbolize causes and ideas fill a deep human need. We of A.A. do not question that. But we do have to soberly face the fact that being in the public eye is hazardous, especially for us. By temperament, nearly every one of us had been an irrepressible promoter, and the prospect of a society composed almost entirely of promoters was frightening. Considering this explosive factor, we knew we had to exercise self-restraint.

p. 181

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

Four steps to achievement:
Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue
persistently.
--William A. Ward

Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up
and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.
You wait and watch and work: you don't give up.
--Anne Lamott

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase,
just take the first step.
--Martin Luther King Jr.

Forget mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what
you're going to do now and do it. Today is your lucky day.
--Will Durant

Laughter is the sound of recovery.

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

ACTION

"I shall pass through this world
but once. If, therefore, there be
any kindness I can show, or any
good thing I can do, let me do it
now; let me not defer it or
neglect it, for I shall not pass
this way again."
-- Etienne de Grellet

Today I know that God requires me to be involved in my recovery and
sobriety. God has always wanted me to be sober but the miracle took
place when I wanted it, too. His hands were always extended towards
me, the miracle happened when I chose to embrace Him. My sobriety
involves me.

Today I understand that sobriety is more than "not picking up the first
drink"; it involves quiet acts of kindness to myself and others. God
works through me -- through my hands, my smile, my voice, my love
and my acceptance. When an opportunity arises for me to be
ordinarily kind, I intend to give it; God knows I have needed such
kindnesses from others in the past.

May I never avoid an opportunity for shared healing.

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

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits and in His word I put my hope.
Psalm 130 : 5

"Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and
from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and
love."
2 John 1:3

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

Daily Inspiration

Spend less time on the dreams of life and more time on the joys of living.
Lord, help me to view my troubles as smaller than they are until together
we make them disappear.

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

NA Just For Today

Prayer

"Prayer takes practice, and we should remind ourselves that skilled people were not born with their skills."
Basic Text, p.45

Many of us came into recovery with no experience in prayer and worried about not knowing the "right words!" Some of us remembered the words we'd learned in childhood but weren't sure we believed in those words anymore. Whatever our background, in recovery we struggled to find words that spoke truly from our hearts.

Often the first prayer we attempt Is a simple request to our Higher Power asking for help in staying clean each day. We may ask for guidance and courage or simply pray for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out. If we find ourselves stumbling in our prayers, we may ask other members to share with us about how they learned to pray. No matter whether we pray in need or pray in joy, the important thing is to keep making the effort.

Our prayers will be shaped by our experience with the Twelve Steps and our personal understanding of a Higher Power. As our relationship with that Higher Power develops, we become more comfortable with prayer. In time, prayer becomes a source of strength and comfort. We seek that source often and willingly.

Just for today: I know that prayer can be simple. I will start where I am and practice.
pg. 275

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

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Silently one by one
in the infinite meadows of heaven
Blossomed the lovely stars,
the forget-me-nots of angels.
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Tales told about the stars reflect a lot about the people who tell them. The constellation now called Orion was once called Hippolyta. Hippolyta was one of the Amazon queens. The Amazons were women warriors who had four leaders instead of one: two older women and two younger women. Everyone could benefit from the experience and wisdom of the older and the strength and vigor of the younger.
After Hippolyta died, they named this constellation for her to honor her and remind themselves of her wisdom and bravery.
We can draw a good lesson from the value the Amazons placed on the contribution each one could make, no matter how young or old. When we remain alert to the possibility of learning from people we hadn't seriously considered as teachers, we are reminded of our often forgotten value to others.
What can I offer in wisdom or strength to others today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
He underwent a nine and a half hour operation. On the eighth day his wife picked him up from the hospital and said, "You want to go home?" to which he replied, "No, I want to go to the office." --Herb Goldberg
What is it that drives us men to such extremes in our work? Are we afraid of the intimacy we could develop with those who love us and whom we love? Are we driven to prove over and over that some old painful self-doubt is untrue? Is this how we feel masculine? Or are we trying to control our addictive problems by constant work? Perhaps we still have more to learn about surrender and powerlessness.
It is especially common to recovering men that the excesses of work unconsciously replace the excesses of addiction and codependency. This too is an unhealthy escape. We must confront our relationship to work if we are to continue on our path of spiritual awakening. It is good to have some unplanned, unstructured time in each day.
Today, help me remember that being good at my work is only one of my qualities.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Praise and an attitude of gratitude are unbeatable stimulators . . . we increase whatever we extol. --Sylvia Stitt Edwards
What outlook are we carrying forth into the day ahead? Are we feeling fearful about the circumstances confronting us? Do we dread a planned meeting? Are we worried about the welfare of a friend or lover? Whatever our present outlook, its power over the outcome of our day is profound. Our attitude in regard to any situation attracting our attention influences the outcome. Sometimes to our favor, often to our disfavor if our attitude is negative.
Thankfulness toward life guarantees the rewards we desire, the rewards we seek too often from an ungrateful stance. The feeling of gratitude is foreign to many of us. We came to this program feeling worthless, sometimes rejected, frequently depressed. It seemed life had heaped problems in our laps, and so it had. The more we lamented what life "gave us," the more reasons we were given to lament. We got just what we expected. We still get just what we expect. The difference is that the program has offered us the key to higher expectations. Gratitude for the good in our lives increases the good.
I have the personal power to influence my day; I will make it a good one.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Letting Go of Urgency
One thing at a time.
That's all we have to do. Not two things at once, but one thing done in peace.
One task at a time. One feeling at a time. One day at a time. One problem at a time. One step at a time.
One pleasure at a time.
Relax. Let go of urgency. Begin calmly now. Take one thing at a time.
See how everything works out?
Today, I will peacefully approach one thing at a time. When in doubt, I will take first things first.


Today I am taking whatever comes in my stride. Today I know I can handle any change, any surprise, anything as long as I remember that my Higher Power is with me and I am never alone. --Ruth Fishel

******************************
Journey To The Heart

Appreciate Your Sensuality

Learn to appreciate and enjoy your sensuality.

Caress the petals of a gentle magnolia blossom. Inhale its scent. Touch the stem of a rose and carefully feel its thorns. Put our finger on a cactus. Sit down and feel the grass. Touch a tree, put your hand on the craggy rough bark and hold it there for a while. Cradle a rock in your hands, hold it close until you feel its temperature, its texture. Then place the rock next to your cheek and see what it feels like there. Feel the difference between a cotton sheet and a soft woolen blanket. Feel how water feels on your skin, or how the warm night air caresses your face. Touch a baby’s foot.

Learn to appreciate your sensuality. It will open you up to the energy of the world around you. It will open you to the life, passion, creativity, and textures within yourself.

*****

more language of letting go
Revere your connections

Things derive their being and nature from mutual dependence and are nothing by themselves.
--Nagarjuna

We are dependent on much around us, not just for our survival, but for our joy. We need food, water, and the company of our fellow travelers on this great journey.

We can be self-sufficient in our attitude to take care of ourselves, yet we need the world around us in order to live and to be fully alive.

We are one part of a whole. We are a complete part, but nonetheless, a part. We need the other parts. The other parts need us.

Just as we're influenced and impacted by those who touch us, we influence and impact them with our thoughts, words, and behaviors. We cannot control others. Look at the difference in our relationships when we speak gently and lovingly, and when we scream.

While it is great to revel in the blessing of existence, the world becomes more interesting and alive when we recognize everyone and everything else in it,too. This body cannot be without the sustenance of food, and our soul's experience here would be greatly reduced were it not for the company of other spirits we have met.

While we do not need to live up to anyone's expectations of us, we need to remember that our actions will impact those around us. Yes, we have the liberty to think, feel, and behave however we choose. But what we do will touch the lives of others.

We are not responsible for other people. But we have responsibilities to them.

Revel in your freedom. But revere and honor your connection to the world around you. Take responsibility for how you touch and connect with everything and everyone in your life today.

Live reverently, compassionately, and respectfully toward yourself and all else in the world.

God, give me reverence and respect for all life.

*****

Opening the Channels of Communication
Dealing with Difficult People by Madisyn Taylor

When dealing with a difficult person, try not to be judgmental or defensive in your conversation with them.

We encounter a wide variety of people throughout our lives. Many of them touch us in some positive way. Occasionally, however, we encounter those individuals who, for whatever reason, can be difficult to deal with. Perhaps this person is a colleague or close friend that you feel is deliberately being obtuse, inviting in trouble, or doing foolish things that you find annoying. Sometimes, it may be possible to appease or avoid those people short term. Dealing with them in the long term, however, can be exhausting. The behavior of difficult people can even make you feel like losing your temper, but keep your cool. Staying calm is the first step, especially when you are ready to confront them.

Avoiding a difficult person can improve impossible and not in your best interest, especially if you live or work together. Likewise, attempts to steer clear of them can become a source of stress and anxiety when they are a part of your social circle. When this is the case, it is best to kindly address the problem. Try not to let their actions or mood affect you. You also may want to try expressing your feelings directly. Tell to the person how their actions make you feel and encourage them toward a more positive course of action. Speak assertively, but respectfully, and don’t portray yourself as a victim. Another approach for dealing with a difficult individual is to gain a deeper understanding of who that person is. Ask them why they do or say certain things. If you disagree with their motives, question them further so you can try and discover the root of their behaviors. In doing so, you may be able to gently shift their perceptions, or at least help them understand your ! point of view.

You may want to think about what you want to say to a difficult person before you actually talk to them. If you can, avoid being judgmental or defensive, and try to approach the conversation objectively. If the person is open to the idea, try coming to an agreement. If approaching them fails, let it go and move on. There is no reason to let a difficult person or situation have power over your state of being. Remember that a lot can be accomplished when you take the time to listen and offer up alternative perspectives. Published with permission from Daily OM

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

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

I’ve heard it said that when God closes a door, He opens a window. Since I started working the Twelve Steps, much of the fear and pain that haunted my life is gone. Some of my defects have been lifted from me, though I’m still wrestling with others. I believe that if I continue to work the Twelve Steps over and over again, my life will continue to improve — physically, mentally, and spiritually. Am I more willing and better able to help others by working the Steps myself?

Today I Pray

I give thanks to God for showing me that the Twelve Steps are a stairway to a saner life. As I re-work them conscientiously, my life does get better, healthier and nearer to my Higher Power. As I continue to live them, may I feel the same gratitude and exaltation of spirit as those who are just now discovering them.

Today I Will Remember

Step by Step, day by day.

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

One More Day

….Summer coming to an end. So we all try to keep it awake and stretch it out by squeezing in all the boating, picnicking, swimming. Sun, I crave all year.
– Sister Mary Kraemer

As the days begin to shorten and become cooler, we may suddenly be struck by the realization that the summer is over. With that thought might come the need to fill the last warm days with many activities we postponed or, perhaps, forgot. At times like these, we may sense the need to hang on a little longer to the summer.

We do the same thing in other areas of our lives. At the moment we realize we are about to lose something very precious, that is when we value it most. Just before a dear friend moves away, we try to fill our days with togetherness. Knowing this can help us use our time more wisely and remind us to see the value in everyone and everything around us.

I will let others know I value them, and why.

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

Food For Thought

Trusting Gut Reactions

Since we could not trust ourselves where food was concerned, we had trouble trusting ourselves in all aspects of life. We became divided internally and unsure of what we thought or how we felt or how we should act. We may have depended on other people to tell us what we liked, what to do, and how to do it.

It is with a great sense of joy that we become aware of our own individuality and preferences. If we experience a negative gut reaction to a certain person or activity, then we need to examine our reasons for continuing the relationship or activity. We do not have to like everyone, nor do we have to do everything. The sooner we become selective, the more we develop as individuals and the more integrity we possess. If we continually force ourselves to do things, which violate our inner integrity, then we are frustrated and growth is slow.

Gut reactions need to be examined calmly and intelligently. They are there to tell us something about ourselves.

Give me a healthy respect for my gut reactions.

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

One Day At A Time

~ New Worlds ~
Each friend represents a world in us,
a world possibly not born until they arrive,
and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.
Anais Nin

Most of us are so compulsive at almost everything we do, that allowing people in to know our garbage of the past and present is unheard of.

You go to a meeting, find a new recovery friend and that friend opens a new door. You and that friend step through and WOW ... the world in that room looks great! Later at another meeting, you meet another recovery friend and another door is opened. You and your two new friends step through and you find an even better world view. This continues to happen meeting after meeting, step after step, room after room and your personal lives begins to look much brighter and more beautiful, like there really is hope.

Funny how it's still the same world but friends, recovery and Higher Power make it a much better worldly view.

One Day at a Time . . .
I will never end this beautiful cycle of finding new worlds as long as I never lose sight of my Higher Power, my recovery friends and my recovery program.
~ Jeanette ~

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

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

If he is sincerely interested and wants to see you again, ask him to read this book in the interval. After doing that, he must decide for himself whether he wants to go on. He should not be pushed or prodded by you, his wife, or his friends. If he is to find God, the desire must come from within.
If he thinks he can do the job in some other way, or prefers some other spiritual approach, encourage him to follow his own conscience. We have no monopoly on God; we merely have an approach that worked with us. But point out that we alcoholics have much in common and that you would like, in any case, to be friendly. Let it go at that. - Pg. 95 - Working With Others

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

If you were the helper and not the helpee, how would you like the person you were working with to behave? Are you acting in a manner consistent with what you believe is right?

Help me act in the same manner I would have others act with me under the same circumstances.

Silver Linings

I search for silver linings, for the deeper meaning of the events in my life. Life is my teacher if I can learn to read the subtle messages that are laced into the circumstances that I co-create around me. I will look for the lesson. When life offers up its inevitable challenges, I will try to understand what I am meant to see that I am not seeing, what I am meant to hear that I am not hearing, what I am meant to know that I am not knowing. There is always a silver lining if I look for it. Even if I don't see it readily, I trust that it is there and that it will reveal itself to me over time. Life isn't simple. One of the ways that I can grow from life's adversities, is to see what is positive about a difficult situation, to look for the silver lining. I can grow in joy and in pain. It doesn't need to be one or the other because pain can transform into joy. It can be the fire that clears the field for new and tender growth.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Do you like being lied to? Didn't think so. Yet how many times have you said, 'I'm fine' or 'Everything's OK' when it's not? When your friends ask how you are, they deserve not to be lied to. When you lie to others, you lie to yourself.

I am authentic with others and thus myself.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

If you want to know God's will, spend time with Him.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I am taking whatever comes in my stride.

Today I know I can handle any change, any surprise, anything as long as I remember that my Higher Power is with me and I am never alone.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I'd wake up in the morning and my mind would be waiting like a vulture on the bed head: 'Good, I've been waiting for you.' - And it never told me anything positive. - Bob E.

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

AA Thought for the Day

September 21

No Regrets
The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it. . .
If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through.
We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.
We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 83

Thought to Ponder . . .
Fear not for the future, weep not for the past.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H J F = Happy, Joyous, Free.

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

Promises
"We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.
We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.
We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace.
No matter how far down the scale we have gone,
we will see how our experience can benefit others.
That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear.
We will lose interest in selfish things
and gain interest in our fellows.
Self-seeking will slip away.
Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.
Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us.
We will intuitively know how to handle
situations which used to baffle us.
We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us
what we could not do for ourselves."
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp 83-84

Thought to Consider . . .
The Promises are a result; not a right.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
P R O G R A M = People Relying On God Relay A Message.

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

Basis
>From "A.A. Is a Philosophy":
"A religion, properly, is of divine origin; governs the person in his relationship with his Higher Power; and promises its rewards and punishments after death. A philosophy is of human origin; governs the person in his relationship with his fellowman; and promises its rewards and punishments during life. A.A., I submit, is a philosophy. If we alcoholics follow the philosophy of A.A., we can regain an understanding of our several religions. Maryland, USA"
1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 5

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

"Most of us do follow, in our personal lives, the Twelve suggested Steps to recovery ... We do this from choice. We prefer recovery to death. Then, little by little, we ... conform because we want to."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., January 1947
"Will AA Ever Have a Personal Government?"
The Language of the Heart

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

"The greatest enemies of us alcoholics are resentment, jealousy,
envy, frustration, and fear."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, To Employers, pg. 145~

Do not be discouraged if your prospect does not respond at once.
Search out another alcoholic and try again. You are sure to find
someone desperate enough to accept with eagerness what you offer.
We find it a waste of time to keep chasing a man who cannot or will
not work with you. If you leave such a person alone, he may soon
become convinced that he cannot recover by himself. To spend too much
time on any one situation is to deny some other alcoholic an
opportunity to live and be happy.
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 96~

Some of us once had great self-confidence, but it didn't fully solve the fear problem, or any other.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 68

Pride says, "You need not pass this way," and Fear says, "You dare not look!
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 49

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Sometimes, when friends tell us how well we are doing, we know better inside. We know we aren't doing well enough. We still can't handle life, as life is. There must be a serious flaw somewhere in our spiritual practice and development.
What, then, is it?
The chances are better than even that we shall locate our trouble in our misunderstanding or neglect of A.A.'s Step Eleven - prayer, meditation, and the guidance of God.
The other Steps can keep most of us sober and somehow functioning. But Step Eleven can keep us growing, if we try hard and work at it continually.

Prayer for the Day: Fellow Travelers - Higher Power, Who fills our whole life, and Whose presence we find wherever we go, preserve us who travel the road of recovery, surround us with Your loving care, protect us from every danger, and bring us safely to our journey's end.