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Old 07-15-2016, 08:02 AM   #15
bluidkiti
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July 15

Step by Step

" ...(T)he actual or potential alcoholic, with hardly an exception, will be absolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of self-knowledge. This is a point we wish to emphasize and re-emphasize, to smash home upon our alcoholic readers as it has been revealed to us out of bitter experience." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 3 ("More About Alcoholism"), p 39.

Today, the experience - "unable to stop drinking on the basis of self-knowledge" - serves as an omen that I cannot continue to drink even though I may still have some power to abstain for even long periods of time. But eventually that ability to abstain will be gone. Noting that the text of the program speaks not only to the alcoholic but also to the potential one, I must give up any egotistical thoughts that I am the exception to it. "Self-knowledge" did little to spare me the ravages of full alcoholism. Today, pray that I listen to the knowledge of others. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

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~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

PREJUDICE

There is a principle which is a bar against all information, . . . and which cannot fail to keep [us] in everlasting ignorance-—that principle is contempt prior to investigation.

~ Herbert Spencer ~

When we were introduced to the Program, we were full of prejudices. We thought the members were some sort of religious cult, that they were a bunch of freaks, that they were self-righteous quitters who just couldn't handle their use, that they didn't know what they were talking about, that they couldn't possibly have had the problems we had because they all looked so happy.

Then the members started to speak. What they said and how they said it showed us immediately that we had prejudged them. They were spiritual, not religious; they had been where we were; they knew what they were talking about: they still had problems, but they were handling them. We began to want what they had. Our prejudices began to be removed.

I am learning to wait and see what the truth is, instead of relying on old ideas and prejudices I once held.

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~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

We haven’t needed to direct our minds consciously all that much until now, and we haven’t really understood the delicacy and absolute necessity of doing so— until now.

~ Robert Ornstein ~

When we are highly alert to this very moment and we feel the importance of focusing our conscious minds, we are in a spiritual space. Our spiritual development grows along these lines—we become more and more skilled at centering our senses and our consciousness in this moment. This is how our calmness and serenity grow.

We know that our health and survival depend upon our spiritual growth. It is urgent for us, and for those that we love, that we become better, more serene men. We can practice this by always being mindful of the concrete truths around us, and by doing just one thing at a time. When we eat, we are aware of the flavors and textures of our food. When we wash the dishes, we focus our mind on just washing the dishes. Multitasking does not advance our spiritual growth or serenity. Calmness comes when we focus our minds and allow all distractions to fall away.

Today is the day I am alive, and in this day I will practice focusing my consciousness.

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~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

Before a geographical change can improve your life, you need to leave old thoughts and habits behind or you’ll have the same problems in a new town.

~ Anne Marie Nelson ~

We can’t escape ourselves. Who we are tags along wherever we go. A spiteful attitude follows us to a new location. Self-pity doesn’t leave us just because we change jobs. And our expectation of failure won’t die just because we end a relationship. However, we can change our attitude, we can free ourselves of self-pity, and we can expect success when we take charge of who we are. Changing our external world can’t do it. Changing our internal world guarantees it.

But aren’t we simply who we are? How many times have we said, or heard others say, “That’s just who I am,” as though all hope of being different is out of the question? While it is true that we are who we are, who we want to be is always in our control. We have the power to change any aspect of our character.

My old habits have been discarded. I have no reason to pick them up today. The new me is here.

My few close, lasting friends are precious to me.

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~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I am getting honest

I couldn’t face my dual disorder at first, it was too confusing and threatening. I denied it to myself and to others. For example, I kept using street drugs, even when I was first in treatment, to reduce my psychological and psychiatric symptoms.

But having made a commitment to recovery I am coming to see how much it can help when I admit my weaknesses, my liabilities, to myself. It leaves me open to change. And when I tell another person about these liabilities, I find out that I am still OK, that I'm not a bad person after all. When I am honest and open, I no longer feel so alone. Instead, I feel forgiven and accepted.

I will use my journal and write down two secrets about myself that I haven't told anyone yet.

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~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And ne’er a word said she;
But, Oh, the things I learned from her
When Sorrow walked with me!

~ Robert Browning Hamilton ~

We may think that forgetting the past is essential for growth and peace of mind. It’s a tempting idea: we’ll start over again, we think, fresh and new. But if we lose that old pain, we’ll also lose all that we learned. We may repeat our mistakes, or make even worse ones next time. Dwelling on the past is equally dangerous. We began recovery to build a better life.

To find and maintain our balance, each area of our lives needs attention. A healthy mind in a healthy body is free to find God. And, with God’s help, we can learn to recognize and forgive our past mistakes, while we keep the remarkable lessons we learned from life.

With our remembering, with our inventory, we can truly experience the repentance that frees us from regret and remorse. When we acknowledge our mistakes, we can learn from them and come to forgive ourselves.

Today help me use my memories to learn and change. Help me to forgive my past.

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~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

We’ve removed the ceiling above our dreams. There are no more impossible dreams.

~ Jesse Jackson ~

There are “if only” dreams in life and “what if” dreams. When you were using, your dreams were most likely “if onlys,” such as “If only I didn’t spend so much money gambling, I would be able to go away on vacation” or “If only I didn’t drink, I would be spending more time with my partner and kids.”

“If only” dreams are based upon regret and fault-finding. They are perfect mechanisms for self-blame—a sure-fire method for ensuring your dreams cannot come true.

“What if” dreams, on the other hand, are based upon possibilities and hope for the future. They focus on the things you want to do and will do to make a dream come true. “What if I saved a little bit of money each week— then I could go away for a weekend” or “What if I set aside one night during the week and one weekend afternoon to spend time with my kids—then we could get to know each other better.” When you think of your dreams as “what ifs,” you free them of any limitations. You make yourself an active participant in making them happen.

I will dream, and then I will act upon these dreams to make them happen.

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~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

It was like a revelation to me, taking complete responsibility for one's own actions.

~ Cary Grant ~

All our lives we may have looked for someone to take care of us. This may have begun with our parents, then continued when we formed relationships. We may have found life was easier when someone else took responsibility for our finances, obligations, and emotional health. Whenever someone left us, we may have quickly latched onto someone new so we didn’t have to feel the burden of taking responsibility.

The program teaches us that we are the only ones who can take care of us. After entering the program we may feel like we're suddenly stripped bare, vulnerable to the whole world of responsibility: bill paying, social obligations, career decisions, health, and fitness.

We may not know all we need to know about taking responsibility for ourselves, but we're learning. Every time we do something on our own, for ourselves, we are that much closer to responsible living.

I can take responsibility for many parts of my life. When I don't know how to do something I can ask for help from others.

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~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Paying for freedom

Henry David Thoreau said, “The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.” The price we paid for using alcohol and other drugs was our freedom. We finally realized that it costs too much to feel oblivious. The price became so high that we could no longer barter with mood-altering chemicals for our time and freedom. The chemicals had absolute control.

Unless we wake up and pay the price for freedom—which is spiritual growth—we will be a slave to chemicals until death. But if we turn our lives over to God, all the liberty we need is made available to us.

Am I paying the right price for my freedom?

Higher Power, help me always to remember that the cost of using chemicals in my life is much too high.

Today I will pay for greater freedom by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

Life is not an easy thing to embrace, like trying to hug an elephant.

~ DIANE WAKOSKI ~

Newcomer

I sat through a meeting today in anger. It started when I walked in and saw who was up there speaking—someone I know and don’t trust. She did everything her way and I didn’t hear much program, at least as I know it. I feel ashamed of having that reaction, especially at this point in recovery, but that’s how I felt.

Sponsor

Thanks for your honesty. Most of us in recovery have strong feelings of resistance at one time or another. I’ve certainly experienced the kind you’re talking about. Sometimes we all want what we want when we want it.

Recovery doesn’t always come wrapped in the package I was hoping for. I blame my negative mood on other people in the room. I start taking inventory of others, and no one sounds sober enough for me.

As in any group of people, there are some we relate to with more ease, others with more difficulty. Over time, as we let go of criticism, our acceptance of others helps us to accept our whole selves.

Today, I see myself in others. I look and listen with compassion.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Suspicion, and its first cousin, jealousy, are the world's most bitter poisons. They are compounded from surmise, rumor, and malicious gossip and are mixed in the retort of confused and unsure minds.

They serve no useful purpose on earth, but they torture all who possess them, It is much better for a person to have his worst fears justified than to live with unproven suspicions.

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~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

Teach Me

Dear God, teach me to listen to Your many blessings.
Steer my life toward Your will and the tranquil haven You provide for all storm-tossed souls.
Show me the course I should take.
Renew a willing spirit within me.
Let Your spirit curb my wayward senses.
Enable me unto that which is my true good, to keep Your laws and, in all my works, to rejoice in Your glorious presence.

~ Adapted from writings by St. Basil the Great ~

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~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

CHILDREN OF THE MOST HIGH

Read Matthew 7:7-11.

This is the wonderful passage in which Jesus enunciates the primary truth of the Fatherhood of God. He says here, definitely and clearly, that the real relationship of God and man is that of parent and child. It is extremely difficult to realize the far-reaching importance that this declaration holds for the life of the soul.

It is axiomatic, of course, that the offspring must be of the same nature and species as the parent; and so if God and man are indeed Father and child, man must be essentially divine too, and susceptible of infinite development up the rising pathway of divinity. That is to say, as man's true nature unfolds, he will expand in spiritual consciousness until he has transcended all bounds of human imagination. It is in reference to our glorious destiny, that Jesus himself says elsewhere, quoting the older scriptures:

Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God come, and the scripture cannot be broken . . . (John 10:34-35).

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~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

Easy Way Out

Teach only love, for that is what you are.

~ A Course in Miracles ~

I saw a news story about a woman named Elsa who had been held hostage by an escaped criminal. Robert, a man fleeing from the police, broke into Elsa's country home and held her captive at gunpoint while a large SWAT team surrounded her home with an arsenal of firearms. Fortunately, Elsa was a psychologist, and she applied her listening skills to her interactions with this man. Over the two days that Robert occupied her home, Elsa did her best not to panic, and invited him to speak of the pain in his life. Quickly, she recognized that he was like a frightened beast trying to escape from his own wounds. She showed him kindness and cooked for him. As a result of their conversations, Robert calmed down and turned himself in, leaving her unharmed. When he was being tried, Elsa testified on his behalf stating that he was acting out of fear and desperation. When Robert went to prison, Elsa visited him, and when he got out, she became his friend, a compassionate listener. Both Elsa and Robert reported that although their initial encounter was extremely dangerous for both of them, they felt grateful that they had dealt with it as they had.

The choice for peace is always empowering. When we refuse to give in to fear, we are able to see solutions that we would miss in hysteria. Any situation can lead to great pain or great freedom, depending on how we handle it. Even a hardened criminal can be healed and corrected with the touch of love. Practice being kind in situations where you are tempted to panic; that is how to become a true miracle worker.

Help me to remember that love works better than fear.

I can find the heart of anyone I seek to reach.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K.
When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt
We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time!
God says that each of us is worth loving.
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