bluidkiti
07-04-2023, 08:26 AM
God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
and Wisdom to know the difference.
Thy will, not mine, be done.
July 5
Daily Reflections
A NEW DIRECTION
Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient;
they failed utterly. . . Every day is a day when we must carry the
vision of God's will into all our activities.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.45,85
I hear talk of the "weak-willed" alcoholic, but I am one of the
strongest-willed people on earth! I now know that my incredible
strength of will is not enough to save my life. My problem is not one of
"weakness," but rather of direction. When I, without falsely
diminishing myself, accept my honest limitations and turn to God's
guidance, my worst faults become my greatest assets. My strong will,
rightly directed, keeps me working until the promises of the program
become my daily reality.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Until we came into A.A. most of us had tried desperately to stop
drinking. We were filled with the delusion that we could drink like our
friends. We tried time and again to take it or leave it, but we could do
neither. We always lapsed into ceaseless, unhappy drinking. Families,
friends, and employers threw up their hands in hurt bewilderment, in
despair, and finally in disgust. We wanted to stop. We realized that
every reason for drinking was only a crazy excuse. Have I given up
every excuse for drinking?
Meditation For The Day
Many things can upset you and you can easily get off the track. But
remember that God is near you all the time, ready to help you if you
call on Him. You cannot forever stand against God's will for you, nor
can you, forever upset God's plan for your life, even though Gods plan
may be postponed by your willfulness and deliberate choice of evil. A
whole world of men and women cannot permanently change God's
laws nor His purpose for the universe. The sea of life may look very
rough to us, but we can believe that our Captain steers the boat on a
straight course.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may try to steer a straight course. I pray that I may
accept God's direction in my life's journey.
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As Bill Sees It
"The Only Requirement. . .", p. 186
In Tradition Three, A.A. is really saying to every serious drinker, "You are an A.A. member if you say so. You can declare yourself in; nobody can keep you out. No matter how low you've gone, no matter how grave your emotional complications--even your crimes--we don't want to keep you out. We just want to be sure that you get the same
chance for sobriety that we've had."
<< << << >> >> >>
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.
1. 12 & 12, p. 139
2. Grapevine, August 1946
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Walk In Dry Places
What brings change?
Inventory.
In human affairs, vast changes sometimes take place almost spontaneously, bringing on revolutionary upheavals. What brings about such change?
These visible changes, for good or bad, occur because people come to accept new ideas. It's easy to see how this works in one person's life, but it works in the same way with socities.
The 12 Step movement is a most dramatic form of such change. We've become effective b ecause we have new forms of thinking to replace the old destructive forms that caused so much harm. Our movement will grow and develop only as long as we retain the new ways of thinging that first brought about this change.
I'll hold to the idea that my life can only be as good as the thoughts I choose.
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Keep It Simple
If at first you don't succeed, you're running about average.---Ovid
Our program speaks of spiritual progress, not perfection. We can take all the time we need. Our bottom line is steady progress. We can ask ourselves, "Am I a little more spiritual than I was a year ago? A month ago?" If the answer is yes, we're doing great. If the answer is no, we should look at why.
Our illness pushes us to be prefect. In recovery, we learn that we are free to be what we are---human. Even the world's fastest runners are average in most other areas of their lives.. This is okay. Remember, "spiritual progress, not perfection."
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I'll not be ashamed of how average I am. I'll remember I'm average---and that's good.
Action for the Day: I'll list what is average about me. I'll share this with a friend. Than I'll ask my friend what is special about me.
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Each Day a New Beginning
There are really only two ways to approach life--as victim or as gallant fighter--and you must decide if you want to act or react, deal your own cards or play with a stacked deck. And if you don't decide which way to play with life, it always plays with you.
--Merle Shain
Being the victim is, or was, uncomfortably familiar to many of us. Perhaps some of us are only now realizing we have choices, that we need not let life happen to us. Becoming responsible to ourselves, choosing behavior, beliefs, friends, activities, that please us, though unfamiliar at first, soon exhilarates us. The more choices we make, the more alive we feel. The more alive we feel, the healthier our choices.
Our aim is recovery. Recovering means participating fully in our lives. It means self-assessment and self-direction. It means trusting to move forward, step-by-step, choice-by-choice, knowing all the while that no thoughtful action can trouble us.
Many opportunities to make choices will present themselves today. The choices I make will satisfy me; they will move me toward my goal of recovery.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
BILL'S STORY
My musing was interrupted by the telephone. The cheery voice of an old school friend asked if he might come over. HE WAS SOBER. It was years since I could remember his coming to New York in that condition. I was amazed. Rumor had it that he had been committed for alcoholic insanity. I wondered how he had escaped. Of course he would have dinner, and then I could drink openly with him. Unmindful of his welfare, I thought only of recapturing the spirit of other days. There was that time we had chartered an airplane to complete a jag! His coming was an oasis in this dreary desert of futility. The very thing - an oasis! Drinkers are like that.
pp. 8-9
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
FREEDOM FROM BONDAGE - Young when she joined, this A.A. believes her serious drinking was the result of even deeper defects. She here tells how she was free.
The only importance in all of this lies in the fact that at twenty-three I was just as sick as I was at thirty-three, when I came into A.A. But at that time I apparently had not place to go because I had no drinking problem. Had I been able to explain to a psychiatrist the feelings of futility, loneliness, and lack of purpose that had come with my deep sense of personal failure at this second divorce, I seriously doubt that the good doctor could have convinced me that my basic problem was spiritual hunger. But A.A. has shown me this is the truth. And if I had been able to turn to the church at that time, I'm sure they could not have convinced me my sickness was within myself, nor could they have shown me that the need for self-analysis that A.A. has shown me is vital if I am to survive. So I had no place to go. Or so it seemed to me.
p. 546
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Five - "Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry it's message to the alcoholic who still suffers."
"I was soon sitting beside a big hulk of a man. Decidedly unfriendly, he stared at me out of eyes which were slits in his red and swollen face. I had to agree with the doctor - he certainly didn't look good. But I told him my own story. I explained what a wonderful Fellowship we had, how well we understood each other. I bore down hard on the hopelessness of the drunk's dilemma. I insisted that few drunks could ever get well on their own steam, but that in our groups we could do together what we could not do separately. He interrupted to scoff at this and asserted he'd fix his wife, his partner, and his alcoholism by himself. Sarcastically he asked, `How much does your scheme cost?'
"I was thankful I could tell him, `Nothing at all.'
p. 152
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God, guide me in making my commitments. Give me the courage to
make those that are right for me, the wisdom to not commit to that
which does not feel right, and the patience to wait until I know.
--Melody Beattie
Gratitude is our most direct line to God and the angels. If we take the
time, no matter how crazy and troubled we feel, we can find something
to be thankful for. The more we seek gratitude, the more reason the
angels will give us for gratitude and joy to exist in our lives.
--Terry Lynn Taylor
Wisdom is using those things that work for you, for as long as they
work for you, and letting go of the things that are not working for you.
--John-Roger
"Allow God to speak through you and smile upon the earth through
you, because you are an unconditional giver, a purposeful being."
--Dr. Wayne Dyer
Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will
ever regret.
--Ambrose Bierce
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
FORGIVENESS
"Without forgiveness life is
governed by . . . an endless cycle
of resentment and retaliation."
--Roberto Assagioli
So much of what I resent in others springs from my unhappiness with
self. I hate in others what I know to be in myself: arrogance, pride,
narrow-mindedness, snobbery and dishonesty.
Today I am learning that as long as I refuse to forgive others, I am not
capable of forgiving myself. Part of my denial is reflected in my
attitudes towards others. Those character traits I refuse to forgive in
others are buried within myself. I know that without forgiveness there
is no freedom -- and I wish to grow in freedom.
Today I am learning the difference between forgiveness and
acceptance. I can forgive other people without accepting their
lifestyle. I can forgive myself and still see the need for change. In my
forgiveness is the hope for tomorrow.
Master, You taught that without forgiveness, there can be no pure
love. Help me grow in the forgiveness of self and others.
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Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:8-9
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when
you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy
in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
1 Peter 1:14-16
Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and
glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. Now that you
have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere
love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For
you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable,
through the living and enduring word of God. For, "All men are like
grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass
withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever."
1 Peter 1:21-25
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Daily Inspiration
If you want those around you calm, you must be calm. Lord, when life becomes frantic, help me focus on solutions and restore the peace that the events of the moment try to destroy.
We are not always what we ought to be or want to be, but through God's love we are not what we would be without Him. Lord, thank you for raising me to heights in this world that alone I could not reach and for giving me eternal life in the next.
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NA Just For Today
Exploring Spiritual Options
"The nature of our belief will determine the manner of our prayers and meditation."
Basic Text, p.43
How do we pray? For each NA member, this is a deeply personal matter. Many of us find that, over time, we develop a manner of prayer and meditation based on what we learn from others and what we are comfortable with.
Some of us arrive in NA with a closed mind toward a Power greater than ourselves. But when we sit down with our sponsor and discuss our difficulty, looking at the Second Step in depth, we are pleased to find that we can choose any concept of a Higher Power that appeals to us.
Just as our definition of a Power greater than ourselves differs from addict to addict, so does our manner of achieving a "conscious contact" Some attend religious services; some chant; some sit quietly or talk with whatever is out there; some find a spiritual connection by communing with nature. The "right way" to pray and meditate is whatever way helps us improve our conscious contact with our own Higher Power.
Asking others how they found their spiritual guidance is always a good place to begin. Reading literature before we enter periods of meditation can also help us. Many have gone before us on this search. As we seek spiritual growth, we can greatly benefit from their experience.
Just for today: I will explore my options for improving my conscious contact with the God of my understanding.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
In uplifting, get underneath. --George Ade
A sandpile in the summer is deceiving. The topmost sand burns hot on our
feet. But as we push down toward the center, we come to a damp, cool
place that soothes and oozes between our toes.
The nature of most things is not revealed at the surface. Like the
sandpile, many people and situations we encounter are, on the surface,
downright uncomfortable. The reward is in digging deeper--to the
essential goodness, the core or meaning, the true friend. It takes time,
a little knowledge, and abundant trust that we will not be burned.
What have I discovered by digging a little lately?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
We shall describe conditions of the soul that words can only hint at. We shall have to use logic to try to corner perspectives that laugh at our attempt. --Huston Smith
As we live the spiritual life, we find words and logic are only capable of pointing in the direction of some truths. Words do not contain the entire truth our experience may be teaching us. This is like the difference between hearing about fishing versus actually being on the water, smelling the misty air, and feeling the fish tug on our line.
Spiritual development is a form of education. We are developing the part of us that learns by experience, that has a feeling without exactly knowing why, that understands stories better than statistics. Gradually, we accept more experiences in our lives as mysteries, as not fitting into any specific categories. Many experiences will have more meaning than cold facts could ever express. As this side of us develops, we don't discard reason and judgment; we become deeper human beings.
Today, I will give my intuition more freedom. That will help my spiritual self grow.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
There are really only two ways to approach life--as victim or as gallant fighter--and you must decide if you want to act or react, deal your own cards or play with a stacked deck. And if you don't decide which way to play with life, it always plays with you.
--Merle Shain
Being the victim is, or was, uncomfortably familiar to many of us. Perhaps some of us are only now realizing we have choices, that we need not let life happen to us. Becoming responsible to ourselves, choosing behavior, beliefs, friends, activities, that please us, though unfamiliar at first, soon exhilarates us. The more choices we make, the more alive we feel. The more alive we feel, the healthier our choices.
Our aim is recovery. Recovering means participating fully in our lives. It means self-assessment and self-direction. It means trusting to move forward, step-by-step, choice-by-choice, knowing all the while that no thoughtful action can trouble us.
Many opportunities to make choices will present themselves today. The choices I make will satisfy me; they will move me toward my goal of recovery.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Survivor Guilt
We begin recovering. We begin taking care of ourselves. Our recovery program starts to work in our life, and we begin to feel good about ourselves.
Then it hits. Guilt.
Whenever we begin to experience the fullness and joy of life, we may feel guilty about those we've left behind - those not recovering, those still in pain. This survivor guilt is a symptom of codependency.
We may think about the husband we've divorced who is still drinking. We may dwell on a child, grown or adult, still in pain. We may get a phone call from a nonrecovering parent who relates his or her misery to us. And we feel pulled into their pain.
How can we feel so happy, so good, when those we love are still in misery? Can we really break away and lead satisfying lives, despite their circumstances? Yes, we can.
And yes, it hurts to leave behind those we love. But keep moving forward anyway. Be patient. Other people's recovery is not our job. We cannot make them recover. We cannot make them happy.
We may ask why we were chosen for a fuller life. We may never know the answer. Some may catch up in their own time, but their recovery is not our business. The only recovery we can truly claim is our own.
We can let go of others with love, and love ourselves without guilt.
Today, I am willing to work through my sadness and guilt. I will let myself be healthy and happy, even though someone I love has not chosen the same path.
I am very grateful to be exactly where I am today. I do not need to be a victim of my past or controlled by circumstances. I am in recovery today and it feels wonderful! --Ruth Fishel
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Journey To The Heart
Become Excited About Life
I woke up one morning and found myself in a strange place. Instead of waking up to pain, I felt a new feeling coursing through my veins. I felt happy, at peace, and excited about being alive. This feeling had come around before, but never to stay or last. Now I knew that it was mine for good. It was where this journey had led.
Let excitement course through you. It is vitality; it is healing, life-giving energy. It is the life force. Feel it course through your veins. This excitement you are feeling is different from the pain of years past. It is a different feeling, but your birthright, my birthright, the birthright of us all. It is your reward for staying committed to your process of learning and growing.
Continue to clear out old, negative feelings and outdated beliefs. Stay committed to healing and discovering your soul, even when you wonder if it’s worth it. Even when you wonder where your path is going, or if it’s going anywhere. Love yourself. Love others. Then love yourself some more. Love yourself until you feel the life force, this exciting new energy, course through you.
Stay committed to your growth process until you wake up one morning and ask yourself, What is that strange thing I’m feeling? Then know what the answer is. The answer is joy.
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More Language Of Letting Go
Balance
In Western medicine, the practice has long been the correction of problems. We have a pain; the doctor identifies its source and treats it. The Eastern approach is different. Many of the Eastern medicines operate from the idea that a healthy body is one that is in balance. When we are sick, it is due to an imbalance in our bodies. The practitioner then seeks to identify the imbalance and restore the body to balance.
Instead of just treating the symptoms of pathos, Eastern medicines seek to maintain balance as a way of life.
That’s a good way to approach taking care of our souls.
Perhaps your heart has been injured through the carelessness of another, or maybe your mind is troubled by distressing, uncomfortable, and sometimes wrong thoughts. When we seek to restore balance, our hearts and our souls will heal.
Be aware of the imbalance in the thoughts in your mind and the emotions disturbing your peace. Then listen to your spirit. Let it tell you in its still quiet way what it needs to regain balance. Maybe you need some time alone, time in meditation or prayer, a quiet walk, a day at the zoo, or some sleep.
Give your body and soul what you need to regain balance, and then healing can begin. Learn to lovingly listen to and take care of yourself.
Maintain balance as a way of life.
God, help me listen to my spirit so I can restore myself to balance each day.
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Food for Thought
Ignore the Craving
Old habits die hard, and for a long time we may experience our old craving for that “small,” compulsive bite. The craving will not hurt us, and eventually it will pass if we ignore it. If we give in to the craving, it does not go away but becomes stronger. To feed the craving is to pour gasoline on a fire.
When we experience the craving for unnecessary food, we need to find something else to occupy our attention. If possible, we should physically remove ourselves from the tempting situation. If that is impossible, we need to ask our Higher Power for the strength to remain abstinent and to ignore the demands of our over blown appetite. God never allows us to be tempted beyond our ability to endure. He is always here to support us when we turn and ask for help.
May I listen to You and ignore harmful cravings.
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Grumps
Shining through the Clouds by Madisyn Taylor
We can shine like a beacon from a lighthouse when met with the force of a grumpy person.
When we’re in a good mood, we shine like the sun. But if we find ourselves in the presence of a person, or people, in a grumpy mood, it can feel like a dark cloud approaching to dim our radiance and block our positive way of seeing the world. We can remind ourselves that clouds pass, while the sun and stars continue to shine above. Then it’s easier to think of these “grumps” affectionately, knowing that they only have the power to affect our mood if we allow it. With the power of change firmly in our hands, we can choose how to respond to a grumpy person, or a grumbling group of people, with confidence and understanding.
Like a lighthouse, we can continue to shine through the darkness, offering our light to help others find their way back to their own. We can send them a silent prayer of peace or a sympathetic smile. We may sense that reaching out to offer a comforting touch or hug can ease their frustrations and cause the clouds to dissipate. If they need understanding, we can sympathize without reinforcing the negativity they may be experiencing by directing their attention someplace more positive. Helping them find the humor in their situation might be appropriate and is a great way to lift spirits, or a logical approach may help them see all the good in the situation, in their lives and in the world.
We might find that someone we encounter often seems to be in a perpetual state of gloom. Our tendency in such cases may be to try to avoid them, but instead we can make the choice to offer support that comes from the heart. We may be inspired to ask if they would like some help or to offer suggestions that have helped us in the past. We can include thoughts of their health and happiness in our times of prayer and meditation. When we lend our energy to uplift another in any way, we improve our own lives while making the world a better place for all of us. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
I am free to be, to do, to accept, to reject. I am free to be the wise, loving, kind, and patient person I want to be. I’m free to do that which I consider wise — that which will in no way harm or hinder another person. I’m free to do that which will lead me into paths of peace and satisfaction. I’m free to decide for or against, to say no and to say yes. I’m free to live life in a productive way and to contribute what I have to give to life. Am I coming to believe that I’m free to be the best self I’m able to be?
Today I Pray
Let the freedom I am now experiencing continue to flow through my life into productiveness, into the conviction of life’s goodness I have always wanted to share. May I accept this freedom with God’s blessing — and use it wisely.
Today I Will Remember
Let freedom ring true.
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One More Day
When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another! – Helen Keller
When we toss a pebble into a pond, the widening concentric circles continue to spread — the ripple effect — long after the pebble is out of sight. Often the actions we take have similar results.
We don’t always know what effect our lives and choices will have on other people. The immediate effects of our daily lives are probably easier to gauge, but often we don’t see the long-term effect we have on others. And that really doesn’t matter because all we are urged to do is to let kindness and responsibility rule our decisions. The immediate effect we see is the sense of growth within ourselves; the long-term effect we can trust to be miracle that we may never see.
I’ll remember that my actions affect many people beyond me.
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One Day At A Time
OVERCOMING RELAPSE
"Come, whoever you are! Wanderer, worshiper,
Lover of Leaving. Come, this is not a caravan of despair.
It doesn't matter if you've broken your vow a thousand times.
Still, and yet again, come, come."
Rumi
Perhaps the best thing my recovery plan has given me is finding the gift of inspiration almost anywhere. The above quote is such an example. Mevlana Jelalu'ddin Rumi was a Persian poet and theologian who lived from 1207 to 1273. Rumi also seemed to understand recovery quite well, judging from this quote.
I have fallen so many times on my recovery path. Once down, the disease really starts talking to me. "You're already down; you may as well stay down," it will say. Or, "You screwed up your food plan, so you might as well eat this, too." On and on, it never fails.
That's why this quote from Rumi means so much to me. My Higher Power sent it as an invitation to begin again, however many times I need. Even if I slip over and over and over, I can always begin again. My Higher Power and this program of recovery are very forgiving, and I can pick up and move on. I needn't fear failure, because I only fail if I don't get up and forge ahead.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will remember that I may fall, but I can get up again. I can begin anew, and know that I will overcome relapse when I make a fresh start.
~ Jeff
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Next, we decided that hereafter in this drama of life, God was going to be our Director. He is the Principle: we are His agents. He is the Father, and we are His children. Most good ideas are simple, and this concept was the keystone of the new and triumphant arch through which we passed to freedom. - Pg. 62 - How It Works
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
All our past 'good intentions' were fragmentary at best, facades at worse. Some of us didn't mean to mess things up (some of us did mean to), always justifying our inadequacies by blaming parents, spouses, society, or God. This hour we must accept who we are, and stop looking around for the culprit--he is us!
May I recognize, as this program teaches, that I am at the root of my own problems and this hour, I can be at the root of my recovery.
Friendship
Today, I make choices about my company and friends. Whom I choose to spend time with is very important to me, and the relationships that I begin I wish to respect and nurture. A handful of dear friends is far more meaningful to me than lots of acquaintances. I choose to share myself where I feel a return of good feeling. I want both to have a friend and to be a friend. One of the unusual gifts of growing up in a dysfunctional household was that I learned the value of friendship because I had to turn to my friends to meet very deep needs. I am grateful for my friends, and for what I learned and felt from them.
I value friendship.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Try broadening your spiritual path by making your relationship with the Divine proactive. Ask not what the Universe can do for you, but rather what you can do for the Universe! Begin the morning with: Hi World, what can I do for You today?
Asking what I can do for the Creative Source will serve us both better than simply seeking what can be done for me.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
There is no right way to do the wrong thing.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
I am very grateful to be exactly where I am today. I do not need to be a victim of my past or controlled by circumstances. I am in recovery today and it feels wonderful!
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
It says ( pg. 68. AA Big Book ) 'We put these fears on paper and ask ourselves why we had them. 'That's it. ( Yells ) I can't work these steps they're too difficult!! If they left you there, this could be difficult. If they left you with 'Why do I have these fears?' I could go back to 'It's Ma's fault: bad milk. It's my Dad's fault: bad example. But they don't leave me there. They tell us exactly why we have these fears: 'Wasn't it because self sufficiency failed us?' It's as simple as that. Do you know how much sense that makes to me? If I've got these fears and I've been relying on myself to remove them and I still have them, then obviously my power has failed me, so I better go to another power. How does that sound? Is that too tough? - Milt L.
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AA Thought for the Day
July 5
Character-building
Whenever we had to choose between character and comfort,
the character-building was lost in the dust of our chase after what we thought was happiness.
Seldom did we look at character-building as something desirable in itself,
something we would like to strive for whether our instinctual needs were met or not.
We never thought of making honesty, tolerance, and true love of man and God the daily basis of living.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 72
Thought to Ponder . . .
Honesty isn't an event -- it's a process.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.
~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
Simplicity
"A willingness to do whatever I was told to do
simplified the program for me.
Study the AA book - don't just read it.
They told me to go to meetings,
and I still do at every available opportunity,
whether I am at home or in some other city.
Attending meetings has never been a chore for me.
Nor have I attended them with a feeling
of just doing my duty.
Meetings are both relaxing and refreshing to me
after a hard day.
They said 'Get active," so I helped whenever I could,
and still do."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 381
Thought to Consider . . .
The ankle-biters of everyday struggles will eat away at me
unless I go to meetings and share.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A C T I O N = Any Change Toward Improving One's Nature
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Steps
>From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":
"It might be a long time before readers of the book in distant places and lands could be personally contacted. Therefore
our literature would have to be as clear and comprehensive as possible. Our steps would have to be more explicit.
There must not be a single loophole through which the rationalizing alcoholic could wiggle out.
"Finally I [Bill W.] started to write. I set out to draft more than six steps; how many more I did not know. I relaxed and
asked for guidance. With a speed that was astonishing, considering my jangling emotions, I completed the first draft. It
took perhaps half an hour. The words kept right on coming. When I reached a stopping point, I numbered the new
steps. They added up to twelve."
2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 161
*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"If you sponsor people, you'll never need a mirror."
August 2001
"The Mouth That Roared,"
Emotional Sobriety
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*
"Those having religious affiliations will find here nothing
disturbing to their beliefs or ceremonies. There is no friction
among us over such matters."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, Page 28~
"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."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 85~
"I was to share generously in the profits."
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 5 (Bill's Story)
"And we can often ask ourselves, "Am I doing to others as I would have them do to me -- today?"
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 93 (Step Ten)
Misc. AA Literature - Quote
In Tradition Three, A.A. is really saying to every serious drinker, 'You are an A.A. member if you say so. You can declare yourself in; nobody can keep you out. No matter how low you've gone, no matter how grave your emotional complications--even your crimes--we don't want to keep you out. We just want to be sure that you get the same chance for sobriety that we've had.'
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.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, direct my thoughts away from myself, and allow me to extend compassion and love toward the world today.
Ask and you shall receive,
Seek and ye shall find,
Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Matthew 7:7
Courage to change the things I can;
and Wisdom to know the difference.
Thy will, not mine, be done.
July 5
Daily Reflections
A NEW DIRECTION
Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient;
they failed utterly. . . Every day is a day when we must carry the
vision of God's will into all our activities.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.45,85
I hear talk of the "weak-willed" alcoholic, but I am one of the
strongest-willed people on earth! I now know that my incredible
strength of will is not enough to save my life. My problem is not one of
"weakness," but rather of direction. When I, without falsely
diminishing myself, accept my honest limitations and turn to God's
guidance, my worst faults become my greatest assets. My strong will,
rightly directed, keeps me working until the promises of the program
become my daily reality.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Until we came into A.A. most of us had tried desperately to stop
drinking. We were filled with the delusion that we could drink like our
friends. We tried time and again to take it or leave it, but we could do
neither. We always lapsed into ceaseless, unhappy drinking. Families,
friends, and employers threw up their hands in hurt bewilderment, in
despair, and finally in disgust. We wanted to stop. We realized that
every reason for drinking was only a crazy excuse. Have I given up
every excuse for drinking?
Meditation For The Day
Many things can upset you and you can easily get off the track. But
remember that God is near you all the time, ready to help you if you
call on Him. You cannot forever stand against God's will for you, nor
can you, forever upset God's plan for your life, even though Gods plan
may be postponed by your willfulness and deliberate choice of evil. A
whole world of men and women cannot permanently change God's
laws nor His purpose for the universe. The sea of life may look very
rough to us, but we can believe that our Captain steers the boat on a
straight course.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may try to steer a straight course. I pray that I may
accept God's direction in my life's journey.
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As Bill Sees It
"The Only Requirement. . .", p. 186
In Tradition Three, A.A. is really saying to every serious drinker, "You are an A.A. member if you say so. You can declare yourself in; nobody can keep you out. No matter how low you've gone, no matter how grave your emotional complications--even your crimes--we don't want to keep you out. We just want to be sure that you get the same
chance for sobriety that we've had."
<< << << >> >> >>
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.
1. 12 & 12, p. 139
2. Grapevine, August 1946
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Walk In Dry Places
What brings change?
Inventory.
In human affairs, vast changes sometimes take place almost spontaneously, bringing on revolutionary upheavals. What brings about such change?
These visible changes, for good or bad, occur because people come to accept new ideas. It's easy to see how this works in one person's life, but it works in the same way with socities.
The 12 Step movement is a most dramatic form of such change. We've become effective b ecause we have new forms of thinking to replace the old destructive forms that caused so much harm. Our movement will grow and develop only as long as we retain the new ways of thinging that first brought about this change.
I'll hold to the idea that my life can only be as good as the thoughts I choose.
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Keep It Simple
If at first you don't succeed, you're running about average.---Ovid
Our program speaks of spiritual progress, not perfection. We can take all the time we need. Our bottom line is steady progress. We can ask ourselves, "Am I a little more spiritual than I was a year ago? A month ago?" If the answer is yes, we're doing great. If the answer is no, we should look at why.
Our illness pushes us to be prefect. In recovery, we learn that we are free to be what we are---human. Even the world's fastest runners are average in most other areas of their lives.. This is okay. Remember, "spiritual progress, not perfection."
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I'll not be ashamed of how average I am. I'll remember I'm average---and that's good.
Action for the Day: I'll list what is average about me. I'll share this with a friend. Than I'll ask my friend what is special about me.
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
There are really only two ways to approach life--as victim or as gallant fighter--and you must decide if you want to act or react, deal your own cards or play with a stacked deck. And if you don't decide which way to play with life, it always plays with you.
--Merle Shain
Being the victim is, or was, uncomfortably familiar to many of us. Perhaps some of us are only now realizing we have choices, that we need not let life happen to us. Becoming responsible to ourselves, choosing behavior, beliefs, friends, activities, that please us, though unfamiliar at first, soon exhilarates us. The more choices we make, the more alive we feel. The more alive we feel, the healthier our choices.
Our aim is recovery. Recovering means participating fully in our lives. It means self-assessment and self-direction. It means trusting to move forward, step-by-step, choice-by-choice, knowing all the while that no thoughtful action can trouble us.
Many opportunities to make choices will present themselves today. The choices I make will satisfy me; they will move me toward my goal of recovery.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
BILL'S STORY
My musing was interrupted by the telephone. The cheery voice of an old school friend asked if he might come over. HE WAS SOBER. It was years since I could remember his coming to New York in that condition. I was amazed. Rumor had it that he had been committed for alcoholic insanity. I wondered how he had escaped. Of course he would have dinner, and then I could drink openly with him. Unmindful of his welfare, I thought only of recapturing the spirit of other days. There was that time we had chartered an airplane to complete a jag! His coming was an oasis in this dreary desert of futility. The very thing - an oasis! Drinkers are like that.
pp. 8-9
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
FREEDOM FROM BONDAGE - Young when she joined, this A.A. believes her serious drinking was the result of even deeper defects. She here tells how she was free.
The only importance in all of this lies in the fact that at twenty-three I was just as sick as I was at thirty-three, when I came into A.A. But at that time I apparently had not place to go because I had no drinking problem. Had I been able to explain to a psychiatrist the feelings of futility, loneliness, and lack of purpose that had come with my deep sense of personal failure at this second divorce, I seriously doubt that the good doctor could have convinced me that my basic problem was spiritual hunger. But A.A. has shown me this is the truth. And if I had been able to turn to the church at that time, I'm sure they could not have convinced me my sickness was within myself, nor could they have shown me that the need for self-analysis that A.A. has shown me is vital if I am to survive. So I had no place to go. Or so it seemed to me.
p. 546
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Five - "Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry it's message to the alcoholic who still suffers."
"I was soon sitting beside a big hulk of a man. Decidedly unfriendly, he stared at me out of eyes which were slits in his red and swollen face. I had to agree with the doctor - he certainly didn't look good. But I told him my own story. I explained what a wonderful Fellowship we had, how well we understood each other. I bore down hard on the hopelessness of the drunk's dilemma. I insisted that few drunks could ever get well on their own steam, but that in our groups we could do together what we could not do separately. He interrupted to scoff at this and asserted he'd fix his wife, his partner, and his alcoholism by himself. Sarcastically he asked, `How much does your scheme cost?'
"I was thankful I could tell him, `Nothing at all.'
p. 152
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God, guide me in making my commitments. Give me the courage to
make those that are right for me, the wisdom to not commit to that
which does not feel right, and the patience to wait until I know.
--Melody Beattie
Gratitude is our most direct line to God and the angels. If we take the
time, no matter how crazy and troubled we feel, we can find something
to be thankful for. The more we seek gratitude, the more reason the
angels will give us for gratitude and joy to exist in our lives.
--Terry Lynn Taylor
Wisdom is using those things that work for you, for as long as they
work for you, and letting go of the things that are not working for you.
--John-Roger
"Allow God to speak through you and smile upon the earth through
you, because you are an unconditional giver, a purposeful being."
--Dr. Wayne Dyer
Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will
ever regret.
--Ambrose Bierce
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
FORGIVENESS
"Without forgiveness life is
governed by . . . an endless cycle
of resentment and retaliation."
--Roberto Assagioli
So much of what I resent in others springs from my unhappiness with
self. I hate in others what I know to be in myself: arrogance, pride,
narrow-mindedness, snobbery and dishonesty.
Today I am learning that as long as I refuse to forgive others, I am not
capable of forgiving myself. Part of my denial is reflected in my
attitudes towards others. Those character traits I refuse to forgive in
others are buried within myself. I know that without forgiveness there
is no freedom -- and I wish to grow in freedom.
Today I am learning the difference between forgiveness and
acceptance. I can forgive other people without accepting their
lifestyle. I can forgive myself and still see the need for change. In my
forgiveness is the hope for tomorrow.
Master, You taught that without forgiveness, there can be no pure
love. Help me grow in the forgiveness of self and others.
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Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:8-9
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when
you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy
in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
1 Peter 1:14-16
Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and
glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. Now that you
have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere
love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For
you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable,
through the living and enduring word of God. For, "All men are like
grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass
withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever."
1 Peter 1:21-25
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Daily Inspiration
If you want those around you calm, you must be calm. Lord, when life becomes frantic, help me focus on solutions and restore the peace that the events of the moment try to destroy.
We are not always what we ought to be or want to be, but through God's love we are not what we would be without Him. Lord, thank you for raising me to heights in this world that alone I could not reach and for giving me eternal life in the next.
************************************************** *********
NA Just For Today
Exploring Spiritual Options
"The nature of our belief will determine the manner of our prayers and meditation."
Basic Text, p.43
How do we pray? For each NA member, this is a deeply personal matter. Many of us find that, over time, we develop a manner of prayer and meditation based on what we learn from others and what we are comfortable with.
Some of us arrive in NA with a closed mind toward a Power greater than ourselves. But when we sit down with our sponsor and discuss our difficulty, looking at the Second Step in depth, we are pleased to find that we can choose any concept of a Higher Power that appeals to us.
Just as our definition of a Power greater than ourselves differs from addict to addict, so does our manner of achieving a "conscious contact" Some attend religious services; some chant; some sit quietly or talk with whatever is out there; some find a spiritual connection by communing with nature. The "right way" to pray and meditate is whatever way helps us improve our conscious contact with our own Higher Power.
Asking others how they found their spiritual guidance is always a good place to begin. Reading literature before we enter periods of meditation can also help us. Many have gone before us on this search. As we seek spiritual growth, we can greatly benefit from their experience.
Just for today: I will explore my options for improving my conscious contact with the God of my understanding.
************************************************** *********
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
In uplifting, get underneath. --George Ade
A sandpile in the summer is deceiving. The topmost sand burns hot on our
feet. But as we push down toward the center, we come to a damp, cool
place that soothes and oozes between our toes.
The nature of most things is not revealed at the surface. Like the
sandpile, many people and situations we encounter are, on the surface,
downright uncomfortable. The reward is in digging deeper--to the
essential goodness, the core or meaning, the true friend. It takes time,
a little knowledge, and abundant trust that we will not be burned.
What have I discovered by digging a little lately?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
We shall describe conditions of the soul that words can only hint at. We shall have to use logic to try to corner perspectives that laugh at our attempt. --Huston Smith
As we live the spiritual life, we find words and logic are only capable of pointing in the direction of some truths. Words do not contain the entire truth our experience may be teaching us. This is like the difference between hearing about fishing versus actually being on the water, smelling the misty air, and feeling the fish tug on our line.
Spiritual development is a form of education. We are developing the part of us that learns by experience, that has a feeling without exactly knowing why, that understands stories better than statistics. Gradually, we accept more experiences in our lives as mysteries, as not fitting into any specific categories. Many experiences will have more meaning than cold facts could ever express. As this side of us develops, we don't discard reason and judgment; we become deeper human beings.
Today, I will give my intuition more freedom. That will help my spiritual self grow.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
There are really only two ways to approach life--as victim or as gallant fighter--and you must decide if you want to act or react, deal your own cards or play with a stacked deck. And if you don't decide which way to play with life, it always plays with you.
--Merle Shain
Being the victim is, or was, uncomfortably familiar to many of us. Perhaps some of us are only now realizing we have choices, that we need not let life happen to us. Becoming responsible to ourselves, choosing behavior, beliefs, friends, activities, that please us, though unfamiliar at first, soon exhilarates us. The more choices we make, the more alive we feel. The more alive we feel, the healthier our choices.
Our aim is recovery. Recovering means participating fully in our lives. It means self-assessment and self-direction. It means trusting to move forward, step-by-step, choice-by-choice, knowing all the while that no thoughtful action can trouble us.
Many opportunities to make choices will present themselves today. The choices I make will satisfy me; they will move me toward my goal of recovery.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Survivor Guilt
We begin recovering. We begin taking care of ourselves. Our recovery program starts to work in our life, and we begin to feel good about ourselves.
Then it hits. Guilt.
Whenever we begin to experience the fullness and joy of life, we may feel guilty about those we've left behind - those not recovering, those still in pain. This survivor guilt is a symptom of codependency.
We may think about the husband we've divorced who is still drinking. We may dwell on a child, grown or adult, still in pain. We may get a phone call from a nonrecovering parent who relates his or her misery to us. And we feel pulled into their pain.
How can we feel so happy, so good, when those we love are still in misery? Can we really break away and lead satisfying lives, despite their circumstances? Yes, we can.
And yes, it hurts to leave behind those we love. But keep moving forward anyway. Be patient. Other people's recovery is not our job. We cannot make them recover. We cannot make them happy.
We may ask why we were chosen for a fuller life. We may never know the answer. Some may catch up in their own time, but their recovery is not our business. The only recovery we can truly claim is our own.
We can let go of others with love, and love ourselves without guilt.
Today, I am willing to work through my sadness and guilt. I will let myself be healthy and happy, even though someone I love has not chosen the same path.
I am very grateful to be exactly where I am today. I do not need to be a victim of my past or controlled by circumstances. I am in recovery today and it feels wonderful! --Ruth Fishel
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Journey To The Heart
Become Excited About Life
I woke up one morning and found myself in a strange place. Instead of waking up to pain, I felt a new feeling coursing through my veins. I felt happy, at peace, and excited about being alive. This feeling had come around before, but never to stay or last. Now I knew that it was mine for good. It was where this journey had led.
Let excitement course through you. It is vitality; it is healing, life-giving energy. It is the life force. Feel it course through your veins. This excitement you are feeling is different from the pain of years past. It is a different feeling, but your birthright, my birthright, the birthright of us all. It is your reward for staying committed to your process of learning and growing.
Continue to clear out old, negative feelings and outdated beliefs. Stay committed to healing and discovering your soul, even when you wonder if it’s worth it. Even when you wonder where your path is going, or if it’s going anywhere. Love yourself. Love others. Then love yourself some more. Love yourself until you feel the life force, this exciting new energy, course through you.
Stay committed to your growth process until you wake up one morning and ask yourself, What is that strange thing I’m feeling? Then know what the answer is. The answer is joy.
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More Language Of Letting Go
Balance
In Western medicine, the practice has long been the correction of problems. We have a pain; the doctor identifies its source and treats it. The Eastern approach is different. Many of the Eastern medicines operate from the idea that a healthy body is one that is in balance. When we are sick, it is due to an imbalance in our bodies. The practitioner then seeks to identify the imbalance and restore the body to balance.
Instead of just treating the symptoms of pathos, Eastern medicines seek to maintain balance as a way of life.
That’s a good way to approach taking care of our souls.
Perhaps your heart has been injured through the carelessness of another, or maybe your mind is troubled by distressing, uncomfortable, and sometimes wrong thoughts. When we seek to restore balance, our hearts and our souls will heal.
Be aware of the imbalance in the thoughts in your mind and the emotions disturbing your peace. Then listen to your spirit. Let it tell you in its still quiet way what it needs to regain balance. Maybe you need some time alone, time in meditation or prayer, a quiet walk, a day at the zoo, or some sleep.
Give your body and soul what you need to regain balance, and then healing can begin. Learn to lovingly listen to and take care of yourself.
Maintain balance as a way of life.
God, help me listen to my spirit so I can restore myself to balance each day.
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Food for Thought
Ignore the Craving
Old habits die hard, and for a long time we may experience our old craving for that “small,” compulsive bite. The craving will not hurt us, and eventually it will pass if we ignore it. If we give in to the craving, it does not go away but becomes stronger. To feed the craving is to pour gasoline on a fire.
When we experience the craving for unnecessary food, we need to find something else to occupy our attention. If possible, we should physically remove ourselves from the tempting situation. If that is impossible, we need to ask our Higher Power for the strength to remain abstinent and to ignore the demands of our over blown appetite. God never allows us to be tempted beyond our ability to endure. He is always here to support us when we turn and ask for help.
May I listen to You and ignore harmful cravings.
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Grumps
Shining through the Clouds by Madisyn Taylor
We can shine like a beacon from a lighthouse when met with the force of a grumpy person.
When we’re in a good mood, we shine like the sun. But if we find ourselves in the presence of a person, or people, in a grumpy mood, it can feel like a dark cloud approaching to dim our radiance and block our positive way of seeing the world. We can remind ourselves that clouds pass, while the sun and stars continue to shine above. Then it’s easier to think of these “grumps” affectionately, knowing that they only have the power to affect our mood if we allow it. With the power of change firmly in our hands, we can choose how to respond to a grumpy person, or a grumbling group of people, with confidence and understanding.
Like a lighthouse, we can continue to shine through the darkness, offering our light to help others find their way back to their own. We can send them a silent prayer of peace or a sympathetic smile. We may sense that reaching out to offer a comforting touch or hug can ease their frustrations and cause the clouds to dissipate. If they need understanding, we can sympathize without reinforcing the negativity they may be experiencing by directing their attention someplace more positive. Helping them find the humor in their situation might be appropriate and is a great way to lift spirits, or a logical approach may help them see all the good in the situation, in their lives and in the world.
We might find that someone we encounter often seems to be in a perpetual state of gloom. Our tendency in such cases may be to try to avoid them, but instead we can make the choice to offer support that comes from the heart. We may be inspired to ask if they would like some help or to offer suggestions that have helped us in the past. We can include thoughts of their health and happiness in our times of prayer and meditation. When we lend our energy to uplift another in any way, we improve our own lives while making the world a better place for all of us. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
I am free to be, to do, to accept, to reject. I am free to be the wise, loving, kind, and patient person I want to be. I’m free to do that which I consider wise — that which will in no way harm or hinder another person. I’m free to do that which will lead me into paths of peace and satisfaction. I’m free to decide for or against, to say no and to say yes. I’m free to live life in a productive way and to contribute what I have to give to life. Am I coming to believe that I’m free to be the best self I’m able to be?
Today I Pray
Let the freedom I am now experiencing continue to flow through my life into productiveness, into the conviction of life’s goodness I have always wanted to share. May I accept this freedom with God’s blessing — and use it wisely.
Today I Will Remember
Let freedom ring true.
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One More Day
When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another! – Helen Keller
When we toss a pebble into a pond, the widening concentric circles continue to spread — the ripple effect — long after the pebble is out of sight. Often the actions we take have similar results.
We don’t always know what effect our lives and choices will have on other people. The immediate effects of our daily lives are probably easier to gauge, but often we don’t see the long-term effect we have on others. And that really doesn’t matter because all we are urged to do is to let kindness and responsibility rule our decisions. The immediate effect we see is the sense of growth within ourselves; the long-term effect we can trust to be miracle that we may never see.
I’ll remember that my actions affect many people beyond me.
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One Day At A Time
OVERCOMING RELAPSE
"Come, whoever you are! Wanderer, worshiper,
Lover of Leaving. Come, this is not a caravan of despair.
It doesn't matter if you've broken your vow a thousand times.
Still, and yet again, come, come."
Rumi
Perhaps the best thing my recovery plan has given me is finding the gift of inspiration almost anywhere. The above quote is such an example. Mevlana Jelalu'ddin Rumi was a Persian poet and theologian who lived from 1207 to 1273. Rumi also seemed to understand recovery quite well, judging from this quote.
I have fallen so many times on my recovery path. Once down, the disease really starts talking to me. "You're already down; you may as well stay down," it will say. Or, "You screwed up your food plan, so you might as well eat this, too." On and on, it never fails.
That's why this quote from Rumi means so much to me. My Higher Power sent it as an invitation to begin again, however many times I need. Even if I slip over and over and over, I can always begin again. My Higher Power and this program of recovery are very forgiving, and I can pick up and move on. I needn't fear failure, because I only fail if I don't get up and forge ahead.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will remember that I may fall, but I can get up again. I can begin anew, and know that I will overcome relapse when I make a fresh start.
~ Jeff
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Next, we decided that hereafter in this drama of life, God was going to be our Director. He is the Principle: we are His agents. He is the Father, and we are His children. Most good ideas are simple, and this concept was the keystone of the new and triumphant arch through which we passed to freedom. - Pg. 62 - How It Works
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
All our past 'good intentions' were fragmentary at best, facades at worse. Some of us didn't mean to mess things up (some of us did mean to), always justifying our inadequacies by blaming parents, spouses, society, or God. This hour we must accept who we are, and stop looking around for the culprit--he is us!
May I recognize, as this program teaches, that I am at the root of my own problems and this hour, I can be at the root of my recovery.
Friendship
Today, I make choices about my company and friends. Whom I choose to spend time with is very important to me, and the relationships that I begin I wish to respect and nurture. A handful of dear friends is far more meaningful to me than lots of acquaintances. I choose to share myself where I feel a return of good feeling. I want both to have a friend and to be a friend. One of the unusual gifts of growing up in a dysfunctional household was that I learned the value of friendship because I had to turn to my friends to meet very deep needs. I am grateful for my friends, and for what I learned and felt from them.
I value friendship.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Try broadening your spiritual path by making your relationship with the Divine proactive. Ask not what the Universe can do for you, but rather what you can do for the Universe! Begin the morning with: Hi World, what can I do for You today?
Asking what I can do for the Creative Source will serve us both better than simply seeking what can be done for me.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
There is no right way to do the wrong thing.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
I am very grateful to be exactly where I am today. I do not need to be a victim of my past or controlled by circumstances. I am in recovery today and it feels wonderful!
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
It says ( pg. 68. AA Big Book ) 'We put these fears on paper and ask ourselves why we had them. 'That's it. ( Yells ) I can't work these steps they're too difficult!! If they left you there, this could be difficult. If they left you with 'Why do I have these fears?' I could go back to 'It's Ma's fault: bad milk. It's my Dad's fault: bad example. But they don't leave me there. They tell us exactly why we have these fears: 'Wasn't it because self sufficiency failed us?' It's as simple as that. Do you know how much sense that makes to me? If I've got these fears and I've been relying on myself to remove them and I still have them, then obviously my power has failed me, so I better go to another power. How does that sound? Is that too tough? - Milt L.
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AA Thought for the Day
July 5
Character-building
Whenever we had to choose between character and comfort,
the character-building was lost in the dust of our chase after what we thought was happiness.
Seldom did we look at character-building as something desirable in itself,
something we would like to strive for whether our instinctual needs were met or not.
We never thought of making honesty, tolerance, and true love of man and God the daily basis of living.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 72
Thought to Ponder . . .
Honesty isn't an event -- it's a process.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.
~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
Simplicity
"A willingness to do whatever I was told to do
simplified the program for me.
Study the AA book - don't just read it.
They told me to go to meetings,
and I still do at every available opportunity,
whether I am at home or in some other city.
Attending meetings has never been a chore for me.
Nor have I attended them with a feeling
of just doing my duty.
Meetings are both relaxing and refreshing to me
after a hard day.
They said 'Get active," so I helped whenever I could,
and still do."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 381
Thought to Consider . . .
The ankle-biters of everyday struggles will eat away at me
unless I go to meetings and share.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A C T I O N = Any Change Toward Improving One's Nature
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Steps
>From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":
"It might be a long time before readers of the book in distant places and lands could be personally contacted. Therefore
our literature would have to be as clear and comprehensive as possible. Our steps would have to be more explicit.
There must not be a single loophole through which the rationalizing alcoholic could wiggle out.
"Finally I [Bill W.] started to write. I set out to draft more than six steps; how many more I did not know. I relaxed and
asked for guidance. With a speed that was astonishing, considering my jangling emotions, I completed the first draft. It
took perhaps half an hour. The words kept right on coming. When I reached a stopping point, I numbered the new
steps. They added up to twelve."
2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 161
*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"If you sponsor people, you'll never need a mirror."
August 2001
"The Mouth That Roared,"
Emotional Sobriety
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*
"Those having religious affiliations will find here nothing
disturbing to their beliefs or ceremonies. There is no friction
among us over such matters."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, Page 28~
"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."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 85~
"I was to share generously in the profits."
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 5 (Bill's Story)
"And we can often ask ourselves, "Am I doing to others as I would have them do to me -- today?"
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 93 (Step Ten)
Misc. AA Literature - Quote
In Tradition Three, A.A. is really saying to every serious drinker, 'You are an A.A. member if you say so. You can declare yourself in; nobody can keep you out. No matter how low you've gone, no matter how grave your emotional complications--even your crimes--we don't want to keep you out. We just want to be sure that you get the same chance for sobriety that we've had.'
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.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, direct my thoughts away from myself, and allow me to extend compassion and love toward the world today.
Ask and you shall receive,
Seek and ye shall find,
Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Matthew 7:7