More Recovery Thoughts and Quotes - May

[yukonm]

May 1

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

We know that while the alcoholic keeps away from drink, as he may do for months or years, he reacts much like other men. We are equally positive that once he takes any alcohol whatever into his system, something happens, both in the bodily and mental sense, which makes it virtually impossible for him to stop. The experience of any alcoholic will abundantly confirm this. - Pgs. 22-23 - There Is A Solution

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

The question is not if you will recover, but how.

Although giving up drugs and alcohol shatters my illusions about who I was, I use the duration to shape myself into a better being through the 12 Steps.

Gifts

Today I will be thankful for the many gifts that are mine. Life is a gift. Health is a gift. Love is a gift. Friends and family are gifts. If I take the time to say thank you, I have so many things to be thankful for. When I learn to say thank you, to give praise and gratitude, my life immediately feels more full.

I embrace the gifts that surround me

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Although thoughts are things, they are not actions; although feelings are real, they are not facts. They only have the power we give them through our actions.

When I act kindly, I give power to loving thoughts and feelings; when I use harsh words and 'get even' I give power to angry thoughts and feelings.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Prayer does not change the situation, it changes the person who prays.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

When I look within, I find that I have all that I need. It feels wonderful to discover that I already am the beautiful person that I would like to be.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I have no medical evidence that I have brain damage, but I know this; that good feeling I got after about four beers or a couple of shots; that complete feeling of well-being, self confidence and self acceptance - happy, joyous and free. That's the exhilaration of brain cells dying. - Doug D.

[yukonm]

May 2

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

We doctors have realized for a long time that some form of moral psychology was of urgent importance to alcoholics, but it's application presented difficulties beyond our conception. What with our ultra-modern standards, our scientific approach to everything, we are perhaps not well equipped to apply the powers of good that lie outside our synthetic knowledge. - Pg. xxvii - 4th. Edition - The Doctor's Opinion

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

'For a time we are living inside a scream where there seems to be no exit, only echoes. The small cares that seemed so important yesterday seem like nothing, and our daily concerns become petty and irrelevant. When we finally reclaim ourselves, as we ultimately do, we are changed.'-- Kent Nerburn, Simple Truths

I am swept into a reality where I see what is truly important, my recovery, and I carry that knowledge back to my daily life.

Opening to the New

Today I will be open to what life offers to me. The world comes to greet me like an old friend each morning. My daily habits comfort and ground me. The thought of moving into my day pleases me. Life unfolds one second at a time and today I will be present to witness it. How much of my life do I let pass by unnoticed? How many of my feelings go unfelt? Today I will recognize that my time on Earth is limited. I choose to value my life a day at a time and embrace it while I have it.

I am open to life

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

They say that young people don't get sober, they get caught. Getting caught is a great way to find recovery. We don't care how you get here, whether it is your parents that force you, a school counselor, the courts, or a guilty conscious--you're here. So decide not to get recaught, but to recover instead.

If I'm young, I am respectful of the old farts. If I'm an old fart I don't recite platitudes to the young.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

If you are in the wrong place, the right place is empty.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I am open to making small changes in my life that lead me, a step at a time, on my spiritual path to recovery. I have faith in the guidance that I am receiving. I trust that I will know intuitively when the time is right for those changes.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

The secret to long sobriety: Don't drink and don't die. - Anon.

[yukonm]

May 3

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

When it will serve any good purpose, we are willing to announce our convictions with tact and common sense. - Pg. 77 - Into Action

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Right now the battle is over, so surrender. You are drug free and at the turning point for a whole new view on living. The weight of the past will drop from your shoulders because a new fellowship is here to help you carry every burden, from this hour forward.

Give me the courage to share one of the burdens of my past battles at the next meeting I go to today. By sharing, I divide; by dividing, I lighten my load.

The Healing Universe

Everywhere I look life is in a process of healing from something. A plant that has been stepped on fights to come back to life. A tree that has lost branches sprouts new growth. An animal that has lost a leg learns to run on three. Life is always reaching for life. It's an unbroken circle. Like a lover reaching for their beloved , or a child holding onto his mother until the pain passes. Life is programmed to heal itself and it will strive towards that with all its will. I will allow this powerful force that's build into my DNA to work its magic on me. I won't resist my own healing. I will allow it in.

I am built to heal

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Although there are no Twelve Step gurus, and God knows we are not saints, there are times when the words and actions of some members touch us so much that we practically consider them saints. We never forget though, that they are human and still suffer. So we reach out to them as they reach out to others.

I remember that the 'alcoholic that still suffers' could just as well be an old-timer as it is a newcomer, my sponsor as my sponsee.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Bring the shoes and the soul will follow.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

It is beautiful to know that I am the creator of how I think and feel today, that I can choose my now. Today I choose to feel joy and I will do all that I have to do to make that possible.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

The doctor had patched up the young boy, who thanked the doctor for healing him. The doctor said; 'No, I just treat the wound, God heals it' - A favorite story of Dr. Bob's.

[MajestyJo]

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Bring the shoes and the soul will follow.

Much better than taking your foot out of your mouth to put the other one in. Walk the path of recovery, one day at a time. My sponsor said to suit up, show up, and the rest will follow.

http://www.animated-gifs.eu/mammals-mice-14/0013.gif

[bluidkiti]

May 4

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Resentment is the 'number one' offender. It destroys more alcohlolics than anything else. From it stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we have been not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick. - Pg. 64 - How It Works

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

You will be receiving many gifts from people in the programs: gifts of help, time, energy, possibly money, talents, and knowledge. You will never be able to pay them all back. You are not obligated to pay them back. You are obligated to be of service to others and give to them what is being so freely given to you today.

I appreciate the generosity of others and my only obligation comes in the future, to offer what gifts I can to someone else in recovery.

Inner Cleansing

I am in a process of healing. I am taking the time to allow my body to become clean and whole and as I do that, my mind seems to heal, too. Thoughts arise, thoughts I have blocked out during normal waking hours. They scare me, sometimes. Where are they coming from. Me? But as I allow them to come forward a curious thing happens. They become less threatening. They are, after all, just thoughts. They only really have power when I fear them and push them away. If I welcome them into the sun lit rooms of my mind, they sort of spread out and relax. They are just fears. Anxieties. Parts of me I don't want to know about. But today I understand that I cannot really keep secrets from me. Today I let these thoughts have room to breathe and as they do, a curious thing happens. They dissipate.

I awaken to my inner life

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

'Suit up, Show up, Sit up, Shut up' is what we used to tell newcomers. We used to say this for darn good reason. Drunk drunks and newly clean addicts shouldn't be running at the mouth about recovery when they don't understand recovery. Unfortunately 'Politically Correct' (or rather, 'Therapeutically Correct') often hijacks our meetings. Do not be afraid to take our meetings back.

In order to continue to help the newcomer, I Suit up, Show up, Sit up, and Speak up!

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Work the program, not the problem.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I choose to think positive and loving thoughts. I know that if I do this I will feel loving and positive and create a positive and loving world for those around me.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I looked up 'Willing' in the dictionary. It said: 'Cheerfully ready' - Cindy F.

[yukonm]

May 5

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Logic is great stuff. We liked it. We still like it. It is not by chance we were given the power to reason, to examine the evidence of our senses, and to draw conclusions. That is one of man's magnificent attributes. We agnostically inclined would not feel satisfied with a proposal which does not lend itself to reasonable approach and interpretation. Hence we are at pains to tell why we think our present faith is reasonable, why we think it more sane and logical to believe than not to believe, why we say our former thinking was soft and mushy when we threw up our hands in doubt and said, 'We don't know.' - Pg. 53 - We Agnostics

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

There will be many times when nothing anyone does (even sponsor, counselor and yourself), seems right. But these 'nothing is ever right' times will pass like a cloud overhead. Do not make decisions until the cloud passes, so that you make them in the full light of your good senses.

Let me understand that the 'nothing is going right' times will soon drift away like clouds overhead.

Seeing Deeply

Every day I experience another piece of myself. Yes I am laid low, but at the same time worlds are opening up to me on the inside. My body is struggling to heal and so is the rest of me. I am watching myself deepen inside and become more aware. It is forced upon me by illness, but I cannot help but being a little bit grateful for the time to slow down and go within. I am seeing the subtleties of life, I am watching myself watch the world around me. I have a witness inside that is constantly with me but I seldom take time to be with it. As I witness my own thoughts, I learn about who I am inside, what makes me tick. As I watch myself interact with others, I see how I act in relationships. As I notice the little things, life seems to matter more.

I am renewing my relationship with life

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

The old timers used to say that the world's most difficult prayer was 'O, Lord, be as good to me today, as I was to my fellowman, yesterday.'

I say what I mean, mean what I say, and don't say it mean.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Looking for the right person? Become the right person.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I will let my Higher Power handle my worry so I can be free, I choose to be alive in this moment and not blocked by the conversations that go on over and over in my head. I will stop trying to figure everything out and will trust that I will get the right answers at the right time.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

How many alkies does it take to change a lightbulb? Change? What do you mean, change? - Anon.

[yukonm]

May 6

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

We needed to ask ourselves but one short question. 'Do I now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power greater than myself?' As soon as a man can say that he does believe, or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on his way. It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be built. - Pg. 47 - We Agnostics

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Regaining the natural habit of sleeping takes time. If you are tired right now from lack of sleep, it is normal. As long as you don't 'take' anything for it, you will be OK. Rest, pray, and know that it won't always be so difficult.

Give me a quiet spirit to meet the times when I don't have all the sleep I think I need.

Fear

Today, I allow myself to experience my fears as fears. I don't need to let them control and color the circumstances of my life. They are real, and it is understandable that I have them. Healing can mobilize my deep fears, they come up more intensely than normal. But this is a part of my process, and growth and healing aren't neat and tidy. When I am very afraid, I will comfort myself or seek comfort from someone else. I will understand that even though I fear the worst, the worst will not necessarily happen. My feelings feel very powerful inside me, but they are not facts. I can survive my fears and understand that they will pass.

I have compassion for the fearful part of me.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

If God is your co-pilot, switch seats! (Anonymous Sage) There is something special waiting for you to do today that won't get done if you are flying around doing your own thing.

When I let my Higher Power pilot my life, I know that inspiration will guide my actions and that 'special something' will get done.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

You are less likely to fall into temptation if you don't walk along the edge.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I feel my entire body energized by my powerful positive, thoughts. I feel alive and full of joy as I feed myself with loving and positive energy.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

The first drink I ever had I realized what my problem was: I had an alcohol deficiency. - Trip S.

[yukonm]

May 7

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Highly competent psychiatrists who have dealt with us have found it sometimes impossible to persuade an alcoholic to discuss his situation without reserve. Strangely enough, wives, parents and intimate friends usually find us even more unapproachable that do the psychiatrist and the doctor. - Pg. 18 - There Is A Solution

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Withdrawal is a condition that can last many months and produces chaos: chaotic emotions, chaotic thoughts, chaotic family situations, chaotic desires. But we take one step at a time, one hour at a time and the chaos eventually calms.

I know everything changes and the chaos will pass in these changes as long as I don't use mind-affecting chemicals.

Unseen Hands

There are forces in this ever alive and vibrating universe that want to help me if I can let them. I will pray to unseen hands to guide me toward wellness, to lift me towards God. If I am low, I will allow this legion of tiny hands to lift me in the blink of an eye. I will ask and trust that help is at hand. I will free my mind so that it can include more experience that it normally does. I will allow the veil to be lifted so that I can see this spiritual and alive universe for what it is and people for the tender and vulnerable creatures that we all are.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Don't ever think you have nothing left to learn in the fellowship and that everyone wants to hear you talk incessantly because you are so wise. You can not have an open mouth and an open mind at the same time.

When I do all the talking, I can only hear what I already know.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Reputation is what people think of us. Character is what God knows about us.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I choose to accept live on life's terms.all of it. I am open to all I see, hear, think and feeling the moment, without resistance. I am opening to be fully alive and enjoying the adventure.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Alcoholism is a disease which tells us we don't have it. - Anon.

[yukonm]

May 8

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

BUT THE EX-PROBLEM DRINKER WHO HAS FOUND THIS SOLUTION, WHO IS PROPERLY ARMED WITH FACTS ABOUT HIMSELF, CAN GENERALLY WIN THE ENTIRE CONFIDENCE OF ANOTHER ALCOHOLIC IN A FEW HOURS. UNTIL SUCH AN UNDERSTANDING IS REACHED, LITTLE OR NOTHING CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED. - Pg. 18 - There Is A Solution

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

We often feel tremendous remorse for transgressions of the past. Today, at this hour, we can stay clean, stay sober, stay drug free. This is the beginning. Later in our program, we will work steps to neutralize our transgressions. But at this hour, we must heal our bodies first.

God, as I understand You, keep me clean and sober, now.

New Life

I can feel my body and my spirit trying to come back to health. I am breathing in and out with relaxed, complete breaths and with each breath I take, I feel more serene. I sense the life within each pore of my body and it feels good, it feels right, it feels alive. My body needed to fall apart a little, it needed to get my attention and tell me it needed tender, loving care. Today, I will pay attention to what my body is trying to tell me it wants and needs and I will give it what it is calling out for.

I listen to what my body is asking for and I do something about it

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

We are now learning to keep our thoughts in recovery and not in the insanity of the past. The program fixes it so we don't have to suffer from insanity anymore. Now we can enjoy it!

Crazy-making is what I make of it.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

You cannot think your way into right actions. You have to act your way into right thinking.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I am letting go of all self-criticism today and changing all my judging thoughts to thoughts of love. I am becoming softer and more gentle and accepting of myself, making more space to feel joy and love.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I had an unusual childhood....and a long one. - Anon.

[MajestyJo]

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

You cannot think your way into right actions. You have to act your way into right thinking.

Another thing that I did wrong for most of my life. I looked at my intentions and people were judging me by my actions.

The other thing was "Just because I had a feeling, I didn't have to act on it."

As the first step says, "My life is unmanageable when managed by me."

Like the last line too. A friend said, "I was a big kid who never grew up." I told her I was looking to connect to my inner child. I had to heal the old hurts, real or imagined and give her the love she felt that she lever received.

[yukonm]

May 9

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

The great fact is just this, and nothing less: That we have had deep and effective spiritual experiences* which have revolutionized our whole attitude toward life, toward our fellows and toward God's universe. - Pg. 25 - There Is A Solution

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

This is a 'We' program, not a 'Me' program. We do this together. Look at our steps. They all say 'We admitted' or 'We came to believe.' Doing it together makes us stronger and less likely to fool ourselves with dysfunctional ways of thinking.

Let me know that I am no longer alone and need never be alone again.

Healing Light

I am surrounding myself with healing light. I am inviting a warm, yellow/white light to surround me. I breathe it in deeply into all parts of me and I breathe out any lingering fear or darkness. Healing energy is quietly pulsing in and around me, imbuing me with a feeling of well being. I allow this energy to fill each pore of my body. This healing energy has its own intelligence and I become one with it and direct it towards those parts of me that need healing. I rest in this vibrating yellow-white light and let it fill me, surround me and make me well. Even the act of allowing this lifts me up.

I am filled with healing energy

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Few of us realize that God is all we need until God is all we have.

If I can't find God, I know who moved.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Rather than getting even with those that hurt you, the challenge is to get even with those that help you.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I am letting a power greater than myself remove all my fear. I am now free to look within for my answers.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

My sponsor said; 'OK, the only way to disprove a belief system is to adopt it. You can't stand outside the experience and say it doesn't work. So, for six months, live this program, really live it. And a t the end of that time if you say: 'It doesn't work, my life's still in the toilet.' Then I'll be happy to say; 'You're absolutely right, for you it doesn't work, bon voyage.' And I've tried that with a lot of guys and there's no way you can do that and say AA doesn't work - Because it does. - John L.

[yukonm]

May 10

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us which we could never do by ourselves. - Pg. 25 - There Is A Solution

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Sometimes you might feel spiritually dead or emotionally empty. No matter how dead or empty you sometimes feel, believe us when we say if you keep coming back, you will feel alive and full once again!

Whether or not I believe in a Higher Power, I will practice believing by praying anyway--the worst it can do is teach me discipline, the best it can do is work!

Being Authentic

I will stop fighting with myself and give my mind, body and heart the rest and inner quiet that they are craving. I'm not going to rush myself into wellness or force my thoughts into a phony sort of gaiety. I will accept myself as I am and feel what I feel. Thoughts and feelings won't kill me. Resisting the ones I don't want to experience puts me in a constant struggle with my own insides. My random thoughts and feelings are trying to tell me something. If I turn away and refuse to listen, I only hurt myself. Instead I will let the adult in me listen to those younger, fearful or anxious selves that are bubbling up inside of me just as a loving parent would allow a child who is hurt to pour out all of their feelings knowing that the simple act of pouring, it in itself, the cure.

I am willing to know myself

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

If you rely on meetings alone to keep you sober, then you must find a 24 hour meeting. Meetings are for identifying and sharing. People in the meetings will tell you what they did and suggest what you can do, but they can't do it for you.

I can pray for a good harvest, but I still have to plow.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

The first year is free.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I will look for opportunities to continue to grow through seeing the beauty around me and in me.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Between any two alcoholics there's probably one good brain left. - Doug D.

[yukonm]

May 11

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Be determined that your husband's drinking is not going to spoil your relations with your children or your friends. They need your companionship and your help. It is possible to have a full and useful life, though your husband continues to drink. We know women who are unafraid, even happy under these conditions. Do not set your heart on reforming your husband. You may be unable to do so, no matter how hard you try. - Pg. 111 - To Wives

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

There is a certain universality to the truths taught in our 12 step programs. They are nothing new. These principles are derived from eons of experience and spirituality. What is new is our personal understanding that living these principles gives us a reprieve from our addiction.

Thank you God, as I understand You, for my daily reprieve from addiction based on my sincere attempt to practice these principles.

Accepting Caring from Others

I will soak up any extra attention that I get while I'm not feeling up to par. Even if I don't need it at the moment, I will soak it into my pores and store it up for a time when I do need it. I will let the attention feel good. I will allow it to restore my faith in and affection for people. I enjoy the little things people are willing to do for me, going a bit out of their way, worrying about how I'm doing. It feels good if I let it. It restores me if I willing to feel good.

Feeling grateful for what is coming my way has a healing power all its own.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Don't let your starting point in recovery ever discourage you. Don't let your starting point today put a frown on your face. Anyone who gets to be an old-timer had to be a newcomer first. Smile and start.

My journey of a thousand smiles begins with the First Step.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

You can change any thought that hurts into a reality that hurts even more.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today my trust in the overall and the long run is deep and is growing. When events and people do not act as I would like them to act, I reach deeper inside for my faith and let it comfort me.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

No matter how bad things are, eventually drinking will make them worse. That's a flat out guarantee. - Cubby S.

[MajestyJo]

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

The first year is free.

This reminds me of what they said to me on my one year anniversary, "Now the work begins." They were right. It is one thing to get sober, it is another to work to stay sober.

This morning my thought for today was, "When things become a chore, I need to have a change in attitude."

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSQfX0z8yWKt5DyMzD-x_pJ2mTnZd0LtDPZeVnia40R7uyM0rZO

[yukonm]

May 12

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

To be doomed to an alcoholic death or to live on a spiritual basis are not always easy alternatives to face. - Pg. 44 - We Agnostics

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

You will probably misjudge and misunderstand many people and their motives for a time. The muddled thinking of early recovery has a way of making us take things the wrong way. Remember your vulnerability and that withdrawal distorts thinking. Don't be hard on yourself or those around you. Do nothing permanent for eight months to a year. This way your regrets will be minimized.

God, as I understand You, hold my tongue from uttering words and restrain my steps from moving in directions that I may one day regret.

Recall a Pleasant Moment: Soothe the Heart and You Soothe the Self

You can calm and nourish your heart by regularly meditating or praying. These activities produce the 'relaxation response' - a physiological state that is exactly the opposite of stress, a state that reduces blood pressure and increases blood flow to the heart. Many forms of meditation and prayer organically incorporate feelings of love, appreciation and forgiveness. Some traditional Buddhist practice use 'loving-kindness meditation,' during which they focus their attention on the heart and generate feelings of loving kindness for others and themselves. Not only does this create the feelings in your mind, but it creates them in the body as well. A form of such 'intentional heart focus' has been found by the HeartMath researchers to create greater coherence in the heart in as little as one minute. To experience the benefits of this 'intentional heart focus,' try the following next time you're feeling stressed: Take a break and mentally disengage from the situation. Bring your attention to the area of your heart. Recall an experience with a loved one in which you felt happiness, love or appreciation or just meditate for a moment on those kinds of thoughts and feelings.

Re-experience these feelings while keeping your attention on your heart. Let your breathing be relaxed and regular.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

'When one is a stranger to oneself then one is estranged from others too. If one is out of touch with oneself, then one cannot touch others.' ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gifts From the Sea 1955

I cannot touch others if I am not in touch with myself. I keep in touch with myself through Step Ten.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

The best things in life aren't things.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

When I place myself in the hands and heart of my Higher Power today, I know that I will get my needs met. Only then do I trust that I will come from good and love, keeping the good of others in my mind and my heart.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Say what you mean, but don't say it mean. - Anon.

[yukonm]

May 13

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Instead of regarding ourselves as intelligent agents, spearheads of God's ever advancing Creation, we agnostics and atheists chose to believe that our human intelligence was the last word, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and end of all. Rather vain of us, wasn't it.? - Pg. 49 - We Agnostics

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Heavy were the storms and fierce the tides that brought us to this point in recovery. Storms also lie ahead, but after each storm, follows the dawn of calm. The old washes away and the time is right for a clean life.

May I surrender to the Light, God as I understand You, and learn to protect myself during storms.

Inside My Mind

I am changing, I can feel it. I am learning and growing just by being still. I am sensing more than I normally sense and feeling more than I normally feel. I am grateful to feel alive and to recognize that life is a spiritual journey. All my life circumstances are spiritual challenges, opportunities to see new sides of myself, new sides of life. Life surrounds me; it is inside, outside and everywhere. If I am open and still inside, life is there. If I am not lost in a million unnecessary distractions, life is there, spirit is there-waiting to be seen and felt.

I allow my mind its freedom.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

The most convincing message we can carry to other chemical dependents is our own example of a contented recovery. And kindness. To the desolate alcoholic/addict, an act of kindness can be the difference between getting 'better' or getting 'bitter.'

I remember that I may be the only Big Book some people ever see.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

You are the problem, but you are also the solution.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I will wait in quiet and faith for a clear answer before making any decisions. Today I feel secure, trusting that my instincts are guiding me on every step on my path.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I put my head in the oven and turned on the gas. But nothing happened... They'd turned the gas off, I hadn't paid the bill. - Anon.

[yukonm]

May 14

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

See your man alone, if possible. At first engage in general conversation. After a while, turn the talk to some phase of drinking. Tell him enough about your drinking habits, symptoms, and experiences to encourage him to speak of himself. If he wishes to talk, let him do so. You will thus get a better idea of how you ought to proceed. If he is not communicative, give him a sketch of your drinking career up to the time you quit. But say nothing, for the moment, of how that was accomplished. If he is in a serious mood dwell on the troubles liquor has caused you, being careful not to moralize or lecture. If his mood is light, tell him humorous stories of your escapades. Get him to tell some of his.

When he sees you know all about the drinking game, commence to describe yourself as an alcoholic. - Pg. 91 - Working With Others

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

We may be hearing a lot about acceptance right now, if not, we soon will. Acceptance does not mean we have to 'put up with all this ****.' Acceptance means facing of reality. 'This is how it is and I will do the best I can.'

Help me take an objective view of my current situation and not be resigned to some 'fate.' I will be an active part of this process of recovery.

Prayer

Prayer helps me to heal. Study after study scientifically prove that prayer is beneficial to my health. I will pray for my healing throughout my day when ever it occurs to me. I will accept and be grateful or the prayers of others knowing that they are being carried to me by unseen hands. Just as radio waves pulse through the air and become voices, prayers come to me in an inner voice. I will ask my body to hear the prayers that are coming toward me and to invite them into each and every cell.

I accept the power of prayer to heal

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

If you don't deal with your feelings, they'll deal with you. Whatever you are thinking right now is creating how you feel. One of the best ways to deal with the way you feel is to create positive thoughts.

I create positive feelings by thinking positive thoughts.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

If your Higher Power can handle eternity, you can surely handle right now!

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I have all the power I need today to say no to negative choices. The personal choices I make today are positive and healthy. I take responsibility for my life today.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

One foot in yesterday, one foot in tomorrow, peeing all over today. - Unknown origin.

[yukonm]

May 15

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

We seldom allow an alcoholic to live in our homes for long at a time. It is not good for him, and it sometimes creates serious complications in a family. - Pg. 97 - Working With Others

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

The best decision you have ever made is to opt for the health that sobriety and clean time will give you. If the decision was someone else's then your decision to accept it was the best one ever made. You will gain a new perspective on life and for this you need to thank yourself.

As I thank myself, I also thank any others, including a Higher Power, as I understand Him / Her, for giving me another hour without mind-affecting chemicals.

Letting My Body Speak

I will let my body have a voice today and I will listen to what it's trying to say to me. If my body's voice has tears in it, I will allow those tears to come out. If my body is holding anger, I will allow myself to experience that anger so that it can dissolve and my cells no longer have to hold it for me. If my body wants to shiver and shake I will let it, knowing that it just needs to release something it doesn't want to hang onto any more.

I allow my body to let go of the emotions it is holding

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Knowing what to do with this moment, is as simple as doing the next right thing so that your Spiritual Source can act in your best interests.

When my Higher Power is for me, what can be against me?

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

When you talk, you can only say something you already know. When you listen, you may learn something somebody else knows.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

It is exciting to know that the more I listen to the chattering that goes on in my mind, the quicker I can identify the blocks to my positive and creative energy. Today I release all negativity so that I can be fully alive in the moment.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I was living on the streets, drinking. I'd sit in the meetings and listen to them talking about this 'phenomenon of craving', but I can't see that it applies to me. I mean, I would drink and get drunk but it didn't seem like a craving to me. I'd seen 'Lost Weekend' and 'Days Of Wine and Roses'. I don't claw the walls to get another drink. - But the funny thing about a craving is that you don't realize you have it until it's interrupted. - Bob D.

[yukonm]

May 16

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

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. - Pg. 96 - Working With Others

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

By now, most of us start asking 'Am I really an addict? Or is this just a bad mistake?' The pain of separation is setting in. 'How can I cope without drugs? Will I become stupid, boring and dull?' We must realize that these thoughts are our addictions talking to us, luring us.

Higher Power, help me shut my ears to my addictions.

My Feelings Have Force

Today, even though I am feeling out of sorts I will take responsibility for what I am putting out to others. Am I appreciating the efforts people are making for me. Am I looking into and beyond their faces as they are looking into mine. Am I giving them half a chance to help me and am I giving myself half a chance to be helped? As I move through the experiences of my day, I will try to remain conscious of others efforts and well as my own. I will appreciate what is being done for me.

I let good in

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Now and then with a little time, we stop working one through nine. The price of recovery is eternal vigilance. Steps Ten, Eleven, and Twelve insure that we keep working One through Nine.

No matter how much time I have from my last drink or drug, I am only Twelve Steps away from the next.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Don't force solutions.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I begin my day with quiet time, finding peace and serenity in my mediation. I carry those feelings with me wherever I am. If anything happens to disturb this peace, I can stop and spend a few minutes with my breath and regain my serenity.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Alcoholic's National Anthem; 'I was always on my mind...I was always on my mind' - Ken D.

[yukonm]

May 17

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Our Society then entered a fearsome and exciting adolescent period. The test that it faced was this: Could these large numbers of erstwhile erratic alcoholics successfully meet and work together? Would there be quarrels over membership, leadership, and money? Would there be strivings for power and prestige? Would there be schisms which would split A.A. apart? Soon A.A. was beset by these very problems on every side and in every group. But out of this frightening and at first disrupting experience the conviction grew that A.A.'s had to hang together or die separately. We had to unify our Fellowship or pass off the scene. - Pgs. xviii-xix - 4th. Edition - Forward To The Second Edition

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

We are told we have free will. Yet as that fix, pill, drink, smoke, or snort beckons, pleads for us to partake, we often feel there is no free will in addiction. When that 'force' pleads with us, we must pray for God's will, not ours, and we must make a contact with a clean and sober person in recovery.

Please God, as I understand You, help me find a person in the fellowship to talk to, now.

Giving My Body a Voice

Today I will write in my journal as a part of my body. I might say something like, 'I am your back and I want to cry. I am tired of being silent and this is what I want you to hear.' Or maybe I'll say, 'as your stomach I want to rebel. I want to relax, and let go of all this'..'Or I am your legs and I wish you appreciated me. I carry you all around the world but you are constantly wishing I were different.' I will let my body parts have a voice and scribble their thoughts onto paper them I will read what they have said to me and wonder about what they have told me.

I will put pen to paper.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Whatever our problems, when we dwell on the problem, the problem gets bigger. When we dwell on the solution, the solution gets bigger.

I don't tell my Higher Power how big my problem is, I tell my problem how big my Higher Power is.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

'Why' questions keep you in the problem while 'How' questions keep you in the solution.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I know that with every in-breath I am breathing in powerful healing energy. And with every out-breath I am letting go. I am letting go of all anxiety, all stress, all negativity that is standing in the way of my feeling good about myself.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Only those who have traveled the road know where the holes are deepest. - Chinese Proverb.

[yukonm]

May 18

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

It did not satisfy us to be told that we could not control our drinking just because we were maladjusted to life, that we were in full flight from reality, or were outright mental defectives. These things were true to some extent, in fact, to a considerable extent with some of us. But we are sure that our bodies were sickened as well. In our belief, any picture of the alcoholic which leaves out his physical factor is incomplete. - Pg. xxvi - 4th. Edition - The Doctor's Opinion

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Often times we have fears that someone from the past might find us, evil is after us, or that our friends really hate us. At these times we must turn to our Higher Power, surrender our fears and our fate. In that surrender, we cease struggling, cease fear.

The Divine helps me ask for help when I need it.

Giving

Today I give with both hands. Giving for its own sake is the spiritual way and actually releases the gift. When I givewith one hand and take with the other, I give only half of what I haveand receive only half of what might be given to me. I limit myself intwo ways. Somehow the universe responds to clear intention. When I fully release a gift, it goes to where it is supposed to go and what returns to me comes when and how it is right.

I am able to give with both hands

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Our recovery has less to do with our thinking and much more to do with our actions. If you don't believe this, stop going to meetings, stop looking at where you're wrong, stop making amends, and stop doing service work. You will soon see that no matter how good your 'thoughts' are, your life won't be worth a hoot in very short order.

My recovery works better when I utilize, not analyze.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

If something is right, it can be done. If it is wrong it can be done without.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I look beyond the immediate moment of satisfaction and decide what is good for me in the larger picture of my life. Today I have faith and patience and can wait to make loving and positive choices.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I didn't know who I was. I would be the type of person you wanted me to be at that particular time. A few minutes later I'd be the type of person someone else wanted me to be. I had so many personalities I could have gone into group therapy on my own. - Anon.

[yukonm]

May 19

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

THE FACT IS THAT MOST ALCOHOLICS, FOR REASONS YET OBSCURE, HAVE LOST THE POWER OF CHOICE IN DRINK. OUR SO-CALLED WILL POWER BECOMES PRACTICALLY NONEXISTENT. WE ARE UNABLE, AT CERTAIN TIMES, TO BRING INTO OUR CONSCIOUSNESS WITH SUFFICIENT FORCE THE MEMORY OF THE SUFFERING AND HUMILIATION OF EVEN A WEEK OR A MONTH AGO. WE ARE WITHOUT DEFENSE AGAINST THE FIRST DRINK. - Pg. 24 - There Is A Solution

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

To want a fix, pill, drink, smoke, or snort is not bad, it is a perfectly normal state of being for an addict. But each hour we stay clean eventually makes a day. Each day brings us closer to health of body, mind, and spirit. Eventually 'craving' our chemicals will not be normal, but a thing of our diseased past.

Let me know that the state of craving my drug of choice will one day be replaced with feeling my true emotions.

My Reservoir of Peace

There is nothing in my day that is more important than my serenity. It is my responsibility to maintain and attend to it. Whatever I do in the world, my serenity comes first. I owe it to no one. I will pay attention today to the myriad of ways in which I am thrown off balance and I will take a moment to center myself, to breathe, to remember that when I can calm my body, mind and spirit, I interact differently the people, places and things of my day. I will work daily to build my serenity muscles so that I stay strong and flexible. Serenity isn't something that I can just grab and have. I need to nourish it through quiet and reflection and come back to it what I lose it. My serenity is mine to look after. I give myself the gift of my own serenity today and every day.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

The next time a newcomer tells you, 'The program isn't working for me,' agree with them. They are right. Then explain to them that the only people who stay clean and sober are the ones who work the program, not the ones who wait for the program to work for them.

I must do the work or it doesn't get done.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

If you suffer from low self-esteem, do estimable things.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I love the person that I am becoming. - Diane Crosby

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I don't think it's a coincidence that the word 'spirit' means God and it means alcohol. - Cubby S.

[yukonm]

May 20

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Rarely Have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. - Pg. 58 - How It Works

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Often we try to make our disease someone else's fault. 'It was my upbringing, it was my spouse, it was my job or lack thereof.' However, we know that circumstances are no more responsible for the brain chemistry malfunctioning in addiction than it is in the pancreas malfunctioning in diabetes.

For whatever biological reason I have this addiction, I need to stop blaming and start recovering.

Putting in the Elbow Grease

I will be willing to do the daily work that is required to have the life I want to have. A good life is brought forth through many doors. The door of visualization, the door or seeing and the door of work. As I progress along my path I will learn how to 'work smarter'. How to use my energies more efficiently and waste less time needlessly. I'll learn how to get out of my own way and let my energies flow more freely. I'll learn how to listen to others and make my own decisions, how to have boundaries that are porous and flexible rather than either rigid or weak. I will find my sense of self and be able to sustain it even in the presence of others. I'll develop strength, wisdom, patience and compassion. I will develop my own unique gifts and strengths.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

'If you are humble, nothing can touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know who you are.' ~Mother Theresa

Humility is that virtue which reduces me to the proper size without degrading me, and increases me in statue without inflating me.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Actions speak louder than bumper stickers.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I will look at all my fears in a new light. I can now see them as a result of my thinking and will turn over all my fear thoughts to my Higher Power. Fear no longer owns me or is a threat to my day.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I hear women say they faked orgasms.
I faked whole relationships. - Bob.

[yukonm]

May 21

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

STEP SIX. We have emphasized willingness as being indispensable. Are we now ready to let God remove from us all the things which we have admitted are objectionable? - Pg. 76 - Into Action

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Have I identified myself clearly as a chemically dependent person suffering from a chronic disease? We have short memories and it is easy to forget why we sought help in the first place. In this disease, only abstinence can pave the way to recovery, so we must never lose sight of our first step.

I admit that I suffer from the disease of addiction and this is my first step toward health--help me remember!

Spiritual Transformation

Today, I see that to change my life I have to change myself. Nothing less than a spiritual transformation will allow me to experience my current life as an alive, serene and whole person. When I say that I would like world peace, first I will understand that without inner peace there will be no world peace. One of the ways in which I can serve the cause of humanity is to be, within myself, a genuinely spiritual person -- respecting all sects and creeds, but standing on my own as a conduit of higher truth, recognizing that each person has access to that knowledge. I will look for truth today within myself rather than outside. I will not wait for peace to be handed to me as some sort of prize for good behavior but will do the inner work needed to achieve it. Today I give and receive the gift of peace.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Frequently, addicts and alcoholics who experience difficulties will isolate in order to lick their wounds like an injured animal. You may not want to bother us, you may be embarrassed by your blunders, or you may think it's not our business. When you don't use our friendship, we can't do our job.

Friends are God's way of taking care of me.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Surrender is riding the bus in the direction it's going.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Change is an action step and I am taking new action today to bring positive change to my life. I know longer accept the unacceptable ways that no longer work for me.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I drank that first drink and all my Irish DNA said: 'Yes!' - Nancy N.

[MajestyJo]

My Irish DNA said, "Ahhhh!" Looked for that feeling for years. The sad thing was, it got so that when I found it, I couldn't stop and wanted more. It got to the place where it kept taking more and more, to find it. What was my best friend, became my worst enemy.

Thanks for your continued service by sharing these.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR3uKvaZKNAqZzePEiIzS04rUo-WsRmXPGXk_ssuxBlsb0tQEwS_w

[yukonm]

May 22

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives. Under these conditions we can employ our mental faculties with assurance, for after all God gave us brains to use. Our thought-life will be placed on a much higher plane when our thinking is cleared of wrong motives. - Pg. 86 - Into Action

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Right now you can concentrate on getting through withdrawal one hour at a time. Don't worry about tomorrow morning or next week, just this hour, just this day. You've already made it without anything for this long--now keep going forward!

Fill me with the knowledge that I can do anything for just this hour, just this day.

Forgiveness

Today, I am willing to take a leap of faith into a process of forgiveness. My willingness to consider forgiveness as an option says that I want more out of life and relationships, that I am engaged and alive. I am willing to feel, to love and be loved. This implies that I value myself more than I value winning, prevailing or revenge. Forgiveness is the ultimate statement of self-love. If I love myself I don't want to do things to hurt myself. Some things aren't within my control but forgiveness is. I can't always make sure I don't get hurt but I can have much to say about how I react to getting hurt.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

God is the answer, now what is the problem? Problem with the word 'God?' According to Random House Dictionary--Life, Truth, Love, Mind, Soul, Spirit, and Principle are all synonymous for 'God.' The above statement could just as easily be 'Life, Truth, Love, Mind, Soul, Spirit, and Principle are the answers. Now what is the problem?'

Today, I let go of the labels that stand between me and my understanding of God.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

An alcoholic is an individual who takes the most simple program and works on it until he has eventually reduced it to its most complicated form.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I choose to feel love in this moment. Today I choose to let love fill my day and bring joy.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress. - Thomas Edison

[MajestyJo]

All the quotes are good. This one stood out for me.

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Right now you can concentrate on getting through withdrawal one hour at a time. Don't worry about tomorrow morning or next week, just this hour, just this day. You've already made it without anything for this long--now keep going forward!

Fill me with the knowledge that I can do anything for just this hour, just this day.

This applies to all thngs in my life, especially when I am dealing with pain.

http://www.animated-gifs.eu/mammals-foxes/0046.gif

Heard on Larry King show today, Meditation works, it helps to relieve stress, helps to let go, and happiness in the moment is there for the taking.

I did get a smile too. The guest said, "To quote Homer Simpson, 'Brain shut up or will stab you with a Q-Tip,' meditation is less painful." It takes practice, practice, practice.

[yukonm]

May 23

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

It relieved me somewhat to learn that in alcoholics the will is amazingly weakened when it comes to combating liquor, though it often remains strong in other respects. My incredible behavior in the face of a desperate desire to stop was explained. Understanding myself now, I fared forth in high hope. For three or four months the goose hung high. I went to town regularly and even made a little money. Surely this was the answer - self-knowledge.

But it was not, for the frightful day came when I drank once more. The curve of my declining moral and bodily health fell off like a ski-jump. After a time I returned to the hospital. This was the finish, the curtain, it seemed to me. My weary and despairing wife was informed that it would all end with heart failure during delirium tremens, or I would develop a wet brain, perhaps within a year. She would soon have to give me over to the undertaker or the asylum. - Pg. 7 - Bill's Story

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Is yesterday something that you worry about? Some yesterday? Whatever its mistakes, faults, blunders, or pains it has passed forever beyond your control. You cannot erase a single word or deed from your 'yesterdays.' On this road of recovery, we find it best to simply worry about right now.

Right now I am safe. Right now I am abstinent. Right now I am not harming myself. Right now I am relying on a Power Greater then myself to see me through this.

My Interaction with My World

I elicit a particular response from the world about how it sees me based on what I'm putting out there. I get a response, then I take in that information, process it well or badly, consciously or unconsciously, and it becomes a part of me. A part of my wiring psychologically, emotionally and spiritually. Who I am is a product of who I am. Those of us who had great starts in life are lucky, but all of us can do a lot about who we are, and forgiveness is one of those tools that has the power to transform our lives. There's much more to it than meets the eye, more work and more benefit.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

There will be times when people around you act like absolute jerks. If they are a jerk and the problem is with them, time will reveal it. Likewise, if you are the jerk and the problem is with you, time will reveal it. Do the next right thing and give time time.

Today, I don't let assholes rent space in my head.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

How we treat others is a consequence of the depth of our own spirituality.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I do not need to know anything about this day beyond this moment. This moment is perfect just as it is and I can handle anything in this moment. My Higher Power gives me all the strength I need today to handle whatever comes up in this moment.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I had nowhere else to go. I crept into the meeting I'd gone to before I'd decided I could still drink. I'd hit rock-bottom. Drinking and sobriety were both unbearable. I sat in the back row, ready to flee again. There was an odd man who I'd seen before at the meeting. He never mixed with anyone. He'd spotted me come in and after a time he came and sat closer than I'd seen him sit next to anyone - still a few rows away, but close for him. Anyway, I stayed through to the end of the meeting. I didn't hear much, I sat there, lost, not knowing what to do, where to go. I noticed this man had moved closer, four or five seats away, and he said: 'Are you all right?' I said, ' It hurts.' And he said; 'I know.' Then he moved off. That's all I could have taken then. And that's all it took: One alcoholic reaching out the hand of AA to another. No matter how shaky either hand was. - Anonymous woman. Australia.

[yukonm]

May 24

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

If you have been successful in solving your own domestic problems, tell the newcomer's family how that was accomplished. In this way you can set them on the right track without becoming critical of them. The story of how you and your wife settled your difficulties is worth any amount of criticism. - Pg. 100 - Working With Others

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

It is our experience in recovery that a Power greater then ourselves places the answers before us that we need to hear when we need to hear them. Often we don't like the answers and ignore the reality of them. But we can face reality now, if we choose.

Please give me the strength to see this through to the next hour. Help me face the reality of recovery and not slip back to the insanity of using.

Staying with Myself

Today, I see that having my own life begins inside of me. It is not just a function of what I do, but the attitude with which I move through my day. Having my own life is about checking in with myself to see how I'm doing. It's wearing a sweater if I'm cold and taking a break if I'm tired. It's making sure that I'm having enough fun in my life, paying attention to what I enjoy doing, doing more of that and finding ways of reducing what doesn't feel good. Having a life is letting myself have my own unique likes and dislikes, and acting on them in constructive ways. It is not organizing my life so that it is good enough for everyone else, forgetting that it needs to be good enough for me as well. I occupy the center of my own life.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

You may not always know what is right but you sure know what is wrong. Anytime you have to give excuses for why you do what you do, it's wrong.

If I have to explain or excuse it, then I can do without it.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

In a bar, we got sympathy--as long as our money lasted. In AA, we get understanding for nothing.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I dare to believe in the beauty of love. Today I trust I am being led to love by love and my day will be full of love.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Change only happens when the pain of holding on is greater than the fear of letting go. - Unknown origin.

[MajestyJo]

Really liked this, it really gave me food for thought. Things that God and I are working on.

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSJRLASjSZdZz3ukKqe7ZhLO8ScmSxvQ 5VHom0gz52jeWUlpCX2

[yukonm]

May 25

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

So our rule is not to avoid a place where there is drinking, IF WE HAVE A LEGITIMATE REASON FOR BEING THERE. That includes bars, nightclubs, dances, receptions, weddings, even plain ordinary whoopee parties. To a person who has had experience with an alcoholic, this may seem like tempting Providence, but it isn't.

You will note that we made an important qualification. Therefore, ask yourself on each occasion, 'Have I any good social, business, or personal reason for going to this place? Or am I expecting to steal a little vicarious pleasure from the atmosphere of such places?' If you answer these questions satisfactorily, you need have no apprehension. Go or stay away, whichever seems best. But be sure you are on solid spiritual ground before you start and that your motive in going is thoroughly good. Do not think of what you will get out of the occasion. Think of what you can bring to it. But if you are shaky, you had better work with another alcoholic instead! - Pgs. 101-102 - Working With Others

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

When there is no way to get away from us, when we can't get high enough to turn off the pain anymore, when we are worried and confused, then maybe it is time to try another way.

Right now I surrender to another way. Right now I will not get high and will walk this new road.

Fear

Today, I allow myself to experience my fears as fears, and not dictate or color my life circumstances because of them. They are real, and it is understandable that I have them. Healing mobilizes my deep fears, and they come up more intensely than ever. This is a part of my process of growth, and growth is not neat and tidy. When I am very afraid, I will comfort myself or seek comfort from someone else. I will understand that I am afraid and that even though I fear the worst, the worst will not necessarily happen. My feelings feel very powerful inside me, particularly when they have been repressed and are surfacing after many years, but they are not facts. I can survive my fears and understand that they will pass.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

One thing recovery teaches us, is that you can keep going long after you think you can't. This is because you are stronger than you think. You have the accumulated strength of millions of clean and sober Twelve-Step members to bolster you.

I keep on keep'n on; I keep on trudging.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Criticism and finding fault are not spiritual gifts.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I celebrate myself today. I am alive. I am growing. I am willing to do all I am able to do to be the best of who I am.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I agree with the first speaker in that any answer you may want may be in the Big Book but sometimes the book may send you outside of AA to get the things you need to survive here. - Bob E.

[yukonm]

May 26

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

What used to be the hunch or the occasional inspiration gradually becomes a working part of the mind. Being still inexperienced and having just made conscious contact with God, it is not probable that we are goint to be inspired at all times. We might pay for this presumption in all sorts of absurd actions and ideas. Nevertheless, we find that our thinking will, as time passes, be more and more on the plane of inspiration. We come to rely upon it. - Pg. 87 - Into Action

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

The most basic thing you can do right now is to understand the basics. Don't drink, pop pills, shoot dope, snort coke, smoke crack AND listen to the people you came to for help.

My Divine Source aids me in putting everything in perspective this hour--the basics are: don't use and listen!

Fear of Change

Today, I am able to live with my fear that I will not like myself or those close to me if we change. Change is threatening, and healing and growing include change. It doesn't matter to my fearful self if the change is for the better or worse. In fact, change for the better can sometimes be even more threatening. I fear that I will not know how to act or have the tools to be with the 'better' without smearing my disease all over it. I remind myself today, again, that I do not have to grow perfectly. This is not an easy road, but the gains are so apparent that I will have faith that my tough times will come to an end.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Relief Lies in Two Four Letter Words that Begin with F: Steps Four and Five. (P 29, Young, Sober, & Free)

I Uncover to Recover in Four and Five.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Sobriety is not a dress rehearsal.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I know I'm being guided and protected by a power greater than myself. I look forward to the unknown around the next bend in the road, the adventure over the next hill.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I try never to underestimate the destructive power of alcoholism. Or the healing power of Alcoholics Anonymous. - Trip S.

[MajestyJo]

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Sobriety is not a dress rehearsal.

Don't remember hearing this before. I don't get to start again in the same place. This is a progressive disease. I hate to think of what it would be like if I relapsed at 22 years sober. I don't think I would live to make it back. Using has never been an option since I came into the program in 1991.

[yukonm]

May 27

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Many alcoholics are enthusiasts. They run to extremes. At the beginning of recovery a man will take, as a rule, one of two directions. He may either plunge into a frantic attempt to get on his feet in business, or he may be so enthralled by his new life that he talks or thinks of little else. In either case certain family problems arise. With these we have had experience galore. - Pgs. 125-126 - The Family Afterward

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

If we can meditate at first, good. If we can pray, good. But if we can't, we mustn't worry. Discipline and dedication will come later. They are not great virtues of addicts. In the meantime we must attend meetings daily, find a sponsor, use professional help if its available and don't take that first fix, pill, drink, smoke, or snort.

May I not get down on myself for not doing everything people tell me I should. I need only go to meetings and stay clean and sober right now.

Acting As If

There will be times when I do not feel up to things, when there seems to be too big a gap between who I think I am and who I want to be. I believe in being true to myself, in being basically honest. When I first try something new, it may feel as if I am trying on an article of clothing that doesn't quite suit me. But there is nothing wrong with acting 'as if.' I may need to practice new behaviors in order to become comfortable with them. Sometimes, when I allow myself to act 'as if,' the old me sort of falls away and makes room for something new. Children do this all the time, trying on different roles and playing with them. There is no reason to commit myself to a limited view of who I am.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.

My sponsor's mistakes become my gifts when I listen.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

We're not against alcohol, we're for sobriety.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I will take all the time I need to keep in touch with my Higher Power today. Meditation slows me down and brings me peace whenever I choose.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I was always trying to find a balance between being a doormat or a bulldozer. - Bea M.

[yukonm]

May 28

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

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

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

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

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

I Am Not Alone

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

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

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

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

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

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

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

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

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

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

[yukonm]

May 29

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

I saw that my friend was much more than inwardly reorganized. He was on a different footing. His roots grasped a new soil.

Despite the living example of my friend there remained in me the vestiges of my old prejudice. The word God still aroused a certain antipathy. When the thought was expressed that there might be a God personal to me this feeling was intensified. I didn't like the idea. I could go for such conceptions as Creative Intelligence, Universal Mind or Spirit of Nature but I resisted the thought of a Czar of the Heavens, however loving His sway might be. I have since talked with scores of men who felt the same way.

My friend suggested what then seemed a novel idea. He said, 'WHY DON'T YOU CHOOSE YOUR OWN CONCEPTION OF GOD?' - Pgs. 11-12 - Bill's Story

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

We often feel tremendous remorse for transgressions of the past. Today, now, we can stay clean, stay sober, stay drug free. This is the beginning. Later in our program, we will work steps to neutralize our transgressions. But right now, we must heal our bodies first.

God, as I understand You, keep me clean and sober, now.

Lesson and Life

I recognize today that I am in charge of my own learning. Life is constantly offering up circumstances that are useful in my personal growth. I can move through the situation, live it out, extract the wisdom that is in it or repeat it over and over again, exhausting myself and learning very little. The deepest and most appropriate things I need to learn in life are generally right in front of me. Life is my guru if I can use it as such. It is rich with subtle learning if I look for it. The real achievement for me today is to learn to be in my own skin, to see truth in all that surrounds me, to know that placing value and judgment is pointless and illusory -- all of life is valuable.

- Tian Dayton PhD

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Anger is not a solution.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I will be gentle with myself as I meditate and look within. I will look at my inner self lovingly and without judgement as I find the blocks that have kept me stuck.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I started my next big quest to avoid being an alcoholic; My first was self-knowledge, with therapy, now I began the quest of self-will. I drank 'til I didn't want to be a drunk, I overcame my drink problem with marijuana, I was victorious over marijuana with pills, I triumphed over pills with cocaine and then I drank until I didn't want to be a drunk. I swapped addictions and I used self-will to avoid catching alcoholism. - Scott R.

[MajestyJo]

AA 'Big Book' - Quote


It boils right down to this: No man should be fired just because he is alcoholic. If he wants to stop, he should be afforded a real chance. If he cannot or does not want to stop, he should be discharged. The exceptions are few.

We think this method of approach will accomplish several things. It will permit the rehabilitation of good men. At the same time you will feel no reluctance to rid yourself of those who cannot or will not stop. - Pg. 148 - To Employers

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote


As your are welcomed, you must welcome other addicts seeking help. Find someone today to share with. Remember: we teach best what we most need to learn. Sharing is the most important principle our program is built on and we begin every day on this principle.

God, as I understand You, help me begin this day by sharing what I've learned up to now. May everyday in my sobriety include sharing.


Tian Dayton, PhD. - Book Quotes - Emotional Sobriety


Amends

Today, I am willing for healing to take place in ruptured relationships. I have been doing the best that I can. My acknowledgement that I may have hurt someone else does not diminish me. I have also been hurt, and I extend the same understanding to myself that I do to others. We have all been doing the best that we knew how with the awareness we had to work with. My willingness to make amends speaks to my spiritual growth and desire for honesty. Making amends to others sets things straight with myself. My self-respect is growing to the extent that I am no longer comfortable with unfinished business. I will finish up my side for my own self and allow the rest to be where it is. It is for myself that I forgive; I do not need to control the result.

- Tian Dayton PhD


Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Meditation is something which can always be further developed. It has no boundaries, of width or height or depth. Aided by such instruction and example as we can find, it is essentially an individual adventure, something which each one of us works out in his own way. But its object is always the same: to improve our conscious contact with God, with His grace, wisdom, and love.
And let's always remember that meditation is in reality intensely practical. One of its first fruits is emotional balance. With it we can broaden and deepen the channel between ourselves and God as we understand Him.


Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Although loving and being loved is an important aspect of balance in our lives�relationships are never the solution to drinking and other drug taking. We sometimes focus on the strong emotion of love from another rather than face loving ourselves by working the program.

Today I 'act as if� I am worth loving.


From "Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

All it takes to start a new meeting is a resentment and a coffeepot.


Alkie Speaks - Archives

If you want to quit drinking, you are going to have to quit drinking. - Mary G.

I can't do His will my way. - Mary G.

An alcoholic is a person who wants to be held while he's isolating. - Mary G.


Alkie Speaks

I am still not everything I want to be.... but thank God I am not what I use to be! ( Johnna C.)

Time for Joy

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I accept myself today and am grateful that I can grow from where I am. As I bring more and more love to myself, I continue to blossom and expand, growing to be the best of who I can be.

Did a search and it brought me to a site I use to post on. It was dated April 1st, 2011 my birthday.


Joy Quotes"

Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.
Joseph Campbell

Not sure if this is the right link, but liked what it has to say.

[MajestyJo]

AA 'Big Book' - Quote


The less people tolerated us, the more we withdrew from society, from life itself. As we became subjects of King Alcohol, shivering denizens of his mad realm, the chilling vapor that is loneliness settled down. It thickened, ever becoming blacker. Some of us sought out sordid places, hoping to find understanding companionship and approval. Momentarily we did - then would come oblivion and the awful awakening to face the hideous Four Horsemen - Terror, Bewilderment, Frustration, Despair. Unhappy drinkers who read this page will understand! - Pg. 151 - A Vision For You

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Hour To Hour - Book - Quote


Often times late at night, we fear that someone might break in, spirits might invade our body, or that our heart may stop beating. At these times we must turn to our Higher Power, surrender our fears and our fate. In that surrender, we cease struggling, cease fear.

In order for my Spiritual Source to guide me, I cease struggling ( which means getting my will for me ) and surrender my fear and my fate.

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Owning My Own Anger Responsibly

Today, I am willing to take responsibility for the anger that I carry within me. I am not a bad person because I feel angry. No one wants to think of himself or herself as an angry person, and I am no exception. But when I refuse to acknowledge the anger and resentment that I have stored within me, (1) I turn my back on me and refuse to accept a very important part of myself, and (2) I ask the people close to me to hold my feelings for me, to be the containers of my unconscious or the feelings inside me that I do not wish to see. Because I deny my anger to myself does not mean that it goes away. Today, I am willing to consider that there might be something more to it, that I may be carrying feelings of anger that I need to accept.

- Tian Dayton PhD

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Member Submitted Quotes

Blaming keeps you helpless! ( Pandora )

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Misc. AA Literature - Quote

The moment we ponder a twisted or broken relationship with another person, our emotions go on the defensive. To escape looking at the wrongs we have done another, we resentfully focus on the wrong he has done us. Triumphantly we seize upon his slightest misbehavior as the perfect excuse for minimizing or forgetting our own.
Right here we need to fetch ourselves up sharply. Let's remember that alcoholics are not the only ones bedeviled by sick emotions. In many instances we are really dealing with fellow sufferers, people whose woes we have increased.
If we are about to ask forgiveness for ourselves, why shouldn't we start out by forgiving them, one and all?

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Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

It's not your Higher Power's Will that makes you miserable. It's your resistance to HP's Will that causes the damage. Turning it over will set you right again.

God's will is when I turn it over. Self-will is when I've over turned it.

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From "Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Law of Sobriety: You can't fall off the floor.

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From Archives:

First we put down the anesthesia; then we operate. - Renee M.


I sum up Step 3 as "Fire myself, hire GOD". - Renee M.

Put down the food and pick up the program. - Renee M.

The longer a burden is carried, the heavier it gets - so TODAY - I choose to live a life of serenity and not a life of regrets...