A Prayer & Some Thoughts - November

[bluidkiti]

November 1


Prayer to Deal With Others

Lord, there are people around me who attempt to bring strife and discord into my life daily.
Give the strength and peace of mind that I may bring your peace to the situation.
Let me be your calm in the midst of the storm, a beacon of your light shining upon the situation.
Renew my strength and restore my passion.
Amen

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Just a Thought

A.A. work is one hundred percent voluntary.

It depends on each and every one of our members to volunteer to do his or her share. Newcomers can sit on the sidelines until they have got over their nervousness and confusion. They have a right to be helped by all, until they can stand on their own feet. But the time inevitably comes when they have to speak up and volunteer to do their share in meetings and in twelfth-step work. Until that time comes, they are only in the process of being assimilated.

So ............

Has my time come to volunteer?

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Just a Contemplation

Live & Let Go


We cannot control everything that happens to us. But we can control our response to those things. We cannot control the feelings of others– their fear, their power trips, their issues. All that we can choose is how we want to respond.

Maybe you have been wronged. Maybe you have had a dream taken from you due to the actions of another. What are you going to do about it? You can give up and give in, or you can make the best of the situation, move on if you can, or make a life where you are.

Learn to live and let live. You can start over, again and again, if necessary.

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Dependence

We discovered the best possible source of emotional stability to be God Himself. We found that dependence upon His perfect justice, forgiveness, and love was healthy, and that it would work where nothing else would.

If we really depended upon God, we couldn't very well play God to our fellows, nor would we feel the urge to rely wholly on human protection and care.

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Page 116

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Just a Few Quotes

“The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.” -- Steve Maraboli

“Forget what hurt you but never forget what it taught you.” -- Shannon L. Alder

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November 2


Prayer for Self Control

Lord,
Today I ask forgiveness of all the negative and harmful words I have spoken about myself.
I do not want to abuse myself in such a way again.
Transform my thoughts and let me understand how marvelously you made me.
Change my habits so I use my tongue to speak hope and favor upon my life.
Amen
-- Sarah Coleman

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Just a Thought

Before we decide to quit drinking, most of us have come up against a blank wall.

We’d seen that we're beaten, that we have to quit. But we don't know which way to turn for help. There seems to be no door in that blank wall. A.A. opens the door that leads to sobriety. By encouraging us to honestly admit that we're alcoholics and to realize that we can't take even one drink, and by showing us which way to turn for help, A.A. opens the door in that blank wall.

So ............

Have I gone through that door to sobriety?

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Just a Contemplation

Being Honest with Ourselves

Our relationship with ourselves is the most important relationship we need to maintain.

When we can tell ourselves how we feel, and accept our feelings, we can tell others.

When we can accept what we want and need, we will be ready to have our wants and needs met.

When we can accept what we think and believe, and accept what's important to us, we can relay this to others.

When we learn to take ourselves seriously, others will too.

When we learn to chuckle at ourselves, we will be ready to laugh with others.

When we have learned to trust ourselves, we will be trustworthy and ready to trust.

When we can be grateful for who we are, we will have achieved self-love.

When we have achieved self-love and accepting our wants and needs, we will be ready to give and receive love.

When we've learned to stand on our own two feet, we're ready to stand next to someone.

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Tradition One

"Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. Unity."

"Does this mean," some will anxiously ask, "that in A.A. the individual doesn't count for much? Is he to be dominated by his group and swallowed up in it?" We may certainly answer this question with a loud "No!" We believe there isn't a fellowship on earth which lavishes more devoted care upon its individual members; surely there is none which more jealously guards the individual's right to think, talk, and act as he wishes. No A.A. can compel another to do anything; nobody can be punished or expelled. Our Twelve Steps to recovery are suggestions; the Twelve Traditions which guarantee A.A.'s unity contain not a single "Don't." They repeatedly say "We ought . . ." but never "You must!"

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Page 129

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Just a Few Quotes

"You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." -- Marcus Aurelius

'If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins' -- Benjamin Franklin

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November 3


Morning Prayer

God, thank you for the gift of family and friends.
Holding them in my heart is one of the most precious things I can never get tired of.
Bless everyone, for they deserve all goodness You have given to me.
If I may do something wrong today, please forgive me.
Amen

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Just a Thought

Am I deeply grateful to A.A. for what it has done for me in regaining my sobriety and opening up an entirely new life for me?

A.A. has made it possible for me to carry on other interests in business and in various other associations with people. It has made a full life possible for me. It would perhaps be wrong if all my activities were limited to A.A. work. It has made a well-rounded life possible for me in work, in play, and in hobbies of various kinds.
But will I desert A.A. because of this? Will I accept a diploma and become a graduate of A.A.?

So ............

Do I realize that I could have nothing worthwhile without A.A.?

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Just a Contemplation

Letting Go of Chaos

Sometimes, unrest, fear, anger, or sadness may motivate us. These feelings are sometimes intended to compel action. But our best work emerges after these feelings have been replaced by peace. We will not accomplish our task any sooner, or any better, by performing it out of a sense of urgency, fear, anger, or sadness.

Let go of unrest. Let peace fill the void. We do not have to forfeit our power, our God given personal power - or our peace - to do the work as we are called upon to do today. We will be given all the power we need to do what we are meant to do, when it is time.

Let peace come first. Then proceed. The task will get done, naturally and on time. With the lack of stress.

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Describing Spiritual Principles

Stress the spiritual feature freely. If the man be agnostic or atheist, make it emphatic that he does not have to agree with your conception of God. He can choose any conception he likes, provided it makes sense to him. The main thing is that he be willing to believe in a Power greater than himself and that he live by spiritual principles.

When dealing with such a person, you had better use everyday language to describe spiritual principles. There is no use arousing any prejudice he may have against certain theological terms and conceptions about which he may already be confused. Don't raise such issues, no matter what your own convictions are.

Alcoholics Anonymous page 93

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Just a Quote

“The first principle of life is love. The second principle is kindness. The third principle is compassion. The fourth principle is trust. The firth principle is integrity.” -- Debasish Mridha

[bluidkiti]

November 4


Prayer For Today

Just for today Lord,
Please give me strength when I am weak, love when I feel forsaken,
courage when I am afraid, wisdom when I feel foolish, comfort when I am alone,
hope when I feel rejected, and peace when I am in turmoil.
Amen

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Just a Thought

How seriously do I take my obligations to A.A.?

Have I taken all the good I can get out of it and then let my obligations slide? Or do I constantly feel a deep debt of gratitude and a deep sense of loyalty to the whole A.A. movement? Am I not only grateful but also proud to be a part of such a wonderful fellowship, which is doing such marvelous work among alcoholics? Am I glad to be a part of the great work that A.A. is doing and do I feel a deep obligation to carry on that work at every opportunity?

So ............

Do I still feel that I owe A.A. my loyalty and devotion?

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Just a Contemplation

Worry

Worry is what happens when you are facing a big situation, and you don't know what to expect. Your mind starts to think through every possible outcome that could happen.

Worrying has a negative impact on your body from head to toe. Worrying can cause you to suffer from me muscle aches and pain. It can also increase your blood pressure, lower your libido, upset your stomach, and cause extreme fatigue. Your heart and lungs can also be affected by excessive worry. Worrying can leave you with an overall sense of doom, cause panic attacks, and lead to depression.

Don't worry about tomorrow. Don't allow your anxiety to control you. When you take action today, you will know that you are being proactive and doing something to control the situation. There is power in this.

If you are someone who struggles with being anxious about everything, then it's a good idea to talk to a professional that can help you. There is a much better way to live that will leave you much happier when you learn how to deal with your worry and anxiety. Imagine going day to day without being controlled by that overwhelming fear and worry that you experience. That life is possible.

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Recapture Old Pleasures

For most normal folks, drinking means conviviality, companionship and colorful imagination. It means release from care, boredom and worry. It is joyous intimacy with friends and a feeling that life is good. But not so with us in those last days of heavy drinking. The old pleasures were gone. They were but memories. Never could we recapture the great moments of the past. There was an insistent yearning to enjoy life as we once did and a heartbreaking obsession that some new miracle of control would enable us to do it. There was always one more attempt - and one more failure.

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!

Alcoholics Anonymous Page 151

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Just a Few Quotes

“Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration and resentment.” -- Dale Carnegie

“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.” -- Elbert Hubbard

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November 5


Recovery Prayer

Lord,
You say that I should ask you for whatever I need.
To those who ask, it will be given.
To those who seek, it will be found.
To those who knock, the door will be opened.
I ask you for healing and recovery today.
You are the God of all hope and so I look to you in my time of need.
You are the healing God, please bring healing.
You are the Comforter, please bring comfort.
You are the spring of living water, help me find life in all its fullness.
Amen.

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Just a Thought

Can I get well?
If I mean: "Can I ever drink normally again," the answer is no. But if I mean, "Can I stay sober?" the answer is definitely yes.

I can get well by turning my drink problem over to a Power greater than myself, that Divine Principle in the universe which we call God, and by asking that Power each morning to give me the strength to stay sober for the next twenty-four hours. I know from the experience of thousands of people that if I honestly want to get well, I can get well.

So ............

Am I faithfully following the A.A. program?

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Just a Contemplation

Hope & Life

Many of us think, "Life seems to be going so well; I wonder what's wrong?" Are we more accustomed to remorse and crisis than to joy and serenity?

What lies before us today is an unpainted picture. There are many possibilities for events to take a good turn. This, too, is part of the package, but we must believe and affirm the good things in order to accept them. When our only expectations are pain and trouble, they probably will be our only experiences. However, when we have faith that a better life is possible, we open ourselves to receive it.

Today, I will live with hope for the possibilities and accept the good things that come my way.

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Walls Of Ego

People who are driven by pride of self unconsciously blind themselves to their liabilities. Newcomers of this sort scarcely need comforting. The problem is to help them discover a chink in the walls their ego has built, through which the light of reason can shine.

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Page 46

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Just a Quote

“Our ego can build a WALL around our soul so thick & formidable that we can't experience the love & warmth of others." -- Jay S.

[bluidkiti]

November 6


Prayer To Be Me


Dear God,
Give me the courage to be myself.
I’m always trying to be what others expect of me.
I’m wasting time and energy pleasing everyone but myself.
I’m not even very good at it.
Help me appreciate the best parts of being me.
Show me how to love myself so I can say with confidence:
I am very happy to be me.
Amen

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Just a Thought

Before I met A.A. I was very dishonest.

I lied to my wife constantly about where I had been and what I'd been doing. I took time off from the office and pretended I'd been sick or gave some other dishonest excuse. I was dishonest with myself, as well as with other people. I would never face myself as I really was or admit when I was wrong. I pretended to myself that I was as good as the next fellow, although I suspected I wasn't.

So ............

Am I now really honest?

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Just a Contemplation

Acceptance

We are asked to accept many things: ourselves, as we are; our feelings, needs, desires, choices, and current status of being. Other people, as they are. The status of our relationships with them. Problems. Blessings. Financial status. Where we live. Our work, our tasks, our level of performance at these tasks

Resistance will not move us forward, nor will it eliminate the undesirable things in our lives. Acceptance is the magic that makes our present circumstances good plus brings peace and contentment. It opens the door to growth, change, and moving forward.

Acceptance empowers the positive and tells God we have surrendered plus we have mastered today's lesson, and are ready to move on.I will accept, I will cultivate contentment and gratitude. I will move forward in joy by accepting where I am today.

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Moral Code

If a mere code of morals or a better philosophy of life were to overcome alcoholism, many of us would have recovered long ago. But we found that such codes and philosophies did not save us, no matter how much we tried. We could wish to be moral, we could wish to be philosophically comforted, in fact, we could will these things with all our might, but the needed power wasn't there. Our human resources, as marshaled by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly.

Alcoholics Anonymous Pages 44-45

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Just a Quote

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” -- Douglas Adams

[bluidkiti]

November 7


Serenity Prayer
(Full Version)

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.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen.

-- Reinhold Niebuhr
(Research suggests that Niebuhr wrote the prayer as part of a sermon he was giving)
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Just a Thought

What am I going to do today for A.A.?

Is there someone I should call up on the telephone or someone I should go to see? Is there a letter I should write? Is there an opportunity somewhere to advance the work of A.A., which I have been putting off, or neglecting? If so, will I do it today? Will I be done with procrastination and do what I have to do today? Tomorrow may be too late. How do I know there will be a tomorrow for me? How about getting out of my easy chair and getting going?

So ............

Do I feel that A.A. depends partly on me today?

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Just a Contemplation

Feelings and Surrender

Surrender is not something we can do in our heads. It is not something we can force or control by willpower. It is a highly personal and spiritual experience.

Acceptance, or surrender, is not a tidy package. Often, it is full of hard feelings - anger, rage, and sadness, followed by release and relief. As we surrender, we experience our frustration and anger at God, at other people, at ourselves, and at life. Then we come to the core of the pain and sadness, the heavy emotional burden inside that must come out before we can feel good. Often, these emotions are connected to healing and release at a deep level.

Our fear and anxiety about the future are released when we surrender. Surrender is the process that allows us to move forward. It is how our Higher Power moves us forward. Trust in the rightness of timing, and the freedom at the other end, as you struggle humanly through this spiritual experience.

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A New Attitude

And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone - even alcohol. For by this time sanity will have returned. We will seldom be interested in liquor. If tempted, we recoil from it as from a hot flame. We react sanely and normally, and we will find that this has happened automatically. We will see that our new attitude toward liquor has been given us without any thought or effort on our part. It just comes! That is the miracle of it. We are not fighting it, neither are we avoiding temptation. We feel as though we had been placed in a position of neutrality - safe and protected. We have not even sworn off. Instead, the problem has been removed. It does not exist for us. We are neither cocky nor are we afraid. That is our experience. That is how we react so long as we keep in fit spiritual condition.

Alcoholics Anonymous Pages 84-85

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Just a Quote

'The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.” -- James Allen

[bluidkiti]

November 8


Prayer for Serenity & Peace

Give me the patience to be compassionate and helpful toward others and myself,
and to know when it is best to remain quiet.
Give me the clarity to be grateful for all that I have,
and to realize when I have something to give to others.
Give me the capacity to love and forgive others,
especially the ones who have wronged me.
Give me the serenity to find happiness and peace in each day.
Amen

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Just a Thought

The way of faith is of course not confined to A.A.

It is the way for everybody who wants to really live. But many people can go through life without much of it. Many are doing so, to their own sorrow. The world is full of lack of faith. Many people have lost confidence in any meaning in the universe. Many are wondering if it has any meaning at all. Many are at loose ends. Life has no goal for many. They are strangers in the land. They are not at home. But for us in A.A. the way of faith is the way of life. We have proved by our past lives that we could not live without it.

So ............

Do I think I could live happily without faith?

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Just a Contemplation

Wisdom & Stress

Wisdom begins in seeing how much we do not know. Sometimes it's a painful blow to our egos to face what we still have to learn. Many of us have believed we know how to live. When our lives seem full of crises - perhaps then it is time to open ourselves to some new learning.

We can talk to friends and get ideas from family members. Perhaps they have noticed our blind spots and will tell us if asked. Expressing our problems in specific ways may point us to new learning. We may need to learn new ways to ask for & accept support. We can also as God to guide us.

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Growth & Change

Change is the characteristic of all growth. From drinking to sobriety, from dishonesty to honesty, from conflict to serenity, from hate to love, from childish independence to adult responsibility--all this and infinitely more represent change for the better.

Such changes are accomplished by a belief in and a practice of sound principles. Here we must needs discard bad or ineffective principles in favor of good ones that work. Even good principles can sometimes be displaced by the discovery of still better ones.

Only God is unchanging; only He has all the truth there is.

As Bill Sees It Page 76

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Just a Quote

"Where there is peace and meditation, there is neither anxiety nor doubt." -- St. Francis of Assisi

[bluidkiti]

November 9


Self Acceptance Prayer

Lord, help me to accept the person that you made me to be, blessings, difficulties, and all. Help me to recognize the plans and purpose for my life and to know there is no purpose too big or too small in this world, as you are the one who gave it to me.

Lord, help me to walk the path of a purpose-filled life. Open my eyes, my ears and my heart to what you are calling me to do in this world. Encourage and guide me, strengthen my commitment and resolve to go forth each day and live the life you created and set out for me. In doing so, I know that I will be abundantly blessed.

May my works and faith encourage others to live their lives in beautiful acceptance of who they were created to be and what they were created to do.
Amen

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Just a Thought

Have I got over most of my sensitiveness, my feelings which are too easily hurt, and my just plain laziness and self-satisfaction?

Am I willing to go all out for A.A. at no matter what cost to my precious self? Is my own comfort more important to me than doing the things that need to be done? Have I got to the point where what happens to me is not so important? Can I face up to things that are embarrassing or uncomfortable if they are the right things to do for the good of A.A.? Have I given A.A. just a small piece of myself?

So ............

Am I willing to give all of myself whenever necessary?

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Just a Contemplation

Rule Book

Many of us feel like we need a rulebook, a microscope, and a warranty to get through life. We feel uncertain, frightened. We don't trust life or ourselves. We want to be in control.Many of us, had made terrible choices, mistakes that nearly destroyed us.It is understandable that we fear being crushed again.

We have now arrived at the understanding that we needed our experiences - even our mistakes - to get to where we are today. We can let go of our past and trust ourselves now. We do not have to punish ourselves with our past. We don't need a rulebook, a microscope, a warranty.

Today, I will stop clinging to the painful lessons of the past. I will open myself to the positive lessons today and tomorrow hold for me. I trust that I can and will take care of myself now. I trust that the Plan is good, even when I don't know what it is. We have found our Higher Power, and this new way of life.

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Strange Paradox

The A.A. member has to conform to the principles of recovery. His life actually depends upon obedience to spiritual principles. If he deviates too far, the penalty is sure and swift; he sickens and dies. At first he goes along because he must, but later he discovers a way of life he really wants to live. Moreover, he finds he cannot keep this priceless gift unless he gives it away. Neither he nor anybody else can survive unless he carries the A.A. message. The moment this Twelfth Step work forms a group, another discovery is made - that most individuals cannot recover unless there is a group. Realization dawns that he is but a small part of a great whole; that no personal sacrifice is too great for preservation of the Fellowship. He learns that the clamor of desires and ambitions within him must be silenced whenever these could damage the group. It becomes plain that the group must survive or the individual will not.

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Page 130

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Just a Quote

"When I loved myself enough, I began leaving whatever wasn't healthy. This meant people, jobs, my own beliefs and habits anything that kept me small. My judgment called it disloyal. Now I see it as self-loving." -- Kim McMilllen

[bluidkiti]

December 10


For Courage to Do Justice

Lord, open my eyes that I may see the needs of others
Open my ears that I may hear their cries;
Open my heart so that they need not be without succor**;
Let me not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong,
Nor afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich.
Show me where love and hope and faith are needed,
And use me to bring them to those places.
And so open my eyes and my ears
That I may this coming day be able to do some work of peace for thee.

-- Alan Paton

**succor --- give assistance or aid to

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Just a Thought

Do I realize that I do not know how much time I have left?

It may be later than I think. Am I going to do the things that I know I should do before my time runs out? By the way, what is my purpose for the rest of my life? Do I realize all I have to make up for in my past wasted life? Do I know that I am living on borrowed time and that I would not have even this much time left without A.A. and the grace of God?

So ............

Am I going to make what time I have left count for A.A.?

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Just a Contemplation

Living In The Present

How easily our minds jump from the present to the failings of the past or our fears about the future. We need to practice, with diligence, returning our minds to whatever the experience is at hand. A truly creative response to any situation can only be made when we are giving it our undivided attention.

All we have of life, all that it can offer us is here, now. If we close our mind to the present, this present, we'll only continue to do so when the tomorrow we dream of now becomes the present. I need to let go of the past and the future. My only reality is here, now.

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Spiritual Beliefs

We, who have traveled this dubious path, beg you to lay aside prejudice, even against organized religion. We have learned that whatever the human frailties of various faiths may be, those faiths have given purpose and direction to millions. People of faith have a logical idea of what life is all about. Actually, we used to have no reasonable conception whatever. We used to amuse ourselves by cynically dissecting spiritual beliefs and practices when we might have observed that many spiritually-minded persons of all races, colors, and creeds were demonstrating a degree of stability, happiness and usefulness which we should have sought ourselves.

-- Author Unknown

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Just a Quote

"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which can not fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance-that principle is contempt prior to investigation." -- Herbert Spencer

[bluidkiti]

November 11


Prayer for Emotional Pain

Lord, I come to You today with distress and sadness in my soul.I feel darkness today like an oppressing cloud. I am exhausted and weary beyond belief
Lord, I feel like You’re a thousand miles away! I feel helpless and my mind is in turmoil. I feel like I’m falling beneath the weight of everything.
Lord, I come to You for refuge, please keep me safe. When I am troubled by anxiety and fear, help me remember that You will guard me.
Bend down and listen to my plea for comfort and free me from this pain.
I cry out to You in my distress.Lord, I trust in You for protection from these fiery darts of pain and grief and hurt.
Lord, I know You hear my weeping. I thank You that You have heard my plea and that You will answer my prayer.
Amen

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Just a Thought

Strength comes from honestly telling your own experiences with drinking.

In religion, they call it confession. We call it witnessing or sharing. You give a personal witness, you share your past experiences, the troubles you got into, the hospitals, the jails, the break-up of your home, the money wasted, the debts, and all the foolish things you did when you were drinking. This personal witness lets out the things you had kept hidden, brings them out into the open, and you find release and strength.

So............

Am I receiving strength from my personal witnessing?

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Just a Contemplation

Change & Security

The specter of change builds dread in most of us. We fear the effects on our personal lives. We lack faith that the impending change will benefit us.

We long for permanence, believing it guarantees security, not realizing the only real security available to us come with our trust in God, from whom all change comes as a blessing on the growth we've attained. If we were to experience total lack of change, we'd find death. Life is challenge, continued change, always endurable and growth enhancing. We can reflect on what's gone before, and trust that which faces us now. Changes are gifts.

Change means I am progressing.

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Boss or Chairman

Tradition Two - "For our group purpose, there is but one ultimate authority - a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience."

Being the founder, he is at first the boss. Who else could be? Very soon, though, his assumed authority to run everything begins to be shared with the first alcoholics he has helped. At this moment, the benign dictator becomes the chairman of a committee composed of his friends. These are the growing group's hierarchy of service - self-appointed, of course, because there is no other way. In a matter of months, A.A. booms in Middletown.

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Page 133

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Just a Quote

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” -- William James

[bluidkiti]

November 12


Today Lord

Lord, I come to You today asking that you open the way for a deepening of my trust in You.
I give You my worries, my burdens and fears, confident that You will make something useful of them.
I give You all my hopes and dreams. Thank You for showing me what to do to make them come true.
Amen

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Just a Thought

When we were drinking, we used to be ashamed of the past.

Remorse is terrible mental punishment: ashamed of ourselves for the things we've said and done, afraid to face people because of what they might think of us, afraid of the consequences of what we did when we were drunk. In A.A. we forget about the past. Do I believe that God has forgiven me for everything I've done in the past, no matter how black it was, provided I'm honestly trying to do the right thing today?

So ............

Am I ready to move on??

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Just a Contemplation

Control & Change

Trying to control and change the people around us creates great problems in our relationships. When people we love are expressing themselves, we're thinking about what we wish they would say, and it blocks us from hearing clearly.

We seem to be more trapped in these self-centered behaviors with the ones we are closest to. We can change ourselves by slowly releasing our security grip on others. We can focus more on understanding what others are saying to us than on changing how they think and feel. Intimacy is clearly seeing each other and knowing the differences as well as the similarities. It requires that both people be allowed to walk on separate paths.

I need to release my grip on my loved ones and turn to my Higher Power for security and serenity.

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Spirit of the Universe

I had always believed in a Power greater than myself. I had often pondered these things. I was not an atheist. Few people really are, for that means blind faith in the strange proposition that this universe originated in a cipher and aimlessly rushes nowhere. My intellectual heroes, the chemists, the astronomers, even the evolutionists, suggested vast laws and forces at work. Despite contrary indications, I had little doubt that a mighty purpose and rhythm underlay all. How could there be so much of precise and immutable law, and no intelligence? I simply had to believe in a Spirit of the Universe, who knew neither time nor limitation. But that was as far as I had gone.

Alcoholics Anonymous Page 10

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Just a Quote

“Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.” -- Leonardo DaVinci (1452 - 1519)

[bluidkiti]

November 13


Prayer for Good Health and Strength

Dear God, bless me and my family with good health and physical strength.
Give me inner strength to battle the evil effects of depression, loneliness, unworthiness, and hopelessness.
Lord, please guide us to find peace, happiness, and joy in our lives and within ourselves.”
Amen.

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Just a Thought

We have been asking ourselves some searching questions.

We have not been able to answer them all as we would like. But on the right answers to these questions will depend the usefulness and effectiveness of our lives and to some extent the usefulness and effectiveness of the whole A.A. movement. It all boils down to this: I owe a deep debt to A.A. and to the grace of God. Am I going to do all I can to repay this debt? Let us search our souls, make our own decisions, and act accordingly. Any real success we have in life will depend on that. Now is the time to put our conclusions into effect.

So ............

What am I going to do about it?

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Just a Contemplation

Tranquility

We could probably feel more tranquil if the world were a simpler place and always gave us simple answers. But we are faced with many ambiguous and uncertain situations. Even within ourselves we have contradictory feelings, and it's difficult to come up with clear answers.

Since we cannot force simplicity upon the world, we must turn to ourselves for a new response. We can become more tolerant of our unsettled predicaments. We can learn to have faith that good comes from change. Things have a way of settling out and clarifying with time. As we develop patience with the questions and the unclear issues in our lives, we gain a deeper serenity.

I will recall the predicaments in my past life that, in time, became clearer, and I will have patience with what seems unsettled.

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Pain-Killer

I believe that when we were active alcoholics we drank mostly to kill pain of one kind or another--physical or emotional or psychic. Of course, everybody has a cracking point, and I suppose you reached yours--hence, the resort once more to the bottle.

If I were you, I wouldn't heap devastating blame on myself for this; on the other hand, the experience should redouble your conviction that alcohol has no permanent value as a pain-killer.

As Bill Sees It Page 291

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Just a Quote

"When the winds of change blow, some people build walls, others build windmills" -- Chinese Proverb.

[bluidkiti]

November 14


Prayer for Good Health

Lord, I request you to please take away all my miseries and worries, so that my mind may be free from anxieties. Heal me spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

Lord. I pray for healing of emotions, please strengthen me mentally and make my heart whole again. Take away the pain and anguish in my heart.

Please fill my heart with faith in your love, and I gracefully accept your healing so that I can live in peace and joy
Amen

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Just a Thought

When we were drinking, we used to worry about the future.

Worry is terrible mental punishment. What's going to become of me? Where will I end up? In the gutter or the sanitarium? We can see ourselves slipping, getting worse and worse, and we wonder what the finish will be. Sometimes we get so discouraged in thinking about the future that we toy with the idea of suicide.

So ............

In A.A. have I stopped worrying about the future?

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Just a Contemplation

Detaching with Love

Sometimes people we love do things we don't like or approve of. We react. They react. Before long, we're all reacting to each other, and the problem escalates.

When do we detach? When we're hooked into a reaction of anger, fear, guilt, or shame. When we get hooked into a power play - an attempt to control or force others to do something they don't want to do. When the way we're reacting isn't helping the other person or solving the problem. When the way we're reacting is hurting us It's time to detach when detachment appears to be the least likely, or possible, thing to do.

The first step toward detachment is understanding that reacting and controlling don't help. The next step is getting peaceful - getting centered and restoring our balance.

Take a walk. Leave the room. Take a long, hot bath. Call a friend. Call on God. Breathe deeply. Find peace. From that place of peace and centering will emerge an answer, a solution. I will surrender and trust that the answer is near.

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Pain-Healer

In every A.A. story, pain has been the price of admission into a new life. But this admission price purchased more than we expected. It led us to a measure of humility, which we soon discovered to be a healer of pain. We began to fear pain less, and desire humility more than ever.

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Page 75

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Just a Quote

“Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.” -- Groucho Marx

[bluidkiti]

November 15


Prayer Against Frustration

Lord, although I am frustrated with things in my life right now, I am trying to surrender it to You. Your Word states that if I lack wisdom, I should ask. Lord at this moment, I need wisdom from You. In the situation that I am in, help me to respond to things calmly.
Amen

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Just a Thought

Some of the rewards that come to us as a result of our new way of living:

I understand myself more than I ever did before.
I have learned what was the matter with me and I know now a lot of what makes me tick.
I will never be alone again.
I am just one of many who have the illness of alcoholism and one of many who have learned what to do about it.
I am not an odd fish or a square peg in a round hole.
I seem to have found my right place in the world.

So ............

Am I beginning to understand myself?

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Just a Contemplation

Know How to Play

As days of childhood give way to adulthood, we sometimes forfeit too much of the child. We become what we think is mature — serious and busy. Quite unintentionally we might become caught up in the importance of being married, working hard at our jobs, raising children, or paying off the mortgage. Even at home we might be rushing here and there – mowing the lawn, getting a haircut, buying clothes or groceries, and performing all the small household chores which need doing regularly.

Where is the time we need for ourselves, to spend with friends, or just to play? We can find time, right now, if we want to. We can momentarily shrug off the demands of home or career and lend ourselves to carefree play. Sometimes it’s easy to be too serious. Today, I will let myself participate in play.

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Way of Strength

We never apologize to anyone for depending upon our Creator. We can laugh at those who think spirituality the way of weakness. Paradoxically, it is the way of strength. The verdict of the ages is that faith means courage. All men of faith have courage. They trust their God. We never apologize for God. Instead we let Him demonstrate, through us, what He can do. We ask Him to remove our fear and direct our attention to what He would have us be. At once, we commence to outgrow fear.

Alcoholics Anonymous Page 68

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Just a Quote

“You have control over you and that is the only person you can change. When you realize this you will save yourself a lot of frustration.” -- Catherine Pulsifer