Saturday, October 28, 2006

Thoughts For The Day~*~Loneliness ^*^*^*^*^ October 28, 2006

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

(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (
AA)/   )
(_   /
AA\ _)
  /
AA\
^*^*^*^*^

Loneliness
^*^*^*^*^
"A
lmost without exception,
alcoholics are tortured by loneliness.
Even before our drinking got bad
and people began to cut us off,
nearly all of us suffered the feeling we didn't quite belong.
Either we were shy, and dared not draw near others,
or we were apt to be noisy good fellows
craving attention and companionship,
but never getting it -- at least to our way of thinking.
There was always that mysterious barrier
we could neither surmount nor understand. . .
That's one reason we loved alcohol too well.
It did let us act extemporaneously.
But even Bacchus boomeranged on us;
we were finally struck down and left
in terrified loneliness
."
c.1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 57

^*^*^*^*^

Thought to C
onsider . . .

Isolation is a darkroom where we develop negatives.



*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H A L T =  Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired


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

Segments
From "Let's Keep It Simple:"
 
"After years of sobriety I occasionally ask
myself: 'Can it be this simple?'  Then, at
meetings, I see former cynics and skeptics
who have walked the A.A. path out of hell
by packaging their lives, without alcohol,
into twenty-four hour segments, during which
they practice a few principles to the best of
their individual abilities.  And then I know
again that, while it isn't always easy, if I keep
it simple, it works."
 
c. 1990, Daily Reflections, page 30

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
AN UNBROKEN TRADITION

We conceive the survival and spread of Alcoholics Anonymous to be something of far greater importance than the weight we could collectively throw back of any other cause.


TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 177

How much it means to me that an unbroken tradition of more than half a century is a thread that connects me to Bill W. and Dr. Bob.  How much more grounded I feel to be in a Fellowship whose aims are constant and unflagging.  I am grateful that the energies of A.A. have never been scattered, but focused instead on our members and on individual sobriety.

My beliefs are what make me human; I am free to hold any opinion, but A.A.'s purpose -- so clearly stated fifty years ago -- is for me to keep sober.  That purpose has promoted round-the-clock meeting schedules, and the thousands of inter-group and central service offices, with their thousands of volunteers.  Like the sun focused through a magnifying glass, A.A.'s single vision has lit a fire of faith in sobriety in millions of hearts, including mine.


©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
To Rebuild Security

In our behavior respecting financial and emotional security, fear, greed, possessiveness, and pride have too often done their worst. Surveying his business or employment record, almost any alcoholic can ask questions like these: In addition to my drinking problem, what character defects contributed to my financial instability? Did fear and inferiority about my fitness for my job destroy my confidence and fill me with conflict? Or did I overvalue myself and play the big shot?
Businesswomen in A.A. will find that these questions often apply to them, too, and the alcoholic housewife can also make the family financially insecure. Indeed, all alcoholics need to cross-examine themselves ruthlessly to determine how their own personality defects have demolished their security.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, pp. 51-52
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"Reminding ourselves that we have decided to go to any lengths to
find a spiritual experience, we ask that we be given strength and
direction to do the right thing, no matter what the personal
consequences may be."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 79~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

What other rewards have come to me as a result of my new way of living? Each one of us can answer this question in many ways. My relationship with my spouse or companion is on an entirely new plane. The total selfishness is gone and more cooperation has taken its place. My home is a home again. Understanding has taken the place of misunderstanding, recriminations, bickering, and resentment. A new companionship has developed which bodes well for the future. "There are homes where fires burn and there is bread, lamps are lit and prayers are said. Though people falter through the dark and nations grope, with God Himself back of these little homes, we still can hope. Have I come home?

Meditation for the Day

We can bow to God's will in anticipation of the thing happening that will, in the long run, be the best for all concerned. It may not always seem the best thing at the present time, but we cannot see as far ahead as God can. We do not know how His plans are laid, we only need to believe that if we trust Him and accept whatever happens as His will in a spirit of faith, everything will work out for the best in the end.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not ask to see the distant scene. I pray that one step may be enough for me.

©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©







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Friday, October 27, 2006

Thoughts For The Day~*~Humility ^*^*^*^*^ October 27, 2006

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

(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (
AA)/   )
(_   /
AA
\ _)
  /
AA\

^*^*^*^*^

Humility
^*^*^*^*^
"M
oved by the spirit of anonymity,
we try to give up our natural desires
for personal distinction as AA members
both among fellow alcoholics and before
the general public.
As we lay aside these very human aspirations,
we believe that each of us takes part
in the weaving of a protective mantle
which covers our whole Society
and under which we may grow and work in unity.
We are sure that humility, expressed by anonymity,
is the greatest safeguard
Alcoholics Anonymous can ever have
."
c.1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 187

^*^*^*^*^

Thought to C
onsider . . .

H
umility is not thinking less of yourself,
but thinking of yourself less.



*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
S W A T  =  Surrender, Willingness, Acceptance, Trust


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

Patience
From "Hope":

"Few experiences are of less value to me than fast sobriety. Too many times discouragement has been the bonus for unrealistic expectations, not to mention self-pity or fatigue from my wanting to change the world by the weekend. Discouragement is a warning signal that I may have wandered across the God line. The secret of fulfilling my potential is in acknowledging my limitations and believing that time is a gift, not a threat."

© 1990 AAWS, Inc.; Daily Reflections, pg. 70

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
GLOBAL SHARING

The only thing that matters is that he is an alcoholic who has found a key to sobriety. These legacies of suffering and of recovery are easily passed among alcoholics, one to the other. This is our gift from God, and its bestowal upon others like us is the one aim that today animates A.A.'s all around the globe.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 151

The strength of Alcoholics Anonymous lies in the desire of each member and of each group around the world to share with other alcoholics their suffering and the steps taken to gain, and maintain, recovery.  By keeping a conscious contact with my Higher Power, I make sure that I always nurture my desire to help other alcoholics, thus insuring the continuity of the wonderful fraternity of Alcoholics Anonymous.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
People of Faith

We who have traveled a path through agnosticism or atheism 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 rational 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 seen that many spiritually minded persons of all races, colors, and creeds were demonstrating a degree of stability, happiness, and usefulness that we should have sought for ourselves.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 49
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could
not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that
either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is or He
isn't."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 53~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Seventh, I can help other alcoholics. I am of some use in the world. I have a purpose in life. I am worth something at last. My life has a direction and a meaning. All that feeling of futility is gone. I can do something worthwhile. God has given me a new lease on life so that I can help other alcoholics. He has let me live through all the hazards of my alcoholic life to bring me at last to a place of real usefulness in the world. He has let me live for this. This is my opportunity and my destiny. I am worth something! Will I give as much of my life as I can to A.A.?

Meditation for the Day

All of us have our own battle to win, the battle between the material view of life and the spiritual view. Something must guide our lives. Will it be wealth, pride, selfishness, and greed or will it be faith, honesty, purity, unselfishness, love, and service? Each one has a choice. We can choose good or evil. We cannot choose both. Are we going to keep striving until we win the battle? If we win the victory, we can believe that even God in His heaven will rejoice.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may choose the good and resist the evil. I pray that I will not be a loser in the battle for righteousness.

©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©








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Thursday, October 26, 2006

Thoughts For The Day~*~ ^*^*^*^*Concepts^*^*^*October 26, 2006

 

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

(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (
AA)/   )
(_   /
AA\ _)
  /
AA\
^*^*^*^*^

Concepts

^*^*^*^*^
"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. . .
My friend suggested what then
seemed a novel idea.
He said,
'Why don't you choose your own conception of God?'
That statement hit me hard.
It melted the icy intellectual mountain in whose shadow
I had lived and shivered many years.
I stood in the sunlight at last
."
Bill W.,
c.1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 12

^*^*^*^*^

Thought to C
onsider . . .

G
od seldom becomes a reality
until God becomes a necessity.



*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
G I F T =  God Is Forever There


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

Basics
From "When A.A. Came of Age":

""Many a channel had been used by Providence to create Alcoholics Anonymous. And none had been more vitally needed than the one opened through Sam Shoemaker and his Oxford Group associates of a generation before [in the 1920s-30s]. The basic principles which the Oxford Groupers had taught were ancient and universal ones, the common property of mankind. Certain of the former O.G. attitudes and applications had proved unsuited to A.A.'s purpose . . . [T]he early A.A. got its ideas of self-examination, acknowledgement of character defects, restitution for harm done, and working with others straight from the Oxford groups and directly from Sam Shoemaker, their former leader in America, and from nowhere else."

© 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 39

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
ONE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY

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

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 132

When I am chosen to carry some small responsibility for my fellows, I ask that God grant me the patience, open-minded ness, and willingness to listen to those I would lead.  I must remind myself that I am the trusted servant of others, not their "governor," "teacher," or "instructor."  God guides my words and my actions, and my responsibility is to heed His suggestions.  Trust is my watchword, I trust others who lead.  In the Fellowship of A.A., I entrust God with the ultimate authority of "running the show."


©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Anonymity and Sobriety

As the A.A. groups multiplied, so did anonymity problems. Enthusiastic over the spectacular recovery of a brother alcoholic, we'd sometimes discuss those intimate and harrowing aspects of his case meant for his sponsor's ear alone. The aggrieved victim would then rightly declare that his trust had been broken.
When such stories got into circulation outside of A.A., the loss of confidence in our anonymity promise was severe. It frequently turned people from us. Clearly, every A.A. member's name - and story, too - had to be confidential, if he wished.

<<<>>>

We now fully realize that 100 per cent personal anonymity before the public is just as vital to the life of A.A. as 100 per cent sobriety is to the life of each and every member. This is not the counsel of fear; it is the prudent voice of long experience.

1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 185 - 2. A.A COMES OF AGE, p. 293
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Imagine life without faith! Were nothing left but pure reason, it
wouldn't be life."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 54~

*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Sixth, I have A.A. meetings to go to, thank God.Where would I go without them? Where would I be without them? Where would I find the sympathy, the understanding, the fellowship, the companionship? Nowhere else in the world. I have come home. I have found the place where I belong. I no longer wander alone over the face of the earth. I am at peace and at rest. What a great gift has been given me by A.A.! I do not deserve it. But it is nevertheless mine. I have a home at last. I am content. Do I thank God every day for the A.A. fellowship?

Meditation for the Day

Walk all the way with another person and with God. Do not go part of the way and then stop. Do not push God so far into the background that He has no effect on your life. Walk all the way with Him. Make a good companion of God, by praying to Him often during the day. Do not let your contact with Him be broken for too long a period. Work all the way with God and with other people, along the path of life, wherever it may lead you.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may walk in companionship with God along the way. I pray that I may keep my feet upon the path that leads upward.

©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©

 







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Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Thoughts For The Day~*~The Group ^*^*^*^*^October 25, 2006

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

(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (
AA)/   )
(_   /
AA\ _)
  /
AA\
^*^*^*^*^

The Group
^*^*^*^*^
"O
ver the years, every conceivable deviation
from our Twelve Steps and Traditions have been tried.
That was sure to be, since we are so largely a band
of ego-driven individuals.
Children of chaos, we have defiantly played with
every brand of fire,
only to emerge unharmed and, we think, wiser.
These very deviations created a vast process
of trial and error, which, under the grace of God,
has brought us to where we stand today. . .
We saw that the group, exactly like the individual,
must eventually conform to whatever
tested principles would guarantee survival
."
c.1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 146

^*^*^*^*^

Thought to C
onsider . . .

W
orking with alcoholics in committees
is like trying to herd cats.


*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C H A O S  =  Can't Handle Another Overwhelming Situation

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

Dread
From "The Man Who Mastered Fear":

"It would be wonderful were I able to tell you that my confidence in God and my application of the Twelve Steps to my daily living have utterly banished fear. But this would not be the truth. The most accurate answer I can give you is this: Fear has never again ruled my life since that day in September 1938, when I found that a Power greater than myself could not only restore me to sanity but could keep me both sober and sane."

© 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 255-56


*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A.A.'s HEARTBEAT

Without unity, the heart of A.A. would cease to beat; . . .

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 125

Without unity I would be unable to recover in A.A. on a daily basis.  By practicing unity within my group, with other A.A. members and at all levels of this great Fellowship, I receive a pronounced feeling of knowing that I am a part of a miracle that was divinely inspired.  The ability of Bill W. and Dr. Bob, working together and passing it on to other members, tells me that to give it away is to keep it.  Unity is oneness and yet the whole Fellowship is for all of us.


©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
A Mighty Beginning

Even the newest of newcomers finds undreamed rewards
as he tries to help his brother alcoholic, the one
who is even blinder than he.
This is indeed the kind of giving that actually demands nothing.
He does not expect his brother sufferer to pay him,
or even to love him.  And then he discovers that through
the divine paradox of this kind of giving
he has found his own reward, whether or not his brother
has yet received anything. His own character may still
be gravely defective, but he somehow knows that God
has enabled him to make a mighty beginning,
and he senses that he stands at the edge of new mysteries, joys, and experiences of which he had never before dreamed.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, pp. 109-110

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"We have begun to comprehend their futility and their fatality. We
have commenced to see their terrible destructiveness. We have begun
to learn tolerance, patience and good will toward all men, even our
enemies, for we look on them as sick people."


~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, Pg. 70~

*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Fifth, I have learned to live one day at a time. I have finally realized the great fact that all I have is now. This sweeps away all vain regret and it makes my thoughts of the future free of fear. Now is mine. I can do what I want with it. I own it, for better or worse. What I do now, in this present moment, is what makes up my life. My whole life is only a succession of nows. I will take this moment, which has been given to me by the grace of God, and I will do something with it. What I do with each now will make me or break me. Am I living in the now?

Meditation for the Day

We should work at overcoming ourselves, our selfish desires and our self-centeredness. This can never be fully accomplished. We can never become entirely unselfish. But we can come to realize that we are not at the center of the universe and that everything does not revolve around us at the center. I am only one cell in a vast network of human cells. I can at least make the effort to conquer the self-life and seek daily to obtain more and more of this self-conquest. "He that overcomes himself is greater than he who conquers a city."

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may strive to overcome my selfishness. I pray that I may achieve the right perspective of my position in the world.

©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©








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