Thoughts For The Day~*~Letting Go^*^*^*^*^ December 23, 2006

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~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Letting Go

Letting go of everything at once
was both painful and terrifying. 
I could never have accomplished this alone. 
It took the help, understanding
and wonderful companionship
that was given so freely to me by my ex-alkie friends.
This and the program of recovery
embodied in the Twelve Steps.
In learning to practice these steps in my daily living,
I began to acquire faith and a philosophy to live by.
Whole new vistas were opened up for me,
new avenues of experience to be explored,
and life began to take on color and interest.
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 311
c. 2001AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 275
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Thought to Consider . . .

The peaks and valleys of my life
have become gentle rolling hills.



*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
F A I T H   = Finding Answers In The Heart.

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

Sharing

From "Aspects of Spirituality:"

"Among A.A.'s there is still a vast amount of
mix-up respecting what is material and what
is spiritual.  I prefer to believe that it is
all a matter of motive.  If we use our worldly
possessions too selfishly, then we are materialists.
But if we share these possessions in helpfulness
to others, then the material aids the spiritual."

c. 1967, As Bill Sees It, page 287

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
RECOVERY, UNITY, SERVICE

Our Twelfth Step -- carrying the message -- is the basic service that AA's Fellowship gives; this is our principal aim and the main reason for our existence.

                        THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, P.  160

I thank God for those who came before me, those who told me not to forget the Three Legacies: Recovery, Unity and Service.  In my home group, the Three Legacies were described on a sign which said: "You take a three-legged stool, try to balance it on only one leg, or two.  Our Three Legacies must be kept intact.  In Recovery, we get sober together; in Unity, we work together for the good of our Steps and Traditions; and through Service-we give away freely what has been given to us."

One of the chief gifts of my life has been to know that I will have no message to give, unless I recover in unity with A.A. principles.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
MERRY CHRISTMAS! - Random Quote - A.A.--the Lodestar

We can be grateful for every agency or method that tries to solve the problem of alcoholism--whether of medicine, religion, education, or research. We can be open-minded toward all such efforts and we can be sympathetic when the ill-advised ones fail. We can remember that A.A. itself ran for years on "trial and error."
As individuals, we can and should work with those that promise success--even a little success.
<<<>>>
Every one of the pioneers in the total field of alcoholism will generously say that had it not been for the living proof of recovery in A.A., they could not have gone on. A.A. was the lodestar of hope and help that kept them at it.

GRAPEVINE, MARCH 1958
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"...we were at Step Three, which is that we decided to turn our will
and our life over to God as we understood Him. Just what do we mean
by that, and just what do we do?

The first requirement is that we be convinced that any life run on
self-will can hardly be a success. On that basis we are almost
always in collision with something or somebody, even though our
motives are good. Most people try to live by self-propulsion."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 60~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

We have definitely left that dream world behind. It was only a sham. It was a world of our making and it was not the real world. We are sorry for the past, yes, but we learned a lot from it. We can put it down to experience, valuable experience, as we see it now, because it has given us the knowledge necessary to face the world as it really is. We had to become alcoholics in order to find the A.A. program. We would not have gotten it any other way. In a way, it was worth it. Do I look at my past as valuable experience?

Meditation for the Day

Shed peace, not discord, wherever you go. Try to be part of the cure of every situation, not part of the problem. Try to ignore evil, rather than to actively combat it. Always try to build up, never to tear down. Show others by your example that happiness comes from living the right way. The power of your example is greater than the power of what you say.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may try to bring something good into every situation today. I pray that I may be constructive in the way I think and speak and act today.

 

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

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Freedom ^*^*^*^*^ December 21, 2006

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~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Freedom
^*^*^
"Through AA, we can experience freedom from self.
After all, it was self ( you, me ) that stood in our own way,
that ran the show and ran ourselves into bankruptcy,
that hurt the ones we loved.
All Twelve Steps of AA are designed to kill the old self
( deflate the old ego )
and build a new, free self."
©1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 459
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Thought to Consider . . .

Within our wonderful new world,
we have found freedom from our fatal obsession.

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

Presence

From "The Three Legacies of A.A.:"

"My depression deepened unbearably and finally it seemed to me [in December 1934] as though I [Bill W.] were at the very bottom of the pit. I still gagged badly on the notion of a Power greater than myself, but finally, just for the moment, the last vestige of my proud obstinacy was crushed. All at once I found myself crying out, 'If there is a God, let Him show Himself! I am ready to do anything, anything!'

"Suddenly the room lit up with a great white light. I was caught up into an ecstasy which there are no words to describe. It seemed to me, in the mind's eye, that I was on a mountain and that a wind not of air but of spirit was blowing. And then it burst upon me that I was a free man. Slowly the ecstasy subsided. I lay on the bed, but now for a time I was in another world, a new world of consciousness. All about me and through me there was a wonderful feeling of Presence."

c. 1957, Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, page 63

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
LISTEN, SHARE AND PRAY

When working with a man and his family, you should take care not to participate in their quarrels. You may spoil your chance of being helpful if you do.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 100

When trying to help a fellow alcoholic, I've given in to an impulse to give advice, and perhaps that's inevitable. But allowing others the right to be wrong reaps its own benefits. The best I can do -- and it sounds easier than it is to put into practice -- is to listen, share personal experience, and pray for others.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
When and How to Give

Men who cry for money and shelter as a condition of their sobriety are on the wrong track. Yet we sometimes do provide a new prospect with these very things - when it becomes clear that he is willing to place his recovery first.
It is not whether we shall give that is the question, but when and how to give. Whenever we put our work on a material plane, the alcoholic commences to rely upon alms rather than upon a Higher Power and the A.A. group. He continues to insist that he cannot master alcohol until his material needs are cared for.
Nonsense! Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: that, job or no job, wife or no wife, we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place material dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 98
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"Most of us have been unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics. No
person likes to think he is bodily and mentally different from his
fellows. Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers
have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could
drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday he will
control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every
abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing.
Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, Page 30~

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

Have I ceased being inwardly defeated, at war with myself Have I given myself freely to A.A. and to the Higher Power? Have I gotten over being sick inside? Am I still wandering mentally or am I "on the beam"? I can face anything if I am sure I am on the way. When I am sure, I should bet my life on A.A. I have learned how the program works. Now will I follow it with all I have, with all I can give, with all my might, with all my life? Am I going to let A.A. principles guide the rest of my life?

Meditation for the Day

In this time of quiet meditation, follow the pressure of the Lord's leading. in all decisions to be made today, yield to the gentle pressure of your conscience. Stay or go as that pressure indicates. Take the events of today as part of God's planning and ordering. He may lead you to a right decision. Wait quietly until you have an inner urge, a leading, a feeling that a thing is right, a pressure on your will by the spirit of God.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that today I may try to follow the inner pressure of God's leading. I pray that I may try to follow my conscience and do what seems right today.
©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Choices ^*^*^*^*^ December 20, 2006

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

Looking back we see that our freedom to choose badly
was not, after all, a very real freedom.
When we chose because we "must,"
this was not a free choice either.
But it got us started in the right direction.
When we chose because we "ought to"
we were really doing better.
This time we were earning some freedom,
making ourselves ready for more.
But when, now and then, we could gladly make
right choices without rebellion, holdout, or conflict,
then we had our first glimpse of what perfect freedom
under God's will could be like.
Bill W., May 1960
c. 1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 302
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Thought to Consider . . .
Sobriety is a choice and a treasure.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C H A N G E = Choosing Honesty Allows New Growth Every day


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

Transformed

From "Fear of Fear":

"We have only been in A.A. a few years, but now we're trying to make up for lost time. Twenty-seven years of confusion is what my early married life was. Now the picture has changed completely. We have faith in each other, trust in each other, and understanding. A.A. has given us that. It has taught me so many things. It has changed my thinking entirely, about everything I do. I can't afford resentments against anyone, because they are the build-up of another drunk. I must live and let live. And 'think' -- that one important word means so much to me. My life was always act and react. I never stopped to think. I just didn't give a whoop about myself or anyone else."

© 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 293

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
THE REWARDS OF GIVING

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 by the divine paradox of this kind of giving he has found his own reward, whether his brother has yet received anything or not.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 109

Through experience with Twelfth Step work, I came to understand the rewards of giving that demands nothing in return. At first I expected recovery in others, but I soon learned that this did not happen. Once I acquired the humility to accept the fact that every Twelfth Step call was not going to result in a success, then I was open to receive the rewards of selfless giving.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Random Quote - The Reality of Spiritual Experiences

"Perhaps you raise the question of hallucination verses the divine imagery of a genuine spiritual experience. I doubt if anyone has authoritatively defined what an hallucination really is. However, it is certain that all recipients of spiritual experiences declare for their reality. The best evidence of that reality is in the subsequent fruits. Those who receive these gifts of grace are very much changed people, almost invariably for the better. This can scarcely be said of those who hallucinate.
"Some might think me presumptuous when I say that my own experience is real. Nevertheless, I can surely report that in my own life and in the lives of countless others, the fruits of that experience have been real, and the benefactions beyond reckoning."

TALK, 1960
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"I have seen hundreds of families set their feet in the path that
really goes somewhere; have seen the most impossible domestic
situations righted; feuds and bitterness of all sorts wiped out. I
have seen men come out of asylums and resume a vital place in the
lives of their families and communities. Business and professional
men have regained their standing. There is scarcely any form of
trouble and misery which has not been overcome among us."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, Page 15~

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

Our faith should control the whole of our life. We alcoholics were living a divided life. We had to find a way to make it whole. When we were drinking, our lives were made up of a lot of scattered and unrelated pieces. We must pick up our lives and put them together again. We do it by recovering faith in a Divine Principle in the universe that holds us together and holds the whole universe together and gives it meaning and purpose. We surrender our disorganized lives to that Power, we get into harmony with the Divine Spirit, and our lives are made whole again. Is my life whole again?

Meditation for the Day

Avoid fear as you would a plague. Fear, even the smallest fear, is a hacking at the cords of faith that bind you to God. However small the fraying, in time those cords will wear thin, and then one disappointment or shock will make them snap. But for the little fears, the cords of faith would have held firm. Avoid depression, which is allied to fear. Remember that all fear is disloyalty to God. it is a denial of His care and protection.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may have such trust in God today that I will not fear anything too greatly. I pray that I may have assurance that God will take care of me in the long run.

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