Saturday, May 26, 2007

Thoughts For The Day~*~Honesty ^*^*^*^*^ May 26, 2007

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

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

"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 give themselves
to this simple program,
usually men and women who are
constitutionally incapable of
being honest with themselves.
There are such unfortunates.
They are not at fault;
they seem to have been born that way.
They are naturally incapable of
grasping and developing a manner of living
which demands rigorous honesty.
Their chances are less than average.
There are those, too, who suffer from
grave emotional and mental disorders,
but many of them do recover
if they have the capacity to be honest."
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 58

Thought to Consider . . .

Every recovery from alcoholism
began with one sober hour.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
GOD
Give Others D
ignity

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Despair
From "Desperation Drinking":

"That type of drinking is not pleasant. It is no longer enjoyable. You no longer get the kicks. It is desperation drinking. I was drinking to keep away the shakes, drinking to keep away those little men and those strange voices and the organ music that comes out of the wall. I was drinking to try to hold on..."

(c) 2003, AAWS, Inc.; Experience, Strength & Hope, pgs. 396

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
TURNING NEGATIVE TO POSITIVE

Our spiritual and emotional growth in A.A. does not depend so deeply upon success as it does upon our failures and setbacks.  If you will bear this in mind, I think that your slip will have the effect of kicking you upstairs, instead of down.

AS BILL SEES IT, p.  184

In keeping with the pain and adversity which our founders encountered and overcame in establishing A.A., Bill W. sent us a clear message: a relapse can provide a positive experience toward abstinence and a lifetime of recovery.  A relapse brings truth to what we hear repeatedly in meetings -- "Don't take that first drink!"  It reinforces the belief in the progressive nature of the disease, and it drives home the need for, and beauty of, humility in our spiritual program.  Simple truths come in complicated ways to me when I become ego driven.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
"Do as I Do..."

Perhaps more often than we think, we make no contact at depth with alcoholics who are suffering the dilemma of no faith.
Certainly none are more sensitive to spiritual cocksureness, pride, and aggression than they are. I'm sure this is something we too often forget.

In A.A.'s first years, I all but ruined the whole undertaking with this sort of unconscious arrogance. God as I understood Him had to be for everybody. Sometimes my aggression was subtle and sometimes it was crude. But either way it was damaging--perhaps fatally so--to numbers of nonbelievers.

Of course this sort of thing isn't confined to Twelfth Step work. It is very apt to leak out into our relations with everybody. Even now, I catch myself chanting that same old barrier-building refrain: "Do as I do, believe as I do--or else!"


GRAPEVINE, APRIL 1961


*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"To get over drinking will require a transformation of thought and
attitude. We all had to place recovery above everything, for without
recovery we would have lost both home and business.
"

Alcoholics Anonymous,  To Employers, pg. 143


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

In twelfth-step work, the fourth thing is conversion. Conversion means change. Prospects must learn to change their way of thinking. Until now, everything they've done has been connected with drinking. Now they must face a new kind of life, without liquor. They must see and admit that they cannot overcome drinking by their own willpower, so they must turn to a Higher Power for help. They must start each day by asking this Higher Power for the strength to stay sober. This conversion to belief in a Higher Power comes
gradually, as they try it and find that it works. Do I care enough about
other alcoholics to help them to make this conversion?

Meditation for the Day


Discipline of yourself is absolutely necessary before the power of God is given to you. When you see others manifesting the power of God, you probably have not seen the discipline that went before. They made themselves ready. All your life is a preparation for more good to be accomplished when God knows that you are ready for it. So keep disciplining yourself in the spiritual life every day. Learn so much of the spiritual laws that your life cannot again be a failure. Others will see the outward manifestation of the inward discipline in your daily living.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may manifest God's power in my daily living. I pray that I may discipline myself so as to be ready to meet every opportunity.



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





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Friday, May 25, 2007

Thoughts For The Day~*~Choices^*^*^*^*^ May 25, 2007

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

(\    ~~  /)
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AA)/   )
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AA
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AA\

^*^*^*^*^

Choices
^*^*^
"Our necessities are certainly immense and compelling.
Each of us must conform reasonably well
to AA's Steps and Traditions,
or else we shall go mad or die of alcoholism.
Therefore the compulsion among most of us
to survive and grow soon becomes far stronger
than the temptation to drink or misbehave.
Literally, we must 'do or die.'
So we make the choice to live.
This, in turn, means the choice of AA
principles, practices, and attitudes.
This is our first great and critical choice.
Admittedly, this is made under the fearful and immediate
lash of John Barleycorn, the killer.
Plainly enough, this first choice is far more a necessity
than it is an act of virtue."

Bill W., May 1960
©1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, pp. 301-2
^*^*^*^*^*

Thought to Consider . . .

It was either AA or amen.



*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*

AA
Attitude A
djustment

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

Healing
From "We Walk This Way":

"Our A.A. friends also had this positive belief in the child's recovery. They did their best to revive my fast-dying energies, and these positive forces of loving faith caused me to reassess my progress in the A.A. program. I was sober, but had I turned my will over to the care of God as I understood Him? What was I doing about 'conscious contact' with my Higher Power? Was the Tenth Step part of my daily life or only a once-tried effort?

"Most of the answers were negative. This meant that, while my daughter might be in a hopeless situation physically, I was functioning in a way destined to retard any progress she might make spiritually and mentally. There was no other solution than to get out of the child's way and work on myself."

© 1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pgs. 107-08 

 
*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
PROGRESSIVE GRATITUDE

Gratitude should go forward, rather than backward.

AS BILL SEES IT, p.  29

I am very grateful that my Higher Power has given me a second chance to live a worthwhile life.  Through Alcoholics Anonymous, I have been restored to sanity.  The promises are being fulfilled in my life.  I am grateful to be free from the slavery of alcohol.  I am grateful for peace of mind and the opportunity to grow, but my gratitude should go forward rather than backward.  I cannot stay sober on yesterday's meetings or past Twelfth-Step calls; I need to put my gratitude into action today.  Our co-founder said our gratitude can best be shown by carrying the message to others.  Without action, my gratitude is just a pleasant emotion.  I need to put it into action by working Step Twelve, by carrying the message and practicing the principles in all my affairs.  I am grateful for the chance to carry the message today! 

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

Learning how to live in the greatest peace, partnership, and brotherhood with all men and women, of whatever description, is a moving and fascinating adventure.
But every A.A. has found that he can make little headway in this new
adventure of living until he first backtracks and really makes an accurate and unsparing survey of the human wreckage he has left in his wake.
<<<>>>
The readiness to take the full consequences of our past acts, and to take responsibility for the well-being of others at the same time, is the very spirit of Step nine.

TWELVE AND TWELVE
1. P. 77
2. P. 87


*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"Some day we hope that Alcoholics Anonymous will help the public to
a better realization of the gravity of the alcoholic problem, but we
shall be of little use if our attitude is one of bitterness or
hostility. Drinkers will not stand for it.

After all, our problems were of our own making. Bottles were only a
symbol. Besides, we have stopped fighting anybody or anything. We
have to!"

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 103~
*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

In twelfth-step work, the third thing is conviction. The prospect must be convinced that he honestly wants to stop drinking. He must see and admit that his life is unmanageable. He must face the fact that he must do something about his drinking. He must be absolutely honest with himself and face himself as he really is. He must be convinced that he must give up drinking and he must see that his whole life depends on this conviction. Do I care enough about another alcoholic to help him reach this conviction?

Meditation for the Day


There is no limit to what you can accomplish in helping others. Keep that thought always. Never relinquish any work or give up the thought of any accomplishment because it seems beyond your power. God will help you all in good work. Only give it up if you feel that it's not God's will for you. In helping others, think of the tiny seed under the dark, hard ground. There is no certainty that, when it has forced its way up to the surface, sunlight and warmth will greet it. Often a task seems beyond your power, but there is no limit to what you can accomplish with God's help.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may never become discouraged in helping others. I pray that I may always rely on the power of God to help me.


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





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Thursday, May 24, 2007

Thoughts For The Day~*~Compulsion ^*^*^*^*^ May 24, 2007

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

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AA
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AA\

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Compulsion

"It helped me a great deal to become convinced
that alcoholism was a disease,
not a moral issue;
that I had been drinking as a result of a compulsion,
even though I had not been aware
of the compulsion at the time;
and that sobriety was not a matter of willpower.
I was afraid to let go of what I had
in order to try something new;
there was a certain sense of security in the familiar.
At last, acceptance proved to be the key
to my drinking problem.
When I stopped living in the problem
and began living in the answer,
the problem went away."
Alcoholics Anonymous, p.  417 4th Edition

Thought to Consider . . .

I have learned what a heart full of gratitude feels like.



*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
PACE
Positive Attitudes Change E
verything


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

Book
From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"To mollify the Trustees it was decided that the author's royalty [for the 'Big Book'] which would ordinarily be mine [Bill W.'s] could go to the Alcoholic Foundation. … I have now forgotten just what his hopes were, but they were fantastic. I was not quite so optimistic, but I did feel sure that the proceeds of the book would enable several of us to become full-time workers and to set up a general headquarters for our society. Whether this worked out or not, I was nevertheless convinced that our fellowship ought to own and control its own literature."

© 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 157 





*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
"HAPPY, JOYOUS AND FREE"

We are sure God wants us to be happy, joyous, and free.  We cannot subscribe to the belief that this life is a vale of tears, though it once was just that for many of us.  But it is clear that we made our own misery.  God didn't do it.  Avoid then, the deliberate manufacture of misery, but if trouble comes, cheerfully capitalize it as an opportunity to demonstrate His omnipotence.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.  133

For years I believed in a punishing God and blamed Him for my misery.  I have learned that I
must lay down the "weapons" of self in order to pick up the "tools" of the A.A. program.  I do not struggle with the program because it is a gift and I have never struggled when receiving a gift.  If I sometimes keep on struggling, it is because I'm still hanging onto my old ideas and  ". . . the results are nil."


©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Blind Trust?

"Most surely, there can be no trust where there is no love, nor can there be real love where distrust holds its malign sway.
"But does trust require that we be blind to other people's motives or,
indeed, to our own? Not at all; this would be folly. Most certainly, we
should assess the capacity for harm as well as the capability for good in every person that we would trust. Such a private inventory can reveal the degree of confidence we should extend in any given situation.
"However, this inventory needs to be taken in a spirit of understanding and love. Nothing can so much bias our judgment as the negative emotions of suspicion, jealousy, or anger.
"Having vested our confidence in another person, we ought to let him know of our full support. Because of this, more often than not he will respond magnificently, and far beyond our first expectations."

LETTER, 1966


*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally
and physically."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 64~

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

In twelfth-step work, the third thing is conviction. Prospects must be convinced that they honestly want to stop drinking. They must see and admit that their life is unmanageable. They must face the fact that they must do something about their drinking. They must be absolutely honest with themselves and face themselves as they really are. They must be convinced that they must give up drinking and they must see that their whole life depends on this conviction. Do I care enough about other alcoholics to help them reach this conviction?

Meditation for the Day

There is no limit to what you can accomplish in helping others. Keep that thought always. Never relinquish any work or give up the thought of any accomplishment because it seems beyond your power. God will help you in all good work. Only give it up if you feel that it's not God's will for you. In helping others, think of the tiny seed under the dark, hard ground. There is no certainty that, when it has forced its way up to the surface, sunlight and warmth will greet it. Often a task seems beyond your power, but there is no limit to what you can accomplish with God's help.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may never become discouraged in helping others. I pray that I may always rely on the power of God to help me.


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





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Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Thoughts For The Day~*~Acceptance^*^*^*^*^ May 23, 2007

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

(\    ~~  /)
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AA\ _)
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AA\
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Acceptance

"And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today.
When I am disturbed, it is because I find
some person, place, thing, or situation
- some fact of my life -
unacceptable to me, and I can find
no serenity until I accept that person,
place, thing, or situation as being exactly
the way it is supposed to be at this moment.
Nothing, absolutely nothing happens
in God's world by mistake.
Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober;
unless I accept life completely on life's terms,
I cannot be happy.
I need to concentrate not so much on what
needs to be changed in the world
as on what needs to be changed
in me and in my attitudes."

Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 449,417 4th Edition
Note: Dr. Paul O., author of these words, passed away 5.12.00.


Thought to Consider . . .

"My serenity is directly proportional to my level of acceptance."

Dr. Paul O., Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 417

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
ABC
Acceptance, Belief, C
hange


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

Discovery
From "The Missing Link":

"The next morning I went to see my therapist. I told him I'd decided to quite therapy, because after eight years, it wasn't working. But I decided to tell him how I had been searching through my life for that missing link and had come up with only one thing I had never told him: that I drank. He began asking me questions—he asked about quantities, frequency, what I drank. Before he was even halfway through, I broke down and began sobbing. I cried, 'Do you think I have a problem with drinking?' He replied, 'I think that is quite obvious.' I then asked, 'Do you think I'm an alcoholic?' And he answered, 'You are going to have to find out for yourself.'"

© 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs 284-85



*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
SPIRITUAL HEALTH

When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.  64

It is very difficult for me to come to terms with my spiritual illness because of my great pride, disguised by my material successes and my intellectual power.  Intelligence is not incompatible with humility, provided I place humility first.  To seek prestige and wealth is the ultimate goal for many in the modern world.  To be fashionable and to seem better than I really am is a spiritual illness.

To recognize and to admit my weaknesses is the beginning of good spiritual health.  It is a sign of spiritual health to be able to ask God every day to enlighten me, to recognize His will, and to have the strength to execute it.  My spiritual health is excellent when I realize that the better I get, the more I discover how much help I need from others.


©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
A.A.'s School of Life

Within A.A., I suppose, we shall always quarrel a good bit. Mostly, I think, about how to do the greatest good for the greatest number of drunks. We shall have our childish spats and snits over small questions of money management and who is going to run our groups for the next six months. Any bunch of growing children (and that is what we are) would hardly be in character if they did less.
These are the growing pains of infancy, and we actually thrive on them. Surmounting such problems, in A.A.'s rather rugged school of life, is a healthy exercise.

A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 233


*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"If we are planning to stop drinking, there must be no reservation
of any kind, nor any lurking notion that someday we will be immune to
alcohol."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 33~
~

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

The Twelfth Step of A.A., working with others, can be subdivided into five parts, five words beginning with the letter C; confidence, confession, conviction, conversion, and continuance. The first thing in trying to help other alcoholics is to get their confidence. We do this by telling them our own experiences with drinking, so that they see that we know what we're talking about. if we share our experiences frankly, they will know that we are sincerely trying to help them. They will realize that they're not alone and that others have had experiences as bad or worse than theirs. This gives them confidence that they can be helped. Do I care enough about other alcoholics to get their confidence?

Meditation for the Day

I fail not so much when tragedy happens as I did before the happening, by all the little things I might have done, but did not do. I must prepare for the future by doing the right thing at the right time now. If a thing should be done, I should deal with that thing today and get it righted with God before I allow myself to undertake any new duty. I should look upon myself as performing God's errands and then coming back to Him to tell Him in quiet communion that the message has been delivered or the task done.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may seek no credit for the results of what I do. I pray that I may leave the outcome of my actions to God.


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





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