Thoughts For The Day~*~Fun^*^*^ June 16, 2007

 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Fun
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"Every day, I feel a little bit more useful,
more happy, and more free.
Life, including some ups and downs, is a lot of fun.
I am part of AA which is a way of life.
If I had not become an active alcoholic and joined AA,
I might never have found my own identity
or become a part of anything."
©1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 417
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Thought to Consider . . .

Joy is in knowing there is an answer.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
F I N E  =  Free, Independent, New and Energetic

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 

Genuine

From My Name Is Padric, and I'm Alcoholic (Gay)

Before A.A., all I had was drinking and sex. I mechanically used people for both. Everybody was faceless. Nobody was real, least of all me! My sponsor was the first real person I'd met in years. And he made me feel real, too. He cut right through any concern I might have had about my gayness or anything else. Without sentimentality, he calmly held out his hand to me that first night as one human being to another, and what he put into my hand was life.

© 2003, AAWS, Inc.; Do You Think You are Different?, pg. 14

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
OPEN-MINDEDNESS

We have found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him.  To us, the realm of spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive, never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek.  It is open, we believe, to all men.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 7

Open-mindedness to concepts of a Higher Power can open doors to the spirit.  Often I find the human spirit in various dogmas and faiths.  I can be spiritual in the sharing of myself.  The sharing of self joins me to the human race and brings me closer to God, as I understand Him.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Progress Rather than Perfection

On studying the Twelve Steps, many of us exclaimed, "What an order! I can't
go through with it." Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not
saints.  The point is that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The
principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual
progress rather than spiritual perfection.
<<<>>>
"We recovered alcoholics are not so much brothers in virtue as we are
brothers in our defects, and in our common strivings to overcome them."

1. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 60
2. LETTER, 1946

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"We usually conclude the period of meditation with a prayer that we
be shown all through the day what our next step is to be, that we be
given whatever we need to take care of such problems. We ask
especially for freedom from self-will, and are careful to make no
request for ourselves only. We may ask for ourselves, however, if
others will be helped. We are careful never to pray for our own
selfish ends. Many of us have wasted a lot of time doing that and it
doesn't work."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 87

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

But even faith is not the whole story. There must be service.
We must give this thing away if we want to keep it. The Dead
Sea has no outlet and it is stagnant and full of salt. The Sea
of Galilee is clear and clean and blue, as the Jordan River
carries it out to irrigate the desert. To be of service to
other people makes our lives worth living. Does service to
others give me a real purpose in life?

Meditation for the Day

Seek God early in the day, before He gets crowded out by life's
problems, difficulties, or pleasures. In that early quiet time
gain a calm, strong confidence in the goodness and purpose in
the universe. Do not seek God only when the world's struggles
prove too much and too many for you to bear or face alone.
Seek God early, when you can have a consciousness of God's
spirit in the world. People often only seek God when their
difficulties are too great to be surmounted in any other way,
forgetting that if they sought God's companionship before
they need it, many of their difficulties would never arise.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not let God be crowded out by the hurly-burly
of life. I pray that I may seek God early and often.

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

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Foundation^*^*^ June 15, 2007

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Foundation
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"There is a direct linkage among self-examination,
meditation, and prayer. 
Taken separately, these practices can bring
much relief and benefit. 
But when they are logically related and interwoven,
the result is an unshakable foundation for life. 
Now and then we may be granted a glimpse of
that ultimate reality which is God's kingdom. 
And we will be comforted and assured
that our own destiny in that realm will be secure
for so long as we try, however falteringly,
to find and do the will of our own Creator."
©1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 98
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Thought to Consider . . .

Prayer is asking a question. 
Meditation is listening for the answer.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A S A P  =  Always Say A Prayer

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

Future

From "Heard at Meetings":

"'It is wise to pray for the future, but not to worry about it, because we can't live it until it becomes the present. The depth of our anxiety measures the distance we are from God.' - Sydney, Australia"

© 1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30^th printing 2004, pg. 26

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
MAKING A.A. YOUR HIGHER POWER

". . . You can . . . make A.A. itself your 'higher power.'  Here's a very large group of people who have solved their alcohol problem. . . . many members . . . have crossed the threshold just this way. . . . their faith broadened and deepened. . . . transformed, they came to believe in a Higher Power. . . "

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 27-28

No one was greater than I, at least in my eyes, when I was drinking.  Nevertheless, I couldn't smile at myself in the mirror, so I came to A.A. where, with others, I heard talk of a Higher Power.  I couldn't accept the concept of a Higher Power because I believed God was cruel and unloving.  In desperation I chose a table, a tree, then my A.A. group, as my Higher Power.  Time passed, my life improved, and I began to wonder about this Higher Power.  Gradually, with patience, humility and a lot of questions, I came to believe in God.  Now my relationship with my Higher Power gives me the strength to live a happy, sober life.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Fear No Evil

Though we of A.A. find ourselves living in a world characterized by
destructive fears as never before in history, we see great areas of faith,
and tremendous aspirations toward justice and brotherhood. Yet no prophet can presume to say whether the world outcome will be blazing destruction or the beginning, under God's intention, of the brightest era yet known to mankind.
I am sure we A.A.'s will comprehend this scene. In microcosm, we have
experienced this identical state of terrifying uncertainty, each in his own
life. In no sense pridefully, we can say that we do not fear the world
outcome, whichever course it may take. This is because we have been enabled to deeply feel and say, "We shall fear no evil--Thy will, not ours, be done."

GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1962

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"We realized that the people who wronged us were perhaps spiritually
sick. Though we did not like their symptoms and the way these
disturbed us, they, like ourselves, were sick too. We asked God to
help us show them the same tolerance, pity, and patience that we
would cheerfully grant a sick friend. When a person offended we said
to ourselves, 'This is a sick man. How can I be helpful to him? God
save me from being angry. Thy will be done.'"

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 66

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

In A.A. we have three things: fellowship, faith, and service.
Fellowship is wonderful, but its wonder lasts just so long.
Then some gossip, disillusionment, and boredom may come in.
Worry and fear come back at times and we find that fellowship
is not the whole story. Then we need faith. When we're alone,
with no- body to pat us on the back, we must turn to God for
help. Can I say "Thy will be done" - and mean it?

Meditation for the Day

There is beauty in a God-guided life. There is wonder in the
feeling of being led by God. Try to realize God's bounty and
goodness more and more. God is planning for you. Wonderful are His ways -
they are beyond your knowledge. But God's leading will enter your
consciousness more and more and bring you ever more peace and joy. Your life is being planned and blessed by God. You may count all material things as losses if they prevent your winning your way to the consciousness of God's guidance.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may earn the rewards of God's power and peace.
I pray that I may develop the feeling of being led by God.

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

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Traditions ^*^*^ June 14, 2007

 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Traditions
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"The Twelve Traditions point straight
at many of our individual defects.
By implication they ask each of us to lay aside
pride and resentments.
They ask for personal as well as group sacrifice.
They ask us never to use the AA name
in any quest for personal power or distinction or money.
The Traditions guarantee the equality
of all members and the independence of all groups.
They show how we may best relate ourselves to each other
and to the world outside."
Bill W.,
©1967AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, p. 96
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Thought to Consider . . .

If you have the courage to begin,
you have the courage to succeed.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A A's - R - U S  =  Alcoholics Anonymous Recovery Unity Service

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

Core

From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"On many a day I felt like throwing the book out the window.

"I was in this anything-but-spiritual mood on the night when the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous were written. I was sore and tired clear through. I lay in bed at 182 Clinton Street with pencil in hand and with a tablet of scratch paper on my knee. I could not get my mind on the job, much less put my heart in it. But here was one of those things that had to be done. Slowly my mind came into some kind of focus.

"Since Ebby's visit to me in the fall of 1934 we had gradually evolved what we called 'the word-of-mouth program.' Most of the basic ideas had come from the Oxford Groups, William James, and Dr. Silkworth."

© 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 160

 
*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
WHEN THE GOING GETS ROUGH

It is a design for living that works in rough going.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 15

When I came to A.A., I realized that A.A. worked wonderfully to help keep me sober.  But could it work on real life problems, not concerned with
drinking?  I had my doubts.  After being sober for more than two years I got
my answer.  I lost my job, developed physical problems, my diabetic father
lost a leg, and someone I loved left me for another -- and all of this
happened during a two-week period.  Reality crashed in, yet A.A. was there to support, comfort, and strengthen me.  The principles I had learned during my early days of sobriety became a mainstay of my life for not only did I come through, but I never stopped being able to help newcomers.  A.A. taught me not to be overwhelmed, but rather to accept and understand my life as it unfolded. 

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
"Success" in Twelfth-Stepping

"We now see that in twelfth-stepping the immediate results are not so
important. Some people start out working with others and have immediate
success. They are likely to get cocky. Those of us who are not so successful at first get depressed.
"As a matter of fact, the successful worker differs from the unsuccessful
only in being lucky about his prospects. He simply hits newcomers who are
ready and able to stop at once. Given the same prospects, the seemingly
unsuccessful person would have produced almost the same results. You have to work on a lot of newcomers before the law of averages commences to assert itself."
<<<>>>
All true communication must be founded on mutual need. We saw that each
sponsor would have to admit humbly his own needs as clearly as those of his
prospect.

1. LETTER, 1942
2. A.A. TODAY, P. 10
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"We found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek
Him. To us, the Realm of Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive; never
exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we
believe, to all men."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, Page 46~

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

In A.A. we have to learn that drink is our greatest enemy.
Although we used to think that liquor was our friend, the time
came when it turned against us and became our enemy. We don't know just when this happened, but we know that it did because we began to get into trouble - jails and hospitals. We realize now that liquor is our enemy. Is it still my main business to keep sober?

Meditation for the Day

It is not your circumstances that need altering so much as
yourself. After you have changed, conditions will naturally
change. Spare no effort to become all that God would have you
become. Follow every good leading of your conscience. Take each day with no backward look. Face the day's problems with God, and seek God's help and guidance as to what you should do in every situation that may arise. Never look back. Never leave until tomorrow the thing that you are guided to do today.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that God will help me to become all that He would have me
be. I pray that I may face today's problem as with good grace.

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

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Change ^*^*^*^*^ June 13, 2007

 

 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Change
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"How many of us would presume to declare,
'Well, I'm sober and I'm happy.
What more can I want, or do?  I'm fine the way I am.'
We know that the price of such self-satisfaction is
an inevitable backslide,
punctuated at some point by a very rude awakening.
We have to grow or else deteriorate.
For us, the status quo can only be for today,
never for tomorrow.
Change we must; we cannot stand still."
Bill W., Grapevine, February 1961
©1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 25
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Thought to Consider . . .

There are only two things an alcoholic doesn't like -
the way things are, and change.

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

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

Illness

From "Building a New Life":

"That year I went to an alcohol treatment program twice. The first time I was in treatment, I was shaving at the mirror in the bathroom and it seemed to me that my beard was growing back in as fast as I could shave it off. Even though I was in a hospital gown, I escaped, running down the streets and jumping up and over fences. I was on the porch of a woman's house banging on the door for her to let me in when the police arrived. I tried to convince them she was my wife and my children were inside, but they saw the hospital bracelet on my wrist, and they took me back to the program. …

"The doctor told me that if I went into D.T.'s like that again I might not come out."

© 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 482

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
LIVING OUR AMENDS

"Years of living with an alcoholic is almost sure to make any
wife or child neurotic. The entire family is to some extent,
ill."

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 122

It is important for me to realize that, as an alcoholic, I not
only hurt myself, but also those around me. Making amends to
my family, and to the families of alcoholics still suffering,
will always be important. Understanding the havoc I created
and trying to repair the destruction, will be a lifelong
endeavor. The example of my sobriety may give others hope,
and faith to help themselves.

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

The practice of admitting one's defects to another person is, of course, very
ancient. It has been validated in every century, and it characterizes the
lives of all spiritually centered and truly religious people.
But today religion is by no means the sole advocate of this saving principle.
Psychiatrists and psychologists point out the deep need every human being has for practical insight and knowledge of his own personality flaws and for a discussion of them with an understanding and trustworthy person.
So far as alcoholics are concerned, A.A. would go even further. Most of us
would declare that without a fearless admission of our defects to another
human being, we could not stay sober. It seems plain that the grace of God
will not enter to expel our destructive obsessions until we are willing to
try this.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 56-57
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Actually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man,
woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured
by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form
or other it is there. For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and
miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as
old as man himself."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 55~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

In A.A. we have to reeducate our minds. We have to learn to
think differently. We have to take a long view of drinking
instead of a short view. We have to look through the glass
to what lies beyond it. We have to look through the night
before to the morning after. No matter how good liquor looks
from the short view, we must realize that in the long run it
is poison to us. Have I learned to look through the bottle
to the better life that lies ahead?

Meditation for the Day

If you are honestly trying to live the way you believe God
wants you to live, you can get guidance from God in times of
quiet communion with Him, provided your thoughts are directed
toward God's will and all good things. The attitude of
"Thy will, not mine, be done' leads to clear guidance. Act on
this guidance and you will be led to better things. Your
impulses seem to become less your own and more the leading of God's spirit acting through your thoughts. Obeyed, they will
bring you the answers to your prayers.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may try to think God's thoughts after Him. I
pray that my thoughts may be guided by His thoughts.

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

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