Saturday, March 29, 2008

Thoughts For The Day~*~Housecleaning^*^*^*^*^ March 29, 2008

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

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

^*^*^*^*^
Housecleaning

"
S
omehow, being alone with God
doesn't seem as embarrassing
as facing up to another person.
Until we actually sit down and talk aloud
about what we have so long hidden,
our willingness to clean house
is still largely theoretical.
When we are honest with another person,
it confirms that we have been honest
with ourselves and with God."
Bill W., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 60


Thought to Consider . . .

If we skip this vital step, we may not overcome drinking.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 72


*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
STEPS

Solutions To Every Problem in Sobriety

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 Selfless
From "When A.A. Came of Age":

"As this tidal offering of top public approval swept in, we realized that it could do us incalculable good or great harm. Everything would depend upon how it was channeled. We simply could not afford to take the chance of letting self-appointed members present themselves as messiahs representing A.A. before the whole public. The promoter instinct in us might be our undoing. If even one such person publicly got drunk or was lured into using A.A.'s name for his own purposes, the damage might be irreparable. At this altitude (press, radio, films, and television [and the internet] ), anonymity  100 per cent anonymity  was the only possible answer. Here principles would have to come before personalities, without exception.

"These experiences taught us that anonymity is real humility at work. It is an all-pervading spiritual quality which today keynotes A.A. life everywhere."

 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 134

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
TRUSTED SERVANTS

They are servants.  Theirs is the sometimes thankless privilege of doing the group's chores.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 134

In Zorba the Greek, Nikos Kazantzakis describes an encounter between his principal character and an old man busily at work planting a tree.  "What is it you are doing?" Zorba asks.  The old man replies: "You can see very well what I'm doing, my son, I'm planting a tree." "But why plant a tree," Zorba asks, "if you won't be able to see it bear fruit?" And the old man answers: "I, my son, live as though I were never going to die." The response brings a faint smile to Zorba's lips and, as he walks away, he exclaims with a note of irony: "How strange -- I live as though I were going to die tomorrow!"

As a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, I have found that the Third Legacy is a fertile soil in which to plant the tree of my sobriety.  The fruits I harvest are wonderful: peace, security, understanding and twenty-four hours of eternal fulfillment; and with the soundness of mind to listen to the voice of my conscience when, in silence, it gently speaks to me, saying: You must let go in service.  There are others who must plant and harvest.


Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Will Power and Choice

"We A.A.'s know the futility of trying to break the drinking obsession by will power alone. However, we do know that it takes great willingness to adopt A.A.'s Twelve Steps as a way of life that can restore us to sanity.
"No matter how grievous the alcohol obsession, we happily find that other vital choices can still be made. For example, we can choose to admit that we are personally powerless over alcohol; that dependence upon a 'higher Power' is a necessity, even if this be simply dependence upon an A.A. group. Then we can choose to try for a life of honesty and humility, of selfless services to out fellows and to "God as we understand Him."
"As we continue to make these choices and so move toward these high aspirations, our sanity returns and the compulsion to drink vanishes."

LETTER, 1966
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"The great fact is just this, and nothing less: That we have had deep
and effective spiritual experiences which have revolutionized our
whole attitude toward life, toward our fellows and toward God's
universe. The central fact of our lives today is the absolute
certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a
way which is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us which we could never do by ourselves."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 25~
*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Before I met A.A., I was very dishonest. I lied to my spouse constantly about where I had been and what I'd been doing. I took time off from my work 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 person, although I suspected I wasn't. Am I now really honest?

Meditation for the Day

I must live in the world and yet live apart with God. I can go forth from my secret times of communion with God to the work of the world. To get the spiritual strength I need, my inner life must be lived apart from the world. I must wear the world as a loose garment. Nothing in the world should seriously upset me, as long as my inner life is lived with God. All successful living arises from this inner life.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may live my inner life with God. I pray that nothing shall invade or destroy that secret place of peace.


Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012





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Friday, March 28, 2008

Thoughts For The Day~*~Unity ^*^*^*^*^ March 28, 2008

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

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

^*^*^*^*^
Unity

"The unity of Alcoholics Anonymous is
the most cherished quality our Society has.
Our lives, the lives of all to come,
depend squarely upon it.
We stay whole, or AA dies.
Without unity, the heart of AA would cease to beat;
our world arteries would no longer carry
the life-giving grace of God;
His gift to us would be spent aimlessly.
Back again in their caves,
alcoholics would reproach us and say,
'What a great thing AA might have been!'"
Bill W., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 130

Thought to Consider . . .

I am responsible.
when anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help,
I want the hand of AA always to be there.
And for that:
I am responsible



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


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

Faith
From "Fresh Snow":

"While some days may offer only a modicum of frantic serenity, twenty-six years later I still know the same inner tranquility that comes with forgiveness of self and the acceptance of God's will. Each new morning, there is faith in sobriety--sobriety not as mere abstinence from alcohol, but as progressive recovery in every facet of my life.--Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"

(c) 1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 13

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
EQUALITY

        Our membership ought to include all who suffer from alcoholism.  Hence we may refuse none who wish to recover.  Nor ought A.A. membership ever depend upon money or conformity.  Any two or three alcoholics gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an A.A. group, provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 565

Prior to A.A., I often felt that I didn't "fit in" with the people around me.  Usually "they" had more/less money than I did, and my points of view didn't jibe with "theirs."  The amount of prejudice I had experienced in society only proved to me just how phony some self-righteous people were.  After joining A.A., I found the way of life I had been searching for.  In A.A. no member is better than any other member; we're just alcoholics trying to recover from alcoholism.


(c)Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.(c)
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Keystone of the Arch

Faced with alcoholic destruction, we became open-minded on spiritual matters. In this respect alcohol was great persuader. It finally beat us into a state of reasonableness.
<<< >>>
We had to quit playing God. It didn't work. We decided that hereafter, in this drama of life, God was going to be our Director. He would be the Principal; we, His agents.
Most good ideas are simple, and this concept was the keystone of the new triumphal arch through which we passed to freedom.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS 1.P. 48 2. P. 62

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"We know that while the alcoholic keeps away from drink, as he may do
for months or years, he reacts much like other men. We are equally
positive that once he takes any alcohol whatever into his system,
something happens, both in the bodily and mental sense, which makes
it virtually impossible for him to stop. The experience of any
alcoholic will abundantly confirm this."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 22~
*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

When you come into an A.A. meeting, you're not just coming into a meeting, you're coming into a new life. I'm always impressed by the change I see in people after they've been in A.A. for a while. I sometimes take an inventory of myself, to see whether I have changed, and if so, in what way. Before I met A.A., I was very selfish. I wanted my own way in everything. I don't believe I ever grew up. When things went wrong, I sulked like a spoiled child and often went out and got drunk. Am I still all "get" and no "give"?

Meditation for the Day

There are two things that we must have if we are going to change our way of life. One is faith, the confidence in things unseen, the fundamental goodness and purpose in the universe. The other is obedience: that is, living according to our faith, living each day as we believe that God wants us to live, with gratitude, humility, honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love. Faith and obedience, these two, will give us all the strength we need to overcome sin and temptation and to live a new and more abundant life.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may have more faith and obedience. I pray that I may live a more abundant life as a result of these things.


(c)Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012(c)





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Thursday, March 27, 2008

Thoughts For The Day~*~Possibilities^*^*^*^*^ March 27, 2008

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

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

^*^*^*^*^
Possibilities

"
How shall we come to terms with seeming failure or success? Can we now adjust to either without despair or pride? Can we accept poverty, sickness, loneliness, and bereavement with courage and serenity? The AA answer to these questions about living is 'Yes, all of these things are possible.'"  
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 112


Thought to Consider . . .

It works - it really does.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 88

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
EGO
Easing God O
ut


*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 

Medicine
From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"The medical aspect of alcoholism includes the problem of hospitalization, and here also great progress has been made. Many hospitals have been reluctant to take alcoholics at all. State and Provincial institutions usually have required alcoholics to stay for long periods of commitment. Therefore it has been difficult--and it still is--to persuade the average general hospital to take in A.A. prospects for short periods of treatment and to grant sponsors the necessary visiting privileges in co-operation with our local Intergroup Associations.

"It is good to report that this condition is rapidly changing for the better. Our pioneering activity in this field, together with the use which A.A. Headquarters has been able to make of that experience, has a special interest for us all. Two American hospitals have afforded fine examples of how medicine and A.A. can best co-operate. At St. Thomas Hospital in Akron Dr. Bob, the wonderful Sister Ignatia, and the hospital staff presided over an alcoholic ward which had treated several thousand alcoholics by the time of Dr. Bob's death in 1950. And beginning in 1945, Knickerbocker Hospital in New York provided an A.A. ward under the care of our first friend in medicine, Dr. William D. Silkworth, who was assisted with rare devotion and skill by nurse Teddy. By 1954, 10,000 alcoholics had been referred to Knickerbocker by the New York Intergroup Association and had passed through this ward, the majority on their way to freedom. [c. 1959]"

(c) 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg.206

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

We trust that we already know what our several freedoms truly are; that no future generation of AA's will ever feel compelled to limit them.  Our AA freedoms create the soil in which genuine love can grow.  .  .  .

LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 303


I craved freedom.  First, freedom to drink; later, freedom from drink.  The A.A. program of recovery rests on a foundation of free choice.  There are no mandates, laws or commandments.  A.A.'s spiritual program, as outlined in the Twelve Steps, and by which I am offered even greater freedoms, is only suggested.  I can take it or leave it.  Sponsorship is offered, not forced, and I come and go as I will.  It is these and other freedoms that allow me to recapture the dignity that was crushed by the burden of drink, and which is so dearly needed to support an enduring sobriety.


Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Room for Improvement

WE have come to believe that A.A.'s recovery Steps and Traditions represent the approximate truths which we need for our particular purpose. The more we practice them, the more we like them. So there is little doubt that A.A. principles will continue to be advocated in the form they stand now.
If our basics are so firmly fixed as all this, then what is there left to change or to improve?
The answer will immediately occur to us. While we need not alter our truths, we can surely improve their application to ourselves, to A.A. as a whole, and to our relation with the world around us. We can constantly step up the practice of "these principles in all our affairs."

GRAPEVINE, FEBRUARY 1961

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"We needed to ask ourselves but one short question. 'Do I now
believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power
greater than myself?' As soon as a man can say that he does believe,
or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on
his way. It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this
simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be
built."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 47
*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

You get the power to overcome drinking through the fellowship of other alcoholics who have found the way out. You get power by honestly sharing your past experience by a personal witness. You get power by coming to believe in a Higher Power, the Divine Principle in the universe which can help you. You get power by working with other alcoholics. In these four ways, thousands of alcoholics have found all the power they needed to overcome drinking. Am I ready and willing to accept this power and work for it?

Meditation for the Day

The power of God's spirit is the greatest power in the universe. Our conquest of each other, the great kings and conquerors, the conquest of wealth, the leaders of the money society, all amount to very little in the end. But one who conquers oneself is greater than one who conquers a city. Material things have no permanence. But God's spirit is eternal. Everything really worthwhile in the world is the result of the power of God's spirit.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may open myself to the power of God's spirit. I pray that my relationships with others may be improved by this spirit.


Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012





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Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Thoughts For The Day~*~Self-will^*^*^*^*^ March 26, 2008

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

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

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Self-will

"
T
he philosophy of self-sufficiency doesn't pay off.
Plainly enough, it is a bone-crushing juggernaut
whose final achievement is ruin.
Therefore, we can consider ourselves
fortunate indeed.
Each of us has had his own near-fatal encounter
with the juggernaut of self-will,
and has suffered enough under its weight to
look for something better."
Bill W., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pp. 37-8


Thought to Consider . . .

Attitudes are contagious--is yours worth catching?



*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
AA
Attitude A
djustment



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

Blessings
From "My Chance to Live":

"Growing up in A.A., I have been blessed with children who have never seen their mother drunk. I have a husband who loves me simply because I am, and I have gained the respect of my family. What more could a broken-down drunk ask for? Lord knows it is more than I ever thought possible, and ever so much more than I deserved. All because I was willing to believe A.A. just might work for me too."

© 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 318

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
THE TEACHING IS NEVER OVER

Abandon yourself to God as you understand God.  Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows.  Clear away the wreckage of your past.  Give freely of what you find and join us.  We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.  May God bless you and keep you-until then.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 164

These words put a lump in my throat each time I read them.  In the beginning it was because I felt, "Oh no! The teaching is over.  Now I'm on my own.  It will never be this new again." Today I feel deep affection for our A.A. pioneers when I read this passage, realizing that it sums up all of what I believe in, and strive for, and that -- with God's blessing -- the teaching is never over, I'm never on my own, and every day is brand new.


Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Life Is Not a Dead End

When a man or a woman has a spiritual awakening, the most important meaning of it is that he has now become able to do, feel, and believe that which he could not do before on his unaided strength and resources alone. He has been granted a gift which amounts to a new state of consciousness and being.
He has been set on a path which tells him he is really going somewhere, that life is not a dead end, not something to be endured or mastered. In a very real sense he has been transformed, because he has laid hold of a source of strength which he had hitherto denied himself.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 106-107

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity
from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 89~
*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Strength comes also from working with other alcoholics. When you are trying to help a new prospect with the program, you are building up your own strength at the same time. You see the other person in the condition you might be in yourself and it makes your resolve to stay sober stronger than ever. Often, you help yourself more than the other person, but if you do succeed in helping the prospect to get sober, you are stronger from the experience of having helped another person. Am I receiving strength from working with others?

Meditation for the Day

Faith is the bridge between you and God. it is the bridge that God has ordained. if all were seen and known, there would be no merit in doing right. Therefore God has ordained that we do not see or know directly. But we can experience the power of His spirit through our faith. It is the bridge between us and Him, which we can take or not, as we will. There could be no morality without free will. We must make the choice ourselves. We must make the venture of belief.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may choose and decide to cross the bridge of faith. I pray that by crossing this bridge I may receive the spiritual power I need.


Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012





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