Thoughts For The Day~*~Rationalization ^*^*^*^*^ March 21, 2009

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

"There are cases where our ancient enemy, rationalization, has stepped in and has justified conduct which was really wrong. The temptation here is to imagine that we had good motives and reasons when we really didn't. We 'constructively criticized' someone who needed it, when our real motive was to win a useless argument. We sometimes hurt those we love because they' need to be taught a lesson, 'when we really want to punish. This perverse wish to hide a bad motive underneath a good one, permeates human affairs from top to bottom.

"Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 94

Thought to Consider . . .

Recognizing someone else's human dignity cannot cost you your own.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
PUSH
Pray Until Something Happens

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

Rapture

From "Total Surrender":

"What has always impressed me most about the program and myself is the constant, continuing challenge to try recapturing some of the true and honest rapture I felt upon total surrender, when I first came into A.A. For me, that special peace of mind has never been duplicated. Now, after all the accumulated twenty-four-hour periods, I realize that it probably never will be. I have come close to it a few times, but it's never the same."Des Plaines, Illinois, USA"

1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30^th printing 2004, pg. 29

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

MATERIAL AND SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING

Fear .  .  .  of economic insecurity will leave us.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84

Having fear reduced or eliminated and having economic circumstances improve, are two different things.  When I was new in A.A., I had those two ideas confused.  I thought fear would leave me only when I started making money.  However, another line from the Big Book jumped off the page one day when I was chewing on my financial difficulties: "For us, material well-being always followed spiritual progress; it never preceded." (p. 127). I suddenly understood that this promise was a guarantee.  I saw that it put priorities in the correct order, that spiritual progress would diminish that terrible fear of being destitute, just as it diminished many other fears.

Today I try to use the talents God gave me to benefit others.  I've found that is what others valued all along.  I try to remember that I no longer work for myself.  I only get the use of the wealth God created, I never have "owned" it.  My life's purpose is much clearer when I just work to help, not to possess.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Debits and Credits

Following a gossip binge, we can well ask ourselves these questions: "Why did we say what we did? Were we only trying to be helpful and informative? Or were we not trying to feel superior by confessing the other fellow's sins? Or, because of fear and dislike, were we not really aiming to damage him?"
This would be an honest attempt to examine ourselves, rather than the other fellow.
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Inventory-taking is not always done in red ink. It's a poor day indeed when we haven't done something right. As a matter of fact, the waking hours are usually filled with things that are constructive. Good intentions, good thoughts, and good acts are there for us to see.
Even when we have tried hard and failed, we may chalk that up as one of the greatest credits of all.

1. GRAPEVINE, AUGUST 1961
2. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p.93
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"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."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 164~
*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

In A.A. we forget about the future. We know from experience that as time goes on, the future takes care of itself. Everything works out well, as long as we stay sober. All we need to think about is today. When we get up in the morning and see the sun shining in the window, we thank God that He has given us another day to enjoy because we're sober, a day in which we may have a chance to help somebody. Do I know that this day is all I have and that with God's help I can stay sober today?

Meditation for the Day

All is fundamentally well. That does not mean that all is well on the surface of things. But it does mean that God's in His heaven and that He has a purpose for the World, which will eventually work out when enough human beings are willing to follow His way. "Wearing the world as a loose garment" means not being upset by the surface wrongness of things, but feeling deeply secure in the fundamental goodness and purpose in the universe.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that God may be with me in my journey through the world. I pray that I may know that God is planning that journey.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? Make meals for under $10.

Thoughts For The Day~*~Illusion ^*^*^*^*^ Mar 20, 2009

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

"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, p. 30

Thought to Consider . . .

"Many alcoholics are enthusiasts. They run to extremes.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
DENIAL
Don't Even Notice I Am Lying

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

Cooperation

From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"In 1949 the American Psychiatric Association did exactly the same thing [recognizing A.A. as a valid aid for alcoholics]. I [Bill W.] read a paper at its annual meeting in Montreal.  I wound up by describing the spiritual experience as we understand it in A.A. As I read, I doubted if even a handful of the audience could possibly agree with the views expressed in my paper. To my astonishment there was a sustained round of applause. But this was not at all a tribute to me or to the contents of my paper; it was instead a tribute to Alcoholics Anonymous, a tribute to a way of life which had worked for alcoholics when other approaches had failed. This generous response was evidence that our friends the psychiatrists were being much more tolerant of us than we had been of them. If we ourselves became more open-minded, then far greater co-operation with this profession would be assured.

"The Association promptly confirmed the view of its members in Montreal. My paper was carried in the American Journal of Psychiatry and we were permitted to reprint it in a pamphlet, now entitled Alcoholism the Illness.* Our standing with the psychiatric profession has increased greatly since that time.

"*Later retitled Three Talks to Medical Societies by Bill W., this pamphlet also includes Bill's paper before the Medical Society of the State of New York"

2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 205 

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
LOVE AND TOLERANCE

Love and tolerance of others is our code.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84

I have found that I have to forgive others in all situations to maintain any real spiritual progress.  The vital importance of forgiving may not be obvious to me at first sight, but my studies tell me that every great spiritual teacher has insisted strongly upon it.

I must forgive injuries, not just in words, or as a matter of form, but in my heart.  I do this not for the other persons' sake, but for my own sake.  Resentment, anger, or a desire to see someone punished, are things that rot my soul.  Such things fasten my troubles to me with chains.  They tie me to other problems that have nothing to do with my original problem.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Whose Responsibility?

"An A.A. group, as such, cannot take on all the personal problems of its members, let alone those of nonalcoholics in the world around us. The A.A. group is not, for example, a mediator of domestic problems, nor does it furnish personal financial aid to anyone.
"Though a member may sometimes be helped in such matters by his friends in A.A., the primary responsibility for the solutions of all his problems of living and growing rests squarely upon the individual himself. Should an A.A. group attempt this sort of help, its effectiveness and energies would be hopelessly dissapated.
"This is why sobriety -- freedom from alcohol -- through the teaching and practice of A.A.'s Twelve Steps, is the sole purpose of the group. If we don't stick to this cardinal principle, we shall almost certainly collapse. And if we collapse we cannot help anyone."

Letter, 1966
*~*~*~*~*^ 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

When we were drinking, we used to worry about the future. Worry is terrible mental punishment. What's going to become of me? Where will I end up? In the gutter or the sanitarium? We can see ourselves slipping, getting worse and worse, and we wonder what the finish will be. Sometimes we get so discouraged in thinking about the future that we toy with the idea of suicide. In A.A., have I stopped worrying about the future?

Meditation for the Day

Functioning on a material plane alone takes me away from God. I must also try to function on a spiritual plane. Functioning on a spiritual plane as well as on a material plane will make life what it should be. All material activities are valueless in themselves alone. But all activities, seemingly trivial or of seemingly great moment, are all alike if directed by God's guidance. I must try to obey God as I would expect a faithful, willing servant to carry out directions.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that the flow of God's spirit may come to me through many channels. I pray that I may function on a spiritual plane as well as on a material plane.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? Make meals for under $10.