Thoughts For The Day~*~Unity ^*^*^*^*^ March 28, 2009

 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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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, Change

*~*~*~*~*^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"

1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30^th 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.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^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.

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~*~Possibilities^*^*^*^*^ March 27, 2009

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

*~*~*~*~*^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]"

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