Saturday, April 17, 2010

Thoughts For The Day~*~Rationalization ^*^*^*^*^ April 17, 2010

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

"We 'constructively criticized' someone who needed it,
when our real motive was to win a useless argument.
We were depressed and complained we felt bad,
when in fact we were mainly asking for
sympathy and attention.
This odd trait of mind and emotion,
this perverse wish to hide a bad motive
underneath a good one,
permeates human affairs from top to bottom.
Learning daily to spot, admit, and correct these flaws
is the essence of character-building
and good living."
Bill W., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pp. 94-5

Thought to Consider . . .

A victim is a spectator in his life.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
FEAR
Face Everything And Recover!


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

Anonymity
From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"The intense drive that most of us alcoholics have for money, prestige, and power then crashed into the open by way of broken anonymity at the public level. This development of the 1945-1950 period was made even more dangerous by the fact that most of the anonymity breakers meant well.  Sometimes these folks wanted to use the A.A. name publicly in order to help other good causes. Sometimes they just wanted their names and pictures in the papers always, of course, to help A.A.  [W]e saw that the risk to A.A. would be appalling if all our power-drivers finally got loose at the public level. Scores of them were already doing it.

"So A.A. Headquarters got to work. We wrote remonstrances, kind ones, of course, to every breaker. We sent letters to nearly all press, radio, and publishing outlets, explaining why A.A.'s should not break their anonymity before the general public. Group feeling, combined with the Headquarters efforts, finally squeezed the anonymity breakers down to a mere handful within a few years. Had this tendency not been checked, the whole character of our society could have changed, and its future could have been fearfully compromised."

2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 209

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
LOVE AND FEAR AS OPPOSITES

All these failings generate fear, a soul-sickness in its own right.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.  49

"Fear knocked at the door; faith answered; no one was there."  I don't know to whom this quote should be attributed, but it certainly indicates clearly that fear is an illusion.  I create the illusion myself. 

I experienced fear early in my life and I mistakenly thought that the mere presence of it made me a coward.  I didn't know that one of the definitions of "courage" is "the willingness to do the right thing in spite of fear."  Courage, then, is not necessarily the absence of fear.

During the times I didn't have love in my life I most assuredly had fear.  To fear God is to be afraid of joy.  In looking back, I realize that, during the times I feared God most, there was no joy in my life.  As I learned not to fear God, I also learned to experience joy.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Face the Music

"Don't be too discouraged about that slip. Practically always, we drunks learn the hard way. "Your idea of moving on to somewhere else may be good, or it may not. Perhaps you have got into an emotional or economic jam that can't be well handled where you are. But maybe you are doing just what all of us have done, at one time or another: Maybe you are running away. Why don't you try to think that through again carefully?
"Are you really placing recovery first, or are you making it contingent upon other people, places, or circumstances? You may find it ever so much better to face the music right where you are now, and, with the help of the A.A. program, win through. Before you make a decision, weigh it in these terms."

LETTER, 1949

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


"It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on
our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a
subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is
a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual
condition."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 85~

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

Every time we go to an A.A. meeting, every time we say the Lord's Prayer, every time we have a quiet time before breakfast, we're paying a premium on our insurance against taking that first drink. And every time we help another alcoholic, we're making a large payment on our drink insurance. We're making sure that our policy doesn't lapse. Am I building up an endowment in serenity, peace, and happiness that will put me on easy street for the rest of my life?

Meditation for the Day

I gain faith by my own experience of God's power in my life. The constant, persistent recognition of God's spirit in all my personal relationships, the ever accumulating weight of evidence in support of God's guidance, the numberless instances in which seeming chance or wonderful coincidence can be traced to God's purpose in my life. All these things gradually engender a feeling of wonder, humility, and gratitude to God. These in turn are followed by a more sure and abiding faith in God and His purposes.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that my faith may be strengthened every day. I pray that I may find confirmation of my life in the good things that have come into my life.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Friday, April 16, 2010

Thoughts For The Day~*~Responsibility ^*^*^*^*^ April 16, 2010

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

"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."
Declaration of 30th Anniversary International Convention, 1965

Thought to Consider . . .

Service is spirituality in action.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*

EGO
Easing God Out

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

Healing
From "Tightrope":

"When I first came to this Fellowship, I had lost my health and sanity, my friends, much of my family, my self-respect, and my God. In the years since, all of these have been restored to me. I no longer have the sense of impending doom. I no longer wish for death or stare at myself in the mirror with loathing. I have come to terms with my Higher Power"

2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 368

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
ANGER: A "DUBIOUS LUXURY"

If we were to live, we had to be free of anger.  The grouch and the brainstorm were not for us.  They may be the dubious luxury of the normal men, but for alcoholics these things are poison.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.  66

"Dubious luxury." How often have I remembered those words.  It's not just anger that's best left to nonalcoholics; I built a list including justifiable resentment, self-pity, judgmentalism, self-righteousness, false pride and false humility.  I'm always surprised to read the actual quote.  So well have the principles of the program been drummed into me that I keep thinking all of these defects are listed too.  Thank God I can't afford them -- or I surely would indulge in them.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
"Perfect" Humility

For myself, I try to seek out the truest definition of humility that I can. This will not be the perfect definition, because I shall always be imperfect.
At this writing, I would choose one like this: "Absolute humility would consist of a state of complete freedom from myself, freedom from all the claims that my defects of character now lay so heavily upon me. Perfect humility would be a full willingness, in all times and places, to find and to do the will of God."
When I meditate upon such a vision, I need not be dismayed because I shall never attain it, nor need I swell with presumption that one of these days its virtues shall all be mine.
I only need to dwell on the vision itself, letting it grow and ever more fill my heart. This done, I can compare it with my last-taken personal inventory. Then I get a sane and healthy idea of where I stand on the highway to humility. I see that my journey toward God has scarce begun.
As I thus get down to my right size and stature, my self-concern and importance become amusing.

GRAPEVINE, JUNE 1961
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"We families of Alcoholics Anonymous keep few skeletons in the
closet. Everyone knows about the others' alcoholic troubles. This
is a condition which, in ordinary life, would produce untold grief;
there might be scandalous gossip, laughter at the expense of other
people, and a tendency to take advantage of intimate information.
Among us, these are rare occurrences. We do talk about each other a
great deal, but we almost invariably temper such talk by a spirit of
love and tolerance."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 125~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

In A.A. we have insurance. Our faith in God is a kind of insurance against the terrible things that might happen to us if we ever drink again. By putting our drink problem in the hands of God, we've taken out a sort of insurance policy, which insures us against the ravages of drink, as our homes are insured against destruction by fire. Am I paying my A.A. insurance premiums regularly?

Meditation for the Day

I must try to love all humanity. Love comes from thinking of every man or woman as your brother or sister, because they are children of God. This way of thinking makes me care enough about them to really want to help them. I must put this kind of love into action by serving others. Love means no severe judging, no resentments, no malicious gossip, and no destructive criticism. It means patience, understanding, compassion, and helpfulness.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may realize that God loves me, since He is the Father of us all. I pray that I in turn may have love for all of His children.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Thoughts For The Day~*~Intoxication ^*^*^*^*^ April 15, 2010

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

"As newcomers, many of us have indulged
in spiritual intoxication.
Like a prospector,
belt drawn in over the last ounce of food,
we saw our pick strike gold.
Joy at our release from a lifetime
of frustration knew no bounds.
The newcomer feels he has struck
something better than gold.
He may not see at once
that he has barely scratched a limitless lode
which will pay dividends
only if he mines it for the rest of his life
and insists on giving away
the entire product."

Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 128-9
As Bill Sees It, p. 57

Thought to Consider . . .

We give it away to keep it.


*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
T H I N K = The Happiness I Never Knew


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

Excuses
Step Four: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

"The majority of A.A. members have suffered severely from self-justification during their drinking days. For most of us, self-justification was the maker of excuses; excuses, of course, for drinking, and for all kinds of crazy and damaging conduct. We had made the invention of alibis a fine art. We had to drink because times were hard or times were good. We had to drink because at home we were smothered with love or got none at all. We had to drink because at work we were great successes or dismal failures. We had to drink because our nation had won a war or lost a peace. And so it went, ad infinitum."

1952, AAWS, Inc.; Printed 2005; Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pgs. 46-47

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
THE BONDAGE OF RESENTMENTS

. . .  harboring resentment is infinitely grave.  For then we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the spirit.

AS BILL SEES IT, p.  5

It has been said, "Anger is a luxury I cannot afford."  Does this suggest I ignore this human emotion?  I believe not.  Before I learned of the A.A. program, I was a slave to the behavior patterns of alcoholism.  I was chained to negativity, with no hope of cutting loose.

The Steps offered me an alternative.  Step Four was the beginning of the end of my bondage.  The process of "letting go" started with an inventory.  I needed not be frightened, for the previous Steps assured me I was not alone.  My Higher Power led me to this door and gave me the gift of choice.  Today I can choose to open the door to freedom and rejoice in the sunlight of the Steps, as they cleanse the spirit within me.


Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Move Ahead

To spend too much time on any one alcoholic is to deny some other an opportunity to live and be happy. One of our Fellowship failed entirely with his first half-dozen prospects. He often says that if he had continued to work on them, he might have deprived many others, who have since recovered, of their chance.
<<< >>>
"Our chief responsibility to the newcomer is an adequate presentation of the program. If he does nothing or argues, we do nothing but maintain our own sobriety. If he starts to move ahead, even a little, with an open mind, we then break our necks to help in every way we can."

1. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 96
2. LETTER, 1942

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

"When we decide who is to hear our story, we waste no time. We have
a written inventory and we are prepared for a long talk. We explain
to our partner what we are about to do and why we have to do it. He
should realize that we are engaged upon a life-and-death errand.
Most people approached in this way will be glad to help; they will be
honored by our confidence."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 75

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

Terrible things could have happened to any one of us. We never will know what might have happened to us when we were drunk. We usually thought: "That couldn't happen to me." But any one of us could have killed somebody or have been killed ourselves, if we were drunk enough. But fear of these things never kept us from drinking. Do I believe that in A.A. we have something more effective than fear?

Meditation for the Day

I must keep calm and unmoved in the vicissitudes of life. I must go back into the silence of communion with God to recover this calm when it is lost even for one moment. I will accomplish more by this calmness than by all the activities of a long day. At all cost I will keep calm. I can solve nothing when I am agitated. I should keep away from things that are upsetting emotionally. I should run on an even keel and not get tipped over by emotional upsets. I should seek for things that are calm and good and true and stick to those things.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not argue nor contend, but merely state calmly what I believe to be true. I pray that I may keep myself in that state of calmness that comes from faith in God's purpose for the world.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Thoughts For The Day~*~Selfishness ^*^*^*^*^ April 14, 2010

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

"Selfishness - self-centeredness!
That, we think, is the root of our troubles.
Driven by a hundred forms of fear,
self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity,
we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate.
Sometimes they hurt us,
seemingly without provocation,
but we invariably find that at some time in the past
we have made decisions based on self
which later placed us in a position to be hurt.
So our troubles, we think,
are basically of our own making.
"
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 62

Thought to Consider . . .

Spirituality is the ability
to get our minds off ourselves.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
BUT
Being Unconvinced T
otally

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

Health
From "The Family Afterward":

"A body badly burned by alcohol does not often recover overnight nor do twisted thinking and depression vanish in a twinkling. We are convinced that a spiritual mode of living is a most powerful health restorative. We, who have recovered from serious drinking, are miracles of mental health.  Hardly one of our crowd now shows any mark of dissipation.

"But this does not mean that we disregard human health measures. God has abundantly supplied this world with fine doctors, psychologists, and practitioners of various kinds. Do not hesitate to take your health problems to such persons."

2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 133


*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
THE "NUMBER ONE OFFENDER"

Resentment is the "number one" offender.  It destroys more alcoholics than anything else.  From it stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we have been not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS,  p.  64

As I look at myself practicing the Fourth Step, it is easy to gloss over the wrong that I have done, because I can easily see it as a question of "getting even" for a wrong done to me.  If I continue to relive my old hurt, it is a resentment and resentment bars the sunlight from my soul.  If I continue to relive hurts and hates, I will hurt and hate myself.  After years in the dark of resentments, I have found the sunlight.  I must let go of resentments; I cannot afford them.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Our New Employer

We had a new Employer. Being all powerful, He provided what we needed, if we kept close to Him and performed His work well.
Established on such a footing, we became less and less interested in ourselves, our little plans and designs. More and more we became interested in seeing what we could contribute to life.
As we felt new power flow in, as we enjoyed peace of mind, as we discovered we could face life successfully, as we became conscious of His presence, we began to lose our fear of today, tomorrow, or the hereafter. We were reborn.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 63


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

"So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They
arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of
self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't think so."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 62~

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

A police captain once told about certain cases he had come across in his police work. The cause of the tragedy in each case was drunkenness. He told his audience about a man who got into an argument with his wife while he was drunk and beat her to death. Then he went out and drank some more. The police captain also told about a woman who got too near the edge of an old quarry hole when she was drunk and fell one hundred and fifty feet to her death. When I read or hear these stories, do I think about our motto: "But for the grace of God"?

Meditation for the Day

I must keep balance by keeping spiritual things at the center of my life. God will give me this poise and balance if I pray for it. This poise will give me power in dealing with the lives of others. This balance will manifest itself more and more in my own life. I should keep material things in their proper place and keep spiritual things at the center of my life. Then I will be at peace amid the distractions of everyday living.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may dwell with God at the center of my life. I pray that I may keep that inner peace at the center of my being.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012