Thoughts For The Day~*~Language of the Heart ^*^*^*^*^ April 24, 2010

 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Language of the Heart

"As we better use the
'language of the heart,'
our communications grow apace:
already we find ourselves in a safe passage through
all those barriers of distance and language,
of social distinctions,
nationality and creed,
that so divide the world of our time."

Bill W., AA Today, published on the occasion of AA's twenty-fifth anniversary.

The Language of the Heart, pp. 309-10

Thought to Consider . . .

I am responsible for carrying the message.
I am not responsible for anyone receiving the message.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
HEART
Healing Enjoying And Recovering Together

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

Accountability

From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"It was evident that here was a world-wide movement that had no direct access to its own principal service affairs. The Trustees had authority over our services; A.A. itself had no authority. The simple trusteeship had been the ideal guardian for our infancy and adolescence, but how in future years could it possibly go on functioning as it had?

"At first we had talked vaguely about a hand-picked advisory council or an elected conference of some sort. But since there was no imminent danger, no action was taken.

"Following a long plea for an elected A.A. conference and other reforms, and after having pointed out that the Trustees had all the authority there was, with no responsibility to anyone, even to Dr. Bob and me.

"I set out on the road in 1948 to sound out among the groups the possibility of an elected conference to which the Board of Trustees could eventually become accountable. Bill W."

2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pgs. 210-11

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
LEARNING TO LOVE OURSELVES

Alcoholism was a lonely business, even though we were surrounded by people who loved us . . .  We were trying to find emotional security either by dominating or by being dependent upon others . . .  We still vainly tried to be secure by some unhealthy sort of domination or dependence.

AS BILL SEES IT, p.  252

When I did my personal inventory I found that I had unhealthy relationships with most people in my life -- my friends and family, for example.  I always felt isolated and lonely.  I drank to dull emotional pain.

It was through staying sober, having a good sponsor and working the Twelve Steps that I was able to build up my low self-esteem.  First the Twelve Steps taught me to become my own best friend, and then, when I was able to love myself, I could reach out and love others.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
No Personal Power

"At first, the remedy for my personal difficulties seemed so obvious that I could not imagine any alcoholic turning the proposition down were it properly presented to him. Believing so firmly that Christ can do anything, I had the unconscious conceit to suppose that He would do everything through me--right then and in the manner I chose. After six long months, I had to admit that not a soul had surely laid hold of the Mater--not excepting myself.
"This brought me to the good healthy realization that there were plenty of situations left in the world over which I had no personal power--that if I was so ready to admit that to be the case with alcohol, so I must make the same admission with respect to much else. I would have to be still and know that He, not I, was God."

LETTER, 1940
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"Do not be discouraged if your prospect does not respond at once.
Search out another alcoholic and try again. You are sure to find
someone desperate enough to accept with eagerness what you offer. We find it a waste of time to keep chasing a man who cannot or will not work with you. If you leave such a person alone, he may soon become convinced that he cannot recover by himself. To spend too much time on any one situation is to deny some other alcoholic an opportunity to live and be happy."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 96
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

It's been proved that we alcoholics can't get sober by our willpower. We've failed again and again. Therefore I believe there must be a Higher Power which helps me. I think of that power as the grace of God. And I pray to God every morning for the strength to stay sober today. I know that power is there because it never fails to help me. Do I believe that AA. works through the grace of God?

Meditation for the Day

Once I am "born of the spirit," that is my life's breath. Within me is the life of life, so that I can never perish. The life that down the ages has kept God's children through peril, adversity, and sorrow. I must try never to doubt or worry, but follow where the life of the spirit leads. How often, when little I know it, God goes before me to prepare the way, to soften a heart, or to overrule a resentment. As the life of the spirit grows, natural wants become less important.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that my life may become centered in God more than in sell I pray that my will may be directed toward doing His will.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Gratitude ^*^*^*^*^ April 23, 2010

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

"One exercise that I practice
is to try for a full inventory of my blessings
and then for a right acceptance
of the many gifts that are mine--
both temporal and spiritual.
Here I try to achieve a state of joyful gratitude.
When such a brand of gratitude
is repeatedly affirmed and pondered,
it can finally displace the natural tendency to
congratulate myself on whatever progress
I may have been enabled to make
in certain areas of living.
I try hard to hold fast to the truth
that a full and thankful heart
cannot entertain great conceits.
When brimming with gratitude,
one's heartbeat must surely result
in outgoing love,
the finest emotion that we can ever know."
Bill W., Box 1980: The AA Grapevine, March 1962
As Bill Sees It, p. 37

Thought to Consider . . .

It's a pity we can't forget our troubles
the same way we forget our blessings.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
GIFTS
Getting It From The Steps

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

Progress

From "Gutter Bravado":

"Still very impatient, I wanted the whole deal right away. That's why I related so well to the story about a wide-eyed new person and an oldtimer. When the newcomer approached the oldtimer, envying his accomplishments and many years of sobriety, the oldtimer slapped down his hand like a gavel and said, 'I'll trade you even! My thirty years to your thirty days right now!' He knew what the newcomer had yet to find out: that true happiness is found in the journey, not the destination."

2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 510-11

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A.A.  IS NOT A CURE-ALL

It would be a product of false pride to claim that A.A. is a cure-all, even for alcoholism.

AS BILL SEES IT, p.  285

In my early years of sobriety I was full of pride, thinking that A.A. was the only source of treatment for a good and happy life.  It certainly was the basic ingredient for my sobriety and even today, with over twelve years in the program, I am very involved in meetings, sponsorship and service.  During the first four years of my recovery, I found it necessary to seek professional help, since my emotional health was extremely poor.  There are those folks too, who have found sobriety and happiness in other organizations.  A.A. taught me that I had a choice: to go to any lengths to enhance my sobriety.  A.A. may not be a cure-all for everything, but it is the center of my sober living.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
To Be Fair-Minded

Too often, I think, we have deprecated and even derided projects of our friends in the field of alcoholism just because we do not always see eye to eye with them.
We should very seriously ask ourselves how many alcoholics have gone on drinking simply because we have failed to cooperate in good spirit with these many agencies--whether they be good, bad, or indifferent. No alcoholic should go mad or die merely because he did not come straight to A.A. at the beginning.
<<<>>>
Our first objective will be the development of self-restraint. This carries a top-priority rating. When we speak or act hastily or rashly, the ability to be fair-minded and tolerant evaporates on the spot.

1. GRAPEVINE, JULY 1965
2. TWELVE AND TWELVE, P. 91

*~*~*~*~*^ 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

Men and women keep coming into A.A., licked by alcohol, often given up by doctors as hopeless cases, they themselves admitting they're helpless to stop drinking. When I see these men and women get sober and stay sober over a period of months and years, I know that A.A. works. The change I see in people who come into A.A. not only convinces me that A.A. works, but it also convinces me that there must be a Power greater than ourselves which helps us to make that change. Am I convinced that a Higher Power can help me to change?

Meditation for the Day

Cooperation with God is the great necessity for our lives. All else follows naturally. Cooperation with God is the result of our consciousness of His presence. Guidance is bound to come to us as we live more and more with God, as our consciousness becomes more and more attuned to the great Consciousness of the universe. We must have many quiet times when we not so much ask to be shown and led by God, as to feel and realize His presence. New spiritual growth comes naturally from cooperation with God.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that God may supply me with strength and show me the direction in which He wants me to grow. I pray that these things may come naturally from my cooperation with Him.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Meditation ^*^*^*^*^ April 22, 2010

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

"Perhaps one of the greatest rewards
of meditation and prayer
is the sense of belonging that comes to us.
We no longer live in a completely hostile world.
We are no longer lost and frightened and purposeless.
We know that God lovingly watches over us.
We know that when we turn to Him,
all will be well with us,
here and hereafter."

Bill W., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 105
As Bill Sees It, p. 117

Thought to Consider . . .

Prayer is asking a question;
meditation is listening to the answer.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
G R A C E
Gently Releasing All Conscious Expectations

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

Resentment

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

"But in A.A. we slowly learned that something had to be done about our vengeful resentments, self-pity, and unwarranted pride. We had to see that every time we played the big shot, we turned people against us. We had to see that when we harbored grudges and planned revenge for such defeats, we were really beating ourselves with the club of anger we had intended to use on others. We learned that if we were seriously disturbed, our first need was to quiet that disturbance, regardless of who or what we thought caused it."

1952, AAWS, Inc.; Printed 2005; Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pg. 47

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
NEW SOIL .  .  .  NEW ROOTS

        Moments of perception can build into a lifetime of spiritual serenity, as I have excellent reason to know.  Roots of reality, supplanting the neurotic underbrush, will hold fast despite the high winds of the forces which would destroy us, or which we would use to destroy ourselves.

AS BILL SEES IT, p.  173

I came to A.A.  green -- a seedling quivering with exposed taproots.  It was for survival but it was a beginning.  I stretched, developed, twisted, but with the help of others, my spirit eventually burst up from the roots.  I was free.  I acted, withered, went inside, prayed, acted again, understood anew, as one moment of perception struck.  Up from my roots, spirit-arms lengthened into strong, green shoots: high-springing servants stepping skyward.

Here on earth God unconditionally continues the legacy of higher love.  My A.A.  life put me "on a different footing .  .  .  [my] roots grasped a new soil" (Alcoholics Anonymous, p.  12).

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

Upon entering A.A., the spectacle of years of waste threw us into panic. financial importance was no longer our principal aim; we now clamored for material security.
Even when we were re-established in our business, terrible fears often continued to haunt us. This made us misers and penny-pinchers all over again. Complete financial security we must have--or else.
We forgot that most alcoholics in A.A. have an earning power considerably above average; we forgot the immense good will of our brother A.A.'s who were only too eager to help us to better jobs when we deserved them; we forgot the actual or potential financial insecurity of every human being in the world. And, worst of all, we forgot God. In money matters we had faith only in ourselves, and not too much of that.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 120-121

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

"Outsiders are sometimes shocked when we burst into merriment over a seemingly tragic experience out of the past. But why shouldn't
we laugh? We have recovered, and have been given the power to help
others."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 132~

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

People believe in A.A. when they see it work. An actual demonstration is what convinces them. What they read in books, what they hear people say doesn't always convince them. But when they see a real honest-to-goodness change take place in a person, a change from a drunkard to a sober, useful citizen, that's something they can believe because they can see it. There's really only one thing that proves to me that A.A. works. Have I seen the change in people who come into A.A.?

Meditation for the Day

Divine control and unquestioning obedience to God are the only conditions necessary for a spiritual life. Divine control means absolute faith and trust in God, a belief that God is the Divine Principle in the universe and that He is the intelligence and the Love that controls the universe. Unquestioning obedience to God means living each day the way you believe God wants you to live, constantly seeking the guidance of God in every situation and being willing to do the right thing at all times.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may always be under Divine Control and always practice unquestioning obedience to God. I pray that I may be always ready to serve Him.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Prayer ^*^*^*^*^ April 21, 2010

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

"Common sense would thus become uncommon sense.
I was to sit quietly when in doubt,
asking only for direction and strength
to meet my problems as He would have me.
Never was I to pray for myself,
except as my requests bore on my
usefulness to others.
Then only might I expect to receive.
But that would be in great measure."

Bill W., Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 13

Thought to Consider . . .

I listen for direction now.


*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*

H O P E = Hang On, Pray Everyday

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

Assistance

From "To Employers":

"This is not to say that all alcoholics are honest and upright when not drinking. Of course that isn't so, and such people often may impose on you. Seeing your attempt to understand and help, some men will try to take advantage of your kindness. If you are sure your man does not want to stop, he may as well be discharged, the sooner the better. You are not doing him a favor by keeping him on. Firing such an individual may prove a blessing to him. It may be just the jolt he needs."

2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 141

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
CULTIVATING FAITH

"I don't think we can do anything very well in this world unless we practice it.  And I don't believe we do A.A.  too well unless we practice it.  .  .  .  We should practice .  .  .  acquiring the spirit of service.  We should attempt to acquire some faith, which isn't easily done, especially for the person who has always been very materialistic, following the standards of society today.  But I think faith can be acquired; it can be acquired slowly; it has to be cultivated.  That was not easy for me, and I assume that it is difficult for everyone else.  .  .  .  "

DR.  BOB AND THE GOOD OLDTIMERS, pp.  307-08

Fear is often the force that prevents me from acquiring and cultivating the power of faith.  Fear blocks my appreciation of beauty, tolerance, forgiveness, service, and serenity.

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

We should make an accurate and really exhaustive survey of our past life as it has affected other people. In many instances we shall find that, though the harm done others has not been great, we have nevertheless done ourselves considerable emotional injury.
Then, too, damaging emotional conflicts persist below the level of consciousness, very deep, sometimes quite forgotten. Therefore, we should try hard to recall and review those past events which originally induced these conflicts and which continue to give our emotions violent twists, thus discoloring our personalities and altering our lives for the worse.
<<>>>
"We reacted more strongly to frustrations than normal people. By relieving these episodes and discussing them in strict confidence with somebody else, we can reduce their size and therefore their potency in the unconscious."

1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 79-80
2. LETTER, 1957
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could
not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that
either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is or He
isn't."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 53~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

After wave been in A.A. for a while, we find out that if we're going to stay sober, we have to be humble people. The men and women in A.A. who have achieved sobriety are all humble people. When I stop to think that but for the grace of God I might be drunk Tight now, I can't help feeling humble. Gratitude to God for His grace makes me humble. When I think of the kind of person I was not so long ago, when I think of the person I left behind me, I have nothing to be proud of. Am I grateful and humble?

Meditation for the Day

I must arise from the death of sin and selfishness and put on a new life of integrity. All the old sins and temptations must be laid in the grave and a new existence rise from the ashes. Yesterday is gone. All my sins are forgiven if I am honestly trying to do God's will today. Today is here, the time of resurrection and renewal. I must start now, today, to build a new life of complete faith and trust in God and a determination to do His will in all things.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may share in making the world a better place to live in. I pray that I may do what I can to bring goodness a little nearer to the earth.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012