Thoughts For The Day~*~Surrender ^*^*^ June 26, 2010

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
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Surrender
^*^*^
"We surrender to win. 
On the face of it, surrendering certainly does not
seem like winning.
But it is in AA.
Only after we have come to the end of our rope,
hit a stone wall in some aspect of our lives
beyond which we can go no further;
only when we hit "bottom" in despair and surrender,
can we accomplish sobriety
which we could never accomplish before.
We must, and we do,
surrender in order to win."
1955AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, 2nd Edition, p. 341
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Thought to Consider . . .

Acceptance is not submission;
it is acknowledgment of the facts of a situation,
then deciding what you're going to do about it.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O W  =  Honest, Open, and Willing

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

Bottom

From Medicine Looks at Alcoholics Anonymous":

"I heard of the need to hit bottom, of the necessity for accepting a higher Power, of the indispensability of humility. These were ideas which had never crossed my professional horizon and certainly had never influenced my nonprofessional thinking or attitudes. Revolutionary as they were, they nevertheless made sense, and I found myself embarked on a tour of discovery.

"The individual alcoholic was always fighting an admission of being licked, of admitting that he was powerless. If and when he surrendered, he quit fighting, admitted he was licked, and accepted the fact that he was powerless and needed help. If he did not surrender, a thousand crises could hit him and nothing constructive would happen. The need to induce surrender became a new therapeutic goal. The miracle of A.A. was now a little clearer, though the reason was still obscure why the program and the fellowship of A.A. could induce a surrender which could in turn lead to a period of no drinking." -- Dr. Harry Tiebout, 1955

2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 247

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflectionsns^*~*~*~*~*
A GIFT THAT GROWS WITH TIME

For most normal folks, drinking means conviviality, companionship and colorful imagination. It means release from care, boredom and worry. It is joyous intimacy with friends and a feeling that life is good.
                                                
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 151

The longer I chased these elusive feelings with alcohol, the more out of reach they were.  However, by applying this passage to my sobriety, I found that it described the magnificent new life made available to me by the A.A. program.  It "truly does get better" one day at a time.  The warmth, the love and the joy so simply expressed in these words grow in breadth and depth each time I read it.  Sobriety is a gift that grows with time.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~~*~*~*
Money--Before and After

In our drinking time, we acted as if the money supply were inexhaustible, though between binges we'd sometimes go to the other extreme and become miserly. Without realizing it, we were just accumulating funds for the next spree. Money was the symbol of pleasure and self-importance. As our drinking became worse, money was only an urgent requirement which could supply us with the next drink and the temporary comfort of oblivion it brought.
<<<>>>
Although financial recovery is on the way for many of us, we find we cannot place money first. For us, material well-being always follows spiritual progress; it never precedes.

1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, P.120
2. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 127
*~*~*~*~*^ 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

We must know the nature of our weakness before we can
determine how to deal with it. When we are honest about its
presence, we may discover that it is imaginary and can be
overcome by a change of thinking. We admit that we are
alcoholics and we would be foolish if we refused to accept
our handicap and do something about it. So by honestly facing
our weakness and keeping ever present the knowledge that for
us alcoholism is a disease with which we are afflicted, we
can take the necessary steps to arrest it. Have I fully
accepted my handicap?

Meditation for the Day

There is a proper time for everything. I must learn not to
do things at the wrong time, that is, before I am ready or
before conditions are right. it is always a temptation to do
something at once, instead of waiting until the proper time.
Timing is important. I must learn, in the little daily
situations of life, to delay action until I am sure that I
am doing the right thing at the right time. So many lives
lack balance and timing. In the momentous decisions and
crises of life, they may ask God's guidance, but into the
small situations of life, they rush alone.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may delay action until I feel that I am doing
the right thing. I pray that I may not rush in alone.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Belonging^*^*^ June 25, 2010

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
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Belonging
^*^*^
"There is no more 'aloneness,' with that awful ache,
so deep in the heart of every alcoholic
that nothing, before, could ever reach it.
That ache is gone and never need return again.
Now there is a sense of belonging,
of being wanted and needed and loved.
In return for a bottle and a hangover,
we have been given the Keys of the Kingdom."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 312
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Thought to Consider . . .

If I'm not comfortable within myself,
I can't be comfortable with others.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A C T I O N  = Any Change Toward Improving One's Nature

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

Plan

From "The Missing Link":

"Following this spiritual path made a major difference in my life. It seemed to fill that lonely hole that I used to fill with alcohol. My self-esteem improved dramatically, and I knew happiness and serenity as I had never known it before. I started to see the beauty and usefulness in my own existence, and tried to express my gratitude through helping others in whatever ways I could. A confidence and faith entered my life and unraveled a plan for me that was bigger and better than I could have ever imagined.

"It wasn't easy, and it has never been easy, but it gets so much better."

2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 287-88

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A TWO-WAY STREET

If we ask, God will certainly forgive our derelictions. But in no case does He render us white as snow and keep us that way without our cooperation.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS,   p. 65

When I prayed, I used to omit a lot of things for which I needed to be forgiven. I thought that if I didn't mention those things to God, He would never know about them. I did not know that if I had just forgiven myself for some of my past deeds, God would forgive me also. I was always taught to prepare for the journey through life, never realizing until I came to A.A. when I honestly became willing to be taught forgiveness and forgiving that life itself is the journey. The journey of life is a very happy one, as long as I am willing to accept change and responsibility.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Domination and Demand

The primary fact that we fail to recognize is our total inability to form a
true partnership with another human being. Our egomania digs two disastrous pitfalls. Either we insist upon dominating the people we know, or we depend upon them far too much.
If we lean too heavily on people, they will sooner or later fail us, for they
are human, too, and cannot possibly meet our incessant demands. In this way our insecurity grows and festers. When we habitually try to manipulate others to our own willful desires, they revolt, and resist us heavily. Then we develop hurt feelings, a sense of persecution, and a desire to retaliate.
<<<>>>
My dependency meant demand--a demand for the possession and control of the people and the conditions surrounding me.

2. GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1958
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"Putting out of our minds the wrongs others had done, we resolutely
looked for our own mistakes. Where had we been selfish, dishonest,
self-seeking and frightened? Though a situation had not been entirely
our fault, we tried to disregard the other person involved entirely.
Where were we to blame? The inventory was ours, not the other man's.
When we saw our faults we listed them. We placed them before us in
black and white. We admitted our wrongs honestly and were willing to
set these matters straight."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 67~


*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought For The Day

One of the most encouraging facts of life is that your
weakness can become your greatest asset. Kites and airplanes
rise against the wind. In climbing up a high mountain, we
need the stony crags and rough places to aid us in our climb.
So your weakness can become an asset if you will face it,
examine it, and trace it to its origin. Set it in the very
center of your mind. No weakness, such as drinking, ever
turned into an asset until it was first fairly faced. Am I
making my weakness my greatest asset?

Meditation For The Day

Whenever we seek to worship God, we think of the great
universe that God rules over, of creation, of mighty law
and order throughout the universe. Then we feel the awe
that precedes worship. I too must feel awe, feel the desire
to worship God in wondering amazement. My mind is in a box
of space and time and it is so made that I cannot conceive
of what is beyond space or time, the limitless and the eternal.
But I know that there must be something beyond space and time,
and that something must be the limitless and eternal Power
behind the universe. I also know that I can experience that
Power in my life.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may accept the limitless and eternal Spirit.
I pray that It may express Itself in my life.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Friendship ^*^*^ June 24, 2010

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Friendship
^*^*^
"Carry this message to other alcoholics!
You can help when no one else can.
You can secure their confidence when others fail.
Remember they are very ill.
Life will take on new meaning.
To watch people recover, to see them help others,
to watch loneliness vanish,
to see a fellowship grow up around you,
to have a host of friends -
this is an experience you must not miss.
Frequent contact with newcomers and with each other
is the bright spot of our lives."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 89
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Thought to Consider . . .

I keep my sobriety by giving it away.


*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C A R E  =  Comforting And Reassuring Each other

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 

Progress

Step Six: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

"If we ask, God will certainly forgive our derelictions. But in no case does He render us white as snow and keep us that way without our cooperation. That is something we are supposed to be willing to work toward ourselves. He asks only that we try as best we know how to make progress in the building of character."

1952, AAWS, Inc.; Printed 2005; Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pg. 65

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A SPIRITUAL KINDERGARTEN

We are only operating a spiritual kindergarten in which people are enabled to get over drinking and find the grace to go on living to better effect.                           
                               
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 95

When I came to A.A., I was run down by the bottle and wanted to lose the obsession to drink, but I didn't really know how to do that.  I decided to stick around long enough to find out from the ones who went before me.  All of a sudden I was thinking about God! I was told to get a Higher Power and I had no idea what one looked like.  I found out there are many Higher Powers. I was told to find God, as I understand Him, that there was no doctrine of the Godhead in A.A.  I found what worked for me and then asked that Power to restore me to sanity.  The obsession to drink was removed and one day at a time my life went on, and I learned how to live sober.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Aspects of Tolerance

All kinds of people have found their way into A.A. Not too long ago, I sat
talking in my office with a member who bears the title of Countess. That same night, I went to an A.A. meeting. It was winter, and there was a mild-looking little gent taking the coats. I said, "Who's that?"
And somebody answered, "Oh, he's been around for a long time. Everybody likes him. He used to be one of Al Capone's mob." That's how universal A.A. is today.
<<<>>>
We have no desire to convince anyone that there is only one way by which faith can be acquired. All of us, whatever our race, creed, or color, are the children of a living Creator, with whom we may form a relationship upon simple and understandable terms as soon as we are willing and honest enough to try.

1. A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 102
2.ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 28   

*~*~*~*~*^ 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

Alcohol is our weakness. We suffer from mental conflicts
from which we look for escape by drowning our problems in
drink. We try through drink to push away from the realities
of life. But alcohol does not feed, alcohol does not build,
it only borrows from the future and it ultimately destroys.
We try to drown our feelings in order to escape life's
realities, little realizing or caring that in continued
drinking we are only multiplying our problems. Have I got
control over my unstable emotions?

Meditation for the Day

When I let personal piques and resentments interfere with
what I know to be my proper conduct, I am on the wrong track
and I am undoing all I have built up by doing the right
thing. I must never let personal piques interfere with
living the way I know God wants me to live. When I have no
clear guidance from God, I must go forward quietly along the
path of duty. The attitude of quiet faith will receive its
reward as surely as acting upon God's direct guidance. I must
not weaken my spiritual power by letting personal piques
upset me.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not let myself become too upset. I pray that
I may go quietly along the path I have chosen.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Obedience ^*^*^ June 23, 2010

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
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Obedience
^*^*^
"We of AA obey spiritual principles,
at first because we must,
then because we ought to,
and ultimately because we love the kind of life
such obedience brings.
Great suffering and great love
are AA's disciplinarians;
we need no others."
1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 27
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Thought to Consider . . .

The spiritual approach to recovery
is not about relinquishing responsibility for our lives
to some Cosmic Butler.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H A L T  =  Hope, Acceptance, Love, Tolerance

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

Before

From "The Family Afterward":

"This painful past may be of infinite value to other families still struggling with their problem. We think each family which has been relieved owes something to those who have not, and when the occasion requires, each member of it should be only too willing to bring former mistakes, no matter how grievous out of their hiding places. Showing others who suffer how we were given help is the very thing which makes life seem so worth while to us now. Cling to the thought that, in God's hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them."

2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 124

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
TRUSTING OTHERS

But does trust require that we be blind to other people's motives or, indeed, to our own?  Not at all; this would be folly.  Most certainly, we should assess the capacity for harm as well as the capability for good in every person that we would trust.  Such a private inventory can reveal the degree of confidence we should extend in any given situation.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 144

I am not a victim of others, but rather a victim of my expectations, choices and dishonesty.  When I expect others to be what I want them to be and not who they are, when they fail to meet my expectations, I am hurt.  When my choices are based on self-centeredness, I find I am lonely and distrustful.  I gain confidence in myself, however, when I practice honesty in all my affairs.  When I search my motives and am honest and trusting, I am aware of the capacity for harm in situations and can avoid those that are harmful.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Constructive Forces

Mine was exactly the kind of deep-seated block we so often see today in new people who say they are atheistic or agnostic. Their will to disbelieve is so powerful that apparently they prefer a date with the undertaker to an open-minded and experimental quest for God.
Happily for me, and for most of my kind who have since come along in A.A., the constructive forces brought to bear in our Fellowship have nearly always overcome this colossal obstinacy. Beaten into complete defeat by alcohol, confronted by the living proof of release, and surrounded by those who can speak to us from the heart, we have finally surrendered. And then, paradoxically, we have found ourselves in a new dimension, the real world of spirit and faith. Enough willingness, enough open-mindedness--and there it is!

A.A. TODAY, P. 9
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to
futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit
these, do we squander the hours that might have been worth while."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 66

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

No chain is stronger than its weakest link. Likewise, if
you fail in the day-by-day program, in all probability it
will be at your weakest point. Great-faith and constant
contact with God's power can help you discover, guard, and
undergird your weakest point with a strength not your own.
Intelligent faith in God's power can be counted on to help
you master your emotions, help you to think kindly of
others, and help you with any task that you undertake, no
matter how difficult. Am I master of my emotions?

Meditation for the Day

You need to be constantly recharged by the power of the
spirit of God. Commune with God in quiet times until the
life from God, the Divine life, by that very contact, flows
into your being and revives your fainting spirit. When weary,
take time out and rest. Rest and gain power and strength
from God, and then you will be ready to meet whatever
opportunities come your way. Rest until every care and worry
and fear have gone and then the tide of peace and serenity,
love and joy, will flow into your consciousness.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may rest and become recharged. I pray that I
may pause and wait for the renewing of my strength.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012