Thoughts For The Day~*~Traditions ^*^*^*^*^ October 24, 2010

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Traditions
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"The Twelve Traditions point straight at many of our
individual defects.
By implication they ask each of us to lay aside
pride and resentment.
They ask for personal as well as group sacrifice.
They ask us never to use the AA name in any quest
for personal power or distinction or money.
The Traditions guarantee the equality of all members
and the independence of all groups.
They show how we may best relate to each other
and to the world outside.
They indicate how we can best function in harmony
as a great whole."
c.1957AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, p. 96
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Thought to Consider . . .

AA is not something you join, it's a way of life.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A B C =  Acceptance, Belief, Change

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

How to Live

From: "Stars Don't Fall" 

AA taught me how not to drink. And also, on the twenty-four hour plan, it taught me how to live. I know I do not have to be queen of them all to salve a frightened ego. Through going to meetings and listening, and occasionally speaking, through doing Twelve Step work, whereby in helping others you are both the teacher and the student, by making many wonderful AA friends, I have been taught all the things in life that are worth having. I am no longer interested in living in a palace, because palace living was not the answer for me. Nor were those impossible dreams I used to have the things I really wanted. 

2003, AAWS, Inc., Experience, Strength & Hope, pages 362-363

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
"BY FAITH AND BY WORKS"

On anvils of experience, the structure of our Society was hammered out. . . . Thus has it been with A.A.   By faith and by works we have been able to build upon the lessons of an incredible experience.  They live today in the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous, which  -- God willing -- shall sustain us in unity for so long as He may need us.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 131

God has allowed me the right to be wrong in order for our Fellowship to exist as it does today.  If I place God's will first in my life, it is very likely that A.A. as I know it today will remain as it is.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
A Vision of the Whole

"Though many of us have had to struggle for sobriety, never yet has this Fellowship had to struggle for lost unity. Consequently, we sometimes take this one great gift for granted. We forget that, should we lose our unity, the millions of alcoholics who still 'do not know' might never get their chance."

<<<>>>

"We used to be skeptical about large A.A. gatherings like conventions, thinking they might prove too exhibitionistic. But, on balance, their benefit is huge. While each A.A.'s interest should center principally in those about him and upon his own group, it is both necessary and desirable that we all get a larger vision of the whole.
"The General Service Conference in New York also produces this effect upon those who attend. It is a vision-stretching process."

1. LETTER, 1949 - 2. LETTER, 1956
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"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
about you, to have a host of friends—this is an experience you
must not miss."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 89~

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

Fourth, I have turned to a Power greater than myself. Thank God, I am no longer at the center of the universe. All the world does not revolve around me any longer. I am only one among many. I have a Father in heaven and I am only one of His children and a small one at that. But I can depend on Him to show me what to do and to give me the strength to do it. I am on the Way and the whole power of the universe is behind me when I do the right thing. I do not have to depend entirely on myself any longer. With God, I can face anything. Is my life in the hands of God?

Meditation for the Day

The grace of God is an assurance against all evil. It holds out security to the believing soul. The grace of God means safety in the midst of evil. You can be kept unspotted by the world through the power of His grace. You can have a new life of power. But only in close contact with the grace of God is its power realized. In order to renew it and benefit from it, you must have daily quiet communion with God, so that the power of His grace will come unhindered into your soul.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be kept from evil by the grace of God. I pray that henceforth I will try to keep myself more unspotted by the world.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Discipline ^*^*^*^*^October 23, 2010

 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Discipline
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"Unless each AA member follows to the best of his ability
our suggested Twelve Steps to recovery,
he almost certainly signs his own death warrant.
His drunkenness and dissolution
are not penalties inflicted by people in authority;
they result from his personal disobedience
to spiritual principles. . .
Great suffering and great love are AA's disciplinarians;
we need no others."
c.1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 174
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Thought to Consider . . .
"We alcoholics are undisciplined. 
So we let God discipline us . . ."

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C A R D S = 

Call your sponsor,
. Ask for help from your Higher Power,
. Read the Big Book,
. Do the Twelve Steps,
. Stay active in your group.

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

No Spiritual Angle

From: "AA and St. Thomas Hospital"

 In later years, the AA ward opened into the gallery of the chapel, which patients could visit at any time in hospital attire. What could be more conducive to the regeneration of the whole person spiritually, mentally, and morally than five to seven days spent in an institution where the spiritual atmosphere prevails? Sister Ignatia said. 

She naturally put more emphasis on the spiritual than many others. However, she felt that Dr. Bob shared her views on this emphasis. There was one thing that always irritated Doctor, she said. Some people who were on the program for a length of time would come up to him and say, I don't get the spiritual angle. I heard him say time and again, There is no spiritual angle. It's a spiritual program.

1980, AAWS, Inc., DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, page 194

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
WHAT WE KNOW BEST

"Shoemaker, stick to thy last!" . . . better do one thing supremely well than many badly. That is the central theme of this Tradition [Five].  Around it our Society gathers in unity.  The very life of our Fellowship requires the preservation of this principle.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 150

The survival of A.A. depends upon unity.  What would happen if a group decided to become an employment agency, a treatment center or a social service agency?  Too much specialization leads to no specialization, to frittering of efforts and, finally, to decline.  I have the qualifications to share my sufferings and my way of recovery with the newcomer.  Conformity to A.A.'s primary purpose insures the safety of the wonderful gift of sobriety, so my responsibility is enormous.  The life of millions of alcoholics is closely tied to my competence in "carrying the message to the still-suffering alcoholic."

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

Often, as we review each day, only the closest scrutiny will reveal what our true motives were. 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 hadn't.
We "constructively criticized" someone who needed it, when our real motive was to win a useless argument. Or, the person concerned not being present, we thought we were helping others to understand him, when in actuality our true motive was to feel superior by pulling him down.
We hurt those we loved because they needed to be "taught a lesson," but we really wanted to punish. We were depressed and complained we felt bad, when in fact we were mainly asking for sympathy and attention.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 94
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"...the actual or potential alcoholic, with hardly an exception,
will be absolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of self
knowledge. This is a point we wish to emphasize and re-emphasize, to
smash home upon our alcoholic readers as it has been revealed to us
out of bitter experience."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 39~

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

Third, I have learned how to be honest. What a relies No more ducking or dodging. No more tall tales. No more pretending to be what I am not. My cards are on the table for all the world to see. "I am what I am," as Popeye used to say in the comics. I have had an unsavory past. I am sorry, yet. But it cannot be changed now. All that is yesterday and is done. But now my life is an open book. Come and look at it, if you want to. I'm trying to do the best I can. I will fail often, but I won't make excuses. I will face things as they are and not run away. Am I really honest?

Meditation for the Day

Though it may seem a paradox, we must believe in spiritual forces which we cannot see more than in material things which we can see, if we are going to truly live. In the last analysis, the universe consists more of thought or mathematical formulas than it does of matter as we understand it. Between one human being and another only spiritual forces will suffice to keep them in harmony. These spiritual forces we know, because we can see their results although we cannot see them. A changed life-a new personality-results from the power of unseen spiritual forces working in us and through us.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may believe in the Unseen. I pray that I may be convinced by the results of the Unseen which I do see.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Amends ^*^*^*^*^October 22, 2010

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Amends
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"This is a very large order.
It is a task which we may perform with increasing skill,
but we never really finish.
Learning how to live in the greatest peace, partnership,
and brotherhood with all men and women,
of whatever description,
is a moving and fascinating adventure.
Every AA has found that he can make little headway
in this new adventure of living until he first backtracks
and really makes an accurate and unsparing survey
of the human wreckage he has left in his wake."
c.1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 77
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Thought to Consider . . .

It is the highest form of self-respect to admit mistakes
and to make amends for them.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
T I M E  =  Things I Must Earn

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

Message that Transcends

From: "Window of Opportunity" 

I was fortunate to have an opportunity to spend time abroad during law school. That was something I had dreamed of doing while drinking, but when push came to shove, I drank. Now sober, I have been in meetings in probably a dozen countries and have always been amazed at the message that transcends all linguistic and cultural differences. There is a solution. Together, we can live soberly, joyously, and freely. 

2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 430
*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
TRUE TOLERANCE

Finally, we begin to see that all people, including ourselves, are to some extent emotionally ill as well as frequently wrong, and then we approach true tolerance and see what real love for our fellows actually means.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 92

The thought occurred to me that all people are emotionally ill to some extent.  How could we not be?  Who among us is spiritually perfect?  Who among us is physically perfect?  How could any of us be emotionally perfect?  Therefore, what else are we to do but bear with one another and treat each other as we would be treated in similar circumstances?  That is what love really is.

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

We thought we had been deeply serious about religious practices. However, upon honest appraisal we found that we had been most superficial. Or sometimes, going to extremes, we had wallowed in emotionalism and had also mistaken this for true religious feeling. In both cases, we had been asking something for nothing.
We had not prayed rightly. We had always said, "Grant me my wishes," instead of "Thy will be done." The love of God and man we understood not at all. Therefore we remained self-deceived, and so incapable of receiving enough grace to restore us to sanity.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 32
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"We have seen the truth demonstrated again and again: 'Once an
alcoholic, always an alcoholic.' Commencing to drink after a period
of sobriety, we are in a short time as bad as ever."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 33

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

Second, I am content to face the rest of my life without alcohol. I have made the great decision once and for all. I have surrendered as gracefully as possible to the inevitable. I hope I have no more reservations. I hope that nothing can happen to me now that would justify my taking a drink. No death of a dear one. No great calamity in any area of my life should justify me in drinking. Even if I were on some desert isle, far from the rest of the world, but not far from God, should I ever feel it right to drink. For me, alcohol is out-period. I will always be safe unless I take that first drink. Am I fully resigned to this fact?

Meditation for the Day

Day by day we should slowly build up an unshakable faith in a Higher Power and in that Power's ability to give us all the help we need. By having these quiet times each morning, we start each day with a renewing of our faith, until it becomes almost a part of us and is a strong habit. We should keep furnishing the quiet places of our souls with all the furniture of faith. We should try to fill our thoughts each day with all that is harmonious and good, beautiful and enduring.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may build a house in my soul for the spirit of God to dwell in. I pray that I may come at last to an unshakable faith.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012