Thoughts For The Day~*~Spiritual Growth ^*^*^*^*^ March 13, 2011

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Spiritual Growth

"When we speak to you of God, we mean your own conception of God. Do not let any prejudice you may have against spiritual terms deter you from honestly asking yourself what they mean to you. At the start, this was all we needed to commence spiritual growth, to effect our first conscious relation with God as we understood Him. If we wished to grow we had to begin somewhere. So we used our own conception, however limited it was."

Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 47

Thought to Consider . . .

Spirituality is the ability to get our minds off ourselves.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
WISDOM
When Into Self, Discover Our Motives

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

Traditions

From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"'Please don't talk any more about those damned Traditions.' [in the late 1940s]

"Time has changed all that. Several years later it was recognized that the Twelve Traditions were going to be just as necessary to the life of our society as the Twelve Steps were to the life of each member. We saw that the A.A. Traditions were the key to the unity, the functioning, and even the survival of Alcoholics Anonymous."

2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 204

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A WORLD OF THE SPIRIT

We have entered the world of the Spirit.  Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness.  This is not an overnight matter.  It should continue for our lifetime.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P.  84

The word "entered" .  .  .  and the phrase "entered into the world of the Spirit" are very significant.  They imply action, a beginning, getting into, a prerequisite to maintaining my spiritual growth, the "Spirit" being the immaterial part of me.  Barriers to my spiritual growth are self-centeredness and a materialistic focus on worldly things.  Spirituality means devotion to spiritual instead of worldly things, it means obedience to God's will for me.  I understand spiritual things to be: unconditional love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control and humility.  Any time I allow selfishness, dishonesty, resentment and fear to be a part of me, I block out spiritual things.  As I maintain my sobriety, growing spiritually becomes a lifelong process.  My goal is spiritual growth, accepting that I'll never have spiritual perfection.

copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Dependence - Unhealthy or Healthy

"Nothing can be more demoralizing than a clinging and abject dependence upon another human being. This often amounts to the demand for a degree of protection and love that no one could possibly satisfy. So our hoped-for protectors finally flee, and once more we are left alone - either to grow up or to disintegrate."

<<<>>>

We discovered the best possible source of emotional stability to be God Himself. We found that dependence upon His perfect justice, forgiveness, and love was healthy, and that it would work where nothing else would.
If we really depended upon God, we couldn't very well play God to our fellows, nor would we feel the urge to rely wholly on human protection and care.

1. LETTER, 1966 - 2. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 116
Copyright 1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
*~*~*~*~*^ 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

We've gotten rid of our false, drinking selves and found our real, sober selves. And we turn to God, our Father, for help, just as the Prodigal Son arose and went to his father. At the end of the story, the father of the Prodigal Son says: "He was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found." We alcoholics who have found sobriety in A.A. were certainly dead and are alive again. We were lost and are found. Am I alive again?

Meditation for the Day

Gently breathe in God's spirit, that spirit which, if not barred out by selfishness, will enable you to do good works. This means rather that God will be enabled to do good works through you. You can become a channel for God's spirit to flow through you and into the lives of others. The works that you can do will only be limited by your spiritual development. Let your spirit be in harmony with God's spirit and there is no limit to what you can do in the realm of human relationships.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may become a channel for God's spirit. I pray that God's spirit may flow through me into the lives of others.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Fear ^*^*^*^*^ Mar 12, 2011

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

"Unreasonable fear that our instincts will not be satisfied drives us to covet the possessions of others, to lust for sex and power, to become angry when our instinctive demands are threatened, to be envious when the ambitions of others seem to be realized while ours are not. These fears are the termites that cease lessly devour the foundations of whatever sort of life we try to build.

"Bill W., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 49
Thought to Consider . . .

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the action in spite of the fear.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*

ANONYMOUS
Actions Not Our Names Yield Maintenance Of Unity & Service

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

Awakening

From Fear of Fear":

"As we walked back through the hall, I, for the first time in my life, said to another human being, 'I'm having trouble with my drinking too.' She took me by the hand and introduced me to the woman that I'm very proud to call my sponsor. This woman and her husband are both in A.A., and she said to me, 'Oh, but you're not the alcoholic; it's your husband.' I said, 'Yes.' She said, 'How long have you been married?' I said, 'Twenty-seven years.' She said "Twenty-seven years to an alcoholic! How did you ever stand it?' I thought, now here's a nice sympathetic soul! This is for me. I said, "Well, I stood it to keep the home together, and for the children's sake.' She said, 'Yes, I know. You're just a martyr, aren't you?' I walked away from that woman grinding my teeth and cursing under my breath.  But that night I tried to go to sleep. And I thought, 'You're some martyr, Jane! Let's look at the record.' And when I looked at it, I knew I was just as much a drunk as George was, if not worse. I nudged George next morning, and I said I'm in,' and he said, 'Oh, I knew you'd make it.'

 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 289-90

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A  DAY'S  PLAN

On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead.  We consider our plans for the day.  Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.  86

Every day I ask God to kindle within me the fire of His love, so that love, burning bright and clear, will illuminate my thinking and permit me to better do His will.  Throughout the day, as I allow outside circumstances to dampen my spirits, I ask God to sear my consciousness with the awareness that I can start my day over any time I choose; a hundred times, if necessary.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
"How Can You Roll With A Punch?"

On the day that the calamity of Pearl Harbor fell upon our country, a great friend of A.A. was walking along a St. Louis Street. Father Edward Dowling was not an alcoholic, but he had been one of the founders of the struggling A.A. group in his city. Because many of his usually sober friends had already taken to their bottles that they might blot out the implications of the Pearl Harbor disaster, Father Ed was anguished by the thought that his cherished A.A. group would probably do the same.
Then a member, sober less than a year, stepped alongside and engaged Father Ed in a spirited conversation - mostly about A.A. Father Ed saw, with relief, that his companion was perfectly sober.
"How is it that you have nothing to say about Pearl Harbor? How can you roll with a punch like that?"
"Well," replied the yearling, "each of us in A.A. has already had his own private Pearl Harbor. So why should we drunks crack up over this one?"

GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1962
Copyright 1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered
a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree,
and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action. This
is the great news this book carries to those who suffer from
alcoholism."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 17


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

The Prodigal Son "took his journey into a far country and wasted his substance with riotous living." That's what we alcoholics do. We waste our substance with riotous living. "When he came to himself, he said: 'I will arise and go to my father.'" That's what you do in A.A. You come to yourself. Your alcoholic self is not your real self. Your sane, sober, respectable self is your real self. That's why we alcoholics are so happy in A.A. Have I come to myself?

Meditation for the Day

Simplicity is the keynote of a good life. Choose the simple things always. Life can become complicated if you let it be so. You can be swamped by difficulties if you let them take up too much of your time. Every difficulty can be either solved or ignored and something better substituted for it. Love the humble things of life. Reverence the simple things. Your standard must never be the world's standard of wealth and power.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may love the simple things of life. I pray that I may keep my life uncomplicated and free.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Willpower ^*^*^*^*^ March 11, 2011

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

"We AA's know the futility of trying to break the drinking obsession by will power alone. However, we do know that it takes great willingness to adopt AA's Twelve Steps as a way of life that can restore us to sanity.

"Bill W., Letter, 1966 As Bill Sees It, p. 88

Thought to Consider . . .

Willingness is doing what I have to,
whether I want to or not.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
LET GO

Leave Everything To God, Okay?

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

Powerlessness

Step Three: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

"Isn''t it true that in all matters touching upon alcohol, each of them has decided to turn his or her life over to the care, protection, and guidance of Alcoholics Anonymous? Already a willingness has been achieved to cast out one's own will and one's own ideas about the alcohol problem in favor of those suggested by A.A. A willing newcomer feels sure A.A. is the only safe harbor for the foundering vessel he has become. Now if this is not turning one's will and life over to a newfound Providence, then what is it?"

1952, AAWS, Inc.; Printed 2005; Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pg. 35

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
GOOD ORDERLY DIRECTION

It is when we try to make our will conform with God's that we begin to use it rightly.  To all of us, this was a most wonderful revelation.  Our whole trouble had been the misuse of willpower.  We had tried to bombard our problems with it instead of attempting to bring it into agreement with God's intention for us.  To make this increasingly possible is the purpose of A.A.'s Twelve Steps, and Step Three opens the door.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.  40

All I have to do is look back at my past to see where my self-will has led me.  I just don't know what's best for me and I believe my Higher Power does.  G.O.D., which I define as "Good Orderly Direction," has never let me down, but I have let myself down quite often.  Using my self-will in a situation usually has the same result as forcing the wrong piece into a jigsaw puzzle -- exhaustion and frustration.

Step Three opens the door to the rest of the program.  When I ask God for guidance I know that whatever happens is the best possible situation, things are exactly as they are supposed to be, even if they aren't what I want or expect.  God does do for me what I cannot do for myself, if I let Him.

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

How truth makes us free is something that we A.A.'s can well understand. It cut the shackles that once bound us to alcohol. It continues to release us from conflicts and miseries beyond reckoning; it banishes fear and isolation. The unity of our Fellowship, the love we cherish for each other, the esteem in which the world holds us - all of these are products of the truth which, under God, we have been privileged to perceive.

<<<>>>

Just how and when we tell the truth - or keep silent - can often reveal the difference between genuine integrity and none at all.
Step Nine emphatically cautions us against misusing the truth when it states: "We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others." Because it points up the fact that the truth can be used to injure as well as to heal, this valuable principle certainly has a wide-ranging application to the problem of developing integrity.

GRAPEVINE, AUGUST 1961
Copyright 1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*

"Resentment is the "number one" offender. It destroys more
alcoholics than anything else."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 64~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

By having quiet times each morning, we come to depend on God's help during the day, especially if we should be tempted to take a drink. And we can honestly thank Him each night for the strength He has given us. So our faith is strengthened by these quiet times of prayer. By listening to other members, by working with other alcoholics, by times of quiet meditation, our faith in God gradually becomes strong. Have I turned my drinking problem entirely over to God, without reservations?

Meditation for the Day

It seems as though, when God wants to express to men what He is like, He makes a very beautiful character. Think of a personality as God's expression of character attributes. Be as fit an expression of Godlike character as you can. When the beauty of a person's character is impressed upon us, it leaves an image which in turn reflects through our own actions. So look for beauty of character in those around you.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may look at great souls until their beauty of character becomes a part of my soul. I pray that I may reflect this character in my own life.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Life on Life's Terms ^*^*^*^*^ March 10, 2011

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Life on Life's Terms

"For years, I was sure the worst thing that could happen to a nice guy like me would be that I would turn out to be an alcoholic. Today, I find it's the best thing that has ever happened to me. This proves I don't know what's good for me. And if I don't know what's good for me, then I don't know what's good or bad for you or for anyone. So I'm better off if I don't give advice, don't figure I know what's best, and just accept life on life's terms, as it is today--especially my own life, as it actually is. Before AA, I judged myself by my intentions, while the world was judging me by my actions.

"Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 449-50

Thought to Consider . . .

I am liberated from dreaming the impossible dream
and free, finally, to start living the possible dream.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*

TRUST Try Relying Upon the Steps and Traditions

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

Agnostics

From "We Agnostics":

"Some of us have been violently anti-religious. To others, the word 'God' brought up a particular idea of Him with which someone had tried to impress them during childhood. With that rejection we imagined we had abandoned the God idea entirely. We were bothered with the thought that faith and dependence upon a Power beyond ourselves was somewhat weak, even cowardly. We look upon this world of warring individuals, warring theological systems, and inexplicable calamity, with deep skepticism.  How could a Supreme Being have anything to do with it all? And who could comprehend a Supreme Being anyhow? Yet, in other moments, we found ourselves thinking, when enchanted by a starlit night, 'Who, then, made all this?' There was a feeling of awe and wonder, but it was fleeting and soon lost.

"Yes, we of agnostic temperament have had these thoughts and experiences.  We found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and express even a willingness to believe in a Power greater than ourselves, we commenced to get results, even though it was impossible for any of us to fully define or comprehend that Power, which is God."

2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 45-46.

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
TODAY, IT'S MY CHOICE

        . . . we invariably find that at sometime in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.  62

With the realization and acceptance that I had played a part in the way my life had turned out came a dramatic change in my outlook.  It was at this point that the A.A. program began to work for me.  In the past I had always blamed others, either God or other people, for my circumstances.  I never felt that I had a choice in altering my life.  My decisions had been based on fear, pride, or ego.  As a result, those decisions led me down a path of self-destruction.  Today I try to allow my God to guide me on the road to sanity.  I am responsible for my action -- or inaction -- whatever the consequences may be.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Giving Without Demand

Watch any A.A. of six months working with a Twelfth Step prospect. If the newcomer says, "To the devil with you," the twelfth-stepper only smiles and finds another alcoholic to help. He doesn't feel frustrated or rejected. If his next drunk responds, and in turn starts to give love and attention to other sufferers, yet gives none back to him, the sponsor is happy about it anyway. He still doesn't feel rejected; instead he rejoices that his former prospect is sober and happy.
And he well knows that his own life has been made richer, as an extra dividend of giving to another without any demand for a return.

GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1958
Copyright 1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Try to remember that though God has wrought miracles among us, we
should never belittle a good doctor or psychiatrist. Their services
are often indispensable in treating a newcomer and in following his
case afterward."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 133~

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

We also strengthen our faith by working with other alcoholics and finding that we can do nothing ourselves to help them, except to tell them our own story of how we found the way out. If the other person is helped, its by the grace of God and not by what we do or say. Our own faith is strengthened when we see another alcoholic find sobriety by turning to God. And finally we strengthen our faith by having quiet times every morning. Do I ask God in this quiet time for the strength to stay sober this day?

Meditation for the Day

My five senses are my means of communication with the material world. They are the links between my physical life and the material manifestations around me. But I must sever all connections with the material world when I wish to hold communion with the Great Spirit of the universe. I have to hush my mind and bid all my senses be still, before I can become attuned to receive the music of the heavenly spheres.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may get my spirit in tune with the Spirit of the universe. I pray that through faith and communion with Him I may receive the strength I need.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012