Saturday, March 26, 2011

Thoughts For The Day~*~Possibilities^*^*^*^*^ March 27, 2011

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

"
How shall we come to terms with seeming failure or success? Can we now adjust to either without despair or pride? Can we accept poverty, sickness, loneliness, and bereavement with courage and serenity? The AA answer to these questions about living is 'Yes, all of these things are possible.'"  
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 112


Thought to Consider . . .

It works - it really does.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 88

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
EGO
Easing God Out

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 

Medicine
From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"The medical aspect of alcoholism includes the problem of hospitalization, and here also great progress has been made. Many hospitals have been reluctant to take alcoholics at all. State and Provincial institutions usually have required alcoholics to stay for long periods of commitment. Therefore it has been difficult and it still is  to persuade the average general hospital to take in A.A. prospects for short periods of treatment and to grant sponsors the necessary visiting privileges in co-operation with our local Intergroup Associations.

"It is good to report that this condition is rapidly changing for the better. Our pioneering activity in this field, together with the use which A.A. Headquarters has been able to make of that experience, has a special interest for us all. Two American hospitals have afforded fine examples of how medicine and A.A. can best co-operate. At St. Thomas Hospital in Akron Dr. Bob, the wonderful Sister Ignatia, and the hospital staff presided over an alcoholic ward which had treated several thousand alcoholics by the time of Dr. Bob's death in 1950. And beginning in 1945, Knickerbocker Hospital in New York provided an A.A. ward under the care of our first friend in medicine, Dr. William D. Silkworth, who was assisted with rare devotion and skill by nurse Teddy. By 1954, 10,000 alcoholics had been referred to Knickerbocker by the New York Intergroup Association and had passed through this ward, the majority on their way to freedom. [c. 1959]"

2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg.206

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A.A.'s FREEDOMS

We trust that we already know what our several freedoms truly are; that no future generation of AA's will ever feel compelled to limit them.  Our AA freedoms create the soil in which genuine love can grow.  .  .  .

LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 303


I craved freedom.  First, freedom to drink; later, freedom from drink.  The A.A. program of recovery rests on a foundation of free choice.  There are no mandates, laws or commandments.  A.A.'s spiritual program, as outlined in the Twelve Steps, and by which I am offered even greater freedoms, is only suggested.  I can take it or leave it.  Sponsorship is offered, not forced, and I come and go as I will.  It is these and other freedoms that allow me to recapture the dignity that was crushed by the burden of drink, and which is so dearly needed to support an enduring sobriety.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Room for Improvement

WE have come to believe that A.A.'s recovery Steps and Traditions represent the approximate truths which we need for our particular purpose. The more we practice them, the more we like them. So there is little doubt that A.A. principles will continue to be advocated in the form they stand now.
If our basics are so firmly fixed as all this, then what is there left to change or to improve?
The answer will immediately occur to us. While we need not alter our truths, we can surely improve their application to ourselves, to A.A. as a whole, and to our relation with the world around us. We can constantly step up the practice of "these principles in all our affairs."

GRAPEVINE, FEBRUARY 1961

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"We needed to ask ourselves but one short question. 'Do I now
believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power
greater than myself?' As soon as a man can say that he does believe,
or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on
his way. It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this
simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be
built."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 47
*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

You get the power to overcome drinking through the fellowship of other alcoholics who have found the way out. You get power by honestly sharing your past experience by a personal witness. You get power by coming to believe in a Higher Power, the Divine Principle in the universe which can help you. You get power by working with other alcoholics. In these four ways, thousands of alcoholics have found all the power they needed to overcome drinking. Am I ready and willing to accept this power and work for it?

Meditation for the Day

The power of God's spirit is the greatest power in the universe. Our conquest of each other, the great kings and conquerors, the conquest of wealth, the leaders of the money society, all amount to very little in the end. But one who conquers oneself is greater than one who conquers a city. Material things have no permanence. But God's spirit is eternal. Everything really worthwhile in the world is the result of the power of God's spirit.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may open myself to the power of God's spirit. I pray that my relationships with others may be improved by this spirit.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Friday, March 25, 2011

Thoughts For The Day~*~Self-will^*^*^*^*^ March 26, 2011

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Self-will

"
T
he philosophy of self-sufficiency doesn't pay off.
Plainly enough, it is a bone-crushing juggernaut
whose final achievement is ruin.
Therefore, we can consider ourselves
fortunate indeed.
Each of us has had his own near-fatal encounter
with the juggernaut of self-will,
and has suffered enough under its weight to
look for something better."
Bill W., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pp. 37-8


Thought to Consider . . .

Attitudes are contagious--is yours worth catching?


*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
AA
Attitude A
djustment

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

Blessings
From "My Chance to Live":

"Growing up in A.A., I have been blessed with children who have never seen their mother drunk. I have a husband who loves me simply because I am, and I have gained the respect of my family. What more could a broken-down drunk ask for? Lord knows it is more than I ever thought possible, and ever so much more than I deserved. All because I was willing to believe A.A. just might work for me too."

2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 318

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
THE TEACHING IS NEVER OVER

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.  May God bless you and keep you-until then.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 164

These words put a lump in my throat each time I read them.  In the beginning it was because I felt, "Oh no! The teaching is over.  Now I'm on my own.  It will never be this new again." Today I feel deep affection for our A.A. pioneers when I read this passage, realizing that it sums up all of what I believe in, and strive for, and that -- with God's blessing -- the teaching is never over, I'm never on my own, and every day is brand new.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
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~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Life Is Not a Dead End

When a man or a woman has a spiritual awakening, the most important meaning of it is that he has now become able to do, feel, and believe that which he could not do before on his unaided strength and resources alone. He has been granted a gift which amounts to a new state of consciousness and being.
He has been set on a path which tells him he is really going somewhere, that life is not a dead end, not something to be endured or mastered. In a very real sense he has been transformed, because he has laid hold of a source of strength which he had hitherto denied himself.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 106-107

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity
from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 89~
*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Strength comes also from working with other alcoholics. When you are trying to help a new prospect with the program, you are building up your own strength at the same time. You see the other person in the condition you might be in yourself and it makes your resolve to stay sober stronger than ever. Often, you help yourself more than the other person, but if you do succeed in helping the prospect to get sober, you are stronger from the experience of having helped another person. Am I receiving strength from working with others?

Meditation for the Day

Faith is the bridge between you and God. it is the bridge that God has ordained. if all were seen and known, there would be no merit in doing right. Therefore God has ordained that we do not see or know directly. But we can experience the power of His spirit through our faith. It is the bridge between us and Him, which we can take or not, as we will. There could be no morality without free will. We must make the choice ourselves. We must make the venture of belief.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may choose and decide to cross the bridge of faith. I pray that by crossing this bridge I may receive the spiritual power I need.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Thoughts For The Day~*~Principles^*^*^*^*^ March 25, 2011

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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"There are those in AA whom we call 'destructive' critics.
They power-drive, they are 'politickers,'
they make accusations to gain their ends--
all for the good of AA, of course!
We ought to listen carefully to what they say.
Sometimes they are telling the whole truth;
at other times, a little truth.
If they are talking nonsense, we can ignore it,
or else try to persuade them.
There are few better means of self-survey
and of developing patience than the workouts
these usually well-meaning but erratic members
so often afford us."

Bill W., Twelve Concepts for World Service, p. 40
As Bill Sees It, p. 215

Thought to Consider . . .

Every problem arrives bearing a gift in its hands.


*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
GIFTS

Getting It From The Steps

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

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

"Therefore, we who are alcoholics can consider ourselves fortunate indeed. Each of us has had his own near-fatal encounter with the juggernaut of self-will, and has suffered enough under its weight to be willing to look for something better. So it is by circumstance rather than by any virtue that we have been driven to A.A., have admitted defeat, have acquired the rudiments of faith, and now want to make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to a Higher Power."

1952, AAWS, Inc.; Printed 2005; Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pgs. 37-38

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A FULL AND THANKFUL HEART

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.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 37

I believe that we in Alcoholics Anonymous are fortunate in that we are constantly reminded of the need to be grateful and of how important gratitude is to our sobriety.  I am truly grateful for the sobriety God has given me through the A.A. program and am glad I can give back what was given to me freely.  I am grateful not only for sobriety, but for the quality of life my sobriety has brought.  God has been gracious enough to give me sober days and a life blessed with peace and contentment, as well as the ability to give and receive love, and the opportunity to serve others -- in our Fellowship, my family and my community.  For all of this, I have "a full and thankful heart."

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

"Happily, A.A.'s per capita expenses are very low. For us to fail to meet them would be to evade a responsibility beneficial for us.
"Most alcoholics have said they had no troubles that money would not cure. We are a group that, when drinking, always held out a hand for funds. So when we commence to pay our own service bills, this is a healthy change."
<<< >>>
"Because of drinking, my friend Henry had lost a high-salaried job. There remained a fine house--with a budget three times his reduced earnings.

"He could have rented the house for enough to carry it. But no! Henry said he knew that God wanted him to live there, and He would see that the costs were paid. So Henry went on running up bills and glowing with faith. Not surprisingly, his creditors finally took over the place.
"Henry can laugh about it now, having learned that God more often helps those who are willing to help themselves."


1. LETTER,1960
2. LETTER, 1966

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Yes, there is a substitute and it is vastly more than that. It is a
fellowship in Alcoholics Anonymous. There you will find release from
care, boredom and worry. Your imagination will be fired. Life will
mean something at last. The most satisfactory years of your
existence lie ahead."


Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 152
*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Strength comes from coming to believe in a Higher Power that can help you. You can't define this Higher Power, but you can see how it helps other alcoholics. You hear them talk about it and you begin to get the idea yourself. You try praying in a quiet time each morning and you begin to feel stronger, as though your prayers were heard. So you gradually come to believe there must be a Power in the world outside yourself, which is stronger than you and to which you can turn for help. Am I receiving strength from my faith in a Higher Power?

Meditation for the Day

Spiritual development is achieved by daily persistence in living the way you believe God wants you to live. Like the wearing away of a stone by steady drops of water, so will your daily persistence wear away all the difficulties and gain spiritual success for you. Never falter in this daily, steady persistence. Go forward boldly and unafraid. God will help and strengthen you, as long as you are trying to do His will.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may persist day by day in gaining spiritual experience, I pray that I may make this a lifetime work.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Thoughts For The Day~*~Traditions^*^*^*^*^ March 24. 2011

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

"
The Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous
are a distillate of our experience of living and working together.
They apply the spirit of the Twelve recovery Steps
to our group life and security.
They deal with the world outside and with each other;
they state our attitudes toward power and prestige,
toward property and money.
They would save us from tempting alliances
and major controversies;
they would elevate principles far above personal ambitions.
And as a token of this last, they request that we
maintain personal anonymity before the open public
as a protection to AA and as proof of the fact that
our society intends to practice true humility."
Bill W., The Language of the Heart, p. 96


Thought to Consider . . .

The reason they are called Principles is
because they always work.
If they didn't always work we'd just call them "good ideas."

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
WILLING

When I Live Life, I Need God

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Growth
From "A Vision for You":

"So our fellow worker will soon have friends galore. Some of them may sink and perhaps never get up, but if our experience is a criterion, more than half of those approached will become fellows of Alcoholics Anonymous. When a few men in this city have found themselves, and have discovered the joy of helping others to face life again, there will be no stopping until everyone in that town has had his opportunity to recover if he can and will."

2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 163-64


*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
ACTIVE, NOT PASSIVE

Man is supposed to think, and act.  He wasn't made in God's image to be an automaton.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 55

Before I joined A.A., I often did not think, and reacted to people and situations.  When not reacting I acted in a mechanical fashion.  After joining A.A., I started seeking daily guidance from a Power greater than myself, and learning to listen for that guidance.  Then I began to make decisions and act on them, rather than react to them.  The results have been constructive; I no longer allow others to make decisions for me and then criticize me for it.

Today -- and every day -- with a heart full of gratitude, and a desire for God's will to be done through me, my life is worth sharing, especially with my fellow alcoholics! Above all, if I do not make a religion out of anything, even A.A., then I can be an open channel for God's expression.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
WE Cannot Live Alone

All of A.A.'s Twelve Steps ask us to go contrary to our natural desires; they all deflate our egos. When it come to ego deflation, few Steps are harder to take than the Fifth. Scarcely and Step is more necessary to long-time sobriety and peace of mind.
A.A. experience has taught us we cannot live alone with our pressing problems and the character defects which cause or aggravate them. If Step Four has revealed in stark relief those experiences we'd rather not remember, than the need to quit living by ourselves with those tormenting ghosts of yesterday gets more urgent than ever. We have to talk to somebody about them.
<<< >>>
We cannot wholly rely on friends to solve all our difficulties. A good adviser will never do all our thinking for us. He knows that each final choice must be ours. He will therefore help to eliminate fear, expediency, and self-deception, so enabling us to make choices which are loving, wise, and honest.


1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 55
GRAPEVINE, AUGUST 1961

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

"Yes, there is a substitute and it is vastly more than that. It is a
fellowship in Alcoholics Anonymous. There you will find release from
care, boredom and worry. Your imagination will be fired. Life will
mean something at last. The most satisfactory years of your
existence lie ahead."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 152~
*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Strength comes from honestly telling your own experiences with drinking. In religion, they call it confession. We call it witnessing or sharing. You give a personal witness, you share your past experiences, the troubles you got into, the hospitals, the jails, the break-up of your home, the money wasted, the debts, and all the foolish things you did when you were drinking. This personal witness lets out the things you had kept hidden, brings them out into the open, and you find release and strength. Am I receiving strength from my personal witnessing?

Meditation for the Day

We cannot fully understand the universe. The simple fact is that we cannot even define space or time. They are both boundless, in spite of all we can do to limit them. We live in a box of space and time, which we have manufactured by our own minds and on that depends all our so-called knowledge of the universe. The simple fact is that we can never know all things, nor are we made to know them. Much of our lives must be taken on faith.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that my faith may be based on my own experience of the power of God in my life. I pray that I may know this one thing above all else in the universe.

 Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012