Thoughts For The Day~*~Emotional Sobriety ^*^*^*^*^ October 9, 2011

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Emotional Sobriety

"If we examine every disturbance we have, great or small,
we will find at the root of it some unhealthy dependency
and its consequent unhealthy demand.
Let us, with God's help,
continually surrender these hobbling liabilities.
Then we can be set free to live and love;
we may then be able to twelfth-step ourselves,
as well as others, into emotional sobriety."
Bill. W., AAGrapevine, January 1958
c.1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 288
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Thought to Consider . . .

Sobriety is a choice and a treasure.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A A  =  Altered Attitudes

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

 

No Matter What

From: "Using the 24-hour plan" 

Although we realize that alcoholism is a permanent, irreversible condition, our experience has taught us to make no long-term promises about staying sober. We have found it more realistic - and more successful - to say, "I am not taking a drink just for today."

Even if we drank yesterday, we can plan not to drink today. We may drink tomorrow "who knows whether we'll even be alive then?  but for this 24 hours, we decide not to drink. No matter what the temptation or provocation, we determine to go to any extremes necessary to avoid a drink today.

1998, AAWS, Inc., Living Sober, page 6
*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A SPIRITUAL AXIOM

It is a spiritual axiom that very time we are disturbed, no matter
what the cause, there is something wrong with us.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 90

I never truly understood the Tenth Step's spiritual axiom until I
had the following experience. I was sitting in my bedroom, reading
into the wee hours, when suddenly I heard my dogs barking in the
back yard. My neighbors frown on this kind of disturbance so, with
mixed feelings of anger and shame, as well as fear of my
neighbor's disapproval, I immediately called in my dog's. Several
weeks later the exact situation repeated itself but this time,
because I was feeling more at peace with myself, I was able to
accept the situation--dogs will bark--and I calmly called in the
dogs. Both incidents taught me that when a person experiences
nearly identical events and reacts two different ways, then it
is not the event which is of prime importance, but the person's
spiritual condition. Feelings come from inside, not from outward
circumstances. When my spiritual condition is positive, I react
positively.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Instincts Run Wild

Every time a person imposes his instincts unreasonably upon others, unhappiness follows. If the pursuit of wealth tramples upon people who happen to be in the way, then anger, jealousy, and revenge are likely to be aroused. If sex runs riot, there is a similar uproar.
Demands made upon other people for too much attention, protection, and love can invite only domination or revulsion in the protectors themselves - two emotions quite as unhealthy as the demands which evoked them. When an individual's desire for prestige becomes uncontrollable, whether in the sewing circle or at the international conference table, other people suffer and often revolt. This collision of instincts can produce anything from a cold snub to a blazing revolution.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 44
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"In this book you read again and again that faith did for us what we
could not do for ourselves. We hope you are convinced now that God
can remove whatever self-will has blocked you off from Him. If you
have already made a decision, and an inventory of your grosser
handicaps, you have made a good beginning. That being so you have
swallowed and digested some big chunks of truth about yourself."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 70~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Am I willing to be bored sometimes at meetings? Am I willing to
listen to much repetition of A.A. principles? Am I willing to hear
the same thing over and over again? Am I willing to listen to a
long blow-by-blow personal story, because it might help some new
member? Am I willing to sit quietly and listen to long-winded
members go into every detail of their past? Am I willing to take
it, because it is doing them good to get it off their chest? My
feelings are not too important. The good of A.A. comes first, even
if it is not always comfortable for me. Have I learned to take it?

Meditation for the Day

God would draw us all closer to Him in the bonds of the spirit.
He would have all people drawn closer to each other in the bonds
of the spirit. God, the great Spirit of the universe, of which
each of our own spirits is a small part, must want unity between
Himself and all His children. "Unity of the spirit in the bonds
of peace." Each experience of our life, of joy, of sorrow, of
danger, of safety, of difficulty, of success, of hardship, of
ease, each should be accepted as part of our common lot, in the
bonds of the spirit.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may welcome the bonds of true fellowship. I pray
that I may be brought closer to unity with God and other people.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Single Purpose ^*^*^*^*^ October 8, 2011

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Single Purpose

"We enjoy certain advantages which should make
our task of self-restraint relatively easy.
There is really no good reason for anyone to object
if a great many drunks get sober.
Nearly everyone can agree that this is a good thing.
If, in the process, we are forced to develop
a certain amount of honesty, humility, and tolerance,
who is going to kick about that?
If we recognize that religion is the province of the clergy
and the practice of medicine is for doctors,
we can helpfully cooperate with both.
Certainly there is little basis for controversy in these areas.
It is a fact that AA has not the slightest reform
or political complexion.
We try to pay our own expenses,
and we strictly mind our single purpose."
Bill. W.,
c.1962AAWS, Twelve Concepts for World Service, 26th printing, p. 69
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Thought to Consider . . .

While it isn't always easy, if I keep it simple, it works.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
K I S S  =  Keep It Simple, Silly

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

 

The Pervasive "We"

From: "He Lived Only To Drink" 

More important, I came to believe that I cannot do this alone. From childhood, despite the love I experienced, I had never let people, even those closest to me, inside my life. All my life I had lived the deepest of lies, not sharing with anyone my true thoughts and feelings. I thought I had a direct line to God, and I built a wall of distrust around myself. In AA I faced the pervasive "we" of the Twelve Steps and gradually realized that I can separate and protect my sobriety from outside hazards only inasmuch as I rely on the sober experience of other AA members and share their journey through the steps to recovery.

2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 451

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
DAILY INVENTORY

. . . and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 59

I was beginning to approach my new life of sobriety with unaccustomed enthusiasm.   New friends were cropping up and some of my battered friendships had begun to be repaired.   Life was exciting, and I even began to enjoy my work, becoming so bold as to issue a report on the lack of proper care for some of our clients.   One day a co-worker informed me that my boss was really sore because a complaint, submitted over his head, had caused him much discomfort at the hands of his superiors.   I knew that my report had created the problem, and began to feel responsible for my boss's difficulty.   In discussing the affair, my co-worker tried to reassure me that an apology was not necessary, but I soon became convinced that I had to do something, regardless of how it might turn out.   When I approached my boss and owned up to my hand in his difficulties, he was surprised.   But unexpected things came out of our encounter, and my boss and I were able to agree to interact more directly and effectively in the future.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Ourselves as Individuals

There is only one sure test of all spiritual experiences: "By their fruits, ye shall know them."
This is why I think we should question no one's transformation - whether it be sudden or gradual. Nor should we demand anyone's special type for ourselves, because experience suggests that we are apt to receive whatever may be the most useful for our own needs.

<<<>>>

Human beings are never quite alike, so each of us, when making an inventory, will need to determine what his individual character defects are. Having found the shoes that fit, he ought to step into them and walk with new confidence that he is at last on the right track.

1. GRAPEVINE, JULY 1962 - 2. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 48
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Though there is no way of proving it, we believe that early in our
drinking careers most of us could have stopped drinking. But the
difficulty is that few alcoholics have enough desire to stop while
there is yet time."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 32
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

There is such a thing as being too loyal to any one group. Do I feel put out when another group starts and some members of my group leave it and branch out into new territory Or do I send them out with my blessing? Do I visit that new offshoot group and help it alone? Or do I sulk in my own tent? A.A. grows by the starting of new groups all the time. I must realize that ifs a good thing for a large group to split up into smaller ones, even if it means that the large group-my own group- becomes smaller. Am I always ready to help new groups?

Meditation for the Day

Pray and keep praying until it brings peace and serenity and a feeling of communion with One who is near and ready to help. The thought of God is balm for our hates and fears. In praying to God, we find healing for hurt feelings and resentments. In thinking of God, doubts and fears leave us. Instead of those doubts and fears, there will flow into our hearts such faith and love as is beyond the power of material things to give, and such peace as the world can neither give nor take away. And with God, we can have the tolerance to live and let live.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may have true tolerance and understanding. I pray that I may keep striving for these difficult things.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Gratitude ^*^*^*^*^ October 7, 2011

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

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Gratitude

"Another 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. . .
I try 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." FONT face=Georgia>
Bill. W., March 1962
c.1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 271
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Thought to Consider . . .

I have learned what a heart full of gratitude feels like.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H J F  =  Happy, Joyous, and Free

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

 

Best of Intentions

Step Eleven: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. 

Of course, it is reasonable and understandable that the question is often asked: "Why can't we take a specific and troubling dilemma straight to God, and in prayer secure from Him sure and definite answers to our requests?"

This can be done, but it has hazards. We have seen AAs ask with much earnestness and faith for God's explicit guidance on matters ranging all the way from a shattering domestic or financial crisis to correcting a minor personal fault, like tardiness. Quite often, however, the thoughts that seem to come from God are not answers at all. They prove to be well-intentioned unconscious rationalizations. The AA, or indeed any man, who tries to run his life rigidly by this kind of prayer, by this self-serving demand of God for replies, is a particularly disconcerting individual. To any questioning or criticism of his actions he instantly proffers his reliance upon prayer for guidance in all matters great or small. He may have forgotten the possibility that his own wishful thinking and the human tendency to rationalize have distorted his so-called guidance. With the best of intentions, he tends to force his own will into all sorts of situations and problems with the comfortable assurance that he is acting under God's specific direction. Under such an illusion, he can of course create great havoc without in the least intending it. 

1981, AAWS, Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pages 103-104

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
DAILY MONITORING

Continued to take personal inventory . . .

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 88

        The spiritual axiom referred to in the Tenth Step -- "every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us" -- also tells me that there are no exceptions to it. No matter how unreasonable others may seem, I am responsible for not reacting negatively. Regardless of what is happening around me I will always have the prerogative, and the responsibility, of choosing what happens within me. I am the creator of my own reality.

        When I take my daily inventor y, I know that I must stop judging others. If I judge others, I am probably judging myself. Whoever is upsetting me most is my best teacher. I have much to learn from him or her, and in my heart, I should thank that person.

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

Assuming we are spiritually fit, we can do all sorts of things alcoholics are not supposed to do. People have said we must not go where liquor is served; we must not have it in our homes; we must shun friends who drink; we must avoid moving pictures which show drinking scenes; we must not go into bars; our friends must hide their bottles if we go to their houses; we mustn't think or be reminded about alcohol at all. Our experience shows that this is not necessarily so.
We meet these conditions every day. An alcoholic who cannot meet them still has an alcoholic mind; there is something the matter with his spiritual status. His only chance for sobriety would be some place like the Greenland icecap, and even there an Eskimo might turn up with a bottle of Scotch and ruin everything!

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 100-101
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~ *

"Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in
a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances!"

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 100

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

Do I put too much reliance on any one member of the group? That
is, do I make a tin god out of some one person? Do I set that
person on a pedestal? If I do, I am building my house on sand.
A.A. members have "clay feet." They are all only one drink away
from a drunk, no matter how long they have been in A.A. This has
been proved to be true more than once. It's not fair to any member
to be singled out as a leader in A A. and to always quote that
member on the A.A. program. If that person should fail, where
would I be?

Meditation For The Day

You must always remember that you are weak but that God is strong.
God knows all about your weakness. He hears every cry for mercy,
every sign of weakness, every plea for help, every sorrow over
failure, every weakness felt and expressed. We only fail when we
trust too much to our own strength. Do not feel bad about your
weakness. When you are weak, that is when God is strong to help
you. Trust God enough, and your weakness will not matter. God
is always strong to save.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may learn to lean on God's strength. I pray that I
may know that my weakness is God's opportunity.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Self-will ^*^*^*^*^ October 6, 2011

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

"The first requirement is that we be convinced
that any life run on self-will can hardly be a success.   
On that basis we are almost always in collision
with something or somebody,
even though our motives are good.  
Most people try to live by self-propulsion.  
Each person is like an actor
who wants to run the whole show;
is forever trying to arrange the lights, the ballet, the scenery
and the rest of the players in his own way.  
If his arrangements would only stay put,
if only people would do as he wished,
the show would be great.  
Everybody, including himself, would be pleased.  nbsp;
Life would be wonderful."
c.1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 60-1
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Thought to Consider . . .

Rule 62:  "Don't take yourself too damn seriously."

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
P R I D E  =  Pretty Ridiculous Individual Directing Everything

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

 

Incredible Things

From: "To Employers" 

Your man has probably been trying to conceal a number of scrapes, perhaps pretty messy ones. They may be disgusting. You may be at a loss to understand how such a seemingly above-board chap could be so involved. But these scrapes can generally be charged, no matter how bad, to the abnormal action of alcohol on his mind. When drinking, or getting over a bout, an alcoholic, sometimes the model of honesty when normal, will do incredible things. Afterward, his revulsion will be terrible. Nearly always, these antics indicate nothing more than temporary conditions. 

2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 140-14

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
FACING OURSELVES

. . . . and Fear says, "You dare not look!"

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 49

How often I avoided a task in my drinking days, just because it
appeared so large! Is it any wonder even if I have been sober for
some time, that I will act that same way when faced with what
appears to be a monumental job, such as a searching and fearless
moral inventory of myself? What I discover after I have arrived
at the other side--when my inventory is completed--is that the
illusion was greater than the reality. The fear of facing myself
kept me at a standstill and, until I became willing to put
pencil to paper, I was arresting my growth based on an intangible.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
The Fine Art of Alibis

The majority of A.A. members have suffered severely from self-justification during their drinking days. For most of us, self-justification was the maker of excuses for drinking and for all kinds of crazy and damaging conduct. We had made the invention of alibis a fine art.
We had to drink because times were hard or times were good. We had to drink because at home we were smothered with love or got none at all. We had to drink because at work we were great successes or dismal failures. We had to drink because our nation had won a war or lost a peace. And so it went, ad infinitum.

<<<>>>

To see how our own erratic emotions victimized us often took a long time. Where other people were concerned, we had to drop the word "blame" from our speech and thought.

TWELVE AND TWELVE 1. pp. 46-47 - 2. p. 47
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"We know that while the alcoholic keeps away from drink, as he may do
for months or years, he reacts much like other men. We are equally
positive that once he takes any alcohol whatever into his system,
something happens, both in the bodily and mental sense, which makes
it virtually impossible for him to stop. The experience of any
alcoholic will abundantly confirm this."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 22~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought For The Day

Is it my desire to be a big shot in A.A.? Do I always want to be
up front in the limelight? Do I feel that nobody else can do as
good a job as I can? Or am I willing to take a seat in the back
row once in a while and let somebody else carry the ball? Part
of the effectiveness of any A.A. group is the development of new
members to carry on, to take over, from the older members. Am I
reluctant to give up authority? Do I try to carry the load for
the whole group? If so, I am not being fair to the newer members.
Do I realize that no one person is essential?   Do I know that
A.A. could carry on without me, if it had to?

Meditation For The Day

The Unseen God can help to make us truly grateful and humble.
Since we cannot see God, we must believe in Him without seeing.
What we can see clearly is the change in a human being, when he
sincerely asks God for the strength to change. We should cling
to faith in God and in His power to change our faith in God and
in His power to change our ways. Our faith in all Unseen God
will be rewarded by a useful and serviceable life. God will not
fail to show us the way we should live. When in real gratitude
and true humility we turn to Him.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may believe that God can change me. I pray that
I may be always willing to be changed for the better.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012