Thoughts For The Day~*~Criticism ^*^*^*^*^ November 6, 2011

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

"Now and then all of us fall under heavy criticism.
When we are angered and hurt,
it's difficult not to retaliate in kind.
Yet we can restrain ourselves
and then probe ourselves,
asking whether our critics were really right.
If so, we can admit our defects to them.
This usually clears the air for mutual understanding. . .
Maybe a sense of humor can be our saving grace --
thus we can both forgive and forget."
Bill W., Letter, 1966
c. 1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 184
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Thought to Consider . . .

The best way to get even is to forget.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
S O B E R =  Son Of a Basket, Everything's Real

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

Every AA Ought to Know

From: "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous" 

Dr. Bob was essentially a far more humble person than I. In some ways he was a sort of spiritual natural, and this anonymity business came rather easily to him. He could not understand why some people should want so much publicity. In the years before he died, his personal example respecting anonymity did much to help me keep my own lid on. I think of one affecting instance in particular, one that every AA ought to know. When it was sure that Dr. Bob was mortally afflicted, some of his friends suggested that there should be a suitable monument or mausoleum erected in honor of him and his wife Anne - something befitting a founder and his lady. Of course this was a very natural and moving tribute. The committee went so far as to show him a sketch of the proposed edifice. Telling me about this, Dr. Bob grinned broadly and said, God bless them. They mean well. But for heaven's sake, Bill, let's you and I get buried just like other folks. 

A year after his passing, I visited the Akron cemetery where Dr. Bob and Anne lie. The simple stone says not a word about Alcoholics Anonymous. Some people may think that this wonderful couple carried personal anonymity too far when they so firmly refused to use the words "Alcoholics Anonymous" even on their own burial stone. For one, I do not think so. I think that this moving and final example of self-effacement will prove of more permanent worth to AA than any amount of public attention or any great monument.

1985, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pages 136-137

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
GOING WITH THE FLOW

Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him. . . .

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 96

       The first words I speak when arising in the morning are, "I arise, O God, to do Thy will," This is the shortest prayer I know and it is deeply ingrained in me. Prayer doesn't change God's attitude toward me; it changes my attitude toward God. As distinguished from prayer, meditation is a quiet time without words. To be centered is to be physically relaxed, emotionally calm, mentally focused and spiritually aware.
     One way to keep the channel open and to improve my conscious contact with God is to maintain a grateful attitude. On the days when I am grateful, good things seem to happen in my life. The instant I start cursing things in my life, however, the flow of good stops. God did not interrupt the flow; my own negativity did.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
We recall, a little ruefully, how much store we used to set by
imagination as it tried to create reality out of bottles.  Yes, we
reveled in that sort of thinking, didn't we?  And, though sober
nowadays, don't we often try to do much the same thing?
Perhaps our trouble was not that we used our imagination.  Perhaps
the real trouble was our almost total inability to point imagination
toward the right objectives.  There's nothing the matter with truly constructive imagination; all sound achievement rests upon it.  After
all, no man can build a house until he first visions a plan for it.

12 & 12, p. 100
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"One of the many doctors who had the opportunity of reading this
book in manuscript form told us that the use of sweets was often
helpful, of course depending upon a doctor's advice. He thought all
alcoholics should constantly have chocolate available for its quick
energy value at times of fatigue. He added that occasionally in the
night a vague craving arose which would be satisfied by candy. Many
of us have noticed a tendency to eat sweets and have found this
practice beneficial."

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


*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought For The Day
Fear and worry had me down. They were increased by my drinking. I worried about what had done when I was drunk. I was afraid of what the consequences might be. I was afraid to face people because of the fear of being found out. Fear kept me in hot water all the time. I was a nervous wreck from fear and worry. I was a tied-up bundle of nerves. I had a fear of failure, of the future, of growing old, of sickness, of hangover, of suicide. I had a wrong set of ideas and attitudes. When A.A. told me to surrender these fears and worries to a Higher Power, I did so. I now try to think faith instead of fear.  Have I put faith in place of fear?          

Meditation For The Day

Spiritual power is God in action. God can only act through human beings. Whenever you, however weak you may be, allow God to act through you, then all you think and say and do is spiritually powerful. It is not you alone who produces a change in the lives of others! It is also the Divine Spirit in you and working through you. Power is God in action. God can use you as a tool to accomplish miracles in peoples' lives.          

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may try to let God's power act through me today. I pray that I may get rid of those blocks which keep His power from me.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Service ^*^*^*^*^ November 5, 2011

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

"Service, gladly rendered, obligations squarely met,
troubles well accepted or solved with God's help,
the knowledge that at home or in the world outside
we are partners in a common effort,
the well-understood fact that in God's sight
all human beings are important,
the proof that love freely given surely brings a full return,
the certainty that we are no longer isolated and alone
in self-constructed prisons,
the surety that we need no longer be square pegs
in round holes
but can fit and belong in God's scheme of things --
these are the permanent and legitimate satisfactions
of right living
for which no amount of pomp and circumstance,
no heap of material possessions,
could possibly be substitutes."
c. 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 124
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Thought to Consider . . .

Service is spirituality in action.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O P E =  Helping Other People Every day

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

Test That Theory

From: "A Drunk Like You" 

Now somehow, between the time I lost my job and my flight to the convention, I decided maybe I was not an alcoholic and I needed to test that theory. After all, I was a researcher, and things had to be tested. I decided that on the plane (it seemed like a safe place) I would put the question to the test. If I could have one drink and no more, I was not an alcoholic - alcoholics can't do that. So when the stewardess came by to ask me if I wanted a drink, I said, "Yes." She put two little bottles' worth in a glass ("No ice, thank you very much") and went up the aisle. On her way back she asked if I wanted another, and I said, "Yes." I drank for the whole flight - before dinner, during dinner, and after dinner. As we approached our destination, I searched my pocket for a pen to fill out the in-flight magazine response card. I found this large coin. I took it out to see what it was. It was my ninety-day pocket piece, and I was reminded of what I was doing. And the thought came to me: Wow, those guys at the meeting were right - I am powerless over alcohol. I put that coin back in my pocket and from that day to this, some 15-1/2 years later, I have had no urge to drink. 

2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 404

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
"THE QUALITY OF FAITH"

This. . . has to do with the quality of faith. . . . In no deep or meaningful sense had we ever taken stock of ourselves. . . . We had not even prayed rightly.  We had always said, "Grant me my wishes" instead of "Thy will be done."

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.32

God does not grant me material possessions, take away my suffering, or spare me from disasters, but He does give me a good life, the ability to cope, and peace of mind.  My prayers are simple: first, they express my gratitude for the good things in my life, regardless of how hard I have to search for them; and second, I ask only for the strength and the wisdom to do His will.  He answers with solutions to my problems, sustaining my ability to live through daily frustrations with a serenity I did not believe existed, and with the strength to practice the principles of A.A. in all of my everyday affairs.

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

It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us. If somebody hurts us and we are sore, we are in the wrong, too.
But are there no exceptions to this rule? What about "justifiable" anger? If somebody cheats us, aren't we entitled to be mad? And shouldn't we be properly angry with self-righteous folks?
For us of A.A. these adventures in anger are sometimes very dangerous. We have found that even justified anger ought to be left to those better qualified to handle it.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 90
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
THE PROMISES

"If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will
be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new
freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to
shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will
know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will
see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness
and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things
and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our
whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and
of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to
handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize
that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, Page 83~

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

During our thoughts about the rewards that have come to us as a result of our new way of living, we find that we have new kinds of homes, new relationships with our spouses and our children. Also peace, contentment, hope, faith, charity, and new ambition. What are some of the things we have lost? Each one of us can answer this question in many ways. I have lost much of my fear. It used to control me; it was my master. it paralyzed my efforts. Fear always got me down. It made me an introvert, an ingrown person. When fear was replaced by faith, I got well. Have I lost some of my fears?

Meditation for the Day

The world would sooner be brought close to God. His will would sooner be done on earth, if all who acknowledge Him gave themselves unreservedly to being used by Him. God can use every human being as a channel for divine love and power What delays the bringing of the world closer to God is the backwardness of His followers. If each one lived each day for God and allowed God to work through him, then the world would soon be drawn much closer to God, its Founder and Preserver.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be used as a channel to express the Divine Love. I pray that I may so live as to bring God's spirit closer to the world.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Peace of Mind ^*^*^*^*^ November 4, 2011

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Peace of Mind

"AA has taught me that I will have peace of mind
in exact proportion to the peace of mind
I bring into the lives of other people,
and it has taught me the true meaning of the admonition
'happy are ye who know these things and do them.'
For the only problems I have now are those I create
when I break out in a rash of self-will."
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 551
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Thought to Consider . . .

I never imagined that the greatest achievement of my life
would be peace of mind.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
P E A C E =  Providing Experienced Attitude Changes Every day.

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 Turning Point

Step Seven: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. 

We saw we needn't always be bludgeoned and beaten into humility. It could come quite as much from our voluntary reaching for it as it could from unremitting suffering. A great turning point in our lives came when we sought for humility as something we really wanted, rather than as something we must have. It marked the time when we could commence to see the full implication of Step Seven: "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. 

1981, AAWS, Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 75

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A DAILY DISCIPLINE

. . . when they [self-examination, meditation and prayer] are logically related and interwoven, the result is an unshakable foundation for life.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 98

The last three Steps of the program invoke God's loving discipline upon my willful nature.  If I devote just a few moments every night to a review of the highlights of my day, along with an acknowledgment of those aspects that didn't please me so much, I gain a personal history of myself, one that is essential to my journey into self-discovery.  I was able to note my growth, or lack of it, and to ask in prayerful meditation to be relieved of those continuing shortcomings that cause me pain.  Meditation and prayer also teach me the art of focusing and listening.  I find that the turmoil of the day gets tuned out as I pray for His will and guidance.  The practice of asking Him to help me in my strivings for perfection puts a new slant on the tedium of any day, because I know there is honor in any job done well.  The daily discipline of prayer and meditation will keep me in fit spiritual condition, able to face whatever the day brings - without the thought of a drink.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
A Way Out of Depression

"During acute depression, avoid trying to set your whole life in order all at once. If you take on assignments so heavy that you are sure to fail in them at the moment, then you are allowing yourself to be tricked by your unconscious. Thus you will continue to make sure of your failure, and when it comes you will have another alibi for still more retreat into depression.
"In short, the 'all or nothing' attitude is a most destructive one. It is best to begin with whatever the irreducible minimums of activity are. Then work for an enlargement of these day by day. Don't be disconcerted by setbacks - just start over."

LETTER, 1960
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"The less people tolerated us, the more we withdrew from society,
from life itself. As we became subjects of King Alcohol, shivering
denizens of his mad realm, the chilling vapor that is loneliness
settled down. It thickened, ever becoming blacker. Some of us
sought out sordid places, hoping to find understanding companionship
and approval. Momentarily we didâ€"then would come oblivion and
the awful awakening to face the hideous Four Horsemenâ€"Terror,
Bewilderment, Frustration, Despair."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 151~
 

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

I can do things that I never did before. Liquor took away my initiative and my ambition. I couldn't get up the steam to start anything. I let things slide. When 1 was drunk, I was too inert to even comb my hair. Now I can sit down and do something. I can write letters that need to be written. I can make telephone calls that should be made. I can work in my garden. I can pursue my hobbies. I have the urge to create something, that creative urge that was completely stifled by alcohol. I am free to achieve again. Have I recovered my initiative?

Meditation for the Day

"In Thy presence is fullness of joy: At Thy right hand are pleasures forever." We cannot find true happiness by looking for it. Seeking pleasure does not bring happiness in the long run, only disillusionment. Do not seek to have this fullness of joy by seeking pleasure. It cannot be done that way: Happiness is a byproduct of living the right kind of life. True happiness comes as a result of living in all respects the way you believe God wants you to live, with regard to yourself and to other people.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not always seek pleasure as a goal. I pray that I may be content with the happiness that comes when I do the right thing.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Recovery ^*^*^*^*^ November 3, 2011

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

"Most emphatically we wish to say
that any alcoholic capable of honestly facing his problems
in the light of our experience can recover,
provided he does not close his mind to spiritual concepts.
He can only be defeated by an attitude
of intolerance or belligerent denial.
We find that no one need have difficulty
with the spirituality of the program.
Willingness, honesty and open mindedness
are the essentials of recovery.
But these are indispensable"
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 570
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Thought to Consider . . .

The spiritual life is not a theory.  We have to live it.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
W H O =  Willingness, Honesty, Openmindedness

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

 

Undertaker or the Asylum

From: "Bill's Story" 

It relieved me somewhat to learn that in alcoholics the will is amazingly weakened when it comes to combating liquor, though it often remains strong in other respects. My incredible behavior in the face of a desperate desire to stop was explained. Understanding myself now, I fared forth in high hope. For three or four months the goose hung high. I went to town regularly and even made a little money. Surely this was the answer - self-knowledge. 

But it was not, for the frightful day came when I drank once more. The curve of my declining moral and bodily health fell off like a ski-jump. After a time I returned to the hospital. This was the finish, the curtain, it seemed to me. My weary and despairing wife was informed that it would all end with heart failure during delirium tremens, or I would develop a wet brain, perhaps within a year. She would soon have to give me over to the undertaker or the asylum. 

2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 7

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
FOCUSING AND LISTENING

There is a direct linkage among self-examination, meditation, and prayer.  Taken separately, these practices can bring much relief and benefit.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 98

If I do my self-examination first, then surely, I'll have enough humility to pray and meditate -- because I'll see and feel my need for them.  Some wish to begin and end with prayer, leaving the self-examination and meditation to take place in between, whereas others start with meditation, listening for advice from God about their still hidden or unacknowledged defects.  Still others engage in written and verbal work on their defects, ending with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.  These three -- self-examination, meditation and prayer -- form a circle, without a beginning or an end.  No matter where, or how, I start, I eventually arrive at my destination: a better life.
Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Circle and Triangle

Above us, at the International Convention at St. Louis in 1955, floated a banner on which was inscribed the then new symbol for A.A., a circle enclosing a triangle. The circle stands for the whole world of A.A., and the triangle stands for A.A.'s Three Legacies: Recovery, Unity, and Service.
It is perhaps no accident that priests and seers of antiquity regarded this symbol as a means of warding off spirits of evil.

<<<>>>

When, in 1955, we oldtimers turned over our Three Legacies to the whole movement, nostalgia for the old days blended with gratitude for the great day in which I was now living. No more would it be necessary for me to act for, decide for, or protect A.A.
For a moment, I dreaded the coming change. But this mood quickly passed. The conscience of A.A. as moved by the guidance of God could be depended upon to insure A.A.'s future. Clearly my job henceforth was to let go and let God.

A.A. COMES OF AGE - 1. p. 139 - 2. pp. 46, 48
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Actually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man,
woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured
by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form
or other it is there. For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and
miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as
old as man himself."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 55~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

I have charity, another word for love. That right kind of love which is not selfish passion but an unselfish, outgoing desire to help other people. To do what is best for the other person, to put what is best for him or her above my own desires. To put God first, the other person second, and myself last. Charity is gentle, kind, understanding, long-suffering, and full of desire to serve. A.A. has given me this. What I do for myself is lost; what I do for others may be written somewhere in eternity. Have I charity?

Meditation for the Day

"Ask what you will and it shall be done unto you." God has unlimited power. There is no limit to what His power can do in human hearts. But we must will to have God's power and we must ask God for it. God's power is blocked off from us by our indifference to it. We can go along our own selfish way without calling on God's help and we get no power. But when we trust in God, we can will to have the power we need. When we sincerely ask God for it, we get it abundantly.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may will to have God's power. I pray that I may keep praying for the strength I need.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012