Saturday, September 28, 2013

Thoughts For The Day~*~Booby Traps ^*^*^*^*^ September 29, 2013


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

(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (
AA)/   )
(_   /
AA
\ _)
  /
AA\

^*^*^*^*^

Booby Traps

"We must avoid quick-tempered criticism
and furious, power-driven argument.  
The same goes for sulking and silent scorn.  
These are emotional booby traps baited with pride
and vengefulness.  
Our first job is to sidestep the traps.  
When we are tempted by the bait,
we should train ourselves to step back and think.  
For we can neither think nor act to good purpose
until the habit of self-restraint has become automatic."
c.1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 91

^*^*^*^*^

Thought to C
onsider . . . 

Nothing pays off like restraint of tongue and pen.


*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
B A T H =  Behavior, Attitude, Thinking, Habits


*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Greatest Possession
From: "The Family Afterward" 

This painful past may be of infinite value to other families still struggling with their problem. We think each family which has been relieved owes something to those who have not, and when the occasion requires, each member of it should be only too willing to bring former mistakes, no matter how grievous, out of their hiding places. Showing others who suffer how we were given help is the very thing which makes life seem so worth while to us now. Cling to the thought that, in God's hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have - the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them.  

2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 124

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
EXACTLY ALIKE

Frequent contact with newcomers and with each other is the bright
spot of our lives.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 89

A man came to the meeting drunk, interrupted the speakers, stood
up and took his shirt off, staggered loudly back and forth for
coffee, demanded to talk, and eventually called the group's
secretary an unquotable name and walked out. I was glad he was
there--once again I saw what I still could be. I don't have to
be drunk to want to be the exception and the center of attention.
I have often felt abused and responded abusively when I was
simply being treated as a garden variety human being. The more
the man tried to insist he was different, the more I realized
that he and I were exactly alike.

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

Troubles of Our Own Making

Selfishness - self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt.

So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't think so. Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness. We must, or it kills us!

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p- 62
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*


"If we are sorry for what we have done, and have the honest desire to
let God take us to better things, we believe we will be forgiven and
will have learned our lesson. If we are not sorry, and our conduct
continues to harm others, we are quite sure to drink. We are not
theorizing. These are facts out of our experience."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 70~

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

Having got this far, shall we pause and ask ourselves some
searching questions? We need to check up on ourselves periodically.
Just how good an A.A. am I? Am I attending meetings regularly? Am
I doing my share to carry the load? When there is something to be
done, do I volunteer? Do I speak at meetings when asked, no matter
how nervous I am? Do I accept each opportunity to do twelfth-step
work as a challenge? Do I give freely of my time and money? Am I
trying to spread A.A. wherever I go? Is my daily life a
demonstration of A.A. principles? Am I a good A.A.?

Meditation for the Day


How do I get strength to be effective and to accept responsibility?
By asking the Higher Power for the strength I need each day. It
has been proved in countless lives that for every day I live,
the necessary power shall be given me. I must face each challenge
that comes' to me during the day, sure that God will give me the
strength to face it. For every task that is given me, there is
also given me all the power necessary for the performance of that
task. I do not need to hold back.

Prayer for the Day


I pray that I may accept every task as a challenge. I know I cannot
wholly fail if God is with me.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012


Friday, September 27, 2013

Thoughts For The Day~*~Meetings ^*^*^*^*^ September 28, 2013


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

(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (
AA)/   )
(_   /
AA
\ _)
  /
AA\

^*^*^*^*^

Meetings
^*^*^*^*^
"S
obriety and a plan for living that produces
a personality change and a spiritual awakening
are imperative.
Through AA, many receive the needed change and awakening
just by trying to live by AA principles
and associating with AA people.
We do this by going to many AA meetings with an open mind
and a desire to live the good-feeling life without chemicals --
liquid or otherwise."
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 459

^*^*^*^*^

Thought to C
onsider . . .

T
he ankle-biters of everyday struggles will eat away at me
unless I go to meetings and share.


*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O P E =  Hearing Other Peoples' Experience


*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
All-Encompassing
From "The Whole Company of ...."

"I was born an Anglican (Church of England), and the following crops up in one of our services (perhaps in the services of other denominations also): 'Therefore with angels and archangels and the whole company of heaven, we laud and glorify Thy name.' Since I have no knowledge of heaven or the company kept there, whenever I repeat this passage of praise, I substitute the word 'and the whole company of Alcoholics Anonymous.'

"Being an A.A. Loner, I have felt very out of things and on my own. But I do believe in the power of collective thought, whether for good or evil. Thus, I believe that the collective thought of the body of Alcoholics Anonymous throughout the world must have some effect on alcoholics, whether they are aware of it or not. - Kenton-on-Sea, South Africa"

1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 87

 

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
LOVE WITHOUT STRINGS

Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 89


Sponsorship held two surprises for me.  First, that my sponsees cared about me. What I had thought was gratitude was more like love.  They wanted me to be happy, to grow and remain sober. Knowing how they felt kept me from drinking more than once.  Second, I  discovered that I was able to love someone else responsibly, with respectful and genuine concern for that person's growth.  Before that time, I had thought that my ability to care sincerely about another's well-being had atrophied from lack of use.  To learn that I can love, without greed or anxiety, has been one of the deepest gifts the program has given me. Gratitude for that gift has kept me sober many times.

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

A.A. in Two Words

"All A.A. progress can be reckoned in terms of just two words: humility and responsibility. Our whole spiritual development can be accurately measured by our degree of adherence to these magnificent standards.
"Ever deepening humility, accompanied by an ever greater willingness to accept and to act upon clear-cut obligations - these are truly our touchstones for all growth in the life of the spirit. They hold up to us the very essence of right being and right doing. It is by them that we are enabled to find and to do God's will."

TALK, 1965 (PRINTED IN GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1966)
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"We will seldom be interested in liquor. If tempted, we recoil from
it as from a hot flame. We react sanely and normally, and we will
find that this has happened automatically. We will see that our new
attitude toward liquor has been given us without any thought or
effort on our part. It just comes!"

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 84~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

For the past two months we have been studying passages and steps from the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Now why not read the book itself again? It is essential that the A.A. program become part of us. We must have its essentials at our fingertips. We cannot study the Big Book too much or too often. The more we read it and study it, the better equipped we are to think A.A., act A.A., and live A.A. We cannot know too much about the program. The chances are that we will never know enough. But we can make as much of it our own as possible. How much of the Big Book have I thoroughly mastered?

Meditation for the Day

We need to accept the difficulties and disciplines of life so as to fully share the common life of other people. Many things that we must accept in life are not to be taken so much as being necessary for us personally, as to be experienced in order that we may share in the sufferings and problems of humanity. We need sympathy and understanding. We must share many of the experiences of life, in order to understand and sympathize with others. Unless we have been through the same experiences, we cannot understand other people or their makeup well enough to be able to help them.

Prayer for the Day


I pray that I may accept everything that comes my way as a part of life. I pray that I may make use of it in helping other people.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012


Thursday, September 26, 2013

Thoughts For The Day~*~Right Living ^*^*^*^*^ September 27, 2013


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

(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (
AA)/   )
(_   /
AA
\ _)
  /
AA\

^*^*^*^*^

Right Living

"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

^*^*^*^*^

Thought to C
onsider . . . 

W
e are not living just to be sober;
we are living to learn, to serve, and to love.



*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
L O V E  =  Living Our Valuable Experiences


*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 
Clubs
From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"But like most A.A. clubs this first one did us far more good than harm, especially after we learned that the club had to be on the side lines and could not be managed by the A.A. groups as such. The Old Twenty-Fourth Street Club witnessed much of A.A.'s early history. Still in busy operation [as of 1957], it is now a landmark visited by members from all over the world. Similar and far larger clubs were started in Philadelphia and Minneapolis later in 1940. Scores and scores of clubrooms and clubhouses now dot our landscape. Some of the more elegant ones, especially those in Texas, have to be seen to be believed."

2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 181

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
WITHOUT RESERVATION

When brimming with gratitude, one's heartbeat must surely result in
outgoing love, . . . .
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 37

While practicing service to others, if my successes give rise to
grandiosity, I must reflect on what brought me to this point. What
has been given joyfully, with love, must be passed on without
reservation and without expectation? For as I grow, I find that no
matter how much I give with love, I receive much more in spirit.


Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Honesty and Recovery

In taking an inventory, a member might consider questions such as these: How did my selfish pursuit of the sex relation damage other people and me? What people were hurt, and how badly? Just how did I react at the time? Did 1 burn with guilt? Or did I insist that I was the pursued and not the pursuer, and thus absolve myself?
How have I reacted to frustration in sexual matters? When denied, did I become vengeful or depressed? Did I take it out on other people? If there was rejection or coldness at home, did I use this as a reason for promiscuity?

<<<>>>

Let no alcoholic say he cannot recover unless he has his family back. His recovery is not dependent upon people. It is dependent upon his relationship with God, however he may define Him.


1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, pp. 50-51 - 2. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 99-100
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Some day we hope that Alcoholics Anonymous will help the public to
a better realization of the gravity of the alcoholic problem, but we
shall be of little use if our attitude is one of bitterness or
hostility. Drinkers will not stand for it.
After all, our problems were of our own making. Bottles were only a
symbol. Besides, we have stopped fighting anybody or anything. We
have to!"

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 103~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Continuing the consideration of the term "spiritual experience":
"What often takes place in a few months could seldom have been
accomplished by years of self-discipline. With few exceptions, our
members find that they have tapped an unsuspected inner resource
which they presently identify with their own conception of a Power
greater than themselves. Most of us think this awareness of a Power
greater than ourselves the essence of spiritual experience. Some of
us call it God-consciousness. In any case, willingness, honesty,
and open-mindedness are the essentials of recovery," Have I tapped
that inner resource that can change my life?

Meditation for the Day

God's power in your life increases as your ability to understand His
grace increases. The power of God's grace is only limited by the
understanding and will of each individual. God's miracle-working
power is only limited in each individual soul by the lack of
spiritual vision of that soul. God respects freewill, the right of
each person to accept or reject His miracle-working power. Only the
sincere desire of the soul gives Him the opportunity to bestow it.

Prayer for the Day


I pray that I may not limit God's power by my lack of vision. I
pray that I may keep my mind open today to His influence.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012


Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Thoughts For The Day~*~Help * * *September 26, 2013


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

(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (
AA)/   )
(_   /
AA
\ _)
  /
AA\

^*^*^*^*^

Help
*  *  *

"I
f you are as seriously alcoholic as we were,
we believe there is no middle-of-the-road solution.
We were in a position where life was becoming impossible,
and if we had passed into the region
from which there is no return through human aid,
we had but two alternatives:
One was to go on to the bitter end,
blotting out the consciousness of our intolerable situation
as best we could;
and the other, to accept spiritual help.
This we did because we honestly wanted to,
and were willing to make the effort."
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 25-6

^*^*^*^*^

Thought to C
onsider . . .

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


*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H E L P =  Hope, Encouragement, Love, Patience


*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* 
Suspend Our Own Argument
From: "Being Grateful"  

For some reason, we spent a lot of time thinking or noting or talking about how wrong or mistaken so many other people persistently were. (Whether they really were or not is irrelevant to the welcome change in our own feelings now.) For some, the change begins with a tentative willingness to wait and see, to accept for a moment the hypothesis that the other person just possibly might be right. Before rushing to judgment, we suspend our own argument, listen carefully, and watch for the outcome.  

1998, AAWS, Inc., Living Sober, pages 48-49  


*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
OUR CHILDREN

The alcoholics may find it hard to re-establish friendly relations with his children . . . In time they will see that he is a new man and in their own way they will let him know it . . . From that point on, progress will be rapid.  Marvelous results often follow such a reunion.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 134


While on the road to recovery I received a gift that could not be purchased.  It was a card from my son in college, saying, "Dad, you can't imagine how glad I am that everything is okay.  Happy  Birthday, I love you."  My son had told me that he loved me before.  It had been during the previous Christmas holidays, when he had said to me, while crying, "Dad, I love you!  Can't you see what you're doing to yourself?"  I couldn't.  Choked with emotion, I had cried, but this time, when I received my son's card, my tears were of joy, not desperation.

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

The Fellowship's Future

"It seems proved that A.A. can stand on its own feet anywhere and under any conditions. It has outgrown any dependence it might once have had upon the personalities or efforts of a few of the older members like me. New, able, and vigorous people keep coming to the surface, turning up where they are needed. Besides, A.A. has reached enough spiritual maturity to know that its final dependence is upon God."
<<<>>>

Clearly, our first duty to A.A.'s future is to maintain in full strength what we now have. Only the most vigilant caretaking can assure this. Never should we be lulled into complacent self-satisfaction by the wide acclaim and success that are everywhere ours. This is the subtle temptation which could render us stagnant today, perchance disintegrate us tomorrow. We have always rallied to meet and transcend failure and crisis. Problems have been our stimulants. How well, though, shall we be able to meet the problems of success?


1. LETTER, 1940 - 2. A.A. TODAY, p. 106
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Perhaps there is a better way--we think so. For we are now on a
different basis; the basis of trusting and relying upon God. We
trust infinite God rather than our finite selves. We are in the
world to play the role He assigns. Just to the extent that we do as
we think He would have us, and humbly rely on Him, does He enable us
to match calamity with serenity."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 68~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Continuing the consideration of the term "spiritual experience":
"The acquiring of an immediate and overwhelming God-consciousness,
resulting in a dramatic transformation, though frequent, is by no
means the rule. Most of our spiritual experiences Are of the
educational variety, and they develop slowly over a period of time.
Quite often friends of newcomers are aware of the difference long
before they are themselves. They finally realize that they have
undergone a profound alteration in their reaction to life and that
such a change could hardly have been brought about by themselves
alone." Is my outlook on life changing for the better?

Meditation for the Day

Look at the world as your Father's house. Think of all people you
meet as guests in your Father's house, to be treated with love and
consideration. Look at yourself as a servant in your Father's house,
as a servant of all. Think of no work as beneath you. Be ever ready
to do all you can for others who need your help. There is gladness
in God's service. There is much satisfaction in serving the highest
that you know. Express your love for God in service to all who are
living with you in your Father's house.

Prayer for the Day


I pray that I may serve others out of gratitude to God. I pray that
my work may be a small repayment for His grace so freely given me.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012


Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Thoughts For The Day~*~Defects ^*^*^*^*^ September 25, 2013


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

(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (
AA)/   )
(_   /
AA
\ _)
  /
AA\

^*^*^*^*^

Defects

"What we must recognize now is that we exult
in some of our defects.
We really love them.
Who, for example, doesn't like to feel just a little superior
to the next fellow, or even quite a lot superior?
Isn't it true that we like to let greed
masquerade as ambition?
To think of liking lust seems impossible.
But how many men and women speak love with their lips,
and believe what they say,
so that they can hide lust in a dark corner of their minds?
And even while staying within conventional bounds,
many people admit that their imaginary sex excursions
are apt to be all dressed up as dreams of romance."
c. 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pp. 66-7

^*^*^*^*^

Thought to C
onsider . . . 

I
f I want God to remove my character defects,
I'll have to stop doing them.


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

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 
Common Denominators
From: "On the bridge back to life"  

As Bill read on [in: The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James], his own powers of reasoning helped him extract some important ideas from the weighty and intricate text. He saw that all the cases described by James had certain common denominators, despite the diverse ways in which they manifested themselves. These insights became important to Bill in his thinking about the plight of the alcoholic and his need for spiritual help. (He would later say that James, though long in his grave, had been a founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.) Of the three common denominators in the case histories, the first was calamity; each person James described had met utter defeat in some vital area of his life. All human resources had failed to solve his problems. Each person had been utterly desperate.  

The next common point was admission of defeat; each of the individuals acknowledged his own defeat as utter and absolute.  

The third common denominator was an appeal to a Higher Power. This cry for help could take many forms, and it might or might not be in religious terms.  

1984, AAWS, Inc., 'PASS IT ON' - The story of Bill Wilson and how the AA message reached the world, pages 124-125

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
FIRST THINGS FIRST

Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: Job or no job - wife or no wife - we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God.


ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 98

Before coming to A.A., I always had excuses for taking a drink:  "She said. . .," "He said. . .," "I got fired yesterday,"  "I  got a great job today."  No area of my life could be good if I  drank again.   In sobriety my life gets better each day. I must always remember not to drink, to trust God, and to stay active in A.A.  Am I putting anything before my sobriety, God, and A.A.  today?


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

Those Other People

"Just like you, I have often thought myself the victim of what other people say and do. Yet every time I confessed the sins of such people, especially those whose sins did not correspond exactly with my own, I found that I only increased the total damage. My own resentment, my self-pity would often render me well-nigh useless to anybody.
"So, nowadays, if anyone talks of me so as to hurt, I first ask myself if there is any truth at all in what they say. If there is none, I try to remember that I too have had my periods of speaking bitterly of others; that hurtful gossip is but a symptom of our remaining emotional illness; and consequently that I must never be angry at the unreasonableness of sick people.
"Under very trying conditions I have had, again and again, to forgive others - also myself. Have you recently tried this?"

LETTER, 1946
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"...with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a
spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely
grave. We found that it is fatal. For when harboring such feelings
we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity
of alcohol returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to
die."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 66~
~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Let us consider the term "spiritual experience" as given in Appendix II of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. "A spiritual experience is something that brings about a personality change. By surrendering our lives to God as we understand Him, we are changed. The nature of this change is evident in recovered alcoholics. This personality change is not necessarily in the nature of a sudden and spectacular upheaval. We do not need to acquire an immediate and overwhelming God consciousness, followed at once by a vast change in feeling and outlook. In most cases, the change is gradual." Do I see a gradual and continuing change in myself?

Meditation for the Day

"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." For rest from the care of life, you can turn to God each day in prayer and communion. Real relaxation and serenity come from a deep sense of the fundamental goodness of the universe. God's everlasting arms are underneath all and will support you. Commune with God, not so much for petitions to be granted as for the rest that comes from relying on His will and His purposes for your life. Be sure of God's strength available to you, be conscious of His support, and wait quietly until that true rest from God fills your being.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be conscious of God's support today. I pray that I may rest safe and sure therein.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012