Thoughts For The Day~*~Affirmation! ^*^*^*^*^ November 17, 2013

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

"Taking advantage of technological advances, for example,
AA members with computers
can participate in meetings online,
sharing with fellow alcoholics across the country
or around the world.
Fundamentally, though, the difference between
an electronic meeting and the home group around the corner
is only one of format. 
In any meeting, anywhere, AA's share experience,
strength, and hope with each other,
in order to stay sober and help other alcoholics. 
Modem-to-modem or face-to-face,
AA's speak the language of the heart
in all its power and simplicity."
c. 2001AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, Foreword to Fourth Edition, p. xxiv

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Thought to Consider . . .

AA is where "we" make miracles.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O P E =  Happy Our Program Exists.

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

Baffling Feature

From: "More About Alcoholism"  

For those who are unable to drink moderately the question is how to stop altogether. We are assuming, of course, that the reader desires to stop. Whether such a person can quit upon a nonspiritual basis depends upon the extent to which he has already lost the power to choose whether he will drink or not. Many of us felt that we had plenty of character. There was a tremendous urge to cease forever. Yet we found it impossible. This is the baffling feature of alcoholism as we know it - this utter inability to leave it alone, no matter how great the necessity or the wish.  

2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 34

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
OVERCOMING LONELINESS

Almost without exception, alcoholics are tortured by loneliness.  Even before our drinking got bad and people began to cut us off,  nearly all of us suffered the feeling that we didn't quite belong.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 90

The agonies and the void that I often felt inside occur less and less frequently in my life today.  I have learned to cope with solitude.  It is only when I am alone and calm that I am able to communicate with God, for He cannot reach me when I am in turmoil.  It is good to maintain contact with God at all times, but it is absolutely essential that, when everything seems to go wrong, I maintain that contact through prayer and meditation.

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

As the doubter tries the process of prayer, he should begin to add up the results. If he persists, he will almost surely find more serenity, more tolerance, less fear, and less anger. He will acquire a quiet courage, the kind that isn't tension-ridden. He can look at "failure" and "success" for what these really are. Problems and calamity will begin to mean his instruction, instead of his destruction. He will feel freer and saner.
The idea that he may have been hypnotizing himself by auto-suggestion will become laughable. His sense of purpose and of direction will increase. His anxieties will commence to fade. His physical health will be likely to improve. Wonderful and unaccountable things will start to happen. Twisted relations in his family and on the outside will improve surprisingly.

GRAPEVINE, JUNE 1958
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Putting out of our minds the wrongs others had done, we resolutely
looked for our own mistakes. Where had we been selfish, dishonest,
self-seeking and frightened? Though a situation had not been entirely
our fault, we tried to disregard the other person involved entirely.
Where were we to blame? The inventory was ours, not the other man's.
When we saw our faults we listed them. We placed them before us in
black and white. We admitted our wrongs honestly and were willing to
set these matters straight."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 67~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Everyone has two personalities, a good and a bad. We are all dual personalities to some extent. When we were drinking, the bad personality was in control. We did things when we were drunk that we would never do when we were sober. When we sober up, we are different people. Then we wonder how we could have done the things we did. But we drink again, and again our bad side comes out. So we are back and forth, always in conflict with our other selves, always in a stew. This division of our selves is not good; we must somehow become unified. We do this by giving ourselves wholeheartedly to A.A. and to sobriety. Have I become unified?

Meditation for the Day

"Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of Thy Lord." These words are for many ordinary people whom the world may pass by, unrecognizing. Not to the world-famed, the proud, the wealthy, are these words spoken, but to the quiet followers who serve God unobtrusively yet faithfully, who bear their crosses bravely and put a smiling face to the world. "Enter into the joy of Thy Lord." Pass into that fuller spiritual life, which is a life of joy and peace.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not desire the world's applause. I pray that I may not seek rewards for doing what I believe is right.

 

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Meditation ^*^*^*^*^ November 16, 2013

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

"We liked AA all right,
and were quick to say that it had done miracles.
But we recoiled from meditation and prayer
as obstinately as the scientist who refused to perform
a certain experiment lest it prove his pet theory wrong.
Of course, we finally did experiment,
and when unexpected results followed, we felt different;
in fact we knew different;
and so were sold on meditation and prayer.
And that, we have found, can happen to anybody who tries.
It has been said that 'almost the only scoffers at prayer
are those who never tried it enough.' "
c. 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 97
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Thought to Consider . . .

Meditation means trusting the silence around me for a while,
as if it were an answer I had long sought.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
F A I T H  =  Finding Answers In The Heart

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

Caring

From "Brothers in Our Defects":

"The identification that one alcoholic has with another is mysterious, spiritual  almost incomprehensible. But it is there. I 'feel' it. Today I feel that I can help people and that they can help me.

"It is a new and exciting feeling for me to care for someone; to care what they are feeling, hoping for, praying for; to know their sadness, joy, horror, sorrow, grief; to want to share those feelings so that someone can have relief."

1990 AAWS, Inc.; Daily Reflections, pg. 118

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A DAILY REPRIEVE

What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.   

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 85

Maintaining my spiritual condition is like working out every day, planning for the marathon, swimming laps, jogging.  It's staying in good shape spiritually, and that requires prayer and meditation.  The single most important way for me to improve my conscious contact with a Higher Power is to pray and meditate.  I am as powerless over alcohol as I am to turn back the waves of the sea; no human force had the power to overcome my alcoholism.  Now I am able to breathe the air of joy, happiness and wisdom.  I have the power to love and react to events around me with the eyes of a faith in things that are not readily apparent.  My daily reprieve means that, no matter how difficult or painful things appear today, I can draw on the power of the program to stay liberated from my cunning, baffling and powerful illness.

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

Most people try to live by self-propulsion. Each person is like an actor who wants to run the whole show and is forever trying to arrange the lights, 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.
What usually happens? The show doesn't come off very well. Admitting he may be somewhat at fault, he is sure that other people are more to blame. He becomes angry, indignant, self-pitying.
Is he not really a self-seeker even when trying to be useful? Is he not a victim of the delusion that he can wrest satisfaction and happiness out of this world if he only manages well?

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 60-61
*~*~*~*~*^ 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

I have gotten rid of most of my inner conflicts. I was always at war with myself I was doing things that I did not want to do. I was waking up in strange places and wondering how I got there. I was full of recklessness when I was drunk and full of remorse when I was sober. My life didn't make sense. It was full of broken resolves and frustrated hopes and plans. I was getting nowhere fast. No wonder my nerves were all shot. I was bumping up against a blank wall and I was dizzy from it. A.A. taught me how to get organized and to stop fighting against myself. Have I gotten rid of inner conflicts?

Meditation for the Day

"When two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them." The spirit of God comes upon His followers when they are all together at one time, in one place, and with one accord. When two or three consecrated souls are together at a meeting place, the spirit of God is there to help and guide them. Where any sincere group of people are together, reverently seeking the help of God, His power and His spirit are there to inspire them.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be in accord with the members of my group. I pray that I may feel the strength of a consecrated group.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Pain ^*^*^*^*^ November 15, 2013

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 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Pain

"Though I still find it difficult to accept
today's pain and anxiety with any great degree of serenity
-- as those more advanced in the spiritual life
seem able to do --
I can give thanks for present pain nevertheless.
I find the willingness to do this
by contemplating the lessons learned from past suffering
-- lessons which have led to the blessings I now enjoy.
I can remember how the agonies of alcoholism,
the pain of rebellion and thwarted pride,
have often led me to God's grace, and so to a new freedom."
Bill W., Grapevine, March 1962
c. 1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 266
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Thought to Consider . . .

Joy isn't the absence of pain -- it's the presence of God.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A B C =  Acceptance, Belief, Change

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

Wrong

From "When A.A. Came of Age":

"After a long interval we heard from the promoter. He wrote, 'You told us that outside enterprises can be fine and very helpful. But you also said that they could not be mixed with A.A. I figured that they could be, and should be. Well, you folks at Headquarters were right and I was wrong.'

"With his letter, the promoter sent us a card, which he had already mailed to every group in the United States. It was folded like a golf score card, and on the outside was printed, 'Group so-and-so, place so-and-so. Rule No. 62.' When the card was unfolded a single pungent sentence met the eye: 'Don't take yourself too damned seriously.'"

2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 104

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
VITAL SUSTENANCE

Those of us who have come to make regular use of prayer would no more do without it than we would refuse air, food, or sunshine.  And for the same reason.  When we refuse air, light or food, the  body suffers.  And when we turn away from meditation and prayer, we likewise deprive our minds, our emotions, and our intuitions of vitally needed support.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS p. 97

Step Eleven doesn't have to overwhelm me.  Conscious contact with God can be as simple, and as profound, as conscious contact with another human being.  I can smile.  I can listen.  I can forgive.  Every encounter with another is an opportunity for prayer, for acknowledging God's presence within me.

Today I can bring myself a little closer to my Higher Power.  The more I choose to seek the beauty of God's work in other people, the more certain of His presence I will become.

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

Many people wonder how A.A. can function under a seeming anarchy. Other societies have to have law and force and sanction and punishment, administered by authorized people. Happily for us, we found that we need no human authority whatever. We have two authorities which are far more effective. One is benign, the other malign.
There is God, our Father, who very simply says, "I am waiting for you to do my will." The other authority is named John Barleycorn, and he says, "You had better do God's will or I will kill you."

<<<>>>

The A.A. Traditions are neither rules, regulations, nor laws. We obey them willingly because we ought to and because we want to. Perhaps the secret of their power lies in the fact that these life-giving communications spring out of living experience and are rooted in love.

1. A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 105 - 2. A.A. TODAY, p. 11
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"We never apologize to anyone for depending upon our Creator. We can
laugh at those who think spirituality the way of weakness.
Paradoxically, it is the way of strength. The verdict of the ages is
that faith means courage. All men of faith have courage. They trust
their God. We never apologize for God. Instead we let Him
demonstrate, through us, what He can do. We ask Him to remove our
fear and direct our attention to what He would have us be. At once,
we commence to outgrow fear."

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

I am less sensitive and my feelings are less easily hurt. I no longer take myself so seriously. It didn't used to take much to insult me, to feel that I had been slighted or left on the outside. What happens to me now is not so important. One cause of our drinking was that we couldn't take it, so we escaped the unpleasant situation. We have learned to take it on the chin if necessary and smile. When I am all wrapped up in A.A., I do not notice the personal slights so much. They do not seem to matter so much. I have learned to laugh at self-pity because it's so childish. Am I less sensitive?

Meditation for the Day

God's miracle-working power is as manifest today as it was in the past. It still works miracles of change in lives and miracles of healing in twisted minds. When a person trusts wholly in God and leaves to Him the choosing of the day and hour, there is God's miracle-working power becoming manifest in that persons life. So we can trust in God and have boundless faith in His power to make us whole again, whenever He chooses.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may feel sure that there is nothing that God cannot accomplish in changing my life. I pray that I may have faith in His miracle-working power.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Sanity^*^*^*^*^ November 14, 2013

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

"My actions drunk or sober, before AA,
were not those of a sane person.
My desire to be honest with myself made it necessary
for me to realize that my drinking was irrational.
It had to be, or I could not have justified
my erratic behavior as I did.
I've been benefited from a dictionary definition I found
that reads: 'rationalization is giving
a socially acceptable reason for
socially unacceptable behavior,
and socially unacceptable behavior is a form of insanity."
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 550-1
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Thought to Consider . . .

Let the lunatic out of the attic.

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

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

Balance Today's Books

From: "Yesterday's Baggage"  

For the wise have always known that no one can make much of his life until self-searching becomes a regular habit, until he is able to admit and accept what he finds, and until he patiently and persistently tries to correct what is wrong.

Twelve and Twelve, page 88  

I have more than enough to handle today, without dragging along yesterday's baggage too. I must balance today's books, if I am to have a chance tomorrow. So I ask myself if I have erred and how I can avoid repeating that particular behavior. Did I hurt anyone, did I help anyone, and why? Some of today is bound to spill over into tomorrow, but most of it need not if I make an honest daily inventory.  

1990, AAWS, Inc., Daily Reflections, page 287

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
INTUITION AND INSPIRATION

. . . we ask God for inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. We relax and take it easy. We don't struggle.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 86

I invest my time in what I truly love.  Step Eleven is a discipline that allows me and my Higher Power to be together, reminding me that, with God's help, intuition and inspiration are possible.  Practice of the Step brings on self-love.  In a consistent attempt to improve my conscious contact with a Higher Power, I am subtly reminded of my unhealthy past, with its patterns of grandiose thinking and false feelings of omnipotence.  When I ask for the power to carry out God's will for me, I am made aware of my powerlessness.  Humility and a healthy self-love are compatible, a direct result of working Step Eleven.

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

Through the vital Fifth Step, we began to get the feeling that we could be forgiven, no matter what we had thought or done.
Often it was while working on this Step with our sponsors or spiritual advisers that we first felt truly able to forgive others, no matter how deeply we felt they had wronged us.
Our moral inventory had persuaded us that all-round forgiveness was desirable, but it was only when we resolutely tackled Step Five that we inwardly knew we'd be able to receive forgiveness and give it, too.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, pp. 57-58
*~*~*~*~*^ 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

A better way than judging people is to look for au the good in them. if you look hard enough and long enough, you ought to be able to find some good in every person. In A.A. I learned that my job was to try to bring out the good, not criticize the bad. Every alcoholic is used to being judged and criticized. That has never helped anyone to get sober. In A.A. we tell people they can change. We try to bring out the best in them. We encourage their good points and ignore their bad points. People are not converted by criticism. Do I look for the good in people?

Meditation for the Day

There must be a design for the world in the mind of God. We believe His design for the world is a universal fellowship of men and women under the fatherhood of God. The plan for your life must also be in the mind of God. In times of quiet meditation you can seek for God's guidance, for the revealing of God's plan for your day. Then you can live this day according to that guidance. Many people are not making of their lives what God meant them to be, and so they are unhappy. They have missed the design for their lives.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may try to follow God's design for today. I pray that I may have the sense of Divine Intent in what I do today.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Spiritual Life ^*^*^November 13, 2013

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~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Spiritual Life
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"The spiritual life is not a theory.
We have to live it.
Unless one's family expresses a desire to live upon
spiritual principles
we think we ought not to urge them.
We should not talk incessantly to them about spiritual matters.
They will change in time.
Our behavior will convince them more than our words.
We must remember that ten or twenty years
of drunkenness would make a skeptic out of anyone."

Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 83, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Thought to Consider . . .

Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
P A C E =Positive Attitudes Change Everything

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

Unconditional

From: "Getting our of the "if trap" 

But then, after a sober while, for some of us there comes a time when - plop! - a new discovery slaps us in the face. That same old eiffy thinking habit of our tippling days has, without our seeing it, attached itself to not drinking. Unconsciously, we have placed conditions on our sobriety. We have begun to think sobriety is just fine - if everything goes well, or if nothing goes askew.  

In effect, we are ignoring the biochemical, unchangeable nature of our ailment. Alcoholism respects no ifs. It does not go away, not for a week, for a day, or even for an hour, leaving us nonalcoholic and able to drink again on some special occasion or for some extraordinary reason - not even if it is a once-in-a-lifetime celebration, or if a big sorrow hits us, or if it rains in Spain or the stars fall on Alabama. Alcoholism is for us unconditional, with no dispensations available at any price.  

1998, AAWS, Inc., Living Sober, page 63

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
LOOKING OUTWARD

We ask especially for freedom from self-will, and are careful to make no requests for ourselves only. We may ask for ourselves, however, if others will be helped.  We are careful never to pray for our own selfish ends.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 87

As an active alcoholic, I allowed selfishness to run rampant in my life.  I was so attached to my drinking and other selfish habits that people and moral principles came second.  Now, when I pray for the good of others rather than my "own selfish ends," I practice a discipline in letting go of selfish attachments, caring for my fellows and preparing for the day when I will be required to let go of all earthly attachments.

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

Vision is, I think, the ability to make good estimates, both for the immediate and for the more distant future. Some might feel this sort of striving to be heresy against "One day at a time." But that valuable principle really refers to our mental and emotional lives and means chiefly that we are not foolishly to repine over the past nor wishfully to daydream about the future.
As individuals and as a fellowship, we shall surely suffer if we cast the whole job of planning for tomorrow onto a fatuous idea of providence. God's real providence has endowed us human beings with a considerable capability for foresight, and He evidently expects us to use it. Of course, we shall often miscalculate the future in whole or in part, but that is better than to refuse to think at all.

TWELVE CONCEPTS, p. 41
*~*~*~*~*^ 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

Who am I to judge other people? Have I proved by my great success in life that I know all the answers? Exactly the opposite. Until I came into A.A., my life could be called a failure. I made all the mistakes one could make. I took all the wrong roads there were to take' On the basis of my record, am I a fit person to be a judge of other people? Hardly. In A.A. I have learned not to judge people. I am so often wrong. Let the results of what they do judge them. It's not up to me, Am I less harsh in my judgment of people?

Meditation for the Day

In our time of meditation, we again seem to hear: "Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Again and again we seem to hear God saying this to us. "Come unto me" for the solution of every problem, for the overcoming of every temptation, for the calming of every fear, for all our needs, physical, mental, or spiritual, but mostly, "come unto me" for the strength we need to live with peace of mind and the power to be useful and effective.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may go to God today for those things that I need to help me live. I pray that I may find real peace of mind.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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