Thoughts For The Day~*~Sponsor ^*^*^*^*^ May 18, 2014

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

"If we are fooling ourselves,
a competent adviser can see this quickly.
And, as he skillfully guides us away from our fantasies,
we are surprised to find that we have few
of the usual urges to defend ourselves
against unpleasant truths.
In no other way can fear, pride,
and ignorance be so readily melted.
After a time, we realize that we are standing firm
on a brand-new foundation for integrity,
and we gratefully credit our sponsors,
whose advice pointed the way."

Bill W., Box 1980: The AA Grapevine, August 1961.
As Bill Sees It, p. 248

Thought to Consider . . .

A recovering alcoholic without a sponsor is much like leaving Dracula in charge of the blood bank.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C A R D S =
Call your sponsor,
Ask for help from your Higher Power,
Read the Big Book,
Do the Twelve Steps,
Stay active in your group.

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

Roles

From "Action and Patience":

"I heard that we can't keep what we have unless we give it away. And so I found a woman someone a little newer than I was and I shared with her what you had shared with me. Looking back on it, I doubt that I helped this woman very much, but I helped myself beyond measure. I stayed sober, day by day, through sharing my experience, strength, and hope with her, through putting action into the A.A. program while, at the same time, waiting for her, not forcing my action on her. This was patience supporting the action, though I didn't call it patience at the time; the word was not a part of my emotional vocabulary."

1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30^th printing 2004, pg. 42

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
FREEDOM TO BE ME

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.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.  83

My first true freedom is the freedom not to have to take a drink today.  If I truly want it, I will work the Twelve Steps and the happiness of this freedom will come to me through the Steps -- sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly.  Other freedoms will follow, and inventorying them is a new happiness.  I had a new freedom today, the freedom to be me.  I have the freedom to be the best me I have ever been.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Two Roads for the Oldtimer

The founders of many groups ultimately divide into two classes known in A.A. slang as "elder statesmen" and "bleeding deacons."

The elder statesman sees the wisdom of the group's decision to run itself and holds no resentment over his reduced status. His judgment, fortified by considerable experience, is sound; he is willing to sit quietly on the side lines patiently awaiting developments.

The bleeding deacon is just as surely convinced that the group cannot get along without him. He constantly connives for re-election to office and continues to be consumed with self-pity. Nearly every oldtimer in our Society has gone through this process in some degree. Happily, most of them survive and live to become elder statesmen. They become the real and permanent leadership of A.A.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 135

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"The minute we put our work on a service plane, the alcoholic
commences to rely upon our assistance rather than upon God. He
clamors for this or that, claiming he cannot master alcohol until
his material needs are cared for. Nonsense. 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, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 98~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

We're in A.A. for two main reasons: to keep sober ourselves and to help others to keep sober. It's a well known fact that helping others is a big part of keeping sober yourself It's also been proved that it's very hard to keep sober all by yourself. A lot of people have tried it and failed. They come to a few A.A. meetings and then stay sober alone for a few months, but usually they eventually get drunk. Do I know that I can't stay sober successfully alone?

Meditation for the Day

Look by faith into that place beyond space or time where God dwells and whence you came and to which you shall eventually return. "Look unto Him and be saved." To look beyond material things is within the power of everyone's imagination. Faith's took saves you from despair. Faith's look saves you from worry and care. Faith's took brings a peace beyond all understanding. Faith's look brings you all the strength you need. Faith's look gives you a new and vital power and a wonderful peace and serenity.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may have faith's look. I pray that by faith I may look beyond the now to eternal life.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Fear^*^*^*^*^ May 17, 2014

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

"This short word somehow touches
about every aspect of our lives.
It was an evil and corroding thread;
the fabric of our existence was shot through with it.
It set in motion trains of circumstances which
brought us misfortune we felt we didn't deserve.
But did not we, ourselves, set the ball rolling?
Sometimes we think fear
ought to be classed with stealing.
It seems to cause more trouble."
Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 67-8.

Thought to Consider . . .

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows,
but only empties today of its strength.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
F E A R = Forever Escaping And Retreating

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

 

Literature

From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"My elation was disturbed by disquieting thoughts. Suppose our embryo book were someday to become the chief text for our fellowship. Our principal written asset would then be owned by an outside publisher, a fine and conservative one surely, but nevertheless an outsider.

"Soon afterward, one of the most terrific power-drivers I have ever met got into the act. This was my friend Henry P., one-time Standard Oil executive and the very first alcoholic ever to stay sober even a little while in the New York group. ¦'Why don't we put this proposed book on a business basis and form a stock company? Let's sell shares to our own folks right here in New York.' . . .

"I went back to [Harper's Editor and A.A. friend] Gene Exman and frankly explained to him what was about to happen. To my utter amazement, he agreed, quite contrary to his own interest, that a society like ours ought to control and publish its own literature."

 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pgs. 154-55

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
. . .  AND FORGIVE

Under very trying conditions I have had, again and again, to forgive others -- also myself.

AS BILL SEES IT, p.  268

Forgiveness of self and forgiveness of others are just two currents in the same river, both hindered or shut off completely by the dam of resentment.  Once that dam is lifted, both currents can flow.  The Steps of A.A. allow me to see how resentment has built up and subsequently blocked off this flow in my life.  The Steps provide a way by which my resentments may -- by the grace of God as I understand Him -- be lifted.  It is as a result of this solution that I can find the necessary grace which enables me to forgive myself and others.

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

Fear somehow touched about every aspect of our lives. It was an evil and corroding thread; the fabric of our existence was shot through with it.
It set in motion trains of circumstances which brought us misfortune we felt we didn't deserve. But did not we often set the ball rolling ourselves?

***  ***

The problem of resolving fear has two aspects. We shall have to try for all the freedom from fear that is possible for us to attain. Then we shall need to find both the courage and the grace to deal constructively with whatever fears remain.

1. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 67-68
2. GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1962

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Next we launched out on a course of vigorous action, the first step
of which is a personal housecleaning, which many of us had never
attempted. Though our decision was a vital and crucial step, it
could have little permanent effect unless at once followed by a
strenuous effort to face, and to be rid of, the things in ourselves
which had been blocking us. Our liquor was but a symptom. So we had
to get down to causes and conditions.

Therefore, we started upon a personal inventory. This was Step Four."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 63~


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

A lot of well-meaning people treat alcoholics like the priest and the Levite. They pass by on the other side by scorning them and telling them what low people they are, with no willpower. Whereas, they really have fallen for alcohol, in the same way as the man in the story fell among robbers. And the member of A.A. who is working with others is like the Good Samaritan. Am I moved with compassion? Do I take care of another alcoholic whenever I can?

Meditation for the Day

I must constantly live in preparation for something better to come. All of life is a preparation for something better. I must anticipate the morning to come. I must feet, in the night of sorrow, that understanding joy that tells of confident expectation of better things to come. "Sorrow may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Know that God has something better in store for you, as long as you are making yourself ready for it. All your existence in this world is a training for a better life to come.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that when life is over, I will return to an eternal, space-less life with God. I pray that I may make this life a preparation for a better life to come.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 5501 2

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Martyrdom ^*^*^*^*^ May 16, 2014

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

"Self-pity is one of the most unhappy and
consuming defects that we know.
It is a bar to all spiritual progress
and can cut off all effective communication
with our fellows
because of its inordinate demands
for attention and sympathy.
It is a maudlin form of martyrdom,
which we can ill afford."

Bill W., Letter, 1966
As Bill Sees It, p. 238

Thought to Consider . . .

I can't have a better tomorrow
if I am thinking about yesterday all the time.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
PEACE
Praying Energetically Always Creates Ease

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

Real

From "Because I'm an Alcoholic":

"A.A. is my home now, and it is everywhere. I go to meetings when I travel here or in foreign countries, and the people are family I can know because of what we share. As I write this, in my twenty-eighth year of sobriety, I am amazed to look back and remember the woman or child. I was then, to see how far I've come out of that abyss. Alcoholics Anonymous has enabled me to move from fantasies about what I might do with my life into living it, one day at a time."

2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 346

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
WE FORGIVE

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 STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.  58

What a great feeling forgiveness is!  What a revelation about my emotional, psychological and spiritual nature.  All it takes is willingness to forgive; God will do the rest.

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

The moment we ponder a twisted or broken relationship with another person, our emotions go on the defensive. To escape looking at the wrongs we have done another, we resentfully focus on the wrong he has done us. Triumphantly we seize upon his slightest misbehavior as the perfect excuse for minimizing or forgetting our own.

Right here we need to fetch ourselves up sharply. Let's remember that alcoholics are not the only ones bedeviled by sick emotions. In many instances we are really dealing with fellow sufferers, people whose woes we have increased.

If we are about to ask forgiveness for ourselves, why shouldn't we start out by forgiving them, one and all?

TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 78
Copyright 1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Faith without works was dead, he said. And how appallingly true for
the alcoholic! For if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his
spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could
not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead. If he did not
work, he would surely drink again, and if he drank, he would surely
die. Then faith would be dead indeed. With us it is just like that."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 14~

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

In the story of the Good Samaritan, the wayfarer fell among robbers and was left lying in the gutter, half dead. And a priest and a Levite both passed by on the other side of the road. But the Good Samaritan was moved with compassion and came to him and bound up his wounds and brought him to an inn and took care of him. Do I treat another alcoholic like the priest and the Levite or like the Good Samaritan?

Meditation for the Day

Never weary in prayer. When one day you see how unexpectedly your prayer has been answered, then you will deeply regret that you have prayed so little. Prayer changes things for you. Practice praying until your trust in God has become strong. And then pray on, because it has become so much a habit that you need it daily. Keep praying until prayer seems to become communion with God. That is the note on which true times of prayer should end.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may form the habit of daily prayer. I pray that I may find the strength I need, as a result of this communion.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Conflict ^*^*^*^*^ May 15, 2014

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

"My conflicts went right on mounting
because I was simply loaded with excuses and refusals.
When these troubles had finally exhausted me enough,
there was yet another escape.
I would commence to wallow in the bog of guilt.
Here pride and rebellion would give way to depression.
My main theme always was, 'How god-awful I am.'
There was never a decent regret for the harms I had done,
nor was there any serious thought of making such
restitution as I could.
The idea of asking God's forgiveness,
let alone any forgiveness of myself,
never occurred to me.
My really big liability - spiritual pride and arrogance-
was not examined at all.
I had shut out the light by which I might have seen it."
Bill W., The Language of the Heart, p. 257-8

Thought to Consider . . .

Simply asking for help seems to be a help in itself.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
HOW
Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness: that's how we do it

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

Disease

From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"We know of course that the alcoholic is a sick person. That is a very simple phrase. It is today a phrase that is widely and generally accepted, and yet you and I know that it was not so long ago that the alcoholic was regarded as a nuisance, a pest, a person who could snap out of it if he really wanted to. He was regarded as a spoiled brat and a no-good. Today we know that he is an individual who is sick, and we know that he is sick in an area of which our understanding is perhaps the least of any area in medicine, namely, illness of the emotions. â€Å" Dr. W.W. Bauer, 1955"

2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 239

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
KNOW GOD; KNOW PEACE

It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. . . . But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.age  66

Know God;
Know peace. 
No God;
No peace.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
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~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
A.A.'s School of Life

Within A.A., I suppose, we shall always quarrel a good bit. Mostly, 1 think, about how to do the greatest good for the greatest number of drunks. We shall have our childish spats and snits over small questions of money management and who is going to run our groups for the next six months. Any bunch of growing children (and that is what we are ) would hardly be in character if they did less.

These are the growing pains of infancy, and we actually thrive on them. Surmounting such problems, in A.A.'s rather rugged school of life, is a healthy exercise.

A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 233
Copyright 1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Much to our relief, we discovered we did not need to consider
another's conception of God. Our own conception, however inadequate,
was sufficient to make the approach and to effect a contact with
Him. As soon as we admitted the possible existence of a Creative
Intelligence, a Spirit of the Universe underlying the totality of
things, we began to be possessed of a new sense of power and
direction, provided we took other simple steps."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 46~


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

In A.A. we find a new strength and peace from the realization that there must be a Power greater than ourselves that is running the universe and that is on our side when we live a good life. So the A.A. program really never ends. You begin by overcoming drink and you go on from there to many new opportunities for happiness and usefulness. Am I really enjoying the full benefits of A.A.?

Meditation for the Day

"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." We should not seek material things first, but seek spiritual things first and material things will come to us, as we honestly work for them. Many people seek material things first and think they can then grow into knowledge of spiritual things. You cannot serve God and Mammon at the same time. The first requisites of an abundant life are the spiritual things: honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love. Until you have these qualities, quantities of material things are of little real use to YOU.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may put much effort into acquiring spiritual things. I pray that I may not expect good things until I am right spiritually.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Awakening ^*^*^*^*^ May 14, 2014

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

"Alcoholism is a grievous and often fatal malady
of the mind and body.
We have found that these awful conditions invariably
bring on the third phase of our malady.
This is the sickness of the spirit;
a sickness for which there must necessarily
be a spiritual remedy.
We AA's recognize this in the first five words
of Step Twelve.
Those words are:
'Having had a spiritual awakening...'
Here we name the remedy for our threefold sickness
of body, mind, and soul."
Bill W., The Language of the Heart, p. 297

Thought to Consider . .

"When the spiritual malady is overcome,
we straighten out mentally and physically."

Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 64
.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
P R O G R A M 
  People Relying On God Relaying A Message.

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

Sabotage

"From "Tightrope":

"After a few years, I was a nightly blackout drinker. My lover drank heavily as well, and I began to compare my drinking with his. I argued to myself that I could not have a problem because his drinking was worse than mine at times. In fact, I suggested that he might try A.A. When he did try this Fellowship, I did all I could to undermine his efforts to get sober  his recovery would present an obvious, if unacknowledged, threat to my drinking. Eventually, the stress became too much and we broke up, but not before I had succeeded in undermining his recovery."

2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 361

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
IT'S OKAY TO BE ME

Time after time newcomers have tried to keep to themselves certain facts about their lives.  .  .  .  they have turned to easier methods . . . But they had not learned enough humility . . . 

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp.  72-73

Humility sounds so much like humiliation, but it really is the ability to look at myself --  and honestly accept what I find.  I no longer need to be the "smartest" or "dumbest" or any other "est."  Finally, it is okay to be me.  It is easier for me to accept myself if I share my whole life.  If I cannot share in meetings, then I had better have a sponsor -- someone with whom I can share those "certain facts" that could lead me back to a drunk, to death.  I need to take all the Steps.  I need the Fifth Step to learn true humility.  Easier methods do not work.

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

How often do we sit in A.A. meetings and hear the speaker declare, "But I haven't yet got the spiritual angle." Prior to this statement, he has described a miracle of transformation which has occurred in him - not only his release from alcohol, but a complete change in his whole attitude toward life and the living of it.

It is apparent to everyone else present that he has received a great gift, and that this gift is all out of proportion to anything that may be expected from simple A.A. participation. So we in the audience smile and say to ourselves, "Well, that guy is just reeking with the spiritual angle - except that he doesn't seem to know it yet!"

GRAPEVINE, JULY 1962
Copyright1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Everybody knows that those in bad health, and those who seldom play, do not laugh much. So let each family play together or separately as much as their circumstances warrant. We are sure God wants us to be
happy, joyous, and free."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 132~

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

Having gotten over drinking, we have only just begun to enjoy the benefits of A.A. We find new friends, so that we are no longer lonely. We find new relationships with our families, so that we are happy at home. We find release from our troubles and worries through a new way of looking at things. We find an outlet for our energies in helping other people. Am I enjoying these benefits of A.A.?

Meditation for the Day

The kingdom of heaven is within you. God sees, as no one can see, what is within you. He sees you growing more and more like Himself. That is your reason for existence, to grow more and more like God, to develop more and more the spirit of God within you. You can often see in others those qualities and aspirations that you yourself possess. So also can God recognize His own spirit in you. Your motives and aspirations can only be understood by those who have attained the same spiritual level as you have.
Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not expect complete understanding from others. I pray that I may only expect this from God, as I try to grow more like Him.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012 

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