Thoughts For The Day~*~Balance ^*^*^ September 20

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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  /AA\
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Balance

"Most of us must admit that we have loved but a few; that we have been indifferent to the many so long as none of them gave us trouble; and as for the remainder -- well, we have really disliked or hated them. Although these attitudes are common enough, we AA's find we need something much better in order to keep our balance. We can't stand it if we hate deeply. The idea that we can be possessively loving of a few, and can continue to fear or hate anybody, has to be abandoned, if only a little at a time."
c. 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pp. 92-3
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Thought to Consider . . .

Bigotry disfigures the heart.

*~*AACRONYMS*~*

F A I T H =  Facing All In Trusting Him

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 

Publicity

From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"In September, 1939, the Liberty [magazine] piece hit the newsstands. It was a bit lurid, and we thought the title, 'Alcoholics and God,' would scare off plenty of prospects. Maybe it did, but several hundred alcoholics and their families were not scared. Liberty magazine received 800 urgent pleas for help, which were promptly turned over to [office manager] Ruth and me [Bill W.]. She wrote fine personal letters to every one of them, enclosing a leaflet which described the A.A. book. The response was wonderful [sic] Several hundred books sold at once at full retail price of $3.50. Even more importantly, we struck up a correspondence with alcoholics, their friends, and their families all over the country. Ruth could at last draw a few dollars a week for herself. And all those moving appeals for assistance had made us forget our own troubles. Looking after all those new people by mail and relating [sic] them in some cases to each other and in others to the groups in Akron, New York, and Cleveland became our chief occupation until early 1940. Shortly after the Liberty article came out, Cleveland's Plain Dealer ran its great series of pieces, as already described. This brought in new book orders and new problems by scores. Alcoholics Anonymous was on the march, out of its infancy into adolescence."
2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 178

*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*

H.P. AS GUIDE

See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for us.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 164

Having a right relationship with God seemed to be an impossible order.  My chaotic past had left me filled with guilt and remorse and I wondered how this "God business" could work.  A.A. told me that I must turn my will and my life over to the care of God, as I understand Him.  With nowhere else to turn, I went down on my knees and cried, "God, I can't do this. Please help me!"  It was when I admitted my powerlessness that a glimmer of light began to touch my soul, and then a willingness emerged to let God control my life.  With Him as my guide, great events began to happen, and I found the beginning of sobriety.
Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*

Fear and Faith

The achievement of freedom from fear is a lifetime undertaking, one that can never be wholly completed.
When under heavy attack, acute illness, or in other conditions of serious insecurity, we shall all react to this emotion - well or badly, as the case may be. Only the self-deceived will claim perfect freedom from fear.
<<<>>>
We finally saw that faith in some kind of God was a part of our make-up. Sometimes we had to search persistently, but He was there. He was as much a fact as we were. We found the Great Reality deep down within us.
1. GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1962 - 2. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 55

*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*

"Yes, there is a substitute and it is vastly more than that. It is a fellowship in Alcoholics Anonymous. There you will find release from care, boredom and worry. Your imagination will be fired. Life will mean something at last. The most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 152~~

*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*

A.A. Thought for the Day

Step Four is, "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." Step Five is, "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." Step Six is, "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." Step Seven is, "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." Step Ten is, "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it." In taking a personal inventory, we have to be absolutely honest with ourselves and with other people. Have I taken an honest inventory of myself?

Meditation for the Day

God is good. You can often tell whether or not a thing is of God. If it is of God, it must be good. Honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love are all good, unselfish helpfulness is good, and these things all lead to the abundant life. Leave in God's hands the present and the future, knowing only that He is good. The hand that veils the future is the hand of God. He can bring order out of chaos, good out of evil, and peace out of turmoil. We can believe that everything really good comes from God and that He shares His goodness with us.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may reach out for the good. I pray that I may try to choose the best in life.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Working With Others ^*^*^ September 19

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (AA/   )
(    /AA\ )
   /AA\
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Working With Others

"Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends - this is an experience you must not miss. We know you will not want to miss it."
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 89
^*^*^*^*^
Thought to Consider . . .

Sobriety is a choice and a treasure.

*~*AACRONYMS*~*

H E A R T =  Healing, Enjoying, And Recovering, Together

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

 

Re-examination

From: "Educated Agnostic"  

That was with me the beginning of a new life. It would be difficult, if not impossible, for me to put into words the change that has taken place in me. I have since learned that with many members the change has been almost instantaneous. This was not the case with me. I was tremendously inspired at first, but my basic thinking was not altered that evening nor did I expect any profound change. I felt that while the spiritual aspect of what these men had was not for me, I did believe strongly in the emphasis they put on the need to help others. I felt that if I could have the inspiration of these gatherings and if I could have an opportunity to try to help others that the two together would reinforce my own will power and thus be of tremendous assistance. But gradually, in a manner I cannot explain, I began to re-examine the beliefs I had thought beyond criticism. Almost imperceptibly my whole attitude toward life underwent a silent revolution. I lost many worries and gained confidence. I found myself saying and thinking things that a short time ago I would have condemned as platitudes! A belief in the basic spirituality of life has grown and with it belief in a supreme and guiding power for good.  2003, AAWS, Inc., Experience, Strength & Hope - Stories from the first three editions of Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 106-107

*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*

ACCEPTANCE

We admitted we couldn't lick alcohol with our own remaining resources, and so we accepted the further fact that dependence upon a Higher Power (if only our A.A. group) could do this hitherto impossible job. The moment we were able to accept these facts fully, our release from the alcohol compulsion had begun.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 109

Freedom came to me only with my acceptance that I could turn my will and my life over to the care of my Higher Power, whom I call God. Serenity seeped into the chaos of my life when I accepted that what I was going through was life, and that God would help me through my difficulties--and much more, as well. Since then He has helped me through all of my difficulties! When I accept situations as they are, not as I wish them to be, then I can begin to grow and have serenity and peace of mind.
Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*

Individual Responsibilities

Let us emphasize that our reluctance to fight one another, or anybody else, is not counted as some special virtue which entitles us A.A.'s to feel superior to other people. Nor does this reluctance mean that the members of A.A. are going to back away from their individual responsibilities as citizens. Here they should feel free to act as they see the right upon the public issues of our times. But when it comes to A.A. as a whole, that's quite a different matter. As a group we do not enter into public controversy, because we are sure that our Society will perish if we do.
TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 177

*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*

"Let no alcoholic say he cannot recover unless he has his family back. This just isn't so. In some cases the wife will never come back for one reason or another. Remind the prospect that his recovery is not dependent upon people. It is dependent upon his relationship with God. We have seen men get well whose families have not returned at all. We have seen others slip when the family came back too soon."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 99~

*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*

A.A. Thought for the Day

Let us continue with Steps Two, Three, and Eleven. We must turn to a Higher Power for help, because we are helpless ourselves. When we put our drink problem in God's hands and leave it there, we have made the most important decision of our lives. From then on, we trust God for the strength to keep sober. This takes us off the center of the universe and allows us to transfer our problems to a Power outside ourselves. By prayer and meditation, we seek to improve our conscious contact with God. We try to live each day the way we believe God wants us to live. Am I trusting God for the strength to stay sober?

Meditation for the Day

"These things have I spoken unto you, that your joy may be full." Even a partial realization of the spiritual life brings much joy. You feel at home in the world when you are in touch with the Divine Spirit of the universe. Spiritual experience brings a definite satisfaction. Search for the real meaning of life by following spiritual laws. God wants you to have spiritual success and He intends that you have it. If you live your life as much as possible according to spiritual laws, you can expect your share of joy and peace, satisfaction and success.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I will find happiness in doing the right thing. I pray that I will find satisfaction in obeying spiritual laws.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Fellowship ^*^*^ September 18

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Fellowship
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"Today, I'm counting my blessings instead of my troubles. When I walked into the friendly atmosphere of my first AA meeting, I knew I was where I belonged. Here were people who had thought and felt as I had. Here was the understanding I'd been searching for all my life. These people were my friends, and I felt their sincere interest in me. With these new and enlightening doors opening up to me, I was able to make the eventual decision to stop drinking, a day at a time -- because I, too, was an alcoholic. And with this came the only real freedom, the freedom of truth."
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 355
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Thought to Consider . . .

If you love someone, tell them now. Eternity is time enough for silence.

*~*AACRONYMS*~*

C A R E =  Comforting And Reassuring Each other

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

Camel Metaphor

From: "As Dr. Bob said"  

According to Ed, Dr. Bob would explain prayer by telling how the camels in a caravan would kneel down in the evening, and the men would unload their burdens. In the morning, they would kneel down again, and the men would put the burdens back on. It's the same with prayer, Dr. Bob said. We get on our knees to unload at night. And in the morning when we get on our knees again, God gives us just the load we are able to carry for that day.  1980, AAWS, Inc., DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, page 229

*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*

LOVED BACK TO RECOVERY

Our whole treasured philosophy of self-sufficiency had to be cast aside. This had not been done with old-fashioned willpower; it was instead a matter of developing the willingness to accept these new facts of living.  We neither ran nor fought.  But accept we did.  And then we were free.
BEST OF THE GRAPEVINE, Vol. 1, p. 198

I can be free of my old enslaving self.  After a while I recognize, and believe in, the good within myself.  I see that I have been loved back to recovery by my Higher Power, who envelops me.  My Higher Power becomes that source of love and strength that is performing a continuing miracle in me.  I am sober . . . and I am grateful.
Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*

"Fearless and Searching"

My self-analysis has frequently been faulty. Sometimes I've failed to share my defects with the right people; at other times, I've confessed their defects, rather than my own; and at still other times, my confession of defects has been more in the nature of loud complaints about my circumstances and my problems.
<<<>>>
When A.A. suggests a fearless moral inventory, it must seem to every newcomer that more is being asked of him than he can do. Every time he tries to look within himself, Pride says, "You need not pass this way," and Fear says, "You dare not look!" But pride and fear of this sort turn out to be bogeymen, nothing else. Once we have a complete willingness to take inventory, and exert ourselves to do the job thoroughly, a wonderful light falls upon this foggy scene. As we persist, a brand-new kind of confidence is born, and the sense of relief at finally facing ourselves is indescribable.
1. GRAPEVINE, JUNE 1958 - 2. TWELVE AND TWELVE, pp. 49-50

*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*

"Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends - this is an experience you
must not miss."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 89~

*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*

A.A. Thought for the Day

Step Two is, "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." Step Three is, "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." Step Eleven is, "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out." The fundamental basis of A.A. is a belief in some Power greater than ourselves. Let us not take this lightly. We cannot fully get the program without this venture of belief. Have I made the venture of belief in a Power greater than my own?

Meditation for the Day

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Dwell for a moment each day in a secret place, the place of communion with God, apart from the world, and thence receive strength to face the world. Material things cannot intrude upon this secret place, they cannot ever find it, because it is outside the realm of material things. When you abide in this secret place, you are under the shadow of the Almighty. God is close to you in this quiet place of communion. Each day, dwell for a while in this secret place.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may renew my strength in quietness. I pray that I may find rest in quiet communion with God.
From Twenty-Four Hours a Day  1975 by Hazelden Foundation.

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Restraint ^*^*^ September 17

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
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Restraint
^*^*^*^*^
"Our first objective will be the development of self-restraint. This carries a top priority rating. When we speak or act hastily or rashly, the ability to be fair-minded and tolerant evaporates on the spot. One unkind tirade or one willful snap judgment can ruin or relation with another person for a whole day, or maybe a whole year. Nothing pays off like restraint of tongue and pen."
c. 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 91
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Thought to Consider . . .

The tongue must be heavy indeed, because so few people can hold it.

*~*AARONYMS*~*

H A L T =  Honestly, Actively, Lovingly, Tolerant

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

Found the Door

From: "Twice-Gifted"  

My physical being has certainly undergone a transformation, but the major transformation has been spiritual. The hopelessness has been replaced by abundant hope and sincere faith. The people of Alcoholics Anonymous have provided a haven where, if I remain aware and keep my mind quiet long enough, my Higher Power leads me to amazing realizations. I find joy in my daily life, in being of service, in simply being. I have found rooms full of wonderful people, and for me each and every one of the Big Book's promises have come true. The things that I have learned from my own experience, from the Big Book, and from my friends in AA - patience, acceptance, honesty, humility, and true faith in a Power greater than myself - are the tools I use today to live my life, this precious life.  

Today my life is filled with miracles big and small, not one of which would ever have come to pass had I not found the door of Alcoholics Anonymous. 
2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 475

*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*

FREEDOM FROM FEAR

When, with God's help, we calmly accepted our lot, then we found we could live at peace with ourselves and show others who still suffered the same fears that they could get over them, too. We  found that freedom from fear was more important than freedom from want.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 122

Material values ruled my life for many years during my active alcoholism.  I believed that all of my possessions would make me happy, yet I still felt bankrupt after I obtained them.  When I first came into A.A., I found out about a new way of living.  As a result of learning to trust others, I began to believe in a power greater than myself.  Having faith freed me from the bondage of self.  As material gains were replaced by the gifts of the spirit, my life became manageable.  I then chose to share my experiences with other alcoholics.
Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*

Inward Reality

It is being constantly revealed, as mankind studies the material world, that its outward appearance is not inward reality at all. The prosaic steel girder is a mass of electrons whirling around each other at incredible speed, and these tiny bodies are governed by precise laws. Science tells us so. We have no reason to doubt it. When, however, the perfectly logical assumption is suggested that, infinitely beyond the material world as we see it, there is an all powerful, guiding, creative Intelligence, our perverse streak comes to the surface and we set out to convince ourselves that this isn't so. Were our contention true, it would follow that life originated out of nothing, means nothing, and proceeds nowhere.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 48-49

*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*

"If we were to live, we had to be free of anger. The grouch and the brainstorm were not for us. They may be the dubious luxury of normal men, but for alcoholics these things are poison."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 66~

*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*

A.A. Thought for the Day

Step One is, "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol-that our lives had become unmanageable." This step states the membership requirement of A.A. We must admit that our lives are disturbed. We must accept the fact that we are helpless before the power of alcohol. We must admit that we are licked as far as drinking is concerned and that we need help. We must be willing to accept the bitter fact that we cannot drink like normal people. And we must make, as gracefully as possible, a surrender to the inevitable fact that we must stop drinking. Is it difficult for me to admit that I am different from normal drinkers?

Meditation for the Day

"Show us the way, O' Lord, and let us walk in Thy paths." There seems to be a right way to live and a wrong way You can make a practical test. When you live the right way, things seem to work out well for you. When you live the wrong way, things seem to work out badly for you. You seem to take out of life about what you put into it. if you disobey the laws of nature, the chances are that you will be unhealthy. If you disobey the spiritual and moral laws, the chances are that you will be unhappy. By following the laws of nature and the spiritual laws of honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love, you can expect to be reasonably healthy and happy.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may try to live the right way. I pray that I may follow the path that leads to a better life.

 Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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