Thoughts For The Day~*~ Daily Reprieve^*^*^*^*^ May 22, 2007

 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Daily Reprieve

"It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action
and rest on our laurels.
We are headed for trouble if we do,
for alcohol is a subtle foe.
We are not cured of alcoholism.
What we really have is a daily reprieve
contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition."
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 85

Thought to Consider . . .

The road to recovery is always under construction.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
ACTION
Any Change Toward Improving One's Nature

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

Fear

Step Five: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

"So intense, though, is our fear and reluctance to do this that many A.A.'s at first try to bypass Step Five. We search for an easier way—which usually consists of the general and fairly painless admission that when drinking we were sometimes bad actors. Then, for good measure, we add dramatic descriptions of that part of our drinking behavior which our friends probably know about anyhow.

"But of the things which really bother and burn us, we say nothing."

© 1952, AAWS, Inc.; Printed 2005; Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pgs. 55-56

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
STEP ONE

WE . . . (The first word of the First Step)

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 21

When I was drinking all I could ever think about was "I, I, I," or "Me, Me, Me." Such painful obsession of self, such soul sickness, such spiritual selfishness bound me to the bottle for more than half my life.

The journey to find God and to do His will one day at a time began with the first word of the First Step . . . "We." There was power in numbers, there was strength in numbers, there was safety in numbers, and for an alcoholic like me, there was life in numbers. If I had tried to recover alone I probably would have died. With God and another alcoholic I have a divine purpose in my life . . . I have become a channel for God's healing love.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
God-Given Instincts

Creation gave us instincts for a purpose. Without them we wouldn't be complete human beings. If men and women didn't exert themselves to be secure in their persons, made no effort to harvest food or construct shelter, there would be no survival. If they didn't reproduce, the earth wouldn't be populated. If there were no social instinct, there would be no society.
Yet these instincts, so necessary for our existence, often far exceed their proper functions. Powerfully, blindly, many times subtly, they drive us, dominate us, and insist upon ruling our lives.
<<<>>>
We tried to shape a sane ideal for our future sex life. We subjected each relation to this test: Was it selfish or not? We asked God to mold our ideals and help us to live up to them. We remembered always that our sex powers were God-given and therefore good, neither to be used lightly or selfishly nor to be despised and loathed.

1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, P. 42
2. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 69

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"But life among Alcoholics Anonymous is more than attending
gatherings and visiting hospitals. Cleaning up old scrapes, helping
to settle family differences, explaining the disinherited son to his
irate parents, lending money and securing jobs for each other, when
justified—these are everyday occurrences. No one is too
discredited or has sunk too low to be welcomed cordially—if he means business."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 161~



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

What impresses us most at an A.A. meeting is the willingness to share, without holding anything back. And pretty soon we find ourselves sharing also. We start telling our own experiences and by so doing we help the other person. And when we've got these things off our chest, we feel a lot better. It does us a lot of good to share with some other poor unfortunate person who's in the same box that we were in. And the more we share, the more we have left for ourselves. Do I know that the more I share, the better chance I'll have to stay sober?

Meditation for the Day

Constantly claim God's strength. Once convinced of the right of a course of action, once reasonably sure of God's guidance, claim that strength now. You can claim all the strength you need to meet any situation. You can claim a new supply when your own supply is exhausted. You have a right to claim it and you should use your right. A beggar supplicates, a child appropriates. When you supplicate, you are often kept waiting, but when you appropriate God's strength in a good cause, you have it at once.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may claim God's strength whenever I need it. I pray that I may try to live as a child of God.

©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Defiance ^*^*^*^*^ May 21, 2007

 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Defiance
"'As psychiatrists have often observed,
defiance is the outstanding characteristic of
many an alcoholic.
When we encountered AA,
the fallacy of our defiance was revealed.
At no time had we asked what God's will was for us;
instead we had been telling Him what it ought to be.
No man, we saw,
could believe in God and defy Him, too.
Belief meant reliance, not defiance.
In AA we saw the fruits of this belief:
men and women spared from alcohol's final catastrophe.'"

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 31

Thought to Consider . . .

While it isn't always easy, if I keep it simple, it works.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
SIT
Stay In Today

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

 Illness

From "How It Works":

"We realized that the people who wronged us were perhaps spiritually sick. Though we did not like their symptoms and the way these disturbed us, they, like ourselves, were sick too. We asked God to help us show them the same tolerance, pity, and patience that we would cheerfully grant a sick friend. When a person offended we said to ourselves, 'This is a sick man. How can I be helpful to him? God save me from being angry. Thy will be done.'"

© 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 66-67

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A LIST OF BLESSINGS

One exercise that I practice is to try for a full inventory of my blessings.  .  .  .

AS BILL SEES IT, p.  37

What did I have to be grateful for?  I shut myself up and started listing the blessings for which I was in no way responsible, beginning with having been born of sound mind and body.  I went through seventy-four years of living right up to the present moment.  The list ran to two pages, and took two hours to compile; I included health, family, money, A.A.-- the whole gamut.

Every day in my prayers, I ask God to help me remember my list, and to be grateful for it throughout the day.  When I remember my gratitude list, it's very hard to conclude that God is picking on me.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
"Restore Us to Sanity"

Few indeed are the practicing alcoholics who have any idea how irrational they are, or, seeing their irrationality, can bear to face it. For example, some will be willing to term themselves "problem drinkers," but cannot endure the suggestion that they are in fact mentally ill.
They are abetted in this blindness by a world which does not understand the difference between sane drinking and alcoholism. "Sanity" is defined as "soundness of mind." Yet no alcoholic, soberly analyzing his destructive behavior, whether the destruction fell on the dining-room furniture or his own moral fiber, can claim "soundness of mind" for himself.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 32-33

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Men and women drink essentially because they like the effect
produced by alcohol. The sensation is so elusive that, while they
admit it is injurious, they cannot after a time differentiate the
true from the false. To them, their alcoholic life seems the only
normal one. They are restless, irritable and discontented, unless
they can again experience the sense of ease and comfort which comes
at once by taking a few drinks—drinks which they see others
taking with impunity."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Doctor's Opinion, pg. xxviii~

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

One of the finest things about A.A. is the sharing. Sharing is
a wonderful thing because the more you share the more you have.
in our old drinking days, we didn't do much sharing. We used to
keep things to ourselves, partly because we were ashamed, but
mostly because we were selfish. And we were very lonely because
we didn't share. When we came into A.A., the first thing we found
was sharing. We heard other alcoholics frankly sharing their
experiences with hospitals, jails, and all the usual mess that
goes with drinking. Am I sharing.?

Meditation for the Day

Character is developed by the daily discipline of duties done.
Be obedient to the heavenly vision and take the straight way. Do
not fall into the error of calling "Lord, Lord," and doing not
the things that should be done. You need a life of prayer and
meditation, but you must still do your work in the busy ways of
life. The busy person is wise to rest and wait patiently for
God's guidance. If you are obedient to the heavenly vision, you
can be at peace.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be obedient to the heavenly vision. I pray if
I fall, I will pick myself up and go on.

©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Communicate ^*^*^*^*^ May 20, 2007

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

"From the beginning,
communication in AA has been no ordinary transmission
of helpful ideas and attitudes.
It has been unusual and sometimes unique.
Because of our kinship in suffering,
and because our common means of deliverance
are effective for ourselves only when
constantly carried to others,
our channels of contact have always been charged with
the language of the heart."

Bill W., July 1960
©1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 243
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Thought to Consider . . .

To help each other, is to help ourselves.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
Y A N A = You Are Not Alone

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 

Promises

From "Taking Action:"

 

"One of the most important things A.A. has given me, in addition to freedom from booze, is the ability to take 'right action.'  It says the promises will ALWAYS materialize if I WORK for them.  Fantasizing about them, debating them, preaching about them and faking them just won't work.  I'll remain a miserable, rationalizing dry drunk.  By taking action and working the Twelve Steps in all my affairs, I'll have a life beyond my wildest dreams."

 

c. 1990, Daily Reflections, page 54

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
ONE DAY AT A TIME

Above all, take it one day at a time.

AS BILL SEES IT, p.11

Why do I kid myself that I must stay away from a drink for only one day, when I know perfectly well I must never drink again as long as I live? I am not kidding myself because one day at a time is probably the only way I can reach the long-range objective of staying sober.

If I determine that I shall never drink again as long as I live, I set
myself up. How can I be sure I won't drink when I have no idea what the future may hold?

On a day-at-a-time basis, I am confident I can stay away from a drink for one day. So I set out with confidence. At the end of the day, I have the reward of achievement. Achievement feels good and that makes me want more!

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

More than most people, the alcoholics leads a double life. He is very much the actor. To the outer world he presents his stage character. This is the one he likes his fellows to see. He wants to enjoy a certain reputation, but knows in his heart he doesn't deserve it.
<<<>>>
Guilt is really the reverse side of the coin of pride. Guilt aims at
self-destruction, and pride aims at the destruction of others.
<<<>>>
"The moral inventory is a cool examination of the damages that occurred to us during life and a sincere effort to look at them in a true perspective. This has the effect of taking the ground glass out of us, the emotional substance that still cuts and inhibits."

1. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 73
2. GRAPEVINE, JUNE 1961
3. LETTER, 1957

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"I suppose some would be shocked at our seeming worldliness and
levity. But just underneath there is deadly earnestness. Faith has
to work twenty-four hours a day in and through us, or we perish."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 16~

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

If we get up in a meeting and tell something about ourselves
in order to help the other person, we feel a whole lot better.
It's the old law of the more you give the more you get.
Witnessing and confession are part of keeping sober. You
never know when you may help somebody. Helping others is one
of the best ways to stay sober yourself And the satisfaction
you get out of helping a fellow human being is one of the
finest experiences you can have. Am I helping others?

Meditation for the Day

Without God, no real victory is ever won. All the military
victories of great conquerors have passed into history. The
world might be better off without military conquerors. The
real victories are won in the spiritual realm. "He that
conquers himself is greater than he who conquers a city."
The real victories are victories over sin and temptation,
leading to a victorious and abundant life. Therefore, keep
a brave and trusting heart. Face all your difficulties in
the spirit of conquest. Remember that where God is, there
is the true victory.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that the forces of evil in my life will flee before
God's presence. I pray that with God I will win the real
victory over myself.

©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©

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