Thoughts For The Day~*~^*^*^*^*^ Foundation ^*^*^*^*^ October 14, 2006

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

"Taking this book down from our shelf
we turn to the page which contains the twelve steps.
Carefully reading the first five proposals
we ask if we have omitted anything,
for we are building an arch through which
we shall walk free at last.
Is our work solid so far?
Are the stones properly in place?
Have we skimped on the cement put into the foundation?
Have we tried to make mortar without sand?"
c.1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 75
^*^*^*^*^

Thought to Consider . . .

This day I choose to spend in perfect peace.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
G R A C E  =  Gently Releasing All Conscious Expectations

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

Practice

From "Reaching for Humility:"

 

"We first reach for a little humility, knowing that
we shall perish of alcoholism if we do not.  After
a time, though we may still rebel somewhat, we
commence to practice humility because this is
the right thing to do.  Then comes the day when,
finally freed in large degree from rebellion, we
practice humility because we deeply want it
as a way of life."

 

c. 1967, As Bill Sees It, page 211

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A PROGRAM FOR LIVING

When we retire at night, we constructively review our day. . . . On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. . . . Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest and self-seeking motives.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 86

I lacked serenity.  With more to do than seemed possible, I fell  further behind, no matter how hard I tried.  Worries about things not done yesterday and fear of tomorrow's deadlines denied me the calm I needed to be effective each day.  Before taking Steps Ten and Eleven, I began to read passages like the one cited above.  I tried to focus on God's will, not my problems, and to trust that He would manage my day.  It worked!  Slowly, but it worked!
©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Aspects of Spirituality

"Among A.A.'s there is still a vast amount of mix-up respecting what is material and what is spiritual. I prefer to believe that it is all a matter of motive. If we use our worldly possessions too selfishly, then we are materialists. But if we share these possessions in helpfulness to others, then the material aids the spiritual."

<<<>>>

"The idea keeps persisting that the instincts are primarily bad and are the roadblocks before which all spirituality falters. I believe that the difference between good and evil is not the difference between spiritual and instinctual man; it is the difference between proper and improper use of the instinctual. Recognition and right channeling of the instinctual are the essence of achieving wholeness."

1. LETTER, 1958 - 2. LETTER, 1954
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Step Eleven suggests prayer and meditation. We shouldn't be shy
on this matter of prayer. Better men than we are using it constantly."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 85

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

How big a part of my life is A.A. ? Is it just one of my activities and a small one at that? Do I only go to A.A. meetings now and then and sometimes never go at all? Do I think of A.A. only occasionally? Am I reticent about mentioning the subject of A.A. to people who might need help? Or does A.A. fill a large part of my life? Is it the foundation of my whole life? Where would I be without A.A.? Does everything I have and do depend on my A.A. foundation? Is A.A. the foundation on which I build my life?

Meditation for the Day

Lay upon God your failures and mistakes and shortcomings. Do not dwell upon your failures, upon the fact that in the past you have been nearer a beast than an angel. You have a mediator between you and God - your growing faith - which can lift you up from the mire and point you toward the heavens. You can still be reconciled with the spirit of God. You can still regain your harmony with the Divine Principle of the universe.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not let the beast in me hold me back from my spiritual destiny. I pray that I may rise and walk upright.

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

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Acceptance ^*^*^*^*^ October 13, 2006

 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
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Acceptance
"And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today.
When I am disturbed,
it is because I find some person, place, thing, situation --
some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me,
and I can find no serenity until I accept
that person, place, thing, or situation
as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.
Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in God's world by mistake.
Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober;
unless I accept life completely on life's terms,
I cannot be happy.
I need to concentrate not so much
on what needs to be changed in the world
as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition p. 417
Copyright © 1976 A.A.W.S. Inc.

Thought to Consider . . .

Acceptance is not submission;
it is acknowledgment of the facts of a situation,
then deciding what you're going to do about it.

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

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

Opportunity

 From "The Opening to the Spiritual World":

"With the guidance of the program and the encouragement and examples within the Fellowship, I could begin to find out about myself and be prepared to accept what I found. I learned in the Fellowship that if others could accept me and love me as I was, then I should love myself as I was – not for what I was, but for what I could become. So I have learned a little about my mind and about my will and about my emotions and passions." – El Cerrito, California

© 1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, pg. 3

 *~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
UNREMITTING INVENTORIES

Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and
fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We
discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if
we have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn our thoughts to
someone we can help.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84

The immediate admission of wrong thoughts or actions is a tough
task for most human beings, but for recovering alcoholics like me
it is difficult because of my propensity toward ego, fear and
pride. The freedom the A.A. program offers me becomes more
abundant when, through unremitting inventories of myself, I
admit, acknowledge and accept responsibility for my wrong-doing.
It is possible then for me to grow into a deeper and better
understanding of humility. My willingness to admit when the
fault is mine facilitates the progression of my growth and
helps me to become more understanding and helpful to others.

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

We began to see that the world and its people had really dominated us. Under that unhappy condition, the wrongdoing of others, fancied or real, had power to actually kill us, because we could be driven back to drink through resentment. We saw that these resentments must be mastered, but how? We could not wish them away.
This was our course: We realized that the people who wronged us were perhaps spiritually sick. So we asked God to help us show them the same tolerance, pity, and patience that we would cheerfully grant a sick friend.
Today, we avoid retaliation or argument. We cannot treat sick people that way. If we do, we destroy our chance of being helpful. We cannot be helpful to all people, but at least God will show us how to take a kindly and tolerant view of each and every one.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 66-67

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"...we have ceased fighting anything or anyone even alcohol."

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

Am I still on a "free ride" in A.A.?  Am I all get and no give? 
Do I go to meetings and always sit in the back row and let others
do all the work?  Do I think it's enough just because I'm sober and
can rest on my laurels?  If so, I haven't gone very far in the
program, nor am I getting nearly enough of what it has to offer. 
I will be a weak member until I get in there and help carry the load. 
I must eventually get off the bench and get into the game. I'm not
just a spectator; I'm supposed to be one of the team. Do I go in
there and carry the ball?

Meditation For The Day

Try to be thankful for whatever vision you have. Try to perform, in
the little things, faithful service to God and others.  Do your small
part every day in a spirit of service to God.  Be a doer of God's
word, not a hearer only. In your daily life try to keep faith with
God. Every day brings a new opportunity to be of some use. Even when
you are tempted to rest or let things go or to evade the issue, make
it a habit to meet the issue squarely as a challenge and not to hold back.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may perform each task faithfully. I pray that I may meet
each issue of life squarely and not hold back.

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

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Helpfulness ^*^*^*^*^ October 12, 2006

 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Helpfulness
"Your job now is to be at the place where you may be
of maximum helpfulness to others,
so never hesitate to go anywhere if you can be helpful.
You should not hesitate to visit the most sordid spot on earth
on such an errand.
Keep on the firing line of life with these motives
and God will keep you unharmed."
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 102.
Thought to Consider . . .

We in AA don't carry the alcoholic; we carry the message.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O P E = Help Open People's Eyes

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

Welcome

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

Father Ed Dowling of the Roman Catholic Jesuit order "had boldly written in effect to all alcoholics and especially those of his own faith: 'Folks, A.A. is good. Come and get it.' And this they certainly had done. His first written words were the beginning of a wonderfully benign influence in favor of our fellowship, the total of which no one will ever be able to compute."

© 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pgs. 37-38

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
CURBING RASHNESS

When we speak or act hastily or rashly, the ability to be fair-minded and tolerant evaporates on the spot.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 91

Being fair-minded and tolerant is a goal toward which I must work daily.   I ask God, as I understand Him, to help me to be loving and tolerant to my loved ones, and to those with whom I am in close contact.   I ask for guidance to curb my speech when I am agitated, and I take a moment to reflect on the emotional upheaval my words may cause, not only to someone else, but also to myself.   Prayer, meditation and inventories are the key to sound thinking and positive action for me.

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

The alarming thing about pride-blindness is the ease with which it is justified. But we need not look far to see that self-justification is a universal destroyer of harmony and of love. It sets man against man, nation against nation. By it, every form of folly and violence can be made to look right, and even respectable.

<<<>>>

It would be a product of false pride to claim that A.A. is a cure-all, even for alcoholism.

1. GRAPEVINE, JUNE 1961 - 2. A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 232
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"If there be divorce or separation, there should be no undue haste
for the couple to get together. The man should be sure of his
recovery. The wife should fully understand his new way of life. If
their old relationship is to be resumed it must be on a better basis,
since the former did not work. This means a new attitude and spirit
all around. Sometimes it is to the best interests of all concerned
that a couple remain apart. Obviously, no rule can be laid down.
Let the alcoholic continue his program day by day. When the time for
living together has come, it will be apparent to both parties."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, Working With Others, Page 99
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought For The Day

Am I still on a "free ride" in A.A.?  Am I all get and no give?   Do I go to meetings and always sit in the back row and let others do all the work?   Do I think it's enough just because I'm sober and can rest on my laurels?   If so, I haven't gone very far in the program, nor am I getting nearly enough of what it has to offer.   I will be a weak member until I get in there and help carry the load.   I must eventually get off the bench and get into the game.   I'm not just a spectator; I'm supposed to be one of the team.   Do I go in there and carry the ball?

Meditation For The Day

Try to be thankful for whatever vision you have.   Try to perform, in the little things, faithful service to God and others.   Do your small part every day in a spirit of service to God.   Be a doer of God's word, not a hearer only.   In your daily life try to keep faith with God.   Every day brings a new opportunity to be of some use.   Even when you are tempted to rest or let things go or to evade the issue, make it a habit to meet the issue squarely as a challenge and not to hold back.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may perform each task faithfully.   I pray that I may meet each issue of life squarely and not hold back.

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

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Trouble ^*^*^*^*^ October 11, 2006

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

"In AA, we learned that trouble was really a fact of life for everybody--
a fact that had to be understood and dealt with.
Surprisingly, we found that our troubles could,
under God's grace, be converted into unimagined blessings.
Indeed, that was the essence of AA itself:
trouble accepted, trouble squarely faced with calm courage,
trouble lessened and often transcended.
This was the AA story, and we became a part of it.
Such demonstrations became our stock in trade
for the next sufferer."
Bill W., Letter, 1966
As Bill Sees It, p. 110
Copyright © 1967 A.A.W.S. Inc.
Thought to Consider . . .

God enters us through our wounds.

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

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

Belonging

From "Flooded with Feeling":

"Halfway through the meeting I had the strangest idea. People were introducing themselves as alcoholics, and I had the urge to do the same. This was peculiar because I wasn't, of course. Later, my friend asked me what I thought of the meeting. I said that I didn't really know. It was only much later I realized that for the first time in years, I felt that I belonged."

© 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 371-72

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
SELF-RESTRAINT

Our first objective will be the development of self-restraint.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 91

My drive to work provides me with an opportunity for self-examination. One day while making this trip, I began to review my progress in sobriety, and was not happy with what I saw. I hoped that, as the work day progressed, I would forget these troublesome thoughts, but as one disappointment after another kept coming, my discontent only increased, and the pressures within me kept mounting.

I retreated to an isolated table in the lounge, and asked myself how I could make the most of the rest of the day. In the past, when things went wrong, I instinctively wanted to fight back. But during the short time I had been trying to live the A.A. program I had learned to step back and take a look at myself. I recognized that, although I was not the person I wanted to be, I had learned to not react in my old ways. Those old patterns of behavior only brought sorrow and hurt, to me and to others. I returned to my work station, determined to make the day a productive one, thanking God for the chance to make progress that day.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Faith - a Blueprint - and Work

"The idea of "twenty-four-hour living" applies primarily to the emotional life of the individual. Emotionally speaking, we must not live in yesterday, nor in tomorrow.
"But I have never been able to see that this means the individual, the group, or A.A. as a whole should give no thought whatever to how to function tomorrow or even in the more distant future. Faith alone never constructed the house you live in. There had to be a blueprint and a lot of work to bring it into reality.
"Nothing is truer for us of A.A. than the Biblical saying "Faith without works is dead." A.A.'s services, all designed to make more and better Twelfth Step work possible, are the "works" that insure our life and growth by preventing anarchy or stagnation."

LETTER, 1954
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"We have seen the truth demonstrated again and again: 'Once an
alcoholic, always an alcoholic.' Commencing to drink after a period
of sobriety, we are in a short time as bad as ever."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 33
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

How good a sponsor am I? When I bring new members to a meeting, do
I feel that my responsibility has ended? Or do I make it my job to
stay with them until they have either become good members of A.A.
or have found another sponsor? If they don't show up for a meeting,
do I say to myself. "Well, they've had it put up to them, so if
they don't want it, there's nothing more I can do"? Or do I look
them up and find out whether there is a reason for their absences
or that they don't want A.A.? Do I go out of my way to find out if
there is anything more I can do to help? Am I a good sponsor?

Meditation for the Day

"First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your
gift to God." First I must get right with other people and then I
can get right with God. if I hold a resentment against someone,
which I find it very difficult to overcome, I should try to put
something else constructive into my mind. I should pray for the
one against whom I hold the resentment. I should put that person
in God's hands and let God show him or her the way to live. "if a
man say: 'I love God' and hateth his brother, he is a liar, for he
that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God
whom he hath not seen?"

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may see something good in every person, even one I
dislike, and that I may let God develop the good in that person.

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

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