Thoughts For The Day~*~Steps & Traditions^*^*^*^*^ February 21, 2009

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\  ~~~ /)
(   \(AA)/  )
(_   /AA\ _)
   /AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Steps & Traditions
AA's Twelve Steps are a group of principles,
spiritual in their nature, which, if practiced as a way of life,
can expel the obsession to drink
and enable the sufferer to become
happily and usefully whole.
AA's Twelve Traditions apply to the life
of the Fellowship itself.
They outline the means by which AA maintains its unity
and relates itself to the world about it,
the way it lives and grows.
c. 1952 AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,  p. 15
^*^*^*^*^

Thought to Consider . . .

The Steps protect me from myself;
the Traditions protect AA from me.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
T R U S T  =  Teaching Recovery Using Steps and Traditions.

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

Publications

From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"The year 1944 brought a vital development. In New York City a few literary and newsminded A.A.'s began to issue a monthly publication.  They called their magazine the Grapevine. It was by no means the first local A.A. bulletin or magazine. The Cleveland Central Bulletin, the Los Angeles Eye-Opener, and several others had preceded it. But the Grapevine caught on nationally.

"After the first few months it encountered a strange kind of difficulty. It turned out that the FBI for a long time had published a [news]sheet called the Grapevine  devoted to keeping FBI men up to date. Things were finally ironed out when we began to call our monthly magazine the A.A. Grapevine. With this minor difficulty overcome, our Grapevine grew and grew."

2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pgs. 201-02

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
I'M PART OF THE WHOLE

At once, I became a part -- if only a tiny part -- of a cosmos. . . .

AS BILL SEES IT, p.  225

When I first came to A.A., I decided that "they" were very nice people -- perhaps a little naive, a little too friendly, but basically decent, earnest people (with whom I had nothing in common).  I saw "them" at meetings-after all, that was where "they" existed.  I shook hands with "them" and, when I went out the door, I forgot about "them."

Then one day my Higher Power, whom I did not then believe in, arranged to create a community project outside of A.A., but one which happened to involve many A.A. members.  We worked together, I got to know "them" as people.  I came to admire "them," even to like "them" and, in spite of myself, to enjoy "them."  "Their" practice of the program in their daily lives -- not just in talk at meetings -- attracted me and I wanted what they had.  Suddenly the "they" became "we." I have not had a drink since.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
To Guard Against a Slip

Suppose we fall short of our chosen ideals and stumble? Does this mean we are going to get drunk? Some people tell us so. But this is only a half-truth.
It depends on us and on our motives. If we are sorry for what we have done, and have the honest desire to let God take us to better things, we believe we will be forgiven and will have learned our lesson. If we are not sorry, and our conduct continues to harm others, we are quite sure to drink. These are facts out of our experience.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 70
Copyright 1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit entirely,
or if when drinking, you have little control over the amount you take,
you are probably alcoholic. If that be the case, you may be
suffering from an illness which only a spiritual experience will
conquer."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 44~
~
*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

I go to the A.A. meetings because it helps me in my business of keeping sober. And I try to help other alcoholics when I can, because that's part of my business of keeping sober. I also have a partner in this business and that's God. I pray to Him every day to help me to keep sober. As long as I keep in mind that liquor can never be my friend again, but is now my deadly enemy, and as long as I remember that my main business is keeping sober and that it's the most important thing in my life. I believe, I'll be prepared for that crucial moment when the idea of having a drink pops into my mind. When that idea comes, will I be able to resist it and not take that drink.? 
 

Meditation for the Day

I will be more afraid of spirit-unrest, of soul-disturbance, of any ruffling of the mind, than of earthquake or fire. When I feel the calm of my spirit has been broken by emotional upset, then I must steal away alone with God, until my heart sings and all is strong and calm again. Uncalm times are the only times when evil can find an entrance. I win beware of unguarded spots of unrest. I will try to keep calm, no matter what turmoil surrounds me.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that no emotional upsets will hinder God's power in my life. I pray that I may keep a calm spirit and a steady heart.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

---

You can't always choose whom you love, but you can choose how to find them. Start with AOL Personals.

Thoughts For The Day~*~Control^*^*^*^*^ February 20, 2009

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\  ~~~ /)
(   \(AA)/  )
(_   /AA\ _)
   /AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Control
At a certain point in the drinking of every alcoholic,
he passes into a state where
the most powerful desire to stop drinking
is of absolutely no avail.
This tragic situation has already arrived
in practically every case long before it is suspected.
c. 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 24
^*^*^*^*^

Thought to Consider . . .

When a person tries to control their drinking
they have already lost control.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O W   N O W  =  Honest Open-minded, Willing.  No Other Way!

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

Unity

From "The Vicious Cycle":

"At that time [1938] the group in New York was composed of about twelve men who were working on the principle of every drunk for himself; we had no real formula and no name. We would follow one man's ideas for a while, decide he was wrong, and switch to another's method. But we were staying sober as long as we kept and talked together. There was one meeting a week at Bill [W]'s home in Brooklyn, and we all took turns there spouting off about how we had changed our lives overnight, how many drunks we had saved and straightened out, and last but not least, how God had touched each of us personally on the shoulder. Boy, what a circle of confused idealists! Yet we all had one really sincere purpose in our hearts, and that was not to drink."

2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 227

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER

        At this juncture, his A.A. sponsor usually laughs.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.  26

Before my recovery from alcoholism began, laughter was one of the most painful sounds I knew.  I never laughed and I felt that anyone else's laughter was directed at me!  My self-pity and anger denied me the simplest of pleasures or lightness of heart.  By the end of my drinking not even alcohol could provoke a drunken giggle in me.

When my A.A. sponsor began to laugh and point out my self-pity and ego-feeding deceptions, I was annoyed and hurt, but it taught me to lighten up and focus on my recovery.  I soon learned to laugh at myself and eventually I taught those I sponsor to laugh also.  Every day I ask God to help me stop taking myself too seriously.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
The Coming of Faith

In my own case, the foundation stone of freedom from fear is that of faith: a faith that, despite all worldly appearances to the contrary, causes me to believe that I live in a universe that makes sense.
To me, this means a belief in a Creator who is all power, justice, and love; a God who intends for me a purpose, a meaning, and a destiny to grow, however little and haltingly, toward His own likeness and image. Before the coming of faith I had lived as an alien in a cosmos that too often seemed both hostile and cruel. In it there could be no inner security for me.

<<<>>>

"When I was driven to my knees by alcohol, I was made ready to ask for the gift of faith. And all was changed. Never again, my pains and problems notwithstanding, would I experience my former desolation. I saw the universe to be lighted by God's love; I was alone no more."

1. GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1962 - 2. LETTER, 1966
Copyright 1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"We are like men who have lost their legs; they never grow new ones.
Neither does there appear to be any kind of treatment which will
make alcoholics of our kind like other men. We have tried every
imaginable remedy. In some instances there has been brief recovery,
followed always by a still worse relapse. Physicians who are
familiar with alcoholism agree there is no such thing as making a
normal drinker out of an alcoholic. Science may one day accomplish
this, but it hasn't done so yet."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 30~
*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Liquor used to be my friend. I used to have a lot of fun drinking. Practically all the fun I had was connected with drinking. But the time came when liquor became my enemy. I don't know just when liquor turned against me and became my enemy, but I know it happened, because I began to get into trouble. And since I realize that liquor is now my enemy, my main business is keeping sober. Making a living or keeping house is no longer my main business. It's secondary to the business of keeping sober. Do I realize that my main business is keeping sober?

Meditation for the Day

I can depend on God to supply me with all the power I need to face any situation, provided that I will sincerely believe in that power and honestly ask for it, at the same time making all my life conform to what I believe God wants me to be. I can come to God as a business manager would come to the owner of the business, knowing that to lay the matter before Him means immediate cooperation, providing the matter has merit.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may believe that God is ready and willing to supply me with all that I need. I pray that I may ask only for faith and strength to meet any situation.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

---

You can't always choose whom you love, but you can choose how to find them. Start with AOL Personals.