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Post by majestyjo on Mar 25, 2017 8:03:16 GMT -5
March 21
Daily Reflections
MATERIAL AND SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING
Fear... of economic insecurity will leave us.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84
Having fear reduced or eliminated and having economic
circumstances improve, are two different things. When
I was new in A.A., I had those two ideas confused. I
thought fear would leave me only when I started making
money. However, another line from the Big Book jumped
off the page one day when I was chewing on my financial
difficulties: "For us, material well-being always
followed spiritual progress; it never preceded."(p. 127).
I suddenly understood that this promise was a guarantee.
I saw that it put priorities in the correct order, that
spiritual progress would diminish that terrible fear of
being destitute, just as it diminished many other fears.
Today I try to use the talents God gave me to benefit
others. I've found that is what others valued all along.
I try to remember that I no longer work for myself. I
only get the use of the wealth God created, I never have
"owned" it. My life's purpose is much clearer when I just
work to help, not to possess.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
In A.A. we forget about the future. We know from
experience that as time goes on, the future takes care of
itself. Everything works out well, as long as we stay
sober. All we need to think about is today. When we get
up in the morning and see the sun shining in the window,
we thank God that He has given us another day to enjoy
because we're sober. A day in which we may have a chance
to help somebody. Do I know that this day is all I have
and that with God's help I can stay sober today?
Meditation For The Day
All is fundamentally well. That does not mean that all is
well on the surface of things. But it does mean that God's
in His heaven and that He has a purpose for the world,
which will eventually work out when enough human beings
are willing to follow His way. "Wearing the world as a
loose garment" means not to be upset by the surface
wrongness of things, but to feel deeply secure in the
fundamental goodness and purpose in the universe.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that God may be with me in my journey through the
world. I pray that I may know that God is planning that
journey.
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As Bill Sees It
Debits and Credits, p. 80
Following a gossip binge, we can well ask ourselves these questions:
"Why did we say what we did? Were we only trying to be helpful and
informative? Or were we not trying to feel superior by confessing
the other fellow's sins? Or, because of fear and dislike, were we not
really aiming to damage him?"
This would be an honest attempt to examine ourselves, rather than
the other fellow.
<< << << >> >> >>
Inventory-taking is not always done in red ink. It's a poor day indeed
when we haven't done something right. As a matter of fact, the
waking hours are usually well filled with things that are constructive.
Good intentions, good thoughts, and good acts are there for us to see.
Even when we tried hard and failed, we may chalk that up as one of
the greatest credits of all.
1. Grapevine, August 1961
2. 12 & 12, p. 93
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Walk in Dry Places
Living One Day at a Time
Time management
It's surprising that some alcoholics learn how to "live one day at a time" while drinking. It had to work that way, or their drinking life would have been even more intolerable. It was convenient to shut off thoughts of tomorrow if one had enough money to drink today. It was also convenient to blot out thoughts of yesterday, which only meant remorse.
In sobriety, living one day at a time is an excellent way to focus our minds so we can pour our energies into the work at hand. In reviewing the wasted yesterdays, we can always find ways that we could have been more productive and effective. But we missed opportunities because we were still struggling with regrets or fearing what might happen in the future.
It's never too late to change all that. We need neither regret the past nor fear the future. The AA secret is to make the best of today's challenges. It may mean just chipping away at a massive problem that seems insurmountable. Living just for today, we can do today's job well.
I'll live comfortably and happily in the here and now. This means releasing the past and accepting the future as something I'll deal with at the proper time.
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Keep It Simple
With each sunrise, we start anew. ----Anonymous
Like a tree, our life depends on new growth. There are many ways to bring new ideas and growth into our lives. We can attend Twelve Step retreats. We can study books and tapes on spirituality.
We can attend different Twelve Step meetings.
But our spiritual newness may not just come from the Twelve Steps. We can do volunteer work or be active in other types of groups. We need to invite new ideas into our lives. We need to stay open to change. It doesn’t matter what renews our spiritual growth. What matters is that we keep our spiritual lives fresh and growing.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, spring is one of the four seasons. Help me feel like spring. Help me to be strong but not stuck Help me be firm yet open to spiritual growth.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll try to do something new. When I get stuck or stubborn, I’ll see that it’s due to my fear of trying new ideas.
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Each Day A New Beginning
Children are surely one of God's greatest gifts and truest challenges. To share your life with a child is to humble yourself so that you may learn from them and discover with them the beautiful secrets that are only uncovered in searching.
--Kathleen Tierney Crilly
Humility accompanies every experience wherein we let ourselves fully listen to others, to learn from them, to be changed by their words, their presence. Each opportunity we take to be fully present to another person, totally with them in mind and spirit, will bless us while it blesses them. Offering and receiving the gift of genuine attention is basic to the emotional growth of every human being.
Before recovering, many of us so suffered from obsessive self-centered pity that we seldom noted the real needs or pain of the people close to us. We closed ourselves off, wallowing in our own selfish worries, and our growth was stunted.
Some days we still wallow. But a new day has dawned. The Steps offer us new understanding. They are helping us look beyond ourselves to all the "children of God" in our daily lives. From each of them we have many secrets to learn.
I will be joyous today. Many secrets about life are mine to learn if I will stay close to all the people who cross my path. I will be mindful they are there because they have something to give me. I will be ready to receive it.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
Perhaps your husband will make a fair start on the new basis, but just as things are going beautifully he dismays you be coming home drunk. If you are satisfied he really wants to get over drinking, you need not be alarmed. Though it is infinitely better that he have no relapse at all, as has been true with many of our men, it is by no means a bad thing in some cases. Your husband will see at once that he must redouble his spiritual activities if he expects to survive. You need not remind him of his spiritual deficiency—he will know of it. Cheer him up and ask him how you can be still more helpful.
p. 120
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
EMPTY ON THE INSIDE - She grew up around A.A. and had all the answers--except when it came to her own life.
I remarried in Alcoholics Anonymous, to a man who believes in A.A. the way I do. (I knew we were off to a good start when he didn't get angry that I stood him up to go on a Twelfth Step call.) We agreed to never be higher than third on each other's list, with God always first and Alcoholics Anonymous second. He is my partner and my best friend. We both sponsor several people, and our house is filled with love and laughter. Our telephone never stops ringing. We share the joy of a common solution.
p. 521
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Six - "An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose."
The minute we saw this compromising fact for what it was, we asked the prospective publicity director how he felt about it. "Great guns!" he said. "Of course I can't take the job. The ink wouldn't be dry on the first ad before an awful shriek would go up from the dry camp. They'd be out with lanterns looking for an honest A.A. to plump for their brand of education. A.A. would land exactly in the middle of the wet-dry controversy. Half the people in this country would think we'd signed up with the drys, the other half would think we'd joined the wets. What a mess!"
"Nevertheless," we pointed out, "you still have a legal right to take this job."
"I know that," he said. "But this is no time for legalities. Alcoholics Anonymous saved my life, and it comes first. I certainly won't be the guy to land A.A. in big-time trouble, and this would really do it!"
Concerning endorsements, our friend had said it all. We saw as never before that we could not lend the A.A. name to any cause other than our own.
pp. 158-159
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Don't go through life, grow through life.
--Eric Butterworth
"You see what you choose to see, because all perception is a choice.
And when you cease to impose your meanings on what you see,
your spiritual eyes will open, and you will see a world free of judgment
and shining in its endless beauty."
--Paul Ferrini
To gain that which is worth having, it may be necessary to lose
everything else.
--Bernadette Devlin
God is the architect. I am the builder.
"Stop talking about the problem and start thinking about the
solution." -–Brian Tracy
The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it
but what he becomes by it.
--John Ruskin
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
BROTHERHOOD
"I love my country better than my
family; but I love humanity better
than my country."
-- Francois Fenelon
We need to think "big". We need to escape from those little concepts
that keep us small. Life is more than we can ever perceive. We need
to see it in its totality. The nuclear family can be restrictive if taken as
the center of our loyalty. Even our national citizenship needs to be
placed in the context of the world. Our freedom rests in our universal
humanity.
Spirituality is about thinking "big". It is finding God in the richness of
His creation. Our insistence on our shared humanity is the path to
world peace and serenity. Divisions should not exist for the
humanitarian who seeks acceptance for all men simply because they
are men.
May I seek to find the One in the many --- and the many in the One.
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"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed,
but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not
destroyed."
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and
glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly."
Psalms 84:11
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Daily Inspiration
God not only answers prayer, but He has all the answers to the prayers that we haven't bothered to ask. Lord, when you said "ask and you shall receive", may I keep in mind that no request is too small.
It is far wiser to ask God for what He thinks is good for us, than for what we think is good for us. Lord, Your Will not mine be done.
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NA Just For Today
A Treatable Illness
"Addiction is a disease that involves more than the use of drugs."
Basic Text p. 3
At our first meeting, we may have been taken aback at the way members shared about how the disease of addiction had affected their lives. We thought to ourselves, "Disease? I've just got a drug problem! What in the world are they talking about?"
After some time in the program, we began to see that our addiction ran deeper than our obsessive, compulsive drug use. We saw that we suffered from a chronic illness that affected many areas of our lives. We didn't know where we'd "caught" this disease, but in examining ourselves we realized that it had been present in us for many years.
Just as the disease of addiction affects every area of our lives, so does the NA program. We attend our first meeting with all the symptoms present: the spiritual void, the emotional agony, the powerlessness, the unmanageability.
Treating our illness involves much more than mere abstinence. We use the Twelve Steps, and though they don't "cure" our illness, they do begin to heal us. And as we recover, we experience the gift of life.
Just for today: I will treat my illness with the Twelve Steps.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. --Mother Goose
Poor Humpty ended up such a scrambled egg. Maybe that's what comes from sitting too long in one place, choosing neither this way nor that, playing both sides against the middle. Maybe he played too much politics, got too much advice, had too much to think about. When the centipede was asked which leg he first moved when setting out on a stroll, he got those legs all tangled in his mind and couldn't walk at all. It is better to be simply moved by those around us, or by our Higher Power, with faith and love. When our thoughts fail, their hearts, hands, and eyes will show the way.
Do I sometimes decide my fate by refusing to decide?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
If I Had My Life to Live Over ... I'd relax.... I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers.... I'd start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry go rounds. I would pick more daisies. --Nadine Stair
"Letting go" is a theme with many variations. When we live with gusto and are released to experience the full excitement of life, we are letting go. When we turn our lives and wills over to the care of our Higher Power, we are freed of many cares. If we orient our lives with a compass that always points to fear and insecurity, or to power and success, we are giving ourselves over to those forces. But we can orient our lives to our Higher Power's care and support. That makes it possible to drop our guard, allow for some mistakes, and delight in the pleasures of creation.
Today, let me forget my worries and enjoy the fullness of life.
You are reading from the book Each Day A New Beginning
Children are surely one of God's greatest gifts and truest challenges. To share your life with a child is to humble yourself so that you may learn from them and discover with them the beautiful secrets that are only uncovered in searching.
--Kathleen Tierney Crilly
Humility accompanies every experience wherein we let ourselves fully listen to others, to learn from them, to be changed by their words, their presence. Each opportunity we take to be fully present to another person, totally with them in mind and spirit, will bless us while it blesses them. Offering and receiving the gift of genuine attention is basic to the emotional growth of every human being.
Before recovering, many of us so suffered from obsessive self-centered pity that we seldom noted the real needs or pain of the people close to us. We closed ourselves off, wallowing in our own selfish worries, and our growth was stunted.
Some days we still wallow. But a new day has dawned. The Steps offer us new understanding. They are helping us look beyond ourselves to all the "children of God" in our daily lives. From each of them we have many secrets to learn.
I will be joyous today. Many secrets about life are mine to learn if I will stay close to all the people who cross my path. I will be mindful they are there because they have something to give me. I will be ready to receive it.
You are reading from the book The Language Of Letting Go.
Considering Commitment
Pay attention to your commitments.
While many of us fear committing, its good to weigh the cost of any commitment we are considering. We need to feel consistently positive that its an appropriate commitment for us.
Many of us have a history of jumping- -leaping headfirst- -into commitments without weighing the cost and the possible consequences of that particular commitment. When we get in, we find that we do not really want to commit, and feel trapped.
Some of us may become afraid of losing out on a particular opportunity if we don't commit. It is true that we will lose out on certain opportunities if we are unwilling to commit. We still need to weigh the commitment. We still need to become clear about whether that commitment seems right for us. If it isn't, we need to be direct and honest with others and ourselves.
Be patient. Do some soul searching. Wait for a clear answer. We need to make our commitments not in urgency or panic but in quiet confidence that what we are committing to is right for us.
If something within says no, find the courage to trust that voice.
This is not our last chance. It is not the only opportunity well ever have. Don't panic. We don't have to commit to what isn't right for us, even if we try to tell ourselves it should be right for us and we should commit.
Often, we can trust our intuitive sense more than we can trust our intellect about commitments.
In the excitement of making a commitment and beginning, we may overlook the realities of the middle. That is what we need to consider.
We don't have to commit out of urgency, impulsivity, or fear. We are entitled to ask, Will this be good for me? We are entitled to ask if this commitment feels right.
Today, God, guide me in making my commitments. Help me say yes to what is in my highest good, and no to what isn't. I will give serious consideration before I commit myself to any activity or person. Ii will take the time to consider if the commitment is really what I want.
God is guiding me in peace and calm today. I know that everything that upsets this feeling is not permanent and will pass. I no longer allow upsets to keep me from seeing the good in others. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey to the Heart
Nurture the Seasons of Your Soul
Study nature’s ways. Learn her rhythms, her seasons, her cycles. See how she hibernates and rests during the cold winter, using that time to replenish and heal. See how she bursts forth in a slow crescendo of green and bright colors over the spring, rejoicing in the inevitable new growth. See how she gives her all, her grandest performance, over the summer months before gradually descending into a final burst of changing colors in autumn. Watch her cool down, return to her depths, and again take time to replenish.
These same seasons are within us. There are times to take action, to be busily involved with creating and doing and participating and giving. There are quieter times when we are being prepared for those times of activity. We cannot give and give without taking time to replenish ourselves. There are times of gentle growth when the first blades of grass, the first signs of spring begin to emerge in our lives– whether those signal a new stage of personal growth, a new stage in a love relationship, or the first buds of life on a project we’re creating.
And each season, each time, leads into the next.
There is purpose and value in each day of your life, in each season of your life. Nurture your times of action, of creating, of doing, and value your quieter times of going within. The more you study nature, the more you will learn about yourself. Nurture and trust the seasons of your soul.
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More Language Of Letting Go
Letting go of finances
Letting go doesn’t mean we don’t care. It’s about having faith that things will work out. Let’s take a look at how letting go applies to the issue of money.
John had been an alcoholic for years. Over time, the disease destoyed his life, including his financial health. He hit bottom and finally began recovery. After a while, he was able to start making progress in life. But his finances were in terrible shape. For a while, he hid all the bills in a drawer. Then one day, he took out the bills and started to make a plan. Instead of feeling hopeless and overwhelmed, he applied the Twelve Steps to this area of his life. He called his creditors. He gave himself a budget. He did the best that he could and he let go of the rest.
Slowly, over the years, he began to rebuild his credit. He paid off his debts, a little at a time. He applied for a credit card, the kind you have to pay in advance. Then after a year, his limit was raised. He doesn’t use the card for credit; he uses it for a credit rating. He’s now got a checking and savings account. He pays his taxes and manages to save a little every week.
Sometimes things happen. Cars break down. People get sick. The rent gets raised. That unexpected expense comes up, out of the blue, just when you thought you were ahead.
Worry never helped.
An attitude of taking responsibility for myself did.
What we cannot do for ourselves, God will do for us. And God knows we need money to live here on earth. What was that the Bible said? Seek money first, and then you’ll have peace? Nope, I got that backwards. “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all else shall be added unto you.”
Manifest what you need from a place of responsibility, trust, and peace.
God, teach me to let go of worrying about money.
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Remembering Who We Are
Brave Spirits
Most of us are familiar with the idea that we are not human beings having spiritual experiences; instead, we are spiritual beings having human experiences. We hear this and even though we may experience a resounding yes in our bodies, we may not take the time to really acknowledge the truth of these statements. Integrating this idea into how we view ourselves can broaden our sense of who we are and help us appreciate ourselves as brave spirits on an important mission to learn and grow here on earth.
As spiritual beings, we are visitors in this physical realm. The fact that we came here and lost all memory of what happened to us before we were born is one of the many reasons that it takes so much courage for a soul to incarnate on earth. This is why spiritual inquiry so often feels like a remembering—because it is. Remembering that we are spiritual beings is part of the work that we are here on earth to do. When we operate from a place of remembering, we tap into the wisdom that our spirit accumulated even before we stepped into this lifetime. Remembering who we are can give us the patience to persevere when we become overwhelmed or frustrated. It can give us the courage to work through the most daunting challenges and help us trust the ancient wisdom we carry that is offered to us by our intuition.
We have chosen to be on earth because there is something we want to learn that can only happen by inhabiting a body. Some of us are here to repay a debt, learn about love, or teach forgiveness. Most of us are here for a combination of reasons, we carry this information in our souls, all we have to do is remember. As you go through your journey, try not to forget how brave you are, being here now. Honor yourself. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
The Program teaches us that we have an incurable illness. We alwys get worse, never better. But we’re fortunate in that our incurable illness can be arrested, so long as we don’t tkae the first drink one day at a time. Hightoned academic rsearch and ivory tower studies to th contrary, we know rom experiece that we can no more control our drinking than we can control the ocean tides. Do I have any doubt that I am owerless over alcohol?
Today I Pray
May I never fall prey to any short-term research sresults which tell me that alcoholism can be cured, that I would be safe to bbegin drinking again, suppoosedly, in a responsible manner. My experience — and the experience of those in The Program — will outshout such threories. May I know thaat my disease is arrestablke, but not curable. May I know that if I took up my active addiction again, I would begin whre I left off — closer than ever to possible death or insanity.
Today I Will Remember
Be wary of new theories.
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One More Day
It is a happy talent to know how to play. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
As the carefree days of childhood give way to adulthood, we sometimes forfeit too much of the child. We become what we think is mature — serious and busy. Quite unintentionally we might become caught up in the importance of being married, working hard at our jobs, raising children, or paying off the mortgage. Even at home we might be rushing here and there – mowing the lawn, getting a haircut, buying clothes or groceries, and performing all the small household chores which need doing regularly.
Where is the time we need for ourselves, to spend with friends, or just to play? We can find time, right now, if we want to. We can momentarily shrug off the demands of home or career and lend ourselves to carefree play.
It’s sometimes easy to be too serious. Today, I will let myself participate in play.
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One Day At A Time
PATIENCE
"Patience is the companion of wisdom."
Saint Augustine
Patience is an area that I have had some REAL problems with in the past. I had a tendency to want - what I want - NOW! That included recovery. Gaining recovery, as I would eventually realize, is not the same as earning a university credit. It is a process not an end result. You have to be willing to learn to do things in HP's time and manner rather than your own. What began to happen was - the more impatient I became - the more life tended to resist my efforts. It took a long time for me to realize this. Instead of calming down, I would get even more impatient and struggle even harder. Eventually, I would have a big meltdown and feel like a fool afterwards.
The end result was absolutely no different for having done this. It took time for me to muster the willingness to do things in HP's time and manner. But when I did - life became much more peaceful and things had a tendency to work themselves out - without all the dramatics.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will learn to patiently and willingly do things in HP's time and manner.
Rob R.
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
The terms 'spiritual experience' and 'spiritual awakening' are used many times in this book which, upon careful reading, shows that the personality change sufficient to bring about recovery from alcoholism has manifested itself among us in many different forms. - Pg. 567 - 4th. Edition - Appendices II - Spiritual Experience
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Take the name of the person who has caused you the most trouble today and say: ______________, I don't have to use you as an excuse to drink or take drugs right now, because I know chemical dependency is a disease, not a reaction to people, places, or things.
Thank You for showing me that people are not good excuses for practicing a chronic and deadly disease.
Living the Segments of My Day Intentionally
I will divide my day into segments of intention. When I wake up in the morning I will picture feeling good as I go about my early routines. When I move into the next part of my day I will see my morning going smoothly, whatever I have to do I will picture doing with ease and a happy feeling. I will be intentional about each segment of my mid day, seeing myself operating effectively, competently and enjoying my interactions with those I encounter and interact. As afternoon approaches, I will imagine, in my mind's eye, a pleasant and peaceful evening. And as evening gives way to night, I will imagine myself enjoying a peaceful and restful sleep.
I will be intentional about how I live each part of my day.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
If you think you can or you think you can't, you're probably right.
The state of my world is a reflection of the state of my mind.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
To belittle is to be little.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
God is guiding me in peace and calm today. I know that everything that upsets this feeling is not permanent and will pass. I no longer allow upsets to keep me from seeing the good in others.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
God stands for; Group Of Drunks. - John L.
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Post by majestyjo on Mar 25, 2017 8:04:01 GMT -5
March 22
Daily Reflections
NO MORE STRUGGLE
And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone --
even alcohol.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84
When A.A. found me, I thought I was in for a struggle,
and that A.A. might provide the strength I needed to
beat alcohol. Victorious in that fight, who knows what
other battles I could win. I would need to be strong,
though. All my previous experience with life provided
that. Today I do not have to struggle or exert my will.
If I take those Twelve Steps and let my Higher Power do
the real work, my alcohol problem disappears all by
itself. My living problems also cease to be struggles.
I just have to ask whether acceptance -- or change --
is required. It is not my will, but His, that needs
doing.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
We're all looking for the power to overcome drinking. A
fellow comes into A.A. and his first question is: How do
I get the strength to quit? At first, it seems to him that
he will never get the necessary strength. He sees older
members who have found the power he is looking for, but he
doesn't know the process by which they got it. This
necessary strength comes in many ways. Have I found all the
strength I need?
Meditation For The Day
You cannot have a spiritual need which God cannot supply.
Your fundamental need is a spiritual need, the need of
power to lead the good life. The best spiritual supply is
received by you when you want it to pass on to other
people. You get it largely by giving it away. God gives
you strength as you pass it on to another person. That
strength means increased health; increased health means
more good work, and more good work means more people
helped. And so it goes on, a constant supply to meet all
spiritual needs.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that my every spiritual need will be supplied by
God. I pray that I may use the power I receive to help
others.
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As Bill Sees It
"Selfish"?, p.81
"I can see why you are disturbed to hear some A.A. speakers say,
'A.A. is a selfish program.' The word 'selfish' ordinarily implies that
one is acquisitive, demanding, and thoughtless of the welfare of
others. Of course, the A.A. way of life does not at all imply such
undesirable traits.
"What do these speakers mean? Well, any theologian will tell you
that the salvation of his own soul is the highest vocation that a man
can have. Without salvation--however we may define this--he will
have little or nothing. For us of A.A., there is even more urgency.
"If we cannot or will not achieve sobriety, then we become truly lost,
right in the here and now. We are of no value to anyone, including
ourselves, until we find salvation from alcohol. Therefore, our own
recovery and spiritual growth have to come first--a right and
necessary kind of self-concern."
Letter, 1966
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Walk in Dry Places
Let Go and Let God
Guidance.
Though it came from outside AA, the idea of "letting go and letting God" has taken root in the fellowship. The trouble comes when we try to decide what it really means. We obviously need to continue working and we still have to make important decisions. SO how d o we let God take charge?
Surrendering to God's will is a shift that takes place in our attitude. We take whatever actions seem reasonable and proper according to our view of things. We remember, however, that a better plan may be unfolding in every situation. In many cases, it can even be a case of wanting too little rather than too much. One member, for example, sought guidance in a business decision. He was disappointed when the deal feel through, but discovered, only a few weeks later, an even better opportunity that worked out perfectly.
"Letting God" is really a form of working Step Eleven.. Seeking "Knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out." As we do that, our lives must become enriched and improved in every way.
I'll approach the day with the idea that God is working it out for the highest good of everybody. Temporary setbacks won't bother me if I know that God's plan is unfolding in my life.
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Keep It Simple
If anything, we have tended to be people who wanted it all now. To hope is not
Not to demand. --- On Hope
Maybe we were a bit demanding. Maybe we were a bit impatient. Maybe that’s why we had such little hope.
Hope is believing good will come even in bad time. Hope is knowing that “this, too, shall pass.”
Hope is knowing that no matter how afraid we are, God will be with us. Hope is knowing we never
have to be alone again. It is knowing that time that time is on our side. Hope is giving up control. Hope is knowing we never had control in the first place. Hope is believing in ourselves. Hope is what our program is all about.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, in our program we share our experiences, our strengths, and our hopes. Thank you for giving all three of these to me to share.
Action for the Day: I will share my hope for the future with myself, my Higher Power, and my friends. I also will share this with someone who has lost hope.
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Each Day a New Beginning
Reared as we were in a youth and beauty oriented society, we measured ourselves by our ornamental value. --Janet Harris
Rare is the woman who doesn't long for a svelte body, firm breasts, pretty teeth, a smooth complexion. Rare is the woman who feels content, truly satisfied with her total person. We are often torn between wanting to be noticed and yet not wanting eyes to gaze upon us.
We are all that we need to be today, at this moment. And we have an inner beauty, each of us, that is our real blessing in the lives of others. Our inner beauty will shine forth if we invite it to do so. Whatever our outer appearance, it doesn't gently touch or bring relief where suffering is--like our words which come from the heart, the home of our inner beauty.
Perhaps a better mirror for reflecting our true beauty is the presence or absence of friends in our lives. We each have known stunning women who seemed to cast only cold glances our way and handsome men who arrogantly belittled others. It's our inner beauty that is valued by others. The surprise in store for each of us is discovering that the glow of our inner beauty transforms our outer appearance too.
My beauty today will be enhanced by my gentle attention to the other people sharing my experiences.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
The slightest sign of fear or intolerance may lessen your husband’s chance or recovery. In a weak moment he may take your dislike of his high-stepping friends as one of those insanely trivial excuses to drink.
p. 120
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
EMPTY ON THE INSIDE - She grew up around A.A. and had all the answers--except when it came to her own life.
We have had some tough times. Our son is the third generation of A.A.’s in my family. After a suicide attempt at age fourteen, we found out he too was an alcoholic. After his one year in A.A., it’s hard to tell what will happen, but we trust Alcoholics Anonymous, even on the days we don’t trust our son. Our daughter is a beautiful, confident teenager who has found her own path to God without having to drink. She is the product of the love and faith of Alcoholics Anonymous.
p. 521
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
SELF-SUPPORTING alcoholics? Who ever heard of such a thing? Yet we find that's what we have to be. This principle is telling evidence of the profound change that A.A. has wrought in all of us. Everybody knows that active alcoholics scream that they have no troubles money can't cure. Always, we've had our hands out. Time out of mind we've been dependent upon somebody, usually money-wise. When a society composed entirely of alcoholics says it's going to pay its bills, that's really news.
p. 160
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God, please show me how to put ideas like fun and joy back into my
life. Show me how to have more fun in work, in love, and in play.
--Melody Beattie
"There are lessons to be learned in every place. The mark of spiritual
mastery is the ability to remember God wherever we go, and through
whatever we experience."
--Alan Cohen
"A friend will see us at our worst, as well as our best.
A friend will not close his or her heart when we have made a mistake.
A friend will not condemn us but will compassionately support our
return to a state of grace."
--Marianne Williamson
Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality.
--Les Brown
However I pray, God hears my prayers.
--Katrina Cassel
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
FORGIVENESS
"God will forgive me; that's his
business."
-- Heinrich Heine
It took me a long time to accept that God had forgiven the deeds done
in my addiction. It took me a long time to comprehend that God is
forgiveness, "forgiving love". Forgiveness unites us with God because
it is His nature to forgive.
When I am living the spiritual life, I can unite myself with Him by my
acts of forgiveness. And when I forgive others, I am doing a kindness,
an act of forgiveness, to myself. Hate used to drain me of energy and
it still can if I get caught up in resentments. Forgiveness restores
energy and peace.
When I forgive, I am at one with God.
In the forgiveness of others I discover me.
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"But You, O GOD the Lord, Deal with me for Your name's sake;
Because Your mercy is good, deliver me"
Psalm 109:21
He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life,
righteousness, and honor.
Proverbs 21:21
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Daily Inspiration
Think often of your friends and seldom of your enemies and you will surround yourself with good thoughts, leaving little or no room for darkness. Lord, help me search for goodness so that it is goodness that I find.
We take for granted so much of what God has planned for us. Lord, may I have sufficient preparation to meet the challenges of today and rejoice in the person that I am.
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NA Just For Today
The Principle Of Self-Support
"In our addiction, we were dependent upon people, places, and things. We looked to them to support us and supply the things we found lacking in ourselves."
Basic Text pg. 67
In the animal kingdom, there is a creature that thrives on others. It is called a leech. It attaches itself to people and takes what it needs. When one victim brushes the leech off, it simply goes to the next.
In our active addiction, we behaved similarly. We drained our families, our friends, and our communities. Consciously or unconsciously, we sought to get something for nothing from virtually everyone we encountered.
When we saw the basket passed at our first meeting we may have thought, "Self-Support! Now what kind of odd notion is this?" As we watched, we noticed something. These self-supporting addicts were free. By paying their own way, they had earned the privilege of making their own decisions.
By applying the principle of self-support in our personal lives, we gain for ourselves the same kind of freedom. No longer does anyone have the right to tell us where to live, because we pay our own rent. We can eat, wear, or drive whatever we choose, because we provide it for ourselves.
Unlike the leech, we don't have to depend on others for our sustenance. The more responsibility we assume, the more freedom we'll gain.
Just for today: There are no limits to the freedom I can earn by supporting myself. I will accept personal responsibility and pay my own way today.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Real men don't vacuum. --Anna Genich
Once, not so long ago, there was a family who tried to divide up housework equally. The father signed up for vacuuming, but he never got around to doing it.
One morning he told everyone about his dream the night before. He was lined up in the dining room with an entire football team, and they all ran in a line through the house, pushing the clutter and dirt up against the walls and out of the way. They came to a finish at the picture window, where the father turned and raised his arms in victory. Then he saw his wife watching him, so he explained, "Heroes don't vacuum."
Perhaps each of us is a hero at one time or another. In that case, we might take turns at different chores, rewarding the day's hero with a day off from vacuuming or dishwashing. When we work together to get the chores done, we become a family of heroes, and can feel a healthy pride in our warm, loving, and clean home.
How can we share housework more equally?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Let no one be deluded that a knowledge of the path can substitute for putting one foot in front of the other. --M. C. Richards
Recovering men know this path is not always easy. We usually talk about the benefits of recovery and the many promises of the program. Today, in our fellowship, we talk of the challenges we must face in order to recover. Honesty may be the greatest challenge. It is frightening to be honest with ourselves about things we have never really admitted or faced before.
Sometimes we have new and confusing feelings and think something must be wrong with us. But we may be just experiencing the logical outcome of our earlier commitment to be honest. No one recovers by thinking about it. We must actively take each Step and meet the challenges presented. We are not alone with our difficulties. We are part of a large movement of men committed to recovery, and this quiet moment is one way in which we are simply putting one foot in front of the other.
Today, I pray for the courage to remain faithful when the fears and pains of my transformation are overwhelming.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Reared as we were in a youth and beauty oriented society, we measured ourselves by our ornamental value. --Janet Harris
Rare is the woman who doesn't long for a svelte body, firm breasts, pretty teeth, a smooth complexion. Rare is the woman who feels content, truly satisfied with her total person. We are often torn between wanting to be noticed and yet not wanting eyes to gaze upon us.
We are all that we need to be today, at this moment. And we have an inner beauty, each of us, that is our real blessing in the lives of others. Our inner beauty will shine forth if we invite it to do so. Whatever our outer appearance, it doesn't gently touch or bring relief where suffering is--like our words which come from the heart, the home of our inner beauty.
Perhaps a better mirror for reflecting our true beauty is the presence or absence of friends in our lives. We each have known stunning women who seemed to cast only cold glances our way and handsome men who arrogantly belittled others. It's our inner beauty that is valued by others. The surprise in store for each of us is discovering that the glow of our inner beauty transforms our outer appearance too.
My beauty today will be enhanced by my gentle attention to the other people sharing my experiences.
You are reading from the book The Language Of Letting Go.
Letting Go of Being a Victim
Its okay to have a good day. Really.
Its okay to be doing okay and to feel like our life is manageable and on track.
Many of us have learned, as part of our survival behaviors, that the way to get the attention and approval we want is to be victims. If life is awful, too difficult, unmanageable, too hard, unfair, then others will accept, like, and approve of us, we think.
We may have learned this from living and associating with people who also learned to survive by being a victim.
We are not victims. We do not need to be victimized. We do not need to be helpless and out of control to get the attention and love we desire. In fact, the kind of love we are seeking cannot be obtained that way.
We can get the love we really want and need by only owning our power. We learn that we can stand on our own two feet, even though it sometimes feels good to lean a little. We learn that the people we are leaning on are not holding us up. They are standing next to us.
We all have bad days- -days when things are not going the way wed like, days when we have feelings of sadness and fear. But we can deal with our bad days and darker feelings in ways that reflect self-responsibility rather than victimization.
Its okay to have a good day too. We might not have as much to talk about, but well have more to enjoy.
God, help me let go of my need to be a victim. Help me let go of my belief that to be loved and get attention I need to be a victim. Surround me with people who love me when I own my power. Help me start having good days and enjoying them.
As I start this day with quiet meditation, I feel myself becoming still and at peace. At any time during the day I can bring my mind back to this moment. I will bring my attention and awareness back to the peace that I have when I am with my breath and I know that my breath is with me at all times, whether I remember it or not. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey to the Heart
Don’t Be Controlled by Love
Using love to control and manipulate is heartbreaking. It can break the heart of the person doing it, it can break the heart of the person it’s being done to.
So often, controlling through love is done almost unconsciously. It’s a dance people do out of habit to get their needs met. Their reasons don’t matter, although it’s easier to have compassion for those who control unknowingly than those who use the power of love maliciously and viciously.
What matters is how you respond if it’s being done to you. What matters is that you don’t do it to other people.
Open your heart and see the truth. Set yourself free. If someone is controlling you by using your love for them or your need to be loved, acknowledge it. If you are doing it to someone else, acknowledge that,too. Once you see the truth, you can set yourself free.
So much of what we need to do to free our hearts and souls is simply to acknowledge the truth. The rest will happen naturally.
Love has no price. It’s only love if it’s free.
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More Language Of Letting Go
Let go of the future
Many years ago, in ancient times, Moses led a group of slaves out of Egypt and back to their homeland. Along the way, they had to wander for many years through the Sinai Peninsula, a barren, rocky, lifeless stretch of land.
During their extended stay in the wilderness, God provided them with manna, a food that appeared out of nowhere and sustained the people with the nourishment they needed each day. The trick to this rhythm of trusting God, and receiving what they needed, was that any manna they received had to be used that day.
Manna couldn’t be hoarded. It could not be stored or saved up for a rainy day. If the people hoarded their manna, it would spoil and rot away. Or it would mysteriously disappear as magically and certainly as it had appeared.
Most of us know what it means to receive our daily bread. It’s the love, the guidance, the grace, and the material things we need each day on our journey.
Sometimes, we can sit down and anticipate the times to come. We can look at our money, our strength, our abilities, our stamina, and say wearily, “There just won’t be enough.” That’s because we’re looking too far ahead.
Look around at what you have available, this moment or this hour. Use the resources and gifts you’ve been given. Tomorrow’s manna will come at its appointed hour.
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Yellow Miracles
Daffodils
by Madisyn Taylor
Almost nothing else represents the emergence of spring as the beloved yellow daffodil happy and bright after a long winter's nap.
Some things on this earth look as if they were designed to bring happiness to the hearts of humans. The daffodil, with its bright yellow coloring and green stem, is one such creation. The daffodil makes its appearance in the spring, abundant and inexpensive, bringing gladness as sure as sunshine itself to whoever is lucky enough to receive a single stem, or a bunch, of these delicate yellow miracles. It is as if the sun has shed a layer of skin and fashioned a flower out of it.
Color psychologists suggest that too much yellow can be too stimulating, but in small doses it inspires hope and good cheer. The daffodil is a perfect-sized package of yellow for anyone feeling glum or energetically low. It can spur us to action or simply imbue us with a feeling of optimism as it vibrantly glows in our homes or on our desks at work. The daffodil’s presence is ideal in any region where sunshine is scarce as it seems to carry the sun in the soft flesh of its petals. The bulbs are not expensive, and the flowers give so much that you may decide to plant a few in your yard or in a window box. Then again, you may simply wait until they arrive in neat little bundles in the grocery store or flower shop. They are usually very reasonably priced, so you can afford to spoil yourself, and those you love, with a large bouquet.
A daffodil placed under the windshield wiper of a loved one’s car says, “Be happy! Spring has sprung! I love you!” A collection of stems gathered and placed in a Mason jar can be left on someone’s doorstep to remind them of the simple beauties that abound in this life. Don’t forget to bless yourself with a vase of these bright blossoms on your kitchen table or nightstand. Every time you see them, you will be filled with the happiness and warmth of the sun. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
Once in a great while, I find myself thinking that perhaps things weren’t quite so bad as they seemed to be. At such moments, I force myself to realize that my illness is talking to me, trying to tempt me in to denying that I am. In fact, afflicted with an illness. One of the key action steps of The Program is that we give our illness to God as we understand Him, accepting our powerlessness in the face of His greater Power. Do I believe that the grace of God can do fo rme what I could never do for myself?
Today I Pray
May I know that much of our lives depends on faith. For we cannot know the limits of space and time — or explain the mysteries of life and death. But when we see God working through us – and through others who have found new life in The Program — it is all the evidence we need to know that He exists.
Today I Will Remember
The Big Wheel runs by faith.
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One More Day
Courage is the resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.
– Mark Twain
So many of us suffer from flagging self-esteem. This may occur for many reasons, all complex. When we finally decide we are going to create change in our lives, we may be uncertain as to how to make the change. How do we start? One of the best starting places is to adopt on premise of the Twelve Step Programs and begin to act “as if” we have all the confidence in the world, “as if” we have great faith in ourselves. We start to spend time thinking about the possibilities, rather than the impossibilities.
We all fear the unknown, but to act “as if” helps us deal with the things we can’t see. Eventually, contrived as it feels, our new behavior will become new habits, and we won’t need to act “as if” – because we truly “are.”
I am willing to try to act “as if” I can create change.
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One Day At A Time
PUSHING BUTTONS & PATIENCE
"Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is Patience."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
When I first came to Program, I didn't really know what abstinence was. I thought it was a diet. It turned out to be far more than I ever imagined. Since beginning, I've gained abstinence, I've lost weight and my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being has changed more than I ever thought possible. I've come so far ... beyond my wildest dreams ... yet, sometimes it feels like it's still not enough. I'll get in a row with my 12 year old daughter over some minor issue. She has a way of pushing my buttons which sends me into "fingerpointing" and "lecture" mode - good intentions gone totally awry! She'll ultimately tune me out - and I'll walk away feeling like a bad parent. The guilt will set in and I'll deride myself for lacking patience and having bad judgement! But once I've calmed down - I'll remind myself that my intentions were good and - as in my food plan - progress not perfection has to apply to my parenting just as it does to my any other aspect of my recovery. This requires me to be patient with MYSELF as well as with others.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will learn to be patient with myself as well as with others.
Rob R.
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action. We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day 'Thy will be done.' We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions. We become much more efficient. We do not tire so easily, for we are not burning up energy foolishly as we did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves. - Pg 87-88 - Into Action
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Reliance for our recovery must be placed upon spiritual faculties and not objective things. People, places, and things are transitory, flitting through our lives at different speeds. We can trust no person, no place, and often not even our own best intentions. We can only trust our spiritual foundation.
I know that staying clean and sober is a gift based on the spiritual foundation I lay hour to hour, one day at a time.
Actualizing the Gifts that are In Me
I will actualize that gifts that are in me today. I will be less preoccupied with who I'm not and more occupied with who I am. When I spend all of my time looking outside of me or wanting what others have, I forget that I have my own special gifts. God has placed gifts within me that I am meant to develop and share. My responsibility is to come to know what my gifts are, then to cultivate and strengthen them as I share them with the world.
I look for the gifts that are in me.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
'It is time to speak your Truth. Create your community. Be good to each other. And do not look outside yourself for the leader. This could be a good time!' Oraibi, Arizona Hopi Nation
I enjoy the Fellowship of the Spirit.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
If you are clean and sober, the miracle has already happened. Stick around, the impossibilities take a little longer.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
No matter how busy I am today, I will begin and end my day with quiet time. I look forward to that time when I stop all outward activity, rest and look within for my peace and truth.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
I'm definitely an alcoholic. My friend asked; 'If they discovered a pill that if you took one you could drink safely, what would you do?' I said; 'I'd want to know what happens if you take two.' - Larry S.
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Post by majestyjo on Mar 25, 2017 8:04:41 GMT -5
March 23
Daily Reflections
. . . AND NO MORE RESERVATIONS
We have seen the truth again and again: "Once an
alcoholic, always an alcoholic.". . . If we are
planning to stop drinking, there must be no reservation
of any kind, nor any lurking notion that someday we
will be immune to alcohol. . . . To be gravely affected,
one does not necessarily have to drink a long time nor
take the quantities some of us have. This is
particularly true of women. Potential female alcoholics
often turn into the real thing and are gone beyond
recall in a few years.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 33
These words are underlined in my book. They are true for
men and women alcoholics. On many occasions I've turned
to this page and reflected on this passage. I need never
fool myself by recalling my sometimes differing drinking
patterns, or by believing I am "cured." I like to think
that, if sobriety is God's gift to me, then my sober
life is my gift to God. I hope that God is as happy with
His gift as I am with mine.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Strength comes from the fellowship you find when you come
into A.A. Just being with men and women who have found
the way out gives you a feeling of security. You listen
to the speakers, you talk with other members, and you
absorb the atmosphere of confidence and hope that you
find in the place. Am I receiving strength from the fellowship
with other A.A. members?
Meditation For The Day
God is with you, to bless and help you. His spirit is all
around you. Waver not in your faith or in your prayers.
All power is the Lord's. Say that to yourself often and
steadily. Say it until your heart sings with joy for the
safety and personal power that it means to you. Say it
until the very force of the utterance drives back and
puts to naught all the evils against you. Use it as a
battle cry. All power is the Lord's. Then you will pass
on to victory over all your sins and temptations and you
will begin to live a victorious life.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that with strength from God I may lead an abundant
life. I pray that I may lead a life of victory.
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As Bill Sees It
Trouble Becomes an Asset, p. 82
"I think that this particular General Service Conference holds
promise and has been filled with progress--because it has had
trouble. And it has converted that trouble into an asset, into some
growth, and into a great promise.
"A.A. was born out of trouble, one of the most serious kinds of
trouble that can befall an individual, the trouble attendant upon this
dark and fatal malady of alcoholism. Every single one of us
approached A.A. in trouble, in impossible trouble, in hopeless trouble.
And that is why we came.
"If this Conference was ruffled, if individuals were deeply
disturbed--I say, 'This is fine." What parliament, what republic, what
democracy has not been disturbed? Friction of opposing viewpoints is
the very modus operandi on which they proceed. Then what should
we be afraid of?"
Talk, 1958
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Walk in Dry Places
Act As If
Finding Direction
Though it sounds like a game or a trick, there's great power in "acting as if." This means acting as if we've already succeeded, acting as if we expect everybody to cooperate with us, acting as if we've already reached whatever goal we're seeking.
The principle behind this approach is that such acting helps focus our minds and energies on goals. It's also important to believe that our success is inevitable if we are truly on the right path.
We should not employ this principle superstitously or assume it's a substitute for intelligent work and good judgment. It will be a substantial aid, however, in helping us eliminate the self-doubt and pessimism that dog so many alcoholics during their quest for sobriety. Too often, low self-esteem and a faulty belief that nothing will turn out right have led us to sabotage our own efforts.
We should go into any venture with the idea that we've already succeeded.... that much good is going to come out of it, even if the exact outcome is somewhat different from what we had in mind. "Acting as if" is just what we might need to summon our powers for the duties ahead.
An old saying affirms that "if God be for me, who can be against me?" I'll carry on today with the confidence that my Higher Power is guidnig all my efforts in the right direction.
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Keep It Simple
If anything, we have tended to be people who have wanted it all now. To hope is not to demand. ---On hope
Maybe we were a bit demanding. Maybe we were a bit impatient. Maybe that’s why we such little hope.
Hope is believing good will, even in bad times. Hope is knowing that “this too, shall pass.” Hope is knowing that no mater how afraid we are, God will be with us. Hope is knowing we never have to be alone again. It is knowing that time is o our side. Hope is giving up control. Hope is knowing we never had control in the first place. Hope is believing in ourselves. Hope is what our program is all about.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, in our program we share our experiences, our strengths, and our hopes. Thank you for giving all three of these to me to share.
Action for the Day: I will share my hope for the future with myself, my Higher Power, and my friends. I also will share this with someone who has lost hope.
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Each Day a New Beginning
On occasion I realize it's easier to say the serenity prayer and take that leap of faith than it is to continue doing what I'm doing. --S.H.
The pain of change is a reality. But so is the pain of no change--when change is called for. In spite of our desires, changing others will never be an option, whereas changing ourselves takes only a decision and is a choice always available.
We can take an inventory for a moment. What are we presently doing that makes us ashamed or angry or fearful? We can let go of that behavior and responsibly choose a new tack. If strength is needed, or confidence to try a new behavior, we can simply ask that it be ours. The Third Step promises that our lives are in God's care and our needs are always being attended to--not always our wants, but in every instance our needs.
Most of our struggles, today as in the past, are attached to persons and situations we are trying to forcibly control. How righteous our attitudes generally are! And so imposing is our behavior that we are met with resistance, painful resistance. Our recourse is now and always to "accept those things we cannot change, and willingly change that which we can." Our personal struggles will end when we are fully committed to the Serenity Prayer.
The wisdom "to know the difference" is mine today.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
We never, never try to arrange a man’s life so as to shield him from temptation. The slightest disposition on your part to guide his appointment or his affairs so he will not be tempted will be noticed. Make him feel absolutely free to come and go as he likes. This is important. If he gets drunk, don’t blame yourself. God has either removed your husband’s liquor problem or He has not. If not, it had better be found out right away. Then you and your husband can get right down to fundamentals. If a repetition is to be prevented, place the problem, along with everything else, in God’s hands.
p. 120
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
EMPTY ON THE INSIDE - She grew up around A.A. and had all the answers--except when it came to her own life.
I still have a sponsor and a home group today. I am a member of Alcoholics Anonymous in good standing. I learned how to be a good A.A. member by watching good A.A. members and doing what they do. I learned how to have a good marriage by watching people with good marriages and doing what they do. I learned how to be a parent by watching good parents and doing what they do. And I finally have the freedom of believing that it is all right not to know.
p. 521
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
Probably no A.A. Tradition had the labor pains this one did. In early times, we were all broke. When you add to this the habitual supposition that people ought to give money to alcoholics trying to stay sober, it can be understood why we thought we deserved a pile of folding money. What great things A.A. would be able to do with it! But oddly enough, people who had money thought otherwise. They figured that it was high time we now--sober--paid our own way. So our Fellowship stayed poor because it had to.
p. 160
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Don't point a finger - lend a hand.
--Cited in Even More of...The Best of BITS & PIECES
Inventory taking is not all in red ink.
A recovering alcoholic without a sponsor is like a ship without a
rudder.
"Every great move forward in your life begins with a leap of faith, a
step into the unknown."
--Brian Tracy
"The healthy and strong individual is the one who asks for help when
he needs it."
--Rona Barrett
". . . just to be alive is a grand thing."
--Agatha Christie
We cannot sink so low that God cannot lift us to freedom.
--John Harrold
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
SELF-LOVE
"No matter how old you get, if
you keep the desire to be
creative, you're keeping the
man-child alive."
-- John Cassavetes
When I was a child, I used to play in the sand and make castles. I
would build a strong and firm fortress around the castle so that it could
withstand the force of the sea.
Today I also like to play in my life and I need to build strong and firm
behavioral structures that will withstand pressure and stress. Today I
need to build my life on a sure foundation --- and that foundation must
be me! I need to take care of me so that I can enjoy my life.
How do I take care of me? I watch what I drink. I am a recovering
alcoholic, and so I choose not to drink alcohol. I drink soda, orange
juice and milk --- but no alcohol. This is an important part of my
self-love program. I exercise regularly. I watch what I eat and I avoid
sugar and needless carbohydrates. I rest in the evenings and take
walks in the fresh air. The child that is in me still lives, but today he is
healthy.
Help me to treat life responsibly, but not too seriously.
************************************************** *********
"We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous
works declare that Your name is near."
Psalms 75:1
"In You, O Lord, I put my trust; let me never be put to shame."
Psalms 71:1
Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
Romans 10:17
Yes, you are very special in the eyes of God. But you are what you are
by the grace of God.
1 Corinthians 15:10
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Daily Inspiration
How foolish it is to focus on our weaknesses and troubles, thereby giving them more power than they deserve. Lord, I ask for your wisdom and guidance in what I put into my mind.
You are good and beautiful and intelligent and loved. Lord, may I accept me for all that I am and focus on my goodness.
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NA Just For Today
God's Gift
"We do the footwork and accept what's being given to us freely on a daily basis."
Basic Text pg. 46
Our relationship with our Higher Power is a two-way street. In prayer, we speak and God listens. When we meditate, we do our best to listen for the will of our Higher Power. We know that we are responsible for our part of the relationship. If we do not pray and listen, we shut our Higher Power out of our lives.
When we think about our relationship with our Higher Power, it's important to remember which one we are: the powerless one. We can ask for guidance; we can ask for willingness or strength; we can ask for knowledge of our Higher Power's will-but we cannot make demands. The God of our understanding-the one with the power-will fulfill the half of the relationship by giving us exactly what we need, when we need it.
We need to take action every day to keep our relationship with a Higher Power alive, One way we do this is by applying the Eleventh Step. Then we remember our own powerlessness and accept the will of a Power greater than ourselves.
Just for today: In my relationship with my Higher Power, I am the powerless one. Remembering who I am, today I will humbly accept the gifts of the God I understand.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
It feels so good to cry. . . . --Susan Cygnet
Some of us were taught that it's bad to express our feelings directly--crying, wailing, jumping up and down for joy--that it's good manners to talk softly, slowly, and politely and to sit still.
But what happens to our feelings when we sit still? If they don't get expressed, they must be caught inside our bodies. Trapped feelings are like birds in a cage, or a rabbit in a trap--they try to get out any way they can. They peck on our heads and give us headaches. They scratch at our stomachs and make us hurt.
We must let them out. We must laugh and cry. Then our bodies will be happy, and our feelings will curl up in our laps like happy puppies.
Am I ignoring the physical symptoms of trapped feelings?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
If anything is sacred, the human body is sacred. --Walt Whitman
A renewed relationship with our bodies is part of our spiritual renewal. Perhaps we have not known our bodies as part of our spiritual selves. We may have treated ourselves and others as objects. Too often genitals were "tools" to be used, objects of our egos, or a way of taking care of someone else. Maybe we have used sex compulsively as an escape from other emotions. Men in recovery commonly encounter problems with sexuality. Those problems often come from knowing deep within that we must change, but not knowing how.
It helps to create new images in our minds. We can imagine a totally relaxed playfulness with our partners, with no goal in mind and no judgment. We can imagine our Higher Power being with us. We can imagine talking in detail with someone - our partner or a friend - about our feelings, anxieties, or frustrations with sex. We can imagine ourselves as a whole body, alone, not with a partner, and okay Bringing sexuality into the whole of our lives is a spiritual thing to do.
May I find ways to include sexuality in my spiritual awakening.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
On occasion I realize it's easier to say the serenity prayer and take that leap of faith than it is to continue doing what I'm doing. --S.H.
The pain of change is a reality. But so is the pain of no change--when change is called for. In spite of our desires, changing others will never be an option, whereas changing ourselves takes only a decision and is a choice always available.
We can take an inventory for a moment. What are we presently doing that makes us ashamed or angry or fearful? We can let go of that behavior and responsibly choose a new tack. If strength is needed, or confidence to try a new behavior, we can simply ask that it be ours. The Third Step promises that our lives are in God's care and our needs are always being attended to--not always our wants, but in every instance our needs.
Most of our struggles, today as in the past, are attached to persons and situations we are trying to forcibly control. How righteous our attitudes generally are! And so imposing is our behavior that we are met with resistance, painful resistance. Our recourse is now and always to "accept those things we cannot change, and willingly change that which we can." Our personal struggles will end when we are fully committed to the Serenity Prayer.
The wisdom "to know the difference" is mine today.
You are reading from the book The Language Of Letting Go.
Flack from Setting Boundaries
We need to know how far well go, and how far well allow others to go with us. Once we understand this, we can go anywhere. --Beyond Codependency
When we own our power to take care of ourselves- -set a boundary, say no, and change an old pattern - we may get flack from some people. That's okay. We don't have to let their reactions control us, stop us, or influence our decision to take care of ourselves.
We don't have to control their reactions to our process of self-care. That is not our responsibility. We don't have to expect them not to react either.
People will react when we do things differently or take assertive action to nurture ourselves, particularly if our decision in some way affects them. Let them have their feelings. Let them have their reactions. But continue on your course anyway.
If people are used to us behaving in a certain way, they'll attempt to convince us to stay that way to avoid changing the system. If people are used to us saying yes all the time, they may start mumbling and murmuring when we say no. If people are used to us taking care of their responsibilities, feelings, and problems, they may give us some flack when we stop. That's normal. We can learn to live with a little flack in the name of healthy self-care. Not abuse, mind you, Flack.
If people are used to controlling us through guilt, bullying, and badgering, they may intensify their efforts when we change and refuse to be controlled. That's okay. That's flack too.
We don't have to let flack pull us back into old ways if we've decided we want and need to change. We don't have to react to flack or give it much attention. It doesn't deserve it. It will die down.
Today, I will disregard any flack I receive for changing my behaviors or making other efforts to be myself.
Today, I no longer struggle to find my answers alone. I welcome and am open to positive and healthy support wherever I find it. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey to the Heart
Comfort Yourself
I was driving through Montana, on my way to a town on the Flathead Indian Reservation. I was going there because an old hotel, opened in 1928, noted for its medicinal mineral waters had caught my attention. As I pulled off the highway and began the drive down the side roads, I felt an environmental ambiance I hadn’t experienced before.
The hills were huge mounds, covered with a soft-green, grassy moss. Not steep sharp mountains; comforting, rounded hills– one after another. A gentle energy emanated from them. It was more than love. More than kindness. I felt comforted, embraced, almost held by Mother Earth in her bosom. My body relaxed. My spirit soared. I felt warm. Cared for. Nurtured. Comforted.
Comfort is a place we can visit often, as often as we need to. Although certain places and objects help comfort us, it is really a place within each of us. Some of us may have thought that comfort was a waste of time, but now we know that there is tremendous power in comfort, the power to heal. We no longer have to deprive ourselves of comfort, of that warm feeling of being nurtured. We can visit it for ourselves; we can take others there with us.
What brings you comfort? What makes you feel safe, cozy, warm, loved? What places? What people? What events? Learn to comfort yourself. Learn to accept comfort, and learn to give it. Go to that special place of comfort whenever you need to. Stay as long as you wish. The healing power of comfort will make life better.
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More Language Of Letting Go
Let go of the trappings
We call it keeping up with the Joneses. They buy a boat and we buy a bigger one. They get a new TV and we get a big screen. They start a business and we start planning our articles of incorporation and the first stock release. And while we’re so busy keeping up, we ignore our soul, the inner voice, that’s telling us that it really wants to teach children to read.
While it helps to identify with each other, we’re not the same. So why compare ourselves on the basis of material things?
Follow your own talent and heart. It may be that you are a talented public speaker, able to sway hundreds of people with your words. Or maybe you have the talent of friendship, and you’ve been sent to quietly, one-on-one, help those close to you walk their own path.
If you must compare yourself to something, compare your daily life to your ideals and dreams. Do they match? If those ideals and dreams bring great material wealth, that’s great. If they mean a life of quiet, anonymous service, that’s great,too. Yes, material goods can be fun. But they can also be a trap.
Are you walking a path with heart in your own life, regardless of what others have?
God, help me let go of the trappings. Teach me to walk my own path.
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Divergent Directions
Coping with People You Dislike
by Madisyn Taylor
When we are forced to deal with people we dislike, a great learning opportunity is being put forth to us.
As much as most of us wish we could exist in harmony with the people we encounter throughout our lives, there will always be individuals we dislike. Some simply rub us the wrong way while others strike us as deliberately unaware. We may judge others as too mean or abrasive for us to interact with them comfortably. Yet no person should be deemed a villain because their beliefs, opinions, mannerisms, and mode of being are not compatible with your own. You need not embrace the rough traits they have chosen to embody. There may be times in which the best course of action involves distancing yourself from someone you dislike. But circumstances may require that you spend time in the company of individuals who awaken your aversion. In such cases, you can ease your discomfort by showing your foe loving compassion while examining your feelings carefully.
The reasons we dislike some individuals are often complex and, at first, indecipherable. Often, we are automatically averse to people who are different because they compel us to question our values, spirituality, culture, and ideologies, threatening to undermine our self-assurance. Realistically, however, those you dislike have no power to weaken your life’s foundations. In fact, your aversion to specific individuals may actually be your response to your fear that specific qualities you see in them also exist within you. Their presence may force you to face internal issues you would rather not confront. If you meet someone who inspired an intense, largely negative response in you, ask yourself why your reaction is so laden with powerful emotions. Remember that you control your feelings and, if necessary, you can minimize this individual’s impact on your well-being by choosing how you will respond to them.
Though you may not have an immediate breakthrough, your willingness to consider your dislike rationally can help you better understand the root of your feelings. Your aversion to certain individuals may not wane over time, yet the comprehension you gain through reflection can help you interact with them sympathetically, benevolently, and with a greater degree of kindness. There is nothing wrong with recognizing that you are incompatible with some people. You may never achieve a shared harmony with those you dislike, but you can nonetheless learn to modulate your reactions to these individuals and, ultimately, to coexist peacefully with them. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
The Program teaches us, through the experience, strength and hope of its fellowship, that the worst situation imaginable does not warrant a return to our addiction. No matter how bad a particular situation or set of circumstances, the return to our old ways for even a minute will assuredly make it worse. Am I Grateful for the sharing and caring of “The Program”
Today I Pray
May I insist that no stone can be heavy enough to rag me back down into the pool of my addiction. No burden, so disappointment, no blow to pride or loss of human love is worth the price of returning to my old way of life. When I harbor thoughts that life is “too much” for me, that no one should be expected to “take so much and still remains sane” or that I am “the fall guy,”{ let me listen for the tone of my complaints and remember that I have heard that whine before — before I concluded that I was powerless over the chemical and gave my will over to the will of God. Such wailing sets me up for getting high again. May God keep my ears alert to the tone of my own complaining.
Today I Will Remember
Hear my own complaints.
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One More Day
There the weary cease from troubling, and there the weary be at rest.
– Job 3:17
We never thought we would have to learn to live with constant weariness. Our notions of illness may have prepared us for pain, inconvenience, maybe even some negative emotions like anger, but we had no way of anticipating the unrelenting drain of illness. There is tremendous comfort just in knowing we are not alone, that ultimately there is a Power greater than ourselves to whom we can turn for comfort and strength.
We can’t always escape the physical weariness of illness, but we can regenerate our spirituality, which may have dissipated along with our good health.
I cannot control my illness, but I can have a hopeful attitude.
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One Day At A Time
Progress, Not Perfection
"The maxim 'Nothing but perfection'
may be spelled "Paralysis."
Winston Churchill
I can't count the number of times I've heard the expression, "progress not perfection" from my sponsor and used it with my sponsees. We take little steps - one day at a time - which gradually lead to greater steps. Small successes eventually will lead to bigger successes. Often though, we want it all and we want it NOW!
Recovery is a process - not an end result. It requires a kind of a balancing act - if we try to juggle more balls than what we're capable of comfortably balancing - we will crash and this can lead to relapse. So rather than juggling five balls and crashing - it's better to juggle three really well and gradually work in a 4th or a fifth.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will focus on making progress rather than trying to be perfect.
Rob
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
We have three little mottoes which are apropos. Here they are:
First Things First
Live and Let Live
Easy Does It
Pg. 135 - The Family Afterward
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Go look at yourself in the mirror. What do you see? Look into your eyes. Say: I have the disease of addiction. It's not horrible; it's not bad; it simply is. Right now, this hour, I accept this fact.
Please lift any residual suspicion in me that whispers that I am bad for suffering from addiction.
Opening to Abundance
I am ready, willing and able to open my mind and heart to the abundance that the world has to offer me. This world brings forth what I need. The sun shines, water from fresh springs makes its way across rocky slopes to quench my thirst and abundant varieties of food germinate from seeds to nourish my body. Everywhere nature brings forth. The clouds, wind and rain draw me toward their eternal mystery. This world is designed to nurture and sustain life. I am part of that life, and I receive solace and comfort knowing that the world and I are both alive and vibrant. Both imbued with the same life force. This world nurtures me.
I am open to abundance
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Listen to the message, not the messenger! This is what Tradition Twelve is all about, looking past the personality to the principle behind the message. There are some mighty slick personalities out there talking trash and some Big Book thumpers (irritating as they are) that have a true message of hope.
The slicker, the sicker.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Contempt is not a spiritual gift.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I no longer struggle to find my answers alone. I welcome and am open to positive and healthy support wherever I find it.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
I don't change because I've seen the light but because I have felt the heat. - Penny P.
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Post by majestyjo on Mar 25, 2017 8:05:20 GMT -5
March 24
Daily Reflections
ACTIVE, NOT PASSIVE, p. 92
Man is supposed to think, and act. He wasn't made to God's image to
be an automation.
As Bill Sees It, p. 55
Before I joined A.A., I often did not think, and reacted to people and
situations. When not reacting I acted in a mechanical fashion. After
joining A.A., I started seeking daily guidance from a Power greater
than myself, and learning to listen for that guidance. Then I began to
make decisions and act on them, rather than react to them. The
results have been constructive; I no longer allow others to make
decisions for me and then criticize me for it.
Today--and every day--with a heart full of gratitude, and a desire for
God's will to be done through me, my life is worth sharing, especially
with my fellow alcoholics! Above all, if I do not make a religion out of
anything, even A.A., then I can be an open channel for God's
expression.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Strength comes from honestly telling your own experiences with
drinking. In religion, they call it confession. We call it witnessing or
sharing. You give a personal witness, you share your past experiences,
the troubles you got into, the hospitals, the jails, the break-up of your
home, the money wasted, the debts, and all the foolish things you did
when you were drinking. This personal witness lets out the things you
had kept hidden, brings them out into the open, and you find release
and strength. Am I receiving strength from my personal witnessing?
Meditation For The Day
We cannot fully understand the universe. The simple fact is that we
cannot even define space or time, which we have manufactured by our
own minds and on that depends all our so-called knowledge of the
universe. The simple fact is that we can never know all things, nor are
we made to know them. Much of our lives must be taken on faith.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that my faith may be based on my own experience of the power
of God in my life. I pray that I may know this one thing above all else
in the universe.
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As Bill Sees It
We Cannot Live Alone, p. 83
All of A.A.'s Twelve Steps ask us to go contrary to our natural
desires; they all deflate our egos. When it comes to ego deflation, few
Steps are harder to take than the Fifth. Scarcely any Step is more
necessary to long-time sobriety and peace of mind.
A.A. experience has taught us we cannot live alone with our pressing
problems and the character defects which cause or aggravate them. If
Step Four has revealed in stark relief those experiences we'd rather
not remember, then the need to quit living by ourselves with those
tormenting ghosts of yesterday gets more urgent than ever. We have
to talk to somebody about them.
<< << << >> >> >>
We cannot wholly rely on friends to solve all our difficulties. A good
adviser will never do all our thinking for us. He knows that each final
choice must be ours. He will therefore help to eliminate fear,
expediency, and self-deception, so enabling us to make choices which
are loving, wise, and honest.
1. 12 & 12, p. 55
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
This Too Shall Pass____ Fortitude
Growing older in sobriety, w soon become aware of the fact that both good and bad experiences eventually pass on. No matter how beautiful or ugly a situation becomes, it must change in time. In discussions, we catch this idea by reminding ourselves that "This too shall pass."
We are very fortunate that this is true. Were it otherwise, intolerable conditions would last forever. Our business is to make sure that our own thoughts and actions lead to betterment, for ourselves and others. While we should be willing to accept unpleasantness if the re is no way of avoiding it, we should always hope…. And work….. for improvement.
When unpleasant experiences do pass on. We must also be careful not to resurrect them by brooding about how badly we were treated or trying to get even with others. This only prolongs the trouble. The good news in AA is that we can survive any experience and put it behind us.
Whatever I'm facing today, I'll know that it is temporary and has no power to keep me from the deeper happiness and gratitude I have in the 12 step program.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Love your enemy it will drive him nuts.Eleanor Doan
Love you enemy. It’s a lot easier on you! Hating someone takes so much time and energy.
Loving your enemy means, instead of trying to get even, you let your Higher Power handle that person. Of course, loving your enemy is also hard. It means giving up control. It means giving up self-will. We addicts naturally want to control things and people.
This is where we turn to our program for help. We learn to love our enemies, not for some grand reason. We simply do it because hate can cause us to use alcohol or other drugs again.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, watch over my family, friends, and my enemies. Take from me my desire to control. Take from me all reasons to get high.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll list all my enemies. I’ll say each of their names, and then I’ll read the Third Step out loud.
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Each Day a New Beginning
Love has a hundred gentle ends. --Leonora Speyer
Letting go is a process that is seldom easy. For many, its meaning is elusive. How do we "let go"? Letting go means removing our attention from a particular experience or person and putting our focus on the here and now. We hang on to the past, to past hurts, but also to past joys. We have to let the past pass. The struggle to hang on to it, any part of it, clouds the present. You can't see the possibilities today is offering if your mind is still drawn to what was.
Letting go can be a gentle process. Our trust in our higher power and our faith that good will prevail, in spite of appearances, eases the process. And we must let each experience end, as its moment passes, whether it is good or bad, love or sorrow. It helps to remember that all experiences contribute to our growth and wholeness. No experience will be ignored by the inner self who is charting our course. All are parts of the journey. And every moment has a gentle end, but no moment is forgotten.
My journey today is akin to yesterday's journey and tomorrow's too. I will savor each moment and be ready for the next.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
We realize that we have been giving you much direct advice. We may have seemed to lecture. If that is so we are sorry, for we ourselves, don’t always care for people who lecture us. But what we have related is base upon experience, some of it painful. We had to learn these things the hard way. That is why we are anxious that you understand, and that you avoid these unnecessary difficulties.*
So to you out there—who may soon be with us—we say “Good luck and God bless you!"
* The fellowship of Al-Anon Family Groups was formed about thirteen years after this chapter was written. Though it is entirely separate from Alcoholics Anonymous, it uses the general principles of the A.A. program as a guide for husbands, wives, relatives, friends, and others close to alcoholics. The foregoing pages (though addressed only to wives) indicate the problems such people may face. Alateen, for teen-aged children of alcoholics, is a part of Al-Anon.
If there is no Al-Anon listing in your local telephone book, you may obtain further information on Al-Anon Family Groups by writing to its World Service Office: Box 862, Midtown Station, New York, NY 10018-0862
p. 121
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
I am an alcoholic. I am part Comanche Indian and grew up poor but in a loving home until alcoholism took both of my parents. Then the divorces came, three for each parent, and I learned the anger that is such a part of alcoholic family life. I vowed I would never be an alcoholic. Active in my Indian community, I saw what the alcohol did there also, and I was repelled and disgusted by it.
p. 522
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
There was another reason for our collective poverty. It was soon apparent that while alcoholics would spend lavishly on Twelfth Step cases, they had a terrific aversion to dropping money into a meeting-place hat for group purposes. We were astounded to find that we were as tight as the bark on a tree. So A.A., the movement, started and stayed broke, while its individual members waxed prosperous.
pp. 160-161
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I keep my sobriety by giving it away.
Humility does not mean you think less of yourself.
It means you think of yourself less.
--Ken Blanchard
"Recovery is a path, not a sudden landing."
--Sandra B
"The two major sources of value today are time and knowledge. Find
new ways every day to use them better."
--Brian Tracy
Action is the antidote to despair.
--Joan Baez
Even though our love may waiver, God's love for us never fails.
--Howard Coop
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
LANGUAGE
"Language is the light of the mind."
John Stuart Mill
When I was drinking, I never really thought about how I behaved, how
I dressed or the language I used. Today I believe I should be
responsible for the whole of me.
Language is important because it is my bridge to others; it is also the
vehicle for understanding the ideas of others. Spirituality involves the
concept of language because it is the means of growth, communication
and relationship. My words help me to be known. My ability to
understand the ideas and aspirations of others helps me to feel that I
belong.
God is perceived in this world and the gift of language is one of the
ways God is revealed. My words are spiritual.
May the light of God's eternal truth be manifested in the way I talk
and relate to others.
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Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the LORD,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31
"Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let
God remold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice
that the plan of God for you is good, meets all His demands, and moves
toward the goal of true maturity."
Romans 12:2
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Daily Inspiration
A house becomes a home when it is filled with love and friendship. Lord, bless my life with laughter and many shared moments that I may in turn be a source of sunshine to others.
Live as a responsible adult, but approach God as a child, full of faith and trust. You cannot help but perfect one by the other. Lord, You are my Father. Who else will so lovingly listen to me and care for my desires.
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NA Just For Today
Letting Go Of The Past
"It is not where we were that counts, but where we are going."
Basic Text, pg.22
When we first find recovery, some of us feel shame or despair at calling ourselves "addicts." In the early days, we may be filled with both fear and hope as we struggle to find new meaning in our lives. The past may seem inescapable and overpowering. It may be hard to think of ourselves in any way other than the way we always have.
While memories of the past can serve as reminders of what's waiting for us if we use again, they can also keep us stuck in a nightmare of shame and fear. Though it may be difficult to let go of those memories, each day in recovery can bring us that much farther away from our active addiction. Each day, we can find more to look forward to and less to punish ourselves for.
In recovery, all doors are open to us. We have many choices. Our new life is rich and full of promise. While we cannot forget the past, we don't have to live in it. We can move on.
Just for today: I will pack my bags and move out of my past into a present filled with hope.
************************************************** *********
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
The things we hate about ourselves aren't more real than things we like about ourselves. --Ellen Goodman
It is so easy, and tempting, to get down on ourselves, to focus on an imperfect face, a dismal batting average, our fear of math, or our big feet. The trouble is, the more we feel sorry for ourselves, and the more we have to feel sorry about. And though it probably doesn't hurt to indulge in a little self-pity once in a while, how unfortunate--and limiting--it can be to let those attitudes define us.
The things we hate about ourselves are no more real than the things we like about ourselves. The trick is to dwell on the things we like instead of those we don't. Even on days when we are sure we are the least lovable creatures in the world, we can "act as if" we like ourselves. What a surprise at the end of the day, to find out that we actually do!
What can I like about myself today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
I don't like a man to be too efficient. He's likely to be not human enough. --Felix Frankfurter
On our path we seek balance. Pursuing any single value and ignoring another, whether it is efficiency, hard work, or leisure, will make one sided men of us. Psychology tells us our right brain is the creative, intuitive side and our left brain is the concrete, fact gathering side. Spending our energies developing only one part of ourselves will leave us incomplete. We males have been taught we should be decisive, practical, and have our feet on the ground.
As men we are also creative and sensitive. We think in stories, pictures, and metaphors and we love music. At our best, we are willing to place people and relationships ahead of things and goals. When we are wisest and most human, we draw on the many sides of ourselves.
Today, I will use both the creative, intuitive part of me and the practical, decisive part that can get a job done.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Love has a hundred gentle ends. --Leonora Speyer
Letting go is a process that is seldom easy. For many, its meaning is elusive. How do we "let go"? Letting go means removing our attention from a particular experience or person and putting our focus on the here and now. We hang on to the past, to past hurts, but also to past joys. We have to let the past pass. The struggle to hang on to it, any part of it, clouds the present. You can't see the possibilities today is offering if your mind is still drawn to what was.
Letting go can be a gentle process. Our trust in our higher power and our faith that good will prevail, in spite of appearances, eases the process. And we must let each experience end, as its moment passes, whether it is good or bad, love or sorrow. It helps to remember that all experiences contribute to our growth and wholeness. No experience will be ignored by the inner self who is charting our course. All are parts of the journey. And every moment has a gentle end, but no moment is forgotten.
My journey today is akin to yesterday's journey and tomorrow's too. I will savor each moment and be ready for the next.
You are reading from the book The Language Of Letting Go.
Appreciating Ourselves
We are the greatest things that will ever happen to us. Believe it. It makes life much easier. --Codependent No More
It is time to stop this nonsense of running around picking on ourselves.
We may have walked through much of our life apologizing for ourselves either directly or indirectly - feeling less valuable than others, believing that they know better than we do, and believing that somehow others are meant to be here and we are not.
We have a right to be here.
We have a right to be ourselves.
We are here. There is a purpose, a reason, and an intention for our life. We do not have to apologize for being here or being who we are.
We are good enough, and deserving.
Others do not have our magic. We have our magic. It is in us.
It doesn't matter what we've done in our past. We all have a past, woven with mistakes, successes, and learning experiences. We have a right to our past. It is ours. It has worked to shape and form us. As we progress on this journey, we shall see how each of our experiences will be turned around and used for good.
We have already spent too much time being ashamed, being apologetic, and doubting the beauty of ourselves. Be done with it. Let it go. It is an unnecessary burden. Others have rights, but so do we. We are neither less than nor more than. We are equal. We are who we are. That is whom we were created and intended to be.
That, my friend, is a wonderful gift.
God, help me own my power to love and appreciate myself. Help me give myself validity instead of looking to others to do that.
I forgive myself and all others today. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey to the Heart
Tap into Life’s Energy
Life is not something separate or apart from you, as you once believed. There is a power, a life force, that moves, guides, directs, and inspires you. You are one with life, with life’s energy.
Do things that energize you, charge your soul. Soak up the sun. Soak up color. Soak up beautiful sounds. Immerse yourself in nature, in a world the refreshes, restores, and renews. Don’t worry about the task or the day that looms ahead, the work, and love and play, the problems and choices that are on the way. If you energize yourself, restore yourself, the power to take action will come naturally like water from a spring.
Look around. What do you see that feels right to do? Which direction do you see as the right way to go? Trust the smallest glimmer. Give in to the urge, to the guidance that’s there. Do it once. Do it again. Soon you will find yourself in harmony.
You will have all the guidance, energy, ideas, creativity, power, and ability you need to do all you’re meant to do. And you will be given the power to enjoy it.
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More Language Of Letting Go
Cultivate inner peace
According to my experience, the principle characteristic of genuine happiness is peace, inner peace.
–His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Cultivate a sense of peace, an abiding inner peace that doesn’t depend on outward circumstance.
So much chaos, so much drama, so many emotions surge through us. It is so easy, so tempting to believe that once we get through this circumstance, once we achieve this goal, once we solve this problem, then we will be peaceful.
That’s an illusion.
“I’m happy when I get what I want,” said Kent. “For a few minutes.”
Getting what we want may cause us to feel happy for a moment, but it will bring a limited, transient happiness. The next problem or emotion will present itself. Or we will begin resenting that person or job, because he, she, or it did not bring the happiness we believed it would. Like a carrot on a stick, happiness will always be the next problem, acquisition, or emotion away.
Be peaceful now.
Be happy now.
Take the limits off your joy.
God, help me remember to be peaceful first, no matter what situation I face.
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A Great Teacher
Living Like Water
The journey of water as it flows upon the earth can be a mirror of our own paths through life. Water begins its residence on earth as it falls from the sky or melts from ice and streams down a mountain into a tributary or stream. In the same way, we come into the world and begin our lives on earth. Like a river that flows within the confines of its banks, we are born with certain defining characteristics that govern our identity. We are born in a specific time and place, within a specific family, and with certain gifts and challenges. Within these parameters, we move through life, encountering many twists, turns, and obstacles along the way just as a river flows.
Water is a great teacher that shows us how to move through the world with grace, ease, determination, and humility. When a river breaks at a waterfall, it gains energy and moves on, as we encounter our own waterfalls, we may fall hard but we always keep moving on. Water can inspire us to not become rigid with fear or cling to what’s familiar. Water is brave and does not waste time clinging to its past, but flows onward without looking back. At the same time, when there is a hole to be filled, water does not run away from it in fear of the dark; instead, water humbly and bravely fills the empty space. In the same way, we can face the dark moments of our life rather than run away from them.
Eventually, a river will empty into the sea. Water does not hold back from joining with a larger body, nor does it fear a loss of identity or control. It gracefully and humbly tumbles into the vastness by contributing its energy and merging without resistance. Each time we move beyond our individual egos to become part of something bigger, we can try our best to follow the lead of the river. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
All of us are faced with the troubles and problems of daily living, whether we’ve been in The Program two days or 20 years. We’d sometimes like to beieve we could ake care of all our problems right now, but it rarely works that way If we remember the slogan “Easy Does It” when we are ready to panic, we mayb come to know that the very best way to handle all things is “Easy.” We put one foot in front of the other, doing the best we are capapble of doing. We say “Easy Does It.” and we do it. Are The Pogram’s slognas gtwoing with me as I grow with The Program?
Today I Pray
May even the words “Easy Des It’ serve to slow me down in my hadlong rush to accomplis too much too fast. May just that world “Easy” be enough to make me ease up on he ships that drive my ambitions, ease up on the accelerator which plunges me into new situations without enough forethought, ese off on the number of hours spent in material pursuits. May I hark to the adage that Rome wasn’t built in a single day. Niether can I builde solutions to my problems all at once.
Today I Will Remember
Easy Does It.
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One More Day
Our safety is not in blindness, but in facing our danger.
– Johann Cristoph Schiller
Sometimes our difficulties are compounded when we take more drugs than needed to treat our illnesses. This can be due to our getting prescriptions from than one doctor or from using over-the-counter drugs in addition to our prescribed medications.
Certainly, we need to use the drugs that will keep us as healthy and functional as possible, but over medication can be an accidental side-effect of chronic medical problems. Also, psychological or physical dependence can also occur.
Besides necessary medications, the joy of living and the love of ourselves and others can help us deal with our illnesses. By learning to live with our limitations we can gain back some of the personal power that chronic illness has taken from us.
I am strengthened by facing my problems.
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One Day At A Time
Positive Thinking
"It takes but one positive when given
a chance to survive and thrive to overpower
and entire army of negative thoughts."
Robert H. Schuller
A positive attitude is crucial for a successful recovery. This summer, I wasn laid up with two torn tendons in my left ankle. This happened right at the start of my summer vacation. When it first happened, I was VERY dejected. This had to happen NOW!!! Just when my holidays are starting? (not that ANY time is a good time to receive an injury!). However, upon reflection it WAS good timing. I didn't have get myself to and from work. My daughter was finished school for the summer and was able to be home to assist me with day to day stuff. Plus I had just taken on some new OA service responsibilities and being home allowed me the time to really focus and internalize my new roles. Instead of looking at this as a negative - I think HP gave me an opportunity here to rest up and do some service at the same time. My daughter and I did some wonderful bonding as well. It would have been very easy just to turn negative and feel sorry for myself . But I simply would have made myself (and everyone around me) miserable during the my six weeks of recovery. Instead, it's turned out to be a wonderful learning experience (not to mention it provided a good idea for this meditation topic!). Life's too short for cheap wHine, n'est past?
One Day at a Time . . .
I will look at life from a positive point of view.
~ Rob R.
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
'The way you fellows put this spiritual stuff makes sense. - Pg. 159 - A Vision For You
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Do you sometimes feel like fate made a fool of you with this disease? This is a normal reaction to any chronic disease just like diabetes, lupus, or others. We are the fortunate ones because we can arrest this disease with a simple behavior change, many others can't.
God, as I understand You, grant me the willingness to be grateful for a way out of this devastating disease of addiction.
Golden Moments
I will pay attention to guidance from within and without. There are moments when I know I am doing what lights my spirit and challenges me. Moments when I feel alive and in tune; in touch with a force beyond me that is guiding me towards something that's right for me. Those moments are golden. They carry me through my fears and hard times, they sustain me when inevitable doubts creep in, they give me strength to carry on and stay on course.
I will hold inspiration close to me heart.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
They say you don't have to like your sponsor; they just have to have something you want-like a life. It is your sponsor's job to give you a program to work until you develop a program of your own.
People who sponsor themselves have fools for sponsors.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Action Not Distraction
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
I forgive myself and all others today.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
There are two types of people to watch in AA; those who make it, and those who don't. - Dr. Bob S.
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Post by majestyjo on Mar 25, 2017 8:06:12 GMT -5
March 25
Daily Reflections
A FULL AND THANKFUL HEART
I try hard to hold fast to the truth that a full and
thankful heart cannot entertain certain conceits. When
brimming with gratitude, one's heartbeat must surely
result in outgoing love, the finest emotion that we
can ever know.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 37
I believe that we in Alcoholics Anonymous are fortunate
in that we are constantly reminded of the need to be
grateful and of how important gratitude is in our
sobriety. I am truly grateful for the sobriety God has
given me through the A.A. program and am glad I can give
back what was given to me freely. I am grateful not only
for sobriety, but for the quality of life my sobriety
has brought. God has been gracious enough to give me
sober days and a life blessed with peace and contentment,
as well as the ability to give and receive love, and the
opportunity to serve others -- in our Fellowship, my
family and community. For all of this, I have "a full
and thankful heart."
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Strength comes from coming to believe in a Higher Power
that can help you. You can't define this Higher Power, but
you can see how it helps other alcoholics. You hear them
talk about it and you begin to get the idea yourself. You
try praying in a quiet time each morning and you begin to
feel stronger, as though your prayers were heard. So you
gradually come to believe there must be a Power in the
world outside of yourself, which is stronger than you and
which you can turn to for help. Am I receiving strength from
my faith in a Higher Power?
Meditation For The Day
Spiritual development is achieved by daily persistence in
living the way you believe God wants you to live. Like the
wearing away of a stone by steady drops of water, so will
your daily persistence wear away all the difficulties and
gain spiritual success for you. Never falter in this daily,
steady persistence. Go forward boldly and unafraid.
God will help and strengthen you, as long as you are trying
to do His will.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may persist day by day in gaining spiritual
experience. I pray that I may make this a lifetime work.
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As Bill Sees It
Benefits of Responsibility, p. 84
"Happily, A.A.'s per capita expenses are very low. For us to fail to
meet them would be to evade a responsibility beneficial for us.
"Most alcoholics have said they had no troubles that money would not
cure. We are a group that, when drinking, always held out a hand for
funds. So when we commence to pay our own service bills, this is a
healthy change."
<< << << >> >> >>
"Because of drinking, my friend Henry had lost a high-salaried job.
There remained a fine house--with a budget three times his reduced
earnings.
"He could have rented the house for enough to carry it. But no!
Henry said he knew that God wanted him to live there, and He would
see that the costs were paid. So Henry went on running up bills and
glowing with faith. Not surprisingly, his creditors finally took over the
place.
"Henry can laugh about it now, having learned that God more often
helps those who are willing to help themselves."
1. Letter, 1960
2. Letter, 1966
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Walk in Dry Places
Expect Miracles____Belief
Some have claimed that there have been no miracles since the fourteenth century. This is a smug way of saying that miracles do not happen.
Emmet Fox conceded that miracles don't happen in the sense of violating the perfect, universal system of law and order. But there is such a thing as appealing to a higher law, and this too is part of the constitution of the universe. Prayer is a means of doing this, and enough prayer will get you out of any difficulty, Fox insisted.
People who have found sobriety in AA are actually modern miracles. They expect more miracles to continue happening" otherwise, there would be no point in continuing to work with newcomers. And while we're expecting miracles, let's remember that countless other human problems will yield to a spiritual approach. Life itself is miraculous when we study it: why shouldn't there be more miracles ahead?
I'll keep an open mind on the subject of miracles. Since we still can glipmse only a fragment of the universe, it should follow that there's also much more to learn about the spiritual processes that rescued us from alcoholism.
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Keep It Simple
The artist who aims at perfection in everything achieves it in nothing.---Eugene Delacroix
Trying to be prefect puts distance between us and our Higher Power. Trying to be perfect shows we're ashamed of being human. In recovery, we accept that we're human. We try to be the best human we can be. We used to get high to feel powerful and god-like. But God is not just power. God is also gentleness. Gentleness and love are the power we look for on recovery. We work to be human. We work to know the loving, gentle side of ourselves and our Higher Power. Remember, if we try to be god, we'll fail. If we try to be human, we'll win.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me give up trying to be perfect. Help me always keep in mind that I'm human---which means, I'm not perfect.
Action for the Day: Part of being human is making mistakes. Today, I'll see my mistakes as chances to learn.
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Each Day a New Beginning
When I slow down long enough to smell the roses, I usually see the beauty and all else that is ours to share. --Morgan Jennings
We overlook so many joys, so many hidden treasures, when we hurry from place to place, person to person, experience to experience, with little attention anywhere. All that matters passes before us now, at this moment. And assuredly, we will not pass this way again.
It has been said the greatest gift we can give one another is rapt attention; additionally, living life fully attentive to the breezes, the colors, the sorrows and the thrills as well, is the most prayerful response any of us can make in this life. Nothing more is asked of us. Nothing less is expected.
We have just this one life to live, and each day is a blessing. Even the trials we shall understand as blessings in the months, the years ahead, as we can see now how the painful moments of the past played their part. Our attitude toward the lessons life has offered makes all the difference in the world.
I will look closely at everything in my path today. The women and children, the trees and squirrels, the silent neighbors. I will never see them again as I see them today. I will be at attention.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards
OUR WOMEN FOLK have suggested certain attitudes a wife may take with the husband who is recovering. Perhaps they created the impression that he is to be wrapped in cotton wool and placed on a pedestal. Successful readjustment means the opposite. All members of the family should meet upon the common ground of tolerance, understanding and love. This involves a process of deflation. The alcoholic, his wife, his children, his “in-laws,” each one is likely to have fixed ideas about the family’s attitude towards himself or herself. Each is interested in having his or her wishes respected. We find the more one member of the family demands that the others concede to him, the more resentful they become. This makes for discord and unhappiness.
And why? Is it not because each wants to play the lead? Is not each trying to arrange the family show to his liking? Is he not unconsciously trying to see what he can take from the family life rather than give?
p. 122
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
I graduated from high school at seventeen and immediately left to join the marine corps. I found a home there, relishing the tough discipline, camaraderie, and esprit de corps. I excelled and was one of three who were promoted upon graduation from boot camp. Four and a half years later I was given an opportunity to go into flight training. Success at the end of the eighteenth-month period would mean pilot wings and an officer's commission. Again I excelled. Although most of my peers had college educations and fear of failure constantly plagued me, I graduated near the top of my class.
p. 522
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
Alcoholics are certainly all-or-nothing people. Our reactions to money prove this. As A.A. emerged from its infancy into adolescence, we swung from the idea that we needed vast sums of money to the notion that A.A. shouldn't have any. On every lip were the words "You can't mix A.A. and money. We shall have to separate the spiritual from the material." We took this violent new tack because here and there members had tried to make money out of their A.A. connections, and we feared we'd be exploited. Now and then, grateful benefactors had endowed clubhouses, and as a result there was sometimes outside interference in our affairs. We had been presented with a hospital, and almost immediately the donor's son became its principal patient and would-be manager. One A.A. group was given five thousand dollars to do with what it would. The hassle over that chunk of money played havoc for years. Frightened by these complications, some groups refused to have a cent in their treasuries.
p. 161
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Nine requisites for contented living:
Health enough to make work a pleasure.
Wealth enough to support your needs.
Strength to battle with difficulties and overcome them.
Grace enough to confess your sins and forsake them.
Patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished.
Charity enough to see some good in your neighbor.
Love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others.
Faith enough to make real the things of God.
Hope enough to remove all the anxious fears concerning the future.
--Johann von Goethe
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
--Chinese proverb
"All fortune belongs to him who has a contented mind."
--The Panchatantra
"If we lead good lives, the times are also good. As we are, such are the times."
--St. Augustine
Wise sayings often fall on barren ground; but a kind word is never thrown away."
--Sir Arthur Helps
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
PERSEVERANCE
"I know of no more encouraging
fact than the unquestionable
ability of man to elevate his life by
a conscious endeavor."
-- Henry David Thoreau
Life is exciting to me when I am creating, when I am pursuing a dream,
when I am making miracles in my life.
I suppose "perseverance" stems from a belief that things get better
when we roll-up our sleeves and do something. Sobriety is about
comprehending that in our lives we reflect the message.
God has created man with the ability to make the dream come true;
this is not to say it is easy . . . but it is harder not to dream!
Teach us to wonder at the stars with a spade in our hands.
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Oh, give thanks to the LORD!
Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
Talk of all His wondrous works!
Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD!
Seek the LORD and His strength;
Seek His face evermore.
Psalm 105:1-4
My peace I give you ... Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not
be afraid.
John 14:27
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Daily Inspiration
Things are not always what they seem, so take time to think before you react. Lord, grant me patience and resolve when I have the urge to assume the worst or jump to false conclusions.
Knowing about God and knowing God are very different things. Lord, may I recognize Your workings in my life so that I may really know You.
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NA Just For Today
I Can't, But We Can
"From the isolation of our addiction, we find a fellowship of people with a common bond... Our faith, strength, and hope come from people sharing their recovery..."
Basic Text, pg.94-95
Admit no weakness, conceal all shortcomings, deny every failure, go it alone-that was the creed many of us followed. We denied that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable, despite all evidence to the contrary. Many of us took our First Step only when we had evidence that addicts could recover in Narcotics Anonymous.
In NA, we find others who've been in the same predicament, with the same needs, who've found tools that work for them. These addicts are willing to share those tools with us and gibe us the emotional support we need as we learn to use them. Recovering addicts know how important the help of others can be because they've been given that help themselves. When we become a part of Narcotics Anonymous, we join a society of addicts like ourselves, a group of people who know that we help one another recover.
Just for today: I will join in the bond of recovery. I will find the experience, strength, and hope I need in the Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
My most irrational fear is that I've forgotten how to cook. --Pam Sherman
Once there was a teacher who was having nightmares about doing a good job. In one dream, he couldn't find his classroom and he had to run from building to building. In another dream, he started teaching the lesson in the middle of the woods and didn't notice he was in the wrong place!
Then one Sunday morning, he read an article about a wonderful baker. She baked every day, started bakeries, and fixed food for her friends, yet when the reporter asked her about her fears, she said, "My most irrational fear is that I've forgotten how to cook."
Suddenly the man felt better. He realized someone else had the same kinds of fears. In a miraculous way, our fears become less powerful when we discover that we share them with other people.
What fear can I share with someone right now?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
I don't want everyone to like me; I should think less of myself if some people did. --Henry James
Many of us have learned to control the responses of others by always being pleasing and charming. Maybe we feel it's better to have others like us than to take a stand. Maybe we only feel okay about ourselves if others approve. Some of us have certainly learned we have a sense of power and control over people when they like us. Many of us have carried our people pleasing behavior so far that we have really sold our souls for the applause of others.
Are there problems or tensions in our lives from trying to please someone? Is fear of criticism preventing us from taking an action that would be good for us? Have we neglected our inner voice by listening so hard to others? As we get stronger, healthier, more fully into our manhood, not everyone will like us. Some people will be angry; others, not interested. Once we have faced our own life crises, we are not so dependent on having everyone's approval.
I pray for God's blessing upon the man I'm becoming. I will let go of this need to please everyone.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
When I slow down long enough to smell the roses, I usually see the beauty and all else that is ours to share. --Morgan Jennings
We overlook so many joys, so many hidden treasures, when we hurry from place to place, person to person, experience to experience, with little attention anywhere. All that matters passes before us now, at this moment. And assuredly, we will not pass this way again.
It has been said the greatest gift we can give one another is rapt attention; additionally, living life fully attentive to the breezes, the colors, the sorrows and the thrills as well, is the most prayerful response any of us can make in this life. Nothing more is asked of us. Nothing less is expected.
We have just this one life to live, and each day is a blessing. Even the trials we shall understand as blessings in the months, the years ahead, as we can see now how the painful moments of the past played their part. Our attitude toward the lessons life has offered makes all the difference in the world.
I will look closely at everything in my path today. The women and children, the trees and squirrels, the silent neighbors. I will never see them again as I see them today. I will be at attention.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Letting Go of Worry
What if we knew for certain that everything were worried about today will work out fine?
What if . . . we had a guarantee that the problem bothering us would be worked out in the most perfect way, and at the best possible time? Furthermore, what if we knew that three years from now wed be grateful for that problem, and it solution?
What if . . . we knew that even our worst fear would work out for the best?
What if . . . we had a guarantee that everything that's happening, and has happened, in our life was meant to be, planned just for us, and in our best interest?
What if . . . we had a guarantee that the people we love are experiencing exactly what they need in order to become who they're intended to become? Further, what if we had a guarantee that others can be responsible for themselves, and we don't have to control or take responsibility for them?
What if . . . we knew the future was going to be good, and we would have an abundance of resources and guidance to handle whatever comes our way?
What if . . . we knew everything was okay, and we didn't have to worry about a thing? What would we do then?
We'd be free to let go and enjoy life.
Today, I will know that I don't have to worry about anything. If I do worry, I will do it with the understanding that I am choosing to worry, and it is not necessary.
My Higher Power is with me in the sun as well as the rain, in pain as well as joy. As long as I know I am protected by the power of faith and love, I will remain centered and balanced throughout all of this day. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey to the Heart
Break Through Your Blocks
I was walking at a good clip down sandy Colony Beach when it happened. Without warning, I began running. I ran the longest distance I had ever before run. Instead of collapsing in a panting heap, I kept running. Another stretch. Then another. By the time I tired, I had run a mile. The furthest I had ever before run in my life was about a quarter block.
I didn’t intend to make this breakthrough. I was so blocked in this area I didn’t think I could. Running wasn’t even a goal. I had simply incorporated regular walks into my lifestyle as a way of exercising my body. This event surprised me because I’m not a physical fitness buff. I hadn’t been allowed to participate in any physical education or sports activities as a child or teenager because of chronic health ailments. I spent many years neglecting my body. Lately, I had put some effort into connecting with my body and working out in an amateurish fashion. But running? Not me. Or so I used to think.
The next time I went walking, I felt timid, almost afraid to even try running. I wondered if what I had experienced was a fluke. It wasn’t. I ran again and again. Now, running is a regular part of my physical activity, one I truly enjoy.
Sometimes, we’re so blocked in a particular area we don’t even consider a breakthrough a possibility. We’re so blocked we don’t even see our blocks. Stay open. Don’t limit yourself. Something that yesterday seemed entirely unfeasable and forever beyond your grasp may tomorrow, next month, next year– or today– become something you can do naturally, something that’s available to you. It can come as a total surprise, in an area you hadn’t considered. Your breakthrough may happen in an area you’ve been struggling with and working on.
Life is more than setbacks, and it’s not static. Appreciate and respect where you are now. But let yourself move to the next level when it’s time. Celebrate your breakthroughs when they come. Listen to that quiet voice, that fleeting thought that says, Why don’t you…? even if it’s something you’ve never done before.
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More Language Of Letting Go
Let go of resentments
Resentments are sneaky, tricky little things. They can convince us they’re justified. They can dry up our hearts. They can sabotage our happiness. They can sabotage love.
Most of us have been at the receiving end of an injustice at some time in our lives. Most of us know someone who’s complained of an injustice we’ve done to him or her. Life can be a breeding ground for resentments, if we let it.
“Yes, but this time I really was wronged,” we complain.
Maybe you were. But harboring a resentment isn’t the solution. If it was, our resentment list would resemble the Los Angeles telephone directory. Deal with your feelings. Learn whatever lesson is at hand. Then let the feelings go.
Resentments are a coping behavior, a tool of someone settling for survival in life. They’re a form of revenge. The problem is, no matter who we’re resenting, the anger is ultimately directed against ourselves.
Take a moment. Search your heart. Have you tricked yourself into harboring a resentment? If you have, take another moment and let that resentment go.
God, grant me the serenity that acceptance brings.
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The Road to New Beginnings
Completion
by Madisyn Taylor
Just as new beginnings are important, so is honoring the experience of closure.
Life is a collage of beginnings and endings that run together like still-wet paint. Yet before we can begin any new phase in life, we must sometimes first achieve closure to the current stage we are in. That’s because many of life’s experiences call for closure. Often, we cannot see the significance of an event or importance of a lesson until we have reached closure. Or, we may have completed a certain phase in life or path of learning and want to honor that ending. It is this sense of completion that frees us to open the door to new beginnings. Closure serves to tie up or sever loose ends, quiets the mind even when questions have been left unanswered, signifies the end of an experience, and acknowledges that a change has taken place.
The period of completion, rather than being just an act of finality, is also one of transition. When we seek closure, what we really want is an understanding of what has happened and an opportunity to derive what lessons we can from an experience. Without closure, there is no resolution and we are left to grieve, relive old memories to the point of frustration, or remain forever connected to people from our past. A sense of completion regarding a situation may also result when we accept that we have done our best. If you can’t officially achieve closure with someone, you can create completion by participating in a closure ritual. Write a farewell letter to that person and then burn your note during a ceremony. This ritual allows you to consciously honor and appreciate what has taken place between you and release the experience so you can move forward.
Closure can help you let go of feelings of anger or uncertainty regarding your past even as you honor your experience – whether good or bad - as a necessary step on your life’s path. Closure allows you to emotionally lay to rest issues and feelings that may be weighing down your spirit. When you create closure, you affirm that you have done what was needed, are wiser because of your experience, and are ready for whatever life wants to bring you next. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
If a chemically-dependent person wants to live successfully in society, he or she must replace the power of chemicals over his/her life with the power of something else — preferably positive, at least neutral, but not negative. That is why we say to the agnostic newcomer: If you can’t believe in God, find a positive power that is as great as the power of your addiction, and give it the power and dependence you gave to your addiction. In The Program, the agnostic is left free to find his or her Higher Power, and can use the principles of The Program and the therapy of the meetings to aid in rebuilding his/her life. Do I go out of my way to work with newcomers?
Today I Pray
May the Power of The Program work its miracles equally for those who believe in a personal God or in a Universal Spirit or in the strength of the group itself, or for those who define their Higher Power in their own terms, religious or not. If newcomers are disturbed by the religiosity of The Program, may I welcome them on their own spiritual terms May I recognize that we are all spiritual beings.
Today I Will Remember
To each his own spirituality.
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One More Day
Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.
– Arthur Schopenhauer
It’s not easy to get used to the idea of a “forever” kind of illness. When we first learned about it, we may have allowed it to overtake our lies. Perhaps we lost the pleasure of taking a walk, playing a card game with friends, or spending time helping others. We were obsessed with the memory of how life used to be.
We can learn to put illness into its correct position. We have the chronic condition; it doesn’t own us. We will know we have reached true acceptance when the medical issue doesn’t dominate our days.
Of course a chronic illness affects us, but now we an see it properly as only one facet of our lives. We can choose to once again have full and meaningful days.
I — not my illness — can choose how well and how fully I will live my life.
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One Day At A Time
Present Moment
"Do not dwell in the past, do not
dream of the future, concentrate on
the present moment."
Buddha
Staying focused, serene and receptive requires that we keep our attention placed in the present moment. If we allow our minds to be overly focused in the future (ie on outcomes such as "what if's" or "if only's") or in the past (ie past resentments, past embarrassments, or "would've beens, "could've beens") we allow ourselves to be subject to the psychological and emotional roller coaster ride that can go with these states. These meanderings into the past or present, colour our judgement and play a major role in contributing to our eating disorder. Therefore, it is imperative that we practise staying in the moment in order to maintain a healthy recovery.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will choose to live in the serenity of the present moment.
~ Rob R.
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
We realize that we have been giving you much direction and advice. We may have seemed to lecture. If that is so we are sorry, for we ourselves don't always care for people who lecture us. But what we have related is based upon experience, some of it painful. We had to learn these things the hard way. That is why we are anxious that you understand, and that you avoid these unnecessary difficulties. - Pg. 121 - To Wives
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
The restless changing tides of the sea seem to parallel our recovery. The tide comes in, the tide goes out. A fact of life. Whatever is high tide in your emotion now, will eventually ebb to low tide. Remember: This too shall pass.
Help me recognize that my emotions are like the tides of the sea. Nothing is forever. This too shall pass.
Loving Myself through Action
I want to do something special for myself today. Giving to others and withholding from myself doesn't work. I tend to treat other people the way that I treat myself. If I am stingy with me, I will, somewhere along the line, act that out with other people. If I am hard on myself, I will tend to be hard on others. I am the only person who is with me all hours of the day and I know what feels good and warm to me. I know what makes me feel sustained from within. Today, I will encourage, support and congratulate myself. Each time I do something that pleases me I'll say 'thank you' to myself. Each time I do something well, I'll tell myself 'good job.' I will be my own best cheerleader.
I will encourage and support myself.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
When one door closes, another door opens. It's waiting in the hallway that's hell.
I am not a slow learner. I am just, sometimes, a slow accepter.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
No matter how fast or how far you go, you can't outrun God.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
My Higher Power is with me in the sun as well as the rain, in pain as well as joy. As long as I know I am protected by the power of faith and love, I will remain centered and balanced throughout all of this day.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
This old codger saying he'd spilt more than I'd drunk. I thought; 'If you hadn't spilt so much you might have got here earlier.' - Anon.
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Post by majestyjo on Mar 27, 2017 2:29:07 GMT -5
March 26
Daily Reflections
THE TEACHING IS NEVER OVER
Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your
faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the
wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and
join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the
Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge
the Road of Happy Destiny. May God bless you and keep you
-- until then.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 164
These words put a lump in my throat each time I read them.
In the beginning it was because I felt, "Oh no! The
teaching is over. Now I'm on my own. It will never be
this new again." Today I feel deep affection for the A.A.
pioneers when I read this passage, realizing that it sums
up all of what I believe in, and strive for, and that
-- with God's blessing -- the teaching is never over, I'm
never on my own, and every day is brand new.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Strength comes also from working with other alcoholics.
When you are trying to help a new prospect with the program,
you are building up your own strength at the same
time. You see the other person in the condition you might
be in yourself and it makes your resolve to stay sober
stronger than ever. Often, you help yourself more than
the other person, but if you do succeed in helping the
prospect to get sober, you are stronger from the experience
of having helped another person. Am I receiving strength
from helping others?
Meditation For The Day
Faith is the bridge between you and God. It is the bridge
which God had ordained. If all were seen and known, there
would be no merit in doing right. Therefore God has
ordained that we do not see or know directly. But we can
experience the power of His spirit through our faith. It
is the bridge between us and Him, which we can take or
not, as we will. There could be no morality without free
will. We must make the choice ourselves. We must make the
venture of belief.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may choose and decide to cross the bridge of
faith. I pray that by crossing this bridge I may receive
the spiritual power I need.
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As Bill Sees It
Life Is Not A Dead End, p. 85
When a man or a woman has a spiritual awakening, the most important
meaning of it is that he has now become able to do, feel, and believe
that which he could not do before on his unaided strength and
resources alone. He has been granted a gift which amounts to a new
state of consciousness and being.
He has been set on a path which tells him he is really going
somewhere, that life is not a dead end, not something to be endured or
mastered. In a very real sense he has been transformed, because he
has laid hold of a source of strength which he had hitherto denied
himself.
12 & 12, pp. 106-107
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Walk in Dry Places
I can't.... God can.... I think I'll let God
Guidance
One of the delusions that keep alcoholics in bondage is the belief in the power of the personal will. "I still think I'm strong enough to whip it," alcoholics have declared defiantly, just before heading out for another debacle.
Willpower has a role in recovery, but only in making a decision to turn the problem over to Higher Power. This sets in motion powerful forces that come to our assistance. We don't know how and why this process works as it does. We do know that it has worked repeatedly for those who sincerely apply it in their lives.
What's needed to start the process is an admission of defeat, a willingness to seek a Higher Power, and at least enough open-minded-ness to give it all a fair chance. The outcome can be very surprising.
There's also no need to be apologetic about our Higher Power after we've found sobriety. Nobody had a better plan, and we can remember that other severe problems can be handled in the same way.
I'll do my best today to solve every problem and meet every responsibility. If something is too much for me, I'll turn it over in the same way I did my drinking problem.
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Keep It Simple
We are here to add what we can to, not to get what we can get from, Life. Sir William Osler
Service is a word we hear in our recovery program. Service means work we do for others. It's the backbone of our program. The reason is simple. Service to our Higher Power and to others breaks down our wanting to be self-centered. Service brings us back into the world. We really are part of the group when we pitch in to make coffee, set up chairs, or talk in meetings. We really feel like part of the family when we run errands and help with meals and housework. We really connect with our Higher Power when we pray, "Use me today to help others." Service breaks down the feeling of being alone that being self -centered brings.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to be of service to You and others. Show me what is needed.
Action for the Day: Today will be a service day. I'll see how valued I am. I'll give to others, knowing that I, too, will receive.
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Each Day a New Beginning
To believe in something not yet proved and to underwrite it with our lives; it is the only way we can leave the future open.
--Lillian Smith
Today stands before us, ready for our involvement. And it will offer us opportunities for personal growth and occasions to help another make progress on her path to the future. Challenges are to be expected. They further our purpose. They foster our maturity.
How different it is, for many of us, to look forward today with secure anticipation, to trust in what the future holds! We can still remember, all too vividly perhaps, the darker periods in our lives, periods that seemed to hold no promise; a time when we dreaded the future, fearing it would only compound those awful times.
The fear and the dread are not gone completely. They hover about us, on occasion. They no longer need to darken all of a day, however. We can recognize their presence as parts of our whole, not all of it. How free we are, today! Our choices are many.
I can step toward today with assurance, reaching out to others along the way, trusting that my accumulated steps add stability to my future.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards
Cessation of drinking is but the first step away from a highly strained, abnormal condition. A doctor said to us, “Years of living with an alcoholic is almost sure to make any wife or child neurotic. The entire family is, to some extent, ill.” Let families realize, as they start their journey, that all will not be fair weather. Each in his turn may be footsore and may straggle. There will be alluring shortcuts and by-paths down which they may wander and lose their way.
pp. 122-123
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
I excelled at something else also. Drinking was encouraged; the pilot persona was one of hard, gutsy flying with equally hard drinking, and attendance at happy hour was considered a duty. I did not need any encouragement and reveled in the squadron camaraderie, good-natured joking, and competition at these events.
pp. 522-523
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
Despite these misgivings, we had to recognize the fact that A.A. had to function. Meeting places cost something. To save whole areas from turmoil, small offices had to be set up, telephones installed, and a few full-time secretaries hired. Over many protests, these things were accomplished. We saw that if they weren't, the man coming in the door couldn't get a break. These simple services would require small sums of money which we could and would pay ourselves. At last the pendulum stopped swinging and pointed straight at Tradition Seven as it reads today.
pp. 161-162
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Like a tree blowing in the wind, friendships can bend and waver, yet
they will both remain standing if they have strong roots.
--Suzanne Long
To the world you're just one person but to one person you could mean
the world.
--Anon
There is light within a person of light, And it shines on the whole world.
--The gospel of Thomas
". . . I saw people willing to compromise themselves, or change
themselves, to acquire what they thought was important. I don't judge
what other people do, many choices that may be right for others are
definitely not right for me."
--Kathy Ireland
God is singing and Creation is the melody.
--David Palmer
Forgiveness restores us and our relationships.
--J. Keith Brown
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
TEACHING
"The art of teaching is the art of
assisting discovery."
-- Mark Van Doren
I have a need of a "sponsor" in my life. Somebody I turn to when I have
problems, when I am confused or in pain, when I simply need to talk,
when I feel lonely or when I am about to make a major change in my
life. Every addict needs a sponsor; somebody to bounce ideas off,
especially ideas that affect the living of my life because I truly
understand that the disease of alcoholism lives in my life!
My sponsor guides, suggests and gently leads me to where I need to go;
he does not demand or dictate. My sponsor is a friend whom I can trust,
and he makes a point of not being a "fixer" in my life. He will not allow
me to escape into his life. He will not allow me to become addicted to
him.
O God, let me always be free enough to discover You in my life.
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Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus.
Phil. 4:6-7
"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because
the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."
I John 4:4
A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be
refreshed."
Proverbs 11:25
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding.
Proverbs 3:13
"The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the
will of God lives forever."
1 John 2:17
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Daily Inspiration
Trouble comes to everyone, but feeling miserable is no reason to make others miserable. Lord, may I never destroy another's happiness.
With our blessings come responsibilities. Much is required of those to whom much has been given. Lord, may I use my blessings to be a blessing to others.
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NA Just For Today
Trusting A Sponsor-Worth The Risk
"In seeking a sponsor, most members look for someone they feel they can learn to trust, someone who seems compassionate…"
IP No. 11, "Sponsorship, Revised"
The idea of sponsorship may be new to us. We have spent many years without direction, relying only on self-interest, suspecting everyone, trusting no one. Now that we are learning to live in recovery, we find we need help. We can't do it alone anymore; we must take the risk of trusting another human being. Often, the first person we take that risk with is our sponsor-someone we respect, someone we identify with, someone we have reason to trust.
As we open up to our sponsor, a bond develops between us. We disclose our secrets and develop confidence in our sponsor's discretion. We share our concerns and learn to value our sponsor's experience. We share our pain and are met with empathy. We get to know one another, respect one another, love one another. The more we trust our sponsor, the more we trust ourselves.
Trust helps us to move away from a life of fear, confusion, suspicion, and indirection. In the beginning, it feels risky to trust another addict. But that trust is the same principle as apply in our relationship with a Higher Power-risky or not, our experience tells us we can't do without it. And the more we take the risk of trusting our sponsor, the more open we will feel about our lives.
Just for today: I want to grow and change. I will risk trusting my sponsor and find the rewards of sharing.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
There is a proper balance between not asking enough of oneself and asking or expecting too much. --May Sarton
The boy's mother baked pies that morning before he was up. She left them on the back porch to cool, their warm aroma curling up through his bedroom window. His mouth was full of the smell when he woke.
Before she left for work, she said, "You may do anything you want today, anything at all. Except for one thing--don't step in those pies."
All day the boy could not get the pies out of his mind; his feet itched just thinking about them.
Don't step in those pies. He heard her voice inside his head. By late afternoon he could control it no longer. One, two, three, four, five, six--his foot fell squarely into the middle of each pie.
When we expect the worst from others, we often get just that. The same goes for our expectations of ourselves. And when we trust others, it too is returned.
Do I expect the best of others--and myself--today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
As long as I am constantly concerned about what I "ought" to say, think, do, or feel, I am still the victim of my surroundings and am not liberated. ... But when I can accept my identity from God and allow him to be the center of my life, I am liberated from compulsion and can move without restraints. --Henri J. M. Nouwen
As we get more settled in our recovery, we are more vulnerable to becoming rigidly ruled by ideas of behavior, which should serve as guidelines, not moral edicts. If we find ourselves saying we should pass the message of recovery to others, perhaps the spirit of the program is missing. If we are telling ourselves we should go to meetings but don't feel the benefit, perhaps we have lost the spiritual path.
Our powerlessness is the source of vitality in our relationship with God. In the painful awareness that our will and our own devices get us nowhere, we can put aside the shoulds and again accept our identity from God.
Today, I will set aside my shoulds and return to trust in my Higher Power.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
To believe in something not yet proved and to underwrite it with our lives; it is the only way we can leave the future open.
--Lillian Smith
Today stands before us, ready for our involvement. And it will offer us opportunities for personal growth and occasions to help another make progress on her path to the future. Challenges are to be expected. They further our purpose. They foster our maturity.
How different it is, for many of us, to look forward today with secure anticipation, to trust in what the future holds! We can still remember, all too vividly perhaps, the darker periods in our lives, periods that seemed to hold no promise; a time when we dreaded the future, fearing it would only compound those awful times.
The fear and the dread are not gone completely. They hover about us, on occasion. They no longer need to darken all of a day, however. We can recognize their presence as parts of our whole, not all of it. How free we are, today! Our choices are many.
I can step toward today with assurance, reaching out to others along the way, trusting that my accumulated steps add stability to my future.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Gifts, Not Burdens
Children are gifts, if we accept them. --Kathleen Turner Crilly
Children are gifts. Our children, if we have children, are a gift to us. We, as children, were gifts to our parents.
Sadly, many of us did not receive the message from our parents that we were gifts to them and to the Universe. Maybe our parents were in pain themselves; maybe our parents were looking to us to be their caretakers; maybe we came at a difficult time in their lives; maybe they had their own issues and simply were not able to enjoy, accept, and appreciate us for the gifts we are.
Many of us have a deep, sometimes subconscious, belief that we were, and are, a burden to the world and the people around us. This belief can block our ability to enjoy life and our relationships with others. This belief can even impair our relationship with a Higher Power: we may feel we are a burden to God.
If were have that belief, it is time to let it go.
God gives me all the willingness I need today to sit quietly and listen. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey to the Heart
Make Each Moment Count
“A picture isn’t taken in a moment,” stated the brochure for the Cottonwood Colorado hotel. “It’s taken of a moment.”
It took me a long time to learn that important truth. I spent years trying to get my life together and keep it together, as though it were a solid chunk that could be arranged in a certain place, then made to stay there. It took me a long time to learn about moments.
In many ways, our lives are like a movie reel, made up of individual frames and single moments each one leading into the next. It is a waste of energy to try and hold on to the moments of the past. By the time we begin reaching for them, they’re gone. It is just as poor timing to try to jump into moments that have not arrived yet– the future.
Stay in the present moment, the frame you’re in now. That’s the only moment where happiness, joy, and love can be found. And remember to make each moment count.
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More Language Of Letting Go
Say whatever with as much love as you can
There’s an old story about compassion, detachment, and Mohammed, the prophet of Islam.
Mohammed had a neighbor who had a garbage problem. This neighbor was a cranky old man who let his garbage pile up and spill out all around his yard. The mess was unsightly, but Mohammed practiced tolerance and compassion. He didn’t say anything to the annoying neighbor, for years.
One day, the unsightly mess from the garbage disappeared.
Mohammed went over to his neighbor’s house and knocked on the door. The neighbor answered the knock.
“I got worried when I didn’t see your garbage,” Mohammed said. “I was just checking to make sure you were all right.”
We need to set boundaries, be clear, and stand up for ourselves. We need to check regularly to make sure we’re taking care of ourselves. But once in a while, we also need to check to see if we’re allowing ourselves to become irritated and upset by nonessentials and forgetting the essential of love.
Learn to say whatever, but learn to say it with as much compassion and love as you can.
God, help me learn to take care of myself and live with passion, compassion, and an open heart.
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Unlimited Vision
Everything Is in Divine Order
by Madisyn Taylor
Often when things are not as they seem to be, it is because we do not see the whole vision as we are asked to take baby steps.
We can only see so much from where we sit in our particular bodies, in the midst of our particular lives, rooted as we are in the continuum of space and time. The divine, on the other hand, is not limited to the constructs of either space or time, and its wisdom and workings often elude us as we try to make sense of what is happening in our lives. This is why things are not always what they seem to be and even the best-laid plans are sometimes overturned. Even when we feel we have been guided by our intuition every step of the way, we may find ourselves facing unexpected loss and disappointment. At times like these, we can find some solace in trusting that no matter how bad or just plain inexplicable things look from our perspective, they are, in fact, in divine order.
Even as we take our places in this earthly realm, a part of us remains completely free of the confines we face here. Regardless of what is happening in our lives, this part of us remains infused with joy and gratitude, connected to the unbroken source from which we come. Our small self, on the other hand, who is caught up in our false identity as a being limited in space and time, regards happiness as the result of things going the way it wants them to go. It is this part of us that suffers the greatest confusion and upset when the logic of events does not compute. And it is to this self that we must extend unconditional love, forgiveness, and compassion. In order to do this, we tap into our inner divinity, holding the space of a tender authority, extending love and light to our ego as a mother extends her love to a troubled child.
There are many ways to access our inner divinity—meditation, prayer, chanting, channeling, and conscious breathing, to name a few. It is helpful to develop a regular practice that provides us access to this all-powerful, healing presence, as it can be difficult to reach once we are in a stressful position, if we have not already established a connection. The more connected we are with this part of ourselves, the more we share its unlimited vision and the secure, knowing that all the things of our life, no matter how they appear, are in a state of divine and perfect order. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
I know today that getting active means trying to live the suggested Steps of The Program to the best of my ability. It means striving for some degree of honesty, first with myself, then with others. It means activity directed inward,m to enable me to see myself and my relationship with my Higher Power more clearly. As I get active, outside and inside myself, so shall I grow in The Program. Do I let others do all the work at meetings? Do I carry my share?
Today I Pray
May I realize that “letting go and letting God” does not mean that I do not have to put any effort into The Program. It is up to me to work the Twelve Steps, to learn what may be an entirely new thing with me — honesty. May I differentiate between activity for activity’s sake — busy-work to keep me from thinking – - and the thoughtful activity which helps me to grow.
Today I Will Remember
“Letting God” means letting Him show us how.
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One More Day
This confrontation, with death . . . makes everything look so precious, so sacred, so beautiful, that I feel more strongly than ever the impulse to live it, to embrace it, and let myself be overwhelmed by it.
– Abraham Maslow
When we are ill, we are forced to face our own mortality. A close brush with death is enough to put the fear of dying into us, but with this fear a sense of spiritually may flow through our lives. Problems, which once seemed overwhelming diminish in size. The trees are greener, the sky is bluer. People are kinder and more sharing than ever before.
We often don’t miss what we’ve taken for granted until it’s nearly yanked away from us. All of a sudden, every day is a gift. Every day is precious chance to live.
I am continuing the struggle to make each day the best one because I rejoice in the gift of life.
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One Day At A Time
Victimization
"Within each of us lies the power of our consent to health and to sickness,
to riches and to poverty, to freedom and to slavery.
It is we who control these, and not another.”
Richard Bach
I have lived most of my life believing that I was a victim of circumstance. As a “victim” I believed I had no power, no options, no choices, no hope and no control in my life. It’s so tempting to be a victim. If I’m a victim, I am not responsible for anything. Every pain, every dysfunction, every addiction, every problem was not my “fault” and there was nothing I could do to improve my life. Or so I thought.
One day a friend asked me if I actually wanted to be well and I was shocked to find that the immediate answer flooding from my heart was, “NO.” Wow! You would think that a victim would give anything in order to be well, yet I found that I was terrified of the responsibility of being well. If I were well, I would be in charge of my own choices – particularly the most primal choices of all: Life or Death, holding onto powerlessness, or reaching out to grasp hope and health.
I am still tempted to return to the false security of victim-hood. Yet I come to recovery, and keep coming back. I work the program, I learn, I fail, I fall. I rise again and begin again.
One day at a time...
I will remember that I have the power, the freedom, and the responsibility to make choices which move me towards health. I will resist the siren call of victimization.
Lisa V.
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Your candidate may give reasons why he need not follow all of the program. He may rebel at the thought of a drastic housecleaning which requires discussion with other people. Do not contradict such views. Tell him you once felt as he does, but you doubt whether you would have made much progress had you not taken action. - Pg. 94 - Working With Others
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Our anger often depicts the struggle we face in withdrawal. It seems our anger explodes over nothing. But in our hearts we know we want our DRUG and we're angry we can't have it. We stay clean, go to meetings, talk to our sponsor or counselor, and the anger passes.
May the Light of recovery outshine my anger of withdrawal as I live from hour to hour in the first month.
Silver Linings
I search for silver linings, for the deeper meaning of the events in my life. Life is my teacher if I can learn to read the subtle messages that are laced into the circumstances that I co-create around me. I will look for the lesson. When life offers up its inevitable challenges, I will try to understand what I am meant to see that I am not seeing, what I am meant to hear that I am not hearing, what I am meant to know that I am not knowing. There is always a silver lining if I look for it. Even if I don't see it readily, I trust that it is there and that it will reveal itself to me over time. Life isn't simple. One of the ways that I can grow from life's adversities, is to see what is positive about a difficult situation, to look for the silver lining. I can grow in joy and in pain. It doesn't need to be one or the other because pain can transform into joy. It can be the fire that clears the field for new and tender growth.
There is always a silver lining.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Many people think that the Twelve Steps are the work. But they are not. The Twelve Steps are the preparation for doing the real work. The real work is in reaching out to the still suffering alcoholic and addict.'God has no hands but yours.' (attributed to Mother Theresa).
I become the hands of my Higher Power.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
If you treat people badly today, you get to reap the benefits tomorrow.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
God gives me all the willingness I need today to sit quietly and listen.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Two things an alcoholic doesn't like; The way things are...and change. - Anon.
How true that is. Truer words were never spoken, hear it all the time at meetings.
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Post by majestyjo on Mar 27, 2017 2:30:09 GMT -5
March 27
Daily Reflections
A.A.'s FREEDOMS
We trust that we already know what our several freedoms
truly are; that no future generation of AAs will ever
feel compelled to limit them. Our AA freedoms create the
soil in which genuine love can grow. . . .
LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 303
I craved freedom. First, freedom to drink; later, freedom
from drink. The A.A. program of recovery rests on a
foundation of free choice. There are no mandates, laws
or commandments. A.A.'s spiritual program, as outlined
in the Twelve Steps, and by which I am offered even
greater freedoms, is only suggested. I can take it or
leave it. Sponsorship is offered, not forced, and I
come and go as I will. It is these and other freedoms
that allow me to recapture the dignity that was crushed
by the burden of drink, and which is so dearly needed
to support an enduring sobriety.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
You get the power to overcome drinking through the
fellowship of other alcoholics who have found the way
out. You get power by honestly sharing your past
experience by a personal witness. You get power by
coming to believe in a Higher Power, the Divine Principle
in the universe which can help you. You get power by
working with other alcoholics. In these four ways,
thousands of alcoholics have found all the power they
needed to overcome drinking. Am I ready and willing to
accept this power and work for it?
Meditation For The Day
The power of God's spirit is the greatest power in the
universe. Our conquest of each other, the great kings
and conquerors, the conquest of wealth, the leaders of
the money society, all amount to very little in the end.
But one that conquers oneself is greater than one who
conquers a city. Material things have no permanence. But
God's spirit is eternal. Everything really worth while
in the world is the result of the power of God's spirit.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may open myself to the power of God's spirit.
I pray that my relationships with others may be improved
by this spirit.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Room For Improvement, p. 86
We have come to believe that A.A.'s recovery Steps and Traditions
represent the approximate truths which we need for our particular
purpose. The more we practice them, the more we like them. So there
is little doubt that A.A. principles will continue to be advocated in the
form they stand now.
If our basics are so firmly fixed as all this, then what is there left to
change or to improve?
The answer will immediately occur to us. While we need not alter our
truths, we can surely improve their applications to ourselves, to A.A. as
a whole, and to our relation with the world around us. We can
constantly step up the practice of "these principles in all our affairs."
Grapevine, February 1961
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
If it works, don't fix it.
Accepting life.
A lot of things in life are all right just as they are. This is hard to understand in a world that puts high value on improvement and progress, but since there are so many things that do need fixing, it's best not to tamper with things that are working.
Sometimes we think something should be changed in another person's life. Two AA members decided, for example, that a mutual AA friend deserved higher status employment than what he was doing. They seized upon an unusual profession that seemed to fit his talents and interests, and were disappointed and even a bit offended when he decided he wasn't interested. He continued to follow his regular trade until his retirement thirty years later.
In truth, there had really been nothing that needed "fixing" in his choice of a vocation. He had been earning a living doing very honest but difficult work. It was somewhat presumptuous of his friends to outline a new career for him, and it could have led to considerable harm.
Let's leave people and things alone unless our help is requested and something really does need fixing.
I'll look around today and notice the things in my life that are working well and really don't need changing. Then I'll focus my attention on the things that really should be fixed.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
The secret success is constancy of purpose. --- Benjamin Disraeli
In Twelve Step meetings, we don't talk about counseling, treatment centers, or non-program reading. Many of us have been helped in these ways, but we shouldn't confuse them with Twelve Step programs. We must keep our Twelve Step programs pure, no matter what is in style among counselors or at treatment centers, or what the latest books say. Certainly, we should use these sources if they help us, but not in our program meetings. There, we must stick to the basics that have helped addicts recover all over the world for many years. Steps, traditions, meetings, sponsorship---these things work, no matter what is in style.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, let me be there to help an addict in need, by sharing my Twelve Step program.
Action for the Day: I will help out today be being a sponsor or by calling a new member, just to say hello.
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
It takes time, love, and support to find peace with the restless one. --Deidra Sarault
Restlessness is born of frustration. Perhaps we want to move ahead with our lives more quickly. Does a job have us trapped? Do past troubles haunt us still? Maybe perfectionism tarnishes every attempt to achieve. We can learn from our restlessness, if we let it guide us to our inner reservoir of peace and spiritual support.
The search for serenity often takes us farther from it. We mistakenly think a different job or home or relationship will answer all our needs. But we find that our restlessness has accompanied us to our new surroundings. Peace has its home within. And prayer opens the door to it. In the stillness of our patience, we are privy to its blessing.
Restlessness indicates our distance from our higher power. It may be time for a change in our lives. Change is good; however, our relationship with God will vouchsafe any needed changes. Restlessness is self-centered and will only hamper the steps we may need to take.
Restlessness is a barometer that reveals my spiritual health. Perhaps prayer is called for today.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards
Suppose we tell you some of the obstacles a family will meet; suppose we suggest how they may be avoided—even converted to good use for others. The family of an alcoholic longs for the return of happiness and security. They remember when father was romantic, thoughtful and successful. Today’s life is measured against that of other years and, when it falls short, the family may be unhappy.
p. 123
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
One year into my training, I reported for the final phase and met a young beauty. I was drunk the night I met her, and she would have nothing to do with me, but I could never have approached her without the false courage the alcohol gave me. The next day I saw her again, this time sober, and we began to date. I graduated from flight training on her twentieth birthday, and she pinned my gold wings and my second lieutenant bars on me. We were married two weeks later. We have just celebrated our thirty-fifth anniversary, and she is the most wonderful person I could have ever found.
p. 523
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
In this connection, Bill likes to tell the following pointed story. He explains that when Jack Alexander's Saturday Evening Post piece broke in 1941, thousands of frantic letters from distraught alcoholics and their families hit the Foundation* letterbox in New York. "Our office staff," Bill says, "consisted of two people: one devoted secretary and myself. How could this landslide of appeals be met? We'd have to have some more full-time help, that was sure. So we asked the A.A. groups for voluntary contributions. Would they send us a dollar a member a year? Otherwise this heartbreaking mail would have to go unanswered.
p. 162
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God, help me let go of my need to create drama to have a life.
--Melody Beattie
Be quicker with a compliment than words that criticize. Kindness builds
you up. Meanness cuts you down in size.
--Terri
He will take it all, if you just learn to give... Put it in God's Hands...
and you will start to live!
--Lori W.
You dwell always in the heart of God.
--John-Roger
"We don't ask God for too much; in fact, we ask for too little. Turn to
Him for everything. Give everything to God."
--Marianne Williamson
Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
GUILT
"It is all one to me if a man
comes from Sing Sing or
Harvard. We hire a man not his
history."
-- Henry Ford
So often we can get so locked into our history --- what we did, what we
said, the events of which we were ashamed --- that we miss the gift of the
new day.
Those of us who suffer from the disease of addiction need to deal with
past problems but not live in them. Our attitude towards today need not
be based on what happened yesterday. Today is the beginning of the rest
of our lives. Today I know that I create most of the pain and tragedy in
my life, but I also know that I create the joys and successes. I am
confident that my sobriety makes me a winner.
Lord, I forgive myself for yesterday and look forward to the healing that
comes with today.
************************************************** *********
"Agree with God, and be at peace; in this way good will come to you."
Job 22:21
"I am he who comforts you."
Isaiah 51:12
"God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by
always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every
good work."
2 Corinthians 9:8
"The joy of the Lord is your strength."
Nehemiah 8:10
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Daily Inspiration
Be wise enough to thank God for not giving you some of the things you've asked for and gracious enough to gratefully enjoy what He gave you in its place. Lord, You know better than I what is right and best for me.
If you are not happy with what you have, how will you be happy with what you want to have? Lord, may I appreciate the good things in my life and refuse to feel sorry for myself or compare myself to others.
************************************************** *********
NA Just For Today
Looking For The Assets
"In accordance with the principles of recovery we try not to judge, stereotype, or moralize with each other"
Basic Text p. 11
How many times in our recovery have we misunderstood the behavior of another, immediately formed a judgment, applied a label, and neatly tucked the individual into a pigeonhole? Perhaps they had developed a different understanding of a Power greater than themselves than we had, so we concluded their beliefs were unspiritual. Or maybe we saw a couple having an argument; we assumed their relationship was sick, only to find out later that their marriage had prospered for many years.
Thoughtlessly tossing our fellows into categories saves us the effort of finding out anything about them. Every time we judge the behavior of another, we cease to see them as potential friends and fellow travelers on the road to recovery. If we happened to ask those we are judging if they appreciate being stereotyped, we would receive a resounding "no" in response. Would we feel slighted if this were done to us? Yes, indeed. Our best qualities are what we want others to notice. In the same way, our fellow recovering addicts want to be well thought of. Our program of recovery asks us to look positively at life. The more we concentrate on the positive qualities in others, the more we'll notice them in ourselves.
Just for today: I will set aside my negative judgments of others, and concentrate instead on appreciating the favorable qualities in all.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
We like someone because, we love someone although. --Henri de Montherlant
Families are like scissors. They are joined in the middle but often spread wide apart, moving away from each other. When we're not feeling close to other family members--when it's hard even to like them--it seems as though we'll never come together again.
But pity the scrap of paper that comes between our scissor blades! The scissors works together again and slices the trouble clean. When trouble threatens our family, we can slice it through if we move together in love and acceptance.
No matter our small differences, we are part of the same living organism, in a way. The family we live in has been together for many generations, and we are just the most recent members. When we look at one another, we see the products of centuries of love.
When I feel distant from my family, can I locate where we are still joined together?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Man is in love
And loves what vanishes;
What more is there to say?
--W. B. Yeats
Throughout our lives we repeatedly make attachments and lose them. We are taken with the rich color of leaves in the fall, but we know that this beauty will soon be replaced with stark, empty branches. We give ourselves to caring for a baby, knowing someday this person will say good bye to make his or her own life. We lie close to our lover in a special moment, yet we know that this, too, will be limited by the years of our lives.
We want to defiantly say, "No! If I can't have permanence I'll take nothing at all!" Most of us have wished we could outmaneuver life with such a power play. The loss feels so painful we might think holding back our love will save us pain. But holding back brings a greater unhappiness. When we submit to it, life is generous in its kaleidoscope of forms. Each attachment, each loss, is followed by more rewards and attachments. Loss and death itself are part of life. There is peace in accepting and living fully in the cycle of seasons.
God, help me to engage with life fully and to accept change.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
It takes time, love, and support to find peace with the restless one. --Deidra Sarault
Restlessness is born of frustration. Perhaps we want to move ahead with our lives more quickly. Does a job have us trapped? Do past troubles haunt us still? Maybe perfectionism tarnishes every attempt to achieve. We can learn from our restlessness, if we let it guide us to our inner reservoir of peace and spiritual support.
The search for serenity often takes us farther from it. We mistakenly think a different job or home or relationship will answer all our needs. But we find that our restlessness has accompanied us to our new surroundings. Peace has its home within. And prayer opens the door to it. In the stillness of our patience, we are privy to its blessing.
Restlessness indicates our distance from our higher power. It may be time for a change in our lives. Change is good; however, our relationship with God will vouchsafe any needed changes. Restlessness is self-centered and will only hamper the steps we may need to take.
Restlessness is a barometer that reveals my spiritual health. Perhaps prayer is called for today.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
After Burn
How could I do it? How could I say it? Even though I meant it, I still feel ashamed, guilty, and afraid.
This is common reaction to new, exciting recovery behaviors. Anything to do with owning our power and taking care of ourselves can trigger feelings of shame, guilt, and fear.
We do not have to allow these feelings to control us. They're a backlash. They're after burn. Let them burn out.
When we start confronting and attacking feelings and messages, we will experience some after burn. The after burn is what we allowed to control us all our life - shame and guilt.
Many of us grew up with shame-based messages that it wasn't okay to take care of ourselves, be honest, be direct, and own our power with people. Many of us grew up with messages that it wasn't okay to be who we were and resolve problems in relationships. Many of us grew up with the message that what we want and need isn't okay.
Let it all burn off. We don't have to take after burn so seriously. We don't let the after burn convince us that we are wrong and don't have a right to take care of ourselves and set boundaries.
Do we really have the right to take care of ourselves? Do we really have the right to set boundaries? Do we really have the right to be direct and say what we need to say?
You bet we do.
Today, I will let any after burn which sets in after I practice a new recovery behavior, burn off. I will not take it so seriously. God, help me let go of my shame and needless fears about what will happen to me if I really start caring for and loving myself.
I am good enough...just the way I am. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey to the Heart
Resentments Hurt Everybody
Resentments only hurt ourselves. Not true. Resentments can hurt others,too.
When we brood and allow resentments to brew and fester, we send negative, mean, hurtful, spiteful energy to others. The more consciously and vividly we do this, the more pain we can cause everyone. The more bonded we are with others, whether they’re business associates, friends, lovers, or family members, the more powerfully our resentments can impact them as well as us.
So if you’re busy thinking resentful thoughts about someone close to you on the job or at home, consider the harm you are doing to him or her. The more powerful the emotions connected to these thoughts and the closer you are to the person, the more damage you can do. You can sabotage the other person, help keep him or her down. Even if you don’t speak your resentments aloud, even if you try to hide the way you feel, the energy is there in the air hurting both of you, just as we focus on clearing the air we breathe of toxins, we need to cleanse the air around us at work and at home from the toxic fumes of resentment.
Remember, when we harbor hate, jealousy, or rage, we connect to others in ways that hurt us all. Let’s set others free. Let’s release our resentments. Along the way, we’ll set ourselves and our hearts free,too.
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More Language Of Letting Go
Set yourself free
I’ll let go tomorrow; I’m having too much fun torturing myself today. No, that’s not really it. I’ll let go tomorrow; the things I’m holding on to need me to hold them today. Yes, that’s closer to what it is. I’m not enjoying myself at all today, but I have to keep holding on to my desires, my guilt, my limitations, and my worries. I am defined by them. And you want me to let go of them today? Sorry, maybe tomorrow. And so we hold on. And the ulcer grows. And the pain in our hearts from unfulfilled expectations keeps gnawing away at us. What we’re really putting off is the freedom we get from letting go.
Yes, I know that what you’re holding on to is important. Everything that I have ever had to let go of was important to me, too. If it wasn’t important, letting go wouldn’t be a struggle. We’d just put it down and walk away.
You’ve been given today. Will you use it or will you miss out on today’s wonder because you’re to preoccupied with holding on to things that are beyond your control?
God, help me let go,today.
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In God’s Care
I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.
~~C.C. Lewis
In this hectic life, demands are constantly made on us–demands on our time, our attention, our skills. There are demands on all our resources, both spiritual and material. How can we meet all the demands? When we try, aren’t we in danger of spreading ourselves too thin and not being able to satisfy anybody, including ourselves?
We learn, though, both from God and from experience, that the secret of happiness is in giving. It is the heart and soul of our spiritual life. We are always happiest when we are giving–of ourselves, our possessions, our money, our time, our attention, our tolerance, our patience, our appreciation, and our love.
It is hard to give too much. The more we give of ourselves, the more we give to ourselves.
I will give as much as I can, and a little bit more.
******************************************
Doing for Others
Solace in Service
by Madisyn Taylor
So many times, when we are being of service to others, we find the answer or solution to our own problems.
When we feel bad, often our first instinct is to isolate ourselves and focus on what’s upsetting us. Sometimes we really do need some downtime, but many times the best way to get out of the blues quickly is to turn our attention to other people. In being of service to others, paradoxically, we often find answers to our own questions and solutions to our own problems. We also end up feeling more connected to the people around us, as well as empowered by the experience of helping someone.
When we reach out to people we can help, we confirm that we are not alone in our own need for support and inspiration, and we also remind ourselves that we are powerful and capable in certain ways. Even as our own problems or moods get the better of us sometimes, there is always someone else who can use our particular gifts and energy to help them out. They, in turn, remind us that we are not the only people in the world with difficulties or issues. We all struggle with the problems of life, and we all feel overwhelmed from time to time, but we can almost always find solace in service.
In the most ideal situation, the person we are helping sheds light on our own dilemma, sometimes with a direct piece of advice, and sometimes without saying anything at all. Sometimes just the act of getting our minds out of the obsessive mode of trying to figure out what to do about our own life does the trick. Many great inventors and artists have found that the inspiration they need to get to the next level in their work comes not when they’re working but when they’re walking around the block or doing dishes. We do ourselves and everyone else a great service when we take a break from our sorrows and extend ourselves to someone in need. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
Storing up grievances is not only a waste of time, but a waste of life that could be lived to greater satisfaction. If I keep a ledger of “oppressions and indignities,” I’m only restoring them to painful reality.
“The horror of that moment” the King said, “*I shall never, never forget.”
“You will though,” said the Queen, “if you don’t make a memorandum of it.”
(Lewis Carroll. Through The Looking Glass)
Am I keeping a secret storehouse for the wreckage of my past?
Today I Pray
God keep me from harboring the sludge from the past — grievances, annoyances, grudges, oppressions, wrongs, injustices, putdown,s slights, hurts. They will nag at me and consume my time in rehashing what I “might have said” or done until I face each one, name the emotion it produced in me, settle it a best I can — and forget it. May I empty my storehouse of old grievances.
Today I Will Remember
Don’t rattle old bones.
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One More Day
Patience is the best remedy for every trouble.
– Plautus
We are used to the quick fix. Candy bars hold back our hunger. Credit cards allow us to spend freely when we are financially strapped. We drive through the fast-food lanes and eat on the way to our next stop.
And when we were told about our illness, our reaction may have been, “Okay, Now how can it be fixed?” We were told that part of the treatment was time, a remedy requiring patience and one difficult to accept. We are learning to accept that the nature of our illness requires us to be patient. We can use this patience to slow the value of each passing minute. Our time becomes more and more precious as we understand that patience is a very good remedy.
Today I can begin to practice patience.
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One Day At A Time
Forgiveness
"To err is human, to forgive is divine."
Alexander Pope
When most of us first came into Program, we carried around a great deal of shame, guilt, and resentment. This made it very difficult for us to forgive ourselves, or others, for various past transgressions. We usually must rely on the forgiveness and support of other Program members before we come to a point of being able to truly forgive ourselves.
Coming to the point of self-forgiveness is a crucial step because once we have achieved it for ourselves, we can finally come to the stage of maturity to begin to forgive others. By offering true forgiveness we can begin to release the plethora of harbored resentments that have poisoned our souls and hindered our recovery for so many years.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will work towards learning to forgive myself so that I might eventually learn to forgive others.
Rob R.
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
It works -- it really does. - Pg. 88 - Into Action
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Fragments of our addiction never stop calling, 'Hey, just one won't hurt; look, what's so wrong with going to that party; it's disloyal to stop seeing old friends.' But those of us who've been around awhile recognize the 'callings' for what they are. Give the 'calls' an inch and we KNOW addiction takes a mile.
When my mind is niggled with addiction excuses for setting myself up, may I follow program advice and call my sponsor or counselor.
Life's Generosity
I appreciate the generosity of life. Everywhere I look, the world is spilling forth abundance. I open my hand to receive and the world fills it up with something. Whether it's sunlight, sweet smells or the gift of another day, this world is constantly giving forth. Today I say a quiet thank you for all that the world provides. For sunsets, fresh air and flowers. For rain and people and pets. My arms aren't big enough to hold it all, so today I will appreciate just what I have, knowing that appreciating what I can hold will feel more wonderful than running after more than I can carry.
I feel grateful for the gifts of this world
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Most of our growth in recovery takes time. You may, like many of us, want to be restored to wholeness yesterday. However, you can afford to be patient. After all, when the Universe made time, it made plenty of it.
I give time, time.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Sponsor's question: Who's not doing it your way today?
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
I am good enough just the way I am.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Our defects are like the bars of a cage. The central point is not to study the bars, but get out of the cage. - Anon.
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Post by majestyjo on Mar 28, 2017 22:01:46 GMT -5
March 28
Daily Reflections
EQUALITY
Our membership ought to include all who suffer from
alcoholism. Hence we may refuse none who wish to recover.
Nor ought A.A. membership ever depend upon money or
conformity. Any two or three alcoholics gathered together
for sobriety may call themselves an A.A. group, provided
that, as a group, they have no other affiliation.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 565
Prior to A.A., I often felt that I didn't "fit in" with
the people around me. Usually "they" had more/less money
than I did, and my points of view didn't jibe with
"theirs." The amount of prejudice I had experienced in
society only proved to me just how phony some self
-righteous people were. After joining A.A., I found the
way of life I had been searching for. In A.A. no member
is any better than any other member; we're just
alcoholics trying to recover from alcoholism.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
When you come into an A.A. meeting, you're not just
coming into a meeting, you're coming into a new life.
I'm always impressed by the change I see in people after
they've been in A.A. for a while. I sometimes take an
inventory of myself, to see whether I have changed and if
so, in what way. Before I met A.A., I was very selfish. I
wanted my own way in everything. I don't believe I ever
grew up. When things went wrong, I sulked like a spoiled
child and often went out and got drunk. Am I still all get
and no give?
Meditation For The Day
There are two things we must have if we are going to change
our way of life. One is faith, the confidence in things
unseen, that fundamental goodness and purpose in the
universe. The other is obedience, that is living according
to our faith, living each day as we believe God wants us to
live, with gratitude, humility, honesty, purity,
unselfishness and love. Faith and obedience, these two,
will give us all the strength we need to overcome sin and
temptation and to live a new and more abundant life.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may have more faith and obedience. I pray that
I may live a more abundant life as a result of these things.
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As Bill Sees It
Keystone of the Arch, p. 87
Faced with alcoholic destruction, we became open-minded on spiritual
matters. In this respect alcohol was a great persuader. It finally beat
us into a state of reasonableness.
<< << << >> >> >>
We had to quit playing God. It didn't work. We decided that
hereafter, in this drama of life, God was going to be our Director. He
would be the Principal; we, His agents.
Most good ideas are simple, and this concept was the keystone of the
new triumphal arch through which we passed to freedom.
Alcoholics Anonymous
1. p. 48
2. p. 62
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
Keep coming back.. it works if you work it.
Fortitude
A popular self-help book noted that there is tremendous power in repetition.... like the tap-tap-tap of a hammer that finally drives the nail through a board. AA works in much the same way; attendance at meetings is the steady tap-tap-tap that helps bring about lasting sobriety and personal improvement.
Attending meetings is also much like attending school. Nobody learns everything in one classroom session, and it's also true that the student must put forth an effort to learn.
We should accept AA as something that will gradually grow on us if we become part of it and apply ourselves to its principles. The willingness to continue attending meetings is some evidence of sincerity and commitment. We discover that there are few meetings that bring us world-shaking revelations and experiences, but as we keep coming back and working the program, our own lives will improve steadily. This is the result of many meetings, not just a few.
I'll do everything possible today to strengthen my sobriety and my understanding of the program. Rather than seeking shortcuts, I'll be grateful for steady progress.
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Keep It Simple
God is not a cosmic bellboy.---Harry Emerson Fosdick
We have to laugh when we look back at the times we treated God like our servant. Who did we think we were, ordering God to do something for us? But we got away with it. God even did some of the things we asked. Now we know that our Higher Power is not a servant. As we work the Steps, we know we don't give orders to our Higher Power. We don't expect God to work miracles every time we'd like one. we're asking our Higher Power to lead us. After all, who knows what is best for us---our Higher Power or us? Our Higher Power has many wonderful gifts for us. Our Higher Power will show us goals, help us live in love and joy, and give us strength.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, show me ways to help others as You've helped me. I'm grateful that You love me and help me.
Action for the Day: Today ,I'll make a list of times my Higher Power has helped me out of trouble.
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Each Day a New Beginning
Is there ever any particular spot where one can put one's finger and say, "It all began that day, at such a time and such a place, with such an incident"?
--Agatha Christie
No experience of our lives is pure, unadulterated, set apart from all other experiences. There is an eternal flow in our lives. It carries us from one moment, one experience, into the next. Where we are today, the growth we have attained as recovering women and the plans we have for further changes are prompted by the same driving desires that contributed to our many actions in years gone by.
We can reflect on a particular experience and tag it a turning point. However, neither a lone prescription nor a single martini opened the door we passed through when we chose recovery. But they each may have played a part, and it's the many parts of our lives, past and present, that guarantee us the turning points that nudge us further up the mountain. We will see the summit. And we will understand how, each time we stumbled, new strength was gained.
Every day is a training ground. And every experience trains me to recognize the value of succeeding experiences. With richness, I am developing, one moment at a time.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards
Family confidence in dad is rising high. The good old days will soon be back, they think. Sometimes they demand that dad bring them back instantly! God, they believe, almost owes this recompense on a long overdue account. But the head of the house has spent years in pulling down the structures of business, romance, friendship, health—these things are now ruined or damaged. It will take time to clear away the wreck. Though the old buildings will eventually be replaced by finer ones, the new structures will take years to complete.
p. 123
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
We immediately had two young sons, and I left to go to war in Vietnam. Thirteen months later I returned. I spent 11 1/2 years total time in the marine corps before deciding to get out because of the family separation my military career required. I had seen enough family chaos to know that I could never allow that to occur in my own family, so reluctantly, even painfully, I resigned my commission and joined a major airline. I had many accomplishments to my credit, a good combat record with decorations, and skill as a pilot.
p. 523
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
"To my surprise, the response of the groups was slow. I got mighty sore about it. Looking at this avalanche of mail one morning at the office, I paced up and down ranting how irresponsible and tightwad my fellow members were. Just then an old acquaintance stuck a tousled and aching head in the door. He was our prize slippee. I could see he had an awful hangover. Remembering some of my own, my heart filled with pit. I motioned him to my inside cubicle and produced a five-dollar bill. As my total income was thirty dollars a week at the time, this was a fairly large donation. Lois really needed the money for groceries, but that didn't stop me. The intense relief on my friend's face warmed my heart. I felt especially virtuous as I thought of all the ex-drunks who wouldn't even send the Foundation a dollar apiece, and here I was gladly making a five-dollar investment to fix a hangover.
pp. 162-163
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God, help me be so clear on who I am that I can generously afford to
let other people be who they are, too. Help me to set aside my
defensive behavior, and teach me to blend with other people and see
their point of view while not relinquishing my own.
--Melody Beattie
If you learn from your suffering, and really come to understand the
lesson you were taught, you might be able to help someone else who's
now in the phase you may have just completed. Maybe that's what it's
all about after all . . .
--Anonymous
God, help me search myself to see if I'm holding on to blame for
myself or someone else. If I am, help me get it out in the open, then
help me let it go.
--Melody Beattie
"Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it's holy ground.
There's no greater investment."
--Stephen Covey
Those who are at war with others are not at peace with themselves.
--William Hazlitt
Memories are made when you spend quality time with someone you love. Make a
memory today!
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
FUTURE
"The future is hidden even from
the men who made it."
-- Anatole France
Life is a glorious mystery. We can never fully understand it and it will
always confuse and amaze us. After we have understood one thing, we
are presented with a fresh problem. We are not perfect. We are not
God. We will never understand completely.
Some years ago this used to anger and irritate me. I wanted to know
everything. I wanted to have the answer to all life's problems. I
wanted the "power" that comes with perfection. I hated being
vulnerable, weak and confused! I hated being human. Yes, that was my
problem. I hated being a human being.
Today I am enjoying the adventure of life, and I kneel in awe at its
mingled complexity. Today life is a paradox that I can live with.
Help me to accept the mystery of life.
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The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: And he delighteth
in his way.
Psalm 37:23
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have
peace. In the world, ye shall have tribulation: but be of good
cheer; I have overcome the world.
John 16:33
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O
LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
Psalm 19:14
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Daily Inspiration
Faith is complete surrender to the will of God and acceptance of His plan for us. Lord, You carry me through each moment of my day.
Learn to be peaceful in all situations and trust that through all stages of our lives, God has a plan. Lord, may I have the wisdom to be able to turn my stumbling blocks into building blocks.
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NA Just For Today
Facing Feelings
"We may fear that being in touch with our feelings will trigger an overwhelming chain reaction of pain and panic."
Basic Text p. 29
While we were using, many of us were unable or unwilling to feel many emotions. If we were happy, we used to make us happier. If we were angry or depressed, we used to mask those feelings. In continuing this pattern throughout our active addiction, we became so emotionally confused that we weren't sure what normal emotions were anymore.
After being in recovery for some time, we find that the emotions we had suppressed suddenly begin to surface. We may find that we do not know how to identify our feelings. What we may be feeling as rage may only be frustration. What we perceive as suicidal depression may simply be sadness. These are the times when we need to seek the assistance of our sponsor or other members of NA. Going to a meeting and talking about what is happening in our lives can help us to face our feelings instead of running from them in fear.
Just for today: I will not run from the uncomfortable emotions I may experience. I will use the support of my friends in recovery to help me face my emotions.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
I have a feeling I should paint what I am supposed to paint. So I sit. And there my hand moves and I made a picture.
--Norval Morrijeau
The writer sits, head in hands, amid a mound of crumpled paper wads. The deadline is tomorrow and not even the first paragraph is written. The writer has been working nonstop since the early morning hours. Frustration pushes the writer up from the chair and out on a long walk in the woods to the stream. After an hour of plunging through lush woods, a rest by the stream listening to the sounds of the rippling water is refreshing. Back at the typewriter, the fingers move, the words flow, the job is done.
Sometimes we need to quiet ourselves to let our inner resources flow through our outer noise. We are always doing what we are supposed to do. Even when things don't seem to come together just right, there is a purpose; even if only to let us know we need to do something else for a while.
How much simpler our lives can be if we only have the faith to accept what happens as a guidepost along a path that is naturally correct.
Am I frustrated with something I should step away from?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
There is nothing stronger in the world than gentleness. --Han Suyin
It may take a while to learn to be gentle with ourselves. We have long standing patterns of abusing and shaming ourselves. Maybe we became this way because we were victims. Now it's easier to attack ourselves for mistakes we've made than to be accountable and make amends. We think we deserve to be rejected if we let our friends know our deepest secrets. In the midst of stress we fly to self doubt and self abusing thoughts. We withdraw emotionally, we pout, we expect rejection rather than gentleness.
For today, let us pledge to be gentle with ourselves. Gentleness isn't dishonest; it isn't arrogant or self-centered. It is taking reality - with whatever pain that includes - and treating ourselves as worthwhile men. We will be stronger and less self centered when we accept this gentleness. We will be as loyal to ourselves as we are to our best friends. Each day with this new attitude will build strength of character and wisdom.
Today, may I treat myself with gentleness and learn the strength it has to teach me.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Is there ever any particular spot where one can put one's finger and say, "It all began that day, at such a time and such a place, with such an incident"?
--Agatha Christie
No experience of our lives is pure, unadulterated, set apart from all other experiences. There is an eternal flow in our lives. It carries us from one moment, one experience, into the next. Where we are today, the growth we have attained as recovering women and the plans we have for further changes are prompted by the same driving desires that contributed to our many actions in years gone by.
We can reflect on a particular experience and tag it a turning point. However, neither a lone prescription nor a single martini opened the door we passed through when we chose recovery. But they each may have played a part, and it's the many parts of our lives, past and present, that guarantee us the turning points that nudge us further up the mountain. We will see the summit. And we will understand how, each time we stumbled, new strength was gained.
Every day is a training ground. And every experience trains me to recognize the value of succeeding experiences. With richness, I am developing, one moment at a time.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Balance
Seek balance.
Balance emotions with reason.
Combine detachment with doing our part.
Balance giving with receiving.
Alternate work with play, business with personal activities.
Balance tending to our spiritual needs with tending to our other needs.
Juggle responsibilities to others with responsibilities to ourselves.
Balance caring about others with caring about ourselves.
Whenever possible, lets be good to others, but be good to ourselves too.
Some of us have to make up for lost time.
Today, I will strive for balance.
I am at choice today. I can watch my negative thoughts go by and replace them with positive thoughts and compassion.
--Ruth Fishel
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Journey to the Heart
Discover New Beliefs
The drive from Zion National Park to Bryce Canyon in utah was a short one. I had traveled the same route several times. At a certain pass, no matter how sunny the day and cloudless the sky, it was raining there every time. Although it was hard to see, a small dark cloud seemed to hang over this one particular place, this one area of the road, all the time.
It may be like that in a particular area of our lives. A certain belief seems almost stuck to us, stuck to one area of our lives, and no matter how sunny the rest of the drive, it’s raining there all the time. What cloud is hanging over you? Could it be one you’re helping to create?
Some beliefs– My choices are wrong. I make bad decisions, I’m wrong– can create a dark heaviness that hangs over us like a cloud. These beliefs may be so subtle we don’t notice them. What we do notice is a lingering pain or anxiety, a cloud that seems to follow us around. What we don’t see is that we’re helping create and maintain our own cloud with these beliefs.
The lesson may not be to make better decisions or be a better person. The lesson may be much simpler: change your beliefs. Make some new decisions. Let yourself discover some new, better, sunnier beliefs about yourself and your life. Allow yourself to believe that the decisions you make are fine.
Who you are is okay. You always have been.
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The Language of Letting Go
Balance
Seek balance.
Balance emotions with reason.
Combine detachment with doing our part.
Balance giving with receiving.
Alternate work with play, business with personal activities.
Balance tending to our spiritual needs with tending to our other needs.
Juggle responsibilities to others with responsibilities to ourselves.
Balance caring about others with caring about ourselves.
Whenever possible, let’s be good to others, but be good to ourselves too.
Some of us have to make up for lost time.
Today, I will strive for balance.
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In God’s Care
The essence of prayer, even of a mystical experience is the way we are altered to see everything from its life-filled dimension.
~~Matthew Fox
Prayer can change us dramatically. It can open our eyes to the intricate beauty in the things and people in our life.
Prayer can help us see the people we pray for–whether friend or adversary–with greater clarity and love. Our gratitude for friends is heightened; our resentment toward adversaries lessens. Barriers mysteriously disappear when we look upon our enemies prayerfully.
The Eleventh Step suggests that prayer may be as simple as asking for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out. We therefore seek God’s presence anywhere we are and in anyone we’re with. This is prayer as action, as a commitment to fully invest ourselves in life. When prayer is how we live our life, we are able to honor whatever life gives us by responding with acceptance and hope.
Today I will look upon the people and events in my life prayerfully, and be open to the riches I am afforded.
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Things We Don’t Want to Do
Outside the Comfort Zone
by Madisyn Taylor
Most often, after you have completed something you didn't want to do, you wonder why you were so worried in the first place.
Most of us have had the experience of tackling some dreaded task only to come out the other side feeling invigorated, filled with a new sense of confidence and strength. The funny thing is, most of the time when we do them, we come out on the other side changed and often wondering what we were so worried about or why it took us so long. We may even begin to look for other tasks we’ve been avoiding so that we can feel that same heady mix of excitement and completion.
Whether we avoid something because it scares us or bores us, or because we think it will force a change we’re not ready for, putting it off only creates obstacles for us. On the other hand, facing the task at hand, no matter how onerous, creates flow in our lives and allows us to grow. The relief is palpable when we stand on the other side knowing that we did something even though it was hard or we didn't want to do it. On the other hand, when we cling to our comfort zone, never addressing the things we don’t want to face, we cut ourselves off from flow and growth.
We all have at least one thing in our life that never seems to get done. Bringing that task to the top of the list and promising ourselves that we will do it as soon as possible is an act that could liberate a tremendous amount of energy in our lives. Whatever it is, we can allow ourselves to be fueled by the promise of the feelings of exhilaration and confidence that will be the natural result of doing it. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
We must think deeply of all those sick persons still to come to The Program. As they try to make their return to faith and to life, we want them to find everything in The Program that we have found yet more, if that be possible. No care, no vigilance, no effort to preserve The Program’s constant effectiveness and spiritual strength will ever be too great to hold us in full readiness for the day of their homecoming. How well do I respect the Traditions of The Program?
Today I Pray
God help me to carry out my part in making the group a lifeline for those who are still suffering from addictions, in maintaining the Steps and the Traditions which have made it work for me for those who are still to come. May The Program be a “homecoming” for those of us who share the disease of addiction. May we find common solutions to the common problems which that disease breeds.
Today I Will Remember
To do my Part.
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One More Day
It is not death or pain that is to be dreaded, but the fear of pain or death.
– Epictetus
The pain we anticipate — whether it be a flu shot, a lengthy dental procedure, or surgery — is usually worse than the actual pain. Perhaps this is because the anticipation of pain includes fear or dread.
As we deal with pain, we may find healthier ways to cope with it. Once, even the sense of headache coming might have caused us to tense our muscles and prepare for the onslaught. Now, we’re more likely to settle down to begin thinking of positive imagery or relaxation therapy. We are giving ourselves the moments we need to be alone, to breathe deeply, to think of a beautiful and calming sight. We’re learning to relax and be less fearful.
I need to remind myself of my personal power. I can exercise control over my body and strive to minimize the effect of fear.
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One Day At A Time
GRATITUDE
"Gratitude is a fruit of a great civilization ~ you do not find it among gross people."
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson's quote from the TOUR OF THE HEBRIDES could easily have been written about The Recovery Group. The attitude of gratitude is an absolutely crucial tool to a successful recovery. Gratitude is the measure of our appreciation for what we've been given. We in Program have SO much for which we should be thankful. We stand on the shoulders of giants - we are indebted to those members who've proceeded us in Program and handed down the tools, wisdom and resources - the bedrock upon which our recovery is based. We are indebted to our HP, our sponsors, to those who do service in innumerable ways at the Recovery Group and - to each other - for mutual love and support - and for our precious gift of recovery. Be grateful for each day - each moment.
One Day at a Time . . . I will continue to practice the attitude of gratitude and learn to forgive others.
Rob R.
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other activities fail. This is our TWELFTH SUGGESTION: Carry this message to other alcoholics! You can help when no one else can. You can secure their confidence when others fail. Remember they are very ill. - Pg. 89 - Working With Others
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Keeping life simple right now is imperative. You need to learn how not to use mind-affecting chemicals. You do this by following instructions. That's all. Your family problems, job instability, or other concerns must take a back seat until you stabilize yourself.
Let me realize that my thinking is not balanced enough now to solve past problems. May I stow away my concerns for the first 30 days.
Appreciating Life
I have the gift of life. I am here. I am alive, with all of my senses and able to experience the magic of this incredible world. Whatever this day has in store for me - I am open to receive. I will act on my day and allow my day to act on me. I am open. I will take steps that I know will make my day feel good, productive and pleasurable, and then I will let the rest happen. Each day presents me with gifts and surprises, if I know how to unwrap the present - if I remember how to be pleased, moved and astonished by the wonders of this world.
Life itself is the gift
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Do not be quick to call all therapy 'psycho-babble' and think that mental health experts do not understand. Therapy can be the guide that leads you to the discovery of your anchor amidst the surrounding storms of life.
In the words of Bill Wilson, I should 'never belittle a good doctor or psychiatrist'.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
If you aren't happy today, what are you waiting for?
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
I am at choice today. I can watch my negative thoughts go by and replace them with positive thoughts and compassion.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
I began to see that my insanity is not the crazy, stupid things I do when I'm drinking. It's the insane idea that this time it's going to be different, the idea that: 'Only two drinks, that's all I'm going to take.' or: 'One drink won't hurt me.' - Charlie P.
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Post by majestyjo on Mar 28, 2017 22:05:24 GMT -5
March 29
Daily Reflections
TRUSTED SERVANTS
They are servants. Theirs is the sometimes thankless
privilege of doing the group's chores.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 134
In Zorba the Greek, Nikos Kazantzakis describes an
encounter between his principle character and an old
man busily at work planting a tree. "What is it that
you are doing?" Zorba asks. The old man replies: "You
can see very well what I am doing, my son, I'm planting
a tree." "But why plant a tree," Zorba asks, "if you
won't be able to see it bear fruit?" And the old man
answers: "I, my son, live as though I were never going
to die." The response brings a faint smile to Zorba's
lips and, as he walks away, he exclaims with a note of
irony: "How strange -- I live as though I were going
to die tomorrow!"
As a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, I have found that
the Third Legacy is a fertile soil in which to plant
the tree of my sobriety. The fruits I harvest are
wonderful: peace, security, understanding and twenty-four
hours of eternal fulfillment; and with the soundness of
mind to listen to the voice of my conscience when, in
silence, it gently speaks to me, saying: You must let go
in service. There are others who must plant the harvest.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Before I met A.A. I was very dishonest. I lied to my wife
constantly about where I had been and what I'd been doing.
I took time off from the office and pretended I'd been
sick or gave some other dishonest excuse. I was dishonest
with myself, as well as with other people. I would never
face myself as I really was or admit when I was wrong. I
pretended to myself that I was as good as the next fellow,
although I suspected I wasn't. Am I now really honest?
Meditation For The Day
I must live in the world and yet live apart with God. I can
go forth from my secret times of communion with God to the
work of the world. To get the spiritual strength I need, my
inner life must be lived apart from the world. I must wear
the world as a loose garment. Nothing in the world should
seriously upset me, as long as my inner life is lived with
God. All successful living arises from this inner life.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may live my inner life with God. I pray that
nothing shall invade or destroy that secret place of peace.
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As Bill Sees It
Will Power And Choice, p. 88
"We A.A.'s know the futility of trying to break the drinking
obsession by will power alone. However, we do know that it takes
great willingness to adopt A.A.'s Twelve Steps as a way of life that
can restore us to sanity.
"No matter how grievous the alcohol obsession, we happily find that
other vital choices can still be made. For example, we can choose to
admit that we are personally powerless over alcohol; that
dependence upon a 'Higher Power' is a necessity, even if this be
simply dependence upon an A.A. group. Then we can choose to try
for a life of honesty and humility, of selfless service to our fellows
and to 'God as we understand Him.'
"As we continue to make these choices and so move toward these
high aspirations, our sanity returns and the compulsion to drink
vanishes,"
Letter, 1966
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Walk in Dry Places
Stick with the winners
Making the Right Choices
In the world of drinking, people lead each other down paths of further destruction. In the world of AA, that same destructive process can still go on through wrong thinking. It's possible for AA members to encourage resentments, criticism, gossip, and other dead-end practices.
That's why people are urged to "stick with the winners" in order to find and maintain sobriety. Seek out people who are doing well in the program, people whose progress is noticeable and admirable. The can be of real help as sponsors, as friends, or simply as role models.
It's important to remember that the winners can be from all walks of life. The first AA member in Detroit earned only a modest living, while the second Detroit member became a wealthy manufacturer after finding sobriety. In AA terms, both men were winners. They stayed sober, they stayed active in the fellowship, and they helped others.
"Sticking with the winners" does not mean we should shun people who are having difficulty with the program. It does mean we should avoid accepting ideas and ways of living that do not lead to sobriety.
I'll spend time in the company of people who have a good record of following the program.
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Keep It Simple
Whatever is in the heart will come up to the tongue.---Persian proverb
During our illness, we wouldn't let people get close to us. We spoke of what was in our heart. And much of what filled our heart was sadness, anger, and hopelessness. Those who want to be close to us heard what was in our heart. In short, we had become our illness. Recovery is about changing what's in our heart. We open our hearts up to our Higher Power. The first three Steps are about honesty and needing others. They're about turning our will and our lives over to a Higher Power.
If you're wondering where you are with these Steps, listen to the words you speak.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, keep my heart open to the first three Steps.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll work at really listening to what I have to say.
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Each Day a New Beginning
Love is an expression and assertion of self-esteem, a response to one's own values in the person of another. --Ayn Rand
The struggle to love one another may be a daily one for us, and it is made more difficult because we are still stumbling in our attempts at self-love. Many of us have lived our whole adult lives feeling inadequate, dull, unattractive, fearing the worst regarding our relationships with others.
But this phase, this struggle, is passing. We see a woman we like in the mirror each morning. We did a task or a favor yesterday that we felt good about. And when we feel good about our accomplishments, we look with a loving eye on the persons around us. Self-love does encourage other love.
Self-love takes practice. It's new behavior. We can begin to measure what we are doing, rather than what we haven't yet managed to do, and praise ourselves. Nurturing our inner selves invites further expression of the values that are developing, values that will carry us to new situations and new opportunities for accomplishments, and finally to loving the woman who looks back at us every morning.
Self-love makes me vulnerable and compassionate towards others. It's the balm for all wounds; it multiplies as it's expressed. It can begin with my smile.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards
Father knows he is to blame; it may take him many seasons of hard work to be restored financially, but he shouldn’t be reproached. Perhaps he will never have much money again. But the wise family will admire him for what he is trying to be, rather than for what he is trying to get.
p. 123
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
Slowly I worked my way up within the airline structure and finally became a captain after twenty years. It had ben a strife-ridden company, and our family endured some tough times. During one of the lengthy labor strikes, we adopted a baby girl. She completed our family. Nearly half Chippewa Indian, she was a beautiful baby of seventeen days when we took her home with us.
pp. 523-524
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
"The meeting that night was at New York's old 24th Street Clubhouse. During the intermission, the treasurer gave a timid talk on how broke the club was. (That was in the period when you couldn't mix money and A.A.) But finally he said it--the landlord would put us out if we didn't pay up. He concluded his remarks by saying, "Now boys, please go heavier on the hat tonight, will you?"
p. 163
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People always ask, "How did you succeed?" Simply put, I chose not to
fail.
--Xernona Clayton
"Real friendship is shown in times of trouble; prosperity is full of
friends."
--Euripides
Honesty gets us sober, tolerance keeps us sober.
--Bill W.
"To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved."
--George MacDonald
"The principles you live by create the world you live in; if you change the
principles you live by, you will change your world."
--Blaine Lee
"Many a man curses the rain that falls upon his head, and knows not
that it brings abundance to drive away hunger."
--St. Basil
"If the only prayer you say in your life is 'thank you,' that would
suffice."
--Meister Eckhart
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
OPINIONS
"Opinions cannot survive if one
has no chance to fight for them."
-- Thomas Mann
An opinion is worth fighting for, and I have opinions on a great number
of subjects --- as a result of sobriety.
Drugs have a tendency to make insane remarks appear brilliant; the
drunk is always the unsung poet or victimized genius when he is "in
alcohol". I did not have opinions when I was drinking but rather a series
of chaotic and incoherent reactions.
But today I have considered opinions. I am able to think and make
decisions. I am able to make a contribution to life and the world in which
I live. I am involved.
More than this, today I have the spiritual confidence to fight for what I
believe and "speak out" my concerns in love. Today I am alive and I
love it --- also I love me.
Let me always hear the opinions of others but not fail to express my
own.
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Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind.
Romans 12:2
'Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be
saved; for thou art my praise."
Jeremiah 17:14
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God
is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But
when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can
stand up under it."
I Corinthians 10:13
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Daily Inspiration
Few things are worthy of worry and fewer are worthy of anger. Lord, bless me with patience for my circumstances and wisdom to overcome the obstacles.
We only have so much time and so much energy in a day. To use it grumbling leaves less time for enjoyment and accomplishment. Lord, may I focus on looking for Your blessings in every part of my life.
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NA Just For Today
Our Own True Will
"God's will for us consists of the very things we most value. God's will... becomes our own true will for ourselves."
Basic Text p. 46
It's human nature to want something for nothing. We may be ecstatic when a store cashier gives us back change for a twenty though we only paid with a ten. We tend to think that, if no one knows, one small deception won't make any difference. But someone does know—we do. And it does make a difference.
What worked for us when we used, frequently doesn't work long in recovery. As we progress spiritually by working the Twelve Steps, we begin to develop new values and standards. We begin to feel uncomfortable when we take advantage of situations that, when we used, would have left us gloating about what we had gotten away with.
In the past, we may have victimized others. However, as we draw closer to our Higher Power, our values change. God's will becomes more important than getting away with something.
When our values change, our lives change, too. Guided by an inner knowledge given us by our Higher Power, we want to live out our newfound values. We have internalized our Higher Power's will for us—in fact, God's will has become our own true will for ourselves.
Just for today: By improving my conscious contact with God, my values have changed. Today, I will practice God's will, my own true will.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Drag your thoughts away from your troubles . . . by the ears, by the heels or any other way you can manage it. It's the healthiest thing a body can do. --Mark Twain
It requires very little effort--and no imagination--to start feeling sorry for ourselves. Often, it is easy to feel sorry for ourselves in our families. Instead of being inspired by the sports talents of an older brother, the popularity of a lovely sister, or the fame of a parent or relative, we often take the easier attitude: "I'm denied all that he or she has."
If we work hard at developing our own abilities so that we can excel, we will find ourselves proud of, and applauding, what others do. If a personal problem brings us self-pity, we must remind ourselves that all people have problems. We can cope as well as the best of people if we learn from them and think positively.
Who among those close to me can I be proud of today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Restless man's mind is,
So strongly shaken
In the grip of the senses...
Truly I think
The wind is no wilder.
--Bhagavad Gita
What passions have swept away our reasoning powers? What lust have we pursued at the cost of our values and better judgment? As men in this program, we know the ferocious winds of addiction and codependency. Now we are in a program of recovery, learning to combine our sensual side with our mind and our morals.
Every day we feel the winds of our senses, and they are part of what gives us life. We can let them blow and not be carried away by them. In this way we take pleasure in being human beings and men. We have our minds, our thoughts, and our knowledge to turn to for guidance. And we have our inner voice - our Higher Power - on which we can rely through even the wildest hurricane.
I am learning to make room in life for my senses, my mind, and my Higher Power.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Love is an expression and assertion of self-esteem, a response to one's own values in the person of another. --Ayn Rand
The struggle to love one another may be a daily one for us, and it is made more difficult because we are still stumbling in our attempts at self-love. Many of us have lived our whole adult lives feeling inadequate, dull, unattractive, fearing the worst regarding our relationships with others.
But this phase, this struggle, is passing. We see a woman we like in the mirror each morning. We did a task or a favor yesterday that we felt good about. And when we feel good about our accomplishments, we look with a loving eye on the persons around us. Self-love does encourage other love.
Self-love takes practice. It's new behavior. We can begin to measure what we are doing, rather than what we haven't yet managed to do, and praise ourselves. Nurturing our inner selves invites further expression of the values that are developing, values that will carry us to new situations and new opportunities for accomplishments, and finally to loving the woman who looks back at us every morning.
Self-love makes me vulnerable and compassionate towards others. It's the balm for all wounds; it multiplies as it's expressed. It can begin with my smile.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Getting Needs Met
Picture yourself walking through a meadow. There is a path opening before you. As you walk, you feel hungry. Look to your left. There's a fruit tree in full bloom. Pick what you need.
Steps later, you notice you're thirsty. On your right, there's a fresh water spring.
When you are tired, a resting place emerges. When you are lonely, a friend appears to walk with you. When you get lost, a teacher with a map appears.
Before long, you notice the flow: need and supply; desire and fulfillment. Maybe, you wonder, someone gave me the need because someone planned to fulfill it. Maybe I had to feel the need, so I would notice and accept the gift. Maybe closing my eyes to the desire closes my arms to its fulfillment.
Demand and supply, desire and fulfillment - a continuous cycle, unless we break it. All the necessary supplies have already been planned and provided for this journey.
Today, everything I need shall be supplied to me.
God gives me all the strength and courage to accept whatever happens in my life today. It is so freeing to know that I am no longer a victim of people, places and things. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey to the Heart
Move Gently into Forgiveness
“I never knew how much I blamed and hated myself. I never knew how much shame and self-contempt I picked up from situations I’d been through until I really forgave myself and felt how that feels,” one woman said to me.
Loving yourself, forgiving yourself, accepting yourself– all of these feel different from judging yourself. Many of us have lived with so much judgement of ourselves that we take these feelings for granted. We just think that’s how we’re doomed to feel. Until we do forgive ourselves, we don’t realize how much we need to, and how good, how great, how absolutely terrific that feels.
I was leery of forgiveness for many years. I thought forgiving implied judging. And because judging was wrong and I shouldn’t do it, I didn’t need to forgive. The problem was, whether right or wrong, I had judged myself. And now I needed forgiveness.
Self-judgements set us apart, separate us from the rest of the world in an undesirable way. Forgiving ourselves reconnects us to the world, to God, to ourselves.
We can forgive ourselves for what we’ve done wrong, what we’ve done badly, and what we think we could have done better. We can transcend our judgements of ourselves.
Move gently into forgiveness. Love, forgive, and accept yourself. See how connected you feel. See how free you really are and always have been. See how much better you feel!
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More Language Of Letting Go
Thy will be done
You can clear the land, plow the field, spread the fertilizer, and plant the corn. but you cannot make it rain. You cannot prevent an early frost. You cannot determine exactly what will happen in your life. The rain may or may not fall, but one thing is certain: you will get a harvest only if you planted something in the field.
It’s important to do everything in our power to ensure our success, but we also need to let the universe take its course. Getting mad won’t help. Dwelling on a situation only takes energy away from us, while yielding few positive results.
The Serenity Prayer comes to mind. It begins:”Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.”
Clear the land, plow the field, plant the crop, and then let go. Things will work out, sometimes the way we want them to, sometimes not. But they will work out.
Sometimes all you can do is shrug your shoulders, smile, and say whatever.
Thy will, not mine, be done.
God, help me take guided action, then surrender to your will. Help me remember that true power comes from aligning my will, intentions, and desires with you.
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In God’s Care
We are born helpless. As soon as we are fully conscious we discover loneliness. We need others physically, emotionally, intellectually; we need them if we are to know anything, even ourselves.
People today are taught at an early age to be self-sufficient. Independence is considered a strength, and dependence a weakness. As a result, we come to believe that we can make it on our own. And we can, but at what cost? Many of us fill our loneliness with chemical substances, Humans are social creatures; we need each other for physical and emotional support, and for a healthy exchange of ideas.
Even more, we need each other for spiritual development. God loves us equally and often speaks to us through one another. We truly learn about our spiritual nature in the loving acts we exchange
I am never lonely when showing someone that I care.
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Alive in Joy
Dispelling Drama
by Madisyn Taylor
Some people are so used to creating drama that a peaceful existence seems uncomfortable for them.
There are scores of people in the world who seem to be magnets for calamity. They live their lives jumping from one difficult to the next, surrounded by unstable individuals. Some believe themselves victims of fate and decry a universe they regard as malevolent. Others view their chaotic circumstances as just punishments for some failing within. Yet, in truth, neither group has been fated or consigned to suffer. They are likely unconsciously drawing drama into their lives, attracting catastrophe through their choices, attitudes, and patterns of thought. Drama, however disastrous, can be exciting and stimulating. But the thrill of pandemonium eventually begins to frustrate the soul and drain the energy of all who embrace it. To halt this process, we must understand the root of our drama addiction, be aware of our reactions, and be willing to accept that a serene, joyful life need not be a boring one.
Many people, so used to living in the dramatic world they create, feel uncomfortable when confronted with the prospect of a lifetime of peace and contentment. The drama in their lives serves multiple purposes. Upset causes excitement, prompting the body to manufacture adrenaline, which produces a pleasurable surge of energy. For those seeking affection in the form of sympathy, drama forms the basis of their identity as a victim. And when drama is familial, many people believe they can avoid abandonment by continuing to play a key role in the established family dynamic. The addiction to drama is fed by the intensity of the feelings evoked during bouts of conflict, periods of uncertainty, and upheaval.
Understanding where the subconscious need for drama stems from is the key to addressing it effectively. Journaling can help you transfer this need from your mind onto a benign piece of paper. After repeated writing sessions, your feelings regarding the mayhem, hurt feelings, and confusion often associated with drama become clear. When you confront your emotional response to drama and the purpose it serves in your life, you can reject it. Each time you consciously choose not to take part in dramatic situations or associate with dramatic people, you create space in your inner being that is filled with a calm and tranquil stillness and becomes an asset in your quest to lead a more centered life. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
What is the definition of humility? “Absolute humility,” said AA co-founder Bill W., “would consist of a state of complete freedom from myself, freedom from all the claims that my defects of character no lay so heavily upon me. Perfect humility would be a full willingness, in all times and places, to find and to do the will of God” Am I striving for humility?
Today I Pray
May God expand my interpretation of humility beyond abject subservience or awe at the greatness of others May humility also mean freedom from myself, a freedom which can come only through turning my being over to God’s will. May I sense the omnipotence of God, which is simultaneously humbling and exhilarating. May I be willing to carry out His will.
Today I Will Remember
Humility is freedom.
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One More Day
Happiness should not depend on physical wellness.
– K. o’Brien
Without even recognizing that we have done so, we sometimes structure our entire lives on the foundation of good health. We assume good health for our future. And we refuse to even acknowledge that nature’s somewhat random selection process can change the way we live. We may never even give a moment’s thought to changing our habits because of illness. We feel exempt, confident it will never happen to us.
And when it does and our lifestyle changes — sometimes gradually, sometimes abruptly — we feel we’ve lost the right to happiness. Then we begin to adjust. Family and friends stick with us, and an awareness comes forth that they, not physical activity, are the reasons for true happiness.
I accept and will adjust to chronic illness. Poor health has changed my life not ended it.
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One Day At A Time
ISOLATION
“Isolation is the sum total of wretchedness to a man.”
Thomas Carlyle
This past summer I was forced to play "catch-up" at work in order to compensate for time lost while recovering from a serious ankle injury. As a result of my increased responsibilities, I stopped touching base with my friends and family -- Program family included -- except via the occasional email or phone call.
Fortunately, my friends and my sponsor are not the "shrinking violet" types. They took me to task about my whereabouts and well being. Because COE is a disease of isolation, it's extremely important to make sure we're making contact with others. We do this by using the tools of the Program: sharing with our support group, meetings, and sponsor.
When we don’t allow ourselves to have regular, daily social outflow and personal accountability – even with a good excuse – we are more likely to relapse.
One day at a time...
I will make a determined effort to connect and share with others.
Rob R.
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
If a mere code of morals or a better philosophy of life were to overcome alcoholism, many of us would have recovered long ago. But we found that such codes and philosophies did not save us, no matter how much we tried. We could wish to be moral, we could wish to be philosophically comforted, in fact, we could will these things with all our might, but the needed power wasn't there. Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly. - Pg. 45 - We Agnostics
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Anger is one letter short of Danger. ( Dolores )
I Will Be Me
I will be me, today. One thing I never seem to do well at, is trying to be someone else. I can imitate and learn from others, but I cannot be them. Only they know how to do that, it's a natural outgrowth of all that they have experienced in life, of all they are. That's the bad news. The good news is no one can be me as well as me. Being me builds on who I already am. It's exercise for my personality and my spirit. If I allow myself to actualize my own unique gifts and visions they will have originality to them, a freshness.
I am a better me than anyone else can be
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
In the words of Wayne Dryer 'You will be happy to know that the universal law that created miracles has not been repealed.'
I Expect a Miracle today.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
There is an easy answer to your problem that is neat, plausible, and wrong.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
God gives me all the strength and courage to accept whatever happens in my life today. It is so freeing to know that I am no longer a victim of people, places and things.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Relationships: I've learned how to get into them and now how to get out of them.
Now all I've got to do is learn how to do the bit in the middle. - Lochie.
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Post by majestyjo on Mar 29, 2017 13:55:37 GMT -5
March 30
Daily Reflections
OUR GROUP CONSCIENCE
". . . sometimes the good is the enemy of the best."
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS COMES OF AGE, p. 101
I think these words apply to every area of A.A.'s Three Legacies:
Recovery, Unity and Service! I want them etched in my mind and life as
I "trudge the Road of Happy Destiny" (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 164).
These words, often spoken by co-founder Bill W., were appropriately
said to him as the result of the group's conscience. It brought home to
Bill W. the essence of our Second Tradition: "Our leaders are but
trusted servants; they do not govern."
Just as Bill W. was originally urged to remember, I think that in our
group discussions we should never settle for the "good," but always
strive to attain the "best." These common strivings are yet another
example of a loving God, as we understand Him, expressing Himself
through the group conscience. Experiences such as these help me to
stay on the proper path of recovery. I learn to combine initiative with
humility, responsibility with thankfulness, and thus relish the joys of
living my twenty-four hour program.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Before I met A.A., I was very unloving. From the time I went away to
school, I paid very little attention to my mother and father, I was on my
own and didn't even bother to keep in touch with them. After I got
married, I was very unappreciative of my spouse. Many a time I would
go out all by myself to have a good time. I paid too little attention to our
children and didn't try to understand them or show them affection. My
few friends were only drinking companions, not real friends. Have I
gotten over loving nobody but my self?
Meditation For The Day
Be calm, be true, and be quiet. Do not get emotionally upset by anything
that happens around you. Feel a deep, inner security in the goodness and
purpose in the universe. Be true to your highest ideals. Do not let
yourself slip back into the old ways of reacting. Stick to your spiritual
guns. Be calm always. Do not talk back or defend yourself too much
against accusation, whether false or true. Accept criticism as well as you
accept praise. Only God can judge the real you.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may not be upset by the judgment of others. I pray that I
may let God be the judge of the real me.
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As Bill Sees It
Review The Day, p. 89
When we retire at night, we constructively review our day. Were we
resentful, selfish, dishonest, or afraid? Do we owe an apology? Have
we kept something to ourselves which should be discussed with another
person at once? Were we kind and loving toward all? What could we
have done better? Were we thinking of ourselves most of the time? Or
were we thinking of what we could do for others, of what we could
pack into the stream of life?
We must be careful not to drift into worry, remorse, or morbid
reflection, for that would diminish our usefulness to ourselves and to
others. After we making our review, we ask God's forgiveness and
inquire what corrective measures should be taken.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 86
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Walk in Dry Places
Identify, don't compare
Good Judgment.
There's always danger in comparing ourselves with others. If we use behavior and drinking as yardsticks, such comparisons can lead us to believe that we might not really be alcoholics. This mistaken conclusion has been the undoing of some alcoholics.
The better course is to identify with the problems others have in common with us. Thought drinking patterns and habits may vary between two people, individuals may at least share the fears and delusions that drinking brought.
Other common factors that bind alcoholics together are emotional immaturity, a misplaced faith that alcohol solves problems, loneliness, and a tendency toward resentments. These also make good discussion topics for meetings.
At the very beginning of AA, the founders had trouble coming up with a real definition of alcoholism. Since then, we've done very well be letting members "Diagnose" themselves. It's best to leave it this way: "If your drinking is a problem in your life, AA has an answer for you.
Today I will not waste time comparing myself with others. Having accepted my alcoholism, I'll devote my attention to the things that enhance sobriety.
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Keep It Simple
Spirituality is...the awareness that survival is a savage fight between you and yourself.---Lisa S.
As recovering people, we're getting stronger each day. We go to meetings to learn how to be better people. But we also go to remind ourselves of the beast inside us---our addiction. This beast is waiting for us to slip---to go back to our addiction---so it can regain control.
Thus ,it's wise to learn all we can about our disease. That's why it's important to do a good job on our Fourth Step. When we work Step Four, we learn how our addiction acts, thinks, and feels. With the help of our program, we can quiet the beast. One Day at a Time.,
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I'm fighting for my life. Thanks to You, I'm winning today and my life is free.
Action for the Day: I'll talk to a friend about my addiction, the beast inside me. I'll do this so it will have less power over me.
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Each Day a New Beginning
The pure relationship, how beautiful it is! How easily it is damaged, or weighted down with irrelevancies--not even irrelevancies, just life itself, the accumulations of life and of time. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Many of us are presently rebuilding old relationships and searching for new ones, ones that we hope we can protect. We can't survive without relationships, some intimate, some close, some casual. And we discover ourselves through our relationships with others.
The purity of a relationship is directly proportional to the undivided attention we both give to those shared moments, hours, experiences, to being there with one another. This communion with another is the celebration of life and God that quickens hearts and ushers in serenity.
Each day I can look for those chances to give myself wholly. And gifts will abound.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards
Now and then the family will be plagued by spectres from the past, for the drinking career of almost every alcoholic has been marked by escapades, funny, humiliating, shameful or tragic. The first impulse will be to bury these skeletons in a dark closet and padlock the door. The family may be possessed by the idea that future happiness can be based only upon forgetfulness of the past. We think that such a view is self-centered and in direct conflict with the new way of living.
pp. 123-124
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
My drinking continues to escalate, but I did not believe I was any different from my drinking comrades. I was very wrong. I had two charges of driving under the influence, years apart, which I wrote off to bad luck, and I paid handsome legal fees to get the charges reduced. This was years before the Federal Aviation Administration began cross-checking drivers' records against pilot licenses.
p. 524
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
"I heard all this quite plainly, as I was piously trying to convert a newcomer who sat next to me. The hat came in my direction, and I reached into my pocket. Still working on my prospect, I fumbled and came up with a fifty-cent piece. Somehow it looked like a very big coin. Hastily, I dropped it back and fished out a dime, which clinked thinly as I dropped it in the hat. Hats never got folding money in those days.
p. 163
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For happiness brings happiness
And loving ways bring love;
And Giving is the treasure
That contentment is made of.
--Amanda Bradley
Life is like a taxi. The meter just keeps a-ticking whether you are getting
somewhere or just standing still.
--Lou Erickson
No matter what we have done, God always offers us the chance to begin
anew. Knowing that God grants us a new beginning, we, too, can look
at our parents, our children, our partner or our friends, anyone with
whom we've had some distance, and say, "Let's have a new
beginning." Love is greater than any of our mistakes.
--Mary Manin Morrissey
God, help me be open to all the ways you speak to me to help guide me
along my path.
-Melody Beattie
Words are potent weapons for all causes, good or bad.
--Manly Hall
A blow with a word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword.
--Robert Burton
In our lowest moments God is with us to say, "Do not fear."
--Bob Frankenburg
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
REASON
"For here we are not afraid to
follow wherever it may lead, nor
to tolerate error so long as
reason is free to combat it."
-- Thomas Jefferson
As an alcoholic I was so often afraid to challenge the thinking and ideas
of other people. My "people pleasing" demanded peace at any price.
And yet so much of what I heard, read and practiced I did not agree
with. Now I see that my behavior, my attitude --- along with the alcohol
consumption --- kept me sick.
In my spiritual program today I am free to reject, consider and have my
own opinions in life. I do not simply have to agree with everything that is
said, in this way I am discovering my value and self-esteem.
Lord, I am grateful for the freedom to cooperate.
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"Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one
another."
John 13:34
'In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust.'
Psalm 71
"Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you."
1 Peter 5:7
'I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith
the Lord.'
Jeremiah, 30:17
"The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!' The Lord replied,
'If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this
mulberry tree, "Be uprooted and planted in the seas," and it would obey
you.'"
Luke 17:5-6
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Daily Inspiration
Some can find fault in everything, but it takes a good and loving heart to find goodness, especially when it is less than obvious. Lord, bless me with gentleness and patience and the determination not to complain.
There is much wisdom in knowing what to overlook. Lord, may I take every opportunity to praise and choose carefully when I feel the need to criticize.
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NA Just For Today
God - Centeredness
"Gradually as we become more God-centered than self-centered, our despair turns to hope."
Basic Text p. 92
What a glorious thing to have hope! Before coming to Narcotics Anonymous, many of us lived lives of utter hopelessness. We believed we were destined to die from our disease.
Many members speak of being on a "pink cloud" their first months in the program. We've stopped using, made some friends, and life looks promising. Things are going great. Then reality sets in. Life is still life—we still lose jobs, our partners still leave us, friends still die, we still get sick. Abstinence is no guarantee that life will always go our way.
When the reality of life on its own terms sets in, we turn to our Higher Power and remember that life happens the way life happens. But no matter what occurs in our recovery we need not despair, for there is always hope. That hope lies in our relationship with our Higher Power.
This relationship, as expressed by the thought in our text, develops over time: "Gradually we become more God-centered." As we rely more and more on the strength of our Higher Power, life's struggles don't have to drag us into the sea of despair. As we focus more on God, we focus less on ourselves.
Just for today: I will rely on my Higher Power. I will accept that, regardless of what happens, my Higher Power will provide me with the resources to live with it.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Come stand by my side where I'm going, Take my hand if I stumble and fall It's the strength that you share when you're growing That gives me what I need most of all. --Hoyt Axton
The bear cub was miserable. Her father, the leader of the pack, had left a month ago to find them winter shelter and had not yet returned. Everyone went on as if nothing had changed.
One evening the cub had a dream in which her father appeared and said, "Daughter, I know you grieve for me, but your burden is too heavy to carry alone. Share it with the others and let them comfort you. Sharing will only lighten your load, and if you can accept help now you will find it easier to give when others are in need."
The next morning the little cub woke with a much lighter heart. As it turns out, everyone in the pack shared the same dream. There was much hugging and crying and reaching out and healing.
We can easily lighten our loads by asking support from those who love us, knowing our turn to help will come.
What help can I ask for today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
We all carry it within us; supreme strength, the fullness of wisdom, unquenchable joy. It is never thwarted and cannot be destroyed. But it is hidden deep, which is what makes life a problem. --Huston Smith
How does a man lose touch with his strength, his wisdom, his joy? Perhaps it is in the nature of humanity. Our most profound qualities are hidden deep. They never go away, but we cannot always find them. There may be nothing wrong with ourselves as men when we lose touch. It doesn't have to mean that we are "bad guys" for getting depressed or for feeling inadequate. Who doesn't have that problem? It is the nature of life that we sometimes feel this way. This program helps us unearth the resources hidden within us.
When we cannot find those reassuring feelings of strength and wisdom and joy, we may think they are gone forever. We even doubt we ever had them or could have them again. But they are still there. They cannot be destroyed. And when we regain contact we know they have been with us all along.
I will have faith that the innermost places in me can never be destroyed.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
The pure relationship, how beautiful it is! How easily it is damaged, or weighted down with irrelevancies--not even irrelevancies, just life itself, the accumulations of life and of time. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Many of us are presently rebuilding old relationships and searching for new ones, ones that we hope we can protect. We can't survive without relationships, some intimate, some close, some casual. And we discover ourselves through our relationships with others.
The purity of a relationship is directly proportional to the undivided attention we both give to those shared moments, hours, experiences, to being there with one another. This communion with another is the celebration of life and God that quickens hearts and ushers in serenity.
Each day I can look for those chances to give myself wholly. And gifts will abound.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Experiment
Experiment. Try something new. Try stepping out.
We have been held back too long. We have held ourselves back too long.
As children, many of us were deprived of the right to experiment. Many of us are depriving ourselves of the right to experiment and learn as adults.
Now is the time to experiment. It is an important part of recovery. Let yourself try things. Let yourself try something new. Yes, you will make mistakes. But from those mistakes, you can learn what your values are.
Some things we just wont like. That's good. Then well know a little more about who we are and what we don't like.
Some things we will like, they will work with our values. They will work with who we are, and we will discover something important and life enriching.
There is a quiet time in recovery, a time to stand still and heal, a time to give ourselves a cooling off time. This is a time of introspection and healing. It is an important time. We deal with our issues.
There also comes a time when it is equally important to experiment, to begin to test the water.
Recovery does not equal abstention from life. Recovery means learning to live and learning to live fully. Recovery means exploration, investigation, and experimentation.
Recovery means being done with the rigid, shame based rules from the past, and formulating healthy values based on self-love, love for others, and living in harmony with this world.
Experiment. Try something new. Maybe you wont like it. Maybe you'll make a mistake. But maybe you will like it, and maybe you'll discover something you love.
Today, I will give myself permission to experiment in life. I will stop rigidly holding myself back, and I will jump in when jumping in feels right. God, help me let go of my need to deprive myself of being alive.
When I look within, I find that I have all that I need. It feels wonderful to discover that I already am the beautiful person that I would like to be. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey to the Heart
Who or What Is Pulling on You?
Learn to become sensitive to the quiet as well as the clamorous pulls on your energy, your time, your emotions. You are becoming connected– to yourself, the universe, God, others– in a way you have never been before. To deny these pulls is to deny the connections.
A quiet tug on our consciousness may be telling us what we need to do. We think about an old friend and contemplate calling her, but we don’t. Don’t be silly, we tell ourselves. Why would I do that now? But maybe that friend is calling out to us. Or we have a problem we haven’t known how to solve. That situation begins to work on us, bothering us, interrupting our day. Maybe our instincts are telling us it’s time to do something about it.
We are living differently now, more magically, more at ease, more at one with our actions. One way we know it is time to do something not on the calendar or the clock is to pay attention to the quiet pulls on our energy. Being conscious of these impulses, then trusting ourselves to naturally know what to do and when to do it puts us in harmony with the universe and our soul.
Who or what is pulling on you? What do you think you should do? Now, take it to the next step, the next level. What does your heart lead you to do?
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More Language Of Letting Go
Go with the flow
I was standing in my kitchen, many years ago, cooking Thanksgiving dinner. The children were racing around the house. I was expecting company. Dinner wasn’t coming out the way I’d planned. And then I noticed, to my dismay, that one of my acrylic nails was mssing. I looked around frantically, then realized it was most likely where I feared: inside the turkey, in the stuffing.
I called my best friend and explained things to her.
“Just relax,” she said, in a cheery voice I liked so much– sometimes. “Go with the flow.”
“How?” I said, quietly.
I don’t remember the details of how that day worked out, but it did– I think Nichole found the nail. And so did the next. And so did the next. In time the lesson became clear– learn to relax, and go with the flow. From that relaxed place, you will learn to naturally manifest your power.
Some people call it ki, some chi, some the Holy Spirit, some the Way, the Tao, God’s will, or the force. Whatever we choose to call it, there’s an energy flow, a path, that will lead us through any situation we encounter in life.
I spent many years resisting this flow, this universal life force. I expended a great deal of energy creating dramas around each incident that took place. I spent as much time resisting a feeling or an event as I spent dealing with it. I lived in a state of fear.
The answer will appear. A solution will come to you. You’ll be led to the next place, person, or event. You’ll get the opening you need, along with the inspiration, courage, and wisdom. Feelings will come and go.
The lesson isn’t that things will be okay. It’s that things are okay, right now.
God, teach me how to give up resistance and go with the flow.
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In God’s Care
Love the moment and the energy of the moment will spread beyond all boundaries
~~Corita Kent
When we quiet our mind, bypassing our thoughts about the hour or day before, or our fear over what may come tomorrow, we can more easily relish each moment–this moment. We too often succumb to the seduction of worrying about the past and future, which are beyond our control. Our unwillingness to give up this obsessive thinking keeps the joy and serenity we long for out of reach. We forget that the power lies within us to clear our mind and to fully experience the peace of the moment.
Quieting our mind requires commitment and practice. We can circumvent any thought and experience moments of peace–a peace that will become as seductive as our old obsession to worry.
I will choose to give up worry today and enjoy many peace-fillled moments instead.
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Giving The Gift Of You
Serving Your Community
To live harmoniously, we need to be supportive and helpful to all people, creatures, and plant life that share this earth with us. While “being of service” is part of being a good citizen of the world, it also feels good to help others. When we do something for others in service, without the expectation of anything in return, we are turning our actions into offerings.
There are many ways to be of service to our community. There are the obvious and much needed volunteer opportunities, such as serving Thanksgiving dinner at a shelter, mentoring our youth, or cleaning up a beach. Then, there is the kind of service that we may not even think of as being acts of service. Learning a new language (perhaps sign language) so that you can talk to more people is a way to reach out to others. Inviting someone who isn’t motivated enough to exercise on their own to join you on your daily walk is a way to give of yourself. Sharing flowers or vegetables from your garden, organizing a poetry reading, offering to babysit for a busy parent, or donating pet food to an animal shelter all are simple ways to offer your services to your community.
There are many ways that you can serve the world. Imagine the impact we would have on the environment if we picked up one piece of trash off the street everyday and chose not to drive our car once a week. Even gardening tactics such as throwing wildflower seeds onto a vacant lot can brighten the lives of others – including the lives of birds and insects. Everyday, you can do something to make this world a better place. During meditation, ask for guidance on what you can do to be of service. This can be a wonderful way to start your day. Smiling at a stranger who looks down in the dumps or teaching your neighborhood kids how to whistle will impact someone’s day or even their life. Giving of yourself is the best gift that you can give. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
“When I meditate upon such a vision,” Bill W. continued, “I need not be dismayed because I shall never attain it, nor need I swell with presumption that one of these days its virtues shall all be mine. I only need to dwell on the vision itself, letting it grow and even more fill my heart… Then I get a sane and healthy idea of where I stand on the highway to humility. I see that my journey towards God has scarcely begun. As I thus get down to my right size and stature, my self-concern and importance become amusing.” Do I take myself too seriously?
Today I Pray
May the grandiosity which is a symptom of my chemical addiction be brought back into proportion by the simple comparison of my powerlessness with the power of God. May I think of the meaning of Higher Power as it relates to my human frailty. May it bring my ego back down to scale and help me shed my defenses of pomp or bluster or secret ideas of self-importance.
Today I Will Remember
He is great. I am small.
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One More Day
If you don’t learn to laugh at trouble, you won’t have anything to laugh at when you grow old.
– Ed Howe
Laughing with others is important. Learning to laugh at our own problems, however, is even more important. Since we will continue to live with situations that cause us all types of problems, we may as well learn to laugh at ourselves.
Often with chronic illness, coordination changes. Reaction time may be slower. Sensitivity to cold, heat, or pain may be altered. It’s only logical that we will find ourselves in potentially embarrassing situations because of our bodies.
Often, a hearty laugh at all the strange situations flung our way is just the thing to help us work through what is painful and difficult. Laughter is a gift we give to ourselves. We can carry it with us whenever we go, it will always be ours.
I am headed in the right direction when I can laugh.
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One Day At A Time
DISLOYALTY
"“Health is the greatest gift,
contentment the greatest wealth,
faithfulness the best relationship.”
..... Buddah
I have a history of chaotic relationships filled with destructive drama and a lack of loyalty. For many years, however, I believed that I was in fact a very loyal friend – and that it was my friends who were disloyal to me.
I was an avid -- even rabid -- people-pleaser. I drove myself crazy trying to figure out what people wanted and how I could best provide that for them. Because I thought I knew what was best for everybody, I failed to truly listen to the people in my life. Instead, I tried to impose my will upon them…then I wondered why they didn’t appreciate all of my efforts on “their” behalf. When they inevitably became frustrated with me, I was wounded by what I perceived to be their lack of loyalty to me.
Only recently in my recovery program have I come to learn that my efforts at people-pleasing were actually symptoms of my own disloyalty. I was failing to relate with people as they are – rather I was relating to them as I thought they “should be”. That is perhaps the most egregious form of disloyalty…insisting that others be loyal to my concept of them and myself.
Now I am taking steps to honestly listen to people and to relate with them as they are – and as I truly am. I am no longer hiding behind food. In order to be loyal in my relationships, I must be loyal to the ‘Truth of Reality.’ Only then can we share the joy of faithful relationships.
One day at a time ... I will practice listening to the people in my life and I will honor them as they are. Each day I can choose to be loyal, rather than critical or people-pleasing.
~ Lisa
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Of necessity there will have to be discussion of matters medical, psychiatric, social, and religious. We are aware that these matters are, from their very nature, controversial. Nothing would please us so much as to write a book which would contain no basis for contention or argument. We shall do our utmost to achieve that ideal. - Pg. 19 - There Is A Solution
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Any of us who feel insecure, inferior, or unattractive may think we drink and take other drugs to counteract this. We do drugs compulsively because we are addicted and not for other reasons; other reasons are only rationales.
May I understand that fixing the 'rationales' in my life will not stop my disease. Not picking up will stop alcoholism and other addictions.
Endless Opportunities
I can start over each day. I can start over each hour of each day. The universe is impersonal in that sense. It's always waiting for me to tell it what I want. Like attracts like. I tell the world what I want more of, by what I am thinking and feeling right now, right this minute. Today, every hour on the hour, I will allow myself to see something positive about my day. I'll let myself send out an order by my pleasant thoughts and feelings for more of the same. When I catch myself heading down a negative path I'll stop and consciously observe what is going through my mind. Life is full of chances and so is my day. I can start it over any time I want to.
I shift my life a thought at a time
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
We came here for our drugging and stay in part for hugging.
Hugs are one way the fellowship demonstrates to me that it isn't 'me' and 'you' anymore, it's 'we' and 'us.'
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Don't worry about tomorrow, your Higher Power is already there.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
My Higher Power is guiding me with my positive attitude today. Negatives are something I no longer choose to live with. I feel positive strength pour through me as I release all negative thoughts.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
I drank to three points: Until I passed out, blacked out, or got knocked out. - JoJo S.
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Post by majestyjo on Mar 30, 2017 22:05:06 GMT -5
March 31
Daily Reflections
NO ONE DENIED ME LOVE
On the A.A. calendar it was Year Two . . . . A newcomer appeared at
one of these groups . . . . He soon proved that his was a desperate
case, and that above all he wanted to get well. . . . [He said], "Since I
am the victim of another addiction even worse stigmatized than
alcoholism, you may not want me among you."
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 141-42
I came to you -- a wife, mother, woman who had walked out on her
husband, children, family. I was a drunk, a pill-head, a nothing. Yet no
one denied me love, caring, a sense of belonging. Today, by God's grace
and the love of a good sponsor and a home group, I can say that --
through you in Alcoholics Anonymous -- I am a wife, a mother, a
grandmother and a woman. Sober. Free of pills. Responsible.
Without a Higher Power I found in the Fellowship, my life would be
meaningless. I am full of gratitude to be a member of good standing in
Alcoholics Anonymous.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Since I've been in A.A., have I made a start toward being more
unselfish? Do I no longer want my own way in everything? When things
go wrong and I can't have what I want, do I no longer sulk? Am I
trying not to waste money on myself? And does it make me happy to see
my family and my home have enough attention from me? Am I trying not
to be all "get" and no "give"?
Meditation For The Day
Each day is a day of progress, steady progress forward, if you make it
so. You may not see it, but God does. God does not judge by outward
appearance. He judges by the heart. Let Him see in your heart a simple
desire always to do His will. Though you may feel that your work has
been spoiled or tarnished, God sees it as an offering for Him. When
climbing a steep hill, people are often more conscious of the weakness of
their stumbling feet than of the view, the grandeur, or even of the
upward progress.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may persevere in all good things. I pray that I may advance
each day in spite of my stumbling feet.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
To Watch Loneliness Vanish, p. 90
Almost without exception, alcoholics are tortured by loneliness. Even
before our drinking got bad and people began to cut us off, nearly all
of us suffered the feeling that we didn't quite belong. Either we were
shy, and dared not draw near others, or we were noisy good fellows
constantly craving attention and companionship, but rarely getting it.
There was always that mysterious barrier we could neither surmount
nor understand.
That's one reason we loved alcohol too well. But even Bacchus
betrayed us, we were finally struck down and left in terrified
isolation.
<< << << >> >> >>
Life takes on new meaning in A.A. 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 not to be
missed.
1. 12 & 12, p. 57
2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 89
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
A Journey, Not a Destination.
How it Works
"Now that you're sober, why do you stay in AA?" AA members frequently hear this from others not familiar with the fellowship, but it's understandable. They see AA as a place where one goes to be " cured," whereas we learn to see it as an ongoing recovery process that is never really completed.
Sobriety is not an object that one can acquire and then put on a shelf somewhere or on the wall like a diploma. It is more of a JOURNEY IN LIVING, with each day's march being a goal in itself.
You could also say that sobriety is like the "MANNA FROM HEAVEN" described in the Old Testament. Fresh manna arrived each day, but could not be saved for the future. It is the same with us. Today's experience in sobriety is what sustains us, and we're in trouble if we're trying to depend on what was accomplished in the past.
Though we do use the term "permanent sobriety", we never truly possess it. Our quest for sobriety is a lifetime journey.
I'll be on guard against any feeling of "having it made." Sure, past success should be helpful in maintaining today's sobriety. But the quality of today's sobriety will depend only on today's thinking and behavior.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
You grow up the day you have your first real laugh at yourself.---Ethel Barrymore
There was a time when we wouldn't let anyone laugh at us---even ourselves. We had to much shame. We had to much pain. We took the world too seriously. If we laughed it was at others---not at ourselves. Over time , real honest laughter returns to us. Laughter is a way of accepting ourselves as human. To be human means we can make mistakes. It means we can lighten up. It also means growing up. And growing up means being happy with all of who we are---even parts of us that may seem odd or funny. If we can't laugh at ourselves, we shut ourselves off from the world. We shut ourselves off from the parts of us we need to accept. Am I willing to accept the fact that I'm human.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You made laughter. Help me us it to make my life easier. Help me accept all of me a funny mistake I've made.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll share with someone close to me a funny mistake I've made.
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Each Day a New Beginning
Anger repressed can poison a relationship as surely as the cruelest words. --Joyce Brothers
Anger is familiar to us all. We feel it toward others and from others. The expression and acceptance of anger is where we often falter. Most of us were told when we were small girls that we shouldn't be angry, but we were. And we are, even yet. However, we often still feel like a little girl when it comes to angry feelings.
We need to accept our anger and learn to express it, honestly, openly and assertively, not aggressively. We can't afford to hang onto anger. It grows and then festers and then boils. Soon it is interfering in all our relationships, and it provides a ready excuse for an old, self-destructive pattern we don't want to entertain for even a moment.
Nothing we set out to do today will have the right outcome, if we carry anger within us. How we interpret life, how we treat our friends, what we do with our opportunities and our challenges--all these are determined by our attitudes. Repressed anger always blocks the way to a positive attitude.
Every experience can uplift me if anger doesn't weigh me down.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards
Henry Ford once made a wise remark to the effect that experience is the thing of supreme value is life. That is true only if one is willing to turn the past to good account. We grow by our willingness to face and rectify errors and convert them into assets. The alcoholic’s past thus becomes the principal asset of the family and frequently it is almost the only one!
p. 124
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
One night, after a hard afternoon and late evening of drinking, I and my two fellow flight crew members were arrested. We were charged with violation of a federal law that prohibits the operation of a common carrier while impaired. It had never been used against airline pilots before. I was devastated. Suddenly I was thrust into an experience beyond my worst nightmare.
p. 524
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
There is another story about money. One night in 1948, the trustees of the Foundation were having their quarterly meeting. The agenda discussion included a very important question. A certain lady had died. When her will was read, it was discovered she had left Alcoholics Anonymous in trust with the Alcoholic Foundation a sum of ten thousand dollars. The question was: Should A.A. take the gift?
pp. 163-164
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"Don't hurry, don't worry. You're only here for a short visit. So be sure
to stop and smell the flowers."
--Walter Hagen
Always put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it
probably hurts the other person, too.
Getting sober is like learning to ride a horse, if you fall off, get back on,
you can't learn to ride on the ground....
--Patricia D.
"It is no disgrace to start all over. It is usually an opportunity."
--George Matthew Adams, author
Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: if
you're alive, it isn't.
--Richard Bach
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
WORLD
"All wars are civil wars,
because all men are brothers . . .
Each one owes infinitely more to
the human race than to the
particular country in which he
was born."
-- Francois Fenelon
My disease of addiction kept me separate, isolated and alone. I was so
busy seeing how I was different from other people that I missed the
similarities. I missed the "oneness" of this creation by always placing
myself above it, below it, outside it: and I was the loser.
Even my religion kept me separate. I was a Christian and not a Jew,
Muslim or Hindu --- but I failed to see the similarities of these major
philosophies; I failed to see what all religious people have in common; I
failed to see the inclusiveness of Love, Truth and Forgiveness.
God is to be found in the "difference" and "sameness" of His people.
O Lord, I am discovering that even the differences, when understood,
become the same.
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"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to
God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who
diligently seek Him"
Hebrews 11:6
"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him."
Psalm 62:5
"Thus says the Lord: 'Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my
salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed. Blessed is the
man who does this."
Isaiah 56:1-2a
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Daily Inspiration
We have never before had today and we will never have it again. Lord, as I have the opportunity, let me use this day to do good.
Worse than being a quitter is the one who is afraid to begin. Lord, grant me the courage to believe in myself and the ability to focus on what I can do, not what I can't do.
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NA Just For Today
"Insides Outsides"
"Our real value is in being ourselves."
Basic Text p. 101
As we work the steps, we're bound to discover some basic truths about ourselves. The process of uncovering our secrets, exposing them, and searching our characters reveals our true nature. As we become acquainted with ourselves, we'll need to make a decision to be just who we are.
We may want to take a look at what we present to our fellow addicts and the world and see if it matches up with what we've discovered inside. Do we pretend that nothing bothers us when, in truth, we're very sensitive? Do we cover our insecurities with obnoxious jokes, or do we share our fears with someone? Do we dress like a teenager when we're approaching forty and are basically conservative?
We may want to take another look at those things which we thought "weren't us:" Maybe we've avoided NA activities because we "don't like crowds!" Or maybe we have a secret dream of changing careers but have put off taking action because our dream "wasn't really right" for us. As we attain a new understanding of ourselves, we'll want to adjust our behavior accordingly. We want to be genuine examples of who we are.
Just for today: I will check my outsides to make sure they match my insides. I will try to act on the growth I have experienced in recovery.
************************************************** *********
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Withdrawal is a preparation for emergence. --Nor Hall
A man lost his family in a car accident and wanted to be alone for a while, but he worried whether he was doing the right thing. Then one day a friend told him that when pine cones fall off the lodge pole pine trees, they are sealed shut so the seeds inside can't get out. The pine cones lie on the forest floor--sometimes for decades--until a forest fire sweeps through. Heat from the fire melts the seal and the seeds fall out and finally grow, and that's why the lodge pole pine is called a "fire-origin species."
The man felt good about himself when he heard the story. "Fire-origin species" is a good name for people who've been burned by life and find new growth as a result.
How have I grown because of pain and difficulty?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Shared joy is double joy, and shared sorrow is half sorrow. --Swedish proverb
As recovering men, we know relief and peace when we express our pain and share the burden of a sorrow with each other. Life is too difficult, a day is too long, to carry grief alone and keep our joys to ourselves. We have spent long periods of time in loneliness. Like anyone who has been alone and finally gets a chance to speak, we have much to say to one another.
In this program we tell our stories, and the telling heals us. We tell about our pain and unmanageable past lives. We tell each other about our spiritual experiences. We share our honest doubts and worries about ourselves and events in our daily lives. Full communication at a truly spiritual meeting includes our questions and the incomplete thoughts in our stories as well as the thoughts that are fully concluded. As we talk, we unburden ourselves and learn from each other about closeness and manhood.
Today, I will let the people around me know about my joys and my sorrows. It will enrich my whole experience.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Anger repressed can poison a relationship as surely as the cruelest words. --Joyce Brothers
Anger is familiar to us all. We feel it toward others and from others. The expression and acceptance of anger is where we often falter. Most of us were told when we were small girls that we shouldn't be angry, but we were. And we are, even yet. However, we often still feel like a little girl when it comes to angry feelings.
We need to accept our anger and learn to express it, honestly, openly and assertively, not aggressively. We can't afford to hang onto anger. It grows and then festers and then boils. Soon it is interfering in all our relationships, and it provides a ready excuse for an old, self-destructive pattern we don't want to entertain for even a moment.
Nothing we set out to do today will have the right outcome, if we carry anger within us. How we interpret life, how we treat our friends, what we do with our opportunities and our challenges--all these are determined by our attitudes. Repressed anger always blocks the way to a positive attitude.
Every experience can uplift me if anger doesn't weigh me down.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Finances
Taking financial responsibility for ourselves is part of recovery. Some of us may find ourselves in hard financial times for a variety of reasons.
Our recovery concepts, including the Steps, work on money issues and restoring manageability to that area of our life. Make appropriate amends - even if that means tackling a $5,000 debt by sending in $5 a month.
Start where you are, with what you've got. As with other issues, acceptance and gratitude turn what we have into more.
Money issues are not a good place to act as if. Don't write checks until the money is in the bank. Don't spend money until you've got it in your hand.
If there is too little money to survive, use the appropriate resources available without shame.
Set goals.
Believe you deserve the best, financially.
Believe God cares about your finances.
Let go of your fear, and trust.
Today, I will focus on taking responsibility for my present financial circumstances, no matter how overwhelming that area of my life may feel and be.
With softness and gentleness I am turning around all negative thinking so that my mind is positive. It feels so good to be in charge of the world that I am creating for myself. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey to the Heart
Take the Pressure Off
Sometimes we need a little pressure to get moving, but sometimes we put too much pressure on ourselves. I must do this, we think, and I must do it better and faster. We begin to believe that only by worry and fear and pressuring ourselves can we got the job done– whether the job is spiritual growth, making a particular decision, or accomplishing a task.
That kind of pressure doesn’t get the job done any better or faster. It simply makes you tense and fearful, and stops the creative juices. Too much pressure can take you out of the present moment. It can inhibit the life force, the flow of life within you. That kind of pressure can make so much noise in your mind that you can’t hear your heart.
We have responsibilites. We have time frames and commitments to others. And there are times when we need to get the job done. But the most pressing job can be done best when we’re relaxed. The most urgent decision can be made most clearly when we’re at peace. It doesn’t help to force ourselves to go faster, be somewhere else, or be someone we’re not. There are few things we need to do that can be enhanced by becoming tense, fearful, and worried. The more pressing the situation, the more pressing the need to be present for ourselves, and be present for each moment.
Let off some steam. Release your emotions. Clear the pathway to the heart. The answer will come. The job will get done.
Give yourself some relief. Take the pressure off.
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More Language Of Letting Go
Change what you can
There are times when it’s best to say whatever and times when it’s best to say enough. Be aware of the difference in these times, and be ready to say both.
Are you being abused or merely annoyed? Is your anger based on a legitimate hurt, or has someone just not lived up to your expectations? Be aware that there’s a difference. Then learn to apply the strategies, as needed, for that particular situation.
Are there any rules for knowing? No, there aren’t. You need to decide and choose what’s best for you at any given time. Trust yourself and your Higher Power. You’re wiser than you think.
Seek balance in your life. Learn when it’s time to let go, and learn when it’s time to act.
God, help me let go of situations that are out of my control and help me take action, when it’s time.
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In God’s Care
I came to this program to save I disagree and found out it was attached to my soul.
~~Anonymous
God gets our attention in a lot of different ways. To a great many of us, it was through accdident or illness, coming close to death. All of us come to this program frightened for our life or our sanity or both. God has our attention.
And now we are learning about the spiritual aspect of our life, the one we had so long neglected. Now we are partaking of God’s love–Soul food–and discovering that the spiritual life is fuller and more rewarding than anything we thought possible. Nothing we do to please our body can compare to the joy of unconditional love. When we lend a loving hand to anyone, we realize once again that the pain we suffered was worth it to bring us to this awareness.
Today I will look for ways to help others–and bless my soul!
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Protecting Your Flow
How Fear Blocks Creativity
To understand how fear blocks creativity, take a moment to imagine yourself telling a story. First, imagine telling the story to someone you love and who loves you. You probably feel warmth and energy as you fill in the details of your tale to your friend’s delight. Now, imagine telling the same story to someone who, for whatever reason, makes you uncomfortable. The wonderful twists and turns, the fine points and colorful images that unfolded in your mind for your friend probably won’t present themselves. Instead of warmth, energy, and creativity, you will probably feel opposite sensations and a desire to close down. When we feel unsafe, whether we fear being judged, disliked, or misunderstood, our creative flow stops. Alternately, when we feel safe, our creativity unfolds like a beautiful flower, without conscious effort.
Knowing this, we can maximize our creative potential by creating the conditions that inspire our creativity. In order to really be in the flow, we need to feel safe and unrestricted. However, achieving this is not as simple as avoiding people who make us feel uncomfortable. Sometimes we can be alone in a room and still feel totally blocked. When this happens, we know we have come up against elements in our own psyches that are making us feel fearful. Perhaps we are afraid that in expressing ourselves we will discover something we don’t want to know, or unleash emotions or ideas that we don’t want to be responsible for. Or maybe we’re afraid we’ll fail to produce something worthy.
When you’re up against fear, internal or external, ritual can be a powerful—and creative—antidote. Before you sit down to be creative, try casting a circle of protection around yourself. Visualize yourself inside a ring of light, protective fire, or angels. Imagine that this protective energy emanates unconditional love for you and wants to hear, see, and feel everything you have to express. Take a moment to bathe in the warmth of this feeling and then fearlessly surrender yourself to the power that flows through you. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
My illness is unlike most other illnesses in that denial that I am sick is a primary symptom that I am sick. Like such other incurable illnesses as diabetes and arhritis, howeever, my illness is characteriezed by relapses. In The Program, we call such relapses “slips.” The one thing I know for certain is that I alone can cause myself to slip. Will I remember at all times that the thought precedes the action? Will I try to avoid “stiinking thinking?”
Today I Pray
May God give me the power to resist temptations. May the responsibility for giving in, for having a “slip,” be on my shoulders and mine only. May I see beforehand if I am setting myself up for a slip by blame-shifing, shirking my responsibility to myself, becoming the world’s poor puppet once again. My return to those old attitudes ccan be as much of a slip as the act of losing my sobriety.
Today I Will Remember
Nobody’s slip-proof.
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One More Day
Why, why, why?
– James Joyce
“it doesn’t seem fair,” we privately lament. “How could I have this rotten medical condition just when I’ve hit my stride — the prime time of my life?”
That’s a question we all wonder about. Many of us may get down on our knees and pray to our Higher Power for understanding. We might as, “Why Me?” We might implore, “Why now, when I’m nearly on my feet again?”
We might ask these questions, yet often there are no answers. Our ways are not His ways. Sometimes life just isn’t fair; there are no easy answers.
I have adjusted to other changes in my life, and I can adjust to this one too. It may take some time, and I may go through the gamut of emotions first, but I am willing.
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One Day At A Time
LOYALTY
"Health is the greatest gift,
contentment the greatest wealth,
faithfulness the best relationship."
Buddah
I have a history of chaotic relationships filled with destructive drama and a lack of loyalty. For many years, however, I believed that I was in fact a very loyal friend – and that it was my friends who were disloyal to me.
I was an avid -- even rabid -- people-pleaser. I drove myself crazy trying to figure out what people wanted and how I could best provide that for them. Because I thought I knew what was best for everybody, I failed to truly listen to the people in my life. Instead, I tried to impose my will upon them … then I wondered why they didn’t appreciate all of my efforts on “their” behalf. When they inevitably became frustrated with me, I was wounded by what I perceived to be their lack of loyalty to me.
Only recently in my recovery program have I come to learn that my efforts at people-pleasing were actually symptoms of my own disloyalty. I was failing to relate with people as they are – rather, I was relating to them as I thought they “should be.” That is perhaps the most egregious form of disloyalty… insisting that others be loyal to my concept of them and myself.
Now I am taking steps to honestly listen to people and to relate with them as they are – and as I truly am. I am no longer hiding behind food. In order to be loyal in my relationships, I must be loyal to the ‘Truth of Reality.’ Only then can we share the joy of faithful relationships.
One day at a time ... I will practice listening to the people in my life and I will honor them as they are. Each day I can choose to be loyal, rather than critical or people-pleasing.
Lisa
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Though we work out our solution on the spiritual as well as an altruistic plane, we favor hospitalization for the alcoholic who is very jittery or befogged. More often than not, it is imperative that a man's brain be cleared before he is approached, as he has then a better chance of understanding and accepting what we have to offer. - Pg. xxvii - 4th. Edition - The Doctor's Opinion
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
You want to be able to respond, not just react to the chaos of early recovery. Reaction is simply from the genes, primal and mostly instinctual. To respond requires thought. Think about your situation and how you want to respond to what happens to you.
I do not simply react to situations in an instinctual mode. I respond in a thoughtful, thought-out manner.
Bearing Witness
When I have an undesirable thought today, like jealousy, anger or self doubt I will just observe it in my mind. I will allow the thought to really be there. I won't try to deny it or eradicate it. I will simply give it space and witness it. As I do this, the thought transforms. As I see it for what it is and accept it as a part of me, I give it the breathing room it needs to play itself through, to change into something else. I cannot hide from me, nor do I wish to. I can be my own best friend by allowing myself the space to think what I am really thinking and feel what I am really feeling knowing that it doesn't have to lead to blind action. There is another more powerful and fruitful action that I can take. It is in simply witnessing, allowing and trusting that this process will lead to awareness, transformation and a more permanent change than is possible through denial. Today I will give myself the gift of self reflection.
I observe the workings of my inner mind
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
The person you were will use again. That is why you must 'smash all your old ideas' so that the new you is a member of the program, not the person you were. The person you were was a practicing alcoholic. The person you are is not.
Some people say that the 12 Steps brain wash us. Thank God, because that's how I got clean!
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
There is no right way to do the wrong thing.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
With softness and gentleness I am turning around all negative thinking so that my mind is positive. It feels so good to be in charge of the world that I am creating for myself.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Faith is capitalizing on the belief of others.- Fr. Ed Dowling.
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Post by majestyjo on Mar 31, 2017 19:38:44 GMT -5
April 1
Daily Reflections
LOOKING WITHIN
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 42
Step Four is the vigorous and painstaking effort to discover what the
liabilities in each of us have been, and are. I want to find exactly how,
when, and where my natural desires have warped me. I wish to look
squarely at the unhappiness this has caused others and myself. By
discovering what my emotional deformities are, I can move toward
their correction. Without a willing and persistent effort to do this,
there can be little sobriety or contentment for me.
To resolve ambivalent feelings, I need to feel a strong and helpful
sense of myself. Such an awareness doesn't happen overnight, and no
one's self-awareness is permanent. Everyone has the capacity for
growth, and for self-awareness, through an honest encounter with
reality.
When I don't avoid issues but meet them directly, always trying to
resolve them, they become fewer and fewer.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Since I've been in A.A., have I made a start toward becoming more
honest? Do I no longer have to lie to my loved ones? Do I try to have
meals on time, and do I try to earn what I make at work? Am I trying
to be honest? Have I faced myself as I really am and have I admitted
to myself that I'm no good by myself, but have to rely on God to help
me do the right thing? Am I beginning to find out what it means to be
alive and to face the world honestly and without fear?
Meditation For The Day
God is all around us. His spirit pervades the universe. And yet we
often do not let His spirit in. We try to get along without His help and
we make a mess of our lives. We can do nothing of any value without
God's help. All our human relationships depend on this. When we let
God's spirit rule our lives, we learn how to get along with others and
how to help them.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may let God run my life. I pray that I will never again
make a mess of my life through trying to run it myself.
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As Bill Sees It
Courage and Prudence, p. 91
When fear persisted, we knew it for what it was, and we became able
to handle it. We began to see each adversity as a God-given
opportunity to develop the kind of courage which is born of humility,
rather than of bravado.
<< << << >> >> >>
Prudence is a workable middle ground, a channel of clear sailing
between the obstacles of fear on the one side and of recklessness on
the other. Prudence in practice creates a definite climate, the only
climate in which harmony, effectiveness, and consistent spiritual
progress can be achieved.
<< << << >> >> >>
"Prudence is rational concern without worry."
1. Grapevine, January 1962
2. Twelve Concepts, p. 62
3. Talk, 1966
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Walk in Dry Places
There are no coincidences
Guidance
Here's an exercise that can strengthen your belief in a Higher Power: Review your life for seemingly insignificant things that were actually major turning points. A chance meeting, for example, may have resulted in an astonishing career opportunity for lifelong romance. Such surprises come to everybody, and people often wonder what their lives would have been like without these "coincidences."
The founding of AA also seemed to be a series of coincidences and chance happenings. The message reached Bill W. by a circular route, and then an unexpected business opportunity took him to Akron, Ohio, where he finally met Dr. Bob. The unusual aspect was that Akron just "Happened" to have stalwart members of the Oxford Group, the same fellowship that had helped Bill W.
People with strong spiritual foundations in AA have come to see these happenings not as coincidences but as the guidance of a Higher power. This Higher Power was…and is… continuously working through inspired people.
We'll find similar chance happenings for good in our own lives. We don't control them except by keeping our own house in order. This assures us that the outcome of any " coincidence" will be favorable.
I'll carry on my activities today without trying to second-guess what my Higher Power has in mind for me. At the same time, I'll know that a superior intelligence is directing my affairs in wonderful ways.
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Keep It Simple
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. --- Step Fourof Alcoholics Anonymous.
We avoid the Fourth Step. We put it off. We're scared of what we will find inside of us. We may find out we're mean, angry, selfish, afraid. We might see how badly we've acted to others, to ourselves. We have all these things inside us. We also have love, trust, faith, and hope. We love art, music, nature, or sports. We have power to heal, and we have used it too. The Fourth Step helps us to know our inner power. As we learn about our own power, we can use it carefully, on purpose, to do good.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me use my power to do Your will. Let your power work through me too.
Action for the Day: Today Ill watch my own actions and words. I'll see how my power affects others. I'll talk about this with my sponsor.
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Each Day a New Beginning
To be wildly enthusiastic, or deadly serious--both are wrong. Both pass. One must keep ever present a sense of humor.
--Katherine Mansfield
How familiar wild enthusiasm and deadly seriousness are to most of us. We experience life within the extremes. The thrill of wild enthusiasm we try to trap, to control. We are exhilarated and feel good. Our serious side traps us, controls us, lowers a pall on all our activities. Both expressions keep us stuck. Neither expression allows the freedom of spontaneity so necessary to a full, healthy life.
Through our addiction--the liquor, the upper, the person, the food--we were searching for a feeling we didn't feel. We were searching for an unnatural state of happiness, even perhaps wild enthusiasm, because we had so little of any enthusiasm for life. Our search failed. Again and again we'd "catch it," only to have it elude us.
We may not have given up the search. But we will come to accept both states of mind as temporary and search instead for the middle ground. A sense of humor will make all of life's loads easier to bear. A sense of humor will offer us the balance that has been missing for so many years.
Today will offer me a chance to be wildly enthusiastic and a chance to be deadly serious. I'll try to focus on the middle ground and cultivate my sense of humor.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards
This painful past may be of infinite value to other families still struggling with their problem. We think each family which has been relieved owes something to those who have not, and when the occasion requires, each member of it should be only too willing to bring former mistakes, no matter how grievous, out of their hiding places. Showing others who suffer how we were given help is the very thing which makes life seem so worth while to us now. Cling to the thought that, in God’s hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have—the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them.
p. 124
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
I arrived home the next day, sick at heart and unable to look my wife in the face. Ashamed and destroyed, I saw two doctors that day and was diagnosed as an alcoholic. I was in treatment that night, going in with only the clothes on my back. The news media had picked up the story, and it was blared all over the world, on all the major television networks, and my shame and humiliation were beyond words. All the light in my life had gone out, and I entertained the idea of suicide. I could not envision ever smiling again or having a day with a bright horizon. I was hurting more than I ever knew human could hurt, and I just wanted the pain to end.
p. 524
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
What a debate we had on that one! The Foundation was really hard up just then; the groups weren't sending in enough for the support of the office; we had been tossing in all the book income and even that hadn't been enough. The reserve was melting like snow in springtime. We needed that ten thousand dollars. "Maybe," some said, "the groups will never fully support the office. We can't let it shut down; it's far too vital. Yes, let's take the money. Let's take all such donations in the future. We're going to need them."
p. 164
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And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin
to climb.
--Kahlil Gibran
God, help me own my power to love and appreciate
myself. Help me give myself validity instead of looking
to others to do that.
--Melody Beattie
"I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all;
but whatever I have placed in Gods hands, that I still possess."
Fear is everywhere, and many fears lie within us, whether screaming
loudly or sitting dormant. We must cast away fear, as we would the
plague.
--SweetyZee
To help each other, is to help ourselves.
C A R E = Comforting And Reassuring Each other.
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
TIME
"I would I could stand on a busy
corner, hat in hand, and beg
people throw me their wasted
hours."
--Bernard Berenson
I enjoy my sobriety so much that I hate to waste my time. Part of my
spiritual program involves a correct use of time. I will not spend time
with negative or destructive people. I will not spend time in useless
gossip or doing things I do not enjoy to please other people.
I am enjoying life so much I do not wish to waste any of it. Spirituality
involves a creative stewardship of time.
As an alcoholic I wasted so much time. For most of my life I was "out
to lunch"! Today I spend time enjoying my life - and I spend quality
time alone with "self". I enjoy my little conversations with self - the
thoughts I have and need to ponder upon. I need time to rest in the
peace of my life. Time is a precious gift from God that should not be
wasted.
Lord, let me live each day as if it were my last.
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"May you be blessed by the Lord."
Psalm 115:15
Since you have heard all about him and have learned the truth that is in Jesus, throw off
your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full
of lust and deception. Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and
attitudes. You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in
God's likeness--righteous, holy, and true. So put away all falsehood and "tell your neighbor
the truth" because we belong to each other. And "don't sin by letting anger gain control
over you." Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty
foothold to the Devil. If you are a thief, stop stealing. Begin using your hands for honest
work, and then give generously to others in need. Don't use foul or abusive language. Let
everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to
those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live.
Remember, he is the one who has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be
saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander,
as well as all types of malicious behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:21-32
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Daily Inspiration
It is the little bits of kindness and love that make this world happy. Lord, may I do my part to make today happy for someone.
Have the courage to forgive. Lord, may I bring myself to a place of peace by never holding a grudge.
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NA Just For Today
Love And Addiction
"Some of us first saw the effects of addiction on the people closest to us. We were very dependent on them to carry us through life. We felt angry, disappointed, and hurt when they found other interests, friends, and loved ones."
Basic Text p. 7
Addiction affected every area of our lives. Just as we sought the drug that would make everything alright, so we sought people to fix us. We made impossible demands, driving away those who had anything of worth to offer us. Often, the only people left were those who were themselves too needy to be capable of denying our unrealistic expectations. It's no wonder that we were unable to establish and maintain healthy intimate relationships in our addiction.
Today, in recovery, we've stopped expecting drugs to fix us. If we still expect people to fix us, perhaps it's time to extend our recovery program to our relationships. We begin by admitting we have a problem—that we don't know the first thing about how to have healthy intimate relationships. We seek out members who've had similar problems and have found relief. We talk with them and listen to what they share about this aspect of their recovery. We apply the program to all our affairs, seeking the same kind of freedom in our relationships that we find throughout our recovery.
Just for today: Loving relationships are within my reach. Today, I will examine the effects of addiction on my relationships so that I can begin seeking recovery.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Then Bacchus. . .gave him the choice of making a wish come true. . . . So Midas said, "Make everything I touch turn gold." --Ovid
Poor King Midas, already rich as a king, was made poorer by his poor wish. Everything he touched--small shoots, wet clay, a ripe head of wheat, apples from a tree--all suddenly went bad, turned into gold, pure gold. And how could he eat when bread and fruits, even fresh running water, suddenly shined at him, yellow, hard, and cold? He could have wished for a wiser, smaller success. He could have had all familiar things turn kind at his touch, or loving and good. Then imagine how he would have touched everyone he came near.
If some wishes are too good to be true, are others too bad?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Any idea, person or object can be a Medicine Wheel, a mirror for man. The tiniest flower can be such a mirror, as can a wolf, a story, a touch, a religion, or a mountaintop. --Hyemeyohsts Storm
The ancient spiritual teachings of the Cheyenne Indians tell us that we meet ourselves in almost everything we confront. A group of men spending a night on a mountaintop will each have a different experience. One may be overcome with a sense of awe, another may spend every moment gripped by fear, and another may sleep the night away. While the mountain is the same, each has brought himself to it and has a different experience. When we meet an animal, feel a touch, or take a hike down the street, we see a reflection of ourselves and of humanity.
This day is a Medicine Wheel for each of us. Our response to today's circumstances will tell us more about ourselves. We need not waste energy judging ourselves harshly, but learn from our feelings and reactions. Our reflections point the way for further growth.
Today, I will look for my own reflection in what I meet and for the reflection of all humanity.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
To be wildly enthusiastic, or deadly serious--both are wrong. Both pass. One must keep ever present a sense of humor.
--Katherine Mansfield
How familiar wild enthusiasm and deadly seriousness are to most of us. We experience life within the extremes. The thrill of wild enthusiasm we try to trap, to control. We are exhilarated and feel good. Our serious side traps us, controls us, lowers a pall on all our activities. Both expressions keep us stuck. Neither expression allows the freedom of spontaneity so necessary to a full, healthy life.
Through our addiction--the liquor, the upper, the person, the food--we were searching for a feeling we didn't feel. We were searching for an unnatural state of happiness, even perhaps wild enthusiasm, because we had so little of any enthusiasm for life. Our search failed. Again and again we'd "catch it," only to have it elude us.
We may not have given up the search. But we will come to accept both states of mind as temporary and search instead for the middle ground. A sense of humor will make all of life's loads easier to bear. A sense of humor will offer us the balance that has been missing for so many years.
Today will offer me a chance to be wildly enthusiastic and a chance to be deadly serious. I'll try to focus on the middle ground and cultivate my sense of humor.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Going Easy
Go easy. You may have to push forward, but you don't have to push so hard. Go in gentleness - go in peace.
Do not be in so much of a hurry. At no day, no hour, no time are you required to do more than you can do in peace.
Frantic behaviors and urgency are not the foundation for our new way of life.
Do not be in too much of a hurry to begin. Begin, but do not force the beginning if it is not time. Beginnings will arrive soon enough.
Enjoy and relish middles, the heart of the matter.
Do not be in too much of a hurry to finish. You may be almost done, but enjoy the final moments. Give yourself fully to those moments so that you may give and get all there is.
Let the pace flow naturally. Move forward. Start. Keep moving forward. Do it gently, though. Do it in peace. Cherish each moment.
Today, God, help me focus on a peaceful pace rather than a harried one. I will keep moving forward gently, not frantically. Help me let go of my need to be anxious, upset, and harried. Help me replace it with a need to be a peace and in harmony.
I accept myself today and am grateful that I can grow from where I am. As I bring more and more love to myself, I continue to blossom and expand, growing to be the best of who I can be. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey To The Heart
Learn to Clear Your Path
I met a woman at the mineral springs in Ojo Caliente, New Mexico. She had a gentle, open way. She talked to me about rituals, about miracles, about change. “My husband and I badly wanted a child, but I couldn’t get pregnant,” she said. “One night, I decided to go to a mikvah, a Jewish ritual bath. My decision felt powerful. But every obstacle you could imagine happened when I tried to get there. I could barely get out of my house. Then when I did, I got lost and had to go back home for directions. When I finally got to the bath, it was just beginning, but I knew I needed to be there. The night was electric. The air felt as if it were charged with lightning. It was a full moon. I went through the ritual and returned home. That night, my daughter was conceived. She’s now seven years old.
There are often obstacles on our path. Roadblocks, barricades, detours. Things to go over, around, or under. Sometimes, the roadblocks are telling us no, this door isn’t opening. Find another way. Other times the roadblocks are telling us that the road we have chosen is very special. If we want to go down it, we will have to try. We will have to focus. We will have to muster our energy and show the world how badly we want it. We will have to overcome each and every obstacle, one by one, as they appear.
What do you want badly? Are you willing to go through an obstacle course, if need be, to achieve it? Are you willing to be tested by the universe? Are you willing to focus, push forward, go the distance?
Sometimes, the road ahead is blocked, but clearing the way becomes part of our journey. Learn to tell when it’s time to let go, to surrender, to search for another road, a different path, another dream. But also learn to tell when it’s time to move forward, through obstacles if need be, because the dream is electric, charged by Divine energy and love.
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More Language Of Letting Go
Learn to say what
It was one of those luxurious mornings. The surf was pounding– just loud enough to be heard. We stood on the balcony, watching the rising tide.
“It’s rhythms vary so much,” I said. “Sometimes you can’t walk on the beach in the morning. Other times it’s way up in the late afternoon.” Then I pointed out a spot about a hundred feet away.” And sometimes it’s way out there.”
“We really need to get a tide chart to help us understand what’s going on. A lot of businesses hand them out free.”
Then, that thought and those words were gone.
“Let’s go get some breakfast,” he said.
“I have an idea,” I said. “Let’s go to the seafood place.”
The traffic was gentle and easy that morning. We didn’t need reservations. We immedately got a place to sit. Twenty minutes later, we were picking away at a huge plate of crab legs and Key lime pie. It wasn’t on the breakfast menu, but it was what we wanted, we said.
Next we drove down to the cove, a hidden inlet down the coast. We had to walk and walk to get there. And once we did, we still had to walk down a hundred stairs. So we slid and clambered down the hill instead. We wandered around the tiny bay, getting our feet wet and dirty in the sand. We climbed on rocks and stared at each of the beautiful things we saw, things that God made.
“What’s this?” I said, barely touching a round ball of prickly things.
“A sea anemone,” he said.
I didn’t want to touch it completely, so I picked up a piece of a shell and touched the anemone with that.
The prickly, fuzzy ball of stuff just opened up and sucked that crab shell in. Crunch. Crunch. I giggled. I wanted to see it do it again.
We strolled around the bay. Starfish, rocks, and pretty shells lined the way. “No Nude Bathing,” a weathered sign commanded. A patrol helicopter flew by, just to make certain we compled. We climbed back up to the street. We didn’t use the stairs this time either.
When we got back in the car, we drove to town again. The surf shop was open, so we ambled on in. We looked at sunglasses, wet suits, kayaks, and shorts. We didn’t want to buy anything, so we said thanks and headed out the door. As we were leaving the store, a man suddenly burst out after us, shouting and waving something in his hand.
“Don’t forget your tide chart,” he said, giving the little booklet to us.
We looked at each other, then laughed out loud. Even though we had forgotten what we said we wanted, the universe remembered and insisted on giving it to us.
There’s a lot of things we have to let go of. Probably everything, in fact. But it’s important to say what we want first– before we let go– because sometimes when we let go, what we want comes back to us.
An important part of speaking the language of letting go means learning to identify and say what we want.
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In God’s Care
The manner in which one endures what must be endured is more important than the thing that must be endured.
~~Dean Acheson
Nearly every day most of us experience a few small, though troubling, inconveniences. Some days we suffer through a major setback and, on occasion, even a personal tragedy. When we trust that God is in our life, and we look for comfort and guidance every moment of every day, we are prepared for any upset, whether minor or grave.
Practicing the presence of God provides us with a refuge, even in the throes of turmoil. In time, as we make this a daily routine, we’ll seldom doubt God’s closeness or feel forsaken, even when all about us is dark. The darkness will give way to the light of hope in the mere moment it takes to remember God’s presence.
We can endure whatever lesson today offers with confidence and hope and the security of knowing that God is both teacher and protector.
I will go through this day confidently in the presence of my Higher Power.
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Symbols of Versatility
Ducks
by Madisyn Taylor
We can learn a lot from our duck friends as they are able dive deep but also have the ability to float gracefully.
If you are lucky enough to live in a part of the world that is also a home to ducks, you will no doubt be familiar with the image of their cute feathery bottoms sticking up in the air as their heads disappear under the surface of the water. Perhaps you’ve even taken a moment to wonder what they see in their underwater world, and if they will resurface with a fish or a water bug in their beaks. As we observe them, we see that ducks are denizens of three worlds—the world of air, the world of water, and the world of earth. As such, they have adapted themselves to be able to swim, fly, and walk, and they seek and find nourishment in more than one place. They are symbols of versatility and can inspire us to explore our own ability to adapt and find nourishment in a variety of places.
Ducks are able to float, swim, and dive into the water, fishing for food. They can walk on the ground, eating vegetation and bugs, and they fly in the air to travel long distances relatively quickly. Equipped with feet that are equally good at paddling and walking, as well as wings to fly, ducks seem comfortable in just about any natural environment. Next time you see a duck bottom, you might be inspired to examine your own ability to both float on the surface and to dive beneath it. In many traditions, water symbolizes the emotions—to duck our heads into our emotions means we are able to surrender our minds to our hearts, to go into the watery realm of feeling and see what there is to see, often coming to the surface with nourishment and treasure.
At the same time, we share the duck’s ability to get solid ground under our feet by connecting to the earth on which we live simply by walking on it. And finally, when we reside in our spirits, we fly above the mental, emotional, and material realms, free of all the ties that bind us to this earth, traveling faster and farther than we ever thought possible. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
If we don’t want to slip, we’ll avoid slippery places. For the alcoholic, that means avoiding old drinking haunts; for the overeater, that means by-passing a once-favorite pastry shop; for the gambler, that means shunning poker parties and race tracks. For me, certain emotional situations can also be slippery places; so can indulgence of old ideas such as a well pronourished resentment that is allowed to build to explosive proportions. Do I carry the principles of The Program with me wherever I go?
Today I Pray
May I learn not to test myself too harshly by “asking for it,” by stopping in at the bar or the bakery or the track. Such “testing” can be dangerous, especially if I am egged on, not only by a thirst or an appetite or a craving for the old addiction, but by others still caught in it whose moral responsibility has been reduced to zero.
Today I Will Remember
Avoid slippery places.
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One More Day
Spring is a happiness so beautiful, so unique, so unexpected, that I don’t know what to do with my heart.
– Emily Dickinson
Remember the sheer joy of spring during childhood? How we would race around the backyard, checking out the wonderful sights and smells. Spring in those days meant no more snow pants and boots. It meant being able to dash out with just a light sweater and no admonishments from Mom. And most importantly, the new season heralded a few short months until summer vacation.
We can recapture our youthful openness, for that child is still within us. We can smell the same scents, experience the same joy, but when the depth of understanding we have gained as adults. Regardless of our level of independence, regardless of whether we can plant the garden or just enjoy its flowers, spring can still delight us.
My heart sill delights in spring. I am grateful to be here to absorb it all.
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One Day At A Time
HAPPINESS
Happiness is an achievement brought about by inner productiveness.
People succeed at being happy by building a liking for themselves.
Erich Fromm
It has been said that if one of us ever treated another human being the way we treated ourselves, we would be liable for criminal charges. I did not treat myself as a friend, someone I loved; I constantly fed into my unhappiness.
Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill W. was asked, shortly before he died, to sum up the program in the lowest common denominator. He replied, "Get right with yourself, with God, then with your neighbor." Therefore, it stands to reason that I must start making friends with myself. I must treat myself with love and dignity, and the result will be happiness. To be happy, joyous, and free is the by-product of obedience to the program.
One Day at a Time . . .
Am I going to try being happy?
Am I going to make friends with myself?
If not today, when?
~ Jeremiah ~
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
When we saw others solve their problems by a simple reliance upon the Spirit of the Universe, we had to stop doubting the power of God. Our ideas did not work. But the God idea did. - Pg. 52 - We Agnostics
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Things go wrong and they are not particularly anyone's fault. You can't expect every meeting to be perfect, all the words you hear perfect wisdom, your treatment center to meet every need, or court rulings in your favor. You will experience many imperfect actions and reactions. You know you can't control or fix everything that goes wrong and neither can 'they.'
I correct only the things that are under my immediate control and I allow other imperfections to be corrected by others, or not corrected at all. What a relief.
A Still Small Voice
I will have faith. I will follow that still small voice within me. When I have doubts, which of course I will have, I will reach down within myself and pull up something that I thought wasn't even there, I'll pull up faith that things will be all right. Whether or not things are going just the way I want them to, I'll have faith that they will somehow right themselves in the end. It will work out, or it won't work out, but still, all will be OK. I will give myself the gift of faith.
My faith sustains me
- Tian Dayton PhD
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Is your program powered by Will Power or Higher Power?
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
I accept myself today and am grateful that I can grow from where I am. As I bring more and more love to myself, I continue to blossom and expand, growing to be the best of who I can be.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Don't miss this (AA). If you do, you won't miss what's coming. - Bruce from Manly Australia.
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Post by majestyjo on Apr 2, 2017 23:39:53 GMT -5
April 2
Daily Reflections
CHARACTER BUILDING
Demands made upon other people for too much attention,
protection, and love can only invite domination or
revulsion....
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 44
When I uncovered my need for approval in the Fourth Step,
I didn't think it should rank as a character defect. I
wanted to think of it more as an asset (that is, the desire
to please people). It was quickly pointed out to me that
this "need" can be very crippling. Today I still enjoy
getting the approval of others, but I am not willing to
pay the price I used to pay to get it. I will not bend
myself into a pretzel to get others to like me. If I get
your approval, that's fine; but if I don't, I will
survive without it. I am responsible for speaking what
I perceive to be the truth, not what I think others may
want to hear.
Similarly, my false pride always kept me overly
concerned about my reputation. Since being enlightened
in the A.A. program, my aim is to improve my character.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Since I've been in A.A., have I made a start toward
becoming more loving to my family and friends? Do I visit
my parents? Am I more appreciative of my spouse than I was
before? Am I grateful to my family for having put up with
me? Have I found real understanding with my children? Do I
feel that the friends I've found in A.A. are real friends?
Do I believe that they are always ready to help me and
do I want to help them if I can? Do I really care now about
other people?
Meditation For The Day
Not what you do so much as what you are, that is the miracle-
working power. You can be a force for good, with the help of
God. God is here to help you and to bless you, here to company
with you. You can be a worker with God. Changed by God's grace,
you shed one garment of the spirit for a better one. In time,
you throw that one aside for a yet finer one. And so from
character to character, you are gradually transformed.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may accept every challenge. I pray that each
acceptance of a challenge may make me grow into a better
person.
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As Bill Sees It
Walking Toward Serenity, p. 92
"When I was tired and couldn't concentrate, I used to fall back on an
affirmation toward life that took the form of simple walking and deep
breathing. I sometimes told myself that I couldn't do even this--that I
was too weak. But I learned that this was the point at which I could
not give in without becoming still more depressed.
"So I would set myself at a small stint. I would determine to walk a
quarter of a mile. And I would concentrate by counting my
breathing--say, six steps to each slow inhalation and four to each
exhalation. Having done the quarter-mile, I found that I could go on,
maybe a half-mile more. Then another half-mile, and maybe another.
"This was encouraging. The false sense of physical weakness would
leave me (this feeling being so characteristic of depressions). The
walking and especially the breathing were powerful affirmations
toward life and living and away from failure and death. The counting
represented a minimum discipline in concentration, to get some rest
from the wear and tear of fear and guilt."
Letter, 1960
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Walk in Dry Places
Accepting Risk
Facing Reality.
Like it or not, life seems to have certain risks that just can't be avoided. Alcoholics are not really comfortable with risk-taking. This is especially true in situations that include risk of rejection, risk of defeat, or risk of loss.
If we try to get through life without accepting some risk, however, we're simply not being realistic. The refusal to accept risk may also mean that we miss wonderful opportunities in the process.
What should we do? We should face risk intelligently and with spiritual preparation. FIRST, we do everything possible to reduce risk in any situation (thus making it a "calculated risk"). THEN we pray for guidance and inspiration (but not a certain outcome). FINALLY, we do our very best to succeed in the situation, whether it's a courtship, a job search, competition in sports, or whatever.
We might surprise ourselves by succeeding more times than we fail. But even in temporary failure, we gain if we follow through in accepting reasonable and necessary risks.
I'll exercise prudence and good judgment in all my undertakings today, but I won't expect to be able to "play it safe" in everything. As a human being, I have to take risks in life.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
To know all things is not permitted.--- Horace
In recovery, we give up trying to be perfect. We give up trying to know
everything. We work at coming to know and accept our short-comings. In
Step Four and Five, we look at our good points and our bad points. In Step
Six, we become ready to have our Higher Power remove our "defects of
character." Then in Step Seven we ask our Higher Power to remove our
"shortcomings."
Recovery is about coming to accept that we're not prefect. We admit that
trying to be perfect got in the way of being useful to ourselves, our
Higher Power, and those around us. Pretending to be prefect doesn't allow
us to be real. It's also boring and no fun---you never get to mess up.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You will let me know what I need to know. Allow me to claim
my mistakes and shortcomings.
Action for the Day: I will work at being okay today. Not prefect, just okay.
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Each Day a New Beginning
Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace. --Amelia Earhart
We have learned from experience that a wave of peacefulness washes over us after we have successfully finished a task that was difficult to face. Courage has its reward. However, from time to time, and from task to task, we find we need the reminder that peace will come once the loose ends have been tied by us.
Our search for peace was desperate and unending in past years. Our fears overwhelmed us more often than not. Courage was seldom displayed. Tasks were often left half done or not done at all. Challenges went unmet. And peace eluded us.
We are so lucky that the program found us, and that we found the program! We are looking forward, at last, with the courage that trusting a higher power has given us. Peace is ours, now and always, as we go forth with the strength of the program to bolster us. New jobs, new friends, new situations may still elicit our old fears. But their hold on us is gone. We have learned that we face nothing alone. What relief that simple truth brings.
Courage is one of the program's gifts. I will have courage to go forward: to meet the new day, to handle whatever confronts me. Peace is coupled with courage, now and forever.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards
It is possible to dig up past misdeeds so they become a blight, a veritable plague. For example, we know of situations in which the alcoholic or his wife have had love affairs. In the first flush of spiritual experience they forgave each other and drew closer together. The miracle of reconciliation was at hand. Then, under one provocation or another, the aggrieved one would unearth the old affair and angrily cast its ashes about. A few of us have had these growing pains and they hurt a great deal. Husbands and wives have sometimes been obliged to separate for a time until new perspective, new victory over hurt pride could be rewon. In most cases, the alcoholic survived this ordeal without relapse, but not always. So we think that unless some good and useful purpose is to be served, past occurrences should not be discussed.
pp. 124-125
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
I became notorious in commercial aviation, and the media had a field day with me. I lost my FAA medical certificate because of my diagnosis of alcoholism, and the FAA issued an emergency revocation of all my licenses. I thought about my parents (now both dead), my Indian people, and all those I had previously considered alcoholics, and I knew I had become exactly what I vowed I would never become.
pp. 524-525
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
Then came the opposition. They pointed out that the Foundation board already knew of a total of half a million dollars set aside for A.A. in the wills of people still alive. Heaven only knew how much there was we hadn't heard about. If outside donations weren't declined, absolutely cut off, then the Foundation would one day become rich. Moreover, at the slightest intimation to the general public from our trustees that we needed money, we could become immensely rich. Compared to this prospect, the ten thousand dollars under consideration wasn't much, but like the alcoholic's first drink it would, if taken, inevitably set up a disastrous chain reaction. Where would that land us? Whoever pays the piper is apt to call the tune, and if the A.A. Foundation obtained money from outside sources, its trustees might be tempted to run things without reference to the wishes of A.A. as a while. Relieved of responsibility, every alcoholic would shrug and say, "Oh, the Foundation is wealthy--why should I bother?" The pressure of that fat treasury would surely tempt the board to invent all kinds of schemes to do good with such funds, and so divert A.A. from its primary purpose. The moment that happened, our Fellowship's confidence would be shaken. The board would be isolated, and would fall under heavy attack of criticism from both A.A. and the public. These were the possibilities, pro and con.
pp. 164-165
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"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit
there."
--Will Rogers
Laughter is by definition healthy.
--Doris Lessing
He who laughs, lasts.
--Mary Pettibone Poole
The best portion of a good man's life is in his little nameless,
unremembered acts of kindness and of love.
--William Wordsworth
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
--Aesop
Wise sayings often fall on barren ground; but a kind word is never
thrown away.
--Arthur Helps
"We get so much in the habit of wearing a disguise before others that
we eventually appear disguised before ourselves."
--Jim Bishop
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
PROBLEMS
"The real problem is in the
hearts and minds of men."
--Albert Einstein
We are facing not so much a "drug problem" as a people problem - and
this requires a solution from the people. I believe the solution and
recovery has already been given by God, but it must be discovered from
within. We need to seek out what is truly in our minds and hearts: what
are our problems, what are our needs, what do we long for, where are
we going in our lives?
Today it is not enough for me to know my problems, I need also to talk
about them. Today I choose to express my feelings.
God, I thank You for the creative gift of communication.
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O, come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the
LORD our maker.
For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and
the sheep of his hand. Today if ye will hear his voice.
Psalm 95:6-7
When you lie down you will not be afraid; when you lie down , your sleep
will be sweet.
Proverbs 3:24
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Daily Inspiration
There are always better things to come than that which we have left behind. Lord, I look with excitement toward the enexpected joys of today.
Forget what you have done for others and remember what they have done for you. Lord, a gift is given freely with no expection. May I become a truly giving person.
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NA Just For Today
Attraction
"Our public image consists of what we have to offer: a successful, proven way of maintaining a drug-free lifestyle."
Basic Text p. 72
Yes, we are attracting new members. More and more addicts are finding Narcotics Anonymous. But how do we treat our newest members when they arrive, worn out from their struggles with addiction? Do we reach out to newcomers who are standing by themselves at our meetings, confused and uncertain? Are we willing to give them rides to meetings? Do we still work one-on-one with the addict who suffers? Do we give out our phone numbers? Are we eager to go on a Twelfth Step call, even if it means getting up from our comfortable beds in the middle of the night? Will we work with someone who has a different sexual orientation or is from another culture? Are we generous with the gift of our time?
No doubt we were met with love and acceptance by our fellow addicts. What attracted many of us to Narcotics Anonymous was the feeling that we had finally found a place where we belonged. Are we offering that same sense of belonging to our newer members? We cannot promote Narcotics Anonymous. But when we put principles into action in our lives, we attract newer members to the NA way, just as we were attracted to recovery.
Just for today: I will work with a newcomer. I will remember that I was once a newcomer myself. I will seek to attract others with the same sense of belonging I've found in NA.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
It is wealth to be content. --Lao-tzu
On the evening of the first day of spring, a woman gave her husband a bright red geranium in a clay pot. To celebrate, he placed it on the windowsill, and together they marveled at the delicate petals.
In the harsher light of morning, though, the man frowned at the geranium and said to his wife, "How shabby it makes the sofa look." They spent the day at the furniture store and came home with a new couch, blue with red flowers, like the geranium. They placed the couch in front of the windowsill and admired together its grace and line and fashionable upholstery.
But the next morning, the man frowned at the couch and said, "How shabby it makes the carpet look." Soon they had a lavish new carpet, which led to new curtains, lamps, and chairs. When the room was completely redone, they set the geranium back in the window and surveyed the finest room in the neighborhood. The man frowned. "The geranium," he said, "it's out of place. It will have to go."
Will I be able to appreciate life's simple pleasures today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
The universe is the primary revelation of the divine, the primary scripture, the primary focus of divine human communion. --Thomas Berry
In this program we learn about being receptive. A man in search of conscious contact with a Higher Power can simply stand still and open his eyes and ears to creation. Forcing a spiritual awareness is mostly wasted effort. Learning theology doesn't create a spiritual experience either. We only need to see and hear what is around us. This is a vast and marvelous universe, and it speaks for itself. It has always been there, and when we are ready to receive the message, we will.
It stirs our spirit to be at a meeting and hear another man describe the awakening of his spirituality. As we men become more receptive to the spiritual, we open a whole new realm in our lives.
May my growing ability to be a receptive man lead me to a deeper spiritual contact.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace. --Amelia Earhart
We have learned from experience that a wave of peacefulness washes over us after we have successfully finished a task that was difficult to face. Courage has its reward. However, from time to time, and from task to task, we find we need the reminder that peace will come once the loose ends have been tied by us.
Our search for peace was desperate and unending in past years. Our fears overwhelmed us more often than not. Courage was seldom displayed. Tasks were often left half done or not done at all. Challenges went unmet. And peace eluded us.
We are so lucky that the program found us, and that we found the program! We are looking forward, at last, with the courage that trusting a higher power has given us. Peace is ours, now and always, as we go forth with the strength of the program to bolster us. New jobs, new friends, new situations may still elicit our old fears. But their hold on us is gone. We have learned that we face nothing alone. What relief that simple truth brings.
Courage is one of the program's gifts. I will have courage to go forward: to meet the new day, to handle whatever confronts me. Peace is coupled with courage, now and forever.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Facing Our Darker Side
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. --Step Four of Al Anon
By the time we get to the Fourth of the Twelve Steps, we are ready to face our darker side, the side that prevents us from loving others, from letting others love us, and from enjoying life and ourselves. The purpose of Step Four is not to make ourselves feel worse; our purpose is to begin to remove our blocks to joy and love.
We look for fears, anger, hurt, and shame from past events--buried feelings that may be affecting our life today. We search for subconscious beliefs about others and ourselves that may be interfering with the quality of our relationships. These beliefs say: Im not lovable. . .. Im a burden to those around me. . .. People cant be trusted. . . . I cant be trusted . . .. I don't deserve to be happy and successful. . .. Life isn't worth living. We look at our behaviors and patterns with an eye toward discerning the self-defeating ones. With love and compassion for ourselves, we try to unearth all our guilt - earned and unearned - and expose it to the light.
We perform this examination without fear of what we shall find, because this soul searching can cleanse us and help us feel better about ourselves than we ever dreamt possible.
God, help me search out the blocks and barriers within myself. Bring what I need to know into my conscious mind, so I can be free of it. Show me what I need to know about myself.
Today I wait in peace and rest in the knowledge that God is working for me while I am resting. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey To The Heart
Discover the Power of Meditation
I saw Spirit Rock Center, a meditation center, as I drove along the highway in Northern California. I turned into the parking lot and watched as people moved about the grounds very slowly. They were practicing a walking meditation.
Meditation teaches us to relax, to connect with our body, to let spirit and body become one. Many of us spent years abandoning ourselves, our emotions, and our bodies. We’ve been present for others, and now is the time for us to stay present for ourselves, fully and completely.
Meditation helps us leave our routine for a bit and slow down. We deliberately exhale stress, tension, and fear. Then we inhale light, beauty, peace, and love. We slow our minds and slow our bodies until we reach that quiet place. Meditation can renew us and help us return to our lives refreshed.
Meditate. Take time to inhale peace and exhale fear. Then take your meditation back to your life. Walk slowly. Stay present for yourself, more fully and completely than ever before. You too can turn your life into a walking, waking, deliberate meditation.
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More Language Of Letting Go
Learn to say yes
Learn to say yes, and mean it.
How long has it been since you’ve said yes to someone in your life? Yes, I’d like to do that. Yes, that sounds good to me. Yes, I’ll take a chance.
How long has it been since you’ve said yes to yourself? Yes, I recognize what you’re feeling. Yes, I heard what you want. Yes, I realize you’re tired. Yes, we’ll rest for a while.
When opportunities come our way– whether for personal, spiritual, or business growth– don’t always be so cautious and shy. So what if yes means you’re not living up to someone’s expectations? Sometimes we learn to say no so well that saying no becomes a habit. We don’t even consider what we’re turning down.
A well timed yes is as important in manifesting our power as learning to say no. It’s a sign of an open heart.
Next time someone asks you out, suggests an opportunity, or your body tries to talk to you, stop, Instead of immediately saying no, like a parent on automatic pilot, listen to the offer. Could it be an important one? Something that might help guide you along your path? Maybe you’re scared. Maybe you’re worried that you aren’t up to the occasion. Maybe you like the safety of saying no all the time.
Learn to say yes to life.
Honesty, openness, and willingness to try. Hmmmm. Sounds a lot like yes to me.
God, help me learn to say yes and mean it, when that’s the appropriate response.
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In God’s Care
God does not comfort us to make us comfortable but to make us comforters.
~~J. H. Jowett
We weren’t in any kind of condition to comfort others when we were in the grips of our addictions. It’s only now when we have been blessed with comfort for ourselves, that we can turn our attention to others. Now that we can, we discover another spiritual paradox: We find comfort in giving comfort. It is part of the “to-give-is-to-receive” principle.
Perhaps we didn’t come by our addictions accidentally. There’s a purpose for each of us, and comforting others is part of our purpose. God relies on us to carry the message, as those who went before us brought it to us. That’s why we can never be complacent about our progress. The minute we isolate ourselves from others, discomfort sets in – for us and for those who need the comfort of our presence.
My comfort depends on being a comforter.
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The Life Cycle
Bud and Blossom and Beyond
by Madisyn Taylor
It is through watching the cycles of nature that we more fully understand the cycles of our own lives.
Flowers and leaves both begin their lives as organisms so tiny we cannot see them with the naked eye. With time, they become visible, curled in upon themselves, colorful buds slowly softening and releasing. With the proper warmth and moisture, they unfold little by little, revealing with each degree of opening a new color, shape, or dimension. Sometimes buds open seemingly all at once, unfolding the full majesty of their potential, of what looks to the human eye like courage, openness, and generosity.
As days go by, the bloom slowly moves through more stages, revealing still more colors, shapes, and dimensions of its essence. It falls apart, strewing its petals on the ground, or it wilts, or it closes back in on itself. When we can appreciate the full beauty of each stage of the cycle of life, from bud to blossom to disintegration, we feel more at home with our own earthly process. We can be inspired not to hold back the fullness of what we have to offer, knowing that our time to give of ourselves in this way will come to pass. At the same time, we can honor others, and the little processes that go on within the larger process of living our lives.
Each stage we go through has its time of fulfillment and recession, as do all living things. Every moment of every stage has its own particular beauty, and we can appreciate that, even as most of us tend to love the spectacular moment of full blossoming most of all. When we feel the wisdom contained in the budding, blossoming, and dissolution of a simple flower, we begin to feel it everywhere, in each moment that comes and goes, in each sunrise and sunset, in every hello and goodbye, as the very essence of the pulsating ebb and flow of existence. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
What causes slips? What happens to a person who apparently seems to understand and live the way of The Program, yet decides to go out again? What can I do to keep this from happening to me? Is there any consistency among those who slip, any common denominators that seem to apply? We can each draw our own conclusions, but we learn in The Program that certain in-actions will all but guarantee an eventual slip. When a person who has slipped is fortunate enough to return to The Program, do I listen carefully to what he or she says about the slip?
Today I Pray
May my Higher Power — if I listen to Him — show me if I am setting myself up to get high again. May I glean from the experiences of others that the reasons for such a lapse of resolve or such an accident of will most often stem from what I have not done rather than from what I have done. May I “keep coming back” to meetings.
Today I Will Remember
Keep Coming Back.
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One More Day
The joy of life is to put out one’s power in some natural and useful or harmless way. There is no other, and the real misery is not to do this.
– Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
If our health changes and fatigue are frequent problems, we may become unable to do all we did for ourselves in the past. If we push ourselves too far, something will suffer. We may pay with our joints or we may pay with depression. But we do pay.
If we liken our daily energy level to money in a bank account, we realize we can make only so many withdrawals before our resources run out. We decide each day how we want to spend — or waste — that precious energy. It takes a while to get our priorities rearranged, but living a good life is important, and eventually we learn how to invest our energy well.
Each day presents itself new and fresh. It’s up to me to decide how to spend my energy.
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One Day At A Time
~ Love ~
There is only one happiness in life ... to love and be loved.
George Sand
It took me many, many years to really and truly discover what turned out to be something that I have yearned for all of my life. That "something" was love ~ both the ability to love and to accept love.
As a child, I felt I had to achieve to be loved and, in the process of achieving, lost a great deal of my childhood. This carried over to adulthood and thus began the years of doing what was expected of me (or so I thought) in order to be loved, valued and respected.
Recovery has taught me so much about myself and about love. One of the greatest truths I have learned about myself and my ability to love is that for me to love someone, it is not necessary that they love me back. My loving someone else never depends on their loving me ... but how wonderful it is when they do.
One Day at a Time . . .
Let me realize that love is something that just happens ... I can't make it happen ... and I can't stop it from happening.
~ Mari ~
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
We were having trouble with personal relationships, we couldn't control our emotional natures, we were a prey to misery and depression, we couldn't make a living, we had a feeling of uselessness, we were full of fear, we were unhappy, we couldn't seem to be of real help to other people - was not a basic solution of these bedevilments more important than whether we should see newsreels of lunar flight? Of course it was. - Pg. 52 - We Agnostics
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
The darker the shadow, the brighter the Light. As we stop using and leave the shadow of drug addiction, we slowly begin to see the new light of our life. Sometimes its so bright, it hurts. We are not used to it.
God, as I understand You, as I clean up and the Light of recovery hurts, help me understand, adjust, and be grateful to leave the shadow.
I Have Faith
I rely on faith. Faith sustains me and guides me. Faith is my constant companion. It leads me through passages of terrifying darkness and blinding light. Faith allows me to weave my life into a coherent whole, to walk on a path that others have lit, to strike out on my own and cut my way through the underbrush. There is nothing in my life that faith doesn't make better. There is no day that faith doesn't give meaning and purpose to. There is no relationship that faith doesn't guide and sustain.
I need my faith to live
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Some people quote the Bible, Qur'an, Torah, or some other holy text claiming that it is your only road to recovery. You may or may not find that comforting. Whether or not it is comforting you, remember it is comforting them. Be tolerant and gracious.
I may not find something personally helpful, but I find it helpful to be personable.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
First we work the program because we have to. Then we work the program because we are willing to. Finally we work the program because we want to.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I wait in peace and rest in the knowledge that God is working for me while I am resting.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
The thing I have to do for my personal recovery is to apply the Steps into my life. But the thing I owe to future generations of suffering alcoholics - and maybe my own children - is to maintain the fellowship with the simplicity, purity and integrity that I found when I came in. And the only way to do that is to pay careful attention to the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. - Doug D.
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Post by majestyjo on Apr 2, 2017 23:40:39 GMT -5
April 3
Daily Reflections
ACCEPTING OUR HUMANNESS
We finally saw that the inventory should be ours, not
the other man's. So we admitted our wrongs honestly and
became willing to set these matters straight.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 222
Why is it that the alcoholic is so unwilling to accept
responsibility? I used to drink because of the things
that other people did to me. Once I came to A.A. I was
told to look at where I had been wrong. What did I have
to do with all these different matters? When I simply
accepted that I had a part in them, I was able to put
it on paper and see it for what it was - humanness. I
am not expected to be perfect! I have made errors before
and I will make them again. To be honest about them
allows me to accept them - and myself - and those with whom
I had the differences; from there, recovery is just a
short distance ahead.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
When I was drinking, I was absolutely selfish, I thought
of myself first, last, and always. The universe revolved
around me at the center. When I woke up in the morning
with a hangover, my only thought was how terrible I felt
and about what I could do to make myself feel better. And
the only thing I could think of was more liquor. To quit
was impossible. I couldn't see beyond myself and my own
need for another drink. Can I now look out and beyond my
own selfishness?
Meditation For The Day
Remember that the first quality of greatness is service.
In a way, God is the greatest servant of all, because He
is always waiting for us to call on Him to help us in all
good endeavors. His strength is always available to us,
but we must ask it of Him through our own free will. It
is a free gift, but we must sincerely seek for it. A
life of service is the finest life we can live. We are
here on earth to serve others. That is the beginning and
the end of our real worth.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may cooperate with God in all good things.
I pray that I may serve God and others and so lead a
useful and happy life.
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As Bill Sees It
Atmosphere Of Grace, p. 93
Those of us who have come to make regular use of prayer would no more do without it
than we would refuse air, food, or sunshine. And for the same reason. When we refuse
air, light, or food, the body suffers. And when we turn away from meditation and prayer,
we likewise deprive our minds, our emotions, and our intuitions of vitally needed support.
As the body can fail its purpose for lack of nourishment, so can the soul. We all need the
light of God's reality, the nourishment of His strength, and the atmosphere of His grace.
To an amazing extent the facts of A.A. life confirm this ageless truth.
12 & 12, pp. 97-98
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Walk in Dry Places
More will be revealed
Spiritual Growth
There's an old saying, "To him that hath, more shall be given." That saying applies to our growth in AA. If we dedicate ourselves to the program, new information and understanding will continue to flow in our direction.
This is not because God is singling us out for special favors. It's simply a law of life. When we are interested in a subject, we find more knowledge coming to us almost "Out of the blue" as we continue to seek it. It's almost as if hidden forces were gathering up ideas and pushing them in our direction.
What's happened is that we have put ourselves in line for such growth. We have our antennae out, and we become conditioned to recognize useful ideas as they come to us. We are Open-Minded to our good.
This same process has also led to more general knowledge about alcoholism. When the early AA's attained sobriety, most of the information about alcoholism was summed up in a handful of books. Now there are hundreds of books, symposia, and speeches dealing with the subject. More was revealed, and we can hope that even more will be revealed as we continue to focus on recovery.
I can expect useful information to come to me from a number of sources. My interest in my recovery and self-improvement helps attract the information and understanding I need.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Rest is the guardian of health.---Melba Colgrave
Now that we are sober, we're feeling better than we have in years. We're busy too. We attend meetings and visit friends. We have work,
school, families, and homes to keep up with.
It's easy to forget to rest. We forgot that our bodies and minds need time off. We need plenty of sleep each night. And we need a lazy weekend now and than to let our bodies recover from to go,
go, go of daily life.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me listen to my body. Remind me to slow down and rest now and then.
Action for the Day: How much have I rested lately? Have I gotten enough sleep each night? What can I do in the next two days to rest my body, mind, and spirit?
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Each Day a New Beginning
Those who do not know how to weep with their whole heart don't know how to laugh either. --Golda Meir
We all know people who live on the fringes of life. They seem uninvolved with the activity in their midst, as though a pane of glass separated them from us. And there are times when we join the persons standing alone away from the vibrancy of life. Fears keep people apart, particularly the fear of letting go of the vulnerable self and joining in the feelings of the moment.
To fully reap the benefits of life, we have to risk full exposure to one another and to the experience of the moment. Full involvement in the ebb and flow of life will bring the weeping that accompanies both the pain and the joy of life. It will also bring the fruits of laughter.
Both laughter and weeping cleanse us. They bring closure to an experience. They make possible our letting go. And we must let go of pain, as well as joy, to ready ourselves for the next blessing life offers us.
When we keep ourselves apart, when we hold off the tears or the laughter, we cheat ourselves of the richness of life. We have to go through an experience fully in order to learn all it can teach us and then be free of it.
Past experiences never let me go until I fully grieve those that need to be grieved or laugh over those that deserve the light touch. The present is distorted when the past shadows it.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards
We families of Alcoholics Anonymous keep few skeletons in the closet. Everyone knows about the others’ alcoholic troubles. This is a condition which, in ordinary life, would produce untold grief; there might be scandalous gossip, laughter at the expense of other people, and a tendency to take advantage of intimate information. Among us, these are rare occurrences. We do talk about each other a great deal, but we almost invariably temper such talk by a spirit of love and tolerance.
p. 125
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
I learned my career was over via the six o'clock news one week after entering treatment. I refused to watch TV, but my fellow patients kept me informed. I was the lead story on the news for weeks. I was joke fodder for the late-night TV comics as they ridiculed me, my profession, and my airline.
p. 525
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
When these facts were printed, there was a profound reaction. To people familiar with endless drives for charitable funds, A.A. presented a strange and refreshing spectacle. Approving editorials here and abroad generated a wave of confidence in the integrity of Alcoholics Anonymous. They pointed out that the irresponsible had become responsible, and that by making financial independence part of its tradition, Alcoholics Anonymous had revived an ideal that its era had almost forgotten.
p. 165
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"The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what
direction we are moving."
--Oliver Wendell Holmes
"If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even
as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or
Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all
the hosts of heaven and earth will pause and say, here lived a great
streetsweeper who did his job well."
--Martin Luther King, Jr.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
--Anon.
A pint of example is worth a gallon of advice.
--Unknown
God, help me accept all the twists and turns along my path. Help me to
say whatever to the good and the unfortunate incidents that come my
way.
--Melody Beattie
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
WONDER
"Men love to wonder, and that is
the seed of science"
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
In my sobriety the world is a wonderful place. I often sit back and am
amazed at the splendor of life, at the simple happenings that give such
joy, at the nobility that is revealed in man, at the creative adventure and
mystery of life. I meditate in wonder.
Now I see how drugs kept me blind from so much. Alcohol kept me a
prisoner of mediocrity and much of the wonder of life passed me by. As a
drinking alcoholic I existed in life, rather than lived life. I was a bored
spectator rather than a participant. I reacted to things, rather than
initiated events Alcoholism equals dullness. Recovery symbolized energy.
Today I can dream dreams and rest in the wonder of it all. God is Good.
O Lord, let me see the wonderful mystery of life even in the ordinary.
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"Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you."
I Peter 5:7
"I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will
glorify Your name forevermore."
Psalm 86:12
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Daily Inspiration
We are extremely precious to God and are never left alone not even for one second. Lord, Thank You for Your promise to protect and care for me always.
It is important to remember that different can be better. Lord, as I resist change and cling to the familiar, help me to remember that Your plan is perfect and will truly make me happy.
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NA Just For Today
For You Alone
"The idea of a spiritual awakening takes many different forms in the different personalities that we find in the fellowship."
Basic Text p. 48
Though we all work the same steps, each of us experiences the spiritual awakening resulting from them in our own way. The shape that spiritual awakening takes in our lives will vary, depending on who we are.
For some of us, the spiritual awakening promised in the Twelfth Step will result in a renewed interest in religion or mysticism. Others will awaken to an understanding of the lives of those around them, experiencing empathy perhaps for the first time. Still others will realize that the steps have awakened them to their own moral or ethical principles. Most of us experience our spiritual awakening as a combination of these things, each combination as unique as the individual who's been awakened.
If there are so many different varieties of spiritual awakenings, how do we know if we've truly had one? The Twelfth Step provides us with two signs: We've found principles capable of guiding us well, the kind of principles we want to practice in all our affairs. And we've begun to care enough about other addicts to freely share with them the experience we've had. No matter what the details of our awakenings are like, we all are given the guidance and the love we need to live fulfilling, spiritually oriented lives.
Just for today: Regardless of its particular shape, my spiritual awakening has helped me fill my place in the world with love and life. For that, I am grateful.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
If there is anything we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could be better changed in ourselves. --Carl Jung
Children are smart. Remember how we used to imitate our parents' behavior? We'd dress up like them, mimic their words, even copy their attitudes. We wanted to be just like them because we thought they were the most wonderful people in the world. We can see this happen all around us, younger ones imitating parents, older brothers and sisters, and older friends. It's very flattering.
The problem is that children imitate not just healthy behavior and attitudes, but also sometimes the not-so-healthy. We get very uncomfortable when we look at a younger person misbehaving and see ourselves in that person. Suddenly, we aren't flattered any more.
When we see things we don't like in others, we must first look at ourselves to see if we need changing. This is all we can do--change ourselves. Others may follow our example or they may not, but we can be sure that, when we watch our own behavior, most of what we see of ourselves in others will be flattering.
What change can I make in myself to set a good example today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
If we were logical, the future would be bleak indeed. But we are more than logical. We are human beings, and we have faith, and we have hope, and we can work. --Jacques Cousteau
What is faith? It is believing in possibilities. It is the ability to carry on with our plans or to be true to our work even though we feel discouraged or tired. It is staying active in relationships even when we receive little in return or when our friends aren't able to respond.
If there were no doubt, there would be no need for faith. Faith is temporarily putting our doubts on the shelf and working toward our goals. Faith is trusting that help and support will be there for us even though they're not in view. It is looking at a map and choosing a new destination, getting on the road to go there, and trusting the marks on the map symbolize a real place that we will find.
I will leave room for my doubts and discouragement, but I will not indulge them. I will choose to go with hope. I will give my energy to the better possibilities.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Those who do not know how to weep with their whole heart don't know how to laugh either. --Golda Meir
We all know people who live on the fringes of life. They seem uninvolved with the activity in their midst, as though a pane of glass separated them from us. And there are times when we join the persons standing alone away from the vibrancy of life. Fears keep people apart, particularly the fear of letting go of the vulnerable self and joining in the feelings of the moment.
To fully reap the benefits of life, we have to risk full exposure to one another and to the experience of the moment. Full involvement in the ebb and flow of life will bring the weeping that accompanies both the pain and the joy of life. It will also bring the fruits of laughter.
Both laughter and weeping cleanse us. They bring closure to an experience. They make possible our letting go. And we must let go of pain, as well as joy, to ready ourselves for the next blessing life offers us.
When we keep ourselves apart, when we hold off the tears or the laughter, we cheat ourselves of the richness of life. We have to go through an experience fully in order to learn all it can teach us and then be free of it.
Past experiences never let me go until I fully grieve those that need to be grieved or laugh over those that deserve the light touch. The present is distorted when the past shadows it.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Acceptance
Surrender to the moment. Ride it out and through, for all its worth. Throw yourself into it.
Stop resisting.
So much of our anguish is created when we are in resistance. So much relief, release, and change are possible when we accept, simply accept.
We waste our time, expend our energy, and make things harder by resisting, repressing, and denying. Repressing our thoughts will not make them disappear. Repressing a thought already formed will not make us a better person. Think it. Let it come into reality. Then release it. A thought is not forever. If we don't like it, we can think another one or change it. But to do that, we must accept and release the first thought.
Resistance and repression will not change a thing. They will put us at war with our thoughts.
We make life harder by resisting and repressing our feelings. No matter how dark, how uncomfortable, how unjustified, how surprising, how inappropriate we might deem our feelings, resisting and repressing them will not free us from them. Doing that will make them worse. They will swirl inside us, torment us, make us sick, and make our body ache, compel us to do compulsive things, keep us awake, or put us to sleep.
In the final analysis, all that were really called on to do is accept our feelings by feeling them, and saying, Yes, this is what I feel.
Feelings are for the present moment. The more quickly we can accept a feeling, the more quickly we will move on to the next.
Resisting or repressing thoughts and feelings does not change us or turn us into the person we want to be or think we should be. It puts us in resistance to reality. It makes us repressed. Eventually, it makes us depressed.
Resisting events or circumstances in our life does not change things, no matter how undesirable the events or circumstances may be.
Acceptance turns us into the person we are and want to be. Acceptance empowers the events and circumstances to turn around for the better.
What do we do if were in resistance, in a tug of war with some reality in our life? Accepting our resistance can help us get through that too.
Acceptance does not mean were giving our approval. It does not mean surrendering to the will and plans of another. It does not mean commitment. It is not forever. It is for the present moment. Acceptance does not make things harder; it makes things easier. Acceptance does not mean we accept abuse or mistreatment; it does not mean we forego boundaries, our hopes, dreams, desires, wants, or ourselves. It means we accept what is, so we know what to do to take care of ourselves and what boundaries we need to set. It means we accept what is and who we are at the moment, so we are free to change and grow.
Acceptance and surrender move us forward on this journey. Force does not work.
Acceptance and surrender - two concepts that hurt the most before we do them.
Today, I will practice accepting my present circumstances and myself. I will begin to watch and trust the magic that acceptance can bring into my life and recovery.
I am open to positive changes in my life today. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey To The Heart
Value Your Connection to Creativity
Creativity is a force– a living, real force. It’s the power of love, the power of life, a gift of the Divine. You’re connected to that force.
Open up to your creative powers– in work, in play, in love. Make creations that are beautiful to look at. Make creations you like to see, creations that are pleasing to you. Creativity comes in many forms– cooking, decorating, speaking, drawing, writing, or building a castle in sand at the beach. How you choose to create is up to you.
“I used to love taking pictures when I was a child,” one man said. “Then one day, in a rage, my father smashed my camera to the floor. He told me taking pictures was nonsense. It was twenty years before I let myself take a picture again. Now, I can’t stop.”
Who told you you weren’t creative? Stand tall, speak up, and tell them they’re wrong. Own your creative powers. Allow your creativity to heal and flourish.
Value your connections to creativity. Value the way you choose to express your creative power. It’s your expression of love.
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More Language Of Letting Go
Pray and manifest your power
The Sufis have a saying: Praise Allah, and tie your camel to a post. This brings together both parts of practice: pray, yes, but also make sure that you do what is necessary in the world.
–Jack Kornfield, Seeking the Heart of Wisdom
It’s easy to play the martyr. We spend our lives in struggle and turmoil longing for the sweet by-and-by when everything will be fine.
Today is the sweet by-and-by. Yes, right now. It’s here. If we’re to have good in our lives, it’s up to us to seek it out.
Here are two things the Bible teaches about faith. One, it says that faith is like a mustard seed. The tiniest bit of it can grow tall and in its own time will sprout. The other thing the Bible says is that faith without works is dead. If you’re not doing something, then you’re not keeping your faith alive.
Pray. Turn it over to God. But do something, too.
Stop waiting for someone to come along and rescue you.
Learn to rescue yourself.
God, help me take guided actions today to make my life a better place.
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In God’s Care
This instant is the only time there is.
~~Gerald Jampolsky
How many precious moments of sunshine, birds’ song, or friends’ laughter we never lay claim to because we’re lost in our thoughts about yesterday or tomorrow. God has given us these moments we’re experiencing right now, and in each one is a gift – intended for each of us.
The smile we get from a loved one or a stranger is precious and worthy of cherishing; but to cherish it, we must notice it When our mind is not quietly and intently immersed in the present, we fail to garner the strength God is offering us every moment.
Our higher Power is evident wherever we look, but we must see; our Higher Power is evident in every voice, but we must hear. Our Higher Power is evident within, but we must be quiet and know.
I will quiet my mind so I can see and hear and know that God is present, now.
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Wanting to Join
Dumbing Ourselves Down
by Madisyn Taylor
Playing it small in order to fit in with a group of people robs the essence of your soul level self.
The ability to go into any social situation and sense the level of consciousness in that situation is a gift. It enables us to move considerately in a world that holds people of all levels of awareness. However, there is a difference between shifting our energy to accommodate people and dumbing ourselves down to a regrettable degree. Sometimes, when we get into a particular social situation, we may feel pressure to play it small in order to fit in. Perhaps everyone is drinking or smoking excessively, engaging in gossipy small talk, or complaining bitterly about politics. It is one thing to notice this and modify our expectations and another thing entirely to join in.
When we notice where people are coming from and acknowledge to ourselves that their energy is not in alignment with ours, we have several choices as to how to proceed. One viable option is to quietly endure the situation, keeping to ourselves until it is time to leave. In this way, we take care of our own consciousness and protect our growth process. Another option is to interact in a way that honors and pays respect to the people in the group, while gently attempting to shift the level of consciousness with our input. In order to do this, we must maintain our own vibration, which means that joining in by dumbing down is not an option.
When we choose to dumb ourselves down to fit in, we not only sell ourselves short but we also lose a possible opportunity to influence the situation for the good of all concerned. Our desire to join in may come from our natural yearning to feel connected to the people around us. There is no shame in this, but being able to stand on our own, separate from the crowd, is a powerful milestone on any spiritual path. It can be difficult in the moment, but when we arrive on the other side, our integrity intact, we may find ourselves feeling positively smart. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
In almost every instance, the returned slipper says, “I stopped going to meetings,” or “I got fed up with the same old stories and the same old faces,” or “My outside commitments were such that I had to cut down on meetings,” or “I felt I’d received the optimum benefits from meetings, so I sought further help from more meaningful activities.” In short, they simply stopped going to meetings. A saying I’ve heard in The Program hits the nail on the head: “Them which stops going to meetings are not present at meetings to hear about what happen to them what stops going to meetings.” Am I going to enough meetings for me?
Today I Pray
God keep me on the track of The Program. May I never be too tired, too busy, too complacent, too bored to go to meetings. Almost always those complaints are reversed at a meeting if I will just get myself there. My weariness dissipates in serenity. My busyness is reduced to its rightful proportion. My complacency gives way to vigilance again. And how can I be bored in a place where there is so much fellowship and joy?
Today I Will Remember
Attend the meetings.
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One More Day
Excessive fear is always powerless.
– Aeschylus
Something may be interfering with our sleep. Eyes wide, we lie in bed night after night. We move through the days like robots, just getting by. Our lack of sleep may stem from worries and problems that we can’t face.
Our confrontation with illness may have suddenly made us see how powerless we are over some parts of our lives. Where once we had felt that everything had an acceptable answer, we now have to live with an answer we don’t like and we can’t change. We may pull that original sense of helplessness into other areas of our lives. Gradually, we understand that life has always been unpredictable; we just refused to see it until we were forced to. We learn to accept the things we can’t change and work toward changing the things we can. We deal wit our problems. Our anxiety subsides. We’re able to rest.
Today, I’ll accept unchangeable answers.
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One Day At A Time
~ The Future ~
When I look into the future, it's so bright it burns my eyes.
Oprah Winfrey
I receive the gift of abstinence one day at a time. I am relieved from the obsession to eat one day at a time. With the help of my Higher Power, I can live life on life's terms... one day at a time.
As my recovery builds and builds, I start to imagine all the possibilities for my life. Things I never had the confidence or emotional stability to pursue are options for me. Now that I am free from the despair and self-destruction of overeating, there is space to actualize new adventures. But before I become overwhelmed or grandiose in my thinking, the Program gently reminds me that it is STILL just one day a time.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will work my program so that I have a future.
~ Christine S. ~
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Cling to the thought that in God's hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have - the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them. - Pg. 124 - The Family Afterward
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Compulsion is a word you will hear a lot now that you have made the decision to begin recovery. You may often feel compelled to drink or use drugs again even when you don't want to. Compulsion is a symptom of our disease and we use all the new tools of our program to counteract compulsions.
Please help me understand that compulsion is a symptom of my disease and as such need not be acted upon. I offer my compulsive behavior to God, as I understand God.
Blessings
I can lose my blessings. If I don't appreciate them, they can disappear. If I feel overly entitled, if I take what is mine for granted, if I behave as if it is simply owed me and I don't need to notice or appreciate them, I am literally telling them to shrink. There is a wisdom, even a divine sort of self centerdness to gratitude, because what I focus on with appreciation has a way of expanding in my life. If I erase my blessings, I don't feed them with the grace of gratitude. If I give thanks for them, I show the creative force that brings forth all good things, that I am awake enough to appreciate what has been so generously given.
I know enough to say thank you
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
When things go wrong, they are not particularly anyone's fault. You can't expect every meeting to be perfect and your sponsor to have every answer. You know you can't control or fix everything that goes wrong and neither can 'they.'
When things go wrong, I don't let them get too far.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
To the mind that is still, the world surrenders.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
I am open to positive changes in my life today.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
This deal is as simple as A.B.C. - Accept, Begin and Continue. It doesn't take a lawyer or some intellectual gorilla to decipher that. And you can do it downtown or uptown or anywhere else. It doesn't make any difference. And if you'll hold on to the God of your understanding, the truth about yourself - namely that you cannot take one drink - and hold on to your AA friends, you'll hold on to total abstinence. And that's the name of this game. - John C.
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Post by majestyjo on Apr 4, 2017 16:54:31 GMT -5
April 4
Daily Reflections
CRYING FOR THE MOON
"This very real feeling of inferiority is magnified by his childish
sensitivity and it is this state of affairs which generates in him that
insatiable, abnormal craving for self-approval and success in the eyes
of the world. Still a child, he cries for the moon. And the moon, it
seems, won't have him!"
LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 102
While drinking I seemed to vacillate between feeling totally invisible
and believing I was the center of the universe. Searching for that
elusive balance between the two has become a major part of my
recovery. The moon I constantly cried for is, in sobriety, rarely full; it
shows me instead its many other phases, and there are lessons in them
all. True learning has often followed an eclipse, a time of darkness,
but with each cycle of my recovery, the light grows stronger and my
vision is clearer.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
When I came into A.A., I found men and women who had been through
the same things I had been through. But now they were thinking more
about how they could help others than they were about themselves.
They were a lot more unselfish than I ever was. By coming to meetings
and associating with them, I began to think a little less about myself
and a little more about other people. I also learned that I didn't have
to depend on myself alone to get out of the mess I was in. I could get a
greater strength than my own. Am I now depending less on myself and
more on God?
Meditation For The Day
You cannot help others unless you understand the person you are
trying to help. To understand the problems and temptations of others,
you must have been through them yourself. You must do all you can to
understand others. You must study their backgrounds, their likes and
dislikes, their reactions and their prejudices. When you see their
weaknesses, do not confront the person with them. Share your own
weaknesses, sins, and temptations and let other people find their own
convictions.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may serve as a channel for God's power to come into the
lives of others. I pray that I may try to understand them.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
". . .In All Our Affairs, p. 94
"The chief purpose of A.A. is sobriety. We all realize that without
sobriety we have nothing.
"However, it is possible to expand this simple aim into a great deal of
nonsense, so far as the individual member is concerned. Sometimes
we hear him say, in effect, "Sobriety is my sole responsibility. After
all, I'm a pretty fine chap, except for my drinking. Give me sobriety,
and I've got it made!'
"As long as our friend clings to this comfortable alibi, he will make so
little progress with his real life problems and responsibilities that he
stands in a fair way to get drunk again. This is why A.A.'s Twelfth
Steps urges that 'we practice these principles in all our affairs.' We
are not living just to be sober; we are living to learn, to serve, and to
love.
Letter, 1966
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
You are not alone
Fellowship
If you feel isolated and lonely, tape the letters ~~ YANA~~ to the dash in your car. "You Are Never Alone" can help bring a surge of confidence when you most need it.
We are not alone because we have thousands of friends who have shared our experience and who understand our feelings. We also are not alone because we have a Higher Power who presides over the affairs of all humankind. We can never be separated from this Power except in our own minds.
We must remember that we will always need other people. Virtually everything that benefits us is supplied by the skills and knowledge of others.We can believe that we are completely independent, but the truth is that no person survives completely alone.
The typical problem for many of us is in failing to seek help from others. If extreme loneliness is closing in on us, the best prescription is a meeting and the company of other members.
I'll not be too proud to ask for help today or to explain to others that I need them and appreciate them. I should also freely admit that help from others led me to sobriety---and helps maintain it today.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Pray without resentment in your heart. ---The Little Red Book
Resentment is anger that we don't want to turn over to our Higher Power.
Sometimes we want to keep our anger. Maybe we want to "get even." it's hard to be spiritual and full of anger at the same time. When we hold on to anger, it turns into self-will. We get angry from time to time. This is normal. But we now have a program to help us let go of anger. We also know that stored-up anger can drive us back to alcohol and other drugs. Instead of trying to "get even," let's work at keeping anger out of our hearts.
Prayer for the Day: I pray without anger in my heart. Higher Power, I give You my anger. Have me work for justice, instead of acting like a judge.
Action For the Day: I'll list any resentments I now have. I'll talk about them at my next meeting. This is the best way to turn resentments over to my Higher Power.
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
All we are asked to bear we can bear. That is a law of the spiritual life. The only hindrance to the working of this law, as of all benign laws, is fear. --Elizabeth Goudge
There is no problem too difficult to handle with all the help available to us. Let's not be overwhelmed. The program tells us to "Let go and let God," to turn it over. And that's where the solution lies.
Our challenges, the stumbling blocks in our way, beckon us toward the spiritual working-out of the problem which moves us closer toward being the women we are meant to be. Our fear comes from not trusting in the power greater than ourselves to provide the direction we need, to make known the solution.
Every day we will have challenges. We have lessons to learn which mean growing pains. If we could but remember that our challenges are gifts to grow on and that within every problem lies the solution.
I will not be given more than I and my higher power can handle today, or any day.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards
Another principle we observe carefully is that we do not relate intimate experiences of another person unless we are sure he would approve. We find it better, when possible, to stick to our own stories. A man may criticize to laugh at himself and it will affect others favorably, but criticism or ridicule coming from another often produce the contrary effect. Members of a family should watch such matters carefully, for one careless, inconsiderate remark has been known to raise the very devil. We alcoholics are sensitive people. It takes some of us a long time to outgrow that serious handicap.
p. 125
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
I also learned I was going to federal prison. The sentence was mandatory if convicted, and there was no doubt in my mind that I would be. With nothing left, I dedicated myself to learning about recovery. I fervently believed that the key to my sobriety, and hence my survival, lay in the power of all I was being taught, and I spent no idle moments in treatment. I worked as hard as I had worked to earn my wings, but this time my life was at stake. I struggled to regain a spiritual connection as I underwent one legal crisis after another.
p. 525
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Eight - "Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers."
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS will never have a professional class. We have gained some understanding of the ancient words "Freely ye have received, freely give." We have discovered that at the point of professionalism, money and spirituality do not mis. Almost no recovery from alcoholism has ever been brought about by the world's best professionals, whether medical or religious. We do not decry professionalism in other fields, but we accept the sober fact that it does not work for us. Every time we have tried to professionalize our Twelfth Step, the result has been exactly the same: Our single purpose has been defeated.
p. 166
************************************************** *********
"In forgiving ourselves, we make the journey from guilt for what we
have done (or not done) to celebration of what we have become."
--Joan Borysenko
Pitying yourself will get you nowhere. Things aren't always going to
go the way you want them to, but still you must set the rules regarding
how you respond to them.
There is incredible beauty, in the gentle and quiet spirit, precious in
God's direction.
--SweetyZee
"He who cannot rest, cannot work; He who cannot let go, cannot hold
on; He who cannot find footing, cannot go forward."
--Harry Emerson Fosdick
"Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far
more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting
moment."
--Benjamin Franklin
If there is anything we wish to change in the child, we should first
examine it and see whether it is not something that could be better
changed in ourselves.
--Carl Jung
Voices we prefer to ignore may speak words we need to hear.
--Don Deal
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
BEAUTY
"Beauty is not caused. It is."
--Emily Dickinson
So many people think that beauty is what you do to yourself; what you
wear, makeup, clothes, hairstyles or expensive jewelry. Again it is so
easy to get caught up in "things". Reality is not about what we wear
but who we are.
The beauty that God has created comes from within. The twinkle in
the eyes that says "hello". The hug that says "I love you". The gentle
embrace and smile that says "I forgive you". The tear that cries "I
understand".
When God said to the world, "It is good", Beauty was born. Drugs and
crazy relationships only get in the way of us being what we were
intended to be: beautiful for God.
Today I seek to put God's beauty in my actions, words and attitudes.
************************************************** *********
"Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the
Lord."
Psalm 31:24
For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from
being snared.
Proverbs 3:26
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Today is an opportunity to love, to work and to play. Lord, may I recognize the opportunities that come today and participate in them as much as I can.
In life it is those that persevere that will succeed. Lord, every day is a fresh beginning. With You, I will come closer to my goals each day if only I don't give up and quit.
************************************************** *********
NA Just For Today
Guarding Our Recovery
"Remember that we... are ultimately responsible for our recovery and our decisions."
Basic Text p. 99
Most of us will face choices that challenge our recovery. If we find ourselves in extreme physical pain, for example, we will have to decide whether or not we will take medication. We will have to be very honest with ourselves about the severity of our pain, honest with our doctor about our addiction and our recovery, and honest with our sponsor In the end, however, the decision is ours, for we are the ones who must live with the consequences.
Another common challenge is the choice of attending a party where alcohol will be served. Again, we should consider our own spiritual state. If someone who supports our recovery can attend the event with us, so much the better. However, if we don't feel up to such a challenge, we should probably decline the invitation. Today, we know that preserving our recovery is more important than saving face.
All such decisions are tough ones, requiring not only our careful consideration but the guidance of our sponsor and complete surrender to a Higher Power Using all of these resources, we make the best decision we can. Ultimately, however, the decision is ours. Today, we are responsible for our own recovery.
Just for today: When faced with a decision that may challenge my recovery I will consult all the resources at my disposal before I make my choice.
************************************************** *********
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
One day at a time--this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone. --Ida Scott Taylor
It's not always easy to understand that the day stretching before us is all that counts. Daydreaming about the party last week, or getting upset all over again about a fight we had yesterday with a friend doesn't help us right now. When our minds are on the past, we miss out on the conversation or the activity that is going on around us.
Every moment of the day is special, and guaranteed to help us grow and understand life. All of us have been taught to pay attention in school, or to pay attention when others talk to us. But we should also pay attention to the birds, the sky, even the grass. And we can learn a lot by paying attention to the conversations going on around us, and to the small voice inside us that helps us know right from wrong.
What's going on today is enough to pay attention to.
Am I ready to pay attention to what is around me today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
What is obvious to me is that we did not create ourselves... life is something inside of you. You did not create it. Once you understand that, .you are in a spiritual realm. --Virginia Satir
We do not belong to ourselves, but to the universe. No man planned to come into existence; he just happened to find himself here. We are the expressions of a life force whose beginnings are in the forgotten past. What does this mean on a practical level for how we will live today? For one thing, maybe we don't need to take ourselves so seriously. And we certainly are not to judge our existence. We have a right to be here, just as everyone does.
We can live this day fully and not hold ourselves back. We may work hard, play, and enjoy it. We need not rein in or attempt to control this force which so far exceeds our individual powers. Rather, today we can learn to flow with the current.
Today, may I remember my Higher Power is within every cell of my being, whether I notice it or not.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
All we are asked to bear we can bear. That is a law of the spiritual life. The only hindrance to the working of this law, as of all benign laws, is fear. --Elizabeth Goudge
There is no problem too difficult to handle with all the help available to us. Let's not be overwhelmed. The program tells us to "Let go and let God," to turn it over. And that's where the solution lies.
Our challenges, the stumbling blocks in our way, beckon us toward the spiritual working-out of the problem which moves us closer toward being the women we are meant to be. Our fear comes from not trusting in the power greater than ourselves to provide the direction we need, to make known the solution.
Every day we will have challenges. We have lessons to learn which mean growing pains. If we could but remember that our challenges are gifts to grow on and that within every problem lies the solution.
I will not be given more than I and my higher power can handle today, or any day.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Negotiating Conflicts
Recovery is about more than walking away. Sometimes it means learning to stay and deal. Its about building and maintaining relationships that work. --Beyond Codependency
Problems and conflicts are part of life and relationships - with friends, family, loved ones, and at work problem solving and conflict negotiation are skills we can acquire and improve with time.
Not being willing to tackle and solve problems in relationships leads to unresolved feelings of anger and victimization, terminated relationships, unresolved problems, and power plays that intensify the problem and waste time and energy.
Not being willing to face and solve problems means we may run into that problem again.
Some problems with people cannot be worked out in mutually satisfactory ways. Sometimes the problem is a boundary issue we have, and there is not room to negotiate. In that case, we need to clearly understand what we want and need and what our bottom line is.
Some problems with people, though, can be worked out. worked through, and satisfactorily negotiated. Often, there are workable options for solving problems that we will not even see until we become open to the concept of working through problems in relationships, rather than running from the problems.
To negotiate problems, we must be willing to identify the problem, let go of blame and shame, and focus on possible creative solutions. To successfully negotiate and solve problems in relationships, we must have a sense of our bottom line and our boundary issues, so we don't waste time trying to negotiate non-negotiable issues.
We need to learn to identify what both people really want and need and the different possibilities for working that out. We can learn to be flexible without being too flexible. Committed, intimate relationships mean two people are learning to work together through their problems and conflicts in ways that work in both peoples best interest.
Today, I will be open to negotiating conflicts I have with people. I will strive for balance without being too submissive or too demanding. I will strive for appropriate flexibility in my problem solving efforts.
Today I am hanging in no matter what. Even when my conscious mind wants to give up,
I will reach for that healthy loving part deep within me and with the help of prayer and meditation and the good people in my life, I will find a rainbow. --Ruth Fishel
******************************************
Journey To The Heart
Wait for Timely Action
Watch the surfer as he works his way out to sea. See him watching the waves, waiting for the right movement, the right timing, the right swell. Sometimes the wave comes quickly. Sometimes he has to tread water patiently for a long time, waiting and watching before he can ride the wave.
Learn to ride the waves of energy in your life. Learn to wait for the right time to take action. Learn to wait until your senses, your emotions, your body, and the universe give you the signal you need. Yes, you have a list of things you want to do. But as soon as you have made that list, visualized what you want, you’ve already begun a powerful force. You’ve already begun to engage the universe in helping bring you want you want. There are moments that are more perfect than others to initiate action, to make that phone call, to finish that task.
Untimely action will not get the job done any sooner. It will simply waste your energy and send you back to sea, waiting for the right wave. Focus on your goal, muster all your forces, and head out to sea. Then wait patiently for the right time, for the right energy, for the right wave.
The right wave will come. When it does, grab your board, jump on, and ride it for all its worth.
******************************************
More Language Of Letting Go
Ask for guidance
Sometimes things seem like good ideas and aren’t, really.
–Piglet
Ask for guidance first.
Self-will is a tricky thing. So are impulse behaviors.
We’ve heard of impulse buying– making a purchase quickly and without thought, based on monetary impulse. It’s easy to get caught up living our lives that way,too. So often, we run off in the heat of the moment.
Spontaneity is good. Saying yes to life is good,too. But impulse living can get us into trouble. We can overreact to a problem, then sit in a heap of regrets. Sometimes, the next step presents itself clearly, in a flash of inspiration. Sometimes, we’re meant to go forward and not let our fears and negative thoughts hold us back. Sometimes, we’re acting on impulse and may end up sabotaging ourselves.
Ask for guidance first. It takes only a second to check the map and see if the turn we’re thinking of making is where we really want go.
God, show me what your will is for me. Show me if the decision I’m about to make is in my best interest or if there is a better path for me to explore.
******************************************
In God’s Care
The hand that gives gathers.
~~English proverb
Maybe we grew up believing somehow that to give is to lose. We were taught to believe, or came to the conclusion on our own, that when we give away something, we have to do without it; to give meant to experience loss.
Now, our spiritual friends show us a love that demands nothing in return, and we have a different attitude. We discover that when we give in a spirit of generosity, we lose nothing at all. When we share a material possession we feel rich. The opposite is true, too, of course. When we withhold love, we feel unloved, and when we don’t share what we have, we feel the loss of something.
There is a spiritual maxim at work here. We can give of ourselves and have everything, or we can withhold ourselves and experience spiritual poverty.
I give of what I have. It is the way to be truly happy.
******************************************
Physical Bodies on Earth
Spiritual Being--Physical Experience
by Madisyn Taylor
While we are incarnated in a body on this earth, we must remember that we still are a spiritual being at our core.
We are on this earth, in our physical bodies, because our souls have things to learn that we could not learn in any other way. It is through our physical body and the physical world that we can experience life. Purely spiritual beings are just that – they are in a state of being rather than doing – in a place that is beyond the limitations of time and space. But when we incarnate on the physical plane, we are automatically subject to the laws of physics and the world of dualities. In this place, we know what happiness is because we have experienced sadness, and we understand the value and power of light because we have known darkness. Knowing this, we have the opportunity to let ourselves be spiritual beings having a physical experience.
There is no pain in the spiritual realm, because we know we are one with the limitless source of the universe. But here, in the material realm, our sense of limitation and separation allows us to feel our emotions and to learn about love, forgiveness, and compassion. We go from a spiritual state of oneness to learning how to be in relationship with people who are different and distinct individuals. We learn to understand ourselves through our relationships with the world around us—its seasons and landscapes, challenges and opportunities. And through our journey to find our place among so many others, we begin to recognize our own glimmer of light in a constellation of stars.
Once we remember that we are spiritual beings, we can revel in the experience of being human while knowing we are all connected. We can live from the place of oneness while truly appreciating the beauty of diversity, the bittersweet feel of love and loss, and the elation of triumph over challenges and adversity. It is through these opposites that we experience life itself, and we can ride through the dark times with the understanding that it will help us to appreciate the light of life and love and spirit more fully. We are here now because we made the choice to experience an earth life, so now we can choose to enjoy the journey as completely as possible. Published with permission from Daily OM
******************************************
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
Another common denominator among those who slip is failure to use the tools of The Program — the Twelve Steps. The comments heard most often are, “i never got past the First Step,’ “I worked The Steps too slow,” or “too fast” or “too soon.” What it boils down to, is that these considered the Steps, but didn’t conscientiously and sincerely apply the Steps to their lives. Am I learning how to protect myself and help others?
Today I Pray
May I be a doer of the Steps and not a hearer only. May I see some of the common mid-Steps which lead to a fall: Being too proud to admit Step One; Being too tied to everyday earth to feel the presence of a Higher Power; Being over-whelmed by the thought of preparing Step Four, a complete moral inventory; Being too reticent to share that inventory. Please, God, guide me as I work the Twelve Steps.
Today I Will Remember
To watch my Steps.
******************************************
One More Day
The mind leaps, and leaps perhaps with a sort of elation.
– Joseph Wood Krutch
A chronic medical problem can be incorporated into our total picture of life. If we allow problems, medical or otherwise, to overwhelm and exclude everything else, we are defeated before we begin. We don’t have to be defeatist.
Everyday dawns fresh with opportunities to change, to find happiness, and to live our lives well. By searching deeply within, we can redefine our faith in ourselves and in our Higher Power. A joy, and elation, can be ours when we allow ourselves to express our natural human curiosity through growth, learning, and a willingness to try new things. We can hold our heads up high and be proud.
Regardless of my physical condition, I have dignity and worth.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
~ Commitment ~
Shallow men believe in luck ~
Strong men believe in cause and effect.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Abstinence did not happen for me until I made a commitment to it. I realized that I would have abstinence until something was a bit too uncomfortable for me to face or feel. Then I would have a slip. So it became a game for me. Was this event or circumstance enough to justify another slip? Sure, why not? That's the nature of the disease. Everything and anything was an excuse to eat.
It wasn't until I made a commitment to abstinence that I was forced to find my solutions in the Twelve Steps and really let go of my addiction. I'm grateful to my Higher Power that I hit the bottom I did. By accepting the truth about myself and my food addiction, I am now free to live in the solution.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will renew my commitment by receiving the gift of abstinence and practicing my program to the best of my ability.
~ Christine S. ~
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
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. - Pg. 85 - Into Action
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
When we describe recovery as 'accepting a fate worse than death,' we don't understand the true nature of acceptance. This is called the 'sigh and die' syndrome. Rather than dwell on what can't be changed, we learn to do what is right at this moment, in this hour.
I don't want to be a part of the 'sigh and die' syndrome. Right this moment, I will pick up another book on recovery and read one page, any page, and that will break the spell.
Inner Peace
There is peace within me that I can draw on each and every day. I will remind myself to take a few moments today, to center myself. I will breathe. I will sit. And when I go about my day I will carry that lovely feeling of inner peace around with me. There is nothing in my day that is more important than my serenity. Today, I will pay attention to the myriad of ways in which I am thrown off balance. When I feel myself losing my serenity, I'll take a moment to center myself, to breathe, to connect with that part of me that is eternal and unchanging. I'll remind myself that when I can calm my body, mind and spirit, I interact differently with the people, places and things of my day. I am here. My spirit is here. My serenity is at my fingertips. I am in charge of my deeper experience of living. I connect with my divine self and the diving energy that is ever present.
I give myself the gift of inner peace.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
The diversity of people seeking recovery is extraordinary. Whether an old salty dog, young gang member, grandparent, or teen with attitude, we remember: as cancer is no respecter of victims, neither is addiction. Same disease, same recovery.
'We all came on different ships, but we're all on the same boat now.' ~Martin Luther King
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Talk to your sponsor first.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I am hanging in no matter what. Even when my conscious mind wants to give up, I will reach for that healthy loving part deep within me and with the help of prayer and meditation and the good people in my life, I will find a rainbow.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
We can't discover new worlds until we have the courage to let go of the shore. - Anon.
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Post by majestyjo on Apr 4, 2017 16:55:35 GMT -5
April 5
Daily Reflections
TRUE BROTHERHOOD
We have not once sought to be one in a family, to be a friend among
friends, to be a worker among workers, to be a useful member of
society. Always we tried to struggle to the top of the heap, or to hide
underneath it. This self-centered behavior blocked a partnership
relation with any one of those about us. Of true brotherhood we
had small comprehension.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 53
This message contained in Step Four was the first one I heard loud and clear;
I hadn't seen myself in print before! Prior to my coming into
A.A., I knew of no place that could teach me how to become a person among persons.
From my very first meeting, I saw people doing just that and I wanted what they had.
One of the reasons that I'm a happy, sober alcoholic today is that I'm learning this most important lesson.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
People often ask what makes the A.A. program work. One of the
answers is that A.A. works because it gets people away from
themselves as the center of the universe. And it teaches them to rely
more on the fellowship of others and on strength from God. Forgetting ourselves in fellowship, prayer, and working with others is what makes the A.A. program work. Are these things keeping me sober?
Meditation For The Day
God is the great interpreter of one human personality to another.
Even personalities who are the nearest together have much in their
natures that remains a seated book to each other. And only as God
enters and controls their lives are the mysteries of each revealed to the other. Each personality is so different. God alone understands
perfectly the language of each and can interpret between the two. Here we find the miracles of change and the true interpretation of life.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be in the right relationship to God. I pray that God
will interpret to me the personalities of other people, so that I can
understand them and help them.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Spiritual Kindergarten, p. 95
"We are only operating a spiritual kindergarten in which people are
enabled to get over drinking and find the grace to go on living to
better effect. Each man's theology has to be his own quest, his own
affair."
<< << << >> >> >>
When the Big Book was being planned, some members thought that it
ought to be Christian in the doctrinal sense. Others had no objection
to the use of the word "God", but wanted to avoid doctrinal issues.
Spirituality, yes. Religion, no. Still others wanted a psychological
book, to lure the alcoholic in. Once in, he could take God or leave
Him alone as he wished.
To the rest of us this was shocking, but happily we listened. Our
group conscience was at work to construct the most acceptable and
effective book possible.
Every voice was playing its appointed part. Our atheists and
agnostics widened our gateway so that all who suffer might pass
through, regardless of their belief or lack of belief.
1. Letter, 1954
2. A.A. Comes Of Age, pp. 162, 163, 167
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
Letting Go of Resentment___ Releasing the Past
How can we really put an end to festering resentments toward other people? "Pray for these people," the Old-timers said. "Go out of your way to do something good for them." This is a big order for most of us, but we are working for a big reward: Sobriety, peace of mind, and personal progress.
When we pray for others in this manner, we're practicing the noble art of forgiveness. How do we know when it's staring to work? Lewis B. Smedes, a master teacher of forgiveness, offers this thought: "You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well."
Forgiveness also is supposed to include forgetting the wrong. What we really forget is the hurt connected with it. When anything that once evoked pain comes to mind, we're growing spiritually if it no longer has the power to hurt us.
We then discover that we had been letting go our resentments hurt us again and again. We also learn that one effort to forgive is not nearly enough. Forgiveness takes the same amount of practice and emotional power we put into carrying the resentment!
Today will bring enough problems. I don't have either the time or the energy to play the old tapes that cause me pain. I'll practice praying for those who hurt me, and I'll take it for granted that my HIgher Power is removing my resentments.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Go outside, to the fields, enjoy nature and the sunshine, go out and try to recapture happiness in yourself and in God.---Anne Frank
Many of us look at the joy and beauty of the program with caution. It was different from our addictive joy. Was it to be trusted? When we started working the Steps, we found inner joy and beauty. As we let go and gave in to the program, we found more happiness. We found joy in ourselves, our friends, our Higher Power, and those around us. Our self-pity changed to self-respect. We were truly out in the sunshine. We were no longer lost in misery. We know how to walk through misery to find joy.
Prayer for the Day: May I become better friends with myself. Higher Power, let me see the world through Your innocent, yet wise and loving eyes
Action for the Day: Today I'll work to make my life and the lives of others more joyful. I'll greet myself and others with much joy.
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
I came to the conclusion then that "continual mindfulness". . . must mean, not a sergeant-major-like drilling of thoughts, but a continual readiness to look and readiness to accept whatever came. --Joanna Field
Resistance to the events, the situations, the many people who come into our lives blocks the growth we are offered every day. Every moment of every day is offering us a gift: the gift of awareness of other persons, awareness of our natural surroundings, awareness of our own personal impact on creation. And in awareness comes our growth as women.
Living in the now, being present in the moment, guarantees us the protection of God. And in the stretches of time when we anxiously anticipate the events of the future, we cheat ourselves of the security God offers us right now.
We are always being taken care of, right here, right now. Being mindful, this minute, of what's happening and only this, eases all anxieties, erases all fears. We only struggle when we have moved our sights from the present moment. Within the now lies all peace.
The most important lesson I have to learn, the lesson that will eliminate all of my pain and struggle, is to receive fully that which is offered in each moment of my life.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards
Many alcoholics are enthusiasts. They run to extremes. At the beginning of recovery a man will take, as a rule, one of two directions. He may either plunge into a frantic attempt to get on his feet in business, or he may be so enthralled by his new life that he talks or thinks of little else. In either case certain family problems will arise. With these we have had experience galore.
pp. 125-126
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
I got out of treatment determined to complete ninety A.A. meetings in ninety days but was afraid my court date would interfere, so I completed my ninety meetings in sixty-seven days. I went through an intense, media-covered three-week trial. On most evenings after the day in court, I sought refuge in A.A. meetings and renewed my strength for the coming day. Recovery and all I had learned allowed me to handle things much, much differently than my two co-defendants. Many spoke of my serenity throughout this experience of horror, which surprised me. Inside I did not feel what others seemed to see.
pp. 525-526
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Eight - "Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers."
Alcoholics simply will not listen to a paid twelfth-stepper. Almost from the beginning, we have been positive that face-to-face work with the alcoholic who suffers could be based only on the desire to help and be helped. When an A.A. talks for money, whether at a meeting or to a single newcomer, it can have a very bad effect on him, too. The money motive compromises him and everything he says and does for his prospect. This has always been so obvious that only a very few A.A.'s have ever worked the Twelfth Step for a fee.
p. 166
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You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice
because thorns have roses.
--Tom Wilson
"Not to transmit an experience is to betray it."
--Elie Wiesel
A friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.
"The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter."
--Anon.
"None of us knows what the next change is going to be, what
unexpected opportunity is just around the corner, waiting to change all the tenor of our lives."
--Kathleen Norris
The beauty of God is evident when we work together for God's glory.
--Jacki Work
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
FAILURE
"No man is a failure who is
enjoying life."
--William Feather
Spirituality is fun. I enjoy my sobriety today and I do not take myself too seriously.
For years I thought I was a failure and this "thought" manifested the behavior of a failure. I hid, sulked, was jealous, carried resentments
and isolated myself from life - and then blamed the world.
Today because I really understand and accept that I am a child of God, I know that I am not a failure and I have a glorious future in recovery.
Today I have hope. Today I have confidence. Today I am able to
accept and forgive. Today I am able to love my neighbor because I love myself.
In my enjoyment of life may I reflect your love for the world.
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"For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways."
Psalm 91:11
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not
from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of
truth and the spirit of error.
1 John 4:6
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in a advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10
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Daily Inspiration
In a day when almost everything goes right, don't ruin it by focusing on the one thing that didn't. Lord, help me to allow the good in my life to prevail.
To live with anger or resentment creates even more anger and resentment. Lord, increase my ability to forgive and free me from all that separates me from You so that I may be filled with Your peace.
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NA Just For Today
Identification
"Someone finally knew the crazy thoughts that I had and the crazy things I'd done."
Basic Text p. 175
Addicts often feel terminally unique. We're sure that no one used drugs like we did or had to do the things that we did to get them. Feeling that no one really understands us can keep us from recovery for many years.
But once we come to the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous, we begin to lose that feeling of being "the worst" or "the craziest." We listen as members share their experiences. We discover that others have walked the same twisted path that we've walked and still have been able to find recovery. We begin to believe that recovery is available to us, too.
As we progress in our own recovery, sometimes our thinking is still insane. However, we find that when we share the hard time we may be having, others identify, sharing how they have dealt with such difficulties. No matter how troubled our thinking seems, we find hope when others relate to us, passing along the solutions they've found. We begin to believe that we can survive whatever we're going through to continue on in our recovery.
The gift of Narcotics Anonymous is that we learn we are not alone. We can get dean and stay clean by sharing our experience, our strength, and even our crazy thinking with other members. When we do, we open ourselves to the solutions others have found to the challenges we face.
Just for today: I am grateful that I can identify with others. Today, I will listen as they share their experience, and I'll share mine with them.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
I measure every Grief I meet With narrow, probing, Eyes-- I wonder if it weighs like Mine-- Or has an easier size. --Emily Dickinson
How can we measure all the grief we feel, and how can we put up with it? Doesn't the Grief of Death weigh a ton or more? Doesn't it stretch out to a month, a year, or longer still? Is the Grief of Failure lighter than the Grief of Despair, but maybe longer? Isn't the Grief of Emptiness the heaviest of all? Whether we try to ignore or make light of it, our grief, like a ton of feathers or a ton of rocks, is all the same to us. This much is sure: if we lock our grief in, it will weigh more on us and lengthen out; if we open our hearts with weeping and words, others will help carry it away.
What old sadness can I let go of by sharing it today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
When angry, count four; when very angry, swear. --Mark Twain
Feelings of anger are a knotty problem for many men. Some of us as children were injured or so frightened by an angry adult that we have instinctively avoided anger ever since. Or we have been appalled by ourselves when we lost control of our anger. Still, we are taught that it is masculine to be aggressive. Some of us have tried so hard to squelch our anger that we don't even know when we feel it. We treat anger like a rejected child once rejected we no longer have good discipline over it. So it comes out in hurtful jokes and sarcastic comments, or bursts out of us in scary and destructive ways.
For some of us, overly controlled anger turns inward against ourselves. We get physically ill or depressed and self-hating. Every recovering man needs an honest relationship with his anger. We must acknowledge this feeling within us when it is there. It is healthy to express anger directly, honestly, and respectfully.
Thanks to God for the richness of my emotional life. Today, I will notice my feelings of anger and accept them so I can learn to relate to them.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
I came to the conclusion then that "continual mindfulness". . . must mean, not a sergeant-major-like drilling of thoughts, but a continual readiness to look and readiness to accept whatever came. --Joanna Field
Resistance to the events, the situations, the many people who come into our lives blocks the growth we are offered every day. Every moment of every day is offering us a gift: the gift of awareness of other persons, awareness of our natural surroundings, awareness of our own personal impact on creation. And in awareness comes our growth as women.
Living in the now, being present in the moment, guarantees us the protection of God. And in the stretches of time when we anxiously anticipate the events of the future, we cheat ourselves of the security God offers us right now.
We are always being taken care of, right here, right now. Being mindful, this minute, of what's happening and only this, eases all anxieties, erases all fears. We only struggle when we have moved our sights from the present moment. Within the now lies all peace.
The most important lesson I have to learn, the lesson that will eliminate all of my pain and struggle, is to receive fully that which is offered in each moment of my life.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Detaching in Love
Detachment is a key to recovery from codependency. It strengthens our healthy relationships - the ones that we want to grow and flourish. It benefits our difficult relationships - the ones that are teaching us to cope. It helps us!
Detachment is not something we do once. Its a daily behavior in recovery. We learn it when were beginning our recovery from codependency and adult children issues. And we continue to practice it along the way as we grow and change, and as our relationships grow and change.
We learn to let go of people we love, people we like, and those we don't particularly care for. We separate ourselves, and our process, from others and their process.
We relinquish our tight hold and our need to control in our relationships. We take responsibility for ourselves; we allow others to do the same. We detach with the understanding that life is unfolding exactly as it needs to, for others and ourselves. The way life unfolds is good, even when it hurts. And ultimately, we can benefit from even the most difficult situations. We do this with the understanding that a Power greater than ourselves is in charge, and all is well.
Today, I will apply the concept of detachment, to the best of my ability, in my relationships. If I cant let go completely, Ill try to hang on loose.
Today I am open to all of who I am. As I bring my attention to all of me, without judgment, I grow in wisdom and freedom. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey To The Heart
Develop a Sense of the Sacred
During my stay in New Mexico, I found myself repeatedly– almost magnetically– drawn to the Ojo Caliente Hot Springs. The grounds weren’t fancy, soaking cost only $8.00. But I felt safe, healed, spiritually connected when I was there. At times, I felt almost an electric energy coursing through my body when I roamed the grounds. On my third visit, I noticed a small marker hidden on the side of the parking lot and I began to understand my feelings. The ancient spring was actually a Native American sacred site. The energy I felt there was real. I was standing on holy ground.
Develop a sense of the sacred. Develop a sense of what is sacred to you. Allow yourself to see and feel the holy grounds in your life as you go through your days and years. Many times what we’re going through, what we’re seeing is sacred, but our minds diminish that idea. So much in life is holy, but often we don’t make the connection. Listen to your soul as you experience life. Let yourself connect with what is holy and sacred to you.
Stop chattering for a moment. Be still. Experience. Ask your soul to show you what’s holy. The electric energy will rise through you. Your soul will come to attention. Learn to feel, see, and know the beauty of the journey you’re on.
Develop a sense of the sacred. Where you’re standing is holy ground.
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More Language Of Letting Go
Just do what you can
Dear God,
I am doing the best that I can.
–Children’s Letters to God
Sometimes all we can do is all we can do.
“Maybe my talent is being a good listener,” said John. “Maybe I’m not supposed to be rich and famous. I’m supposed to be the person who just sits and listens.”
The world needs listeners,too. If everyone were the storyteller, it would be a noisy place, and no one would ever get to hear the stories. Maybe you are a storyteller, maybe you are a listener. Maybe both. Maybe it will be your path to achieve recognition and fame; maybe yours is an anonymous path of service.
If you’ve done all you can– whether it’s to pursue your dreams, work on that relationship, help someone else, or take care of yourself– then you’ve done your part.
Maybe all we can do is all we’re meant to do, that day.
God, help me do what I can and not torture myself about what I can’t.
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In God’s Care
Conscience is the perfect interpreter of life.
~~Karl Barth
In a moment’s pause, before we respond to a person or situation, may come a clear message indicating how we are to act or what we are to say. In that quiet moment, our conscience calls to us. Our willingness to pause, listen, and then act as our Inner Guide suggests, will ensure that our relations with others will reflect our true values.
Many of us feel God’s presence most through our conscience. Seldom are we truly in doubt about the proper response to a friend. And yet we may still refuse to pause and listen to God’s message – to remember and affirm our values. And then we experience guilt and shame.
We complicate our relationships needlessly when we act before we think. Our agitated ego takes over, and we lose sight of the sure knowledge that God is the director, we are the actors. A quiet mind lets us hear the directions.
I will be quiet, if only for a moment, before sharing my thoughts today.
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Playing Your Part
Life Is an Illusion
by Madisyn Taylor
As we become more enlightened on our journey of life, we become more compassionate and wise and have less attachment.
As children, most of us sang that mesmerizing, wistful lullaby that ends with the words, “Life is but a dream.” This is a classic example of a deep, sophisticated truth hiding, like an underground stream, in an unlikely place. It winds its way through our minds like a riddle or a Zen koan, coming up when we least expect it and asking that we consider its meaning. Many gurus and philosophers agree with this mysterious observation, saying that this world we perceive as real is actually an illusion, not unlike a film being projected on a screen. Most of us are so involved in the projection that we don’t understand it for what it is. We are completely caught up in the illusion, imagining that we are in a life and death struggle and taking it very seriously.
The enlightened few, on the other hand, live their lives in the light of the awareness that what most of us perceive as reality is a passing fancy. As a result, they behave with detachment, compassion, and wisdom, while the rest of us struggle and writhe upon the stage in the play of our life. Having the wisdom to know that life is but a dream does not mean that we ignore it or don’t do our best with the twists and turns of our fate. Rather, like an actress who plays her role fully even as she knows it’s only a role, we engage in the unfolding drama, but with a little more freedom because we know that this is not the totality of who we are.
And life is more of an improvisation than it is like a play whose lines have already been written, whose end is already known. Like an improviser, we have choices to make and the more we embrace the illusionary quality of the performance, the lighter we can be on the planet, on others, and on ourselves. We can truly play with the shadows cast by the light of the projector, fully engaging without getting bogged down. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
Still another common thread we invariably see among slippers is that many of them felt dissatisfaction with today. “I forgot we live one day at a time,” or “I began to plan results, not just plan.” They seemed to forget that all we have is Now. Life continues to get better for them and, as many of us do, they forgot how bad it had been. They began to think, instead, of how dissatisfying it was compared to what it could be. Do I compare today with yesterday, realizing, by that contrast, what great benefits and blessings I have today?
Today I Pray
If I am discouraged with today, may I remember the sorrow and hassles of yesterday. If I am impatient for the future, let me appreciate today and how much better it is than the life i left behind. May I never forget the principle of “one day at a time.”
Today I Will Remember
The craziness of yesterday
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One More Day
Be not afraid to pray, to pray is right. Pray, if thou canst with hope, but even pray.
– Harley Coolidge
“Now I lay me down to sleep” may have been one of our fist childhood prayers, perhaps even on of our first memories. As we grew, we may have learned to recite other prayers by rote, with little understanding.
Now, we are beginning to understand and feel the need for prayer. many of us came to a belief in a Power greater than ourselves, one which can nature and sustain us. We can pray for those we love; we can pray for ourselves. Prayer can enhance and bond us with our Higher Power. It nourishes and satisfies our souls — the inner self.
Prayer is a creative expression of my spiritual needs. It offers me a deep sense of personal satisfaction and continually reminds me of all life’s forces.
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One Day At A Time
~ Acceptance ~
Until you make peace with who you are,
you will never be content with what you have.
Doris Mortman
Through abstinence and recovery, I can begin to accept myself. I can pay attention to my likes and my dislikes as I continue to grow and learn about me. Learning about myself is a new adventure. There are so many layers that have been hidden under years of food abuse and weight obsession. Exploring and discovering the new me requires a lot of acceptance. There are parts of me that I do not like, and there are also wonderful surprises. By accepting all parts of myself, I am honoring my Higher Power and demonstrating spiritual recovery.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will accept myself. By learning to accept myself, I will find myself growing in my acceptance of others.
~ Christine S. ~
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities. 'How can I best serve Thee - Thy will ( not mine ) be done.' These are thoughts which must go with us constantly. We can exercise our will power along this line all we wish. It is the proper use of the will. - Pg. 85 - Into Action
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Sometimes it just doesn't seem worth it. What does this new life, seemingly full of discipline and deprivation, offer us anyway? There are many promises that only time can bring. Until then we must cherish our new freedom--freedom from the expense, cravings, and cost to our personal lives in that old chemical world.
Let me see the bondage of my addiction and remember not the questionable good times but the very real chains that bound me.
Shifting My Feeling States
When I shift my own thinking and feeling states, I shift my body states as well, because emotions travel through me as body chemicals. In a way, I am what I think about all day. I can shift what I am feeling by consciously changing my thoughts and I can shift what I'm thinking, by consciously evening out my emotional states. I will place my attention on my heart and imagine myself in a calm and serene state. As my heart calms, so does my body. When I can consciously breathe in and out of my heart zone, and imagine that part of me entering a state of ease and serenity, I actually contribute to my emotional, psychological and physical health.
I calm my heart
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
In our fellowship, there are always those who feel they have the ultimate wisdom to impart to you. These highly verbose people may set your nerves on edge with incredibly self-serving 'words of wisdom.' They may be full of themselves, but they are probably not trying to hurt you.
If I judge people, I have no time to love them.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
We came to AA to save our ass, and found out our soul was attached.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I am open to all of who I am. As I bring my attention to all of me, without judgment, I grow in wisdom and freedom.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
If you can't turn over everything, turn over 'right now.' - Tom W.
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Post by majestyjo on Apr 7, 2017 5:17:05 GMT -5
April 6
Daily Reflections
A LIFETIME PROCESS
We were having trouble with personal relationships, we
couldn't control our emotional natures, we were a prey
to misery and depression, we couldn't make a living, we
had a feeling of uselessness, we were full of fear, we
were unhappy, we couldn't seem to be of real help to
other people. . . .
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 52
These words remind me that I have more problems than
alcohol, that alcohol is only a symptom of a more
pervasive disease. When I stopped drinking I began a
lifetime process of recovery from unruly emotions,
painful relationships, and unmanageable situations.
This process is too much for most of us without help
from a Higher Power and our friends in the Fellowship.
When I began working the Steps of the A.A. program,
many of these tangled threads unraveled but, little
by little, the most broken places of my life
straightened out. One day at a time, almost
imperceptibly, I healed. Like a thermostat being
turned down, my fears diminished. I began to experience
moments of contentment. My emotions became less
volatile. I am now once again a part of the human
family.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
All alcoholics have personality problems. They drink to
escape from life, to counteract feelings of loneliness or
inferiority, or because of some emotional conflict within
them, so that they cannot adjust themselves to life.
Alcoholics cannot stop drinking unless they find a way to
solve their personality problems. That's why going on the
wagon doesn't solve anything. That's why taking the pledge
usually doesn't work. Was my personality problem ever
solved by going on the wagon or taking the pledge?
Meditation For The Day
God irradiates your life with the warmth of His spirit.
You must open up like a flower to this divine irradiation.
Loosen your hold on earth, its cares, and its worries.
Unclasp your hold on material things, relax your grip, and
the tide of peace and serenity will flow in. Relinquish
every material thing and receive it back again from God.
Do not hold on to earth's treasures so firmly that your
hands are too occupied to clasp God's hands as He holds
them out to you in love.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be open to receive God's blessing.
I pray that I may be willing to relinquish my hold on
material things and receive them back from God.
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As Bill Sees It
When Defects Are Less Than Deadly, p. 96
Practically everybody wishes to be rid of his most glaring and
destructive handicaps. No one wants to be so proud that he is
scorned as a braggart, nor so greedy that he is labeled a thief. No
one wants to be angry enough to murder, lustful enough to rape,
gluttonous enough to ruin his health. No one wants to be agonized by
chronic envy or paralyzed by sloth.
Of course, most human beings don't suffer these defects at these
rock-bottom levels, and we who have escaped such extremes are apt
to congratulate ourselves. Yet can we? After all, hasn't it been
self-interest that has enabled most of us to escape? Not much
spiritual effort is involved in avoiding excesses which will bring us
punishment anyway. But when we face up to the less violent aspects
of these very same defects, where do we stand then?
12 & 12, p. 66
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Walk in Dry Places
The Barrier of Sick Pride
Sharing Feelings
Pride can be either sick or healthy. It's sick pride that keeps us in bondage to alcohol. It's healthy pride that emerges when we have high self-esteem. Finding the right path in sobriety always involves a battle to keep sick pride out of our lives.
What if I'm at a discussion meeting and I feel reluctant to admit that certain character defects are still giving me trouble? Can this be sick pride carrying on the pretense that I have risen above such problems? What if someone takes issue with a point I've tried to make in a discussion? Does sick pride cause me to react in self-defense?
We learn in the 12 Step program that we gain nothing by attempting to conceal our character defects from our fellow members. We gain everything by sharing our true feelings and letting others know we are vulnerable human beings. There is never any need to defend or explain anything we've tried to say in a meeting. The real message always comes through in our attitude, and it will reach those for whom it's intended.
I'll check myself today to see if sick pride is dictating what I say and do. The more I can let others see me as I really am, the more honest my relationships will be.
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Keep It Simple
To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.---Chinese proverb
We're going down a new-road---in our recovery and in our lives. We don't know the road. We only know we're on the right one, because our Higher Power led us here. We ask for help from those who already know the road. We ask our sponsor, "How far is it until I get done feeling guilty?"
"How far to self-love?" "How bumpy is the road when I'm at Step Four?" We need people who have been in the program. They tell us where to slow down because this part of the trip is beautiful.
Someday, maybe today, we too will be called on to guide others.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You've put me on this road. You've also put others on this road. Let them be my guide. Let my guides become my friends.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll find someone who has been in the program two or more years longer than me. I'll ask that person what the road ahead is like.
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Each Day a New Beginning
Treat your friends as you do your pictures, and place them in their best light. --Jennie Jerome Churchill
Taking our friends and loved ones for granted, expecting perfection from them in every instance, greatly lessens the value we have in one another's life. Being hard on those closest to us may relieve some of the tension we feel about our own imperfections, but it creates another tension, one that may result in our friends leaving us behind.
We need the reminder, perhaps, that our friends are special to our growth. Our paths have crossed with reason. We complete a portion of the plan for one another's life. And for such gifts we need to offer gratitude.
Each of us is endowed with many qualities, some more enhancing than others; it is our hope, surely, that our lesser qualities will be ignored. We must do likewise for our friends. We can focus on the good, and it will flourish--in them, in ourselves, in all situations. A positive attitude nurtures everyone. Let us look for the good and, in time, it is all that will catch our attention.
I can make this day one to remember with fondness. I will appreciate a friend. I will let her know she matters in my life. Her life will be enhanced by my attention.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards
We think it dangerous if he rushes headlong at his economic problem. The family will be affected also, pleasantly at first, as they feel their money troubles are about to be solved, then not so pleasantly as they find themselves neglected. Dad may be tired at night and preoccupied by day. He may take small interest in the children and may show irritation when reproved for his delinquencies. If not irritable, he may seem dull and boring, not gay and affectionate as the family would like him to be. Mother may complain of inattention. They are all disappointed, and often let him feel it. Beginning with such complaints, a barrier arises. He is straining every nerve to make up for lost time. He is striving to recover fortune and reputation and feels he is doing very well. Sometimes mother and children don’t think so. Having been neglected and misused in the past, they think father owes them more than they are getting. They want him to make a fuss over them. They expect him to give them the nice times they used to have before he drank so much, and to show his contrition for what they suffered. But dad doesn’t give freely of himself. Resentment grows. He becomes still less communicative. Sometimes he explodes over a trifle. The family is mystified. They criticize, pointing out how he is falling down on his spiritual program.
p. 126
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
I was found guilty and sentenced to sixteen months in federal prison. My two codefendants received twelve-month sentences and chose to remain free pending appeals, while I chose to go into prison and get it over. I had learned how to live life on life's terms and not my own. From somewhere back in my high school days, I remembered a poem that says something to the effect of, "Cowards die a thousand deaths, a brave man only once," and I wanted do what had to be done. I was terrified of walking into prison but told my children that I could not come out the back door until I walked through the front. I remembered that courage was not the absence of fear; it was the ability to continue in the face of it.
p. 526
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Eight - "Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers."
Despite this certainty, it is nevertheless true that few subjects have been the cause of more contention within our Fellowship than professionalism. Caretakers who swept floors, cooks who fried hamburgers, secretaries in offices, authors writing books--all these we have seen hotly assailed because they were, as their critics angrily remarked, "making money out of A.A." Ignoring the fact that these labors were not Twelfth Step jobs at all, the critics attacked as A.A. professionals these workers of ours who were often doing thankless tasks that no one else could or would do. Even greater furors were provoked when A.A. members began to run rest homes and farms for alcoholics, when some hired out to corporations as personnel men in charge of the alcoholic wards, when others entered the field of alcohol education. In all these instances, and more, it was claimed that A.A. knowledge and experience were being sold for money, hence these people, too, were professionals.
pp. 166-167
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God, help me to let go of my need to control and to be open to the flow
of the universe.
-Melody Beattie
It becomes a hard life when we pray to God for all sorts of help but we
won't be quiet, sit back, and listen for the answers God provides.
Don't dominate the conversation: Be silent and listen a little. In other
words, meditate. Quiet down and observe your life.
--John-Roger
Positive mental energy, positive thinking, does not mean we think
unrealistically or revert to denial. If we don't like something, we
respect our own opinion. If we spot a problem, we're honest about it.
If something isn't working out, we accept reality. But we don't dwell
on the negative parts of our experience. Whatever we give energy to,
we empower.
--Melody Beattie
"Notice the acts of kindness other people do rather than their
wrongdoing. This is how the loving presence views you. We are all
good, decent, loving souls who occasionally get lost."
--Wayne Dyer
"When things go wrong, don't go with them."
--Anon.
"It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark."
--Howard Ruff
We can trust God for daily protection.
--John D. Byers
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
PRIDE
"Though pride is not a virtue, it is
the parent of many virtues."
--M. C. Collins
I need to remember that "pride" is not necessarily a negative. It is
sensible to have a balanced pride in my sobriety because self-esteem
will grow from the pride and respect I give to myself. God has made
me and is involved with me and, therefore, I am a beautiful person.
Balanced pride helps me with my appearance, grooming and personal
etiquette that comes with clothes, fashion and hairstyles. Pride helps
me with my communication skills - I work hard at being understood,
speaking out clearly and developing better methods of being
understood.
Pride stops me from being taken advantage of, enabling me to say
"no" to others while still feeling good about myself. A healthy sense of
pride is essential for spiritual growth.
Lord, let me have a realistic appreciation of myself that leads to
achievement.
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"For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures
to all generations."
Psalms 100:5
"If you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me."
Jeremiah 29:13-14
I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
Psalm 91:2
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Daily Inspiration
Don't think less of yourself than God thinks of you. He has created us with worth and value beyond our comprehension. Lord, help me to live daily knowing that I am very valuable and do make a difference.
The choices we make will affect our lives for better or for worse. Lord, You have given me all that I need to make wise choices. May I always take time to listen to You.
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NA Just For Today
Growing Honestly
"On a practical level, changes occur because what's appropriate to one phase of recovery may not be for another."
Basic Text p. 101
When we first came to Narcotics Anonymous, many of us had no legitimate occupation. Not all of us suddenly decide we're going to become honest and productive model citizens the moment we arrive in NA. But we soon find, in recovery, that we are not so comfortable doing many of the things we once did without a second thought when we were using.
As we grow in our recovery, we begin to be honest in matters that probably hadn't bothered us when we used. We start returning extra change a cashier may have given us by mistake, or admitting when we hit a parked car. We find that if we can begin to be honest in these small ways the bigger tests of our honesty become much easier to handle.
Many of us came here with very little capacity to be honest. But we find that as we work the Twelve Steps, our lives begin to change. We are no longer comfortable when we benefit at the expense of others. And we can feel good about our newfound honesty.
Just for today: I will examine the level of honesty in my life and see if I'm comfortable with it.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
In quarreling about the shadow, we often lose the substance. --Aesop
There is a fable about a man and his camel who were hired by a wealthy man to get him across the desert. The journey was so hot that they stopped to rest one day, and the only shade to be found was in the shadow of the camel. The two of them began to argue about who had the rights to the camel's shadow--the owner or the renter. They were so involved in their argument that the camel ran away and they didn't notice until it was long gone.
Sometimes we get so caught up in being right that we become like these two, fighting over a shadow. Instead of paying attention to our journey and sharing what we have, we let ourselves get distracted. It is more important to notice what we have, to share it as best we can, and continue our journey.
What can I share with another today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
I had gone through life thinking I was better than everyone else and at the same time, being afraid of everyone. I was afraid to be me. --Dennis Wholey
Looking back to the codependent or addictive times in our lives, we see with the perfect vision of hindsight. It is both embarrassing and humorous to see how misguided and deluded we were then. Grandiose images of ourselves isolated us from those around us and cut us off from true friendships with others. Many of us had strong feelings about ourselves that were in conflict - we felt both special and unworthy.
In this program we grow over time to have a more realistic self-concept. We are not exactly like everyone else, but we are more like them than different. It's okay to be like others, and it's comforting, too. Accepting this, we grow fully into the whole men we were meant to be, and we relish the joy of friendship.
May I accept the guidance of my Higher Power in developing a realistic and comfortable self-image.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Treat your friends as you do your pictures, and place them in their best light. --Jennie Jerome Churchill
Taking our friends and loved ones for granted, expecting perfection from them in every instance, greatly lessens the value we have in one another's life. Being hard on those closest to us may relieve some of the tension we feel about our own imperfections, but it creates another tension, one that may result in our friends leaving us behind.
We need the reminder, perhaps, that our friends are special to our growth. Our paths have crossed with reason. We complete a portion of the plan for one another's life. And for such gifts we need to offer gratitude.
Each of us is endowed with many qualities, some more enhancing than others; it is our hope, surely, that our lesser qualities will be ignored. We must do likewise for our friends. We can focus on the good, and it will flourish--in them, in ourselves, in all situations. A positive attitude nurtures everyone. Let us look for the good and, in time, it is all that will catch our attention.
I can make this day one to remember with fondness. I will appreciate a friend. I will let her know she matters in my life. Her life will be enhanced by my attention.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Patience
How sick and tired we may become of people telling us to be patient or to learn patience. How frustrating it can be to want to finally have something, or to move forward, and then not have that happen. How irritating to have someone tell us to wait while our needs have not been met and were in the midst of anxiety, frustration, and inaction.
Do not confuse the suggestion to be patient with the old rule about not having feelings.
Being patient does not mean we go through the sometimes-grueling process of life and recovery without having feelings! Feel the frustration. Feel the impatience. Get as angry as you need to about not having your needs met. Feel your fear.
Controlling our feelings will not control the process!
We find patience by surrendering to our feelings. Patience cannot be forced. It is a gift, one that closely follows acceptance and gratitude. When we work through our feelings to fully accept who we are and what we have, we will be ready to be and have more.
Today, I will let myself have my feelings while I practice patience.
Today I am breaking out of old patterns, rewriting old tapes and letting my life flow with joy and love. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey To The Heart
Be Present for Yourself
Learn to be present for yourself, fully present in a way that’s new and delightful. Be present for your thoughts and emotions. Be present for the gentle way in which your heart and body lead you on. Learn to be fully present for each step of your growth, each step of your journey.
Value yourself, who you are, what you think and feel, and how you grow. For many years you neglected yourself. It was as though you were unconscious of who you were, how you felt, what you believed. You believed that kept you safe, protected you from feelings you didn’t want to feel. You believed it was how you should live. Now you are learning another way. Survival is no longer enough. It does not meet the needs of your heart and your soul. Now you want to live fully and joyfully. To do that, you must be present for yourself.
Be fully present for others,too. Be present for their spirits, their emotions, the words thay have to say to you, but especially be present for their hearts. You no longer have to fear losing or neglecting yourself if you are present for others. You can do this safely now. You will not be consumed by their needs, you will not become trapped in the workings of their lives. And if you’re present for yourself, you’ll know how much presence to give others.
Be present for life– for the starlit skies and the chirping birds that sing in the morning sun. Be present for the earth and grass under your feet, for the feel of a snowflake in your hand. Be present for all the magic and mysteries of the universe.
But most of all, be present for yourself. Then your presence for others and life will naturally follow.
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More Language Of Letting Go
The power of thoughts
In 1922, Egypt hailed the discovery of King Tut’s tomb by archaeologist Harold Carter. On the walls of the tomb, the magicians had scrawled that a severe punishment would befall anyone disturbing the contents of the burial site.
Over the next ten years, more than twenty people involved with the excavation died suddenly or mysteriously.
Whether you call it a curse or a hypnotic suggestion of sorts, what we’re talking about is the tremendous impact that suggestions have on us. We’re talking about the power of belief.
Many of us spend thousands of dollars in therapy and years of our lifetime disentangling our thoughts from the beliefs of our parents, beliefs that were passed on to them by their parents, and their grandparents, and even further on down the ancestral line.
Sometimes, the effects of other people’s thoughts are less blatant, and even more controlling. We can react instinctively to the silent demands of a spouse or lover, or a boss. They smile or frown– or just look at us– and we know what they mean and expect. Sometimes a casual comment by a friend can send us into a tailspin when he or she suggests, You can’t do that; it won’t work. Do it this way. Months later, when the way we’re trying to do it isn’t working out and we still keep trying and wonder why, we look back and say, “Oh. My friend told me to do it this way. Maybe he was wrong.”
An important part of living in harmony with others means we enjoy doing things that please them, and we don’t unnecssarily or maliciously hurt those with whom we interact. An important part of being true to ourselves means checking ourselves from time to time to see if the things we’re doing are really what we want, or if we’re just a puppet and someone else is pulling our strings.
God, help me respect the power of belief.
Activity: Try a little experiment to prove to yourself how strong the mind is. Walk up to two people, whether you know them or not. Think something very positive and loving about them, but don’t say these thoughts out loud.
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In God’s Care
The life of the spirit is centrally and essentially a life of action. Spirituality is something done, not merely something believed or known or experienced.
~~ Mary McDermott Shideler
We often think of a spiritual life as a life of contemplation, of distancing ourselves from the rest of the world. Actually, spirituality is action. We can include spirituality in our day-to-day routines whenever we want. We can transform mundane activities into links to our Creator merely by offering a silent prayer.
As we open an envelope or listen to a sales presentation, we can think of the power and the love we are receiving this moment from God. As we hear the ring of a telephone or have the day’s first cup of coffee – any number of ordinary things – we can remember that we are here by the grace of God. When we extend a helping hand, we’re saying thanks to God. A smile, a kind word, a hug – all are everyday spiritual acts.
I can take spiritual action in ordinary living.
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Intelligence Speaks for Itself
The Fear of Appearing Dumb
The universal need to be accepted by others can be a barrier that prevents us from being ourselves around them. When we fear that the people we encounter will perceive us as inept or unintelligent, we frequently try to flaunt our grasp of large words or clever witticisms or our professional expertise in an effort to convince them that we are smart and capable. The reasons for feeling this way can be many, and they can often stem from as far back as your childhood. Many women in particular have the fear that they may appear not smart. Yet overcompensating for this fear can have the opposite effect if others are driven away by what they see as an immodest attitude or sense that you are urgently trying to prove yourself. The simple desire to be judged smart by both new and old acquaintances can cause you to reject your true self and adopt an affected persona. But in trying so persistently to project an image of supreme intelligence or capability, you deny others the opportunity! to become acquainted with the real and terrific individual you truly are.
The fear that others will perceive you as unintelligent can further influence your behavior, causing you to consciously avoid speaking your mind or asking questions. You may feel uncomfortable participating in activities if there is a chance that you won’t excel or taking part in discussions with others who may have more knowledge than you. In essence, you become ashamed of who you are and attempt to encase your identity in a veneer that others will find pleasing and impressive. It is, however, a common fear—one experienced by almost everyone at some point in their lives. The simplest way to combat it is to make a personal commitment to being yourself in your home, your workplace, and among strangers. Ask yourself how you believe the individuals you encounter will react should you speak awkwardly, need clarification, or fail to be the best at some activity. By being yourself, you will discover that all people make mistakes and ask questions and that others will like and resp! ect you because they recognize the goodness in your soul.
The fact that you are willing to be yourself, letting your many affirmative attributes express themselves naturally, will help you make a positive first impression on everyone you meet and earn the esteem of your family and friends. Your confidence and easygoing manner will say, "this is who I am and I am proud of the person I have become." Published with permission from Daily OM
*****
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
What do we say to a person who has slipped, or one who calls for help? WE can carry the message, if they’re willing to listen; we can share our experience, strength and hope. Perhaps the most important thing we can do, however, is to tell the person that we love him or her, that we’re truly happy he or she is back, and that we want to help all we can. And we must mean it. Can I still “go to school” and continue to learn from the mistakes and adversities of others?
Today I Pray
May I always have enough love to welcome back to the group someone who has slipped. May I listen to that person’s story-of-woe, humbly. For there, but for my Higher Power, go I. May I learn from others’ mistakes and pray that i will not re-enact them.
Today I Will Remember
Sobriety is never fail-safe.
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One More Day
The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.
– Edward John Phelps
We feel so vulnerable when we have a chronic illness, almost as though we are specimens, displayed as oddities. Because of our vulnerable feelings, we may be reluctant to undertake new experiences out of fear that we may expose ourselves to ridicule. Yet, actually, few people take the time or trouble to stare.
Living a sequestered life and taking no chances is not the answer. There are always options available to us, but they may be different options from those we previously considered. We can decide to take new directions. The image we show to others is a reflection of the image we carry within.
Trying to reach past my mistakes into new successes enhances my life.
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One Day At A Time
~ Courage ~
It takes a lot of courage
to show your dreams to someone else.
Erma Bombeck
I remember first starting my Twelve Step program. I had lots of expectations and dreams, but I couldn't talk to anyone about them. I thought my dreams were stupid and that nobody there really cared about who I was or what I wanted to achieve.
This is a big problem with all of us compulsive overeaters. We all have hopes and dreams of losing our impulse to eat all the time, and of losing our excess weight. Thinking we're not worth anyone's time keeps us strong in our addiction.
As we work through the Steps and learn to trust our new family of choice, we get the courage to begin to open up and share our dreams and hopes. We all find our hidden courage by praying and trusting our Higher Power. We find the courage to tell people about ourselves and trust that nobody will put us down for our past or for the future we dream of achieving. Our dreams have no time limit; they don't have to happen immediately. They may happen immediately, or it may take a long time of struggling, but as long as we have hope and courage, they will become a reality in Higher Power's time.
One Day at a Time . . .
I remember that we learn that, together, things become much easier. As we share our experience, strength and dreams with others, they will help us learn how we can work with a special program and plan. With Higher Power and our recovery friends, our courage grows stronger, and we find we can and will succeed.
~ Jeanette ~
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone - even alcohol. - Pg. 84 - Into Action
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Vengeance sometimes seems the only way to get back at who've hurt us. But we've found the best vengeance is living well, practicing our principles, and letting our Higher Power take care of the offenders.
May I recognize and internalize that vengeance is an attribute of addiction, not recovery.
I Am Aware
Today, I see that my life is up to me. How I choose to live, what I will accomplish, how I conduct my intimate relationships, how I treat myself, all are in my own hands. They are gifts of awareness that I can give myself. I can process my most frustrating and difficult emotions and bring them into my conscious awareness so that I can put them into proportion. I can reframe and see things in a new and more helpful light. I can stop running from what clouds and confuses my inner being, what obscures my inner light. I am strong in the awareness that I can live as I choose to live. I am willing to walk a path of self discovery that, though difficult, builds a strength in me and a knowledge that I can survive my most difficult feelings. I do not need to be afraid of my life if I am not afraid of my inner world. I am comfortable in my own skin.
I am free to be who I am.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
In order to grasp recovery we must learn, not accumulate knowledge, but really learn. Accumulating knowledge is moving from the known to the known, but learning is moving from the known to the unknown.
Each time I say, 'Thy will, not mine, be done,' I move from the known to the unknown and I can learn.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
When things go wrong don't go with them.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I am breaking out of old patterns, rewriting old tapes and letting my life flow with joy and love.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
In the book 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest', the Indian man describes a vision he had watching his father drinking; He saw that as his father drank out of a spirit bottle, the bottle was drinking the spirit out of his father. That resonated with me - a lot. - Trip S.
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Post by majestyjo on Apr 7, 2017 5:18:33 GMT -5
April 7
Daily Reflections
A WIDE ARC OF GRATITUDE
And, speaking for Dr. Bob and myself, I gratefully declare
that had it not been for our wives, Anne and Lois, neither
of us could have lived to see A.A.'s beginning.
THE A.A. WAY OF LIFE, p. 67
Am I capable of such generous tribute and gratitude to
my wife, parents and friends, without whose support I
might never have survived to reach A.A.'s doors? I will
work on this and try to see the plan my Higher Power is
showing me which links our lives together.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
In A.A. alcoholics find a way to solve their personality
problems. They do this by recovering three things. First,
they recover their personal integrity. They pull themselves
together. They get honest with themselves and with other
people. They face themselves and their problems honestly,
instead of running away. They take a personal inventory of
themselves to see where they really stand. Then they face
the facts instead of making excuses for themselves. Have
I recovered my integrity?
Meditation For The Day
When trouble comes, do not say: "Why should this happen to
me?" Leave yourself out of the picture. Think of other people
and their troubles and you will forget about your own.
Gradually get away from yourself and you will know the
consolation of unselfish service to others. After a while,
it will not matter so much what happens to you. It is not
so important any more, except as your experience can be used
to help others who are in the same kind of trouble.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may become more unselfish. I pray that I may
not be thrown off the track by letting the old selfishness
creep back into my life.
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As Bill Sees It
Self-Respect Through Sacrifice, p. 97
At the beginning we sacrificed alcohol. We had to, or it would have
killed us. But we couldn't get rid of alcohol unless we made other
sacrifices. We had to toss the self-justification, self-pity, and anger
right out the window. We had to quit the crazy contest for personal
prestige and big bank balances. We had to take personal
responsibility for our sorry state and quit blaming others for it.
Were these sacrifices? Yes, they were. To gain enough humility and
self-respect to stay alive at all, we had to give up what had really
been our dearest possessions--our ambitions and our illegitimate
pride.
A.A. Comes Of Age, p. 287
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Walk in Dry Places
Deserving Happiness___Emotional Control
Somewhere in the course of living sober, we should realize that we can deserve to be happy. If happiness is eluding us, the fault may lie in a peculiar guilt from our past. In a perverse way, we may be using unhappiness as penance for our past wrongs.
We deserve to be happy if we are doing the things that should bring happiness to ourselves and others. Thinking and living rightly is a path to happiness. Meeting our obligations to society and others contributes to personal happiness. Placing the overall responsibility for our lives in God's hands is yet another route to happiness.
We can also learn from our experience. Did any of us ever meet a truly happy person who was totally self-seeking? Do we remember any happy, serene people among our drinking companions? Did any of our temporary successes and victories bring permanent happiness?
AA experience gives us the answers we need. Happiness is always in the direction of love and service, never in anything selfish. We deserve to be happy, but we must plant seeds of happiness by our thoughts and actions.
I'll be happy today. If I'm worrying about something, I'll suspend the worry and let myself be happy in spite of it. I deserve to be happy and I am usually the person who is responsible for this happiness.
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Keep It Simple
To make the world a friendly place One must show it a friendly face.---James Whitcomb Riley
We are beginning to learn that we get what we expect. Why? If we believe that people are out to get us, we'll not treat them well. We will think it's okay to "get them" before they "get us." Then, they'll be angry and want to get even. And on it goes. It's great when we can meet the world with a balance. We are honest people. We can expect others to be fair with us. We get the faith, strength, and courage to do this because of our trust in our Higher Power.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I put my life in Your care. Use me to spread Your love to others.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll spread friendliness. I will greet people with a smile.
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Each Day a New Beginning
It is only when people begin to shake loose from their preconceptions, from the ideas that have dominated them, that we begin to receive a sense of opening, a sense of vision. --Barbara Ward
A sense of vision, seeing who we can dare to be and what we can dare to accomplish, is possible if we focus intently on the present and always the present. We are all we need to be, right now. We can trust that. And we will be shown the way to become who we need to become, step by step, from one present moment to the next present moment. We can trust that, too.
The past that we hang onto stands in our way. Many of us needlessly spend much of our lives fighting a poor self-image. But we can overcome that. We can choose to believe we are capable and competent. We can be spontaneous, and our vision of all that life can offer will change--will excite us, will cultivate our confidence.
We can respond to life wholly. We can trust our instincts. And we will become all that we dare to become.
Each day is a new beginning. Each moment is a new opportunity to let go of all that has trapped me in the past. I am free. In the present, I am free.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards
This sort of thing can be avoided. Both father and the family are mistaken, though each side may have some justification. It is of little use to argue and only makes the impasse worse. The family must realize that dad, though marvelously improved, is still convalescing. They should be thankful he is sober and able to be of this world once more. Let them praise his progress. Let them remember that his drinking wrought all kinds of damage that may take long to repair. If they sense these things, they will not take so seriously his periods of crankiness, depression, or apathy, which will disappear when there is tolerance, love, and spiritual understanding.
pp. 126-127
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
On the day I entered prison, nine of my fellow pilots began making our family's house payments, which they did for nearly four years. After my release from prison, I made four attempts to get the to let us take over, and they refused each time. So many came to help us from places we could never have imagined.
p. 526
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Eight - "Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers."
At last, however, a plain line of cleavage could be seen between professionalism and nonprofessionalism. When we had agreed that the Twelfth Step couldn't be sold for money, we had been wise. But when we had declared that our Fellowship couldn't hire service workers nor could any A.A. member carry our knowledge into other fields, we were taking the counsel of fear, fear which today has been largely dispelled in the light of experience.
p. 167
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It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up.
--Vince Lombardi
If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always
yours. And if they don't, they never were.
--Kahlil Gibran
"Devote uninterrupted chunks of time to the most important people in
your life."
--Brian Tracy
The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.
--John Powell
You can sit there choosing to live your life in pain, or you can choose
to take action and free yourself from the bondage.
--Gary Barnes
Nothing is better than experiencing joy except sharing it with someone
else.
--Deanna Smythe
There shall be an eternal summer in the grateful heart.
--Celia Thaxter
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
OLD AGE
"You just wake up one morning
and you got it!"
--Moms Mabley
I am so busy living I don't think about "getting old". I am so grateful in
my recovery from alcoholism that tomorrow, the future and age are
secondary.
In my sickness I was always living in the future; what would tomorrow
bring? Will I die crippled, lonely and afraid? My projections into the
future produced an emotional pain.
Today I do not need to do this. I welcome old age because I bring into
it the joy and experience of my sobriety. Will I be lonely? I doubt it if I
stick to my recovery program; I have so many friends all over the
world meeting together to face the disease on a daily basis. Also I
know that nothing could ever compare with the loneliness of my
drinking days.
My spiritual program reminds me to be grateful for my life and this
includes the inevitability of old age.
Lord, as I grow in age may I also grow in wisdom and tolerance.
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"But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall
come forth as gold."
Job 23:10
Do not plot harm against your neighbor who lives trustfully near you.
Proverbs 3:29
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Daily Inspiration
One of the best parts of receiving blessings is enjoying them. Lord, may I take time to recognize my blessings and appreciate their wonder.
As a mother sets aside gifts for her children long before they need them, so, too, has God prepared for our needs long before we call out to Him. Lord, I give thanks and place my trust in Your loving arms.
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NA Just For Today
The Value Of The Past
"This firsthand experience in all phases of illness and recovery is of unparalleled therapeutic value. We are here to share it freely with any addict who wants to recover."
Basic Text p. 10
Most of us came into the program with some serious regrets. We had never finished high school, or we had missed going to college. We had destroyed friendships and marriages. We had lost jobs. And we knew that we couldn't change any of it. We may have thought that we'd always be regretful and simply have to find a way to live with our regrets.
On the contrary, we find that our past represents an untapped gold mine the first time we are called on to share it with a struggling newcomer. As we listen to someone share their Fifth Step with us, we can give a special form of comfort that no one else could provide - our own experience. We've done the same things. We've had the same feelings of shame and remorse. We've suffered in the ways only an addict can suffer. We can relate - and so can they.
Our past is valuable - in fact, priceless - because we can use all of it to help the addict who still suffers. Our Higher Power can work through us when we share our past. That possibility is why we are here, and its fulfillment is the most important goal we have to accomplish.
Just for today: I no longer regret my past because, with it, I can share with other addicts, perhaps averting the pain or even death of another.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Take time every day to do something silly. --Philipa Walker
Spring fever may bring out our longings and our sense of unfilled needs for attention, play, or laughter. We may be afraid to express these needs because they are not often taken seriously, but thought of as childish. We may even be afraid our needs are so enormous that they will never be satisfied, and so we keep them bottled up inside ourselves, and all we can express to others is frustration.
Spring is a reminder that we can find a way to satisfy our needs. We can give ourselves a break from work or study, laugh a little, and try to share our laughter with someone else. There are many ways to fulfill a need, and by giving what we have to offer, we may find ourselves getting back exactly what we really need, even though it may not be what we had hoped for.
In the act of giving we learn we are worth giving to also. We learn that we deserve to be loved, most of all by ourselves.
What do I think I need today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Adversity introduces a man to himself. --Anonymous
After difficult or challenging times we often say, "I never would have chosen to go through that, but I learned a lot from it." It could be a job situation, a failed relationship, or trouble with the law. When we bump up against something hard something that pushes back at us, our strength is tested, forcing us to draw on unknown reserves. A mountain climber standing on a safe ledge finds it difficult to move forward onto a more frightening spot. After he has completed the route, he looks back and feels good about himself because he met a challenge. We meet these challenges in many ways in our lives, and they help us build our self-respect.
Whatever difficulty is facing us today, we may have to deal with it ourselves, but we do not have to be alone while we do it. We can reach out for support while we do what we must. This difficulty is part of being human and can help us see more fully who we are.
I pray for the courage to face my adversity when I must and the ability to learn from it.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
It is only when people begin to shake loose from their preconceptions, from the ideas that have dominated them, that we begin to receive a sense of opening, a sense of vision. --Barbara Ward
A sense of vision, seeing who we can dare to be and what we can dare to accomplish, is possible if we focus intently on the present and always the present. We are all we need to be, right now. We can trust that. And we will be shown the way to become who we need to become, step by step, from one present moment to the next present moment. We can trust that, too.
The past that we hang onto stands in our way. Many of us needlessly spend much of our lives fighting a poor self-image. But we can overcome that. We can choose to believe we are capable and competent. We can be spontaneous, and our vision of all that life can offer will change--will excite us, will cultivate our confidence.
We can respond to life wholly. We can trust our instincts. And we will become all that we dare to become.
Each day is a new beginning. Each moment is a new opportunity to let go of all that has trapped me in the past. I am free. In the present, I am free.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Those Old Time Feelings
I still have bad days. But that's okay. I used to have bad years. --Anonymous
Sometimes, the old feelings creep back in. We may feel fearful, ashamed, and hopeless. We may feel not good enough, unlovable, victimized, helpless, and resentful about it all. This is codependency, a condition some describe as soul sickness.
Many of us felt this way when we began recovery. Sometimes, we slip back into these feelings after we've begun recovery. Sometimes there's a reason. An event may trigger these reactions, such as ending a relationship, stress, problems on the job, at home, or in friendships. Times of change can trigger these reactions. So can physical illness.
Sometimes, these feelings return for no reason.
A return to the old feelings doesn't mean were back to square one in our recovery. They do not mean we've failed at recovery. They do not mean were in for a long, painful session of feeling badly. They just are there.
The solution is the same: practicing the basics. Some of the basics are loving and trusting our self, detachment, dealing with feelings, giving and receiving support in the recovery community, using our affirmations, and having fun.
Another basic is working the Steps. Often, working the Steps is how we become enabled and empowered to practice the other basics, such as detachment and self-love.
If the old feelings come back, know for certain there is a way out that will work.
Today, if I find myself in the dark pit of codependency, I will work a Step to help myself climb out.
I am moving towards my goals today with just the right energy that I need. My progress will be perfect and I have the faith and trust that all the steps I take along the way will become clear when it is necessary. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey To The Heart
What Are You Resisting Most?
Be open to the whole journey, all parts of it.
Is there a feeling, a person, a thought, a project that you have been avoiding? Is there some part of your life that you’re refusing to deal with or open up to? Is there something you’re resisting, something that makes you stubbornly say no? Ignore the voice that says, This is how I decided it will be, so I will close off to that part, I will not consider it. That is the voice of resistance.
Be open to everything. Your most valuable lessons may well come from the things you’re resisting most.
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More Language Of Letting Go
Examine what others expect
“There’s a difference between saying we’re not going to live up to other people’s expectations and actually not living up to them,” a friend said to me one day.
Other people’s expectations, or even what we imagine others expect from us, can be a powerful and motivating force. We can feel antsy, uncomfortable, wrong, and off-center when we step out of our place. These feelings can occur when we’re not living up to what other people expect from us– even, and sometimes especially, if these expectations aren’t vocalized.
Expectations are silent demands.
Not living up to someone’s expectations can take effort on our part. What we’re really doing when we don’t comply with what others expect from us is standing our ground and saying no. That takes energy and time.
What do people expect from you? What have you trained or encouraged them to expect? Are they actually expecting this from you, or are you just imagining that expectation and imposing it on yourself?
An unexamined life isn’t worth living, or so they say. The problem with living up to other people’s expectations too much is that it doesn’t leave us time to have a life. Take a moment. Ask yourself this question, and don’t be afraid to look deeply: Are you allowing someone else’s expectations to control your life? Examine the expectations you’re living up to; then live by your own inner guide.
God, help me become aware of the controlling impact other people’s expectations have on my daily life. Help me know I don’t have to live up to anyone’s expectations but my own.
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In God’s Care
When you pray for anyone you tend to modify your personal attitude toward him.
– Norman Vincent Peale
We experience a wonderful tansformation in attitude each time we, with God’s help, suppress our ego and ask for God’s blessings on someone we envy, fear, or simply don’t like. Any action we take out of genuine concern for someone else’s well-being will heighten our own – many times over.
Praying may be troublesome for some of us. But as we’ve learned the value of Acting As If in other instances, we can do so with praying too. There is no formula for praying. Each attempt to speak to God is a prayer, one that God hears. Each loving thought we have toward someone near or far can be considered a prayer. We can pray in the midst of a crowd, at supper with family, laying in bed, or on our knees. With practice, prayer becomes easier. Through prayer, life becomes easier too.
I will look at my attitude toward someone I’m having trouble with and work on changing it today, through prayer.
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Breathing into Order
Feeling Overwhelmed
Sometimes we may feel like there is just too much we need to do. Feeling overwhelmed may make it seem like the universe is picking on us, but the opposite is true: we are only given what we can handle. Difficult situations are opportunities to be our best selves, hone our skills and rise to the occasion.
The best place to start is to take a deep breath. As you do, remind yourself that the universe works in perfect order and therefore you can get everything done that needs to get done. As you exhale, release all the details that you have no control over. The universe with it‘s infinite organizing power will orchestrate the right outcome. Anytime stress begins to creep up, remember to breathe through it with these thoughts.
Then, make a list of everything you need to do. Note what needs to be done first, and mark the things others may be able to do for you or with you. Though we often think no one else can do it correctly or well, there are times when it is worth it to exhale, let go of our control, and ask for help from professionals or friends. With the remaining things that feel you must do yourself, take another breath and determine their true importance. Sometimes they are things we’d like to do, but aren’t really necessary. After taking these quick steps, you will find you have a plan laid out, freeing you from frenzied thoughts circling in your head. With calming deep breaths, you are now free to focus more fully on our priorities. Herbal teas or flower remedies along with wise choices about caffeine and food can help keep us from becoming frantic too. But with nothing further from us than our breath, we can breathe in our best intentions and let the rest go with an exhale. Keeping ourse! lves centered and breathing into and through life’s challenges helps us learn what we are truly capable of doing, and we will find we have the ability to rise to any occasion. Remember you aren’t being picked on, and you are never alone. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
Our spiritual and emotional growth in The Program doesn’t depend so deeply upon success as it does upon our failures and setbacks. If we bear this in mind, a relapse can have the effect of kicking us upstairs, instead of down. We in The Program have had no better teacher than Old Man Adversity, except in those cases where we refuse to let him teach us. Do I try to remain always teachable?
Today I Pray
May I respect the total Program, with its unending possibilities for spiritual and emotional growth, so that I can view a relapse as a learning experience, not “the end of the world.” May relapse for one of our fellowship serve to teach not only the person who slipped, but all of us. May it strengthen our shared resolve.
Today I Will Remember
If you slip, get up.
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One More Day
Sometimes I have believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.
– Lewis Carroll
While sitting at the table with an early morning cup of tea or coffee, we can get lost in reverie. Briefly, for a frozen moment in time, we can believe that we are capable of anything once again.
We sill have the joy of our imagination, and even if there are physical restrictions placed upon us by our long-term medical condition, we can still imagine ourselves achieving an impossible dream. It’s wonderful to get lost in pure fantasy about how we would like our lives to be. We can imagine ourselves richer in relationships and in friends. Even when our body betrays us, we need never betray the belief in ourselves.
I have the freedom to imagine whatever I want. My illness doesn’t restrict what I can accomplish in my mind.
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One Day At A Time
~ Higher Power ~
If you spend all your time looking for Him,
you might miss Her when She shows up.
Neale Donald Walsch
Our program of recovery teaches us that we each must lean on a Higher Power. This Higher Power is also known as "the God of my understanding." There is nothing in this Twelve Step program of ours that says that my Higher Power must be the same as your Higher Power. For some, the Higher Power in their life is a deity. The program itself, or a weekly meeting, might be the Higher Power for someone else. It doesn't matter what or who each person has for a Higher Power.
Recovery is possible for everyone. Those who believe in one God can come together with those who believe in many Gods, or maybe no God at all. The atheist has just as much chance of recovery as a very religious person. The beauty of this program is that it works for everybody, regardless of their approach to the spiritual aspect. That is why it is imperative that we accept each other's ideas of a Higher Power. What works for one individual might not work for another. But one thing is sure ... the program that works if you work it, regardless of which Higher Power you decide on.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will work my program with my Higher Power, the God of my understanding, and allow others to work their program with the God of their understanding.
~ Jeff ~
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Once an alcoholic, always and alcoholic.' Commencing to drink after a period of sobriety, we are in a short time as bad as ever. - Pg. 33 - More About Alcoholism
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
You may be angry with God at some point in your process of withdrawal and recovery which in turn is going to lead to guilt. You may not be sure it's 'safe' to be angry with your Higher Power. It is, because God loves you just as you are and that includes your explosive emotions as well as the sweeter ones.
My God is a god of unconditional love and accepts me as I am today.
A Birthday Wish
Today I will make a wish. I will make a wish and trust that it will find wings. I will see it flying through the air, blown from a loving hand toward eternity. Birthdays are for wishing; wishing with a child's excitement, with an innocent faith that what I wish for can come forth. I will see my wish as already fulfilled, I will experience it as if it is happening right now, as if it is real. I am making my wish right NOW.
My wishes have wings
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
People are always blaming their circumstances for being what they are. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them.' ~George Bernard Shaw
As long as I blame my past, I'm not free to claim my future.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
The Winners are stuck with me.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
I am moving towards my goals today with just the right energy that I need. My progress will be perfect and I have the faith an trust that all the steps I take along the way will become clear when it is necessary.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
I never drank to get drunk. I never got up in the morning and said: 'God, it's gorgeous outside. I think I'll just get drunk and pee all over myself, maybe I'll just shame my family - Y'know what? It's so pretty, I'll just pass some bad cheques too.' - Charlie C.
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Post by majestyjo on Apr 7, 2017 21:51:58 GMT -5
April 8
Daily Reflections
AN INSIDE LOOK
We want to find exactly how, when, and where our natural
desires have warped us. We wish to look squarely at the
unhappiness this has caused others and ourselves. By
discovering what our emotional deformities are, we can
move toward their correction
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.43
Today I am no longer a slave to alcohol, yet in so many
ways enslavement still threatens--my self, my desires,
even my dreams. Yet without dreams I cannot exist; without
dreams there is nothing to keep me moving forward.
I must look inside myself, to free myself. I must call
upon God's power to face the person I've feared the most,
the true me, the person God created me to be. Unless I can
or until I do, I will always be running, and never be truly
free. I ask God daily to show me such a freedom!
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Second, alcoholics recover their faith in a Power greater
than themselves. They admit that they're helpless by
themselves and they call on that Higher Power for help.
They surrender their lives to God, as they understand Him.
They put their drink problem in God's hands and leave it
there. They recover their faith in a Higher Power that can
help them. Have I recovered my faith?
Meditation For The Day
You must make a stand for God. Believers in God are
considered by some as peculiar people. You must even be
willing to be deemed a fool for the sake of your faith.
You must be ready to stand aside and let the fashions and
customs of the world go by, when God's purposes are thereby
forwarded. Be known by the marks that distinguish a believer
in God. These are honesty, purity, unselfishness, love,
gratitude, and humility.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be ready to profess my belief in God
before others. I pray that I may not be turned aside by
the skepticism and cynicism of unbelievers.
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As Bill Sees It
Anger--Personal and Group Enemy, p. 98
"As the book 'Alcoholics Anonymous' puts it, 'Resentment is the
Number One offender.' It is a primary cause of relapses into
drinking. How well we of A.A. know that for us 'To drink is
eventually to go mad or die.'
"Much the same penalty overhangs every A.A. group. Given enough
anger, both unity and purpose are lost. Given still more 'righteous'
indignation, the group can disintegrate; it can actually die. This is
why we avoid controversy. This is why we prescribe no punishments
for any misbehavior, no matter how grievous. Indeed, no alcoholic
can be deprived of his membership for any reason whatever.
"Punishment never heals. Only love can heal."
Letter, 1966
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Walk in Dry Places
Keep it Simple, BUT not simple-minded
Working the Steps.
Dr. Bob Smith left little in the way of written material for AA's future. His phrase "Keep it Simple," however, is now a guiding slogan in the program. What did he really have in mind with this final piece of advice?
We can take it as certain that Dr. Bob…. A highly intelligent man… was not saying that we shouldn't use our heads for real thinking and study. One of the blessings of sobriety, in fact, should be the ability to think clearly and effectively. It would be a mistake to believe that one must renounce a brainpower and education in order to stay sober.
The real aim of "keeping it simple" should be to stay mindful of the principles and essentials that are key to everybody else. Even the most difficult subject can usually be mattered by processes of simplification. The deepest book, for example, is still composed of only twenty-six letters.
We can "Keep it Simple" by building or lives around the principles of the Twelve Step program. When we discover new ideas, they'll reinforce and expand what we've already learned. In this way, we should always be learning and growing… which is beautiful simple, but certainly not simple-minded.
I'll be grateful today for the ability to think and to understand complicated subjects. With a strong foundation in the bedrock principles of AA, I can use my mind in constructive and progressive ways.
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Keep It Simple
It's a simple formula: Do your best and somebody might like it.---Dorothy Baker
Our program is a selfish program. It tells us to let go of what others
think. We're staying sober for ourselves, not for anyone else. Our body
and our spirit are at stack. And we know what we need to do to stay sober.
If we fell shaky about going to a party, we don't go---no matter who gets upset.
If our job makes it hard to stay sober, we get a different one---no mater
who it upsets. It's simple we must take good care of ourselves before we can be good to others. In doing this, we learn how to be a friend, a good parent, a good spouse. we have to care for ourselves to have good relationships. Do I believe it okay to be selfish when it comes to my program?
Prayer for the Day : Higher Power, help me do what is best for my recovery, no matter what others think.
Action for the Day: I will remind myself that staying sober is simple. I don't use chemicals.
And I work the program.
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Each Day a New Beginning
Life is patchwork--here and there, scraps of pleasure and despair. Joined together, hit or miss. --Anne Bronaugh
As you look ahead, to this day, you can count on unexpected experiences. You can count on moments of laughter. And you can count on twinges of fear. Life is seldom what we expect, but we can trust that we will survive the rough times. They will, in fact, soften our edges. Pleasure and pain share equally in the context of our lives.
We so easily forget that our growth comes through the challenges we label "problems." We do have the tools at hand to reap the benefits inherent in the problems that may face us today. Let us move gently forward, take the program with us, and watch the barriers disappear.
There is no situation that a Step won't help us with. Maybe we'll need to "turn over" a dilemma today. Accepting powerlessness over our children, or spouse, or co-worker may free us of a burden today. Or perhaps amends will open the communication we seek with someone in our lives. The program will weave the events of our day together. It will give them meaning.
Today, well lived, will prepare me for both the pleasure and the pain of tomorrow.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards
The head of the house ought to remember that he is mainly to blame for what befell his home. He can scarcely square the account in his lifetime. But he must see the danger of over-concentration on financial success. Although financial recovery is on the way for many of us, we found we could not place money first. For us, material well-being always followed spiritual progress; it never preceded.
p. 127
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
I served 424 days in the federal prison system. I started an A.A. meeting in prison, which was opposed by the prison administration, and they hassled us weekly as we came together to meet. The weekly meeting was a quiet oasis in the desert, a few moments of serenity in a prison full of bedlam.
p. 526
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Eight - "Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers."
Take the case of the club janitor and cook. If a club is going to function, it has to be habitable and hospitable. We tried volunteers, who were quickly disenchanted with sweeping floors and brewing coffee seven days a week. They just didn't show up. Even more important, an empty club couldn't answer its telephone, but it was an open invitation to a drunk on a binge who possessed a spare key. So somebody had to look after the place full time. If we hired an alcoholic, he'd receive only what we'd have to pay a nonalcoholic for the same job. The job was not to do Twelfth Step work; it was to make Twelfth Step work possible. It was a service proposition, pure and simple.
pp. 167-168
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I came to this program to save my butt and found out it was attached
to my soul.
--Anonymous
Just beyond the night, another day is breaking, bringing hope to all.
--D. Hockaday
Newness opens eyes
Be in love, at peace with all
Travel to know joy
--Tara
"Change is simply a combination of growing up and gaining
knowledge."
--Jill Thomas
God, help me stay alert to the lessons of today.
-Melody Beattie
"If you're not feeling God's Presence, who moved?" God exists
everywhere. Whenever we feel abandoned by God, remember, it is we
who have moved. God is always fully present to us when we
remember to open our hearts to that Presence.
--Mary Manin Morrissey
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
LIES
"It takes a wise man to handle a
lie; a fool had better remain
honest."
--Norman Douglas
As a drinking alcoholic I was telling so many lies to cover the lies I had
previously told that I got lost in a maze of untruth! Most of the lies
were stupid, irrelevant and harmless - but they were all aimed at
building up my ego. Making me look good. Telling people I had more.
My memory could not keep up with my tongue and I became guilty,
ashamed and embarrassed.
Today I need to remember that there is nothing any lie can give me
that I need; there is nothing in the world of fabrication that I need; I
have what I need.
Today I have a relationship with a God and Friend that I can
understand and be vulnerable with; I don't need to be perfect to be
loved.
Help me to seek the good life in those things that are good.
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"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He
who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."
1 John 4:4
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be
put away from you, along with all malice.
Ephesians 4:31
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Daily Inspiration
There is no good enough reason to ever feel we are a failure. No matter how hard we fall, God is there to restore our spirit and forgive our past. Lord, help me to understand that it is this moment that counts, not the last one and with each new moment, I have a new beginning.
They are wise who depend on God. Lord, Your perfect law revives my soul. Keeping Your law makes me rich.
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NA Just For Today
Happiness
"We come to know happiness, joy and freedom."
Basic Text p. 88
If someone stopped you on the street today and asked if you were happy, what would you say? "Well, gee, let's see... I have a place to live, food in the refrigerator, a job, my car is running... Well, yes, I guess I'm happy" you might respond. These are outward examples of things that many of us have traditionally associated with happiness. We often forget, however, that happiness is a choice; no one can make us happy.
Happiness is what we find in our involvement with Narcotics Anonymous. The happiness we derive from a life focused on service to the addict who still suffers is great indeed. When we place service to others ahead of our own desires, we find that we take the focus off ourselves. As a result, we live a more contented, harmonious life. In being of service to others, we find our own needs more than fulfilled.
Happiness. What is it, really? We can think of happiness as contentment and satisfaction. Both of these states of mind seem to come to us when we least strive for them. As we live just for today, carrying the message to the addict who still suffers, we find contentment, happiness, and a deeply meaningful life.
Just for today: I am going to be happy. I will find my happiness by being of service to others.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Any time you sense you are getting overrun by outside influences and losing your feelings, put your attention inside your body. Relax. . ., let your breath sink low. . ., breathe in your abdomen. . . . --Anne Kent Rush
When we are feeling as though all our energy is scattered throughout our bodies, we need to practice centering, or focusing this energy into one place. Our center may change from day to day, and each of us feels it differently.
When we're walking, we may feel power coming from our hips and spreading through the body, heart, and mind. When we're in a meditative mood, we may feel warm energy at the back of the head. At other times, we might feel a real centering place in the middle of the chest, right where our heart and arms and breathing come together. There is no one way to be at peace. Centering is a way for each of us to find and picture to ourselves our focused energy. When we can do this, we increase our power to bring about those things we want from life, those things we really do deserve.
Where is my energy right now?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
I'm not into isms and asms. There isn't a Catholic moon and a Baptist sun. I know the universal God is universal.... I feel that the same God force that is the mother and father of the pope is also the mother and father of the loneliest wino on the planet.
--Dick Gregory
In this program we seek conscious contact with God as we understand God. Some people understand God in very specific ways as a Jewish God, or a Christian God, or Moslem Allah. Others understand God in very general and unspecific ways. To some, God is the spirit of group relationships, the deeper consciousness of each man, or the whole of creation. When the word God is used in this program, it respects the different knowing of each person.
Whatever understanding a man has, this program includes his perspective. It dictates none. This is a spiritual program, not a religious one. We often see our Higher Power was with us as a helpful force, long before we knew about it.
Today, I am grateful for God's care. May I learn to increase in trust and. knowledge of God.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Life is patchwork--here and there, scraps of pleasure and despair. Joined together, hit or miss. --Anne Bronaugh
As you look ahead, to this day, you can count on unexpected experiences. You can count on moments of laughter. And you can count on twinges of fear. Life is seldom what we expect, but we can trust that we will survive the rough times. They will, in fact, soften our edges. Pleasure and pain share equally in the context of our lives.
We so easily forget that our growth comes through the challenges we label "problems." We do have the tools at hand to reap the benefits inherent in the problems that may face us today. Let us move gently forward, take the program with us, and watch the barriers disappear.
There is no situation that a Step won't help us with. Maybe we'll need to "turn over" a dilemma today. Accepting powerlessness over our children, or spouse, or co-worker may free us of a burden today. Or perhaps amends will open the communication we seek with someone in our lives. The program will weave the events of our day together. It will give them meaning.
Today, well lived, will prepare me for both the pleasure and the pain of tomorrow.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Self Care
I don't precisely know what you need to do to take care of yourself. But I know you can figure it out.
--Beyond Codependency
Rest when you're tired.
Take a drink of cold water when you're thirsty.
Call a friend when you're lonely.
Ask God to help when you feel overwhelmed.
Many of us have learned how to deprive and neglect ourselves. Many of us have learned to push ourselves hard, when the problem is that were already pushed too hard.
Many of us are afraid the work wont get done if we rest when were tired. The work will get done; it will be done better than work that emerges from tiredness of soul and spirit. Nurtured, nourished people, who love themselves and care for themselves, are the delight of the Universe.
They are well timed, efficient, and Divinely led.
Today, I will practice loving self-care.
Today I can make peace within myself without needing the approval and agreement of others. Today I can love and respect people who do not always share my view of the world. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey To The Heart
April 8, 2013
Enjoy the Adventure
It was a cold night in Sedona, Arizona. An unexpected snowstorm had passed through the usually warm city, dumping several inches of snow in a short time. The electricity was off. The cabin I was staying in was freezing.
Great, I thought. I get to spend my last evening in Sedona fighting off hypothermia alone in the dark. I put on a heavy sweater, then wrapped myself in a blanket, trudged to a phone booth, and called a friend to complain.
“Change your perspective,” he said. “Pretend you’re four years old. Get your flashlight. Then make a tent in your bed out of all the pillows and blankets you can find. Enjoy the adventure.”
At first I balked, then I decided to try this idea. I made the tent. Bundled up. My complaints quickly turned to memories of what it was like to be a child, to play with life, to play with all the experiences life brings. Soon I fell asleep.
When I awoke in the morning, the heat was back on. The lights had returned. The snow had stopped falling. Capped in a frosty layer of white, the breathtaking city of rust-iron mesas looked like a wonderland. I had learned another lesson, practical and simple.
Change your perspective and enjoy the adventure. Let the child in you come out to play.
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Journey To The Heart
Enjoy the Adventure
It was a cold night in Sedona, Arizona. An unexpected snowstorm had passed through the usually warm city, dumping several inches of snow in a short time. The electricity was off. The cabin I was staying in was freezing.
Great, I thought. I get to spend my last evening in Sedona fighting off hypothermia alone in the dark. I put on a heavy sweater, then wrapped myself in a blanket, trudged to a phone booth, and called a friend to complain.
“Change your perspective,” he said. “Pretend you’re four years old. Get your flashlight. Then make a tent in your bed out of all the pillows and blankets you can find. Enjoy the adventure.”
At first I balked, then I decided to try this idea. I made the tent. Bundled up. My complaints quickly turned to memories of what it was like to be a child, to play with life, to play with all the experiences life brings. Soon I fell asleep.
When I awoke in the morning, the heat was back on. The lights had returned. The snow had stopped falling. Capped in a frosty layer of white, the breathtaking city of rust-iron mesas looked like a wonderland. I had learned another lesson, practical and simple.
Change your perspective and enjoy the adventure. Let the child in you come out to play.
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More Language Of Letting Go
Stop trapping yourself
“I found myself staying at home on weekends, not wandering far from home,” a woman said. “I was expecting myself to be there for my daughter whenever she wanted me, just like when she was a child. The problem was, she was in her mid-twenties and didn’t even live in the same city anymore.”
It’s easy to paint ourselves into a corner with what we’ve grown accustomed to expecting from ourselves. Sometimes we can work so hard to build that career, get that relationship, or become a certain way that we start living up to an image of ourselves that has become outdated.
Stop trapping yourself.
Those goals might have been what we wanted then, but they don’t work anymore. And just because we achieved them doesn’t mean we can’t go on and do something else. What do you expect from yourself? Have you taken a look? Do your expectations reflect the genuine desires of your heart, or do they reflect something else?
Are you grumbling and complaining about some aspect of your life– something you’re expected to do but resent? Maybe the only person expecting you to do that is yourself. Expectations can be subtle little things. Take them out and examine them. If some of them are outdated or useless, maybe it’s time to throw them away.
Can you feel the rush? Listen quietly. It’s there. It’s the sound of a life and spirit being set free.
God, help me aet myself free from ridiculous and unnecssary expectations.
Activity: If this were the last ten years of your life, what would you be doing? Where would you be living? What would you be doing for fun. work, friendship, and love? If the answer is different from where you currently are, maybe you should be someplace else.
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Short Getaways
Taking A Day Trip
When vacations are not possible, consider a daytrip as an alternative for renewal and feeding your soul.
We tend to think of a vacation as something that requires an enormous amount of preparation, but small daylong excursions can be just as refreshing and fulfilling as their lengthier counterparts. A short drive can be the channel that transports you into a world of novel experiences and blissful relaxation. Solo day trips can be a wonderful way to unwind from the stresses of routine existence while simultaneously feeding the soul. And when you choose to share your day trip with someone you care about, a leisurely drive becomes a chance to talk about childhood, recall favorite songs, or simply spend time enjoying one another's presence.
You may be surprised to see how many day-trip possibilities exist within a mere hour's time from your home. Forests, beaches, lakes, mountains, rivers, and deserts can serve as the perfect spot for a minivacation. The physical and mental rejuvenation you experience in an unfamiliar and engaging setting are enhanced by meditation, journaling, deep breathing, or just being still with nature. Though the cost of gasoline can make taking a day trip seem frivolous, and our commitment to environmental well-being may cause us to hesitate before utilizing our cars in this manner, there are numerous ways we can effectively offset our carbon signature while still seeing to the needs of ourselves on a soul level.
Since day trips tend to require much smaller investments of time and money than traditional outings, you can enjoy a diverse range of experiences day by day. On one weekend, you may be motivated by a need to connect with your natural heritage to explore a vast state park or nature preserve. On another, your curiosity can inspire you to visit a historical site that has long piqued your interest. In the end, where you go will often be less important than your willingness to broaden your horizons by removing yourself from the environment already so familiar to you. Each minigetaway you take will imbue your existence with a sensation of renewal that prepares you for whatever lies ahead. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
Time after time, we learn in The Program, newcomers try to keep to themselves “shoddy facts” about their lives. Trying to avoid the humbling experience of the Fifth Step, they turn to a seemingly easier and softer way. Almost invariably, they slip. Having persevered with the rest of The Program, they then wonder why they fell. The probable reasons is they they completed their housecleaning. They took inventory all right, but hung on to some of the worst items in stock. Have I admitted to God, to myself, and to another human being the exact nature of my wrongs?
Today I Pray
That I may include all of the sleaziness of my past, my cruelties and my dishonesty, in a complete moral inventory of myself. May I hold back nothing out of shame or pride, for the “exact nature” of my wrongs means just that — a thorough and exact recounting of past mistakes and character flaws. We have been provided with an appropriate “dumping-ground.” May I use it as it was intended. May all my throw-sways, the trash and outgrown costumes of the past, be foundation “fill” on which to build a new life.
Today I Will Remember
Trash can be a foundation for treasures.
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One More Day
Believe me, every man has his secret sorrow, which the world knows not, and oftentimes we call a man col when he is only sad.
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Let a person seem aloof or display a need to be apart from others, and we automatically assume we are getting a old shoulder. yet none of us has any ideas of all the components of another person’s life and feelings. We’re usually ignorant of others people’s personal characteristics. Sadness, shyness, and fear are just a few traits which can be misinterpreted.
Little disappointments, large failures, loss of a dream or a loved one — these are all problems which any one of us can have, but few can share. We can choose to overlook the real and imagined wrongs of others by reminding ourselves of how little we really know of each other.
My understanding of other people’s problems has been enhanced by my own illness, and I will not be so quick to judge.
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One Day At A Time
~ Willingness ~
I cannot change what I am unwilling to face.
James Baldwin
Before I found this program I was locked in a battle with myself. I knew I was eating too much, and I couldn't help myself. I tried to control my eating, and for a while, I was able to keep the upper hand. Then something would happen in my life, and I'd lose that control.
I couldn't face the fact that I was a compulsive eater. I couldn't bear to think that I had a disease that kept me in bondage to food. So during the time I was in denial about my eating, I continued sinking deeper into my disease of compulsion. I sought comfort in food, and did some serious damage to my body, to my self-esteem, and to my relationships.
It was only after I hit bottom that I realized that I had to face the facts. I had a disease that had me in a death grip, and there wasn't one thing I could do about it. When I found this program, I found hope. I discovered a Higher Power who could help me do what I'd never been able to do before. I slowly began to see the changes I'd tried all my life to effect on my own. But it didn't happen until I became willing to face the truth, until I became willing to ask God for help.
One Day at a Time . . .
I am willing to face my disease
and let my Higher Power help me overcome it.
~ Jeff ~
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
If we are planning to stop drinking, there must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking notion that someday we will be immune to alcohol. - Pg. 33 - More About Alcoholism
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Many times non-program people will go off on tangents of what religious, spiritual, or philosophical paths we now take. We do not engage with this type of conversation. We simply know that we will not drink or use drugs this hour and we will hang around other people who are doing the same thing.
I don't need to figure anything out right now. It is alright to not engage in any confrontation and simply be in recovery.
Learning from Life
There are no 'buts' today. I am what I am, others are what they are, life is what it is. I will not parenthesize my growth with a 'but,' or hold back my forward-moving spirit with second-guesses. For today, I am living with things as they are. As I give this gift to myself I feel relieved. I am exactly where I am meant to be, learning what I need to learn. All I need do is move through situations with willingness to learn and openness to feel. When feelings are brought up, I can accept them as what is happening within me-no need to resist and analyze them. I can witness, allow, observe, share and process rather than shut down and hide. I can tolerate the intensity of my own inner world. I trust that my life is unfolding in such a way that what I need to learn will be before me. I am willing to learn.
I see the 'table prepared.'
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
People will tell you to 'work' the steps and that may lead you to believe that the steps are our work in recovery. Working the steps is not doing our work, they are the foundation for doing our work. Our work is getting into the trenches and helping others.
When my life is not working the way I want it to, I find I may not be doing my real work.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
It gets worse, so you have to get better.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I can make peace within myself without needing the approval and agreement of others. Today I can love and respect people who do not always share my view of the world.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
We're blessed with a disease where we're forced to love people. - Terry
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Post by majestyjo on Apr 7, 2017 21:52:50 GMT -5
April 9
Daily Reflections
FREEDOM FROM "KING ALCOHOL"
. . . let us not suppose even for an instant that we are not under
constraint. . . . Our former tyrant, King Alcohol, always stands ready
again to clutch us to him. Therefore, freedom from alcohol is the
great "must" that has to be achieved, else we go mad or die.
As Bill Sees It, p. 134
When drinking, I lived in spiritual, emotional, and sometimes, physical
confinement. I had constructed my prison with bars of self-will and
self-indulgence, from which I could not escape. Occasional dry spells
that seemed to promise freedom would turn out to be little more than
hopes of reprieve. True escape required a willingness to follow
whatever right actions were needed to turn the lock. With that
willingness and action, both the lock and the bars themselves opened
for me. Continued willingness and action keep me free--in a kind of
extended daily probation--that need never end.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Third, alcoholics recover their proper relationship with other people.
they think less about themselves and more about others. They try to
help other alcoholics. They make new friends so that they're no
longer lonely. They try to live a life of service instead of selfishness.
All their relationships with other people are improved. They solve
their personality problems by recovering their personal integrity, their
faith in a Higher Power, and their way of fellowship and service to
others. Is my drink problem solved as long as my personality problem
is solved?
Meditation For The Day
All that depresses you, all that you fear, is really powerless to harm
you. These things are but phantoms. So arise from earth's bonds,
from depression, distrust, fear, and all that hinders your new life.
Arise to beauty, joy, peace, and work inspired by love. Rise from
death to life. You do not even need to fear death. All past sins are
forgiven if you live and love and work with God. Let nothing hinder
your new life. Seek to know more and more of that new way of living.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may let God live in me as I work for Him. I pray that I
may go out into the sunlight and work with God.
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As Bill Sees It
The "Slipper" Needs Understanding, p. 99
"Slips can often be charged to rebellion; some of us are more rebellious
than others. Slips may be due to the illusion that one can be 'cured' of
alcoholism. Slips can also be charged to carelessness and
complacency. Many of us fail to ride out these periods sober. Things
go fine for two or three years--then the member is seen no more. Some
of us suffer extreme guilt because of vices or practices that we can't or
won't let go of. Too little self-forgiveness and too little prayer--well,
this combination adds up to slips.
"Then some of us are far more alcohol-damaged than others. Still
others encounter a series of calamities and cannot seem to find the
spiritual resources to meet them. There are those of us who are
physically ill. Others are subject to more or less continuous exhaustion,
anxiety, and depression. These conditions often play a part in
slips--sometimes they are utterly controlling."
Talk, 1960
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Walk in Dry Places
Understanding Compulsion__Protecting Sobriety
Often called a "compulsive illness," alcoholism is still a baffling mystery to most people. All we really know is that a single drink, a pleasant beverage for many, becomes a deadly trigger for alcoholics. We may even think it's unfair that we're unable to enjoy the pleasant customs of social drinking. If we let down our guard, we can even entertain the thought that we've somehow been cured of the compulsion to drink.
But we don't have to understand the exact nature of compulsion to realize that we are victims of it. Bitter experience and the tragic examples of others should tell us that our compulsion exists and is activated by the first drink. That's really all the understanding we need for living successfully in sobriety.
If there's anything we should question, it's not whether we have the compulsion, but why we would have any doubts after so much bad experience with alcohol. After all, if we always had a bad reaction from any other food or beverage, we would soon give it up. Why is there so much persistence in denying that we are compulsively attached to alcohol?
We still may be trying to convince ourselves that we can take a drink safely, and this delusion is another way the compulsion works. All we have to understand is that a single drink leads to our destruction.
I'll remember today that I've accepted the fact that I am alcoholic and subject to disaster with a first drink. I'll live today with the knowledge that I only have to understand that I have a compulsion to drink.
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Keep It Simple
The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day a time. --Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln did great things for the United States. He took life One Day at a time.. He broke the future into manageable pieces. We can do the same. We can live in the present and focus on the task at hand.
Spirituality comes when we focus this way. When we stay in the present we find choice. And we worry less about the future. Still, we must have goals.
We must plan for the future.
Goals and plans help us give more credit to the present than to the future. And when we feel good about the present, we feel good about the future.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me focus. Help me keep my energy in the present. Have me live life One Day at a Time.
Action for the Day: When I find myself drifting into the future, I'll work at bring myself back to the present.
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Each Day a New Beginning
For is it not true that human progress is but a mighty growing pattern woven together by the tenuous single threads united in a common effort? --Soong Mei-ling (Madame Chiang Kai-shek)
We each are spinning our individual threads, lending texture, color, pattern, to the "big design" that is serving us all. Person by person our actions, our thoughts, our values complement those of our sisters, those of the entire human race. We are heading toward the same destination, all of us, and our paths run parallel on occasion, intersect periodically, and veer off in singleness of purpose when inspiration calls us.
It's comforting to be reminded that our lives are purposeful. What we are doing presently, our interactions with other people, our goals, have an impact that is felt by many others. We are interdependent. Our behavior is triggering important thoughts and responses in someone else, consistently and methodically. No one of us is without a contribution to make. Each one of us is giving what we are called upon to give when we are in a right relationship with God, who is the master artist in this design we are creating.
Prayer and meditation will direct my efforts today. My purpose can then be fulfilled.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards
Since the home has suffered more than anything else, it is well that a man exert himself there. He is not likely to get far in any direction if he fails to show unselfishness and love under his own roof. We know there are difficult wives and families, but the man who is getting over alcoholism must remember he did much to make them so.
p. 127
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
My prison term was followed by three years of probation, which restricted my travel and had thirteen other conditions. Upon release from prison, no longer a pilot, I returned to the same treatment center where I had once been a patient, and worked full-time with other alcoholics. Pay was minimal, but I found I was effective at reaching others, and I wanted desperately to pay back some of what many had given me. I did that for twenty-months.
pp. 526-527
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Eight - "Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers."
Neither could A.A. itself function without full-time workers. At the Foundation* and intergroup offices, we couldn't employ nonalcoholics as secretaries; we had to have people who knew the A.A. pitch. But the minute we hired them, the ultraconservative and fearful ones shrilled, "Professionalism!" At one period, the status of these faithful servants was almost unbearable. They weren't asked to speak at A.A. meetings because they were "making money out of A.A." At times, they were actually shunned by fellow members. Even the charitably disposed described them as "a necessary evil." Committees took full advantage of this attitude to depress their salaries. They could regain some measure of virtue, it was thought, if they worked for A.A. real cheap. These notions persisted for years. Then we saw that if a hard working secretary answered the phone dozens of times a day, listened to twenty wailing wives, arranged hospitalization and got sponsorship for ten newcomers, and was gently diplomatic with the irate drunk who complained about the job she was doing and how she was overpaid, then such a person could surely not be called a professional A.A. She was not professionalizing the Twelfth Step; she was just making it possible. She was helping to give the man coming in the door the break he ought to have. Volunteer committeemen and assistants could be of great help, but they could not be expected to carry this load day in and day out.
pp. 168-169
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You have to leave the city of your comfort and go unto the wilderness
of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll
discover will be yourself.
--Alan Alda
Right now, this moment, is the time to celebrate by dancing beneath
the warmth of the sun.
--Gary Barnes
When we are doing our best to live as God would have us live, if we
are in harmony with God, we shall feel and be at peace.
--SweetyZee
Silence is the great revelation.
--Lao Tzu
"God answers all kneel-mail."
--Gary R.
Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.
Make a conscious effort to thank God today.
--Patricia Ferris
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
SERVICE
"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another."
Charles Dickens
As a drunk I thought that the world owed me a living. Everybody
existed for my employment and service; the world was waiting for my
telephone call! For years I manipulated people, and I was such a good
con artist they often left thanking me!
Today a part of my spiritual program requires service. I make the
coffee, put out the cookies, cook the meal and invite friends for
dinner. I make the telephone call, give the lectures, share in groups
and write articles. The life of service helps to keep me sober. I am
the message that I share. And I do it for me!
Thank you for making me aware of my need to give.
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It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
Lamentations 3:26
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and
where thieves do not break through nor steal.
Matthew 6:20
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Daily Inspiration
Courage is not the lack of fear, but the ability to go on in spite of it. Lord, may I be strong in my abilities and courageous in my beliefs.
In life it is those that persevere that will succeed. Lord, every day is a fresh beginning. With You, I will come closer to my goals each day if only I don't give up and quit.
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NA Just For Today
Acting Out
"We learn to experience feelings and realize they can do us no harm unless we act on them."
IP No. 16, "For the Newcomer"
Many of us came to Narcotics Anonymous with something less than an overwhelming desire to stop using. Sure, the drugs were causing us problems, and we wanted to be rid of the problems, but we didn't want to stop getting high. Eventually, though, we saw that we couldn't have one without the other Even though we really wanted to get loaded, we didn't use; we weren't willing to pay the price anymore. The longer we stayed clean and worked the program, the more freedom we experienced. Sooner or later, the compulsion to use was lifted from us completely, and we stayed clean because we wanted to live clean.
The same principles apply to other negative impulses that may plague us. We may feel like doing something destructive, just because we want to. We've done it before, and sometimes we think we've gotten away with it, but sometimes we haven't. If we're not willing to pay the price for acting on such feelings, we don't have to act on them.
It may be hard, maybe even as hard as it was to stay clean in the beginning. But others have felt the same way and have found the freedom not to act on their negative impulses. By sharing about it and seeking the help of other recovering people and a Power greater than ourselves, we can find the direction, the support, and the strength we need to abstain from any destructive compulsion.
Just for today: It's okay to feel my feelings. With the help of my sponsor, my NA friends, and my Higher Power, I am free not to act out my negative feelings.
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
There are persons who have some parts like me, but no one adds up exactly like me. --Virginia Satir
Most of us feel pretty ordinary. We probably wish we were taller or shorter. Some of us are fat rather than thin. Few of us have perfect skin or teeth. Often we look at others, compare ourselves, and wish we were different. At these times, it's important to remember that each of us is special. We differ from others because we're created for different purposes.
Some of us will make a contribution to the world of sports, some to the art of music. Teaching or medicine will attract others and yet, no two of us will give to the world in the same way. Our unique mixture of looks, attitudes, and abilities will be special and very necessary to the people sharing our lifetime.
How can I give my special gift to the world today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little. Do what you can. --Sydney Smith
We are capable of far more than we think. The task before us sometimes seems mountainous, but we don't have to do it all in one day. We can do only a little, although we want to accomplish the whole job at once. We must not let our desire for complete change all at once discourage us from doing what we can. We may need to look for a new job, or face the loneliness of ending a hurtful relationship, or hold firmly to our wisest fathering role with our children, or deal with an illness in ourselves or a loved one.
We do not have to face the tasks that challenge us by ourselves. We are all members of a large, quiet network of spiritual support for each other. We have our Twelve Step program, the loving strength of our Higher Power, and the companionship of other men and women in our group. With help, we can do what must be done. We only need to faithfully do a little at a time.
Today, I will remember that I am not alone. I have help in many forms, and I will do what I can.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
For is it not true that human progress is but a mighty growing pattern woven together by the tenuous single threads united in a common effort? --Soong Mei-ling (Madame Chiang Kai-shek)
We each are spinning our individual threads, lending texture, color, pattern, to the "big design" that is serving us all. Person by person our actions, our thoughts, our values complement those of our sisters, those of the entire human race. We are heading toward the same destination, all of us, and our paths run parallel on occasion, intersect periodically, and veer off in singleness of purpose when inspiration calls us.
It's comforting to be reminded that our lives are purposeful. What we are doing presently, our interactions with other people, our goals, have an impact that is felt by many others. We are interdependent. Our behavior is triggering important thoughts and responses in someone else, consistently and methodically. No one of us is without a contribution to make. Each one of us is giving what we are called upon to give when we are in a right relationship with God, who is the master artist in this design we are creating.
Prayer and meditation will direct my efforts today. My purpose can then be fulfilled.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Giving
Learning to be a healthy giver can be a challenge. Many of us got caught up in compulsive giving - charitable acts motivated by uncharitable feelings of guilt, shame, obligations, pity, and moral superiority.
We now understand that catering and compulsive giving don't work. They backfire.
Caretaking keeps us feeling victimized.
Many of us gave too much, thinking we were doing things right; then we became confused because our life and relationships weren't working. Many of us gave so much for so long, thinking we were doing Gods will; then in recovery, we refused to give, care, or love for a time.
That's okay. Perhaps we needed a rest. But healthy giving is part of healthy living. The goal in recovery is balance - caring that is motivated by a true desire to give, with an underlying attitude of respect for others and ourselves.
The goal in recovery is to choose what we want to give, to whom, when, and how much. The goal in recovery is to give, and not feel victimized by our giving.
Are we giving because we want to, because its our responsibility? Or are we giving because we feel obligated, guilty, ashamed, or superior? Are we giving because we feel afraid to say no?
Are the ways we try to assist people helpful, or do they prevent others from facing their true responsibilities?
Are we giving so that people will like us or feel obligated to us? Are we giving to prove were worthy? Or are we giving because we want to give and it feels right?
Recovery includes a cycle of giving and receiving. It keeps healthy energy flowing among our Higher Power, others, and us. It takes time to learn how to give in healthy ways. It takes time to learn to receive. Be patient. Balance will come.
God, please guide my giving and my motives today.
My heart is open to all that happens in my life today. There is such joy in being alive and feeling everything with a full and open heart. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey To The Heart
Take Better Care of Yourself
Take better care of yourself than you ever have before. That’s what your heart is telling you to do.
Those times of driving yourself, depriving yourself, not being gentle and loving with yourself will no longer work. Punishing, criticizing, repressing, and denying won’t bring the feelings, the growth, the result you’re seeking. The harder you push, the more you relentlessly demand perfection, the worse you’ll feel.
Fall in love with yourself. Be gentle, loving, kind, and attentive. Take time throughout each day to tend to your needs, just as you would tend to someone you loved deeply and dearly. Loving and caring for yourself this way won’t waste time. It’s not a delay. Take better care of yourself, and life’s magic will return. Your life will improve. You’ll feel better,too.
Taking care of yourself is a simple act with profound consequences. The better and more often you care for yourself, the more you’ll align with the universe and God’s love.
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More Language Of Letting Go
You get to choose
Don’t forget that we get to choose.
I got my “A” license in skydiving. I continued to jump. But I was procrasitnating on buying my own parachute and gear. I used the rental gear, even though it didn’t fit my body comfortably and I was throwing money down the drain. I used the rental gear because the student parachutes were big.
A lot of sky divers start going for the smallest possible canopy as soon as they get into the sport. That didn’t work for me. As safe as I try to be and as much as I concentrate on landing properly, I usually land on my behind.
The bigger the canopy over my head, the better my behind feels when I land.
Whenever I discuss buying my own gear, the other skydivers would start insisting that I had to buy a small canopy, not to waste my money going big. So I put off the purchase, wondering when I’d want to jump and land with a canopy that small.
One day Eddy, a sky diver with more than ten thousand jumps and no injuries in the sport, pulled me aside. He asked me if I had bought my equipment. I told him no. He asked why. I told him because everybody had told me that when I bought my first canopy, it should be smaller than the size I was comfortable jumping.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Order the largest size you can. You’re the one jumping. You’re the one paying for the gear. Don’t let other people convince you that you shouldn’t have what you want. Do what’s right for you, and you’ll be in this sport for a long time.”
I was comforted and surprised by his words. How easy it is to let other people’s expectations control our thoughts and actions. Sometimes we just need a little reminder that it’s more than okay to choose what’s right for us– it’s what we’re meant to do.
God, help me set myself free from the limits that other people put on me.
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Learned Self-Reliance
The Negative Effects of Spoiling Children
Parents are moved by instinct to love, nurture, and provide for their offspring. Because our children are so much a part of us, we want to see them blissfully happy. Also, our own desire to be liked, materialist pressures, and a fervent wish that our children have everything we lacked as youngsters can prompt us to spoil them. However, while it might seem that buying your child expensive gifts will give them fond memories of childhood or that you can heal your emotional wounds by doting on your sons and daughters, you may be unconsciously interfering with your children’s evolutional development. One of the most precious gifts you can grant your children is the true independence they gain when they learn to earn what they covet and become stewards of their own happiness. Try allowing your children to experience life to the fullest. Let them work and earn what they want. When the time comes for them to go to college and enter the workforce, you will have the confidence that yo! u have raised a child that can both enter and contribute to society confidently.
When children are not afforded the opportunity to explore self-reliance, to understand that with possession comes price, and to fulfill their own needs, they develop a sense of entitlement that blinds them to the necessity of hard work and the needs of others. We may spoil children because giving them gifts is pleasurable. Or we may want to avoid conflict out of fear that our children won’t love us. Yet children who are given acceptance, love, and affection in abundance are often kinder, more charitable, and more responsible than those whose parents accede to their every material demand. They develop a strong sense of self that stretches beyond possessions and the approval of their peers, and as adults they understand that each individual is responsible for building the life they desire. If you find yourself giving in to your child’s every whim, ask yourself why. You may discover that you are trying to answer for what you feel is lacking in your own life.
Rearing your children to respect the value of money and self-sufficiency as they grow from infants to young adults is a challenging but rewarding process. It can be difficult to watch a child struggle to meet a personal goal yet wonderful to be by their side as they achieve it. Your choice not to spoil your children will bless you with more opportunities to show them understanding and compassion and to be fully present with them as they journey toward adulthood. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
Faith is more than our greatest gift: its sharing with others that our greatest responsibility. May we of The Program continually seek the wisdom and the willingness by which we may well fulfill the immense trust of which the Giver of all. Perfect gifts has placed in our hands. If you pray, why worry? If you worry, why pray?
Today I Pray
Our God is a mighty fortress,m a bulwark who never fails us. Many we praise Him for our deliverance and for our protection. He gives us the right of faith to share. May we pass it along to others as best we know how and in the loving spirit in which He gave it to us.
Today I Will Remember
God will not fail us.
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One More Day
The comforter’s head never aches.
– Italian Proverb
Sometimes, people who undergo a family crisis, such as the sudden death of a loved one, hold up commendably during the most difficult times, only to collapse later. While none of us can always stay calm, we rarely buckle when our strength is needed by others.
We comfort our loved ones when they’re angry, hurt, or disappointed. We comfort friends who have undergone surgery or had other crises of their own. We sit by the bed of people we love as they wait to die. Again and again, we prove we are strong. Our experience in comforting others helps us recognize the strength of our friends and family when they comfort us in our anger or disappointment, in our sadness or illness.
I am proud I can give comfort and strength to those who need it. I am grateful for those who comfort me.
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One Day At A Time
~ Feelings ~
Few are those who see with their own eyes
and feel with their own hearts.
Albert Einstein
Before working the Twelve Step program, one reason I used to overeat was that I couldn't manage my feelings. My feelings were overwhelming and incapacitating to me. I would also overreact to feelings and this would make them truly more than I could handle. So I would then overeat to make the feelings stop. I would stuff myself, to stuff them down!
In working the Twelve Step program, I got a chance to work through past hurts and resentments that intensified my feelings. I learned to feel my feelings, just as they are, and how to stop overreacting to them. I learned to sort through messages my family gave me about feelings, that it's not okay to have or feel or express them. I learned to decide what is true for me, today, about feelings. I also worked through my codependency issues and learned how to communicate feelings in an appropriate, effective and loving way.
Now feelings are a part of my life and not something overwhelming and incapacitating. In fact, they have become something beautiful that enrich my life and give it color and texture and even pleasure.
One Day at a Time . . .
I honor the blessing of having my feelings returned to me. I enjoy them, and I respect my feelings and those of others. I thank my Higher Power for this wonderful gift.
~ Lynne ~
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
But it is clear that we made our own misery. God didn't do it. Avoid then, the deliberate manufacture of misery, but if trouble comes, cheerfully capitalize it as an opportunity to demonstrate His omnipotence. - Pg. 133 - The Family Afterward
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
By witnessing the miracle of recovery happening for others, we can come to believe that this miracle can happen for us as well. Look at the miracles around you, 1 month off drugs, 3 months, 6 months or years. You are surrounded by living miracles.
Let me know that all the living miracles around me once felt as desperate as I--and that I too am a miracle every hour I stay away from that first fix, pill, drink, toke, or snort.
Empowering My Own Day
There are no victims, only volunteers. If there is something I don't like in the way things are going for me, I will see what I can change. I can change the subject if someone goes on and on about things that I don't want to talk about. I can change my routines or change the way I get to where I am going, I can set boundaries with my time if I am feeling over scheduled. My time and what I do with it is precious to me, it is all I have to call my very own. I won't throw it away and then blame someone else gobbling it up. I have a right to protect the quiet and enjoyment of my day, to do more of those things that give me pleasure and fewer of those things that run me down. If I am living up to my responsibilities, that is enough.
I won't throw my time away with both hands
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
One of the joys of this program is the path it provides us with to do the right thing. Our steps don't give us a whole lot of room for justifications. There is no right way to do the wrong thing.
I learn to do the next right thing, not the next 'me' thing.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Whenever you try to get even, you get even worse.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
My heart is open to all that happens in my life today. There is such joy in being alive and feeling everything with a full and open heart.
'Sometimes we turn to God when our foundations are shaking, only to find out it is God who is shaking them.' -- Unknown
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
I thought controlled drinking was; you drink all you can and then try to control yourself. - Sean A.
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. I will be back looking for Lin and others.