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Post by caressa222 on Aug 2, 2018 19:56:24 GMT -5
August 3
Daily Reflections
. . .TO BE OF SERVICE
Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God
and the people about us.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 77
It is clear that God's plan for me is expressed through love. God loved
me enough to take me from alleys and jails so that I could be made a
useful participant in His world. My response is to love all of His
children through service and by example. I ask God to help me imitate
His love for me through my love for others.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
We in A.A. must remember that we are offering something intangible.
We are offering a psychological and spiritual program. We are not
offering a medical program. If people need medical treatment, we call
in a doctor. If they need a medical prescription, we let the doctor
prescribe for them. If they need hospital treatment, we let the hospital
take care of them. Our vital A.A. work begins when a person is
physically able to receive it. Am I willing to leave medical care to the
doctors?
Meditation For The Day
Each moment of your day which you devote to this new way of life is a
gift to God. The gift of the moments. Even when your desire to serve
God is sincere, it is not an easy thing to give Him many of these
moments: the daily things you had planned to do, given up gladly so
that you can perform a good service or say a kind word. If you can see
Gods purpose in many situations, it will be easier to give Him many
moments of your day. Every situation has two interpretations -- your
own and God's. Try to handle each situation in the way you believe
God would have it handled.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may make my day count somewhat for God. I pray that I
may not spend it all selfishly.
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As Bill Sees It
Constructive Workouts, p. 215
There are those in A.A. whom we call "destructive" critics. They
power-drive, they are "politickers," they make accusations to
gain their ends--all for the good of A.A., of course! But we have
learned that these folks need not be really destructive.
We ought to listen carefully to what they say. Sometimes they are
telling the whole truth; at other times, a little truth. If we are
within their range, the whole truth, the half-truth, or no truth at all
can prove equally unpleasant to us. If they have got the whole truth,
or even a little truth, then we had better thank them and get on
with our respective inventories, admitting we were wrong. If they
are talking nonsense, we can ignore it, or else try to persuade them.
Failing this, we can be sorry they are too sick to listen, and we can
try to forget the whole business.
There are few better means of self-survey and of developing patience
than the workouts these usually well-meaning but erratic members so
often afford us.
Twelve Concepts, p. 40
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Walk In Dry Places
Watch out for peer pressure
Maintaining Sobriety
It's said that peer pressure often draws young people into alcoholism and drug addition. As adults following a recovery program, we also are susceptible to peer pressure.
At a thingytail reception, for example, some people may express mild pity that we're having "only soft drinks," as if we're doing a form of penance. Or they may express exaggerated admiration for our success in recovery. Even this can make us feel different.
We need not be critical of such reactions. The fact is that we are somewhat different when we're staying sober in situations where excessive drinking is normal.
We should not, however, make this our problem if others draw attention to it. This is peer pressure, but we should be mature enough to dismiss it.
Whatever situation I'm in today, if I know I'm on the right path, I'll not be swayed by the opinions and comments of others. Their opinions cannot affect me if I know I'm doing the right thing.
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Keep It Simple
Alcoholism isn't a spectator sport. Eventually the whole family gets to play.
---Joyce Rebeta-Burditt
One of the biggest lies addicts can tell themselves is, "I'm not hurting
anyone but myself."
This is just another way we don't see how important we are to others.
During our using, love was a burden. When anyone showed love for us, we turned away. They hurt. And we hurt.
In recovery, when ready, we try and help our families heal. We listen as
they speak of how our illness has hurt them. We comfort them as they tell their stories. Remember, our illness hurt them. Remember, our recovery will help them heal.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me face the pain my illness has brought to others. Let me know their pain.
Let it help me stay sober.
Action for the Day: I will list all persons my illness has hurt. I will say a prayer for them,
even if they have harmed me.
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Each Day a New Beginning
All that is necessary to make this world a better place to live is to love - to love as Christ loved, as Buddha loved. --Isadora Duncan
To be unconditionally loved is our birthright, and we are so loved by God. We desire just such a love from one another, and we deserve it; yet, it's a human quality to look for love before giving it. Thus many of us search intently for signs of love.
Too many of us are searching, rather than loving. Truly loving another means letting go of all expectations. It means full acceptance, even celebration of another's personhood. Not easy, but so rewarding, to ourselves as well as to the one who is the focus of our love.
Love is a balm that heals. Loving lightens whatever our burdens. It invites our inner joy to emerge. But most of all, it connects us, one with another. Loneliness leaves. We are no longer alienated from our environment. Love is the mortar that holds the human structure together. Without the expression of love, it crumbles. This recovery program has offered us a plan for loving others, as well as ourselves. Love will come to us, just as surely as we give it away.
Each and every expression of love I offer today will make smooth another step I take in this life.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
If he is enthusiastic your cooperation will mean a great deal. If he is lukewarm or thinks he is not an alcoholic, we suggest you leave him alone. Avoid urging him to follow our program. The seed has been planted in his mind. He knows that thousands of men, much like himself, have recovered. But don’t remind him of this after he has been drinking, for he may be angry. Sooner or later, you are likely to find him reading the book once more. Wait until repeated stumbling convinces him he must act, for the more you hurry him the longer his recovery may be delayed.
p. 113
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
Physician, Heal Thyself
Psychiatrist and surgeon, he had lost his way until he realized that God, not he, was the Great Healer.
Years earlier, I had gone into psychoanalysis to get relief. I spent 5 1/2 years in psychoanalysis and proceeded to become a drunk. I don't mean that in any sense as a derogatory statement about psychotherapy; it's a very great tool, not too potent, but a great took. I would do it again.
p. 305
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Three - "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."
So how, exactly, can the willing person continue to turn his will and his life over to the Higher Power? He made a beginning, we have seen, when he commenced to rely upon A.A. for the solution of his alcohol problem. By now, though, the chances are that he has become convinced that he has more problems than alcohol, and that some of these refuse to be solved by all the sheer personal determination and courage he can muster. They simply will not budge; they make him desperately unhappy and threaten his newfound sobriety. Our friend is still victimized by remorse and guilt when he thinks of yesterday. Bitterness still overpowers him when he broods upon those he still envies or hates. His financial insecurity worries him sick, and panic takes over when he thinks of all the bridges to safety that alcohol burned behind him. And how shall he ever straighten out that awful jam that cost him the affection of his family and separated him from them? His lone courage and unaided will cannot do it. Surely he must now depend upon Somebody or Something else.
p. 39
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Life is a gift ... open it every day.
--Unknown
When I live in the past, I live in regret.
When I live in the future, I live in fear.
When I stay in the NOW, everything's always okay.
--Joan T.
Be grateful for spiritual community. None of us are smart enough or
sufficiently sensitive to notice every subtle sign that something is
amiss before it becomes a large problem. Through community,
through those who hold the energy that keeps us awake, we can
tune in and ask God for guidance. No individual knows everything,
but God does. Spiritual community reminds us that we are connected.
--Mary Manin Morrissey
"I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the
length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well."
--Diane Ackerman
Courage, it would seem, is nothing less than the power to overcome
danger, misfortune, fear, injustice, while continuing to affirm inwardly
that life with all its sorrows is good; that everything is meaningful
even if in a sense beyond our understanding; and that there is always
tomorrow.
--Dorothy Thompson
There is no personal history or past experience that is bigger or more
powerful than the great God that resides within us.
--Mary Manin Morrissey
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
UNDERSTANDING
"Man --- a being in search of
meaning."
-- Plato
Today I am on my way. With my sobriety has come a desire to
understand --- understand life, understand me, understand my
relationships and understand God. Meaning --- what is true? What is
noble? What is spiritual? These are important to me today.
I no longer wish to hurt, damage, ridicule, destroy, fight, lie or cheat
in my life. I've had enough of being negative. I've had enough of
being lost and isolated in my arrogance. I've had enough of
standing on the outside of life, feeling resentful and afraid.
Sobriety, for me today, involves my search for meaning ---
knowing full well that my understanding will always be imperfect
and I can never comprehend fully. The ultimate answer is in living
with confusion. I am not God . . . but I still intend to reach for the
stars.
Lord, my cry for self-awareness is answered in the journey and
not the destination.
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"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."
James 3:17
"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Hebrews 4:16
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up
against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought
to make it obedient to Christ."
II Corinthians 10:5
"Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain
strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels
without knowing it."
Hebrews 13:1-2
"Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because
you know they produce quarrels."
II Timothy 2:23
"Do everything without complaining or arguing."
Philippians 2:14
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Daily Inspiration
Begin every day as if it were your very first because you really are always at the beginning. Lord, thank you for the constant ability to stop any offensive behaviors that I have and the gift of being forgiven and being able to forgive myself.
When your world turns upside down and everything seems so frightening, thank God for His unchanging and constant love. Lord, Your love is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. In You I am safe and cared for.
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NA Just For Today
Trusting People
"Many of us would have had nowhere else to go if we could not have trusted NA groups and members."
Basic Text, p.81
Trusting people is a risk. Human beings are notoriously forgetful, unreliable, and imperfect. Most of us come from backgrounds where betrayal and insensitivity among friends were common occurrences. Even our most reliable friends weren't very reliable. By the time we arrive at the doors of NA, most of us have hundreds of experiences bearing out our conviction that people are untrustworthy. Yet our recovery demands that we trust people. We are faced with this dilemma: People are not always trustworthy, yet we must trust them. How do we do that, given the evidence of our pasts?
First, we remind ourselves that the rules of active addiction don't apply in recovery. Most of our fellow members are doing their level best to live by the spiritual principles we learn in the program. Second, we remind ourselves that we aren't 100% reliable, either. We will surely disappoint someone in our lives, no matter how hard we try not to. Third, and most importantly, we realize that we need to trust our fellow members of NA. Our lives are at stake, and the only way we can stay clean is to trust these well-intentioned folks who, admittedly, aren't perfect.
Just for today: I will trust my fellow members. Though certainly not perfect, they are my best hope.
pg. 225
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom, while discouragement often nips it in the bud. --Alex Osborn
A garden of flowers blooming is a beautiful sight to see. Through the green leaves surrounding a tulip we see hints of yellow or pink or red. Each day the flowers greet us with their radiant color. Yet, a sudden frost would wilt and fade the flowers.
Each time we create something new with our talents we are like a young flower opening. Whether we draw or write or sew or play a musical instrument, all creativity has this in common. Appreciation from those around us is like sunshine for the flowers. Harsh criticism, however, is like the cold air--it wilts and deadens our desire to create.
We all need warm encouragement for our endeavors, and we can give as well as receive it. In this way, creativity can bloom in our homes and our friendships, bringing a garden full of color and delight into our lives.
What encouragement can I offer to someone near me?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
To live a spiritual life we must first find the courage to enter into the desert of loneliness and to change it by gentle and persistent efforts into a garden of solitude. --Henri J. M. Nouwen
Knowing our loneliness and admitting it to us is the beginning of a spiritual path for many men. Today we are on a spiritual journey. We already have the means to translate the pain of our loneliness into a deeper spiritual dimension. Most men in this program came in deeply aware of their feelings of isolation. Now, with the companionship of our Higher Power, we can spend time alone and use it for spiritual growth. As we develop a relationship with ourselves and deepen our knowledge of our Higher Power, our loneliness transforms into solitude.
In this quiet moment today, we can be more accepting of ourselves than we were in the past. We admit loneliness has caused us pain, but now we can see that it also can lead us to our deeper self where we find serene solitude. This change is a movement into the spiritual world.
Thanks to God for the solitude I have found in my life.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
All that is necessary to make this world a better place to live is to love - to love as Christ loved, as Buddha loved. --Isadora Duncan
To be unconditionally loved is our birthright, and we are so loved by God. We desire just such a love from one another, and we deserve it; yet, it's a human quality to look for love before giving it. Thus many of us search intently for signs of love.
Too many of us are searching, rather than loving. Truly loving another means letting go of all expectations. It means full acceptance, even celebration of another's personhood. Not easy, but so rewarding, to ourselves as well as to the one who is the focus of our love.
Love is a balm that heals. Loving lightens whatever our burdens. It invites our inner joy to emerge. But most of all, it connects us, one with another. Loneliness leaves. We are no longer alienated from our environment. Love is the mortar that holds the human structure together. Without the expression of love, it crumbles. This recovery program has offered us a plan for loving others, as well as ourselves. Love will come to us, just as surely as we give it away.
Each and every expression of love I offer today will make smooth another step I take in this life.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Owning Our Power in Relationships
So much of what I call my codependency is fear and panic because I spent so much of my life feeling abused, trapped, and not knowing how to take care of myself in relationships. --Anonymous
No matter how long we have been recovering, we may still tend to give up our power to others, whether they be authority figures, a new love, or a child.
When we do this, we experience the set of emotions and thoughts we call "the codependent crazies." We may feel angry, guilty, afraid, confused, and obsessed. We may feel dependent and needy or become overly controlling and rigid. We may return to familiar behaviors during stress. And for those of us who have codependency and adult children issues, relationships can mean stress.
We don't have to stay stuck in our codependency. We don't have to shame or blame ourselves, or the other person, for our condition. We simply need to remember to own our power.
Practice. Practice. Practice using your power to take care of yourself, no matter who you are dealing with, where you are, or what you are doing. This is what recovery means. This does not mean we try to control others; it does not mean we become abrasive or abusive. It means we own our power to take care of ourselves.
The thought of doing this may generate fears. That's normal! Take care of yourself anyway. The answers, and the power to do that, are within you now.
Start today. Start where you are. Start by taking care of who you are, at the present moment, to the best of your ability.
Today, I will focus on owning my power to take care of myself. I will not let fears, or a false sense of shame and guilt; stop me from taking care of myself.
Today I will take enough time to do something good for myself only. I will buy myself a gift or spend worthwhile time doing something pleasant and fulfilling. I have enough time today and I deserve this time for myself. --Ruth Fishel
*****
Overcoming Fear
From the Overcoming Fear On-line Course by Debbie Ford
We can control the quality of our lives if we are willing to face our fears rather than burying, suppressing or avoiding them. Confronting our deepest fears, our terror, is a way out of the agony of our ongoing stories and into the glorious world of empowerment. Almost all of us were terrorized in some way when we were young. For you, maybe it was when you were bullied in school or when one of your siblings locked you in the closet. Something happened to activate the feeling of fear, of sheer terror, and at some point you rejected your fear and made a decision that this was a bad way to feel because you associated it with some negative event.
Now it is time for you to be the adult and take charge of your internal world. You have to be the one to take back your power, even if you're scared. When you are in fear, it's because you believe in that darkness more than you believe in the light. You might believe that if you do enough, read enough, pray enough or chat enough, you can obliterate your fear, but I am here to tell you that it's impossible to make the fear happy. You might think that if you listen to it long enough, it will go away. But it won't. You must confront it. You must take back your power. You say, "Yes Debbie but how?" Well here is the antidote for your fear: LOVE IT. Don't try to discard or rid yourself of your fear, because you probably aren't strong enough. But what you can do is bring the light to the darkness. That light is love. When faced with your fear, you can ask yourself, "How can I love myself even when I'm in the middle of my fear? You can turn around and face your fear. You can stop te! rrorizing yourself further for being scared and instead find out how old that fear is. You can ask yourself, "How many years, months, weeks, days and minutes have I been terrorized by the same thing?" Count it out and write it down. And then find some sweet compassion for the kid in you that is scared to death.
The greatest way to take on your fear is to create safety for yourself. Safety is the key to courage. And action is your way of showing yourself that you are safe and that you can take care of yourself.. For example, if you hold a secret fear that you could become a bag lady but have no financial plan, then you're going to be continuously terrorized. Get a money mentor. Find out how much money you need to put away and then start on that path. If you're afraid that someone is going to attack you, get trained in self-defense. If you're afraid your business partner is going to extort you, have an agreement drawn up that protects you. If you're fearful that your partner is going to leave you, find out what you would need to do to know that, even if they did leave, you're a desirable and extraordinary person? If you're scared that you're going to pass your limiting beliefs and issues on to your kids, what transformational class would you have to attend or what coaching could you ! participate in to ensure that you're giving them your highest? If you're scared you're going to get sick, what measures could you take right now to nurture your well-being? Add tai chi or yoga classes to your weekly schedule and seek out an integrative healthcare practitioner (such as an acupuncturist or body worker) to mitigate stress and keep your body in balance.
Since ultimately you are the one that can make you feel safe, what environment do you need to create around you? What support structures could you put in place? Ask yourself where in your life are you not protecting yourself - not taking care of yourself. What subtle adjustment or quantum step can you take this week to put in a measure of safety somewhere in your life where you are fearful? Whether it's adding antioxidants to your daily regimen, putting money in savings, having an alarm system installed, getting insurance, or praying to the divine, do what it takes to ease your heart and mind. Make a commitment this week. Find an area where you have fear and take it on! Published with permission from Daily OM
*****
Journey to the Heart
Learn to Be Present
"I haven't been able to give you much materially," he said. "Not jewelry, diamonds, gold. But the gift I've given you, what I've had to offer, is staying fully present for you."
Presence is a gift-- staying fully present for friends, family, ourselves, our lives. Staying in the moment, with our hearts open, will change other people's lives and ours.
So often we've learned, out of habit or fear, to be only partially present, partially conscious, for ourselves, others, and our lives. We aren't certain what we're feeling; our attention and energy are diverted to the next place, the next person. We're there, kind of.
There's another way, a better way. One where we keep our hearts open and know what we feel. We take the risk of being vulnerable enough to share who we really are and to allow others to do the same. We become fully present for each moment and each person on our path.
Yes, there are times when it isn't safe to be open, when the energy of a circumstance isn't right for us. But that usually reveals a lesson and dictates a choice. It may be time to learn, time to leave, time to feel, time to choose.
Learn to release all that stands in the way of you and the present moment. Learn to let go of all that blocks you from being fully present for yourself and others.
Give the gift of presence to yourself and to the world.
*****
more language of letting go
Push against the wind
One day at the drop zone, I began working with a new skydiving coach, John. We were on the ground, rehearsing the moves we were going to make during free-fall time. He knew that I was having trouble controlling my body during free fall.
John noticed something about me, then suggested we try an exercise.
We stood up.
He pushed me, on the shoulder.
Instead of pushing back, I let my body go where he pushed it. I was practicing nonresistance, the skill I had acquired in martial arts. He pushed me again. Again I demonstrated nonresistance. I let my body naturally move in the direction it was pushed. This act of not resisting had served me well, both on the mats and off the mats. Not resisting people when they wanted to argue-- learning to say, "Hmmm," instead of engaging in battle-- kept my life and environment calm. Not resisting when problems or experiences came into my life enabled me to go with the flow and be calm and centered enough to tackle these problems much more efficiently than if I was resisting them.
I explained this to John.
"Nonresistance is good to practice many times in your life," he said. "But sometimes you need to fight back. You need to assertively push against what's pushing on you if you want to get where you want to go.Pushing against the wind-- directing your body assertively-- is what you need to do if you want to learn to fly."
Practicing nonresistance is good in our lives. Surrendering is an invaluable tool. Both these activities take us immediately into the flow of life. When we're relaxed, we tune into God and our inner selves. Once we surrender, we automatically know what to do next, and when to do it.
But sometimes we need to assert ourselves, too. Surrendering and practicing nonresistance don't mean we turn into pieces of paper being blown about by every wind. Sometimes we need to push against the resistance coming our way.
That's how we assert ourselves, that's how we guide and direct our course. That's how our Higher Power guides and directs us,too.
We've learned to surrender. Now it's time to learn to assert ourselves,too. Have you surrendered so much that you've stopped asserting and expressing yourself? Assert yourself. Make the moves your heart leads you to do. Know where you want to go and what you want to say.
Once you've admitted powerlessness, learn to connect with your power. Learn when it's time to practice nonresistance, and learn when it's time to push against the wind.
God, help me align with your power in my life. Teach me to express and assert that power as I go through my day.
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
The Twelve Steps were designed specifically for people like us — as a short cut to God. The Steps are very much like strong medicine which can heal us of the sickness of despair, frustration and self-pity. Yet we’re sometimes unwilling to use The Steps. Why? Perhaps because we have a deep-down desire for martyrdom. Consciously and intellectually, we think we want help; on a gut level, though, some hidden sense of guilt makes us crave punishment more than relief from our ills. Can I try to be cheerful when everything seems to be leading me to despair? Do I realize that despair is very often a mask for self-pity?
Today I Pray
May I pull out the secret guilt inside that makes me want to punish myself. May I probe my despair and discover whether it is really an imposter — self-pity with a mask on. Now that I know that the Twelve Steps can bring relief, may I please use them instead of wallowing in my discomforts.
Today I Will Remember
The Twelve Steps are God’s Stairway.
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One More Day
Somewhere along the line of development we discover what we really are, and then we make our real decision for which we are responsible.
– Eleanor Roosevelt
Many of us have begun to reexamine our lives and our values. Am I proud of how I act? Of what I do? Will this decision be in my best interest? Do I have strong, interacting relationships?
A likely result of this might be that we fool ourselves less now and that we don’t try to fool others. The discovery of what we really are and of what is important to us urges us toward greater honesty. We are freer to make amends to friends and family members for things we’ve said or done. We hesitate less in asking for help and in telling others when we feel wronged. best of all, we’ve rid ourselves of our old victim mentality and have taken responsibility for our lives.
I will begin happily to make responsible decisions today.
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In God’s Care
Only trust, perfect trust can keep one calm.
~~God Calling, May 10th
For many of us, developing trust as we work our program has been painstakingly difficult. Perhaps we grew up in families where trust was betrayed. Many of us experienced friendships and marriages that turned sour when we learned our companion had not been trustworthy. And we, too, often failed to lie up to the trust someone special had placed in us.
Learning to trust that our Higher Power cares for us, always, will relieve our anxious moments and restore our trust. In time we will come to know that when we’re with God, all is well.
The calm of knowing our well-being is guaranteed comes when we willingly relinquish our frenzied attempts to control all the events in our frenzied attempts to control all the events in our life. One way we can learn to do this is by practicing quietness and breathing in calmness each time we feel anxiety over an outcome. This will allow us to trust – a bit more every day – that God is at the helm and our life is on course.
I will be calm as often as possible today, and a peaceful, trusting feeling will fill me up.
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Day By Day
Preserving and affirming our lives
Some people seem to have no problems using mood-altering durugs, but for us, they are highly destructive. When we used drugs, we lost our lives – physically and spiritually – and barely regained them through the Twelve Step program.
We who are chemically dependent, must never use them again – or we risk relapse to full-blown addiction. Our path is one of total abstinence through the program.
Am I preserving and affirming my life?
Higher Power, help me to preserve my life by staying clean and sober.
I will affirm my life and practice my program today by…
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Food For Thought
Speaking from the Heart
Through the OA fellowship, we offer each other mutual support. Since we believe that the Higher Power works through the group, what one of us is prompted to say is probably just what another member needs to hear.
Sometimes we are reluctant to speak of what is in our heart for fear of being embarrassed, belittled, or betrayed. We are so accustomed to masking our true feelings that we often lose touch with them. In OA, we are assured that what we say will be received in a spirit of acceptance and love. We do not need to be afraid of revealing our deeper selves.
It is a healing experience to belong to a group, which is dedicated to honest communication with a minimum of game playing. When we make a genuine attempt to describe where we are in our program, we are met with a warm and supportive response. Our Higher Power opens the way for meaningful communication and mutual love.
Open our hearts to You and to each other.
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One Day At A Time
WORKING IT
“For the things we have to learn
before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”
Aristotle
When I walked into my first Twelve Step meeting I had absolutely no idea what was going on. I knew nothing about the program, the Steps, or how to work them. But I listened, asked questions, and I learned.
One of the most important lessons I learned was that I couldn't just sit around waiting for recovery to take place. I couldn't just ask God for help and do nothing else. I had to put feet to my prayers, as they say. I had to do something. So … slowly, with the help of my sponsor, I took the first Step. And then the second.
I found that I could talk a good game around program folks because I'd learned the lingo. But the saying, “you've got to walk the talk” tells me that I have to do it. I can't just speak my recovery into existence. I found I didn't have recovery until I began working the Steps. It was only when I started “the doing” that the real learning -- and the real recovery -- began.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will take what I learn about recovery
and put it into practice ... I'll work the program.
~ jar
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
In the first few chapters a number of sudden revolutionary changes are described. Though it was not our intention to create such an impression, many alcoholics have nevertheless concluded that in order to recover they must acquire an immediate and overwhelming 'God-consciousness' followed at once by a vast change in feeling and outlook.
Among our rapidly growing membership of thousands such transformations, though frequent, are by no means the rule. Most of our experiences are what the psychologist William James calls the''educational variety' because they develop slowly over a period of time. Quite often friends of the newcomer are aware of the difference long before he is himself. He finally realizes that he has undergone a profound alteration in his reaction to life; that such a change could hardly have been brought about by himself alone. - Pg. 567 - 4th. Edition - Appendices II - Spiritual Experience
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
We have many worries: economic, marital, parental, employment, religious, and legal. Some ill-trained people may try to pick one or two of these areas and act as if working on that will 'cure' us. We mustn't see our recovery as connected to a good marriage, job, or socialization. We know it isn't true.
I want to know that my recovery is connected to principle--not people places or things!
Living with Ambiguity
When I know peace is at the center of my being and I can tap into it whenever I want to, I can tolerate living with the mystery, the unknown. Understanding that knowing fully is probably never truly possible. When I experience the soothing body chemicals that love or meditation induce in me, I have the ability to sink into the moment, knowing that the moment is all I really have and that it is sufficient onto itself. Knowing that if I allow it just to be there, it will fill me up. When I reach out and touch, literally touch someone I want to participate in the world because I am naturally drawn to what is joyful or meaningful or what allows me to live with a sense of connection. When I have peace within, I trust my intuition. I rely on a part of me that doesn't need everything to be pinned down and predictable in order to feel safe, I can tolerate the vicissitudes of life because I have an emotional center that is steady and secure. I gain my security from within
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Our feelings don't define us, our actions do. We are not bad because we have a quick temper--but we learn that expressing that anger hurts others. The longer we keep our temper the more it improves.
I am only as big as the smallest thing that makes me angry.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Every day is perfect. The problem is, you don't know until tomorrow.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I will take enough time to do something good for myself only. I will buy myself a gift or spend worthwhile time doing something pleasant and fulfilling. I have enough time today and I deserve this time for myself.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Courage is fear in action.
( or Courage is fear that has said it's prayers ) - Anon.
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Post by caressa222 on Aug 3, 2018 21:19:27 GMT -5
August 4
Daily Reflections
SEEDS OF FAITH
Faith, to be sure, is necessary, but faith alone can avail nothing. We
can have faith, yet keep God out of our lives.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 34
As a child I constantly questioned the existence of God. To a
"scientific thinker" like me, no answer could withstand a thorough
dissection, until a very patient woman finally said to me, "You must
have faith." With that simple statement, the seeds of my recovery
were sown!
Today, as I practice my recovery -- cutting back the weeds of
alcoholism -- slowly I am letting those early seeds of faith to grow and
bloom. Each day of recovery, of ardent gardening, brings the Higher
Power of my understanding more fully into my life. My God has
always been with me through faith, but it is my responsibility to have
the willingness to accept His presence.
I ask God to grant me the willingness to do His will.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
We in A.A. are offering a kind of psychological program as well as a
spiritual one. First, people must be mentally able to receive it. They
must have made up their minds that they want to quit drinking, and
they must be willing to do something about it. Their confidence must
be obtained. We must show them that we are their friends and really
desire to help them. When we have their confidence, they will listen to
us. Then the A.A. fellowship is a kind of group therapy. Newcomers
need the fellowship of other alcoholics who understand their problem
because they have had it themselves. Individuals must learn to
reeducate their minds. They must learn to think differently. Do I do
my best to give mental help?
Meditation For The Day
"And this is life eternal, that they may know Thee." It is the flow of
life eternal through spirit, mind, and body that cleanses, heals,
restores, and renews. Seek conscious contact with God more and more
each day. Make God an abiding presence during the day. Be conscious
of His spirit helping you. All that is done without God's spirit is
passing. All that is done with God's spirit is life eternal.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be in the stream of eternal life. I pray that I may be
cleansed and healed by the Eternal Spirit.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
After the "Honeymoon", p. 216
"For most of us, the first years of A.A. are something like a
honeymoon. There is a new and potent reason to stay alive, joyful
activity aplenty. For a time, we are diverted from the main life
problems. That is all to the good.
"But when the honeymoon has worn off, we are obliged to take
our lumps, like other people. This is where the testing starts.
Maybe the group has pushed us onto the side lines. Maybe
difficulties have intensified at home, or in the world outside. Then
the old behavior patterns reappear. How well we recognize and
deal with them reveals the extent of our progress."
********************************
The wise have always known that no one can make much of his
life until self-searching becomes a regular habit, until he is able to
admit and accept what he finds, and until he patiently and
persistently tries to correct what is wrong.
1. Letter, 1954
2. 12 & 12, p. 88
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Treating loved ones worse than strangers.
Personal Relations
Some of us grew up with resentments about the way our families treated us. It was confusing to notice how nice our parents could be toward strangers and then how abruptly they could become abusive toward us.
The best release for this kind of resentment is forgiveness, but we should also ask ourselves if we're guilty of the same faults. Are we discourteous and inconsiderate toward our own children and family members? Do we apologize when we offend strangers, but not when we hurt our own children?
We should try to treat everyone with fairness and kindness. No family member should be subjuected to our incessant criticism and rudeness. We owe them the same courtesies we extend to strangers.
If I've had bad examples of abusive treatment in my own early years, I'll change the pattern by treating my own family with fairness and kindness, starting today.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Let him that would move the world, first move himself.---Socrates
Before recovery, most of us were big talkers. The Twelve Steps are for
doers, not talkers. In the Steps we find action words: admitted, humbly
asked, made direct amends, continued to take personal inventory. All these
words speak of action, of doing. Recovery is about action. It's for doers.
An action may be very simple. Such as going to a meeting early to set up
chairs. Or it could be helping a neighbor. The program teaches that
spirituality active, we grow and change.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, give me movement. Give me spiritual movement. Help me be a
doer, not just a talker. Teach me to work my program.
Today's Action: Today, I'll remember the words actions go together.
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
Let me tell thee, time is a very precious gift of God; so precious that it's only given to us moment by moment. --Amelia Barr
Where are our minds right now? Are we focused fully on this meditation? Or are our minds wandering off to events scheduled for later today or tomorrow perhaps? The simple truth is that this moment is all God has allowed right now. It's God's design that we will live fully each moment, as it comes. Therein lies the richness of our lives. Each moment contributes to the full pattern that's uniquely our own.
We must not miss the potential pleasure of any experience because our thoughts are elsewhere. We never know when a particular moment, a certain situation, may be a door to our future. What we do know is that God often has to work hard getting our attention, perhaps allowing many stumbling blocks in order to get us back on target.
Being in tune with now, this moment, guarantees a direct line of communication to God. It also guarantees a full, yet simple life. Our purpose becomes clear as we trust our steps to God's guidance. How terribly complicated we make life by living in the past, the present, and many future times, all at once!
One step, one moment, and then the next step and its moment. How the simple life brings me freedom!
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
If you have a number three husband, you may be in luck. Being certain he wants to stop, you can go to him with this volume as joyfully as though you had struck oil. He may not share your enthusiasm, but he is practically sure to read the book and he may go for the program at once. If he does not, you will probably not have long to wait. Again, you should not crowd him. Let him decide for himself. Cheerfully see him through more sprees. Talk about his condition or this book only when he raises the issue. In some cases it may be better to let someone outside the family urge action without arousing hostility. If your husband is otherwise a normal individual, your chances are good at this stage.
p. 113
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
Physician, Heal Thyself
Psychiatrist and surgeon, he had lost his way until he realized that God, not he, was the Great Healer.
I tried every gimmick that there was to get some peace of mind, but it was not until I was brought to my alcoholic knees, when I was brought to a group in my own community with the butcher the baker, the carpenter, and the mechanic, who were able to give me the Twelve Steps, that I was finally given some semblance of an answer to the last half of the First Step. So, after taking the first half of the First Step, and very gingerly admitting myself to Alcoholics Anonymous, something happened. And then I thought to myself: Imagine an alcoholic admitting anything! But I made my admission just the same.
pp. 305-306
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Three - "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."
At first that "somebody" is likely to be his closest A.A. friend. He relies upon the assurance that his many troubles, now made more acute because he cannot use alcohol to kill the pain, can be solved, too. Of course the sponsor points out that our friend's life is still unmanageable even though he is sober, that after all, only a bare start on A.A.'s program has been made. More sobriety brought about by the admission of alcoholism and by attendance at a few meetings is very good indeed, but it is bound to be a far cry from permanent sobriety and a contented, useful life. That is just where the remaining Steps of the A.A. program come in. Nothing short of continuous action upon these as a way of life can bring the much-desired result.
pp. 39-40
************************************************** *********
Keep looking for the positive and that's what you'll get!
--unknown
Having a resentment is like drinking poison and expecting
someone else to die.
--unknown
>From a little spark comes a great fire.
--Polish Proverb
Sometimes love has its ups and downs. Mostly though, there are more
ups than downs and true love will weather any storm.
--K. Lytestone
"Wake up with a smile and go after life . . .. Live it, enjoy it, taste it,
smell it, feel it."
--Joe Knapp
If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself.
What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us.
--Hermann Hesse
Expectation is the greatest impediment to living. In anticipation of
tomorrow, it loses today.
--Seneca
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
POTENTIAL
"Education is helping the child
realize his potentialities."
-- Eric Fromm
When I was drinking, I behaved like a child. I behaved not just like a
child but "childish". I was so dependent upon my alcohol, so addicted,
that I never realized my potential in life. I never realized the gift of
life!
Today I have a spiritual program that offers me the world; it sets no
limits on my horizons; it encourages me to discover my potential and
live it. Today I am learning new languages, visiting different countries
and enjoying alternative cultures, making new friendships and, most
importantly, discovering the "bigness" of God in His world. The
education I have gained in my sobriety seems unending and
unstoppable. Each day produces a new opportunity and a different
experience. Everyday is a time to receive.
Teach me to journey through the words into the experience.
************************************************** *********
"I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'"
Psalm 91:2
"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do
good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Ephesians 2:10
This is the message he has given us to announce to you: God is light
and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we
have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are
not living in the truth. But if we are living in the light of God's
presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other,
and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.
1 John 1:5-7
Don't be impatient for the LORD to act! Travel steadily along his
path. He will honor you, giving you the land. You will see the wicked
destroyed.
Psalm 37:34
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Never worry about the opinion others have of you because there is only one opinion that counts. Lord, I will walk in Your footsteps and seek to please You in my daily life.
When you live in the spirit of God you will always feel the love within you. Lord, may I seek peace in You and not from the outside world.
************************************************** *********
NA Just For Today
When Is A Secret Not A Secret?
"Addicts tend to live secret lives.... It is a great relief to get rid of all our secrets and to share the burden of our past."
Basic Text, p.32
We've heard it said that "we're as sick as our secrets" What do we keep secret, and why?
We keep secret those things that cause us shame. We may hold onto such things because we don't want to surrender them. Yet if they're causing us shame, wouldn't we live more easily with ourselves if we were rid of them?
Some of us hold onto the things that cause us shame for another reason. It's not that we don't want to be rid of them; we just don't believe we can be rid of them. They've plagued us for so long, and we've tried so many times to rid ourselves of them, that we've stopped hoping for relief. Yet still they shame us, and still we keep them secret.
We need to remember who we are: recovering addicts. We who tried so long to keep our drug use a secret have found freedom from the obsession and compulsion to use. Though many of us enjoyed using right to the end, we sought recovery anyway. We just couldn't stand the toll our using was taking on us. When we admitted our powerlessness and sought help from others, the burden of our secret was lifted from us.
The same principle applies to whatever secrets may burden us. Yes, we're as sick as our secrets. Only when our secrets stop being secret can we begin to find relief from those things that cause us shame.
Just for today: My secrets can make me sick only as long as they stay secret. Today, I will talk with my sponsor about my secrets.
pg. 226
************************************************** *********
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Do I love you because you're beautiful Or are you beautiful because I love you? --Oscar Hammerstein
Once, a powerful king agreed to help a small, lost boy find his mother. Since the boy described his mother as the most beautiful woman in the world, the king commanded all the beautiful women in the kingdom to come to the castle.
From miles around, they came--women with complexions of porcelain and hair of spun gold, with cheeks the color of apricots and eyes as dark as the raven's. But none of them was the boy's mother. When the last of the women had paraded before them, and the king and the boy had begun to despair, they heard a timid knock on the door. "Come in," the king said wearily. In shuffled an old washer woman, her grey hair tied up in a kerchief, her hands rough and red, her dress coarse and patched.
"Mother!" the boy cried when he saw her, and he leapt from his chair and raced into the woman's arms. The king stared in amazement.
Will I be able to see the real beauty in others today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
The craftsman does not always build toward a prior vision. Often images come in the process of working. The material, his hands - together they beget. --M. C. Richards
We awaken in the morning, and the day is an un-built creation. We have some ideas about what we will accomplish today. But our Higher Power also has some things in mind, which are not yet part of our consciousness. We have lived long enough to know that every day brings surprises. We know in advance we will be frustrated in some of our desires, and we may be helped or advanced in others. But what about the totally unexpected? Will we even notice the subtle opportunities? Will we see an opportunity for a friendly conversation? Do our plans unwittingly prevent other possibilities from intruding?
When we hold loosely to our daily plans, we are more open to knowing the will of our Higher Power. Then each day is a spiritual process. It becomes a combined creation of our Higher Power and our own consciousness.
Today, I will hold my own plan loosely so that I can continue to be open to the healing powers of God.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Let me tell thee, time is a very precious gift of God; so precious that it's only given to us moment by moment. --Amelia Barr
Where are our minds right now? Are we focused fully on this meditation? Or are our minds wandering off to events scheduled for later today or tomorrow perhaps? The simple truth is that this moment is all God has allowed right now. It's God's design that we will live fully each moment, as it comes. Therein lies the richness of our lives. Each moment contributes to the full pattern that's uniquely our own.
We must not miss the potential pleasure of any experience because our thoughts are elsewhere. We never know when a particular moment, a certain situation, may be a door to our future. What we do know is that God often has to work hard getting our attention, perhaps allowing many stumbling blocks in order to get us back on target.
Being in tune with now, this moment, guarantees a direct line of communication to God. It also guarantees a full, yet simple life. Our purpose becomes clear as we trust our steps to God's guidance. How terribly complicated we make life by living in the past, the present, and many future times, all at once!
One step, one moment, and then the next step and its moment. How the simple life brings me freedom!
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Vulnerability
I've learned that the more vulnerable I allow myself to be, the more in control of myself I really am. --Anonymous
Many of us feel that we can only show our strong, confident side. We believe the face we have to show to the world should always be one of politeness, perfection, calm, strength, and control.
While it is certainly good and often appropriate to be in control, calm, and strong, there is another side to all of us--that part of us that feels needy, becomes frightened, has doubts, and gets angry. That part of us that needs care, love, and reassurance those things will be okay. Expressing these needs makes us vulnerable and less than perfect, but this side needs our acceptance too.
Allowing ourselves to be vulnerable will help us build lasting relationships. Sharing our vulnerabilities helps us feel close to people and helps others feel close to us. It helps us grow in self-love and self-acceptance. It helps us become healing agents. It allows us to become whole and accessible to others.
Today, I will allow myself to be vulnerable with others when it's safe and appropriate to do so.
Today I will take enough time to do something good for myself only. I will buy myself a gift or spend worthwhile time doing something pleasant and fulfilling. I have enough time today and I deserve this time for myself. --Ruth Fishel
*****
Storytelling
Reviving a Community Tradition by Madisyn Taylor
Most cultures use storytelling to pass down family history using the power and energy of the human voice.
Ever since our ancestors could first communicate, we have gathered to share our stories. We have passed along creation tales and tragic stories of love lost. We have repeated accounts of real heroism and simple stories of family history. When our forebears lived closer to the land and to each other, the practice of storytelling was imbued with ritual and occasion. Members of the tribe would often gather around the fire to hear their genealogy recited aloud by an elder or master storyteller. Listeners could track how their own lives, and the lives of their parents, interwove with the lives of the other tribe members, as everyone’s ancient relatives once played out similar life dramas together.
As a custom, some cultures’ storytellers repeat the same tale over and over because they believe that each time you hear it, you come to the story as a different person and view the plot and characters in a new light. Hearing the story over and over is a way to gauge where you have been and where you are now on your path of personal evolution. It also helps the younger generation learn the stories so that they can pass them to forthcoming generations.
When we hear others tell stories, we can laugh at their humorous adventures, feel the thrill of exciting encounters, see parts of ourselves in them, and learn from the challenges they face. Though most of our formal traditions of storytelling are lost, it does not mean we have to be without. We can begin new practices in our own families of listening to one another, of honoring our own journey, and witnessing the journeys of those around us. We can revive the fireside communal by gathering around the campfire or hearth with family and friends, sharing in stories. By building new practices of storytelling, we give ourselves and the ones we love an opportunity to draw ever closer in our shared human experience. Published with permission from Daily OM
*****
Journey to the Heart
Value Passion
Value what ignites the flame within you.
Value what inspires and interests you, what enrages you, what tickles and exhilarates you, what sparks the fire within. Your strong feelings-- what you love or hate-- are not wrong. Your passions will lead and guide you in all you want to do. From the tiniest idea to the grandest scheme, what makes your flame burn more brightly is the light shining from above, gently guiding the way.
The universe and God will lead and guide you, tell you what to do. The message might come through a story someone tells you, a place someone mentions that they liked, or a problem someone's having trouble resolving that attracts your attention with a bit of extra force. A movie that sticks in your mind. A book you couldn't put down. Something you realize you hate, something you find you love after all, an idea you find interesting, something that makes you stop and think. Learn to tell how you react to what you see and hear. That's how you'll learn to listen to what the universe has to say. That place may be the next place you're to go on your path. The idea may be just what you're looking for to help you get unstuck.
When you know what you're feeling deep inside, you'll know what you like. If you've grown cold and bored, you can come alive again. Feel whatever you need to feel, and you'll find your passion underneath. If you don't know when you feel sad and alone, you won't know when you feel good. Feel all the feelings that come your way. Each one has a lesson for you. And as you release that energy, you'll be releasing passion,too. Value your passions and the way you feel. Soon you'll find yourself knowing just what to do and when.
Stay open. Keep your fire burning bright. When you recognize what inspires you, you'll be recognizing the Light.
*****
more language of letting go
Be grateful for the wind
"It'd be easier to skydive without all that wind trying to push me around," I said to my jump master.
"No, it wouldn't," he said. "Without the wind, you wouldn't be able to move around at all. If you didn't have resistance, you wouldn't be able to fly your body. That's what the wind is there for-- to push against."
It's easy in our lives to think that we'd be so much happier without that problem, that situation, those people disturbing our peace. What a bother, we think. Why can't my life just be calm and serene, peaceful, with no interruptions and bothersome events?
Sometimes, resistance is necessary. While it's important to live in a calm, nurturing environment, sometimes resistance is essential to our growth. Take a moment. Look at how your problems have shaped you into who you have become.
When problems and challenges arise, they force us to examine our ideals, become alert, and often learn something new about others and ourselves. Even our enemies, rivals, and competitors give us something to push against. They help us define who we are and challenge us to become our best.
Instead of complaining and grumbling about that problem or circumstance, thank it for being there. Right now, this moment, the resistance in your life is giving you something to push against.
Be grateful for the wind. You need it to learn to fly.
God, help me be grateful for all the problems and circumstances in my life. Help me remember that you're teaching me to fly.
*******************************************
A Day At A Time
August 4
Reflection For The Day
One of the best ways to get out of the self-pity trap is to do some “insstant bookkeeping.” For every entry of misery on the debit side of our ledger, we can surely find a blessing to mark on the credit side: the health we enjoy, the illnesses we don’t have, the friends who love us and who allow us to love them, a clean and sober 24 hours, a good day’s work. If we but try, we can easily list a whole string of credits that will far outweigh the debit entries which cause self-pity. Is my emotional balance on the credit side today?
Today I Pray
May I learn to sort out my debits and credits, and add it all up. May I list my several blessings on the credit side. May my ledger show me, when all is totaled, a fat fund of good things to draw on.
Today I Will Remember
I have blessings in my savings.
*******************************************
One More Day
August 4
Today is the day in which to express your nobles qualities of mind and heart, to do at least one worthy thing which you have long postponed…
– Grenville Kleiser
Volunteer work. There are volunteer jobs for people with every level of ability. The main qualification is to care about others. Each day offers us the opportunity to make a difference in someone else’s life. We may choose to sing in a community choir or play in an amateur band. Or we might offer to read stories to or write letters for people with limited vision.
Volunteer work. What’s remarkable are the benefits we will reap from the simple caring. These acts affirm the bond that exists between us. They help us move out of a preoccupation with ourselves and our limitations, and they put us into the mainstream of life.
Today I will share my abilities and talents with others.
************************************************** *****************
In God’s Care
Time is a circus, always paking up and moving away.
~~Ben Hecht
We can’t hold on to time. Right now is the only time we have. It is the only time we can enjoy the season, hear a child’s laughter, feel the joy of sharing. This time, right nowm is the time to learn something. And it is the time for us to know God.
Time is always moving on, but we can stay in the present. To look back over our shoulder, trying to figure out how to change something we did or make someone react differently than he or she did, is futile. When we look ahead, trying to predict the future, we are creating needless anxiety. The present is where we exist.
God speaks to us in the present. It is the only time we have to make a connection.
Today I will try to live in the present moment.
************************************************** ****************
Day By Day
Being lucky
Some people think “luck” is the reaon for success in their lives. But does luck really mean the suffering and pain that we’ve not hesitated to endure? The opportunities for growth that we’ve embraced? The kindness and humor that we’ve shown others? The thanks we’ve expressed to others for their kindness to us?
If success is “lucky,” then we make our own luck. Then luck means being open and available; luck meas willingness plus grace.
Do I realize what a lucky person I am?
Higher Power, help me to be open and willing to receive your grace.
Today I will thank God for my “luck by…
************************************************** **************
Food For Thought
God’s Time
When we feel under pressure and fear that there will not be enough time to do the things we think we need to do, it helps to stop for a moment and remember that all time is God’s. We may be wanting to do more than we should in the same way that we wanted to eat more than we needed. Exchanging compulsive overeating for compulsive activity is no solution to our problem.
Turning over our lives to our Higher Power as we begin each day allows Him to schedule what we will do and when we will do it. He knows our capabilities even better than we do, and He does not give us more to do than we can manage. To benefit from His guidance, we need to stay in touch with our inner selves and not get swept away by external demands.
In the past, we may have alternated between periods of non-productive lassitude and frantic bursts of activity. As we maintain ourselves on an even keel physically by abstaining from compulsive overeating, we learn moderation and order as God shows us how to use the time He gives us.
Please order the time which You give me every day.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
OTHERS
"In the deepest part of a compulsive eater's soul ...
is the realization that recovery begins when we find one another."
Anonymous
Growing up in the deep South in the 1950's, I witnessed things I never dreamed could happen. It taught me lessons I have never forgotten. Little did I think that someone like me could ever be discriminated against. After all, I was the right color, the right size, the right religion and lived on the right side of town.
Messages began to be taped early on in that little girl's brain ... into the psyche of that teenager who worked so hard to achieve ... and into the young woman who had the world by the tail. In adulthood those messages began to play ... and food made the messages easier to hear. So began the life of a compulsive eater. So began discrimination because of my weight.
Years later I would be grateful for my life as an overweight adult. I would look back and see that the God of my understanding was preparing me to see discrimination as a disease of the soul. But what happened to give me serenity and peace and contentment? I found another compulsive eater. And then I found another ... and another. And recovery began.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will overwrite those taped messages;
I will not regret the past;
And I will cherish my fellows forever.
~ Mari
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
It was the usual situation: home in jeopardy, wife ill, children distracted, bills in arrears and standing damaged. He had a desperate desire to stop, but saw no way out, for he had earnestly tried many avenues of escape. Painfully aware of being somehow abnormal, the man did not fully realize what it meant to be alcoholic. - Pg. 155 - A Vision For You
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
We have many worries: economic, marital, parental, employment, religious, and legal. Some ill-trained people may try to pick one or two of these areas and act as if working on that will 'cure' us. We mustn't see our recovery as connected to a good marriage, job, or socialization. We know it isn't true.
I want to know that my recovery is connected to principle--not people, places, or things!
Staying in the Game
Each and every day is a rebirth into an entirely new set of possibilities. It carries with it a sense of renewal. Each and every day I will play the hand I'm dealt as well as I can play it. Each and every day I will wake up, place my hand in the hand of God and move into my day with the confidence and comfort of knowing that I am not alone, that I have access to the greatest source of compassion and power in the universe. Each and every day I will put one foot in front of the other and try to make sense of the life I have been given. I will have faith - I will stay connected and alive while I'm living.
I am an active member of my life.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
You will be receiving many gifts from people in the programs: gifts of help, time, energy, possibly money, talents, and knowledge. You will never be able to pay them all back. You are not obligated to pay them back. You are obligated to pay them forward by giving away what you have when you can.
I appreciate the generosity of others and pay it forward when I am able.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
The man who says, 'I can't', is usually right.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I will slow down and wait for answers. I will stop rushing and struggling to find them. They will make themselves known to me when I am ready to hear them. By just knowing that they are here and that they will appear in their time, I can relax.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Take the Fifth - or drink one. - Unknown origin. USA.
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Post by caressa222 on Aug 4, 2018 19:47:05 GMT -5
August 5
Daily Reflections
LISTENING DEEPLY, p.226
How persistently we claim the right to decide all by ourselves just
what we shall think and just how we shall act.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 37
If I accept and act upon the advice of those who have made the
program work for themselves, I have a chance to outgrow the limits of
the past. Some problems will shrink to nothingness, while others may
require patient, well-thought-out action. Listening deeply when others
share can develop intuition in handling problems which arise
unexpectedly. It is usually best for me to avoid impetuous action.
Attending a meeting or calling a fellow A.A. member will usually
reduce tension enough to bring relief to a desperate sufferer like me.
Sharing problems at meetings with other alcoholics to whom I can
relate, or privately with my sponsor, can change aspects of the
positions in which I find myself. Character defects are identified and I
begin to see how they work against me. When I put my faith in the
spiritual power of the program, when I trust others to teach me what I
need to do to have a better life, I find that I can trust myself to do
what is necessary.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
We in A.A. are offering a spiritual program. The fundamental basis of
A.A. is belief in some Power greater than ourselves. This belief takes
us off the center of the universe and allows us to transfer our
problems to some power outside of ourselves. We turn to this Power
for the strength we need to get sober and stay sober. We put our drink
problem in God's hands and leave it there. We stop trying to run our
own life and seek to let God run it for us. Do I do my best to give
spiritual help?
Meditation For The Day
God is your healer and your strength. You do not have to ask Him to
come to you. He is always with you in spirit. At your moment of need
He is there to help you. Could you know God's love and His desire to
help you, you would know that He needs no pleading for help. Your
need is God's opportunity. You must learn to rely on God's strength
whenever you need it. Whenever you feel inadequate to any situation,
you should realize that the feeling of inadequacy is disloyalty to God.
Just say to yourself: I know that God is with me and will help me to
think and say and do the right thing.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may never feel inadequate to any situation. I pray that I
may be buoyed up by the feeling that God is with me.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Hope Born >From Hopelessness, p. 217
Letter to Dr. Carl Jung:
"Most conversion experiences, whatever their variety, do have a
common denominator of ego collapse at depth. The individual faces
an impossible dilemma.
"In my case the dilemma had been created by my compulsive
drinking, and the deep feeling of hopelessness had been vastly
deepened by my doctor. It was deepened still more by my alcoholic
friend when he acquainted me with your verdict of hopelessness
respecting Rowland H.
"In the wake of my spiritual experience there came a vision of a
society of alcoholics. If each sufferer were to carry the news of
the scientific hopelessness of alcoholism to each new prospect, he
might be able to lay every newcomer wide open to a transforming
spiritual experience. This concept proved to be the foundation of
such success as A.A. has since achieved."
Grapevine, January 1963
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Can We Fix Other People's Problems?
Problem Solving
In Twelve Step work, we never run out of people who face serious problems. We're often tempted to use our own expertise and resources to fix these problems for others.
This can be a mistake. It is always risky to undertake such assignments without a great deal of thought and understanding. Such attempts to fix others usually deal only with symptoms rather than causes.
Unless another person is totally helpless, the best course is to share experiences and knowledge with others, but to leave the problem solving to them. We should not encourage anyone to become dependent on us, nor should we set ourselves up as godlike individuals who have all the answers. We actually may be showing off instead of helping, and we may also be robbing others of the self-confidence and growth that come from fixing their own problems.
I'll share my experiences and hope today, while refraining from trying to fix people. I don't have answers for everybody, and it's wrong to believe I do.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
You're only human, you've suppose to make mistakes.---Billy Joel
Listen to the kind voice inside. Listen to the voice that tells you you're
good enough. Listen to the voice that tells you it's okay to make
mistakes---you'll learn from them. Listen to the voice that tells you to go
to your meeting even though it's cold outside and you're tired. Listen and
let this voice become more and more clear. Listen, and welcome it in your
heart. Talk with the voice.
Ask it questions and seek it out when you need a friend. This voice is your
Higher Power. Listen as your Higher Power speaks to you. Listen as your
Higher Power tells you what a great person you are.
Prayer for the Day: I pray to the gentle, loving voice that lives in me. Higher Power, You've
always been kind to me.
You've always loved me. Help me to remember You're always there---inside me.
Action for the Day: I will take time from my busy day to listen and talk with the loving voice
that lives inside me.
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
The bottom line is that I am responsible for my own well-being, my own happiness. The choices and decisions I make regarding my life directly influence the quality of my days. --Kathleen Andrus
There is no provision for blaming others in our lives. Who we are is a composite of the actions, attitudes, choices, decisions we've made up to now. For many of us, predicaments may have resulted from our decisions to not act when the opportunity arose. But these were decisions, no less, and we must take responsibility for making them.
We need not feel utterly powerless and helpless about the events of our lives. True, we cannot control others, and we cannot curb the momentum of a situation, but we can choose our own responses to both; these choices will heighten our sense of self and well-being and may well positively influence the quality of the day.
I will accept responsibility for my actions, but not for the outcome of a situation; that is all that's requested of me. It is one of the assignments of life, and homework is forthcoming.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
You would suppose that men in the fourth classification would be quite hopeless, but that is not so. Many of Alcoholics Anonymous were like that. Everybody had given them up. Defeat seemed certain. Yet often such men had spectacular and powerful recoveries.
p. 113
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
Physician, Heal Thyself
Psychiatrist and surgeon, he had lost his way until he realized that God, not he, was the Great Healer.
The Third Step said: "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." Now they ask us to make a decision! We've got to turn the whole business over to some joker we can't even see! And this chokes the alcoholic. Here he is powerless, unmanageable, in the grip of something bigger than he is, and he's got to turn the whole business over to someone else! It fills the alcoholic with rage. We are great people. We can handle anything. And so one gets ot thinking to oneself. Who is this God? Who is this fellow we are supposed to turn everything over to? What can He do for us that we can't do for ourselves? Well, I don't know who He is, but I've got my own idea.
p. 306
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Three - "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."
Then it is explained that other Steps of the A.A. program can be practiced with success only when Step Three is given a determined and persistent trial. This statement may surprise newcomers who have experienced nothing but constant deflation and a growing conviction that human will is of no value whatever. They have become persuaded, and rightly so, that many problems besides alcohol will not yield to a headlong assault powered by the individual alone. But now it appears that there are certain things which only the individual can do. All by himself, and in the light of his own circumstances, he needs to develop the quality of willingness. When he acquires willingness, he is the only one who can make the decision to exert himself. Trying to do this is an act of his own will. All of the Twelve Steps require sustained and personal exertion to conform to their principles and so, we trust, to God's will.
p. 40
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Hope is the companion of power, and mother of success; for who so
hopes strongly has within him the gift of miracles.
--Samuel Smiles
It is better to live one day wisely and reflectively than to live a
hundred years in ignorance and indulgence."
--Buddha
Without forgiveness life is governed...by an endless cycle of
resentment and retaliation.
--Robert Assaglioli
Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.
--Buddha
Do not fear going forward slowly; fear only to stand still.
--Chinese Proverb
Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been.
--Mark Twain
And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in
your years.
--Abraham Lincoln
Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.
--Seneca
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
THOUGHT
"Thought makes the whole
dignity of man; therefore
endeavor to think well, that is
the only morality."
-- Blaise Pascal
I think that human beings are very imitative creatures; we imitate
clothes, hair styles, mannerisms and lifestyles. A man's mind will be
influenced by what he listens to and what he reads. And what we think
is very important to sobriety.
Today I make an effort to examine my thinking and check it out with a
sponsor or in a support group. I know that my dignity in sobriety is
connected not only with what I do but also with my attitudes and
thoughts --- when my thinking begins to go crazy, I know I am in a
dangerous place and I need to talk. God created me with the ability to
think, therefore, I need to safeguard the information I put in my mind.
Let me learn to develop morality of mind.
************************************************** *********
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained."
Philippians 3:12-16
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and
admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."
Colossians 3:16
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Whatever your problem, know that there is a solution. Lord, I trust in You always even to the point of a miracle.
God is always at work in your life. Notice His light on the events of your day. Lord, I sometimes look without really seeing. Help me to pause and notice.
************************************************** *********
NA Just For Today
The Shape Of Our Thoughts
"By shaping our thoughts with spiritual ideals, we are freed to become who we want to be."
Basic Text, p.101
Addiction shaped our thoughts in its own way. Whatever their shape may once have been, they became misshapen once our disease took full sway over our lives. Our obsession with drugs and self molded our moods, our actions, and the very shape of our lives.
Each of the spiritual ideals of our program serves to straighten out one or another of the kinks in our thinking that developed in our active addiction. Denial is counteracted by admission, secretiveness by honesty, isolation by fellowship, and despair by faith in a loving Higher Power. The spiritual ideals we find in recovery are restoring the shape of our thoughts and our lives to their natural condition.
And what is that "natural condition"? It is the condition we truly seek for ourselves, a reflection of our highest dreams. How do we know this? Because our thoughts are being shaped in recovery by the spiritual ideals we find in our developing relationship with the God we've come to understand in NA.
No longer does addiction shape our thoughts. Today, our lives are being shaped by our recovery and our Higher Power.
Just for today: I will allow spiritual ideals to shape my thoughts. In that design, I will find the shape of my own Higher Power.
pg. 227
************************************************** *********
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
There is surely a piece of divinity in us, something that was before the elements... --Sir Thomas Browne
One definition of divinity in the dictionary is "supreme excellence." It also means "god-like character" and "divine nature."
Doesn't that describe someone we love? When we are in love with someone, we see only the best of that person--it's impossible to see anything else. That person is "divine," we say, perfect for us, because he or she loves us and is lovable.
Each one of us has a part that is divine. We see it occasionally in others, and they see it in us when they love us. We can draw on that divine part of every person for strength and hope and courage and faith and love. There is wonderful, mysterious beauty in all of us, even when we behave badly.
What divinity do I see in those around me right now?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
The whole problem is to establish communication with one's self. --E. B. White
We are like many faceted gemstones. Each side represents a different aspect of us. We have our emotional sides with different feelings and responses. We have our competencies and strengths, hopes and desires, destructiveness and negativity, self-doubts and resentments. We also possess a drive for power and knowledge, a desire to serve, and a wish to connect with others.
Our spiritual masculinity requires that we know our many sides. We need a working relationship with our thoughts and feelings so they can be appreciated, accepted, and understood. When we tell our story in a meeting, we let others know us, and we get to know ourselves better. When we are spontaneous in what we say or do, we communicate with ourselves. We discover ourselves through meditation, journal writing, playfulness, physical activity, and conversations with others. In that way we become more honest.
Today, I will use my lines of communication with myself and become more self-accepting and more honest.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
The bottom line is that I am responsible for my own well-being, my own happiness. The choices and decisions I make regarding my life directly influence the quality of my days. --Kathleen Andrus
There is no provision for blaming others in our lives. Who we are is a composite of the actions, attitudes, choices, decisions we've made up to now. For many of us, predicaments may have resulted from our decisions to not act when the opportunity arose. But these were decisions, no less, and we must take responsibility for making them.
We need not feel utterly powerless and helpless about the events of our lives. True, we cannot control others, and we cannot curb the momentum of a situation, but we can choose our own responses to both; these choices will heighten our sense of self and well-being and may well positively influence the quality of the day.
I will accept responsibility for my actions, but not for the outcome of a situation; that is all that's requested of me. It is one of the assignments of life, and homework is forthcoming.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Attitudes Toward Money
Sometimes, our life and history may be so full of pain that we think it totally unfair that we have to grow up now and be financially responsible for ourselves.
The feeling is understandable; the attitude is not healthy. Many people in recovery may believe that certain people in particular, and life in general, owes them a living after what they've been through.
To feel good about ourselves, to find the emotional peace and freedom we're seeking in recovery, we need healthy boundaries about money - what we give to others, and what we allow ourselves to receive from others.
Do we feel that others owe us money because we cannot take care of ourselves? Do we believe others owe us because we do not have as much money as they do? Do we consciously or subconsciously believe that they "owe" us money because of emotional pain we suffered as a result of our relationship with them or another person?
Punitive damages are awarded in court, but not in recovery.
Unhealthy boundaries about what we allow ourselves to receive from others will not lead to healthy relationships with others or ourselves.
Test by looking within. The key is our attitude. The issue is boundaries about receiving money. Become willing to meet the challenge of taking responsibility for yourself.
Today, I will strive for clear, healthy boundaries about receiving money from others. As part of my recovery, I will take a hard look at my financial history and examine whether I have taken money that may not reflect good boundaries. If I uncover some incidents that reflect less than an attitude of healthy self-responsibility, I will become willing to make amends and develop a reasonable plan to do that.
In quiet meditation I listen to my own Higher Power. I connect with my personal spirituality in my own time and place. --Ruth Fishel
*****
Fresh and Unfixed
There is Only Now by Madisyn Taylor
Being present lets us experience each moment in our lives in a way that cannot be fully lived through memory or fantasy.
It can be easy for us to walk through the world and our lives without really being present. While dwelling on the past and living for the future are common pastimes, it is physically impossible to live anywhere but the present moment. We cannot step out our front door and take a left turn to May of last year, any more than we can take a right turn to December 2010. Nevertheless, we can easily miss the future we are waiting for as it becomes the now we are too busy to pay attention to. We then spend the rest of our time playing “catch up” to the moment that we just let pass by. During moments like these, it is important to remember that there is only Now.
In order to feel more at home in the present moment, it is important to try to stay aware, open, and receptive. Being in the present moment requires our full attention so that we are fully awake to experience it. When we are fully present, our minds do not wander. We are focused on what is going on right now, rather than thinking about what just happened or worrying about what is going to happen next. Being present lets us experience each moment in our lives in a way that cannot be fully lived through memory or fantasy.
When we begin to corral our attention into the present moment, it can be almost overwhelming to be here. There is a state of stillness that has to happen that can take some getting used to, and the mind chatter that so often gets us into our heads and out of the present moment doesn’t have as much to do. We may feel a lack of control because we aren’t busy planning our next move, assessing our current situation, or anticipating the future. Instead, being present requires that we be flexible, creative, attentive, and spontaneous. Each present moment is completely new, and nothing like it has happened or will ever happen again. As you move through your day, remember to stay present in each moment. In doing so, you will live your life without having to wait for the future or yearn for the past. Life happens to us when we happen to life in the Now. Published with permission from Daily OM
*****
Journey to the Heart
Respect Life
The message came softly, gently, during the sweat lodge ceremony I went to in Sedona. At the end of the evening, the shaman thanked the rocks-- for glowing with heat, bringing their passion to evening, symbolizing passion in our lives. She thanked the wood that created the fire that heated the rocks-- for giving its life so that we could have warmth, so that we could celebrate the event. She thanked the water for cooling our throats. And she thanked God for life, for each of our lives, for our lifetimes on this planet.
Respect life. All of it. The world moves so fast, it's so easy to forget to respect all that lives, all that is. We get so harried, so hurried, we take life for granted. Take time to remember that all life is sacred. All that is part of creation is a creation, and the same life force moves through us all. With all its trials, tests, worries, heartaches, and sometimes heartbreaks, life is a gift.
A few short years on this planet, then we are gone. Do not spend it worrying about all that has gone wrong. You will miss the lesson. You will miss the gift, the gift of life.
Respect life. All of it. Respect and honor your own.
*****
more language of letting go
Stop fighting it
I go to the refrigerator and open the door. The food in it smells bad; the air feels warm. I decide that the power must have gone off for a while and close the door. My friend comes over later that day and opens the refrigerator, to get himself a soda.
"Whew," he says. "There's something wrong with your refrigerator."
"No, the power just went off for a while," I said.
I don't want anything to be wrong with the refrigerator. I'm busy with too many other things. I don't want to take the time to call a repair service, be interrupted when they come to the house, then be interrupted again and again, as they come back to fix it.
Later that night, I open the refrigerator again, I look for a moment, then slam the door shut. Dang, it is broken, I think. I take all the frustration about the inconvenience and use the energy to surrender to the problem, then get it fixed.
There's a difference between fighting with a problem and pushing against the resistance it offers in our lives. When we fight with the alcoholic to sober up, we're fighting with the problem. When we get hurt and angry enough to push against it, we use that frustration to motivate us to surrender, then go to an Al-Anon meeting, or a therapist, and begin to learn how to detach and take care of ourselves. Life gets better. Instead of fighting with the problem, we're pushing against it, and using the resistance to move down our path.
Are you fighting with a problem in your life right now, instead of using the resistance it offers as a challenge to grow? Instead of depleting your energy fighting with that problem, surrender. Then use the frustration and upset as motivation to assert yourself and take positive action.
God, thank you for the resistance in my life. Help me stop fighting with it and to use that energy to truly solve the problem.
*******************************************
One More Day
My handicap is part of me because I have had to make peace with it. And in doing so, I’ve made peace with the less obvious handicaps of other people, like resentment, prejudice, hate.
– Ginger Hutton
Living with an illness — whether our own or a loved one’s — has taught us that handicaps are not always physical. We begin to understand fear is handicapping, prejudice is handicapping, inaccessibility to the community is handicapping.
More and more we are able to make peace with our own limitations and those of others, and as we do this we gain insight into which of them we have to accept and which we don’t. We recognize there are some limitations we can do something about and others we must accept for the sake of our serenity.
The more tolerant I am, the less limited I become.
*******************************************
A Day at a Time
Reflection for the Day
Among the important things we learn in The Program is to be good to ourselves. For so many of us, though, this is a surprisingly difficult thing to do. Some of us relish our suffering so much that we balloon each happening to enormous proportions in the reliving and telling. Self-pitiers are drawn to martyrdom as if by a powerful magnet – until the joys of serenity and contentment come to them through The Program and Twelve Steps.
Am I gradually learning to be good to myself?
Today I Pray
May I learn to forgive myself. I have asked – and received – forgiveness from God and from others, so why is it so hard to forgive myself? Why do I still magnify my suffering? Why do I go on licking my emotional wounds? May I follow God’s forgiving example, get on with The Program and learn to be good to myself.
Today I Will Remember
Martyrdom; martyr dumb.
************************************************** ***********
Food For Thought
Future Phobia
Irrational worry about the future may have triggered eating binges before we found the OA program. Learning to live one day at a time is a necessary part of controlling our disease. Our instinct for security must not be allowed to run riot any more than the other instincts we are learning to control.
Trusting our Higher Power today ensures that we will trust Him tomorrow also. We do not know what the future holds for us, but we are assured of God’s continuing care and support. To entertain irrational worries about what might or might not happen is to doubt the Power, which is restoring us to sanity. When we take Step Three without reservations, we give up our crippling anxieties.
We do not expect that life will be a rose garden in the future, any more than it is right now. There are problems and disappointments and pains to deal with. What we do expect is the strength to cope with whatever our Higher Power gives us, realizing that the difficult experiences are often the ones from which we learn the most.
May faith in You blot out fear.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
PAIN
“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses
your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit
must break, that its heart may stand in the sun,
so must you know pain."
Kahlil Gibran
There was much to be unhappy about in my childhood. There was also a lot of unhappiness in my adult life. Until I found The Recovery Group online, that unhappiness was the driving force in my life. That force robbed me of the ability to see and enjoy the many wonderful things that I had experienced. I wore a cloak of sadness, bitterness and resentment ~ I had been short-changed. It was the old glass-half-empty, glass-half-full story....poor me.
Being able to share the pain and unhappiness I have known has freed me from the power it had over me. Clearing away the wreckage is enabling me to see my part in some of the unhappiness I've known. It has enabled me to see more clearly that there is so much for which I can be grateful. It has enabled me to see that I truly AM the person of value which I had represented myself to be towards others. I am integrating that person into the "unacceptable" being I carried within. I have seen others here endure challenge, pain and hardships with so much grace. I have learned that pain is, indeed, inevitable. I have the choice whether to dwell on the pain morbidly, or to instead focus on the joy of this day.
One day at a time...
I will live in the joy of this day and I will strive to share this wonderful gift of self-acceptance to others in program.
~ Karen A.
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Much to our relief, we discovered we did not need to consider another's conception of God. Our own conception, however inadequate, was sufficient to make the approach and to effect a contact with Him. As soon as we admitted the possible existence of a Creative Intelligence, a Spirit of the Universe underlying the totality of things, we began to be possessed of a new sense of power and direction, provided we took other simple steps. We found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the Realm of Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive; never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, to all men. - Pg. 46 - We Agnostics
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Occasionally we get a glimpse of how others have truly seen us. It is a dreadful experience and if it weren't for the loving attitude of our fellowship, we sometimes could not bear it. But the growth process is worth the pain as we slowly transform into the people we have always pretended to be.
Thank You, for the love of the fellowship to see me through my painful growth forward.
Always Here
Today I recover the spirit that has always been there, vibrating just beneath the surface of my being, the membrane of my life. I am whole and in tact. I call to that part of me that has been waiting patiently for me to come to my senses and claim it. That part of me that is eternal, that never dies. Spirit has been with me even in my darkest hours. I turn and look, I quiet my mind and see, I rest in awareness and experience. Spirit has never been far, but I have been asleep. Today I wake up to spirit.
I am alive to life
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
When egos collide, use kind words, do what you have control over, and do what you think is right. Surrender what you don't have control over, even if you think what others are doing is wrong. Others have the right to be wrong.
I define myself by what I do and how I do it, not by who wins.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Sober and Serving.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
In quiet meditation I listen to my own Higher Power. I connect with my personal spirituality in my own time and place.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
If I share my pain and shame I cut in half. If I don't, I double it. - Anon.
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Post by majestyjo on Aug 6, 2018 12:20:28 GMT -5
August 6
Daily Reflections
DRIVEN
Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking and
self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate.
ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS , p. 62
My selfishness was the driving force behind my drinking. I drank to
celebrate success and I drank to drown my sorrows. Humility is the
answer. I learn to turn my will and my life over to the care of God. My
sponsor tells me that service keeps me sober. Today I ask myself:
Have I sought knowledge of God's will for me? Have I done service
for my A. A. group?
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Psychologists are turning to religion because just knowing about
ourselves is not enough. We need the added dynamic of faith in a
power outside of ourselves on which we can rely. Books on psychology
and psychiatric treatments are not enough without the strength that
comes from faith in God. And clergy and rabbis are turning to
psychology because faith is an act of the mind and will. Religion must
be presented in psychological terms to some extent in order to satisfy
the modern person. Faith must be built largely on our own
psychological experience. Have I taken what I need from both
psychology and religion when I live the A.A. way?
Meditation For The Day
Refilling with the spirit is something you need every day. For this
refilling with the spirit, you need these times of quiet communion,
away, alone, without noise, without activity. You need this dwelling
apart, this shutting yourself away in the very secret place of your
being, away alone with your Maker. >From these times of communion
you come forth with new power. This refilling is the best preparation
for effective work. When you are spiritually filled, there is no work
too hard for you.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be daily refilled with the right spirit. I pray that I
may be full of the joy of true living.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Happy--When We're Free, p. 218
For most normal folks, drinking means release from care,
boredom, and worry. It means joyous intimacy with friends and a
feeling that life is good.
But not so with us in those last days of heavy drinking. The old
pleasures were gone. There was an insistent yearning to enjoy life
as we once did and a heartbreaking delusion that some new miracle
of control would enable us to do it. There was always one more
attempt--and one more failure.
********************************
We are sure God would like to see us happy, joyous, and free.
Hence, we cannot subscribe to the belief that this life necessarily has
to be a vale of tears, though it once was just that for many of us.
But it became clear that most of the time we had made our own
misery.
Alcoholics Anonymous
1. p. 151
2. p. 133
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Am I Special?
Self-understanding
An early professional believed that alcoholics get into trouble because they thought they were SPECIAL. Thinking we're special certainly creates all sorts of problems.
It's true that every person is special in that no two people are exactly alike. But we're also part of the human race, and we are bound by the general limitations that apply to everyone. We got into trouble partly because we thought we were special and could break universal commonsense rules.
When we stop thinking of ourselves as special, we also become more teachable. We learn more frm the experiences of others. Then we realize that we're both special and generic, and we use his knowledge for self-improvement rather than self-destruction.
I'll remember today that I'm special in certain ways, but that I'm also part of the human race and subject to things that apply to everyone.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Fear of people and economic insecurity will leave you. . . Alcoholics
Anonymous
We don't have to fear people. They can't wreck our spirit. We don't have to
fear money problems. We won't have to starve to death. Our Higher Power
will lead us on a safe path through life.
Our Higher power wants us to be safe, happy, and wise. Our Higher power
wants us to feel loved.
We'll learn to trust our Higher Power. And we'll learn to trust the
happiness we find in our new way of life. People may still hurt us, but
there will be much more love to carry us through.
Prayer For the Day: Higher Power, I know You protect me and care for me. Help me stop worrying.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll list four fears I have. I will talk with my sponsor about how
to turn these over to my Higher Power.
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
They sicken of the calm, who knew the storm. --Dorothy Parker
Variety in experiences is necessary for our continued growth. We mistakenly think that the "untroubled" life would be forever welcome. It's the deep waves of life that teach us to be better swimmers.
We don't know how to appreciate the calm without the occasional storm that pushes us to new limits of ourselves. The calm following the storm offers us the time we need to become comfortable with our new growth. We are ever changing, refining our values, stepping gingerly into uncharted territories. We are forever in partnership in these new territories, let us not forget.
We long for challenge even in the midst of the calm that blesses us. Our inner selves understand the journey; a journey destined to carry us to new horizons; a journey that promises many stormy seasons. For to reach our destination, we must be willing to weather the storms. They are challenges, handpicked for us, designed to help us become all that we need to be in this earthly life.
The mixture of the calm with the storm is not haphazard. Quite the contrary. My growth is at the center of each. I will trust its message.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
There are exceptions. Some men have been so impaired by alcohol that they cannot stop. Sometimes there are cases where alcoholism is complicated by other disorders. A good doctor or psychiatrist can tell you whether these complications are serious. In any event, try to have your husband read this book. His reaction may be one of enthusiasm. If he is already committed to an institution, but can convince you and your doctor that he means business, give him a chance to try our method, unless the doctor thinks his mental condition too abnormal or dangerous. We make this recommendation with some confidence. For years we have been working with alcoholics committed to institutions. Since this book was first published, A.A. has released thousands of alcoholics from asylums and hospitals of every kind. The majority have never returned. The power of God goes deep!
p. 114
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
Physician, Heal Thyself
Psychiatrist and surgeon, he had lost his way until he realized that God, not he, was the Great Healer.
For myself, I have an absolute proof of the existence of God. I was sitting in my office one time after I had operated on a woman. It had been a long four- or five-hour operation, a large surgical procedure, and she was on her ninth or then post-operative day. She was doing fine, she was up and around, and that day her husband phoned me and said, "Doctor, thanks very much for curing my wife," and I thanked him for his felicitations, and he hung up. And then I scratched my head and said to myself, What a fantastic thing for a man to say, that I had cured his wife. Here I am down at my office behind my desk, and there she is out at the hospital. I am not even there, and if I was there the only thing I could do would be to give her moral support, and yet he thanks me for curing his wife. I thought to myself----What is curing that woman? Yes, I put in those stitches. The Great Boss has given me diagnostic and surgical talent, and He has loaned it to me to use for the rest of my life. It doesn't belong to me. He has loaned it to me and I did my job, but the ended nine days ago. What healed those tissues that I closed? I didn't. This to me is the proof of the existence of a Somethingness greater than I am. I couldn't practice medicine without the Great Physician. All I do in a very simple way is to help Him cure my patients.
pp. 306-307
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Three - "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."
It is when we try to make our will conform with God's that we begin to use it rightly. To all of us, this was a most wonderful revelation. Our whole trouble had been the misuse of willpower. We had tried to bombard our problems with it instead of attempting to bring it into agreement with God's intention for us. To make this increasingly possible is the purpose of A.A.'s Twelve Steps, and Step Three opens the door.
p. 40
************************************************** *********
When you have read the Bible, you will know it is the word of God,
because you will have found it the key to your own heart, your own
happiness, and your own duty.
--Woodrow Wilson
Time is like a river - it flows by and doesn't return.
--Chinese Proverb
We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.
--Native American Proverb
"People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges."
--Joseph F. Newton
"Find the seed at the bottom of your heart and bring forth a flower."
-****Shigenori Kameoka
"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of
throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned."
--Buddha
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
LEARNING
"If the blind lead the blind, both
shall fall into the ditch."
-- Jesus (Matthew 15:14)
I need to understand before I can teach; I need to listen before I give
advice; I need to associate myself with the "winners" to become a
winner.
For years I sought advice and direction from those who did not
understand. They tried to help but they did not understand. Today I
understand that part of my denial and manipulation was choosing those
who did not understand to help me. This way I could stay sick!
My spiritual journey involves seeking out those who have that
"something" that I want --- and being willing to follow their directions;
I surrender to live.
Teach me to develop the spiritual ego that is teachable.
************************************************** *********
But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
"Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might."
Ephesians 6:10
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.
Ephesians 1:18
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with
gladness; come before Him with joyful singing.
Psalm 100:1-2
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is
easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:28-30
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our
troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort
we ourselves have received from God."
I Corinthians 1:3-4
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Don't miss a single chance to enrich your life or the lives of others. Lord, Your blessings are countless. May I always be aware of Your presence in my life, share my blessings, and use my blessings to be a blessing to others.
Keep your feet firmly planted in your faith and your eyes raised to the heavens. Lord, You are my strength, my encouragement and my source of all that is good.
************************************************** *********
NA Just For Today
The Joy Within
"Since the beginning of our recovery, we have found that joy doesn't come from material things but from within ourselves."
Basic Text, p.103
Some of us came to Narcotics Anonymous impoverished by our disease. Everything we'd owned had been lost to our addiction. Once we got clean, we put all our energy into recovering our material possessions, only to feel even more dissatisfied with our lives than before.
Other members have sought to ease their emotional pain with material things. A potential date has rejected us? Let's buy something. The dog has died? Let's go to the mall. Problem is, emotional fulfillment can't be bought, not even on an easy installment plan.
There's nothing inherently wrong with material things. They can make life more convenient or more luxurious, but they can't fix us. Where, then, can true joy be found? We know; the answer is within ourselves.
When have we found joy? When we've offered ourselves in service to others, without expectation of reward. We've found true warmth in the fellowship of others-not only in NA, but in our families, our relationships, and our communities. And we've found the surest source of satisfaction in our conscious contact with our God. Inner peace, a sure sense of direction, and emotional security do not come from material things, but from within.
Just for today: True joy can't be bought. I will seek my joy in service, in fellowship, in my Higher Power-I will seek within.
pg. 228
************************************************** *********
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
What matters?...Only the flicker of light within the darkness, the feeling of warmth within the cold, the knowledge of love within the void. --Joan Walsh Anglund
If we were lost at sea, surrounded by darkness pierced only by one distant blinking light, we would follow that light. As we followed it, it would become clearer and brighter until it brought us safely to land.
Sometimes when we're depressed, we feel as though we're lost on a dark sea. But there is always a flicker of light for us. It may be prayer, or the love of a special friend. When we see that light, we need to move toward it. Whatever brings us hope is like that flicker of light. The more we seek it, the clearer and brighter the light will become.
When we are cold and our bodies begin to numb, we must keep moving. Movement will keep us alive. When our emotions are numb, we need people or things or places that will warm our hearts. When no one else is around, hot baths or a favorite treat can bring the warmth of our own self-love into our lives when we need it the most.
How can I brighten my inner light today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
God respects me when I work, but he loves me when I sing. --Rabindranath Tagore
We seek balance in our lives. The greatest sign of unmanageability in our past was the unbalanced lives we led. This is no easy lesson to learn. We are inclined to grasp for a single answer, thinking we now have the key insight to a happier way of life. As men, many of us have pursued our happiness in work with little time for anything else. Perhaps, for some, the singing and playing we have done were part of our addiction or participating with someone else in their addiction. This makes it feel dangerous or frightening now to be playful in recovery.
We can find ways to have more balance in our lives. Spiritual vitality grows when we make room in our day for lighthearted play as well as the serious tasks.
I pray for guidance from my Higher Power to help me find a balance in my life today.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
They sicken of the calm, who knew the storm. --Dorothy Parker
Variety in experiences is necessary for our continued growth. We mistakenly think that the "untroubled" life would be forever welcome. It's the deep waves of life that teach us to be better swimmers.
We don't know how to appreciate the calm without the occasional storm that pushes us to new limits of ourselves. The calm following the storm offers us the time we need to become comfortable with our new growth. We are ever changing, refining our values, stepping gingerly into uncharted territories. We are forever in partnership in these new territories, let us not forget.
We long for challenge even in the midst of the calm that blesses us. Our inner selves understand the journey; a journey destined to carry us to new horizons; a journey that promises many stormy seasons. For to reach our destination, we must be willing to weather the storms. They are challenges, handpicked for us, designed to help us become all that we need to be in this earthly life.
The mixture of the calm with the storm is not haphazard. Quite the contrary. My growth is at the center of each. I will trust its message.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Solving Problems
Problems are made to be solved!
Some of us spend more time reacting to the fact that we have a problem than we do solving the problem. "Why is this happening to me?" . . . "Isn't life awful?" . . . "How come this had to happen?" . . . "Oh, dear. This is terrible." . . . "Why is God (the Universe, an agency, a person, or life) picking on me?"
Problems are inevitable. Some problems can be anticipated. Some are surprises. But the idea that problems occur regularly need never be a surprise.
The good news is that for every problem, there's a solution. Sometimes the solution is immediate. Sometimes, it takes awhile to discover. Sometimes, the solution involves letting go. Sometimes, the problem is ours to solve; sometimes it isn't. Sometimes, there is something we can clearly do to solve the problem; other times, we need to struggle, flounder, do our part, and then trust our Higher Power for help.
Sometimes, the problem is just part of life. Sometimes, the problem is important because we are learning something through the problem and its solution. Sometimes, problems end up working out for good in our life. They get us headed in a direction that is superior to one we may otherwise have taken.
Sometimes, problems just are; sometimes they are a warning sign that we are on the wrong track.
We can learn to accept problems as an inevitable part of life. We can learn to solve problems. We can learn to trust our ability to solve problems. We can learn to identify which problems are trying to lead us in a new direction, and which simply ask for solving.
We can learn to focus on the solution rather than on the problem, and maintain a positive attitude toward life and the inevitable flow of problems and solutions.
Today, I will learn to trust solutions, rather than be victimized by problems. I will not use problems to prove I am helpless, picked on, or martyred. I will not point to my problems to prove how awful life is. I will learn to trust the flow of problems and solutions. God, help me solve the problems I can solve today. Help me let go of the rest. Help me believe in my ability to tackle and solve problems. Help me trust the flow. For each problem, there is a solution.
Today I do not need to say the first thing that comes into my head, or react to what others say about me. Today I can practice restraint of tongue and pen... think before I speak... and say kind things or nothing at all. --Ruth Fishel
*****
Showing Up for Life
Actively Participating by Madisyn Taylor
If you show up for yourself in your life, the universe will show up for you.
The way we walk into a room says a lot about the way we live our lives. When we walk into a room curious about what’s happening, willing to engage, and perceiving ourselves as an active participant with something to offer, then we have really shown up to the party. When we walk into a room with our eyes down, or nervously smiling, we are holding ourselves back for one reason or another. We may be hurting inside and in need of healing, or we may lack the confidence required to really be present in the room. Still, just noticing that we’re not really showing up, and having a vision of what it will look and feel like when we do, can give us the inspiration we need to recover ourselves.
Even if we are suffering, we can show up to that experience ready to fully engage in it and learn what it has to offer. When we show up for our life, we are actively participating in being a happy person, achieving our goals, and generally living the life our soul really wants. If we need healing, we begin the process of seeking out those who can help us heal. If we need experience, we find the places and opportunities that can give us the experience we need in order to do the work we want to do in the world. Whatever we need, we look for it, and when we find it, we engage in the process of letting ourselves have it. When we do this kind of work, we become lively, confident, and passionate individuals.
There is almost nothing better in the world than the feeling of showing up for our own lives. When we can do this, we become people that are more alive and who have the ability to make things happen in our lives and the lives of the people around us. We walk through the world with the knowledge that we have a lot to offer and the desire to share it. Published with permission from Daily OM
*****
Journey to the Heart
Find Neutral Ground
There is a town in Idaho, Lava Hot Springs, that overflows with quiet,inexpensive hostels offering hot mineral water soaks to all who pass through. Folklore has it that in days long past, warring tribes would put aside their differences when they came here to soak in the waters and heal. This sacred ground was neutral territory.
Although most of us are not at war with another tribe, or even another person, many of us have been at war with ourselves. I have spent years judging myself and my experiences. As I have opened up to my emotions, I have spent time and energy judging those,too. Often, I expend as much energy judging and labeling the experience or emotion, as I do living through it. I have run in terror from grief. I have attacked myself repeatedly for experiencing anger. I have put antagonistic labels on guilt and fear.
Now I am learning the power of neutrality. It speeds my growth process, the time it takes me to learn my lessons. If what I'm going through isn't wrong, then I am free to have the experience and embrace the lessons. Neutrality brings peace and the freedom to learn.
As we continue our journey, the journey of the soul, we can learn to find the peace offered by neutral territory. We let ourselves have our experiences, the ones we've been given. We let each burst of energy we need to feel, pass through without judgement. Good or bad? I don't think so. Just energy. We learn to let others have their emotions and lessons,too.
Discover the power of neutral territory. It is sacred ground that can help you heal.
******
more language of letting go
The lesson may be a test
Sometimes, problems and challenges come to move us to the next place in our lives. Sometimes, they come to challenge and reinforce what we already know and believe.
Maybe that problem in your life has come along to teach you something new.
Maybe it's an opportunity to remember and practice what you already know to be true.
Push against that problem. Push your ideals and beliefs against what's going on. Examine what you think, believe, and feel. Stay open to change. But remember that, sometimes, it's not about changing what you believe. It's an opportunity for you to validate yourself and your beliefs.
We're not always learning something new. Sometimes, the lesson is to remember and trust what you already know.
God, help me to be open to change; help me also to stand fast by my beliefs when they are right.
************************************************** ****************
A Day at a Time
Reflection for the Day
Sometimes through bitter experience and painful lessons, we learn in our fellowship with others in The Program that resentment is our number one enemy. It destroys more of us than anything else. From resentment stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we’ve been not only mentally and physically ill, but spiritually ill as well. As we recover and as our spiritual illness is remedied, we become well physically and mentally.
Am I aware that few things are more bitter than to feel bitter? Do I see that my venom is more poisonous to me than to my victim?
Today I Pray
I ask for help in removing the pile of resentments I have collected. May I learn that resentments are play-actors, too; they may be fears – of losing a job, a love, an opportunity; they may be hurts or guilty feelings. May I know that God is my healer. May I admit my need.
Today I Will Remember
************************************************** **************
Food For Thought
Planting Seeds
The closer we walk with our Higher Power, the more effective our Twelfth Step work is. We always remember that the best thing we can do for other compulsive overeaters is to maintain our own abstinence. Beyond that, we are given opportunities to spread the word as we go about our daily activities.
Mentioning what OA is doing for us may open the door to a new life for one of our friends. It may be a casual acquaintance or even a stranger who needs to hear about the program. Our instincts can guide us as to the best time and place to share news of our recovery.
Often, we may not know what effect, if any; our witness has had on another person. We may be annoyed if we are unable to “sell” the program to someone we think should have it. The results of our Twelfth Step work are in the hands of our Higher Power, and positive effects may show up long after we have planted a seed.
Show me where I may plant seeds of recovery.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
SELF-ESTEEM
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
I always used to feel “less than” everyone else, so I’d eat and feel even worse.
Without true love for myself I was dead in the water. I would compare the facts I knew about myself against the impression I had of you. I never seemed to measure up. Without self-love, I was unable to ask for, expect or accept love from others.
When I love myself and treat myself lovingly, it Doesn’t matter what others think of me; what matters is that I do not think less of myself.
One day at a time ...
I ask my Higher Power to show me little ways
to act lovingly toward myself and to know deep within
that I am worthy of being loved by others.
~ Melissa S.
*****************************************
AA 'Big Book' - Quote
THE A.A. TRADITION
To those now in its fold, Alcoholics Anonymous has made the difference between misery and sobriety, and often the difference between misery and sobriety, and often the difference between life and death. A.A. can, of course, mean just as much to uncounted alcoholics not yet reached.
Therefore, no society of men and women every had a more urgent NEED for continuous effectiveness and permanent unity. We alcoholics see that we must work together and hang together, else most of us will finally die alone. - Pg. 561 - 4th. Edition - Appendices - I - The A.A. Tradition
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Learning to let go does not mean to stop caring. It means that you cannot do it for someone else. Nor can they do it for you. Only you can listen, go to meetings, follow steps--your parents, friends, or partner can't do it for you.
Help me understand that for those I love to let go of me, means they are giving me a chance to get well.
Inner Hearing, Inner Sight
Today, I will trust my own heart. The clear message that whispers within me has more to tell me than a thousand voices. I have a guide within me who knows what is best for me. There is a part of me that sees the whole picture and knows how it all fits together. My inner voice may come in the form of a strong sense, a pull from within, a gut feeling or a quiet knowing. However my inner voice comes to me, I will learn to pay attention. In my heart I know what is going on. Though I am conditioned by the world to look constantly outside myself for meaning, today I recognize that it is deeply important for me to hear what I am saying from within. I give myself the gift of listening.
I will trust my inner voice.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Before our recovery we used people and loved things and given recovery we learn to love people and use things. Things are not important, people are.
I treat others the way I would be treated.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
You can work the Steps to get out of trouble or you can work the Steps to stay out of trouble.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I do not need to say the first thing that comes into my head, or react to what others say about me. Today I can practice restraint of tongue and pen. I will think before I speak and say kind things or nothing at all.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Non alcoholic beer is for non alcoholics. - Anon.
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Post by majestyjo on Aug 6, 2018 12:21:40 GMT -5
August 7
Daily Reflections
A "DESIGN FOR LIVING"
We in our turn, sought the same escape with all the
desperation of drowning men. What seemed at first a
flimsy reed, has proved to be the loving and powerful
hand of God. A new life has been given us or, if you
prefer, "a design for living" that really works.
ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS , p. 28
I try each day to raise my heart and hands in thanks
to God for showing me a "design for living" that really
works through our beautiful Fellowship. But what,
exactly, is this "design for living" that "really
works"? For me, it is the practice of the Twelve Steps
to the best of my ability, the continued awareness of
a God who loves me unconditionally, and the hope that,
in each new day, there is a purpose for my being. I
am truly, truly blessed in the Fellowship.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
We in A.A. are offering an intangible thing, a
psychological and spiritual program. It's a wonderful
program. When we learn to turn to a Higher Power, with
faith that that Power can give us the strength we need,
we find peace of mind. When we reeducate our minds by
learning to think differently, we find new interests that
make life worthwhile. We who have achieved sobriety
through faith in God and mental reeducation are modern
miracles. it is the function of our A.A. program to
produce modern miracles. Do I consider the change in my
life a modern miracle?
Meditation For The Day
You should never doubt that God's spirit is always with
you, wherever you are, to keep you on the right path.
God's keeping power is never at fault, only your
realization of it. You must try to believe in God's
nearness and availability of His grace. It is not a
question of whether God can provide a shelter from the
storm, but of whether or not you seek the security of
that shelter. Every fear, worry, or doubt is disloyalty
to God. You must endeavor to trust God wholly. Practice
saying: "All is going to be well." Say it to yourself
until you feel it deeply.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may feel deeply that all is well. I pray that nothing
will be able to move me from that deep conviction.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Willing To Believe, p. 219
Do not let any prejudice you may have against spiritual terms
deter you from honestly asking yourself what they might mean to
you. At the start, this was all we needed to commence spiritual
growth, to effect our first conscious relation with God as we
understood Him. Afterward, we found ourselves accepting many
things which had seemed entirely out of reach. That was growth.
But if we wished to grow we had to begin somewhere. So at first we
used our own conceptions of God, however limited they were.
We needed to ask ourselves but one short question: "Do I now
believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power
greater than myself?" As soon as a man can say that he does
believe, even in this small degree, or is willing to believe, we
emphatically assure him that he is on his way.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 47
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Competing with others
Attitude
Some of us never liked close competition. We preferred to be clear winners or not to compete at all. We didn't like to have competitors breathing down our necks.
This attitude kept us from doing our best, and we made a mistake when we thought we were competing with others. We're actually competing with ourselves at all times, trying to do better than we did yesterday. The presence of other people only helps us to set performance standards and goals.
Once we accept the idea of self-improvement, we can delight in competition. We can take satisfaction in situations where, though we were not number one, we came in a close second instead of a sullen last.
I'll know today that I'm always working with others but only competing against myself.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
True enjoyment comes from activity of the mind and exercise of the body.---Humboldt
In recovery, we work at taking better care of ourselves. We care for our mind and our body.
Often, during our drinking and drugging, we ignored our mind and body. We probably ate poorly, and we pushed our body to the limit.
But now, we are to recover. . .totally! We are to care for our mind and body as we care for our spirit. Our illness is an illness of mind, body, and spirit. So let's care for all three. In recovery, we learn to care for and love all of who we are.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me care for my mind and body as I recover. You love all of me. Help me to respect and care for all of me.
Action for the Day: I will write down how much time I've spent caring for my mind and body in the past two weeks. Is it enough?
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
To have one's individuality completely ignored is like being pushed quite out of life. Like being blown out as one blows out a light. --Evelyn Scott
We need to know that we matter in this life. We need evidence that others are aware of our presence. And thus, we can be certain that others need the same attention from us. When we give it, we get it. So the giving of attention to another searching soul meets our own need for attention as well.
Respectful recognition of another's presence blesses her, God, and ourselves. And we help one another grow, in important ways, each time we pay the compliment of acknowledgment.
We're not sure, on occasion, just what we have to offer our friends, families, co-workers. Why we are in certain circumstances may have us baffled, but it's quite probably that the people we associate with regularly need something we can give them; the reverse is just as likely. So we can begin with close attention to people in our path. It takes careful listening and close observation to sense the message another soul may be sending to our own.
I will be conscious of the people around me. I shall acknowledge them and be thankful for all they are offering me.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
You may have the reverse situation on your hands. Perhaps you have a husband who is at large, but who should be committed. Some men cannot or will not get over alcoholism. When they become too dangerous, we think the kind thing to do is to lock them up, but of course a good doctor should always be consulted. The wives and children of such men suffer horrible, but not more than the men themselves.
But sometimes you must start life anew. We know women who have done it. If such women adopt a spiritual way of life their road will be smoother.
p. 114
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
Physician, Heal Thyself
Psychiatrist and surgeon, he had lost his way until he realized that God, not he, was the Great Healer.
Shortly after I was starting to work on the program, I relaized that I was not a good father. I wasn't a good husband, but, oh, I was a good provider. I never robbed my family of anything. I gave them everything, except the greatest thing in the world, and that is peace of mind. So I went to my wife and asked her if there wasn't something that she and I could do to somehow get together, and she turned on her heel and looked me squarely in the eye, and said, "You don't care anything about my problem," and I could have smacked her, but I said to myself, "Grab on to your serenity!"
p. 307
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Three - "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."
Once we have come into agreement with these ideas, it is really easy to begin the practice of Step Three. In all times of emotional disturbance or indecision, we can pause, ask for quiet, and in the stillness simply say: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Thy will, not mine, be done."
pp. 40-41
************************************************** *********
There is no try. There is either do or don't do.
--unknown
I wake each morning with the thrill of expectation and the joy of being
truly alive. And I'm thankful for this day.
--Angela L. Woznick
How I relate to my inner self influences my relationships with all
others. My satisfaction with myself and my satisfaction with other
people are directly proportional.
--Sue Atchley Ebaugh
My relationships with others are as healthy and fulfilling as my
communication with God.
--unknown
Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, and faith looks up.
--unknown
"Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they
merely determine where you start."
--Nido Qubein
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
PREJUDICE
"There is no more evil thing in
the world than race prejudice . .
. it justifies and holds together
more baseness, cruelty and
abomination than any other sort
of error in the world."
-- H. G. Wells
Something about me fears racism because I know that I am at risk. If a
group of people can be persecuted or ridiculed for being "different"
from others, then why shouldn't it eventually happen to me? With
racism the whole world is at risk.
Also racism is the opposite of spirituality. Spirituality always seeks to
include, bring together and unite. The world that God has made is
ONE. All people and races are "a family" that must learn to co-exist
together if we are to be productive and creative. In the variety is the
strength. With the unusual and peculiar comes divinity. God is to be
found in the confusions of life.
Teacher, let me have the courage to expose the inadequacies in my
life.
************************************************** *********
Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak!
Matthew 26:41
"Make me know Thy ways, O LORD; teach me Thy paths."
Psalm 25:4
"He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is
seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no
unrighteousness in Him."
John 7:18
"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as
braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead,
it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and
quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."
I Peter 3:3-4
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
It is always possible to pray no matter what you are doing. Lord, You are with me, guiding and caring for me. It takes but a brief moment to turn my thoughts to You.
God sends us His message, but we must be willing to receive it and then live it. Lord, when I yield to You, I become free and full of the richness of life.
************************************************** *********
NA Just For Today
The Gratitude List
"We focus on anything that isn't going our way and ignore all the beauty in our lives."
Basic Text, p.77
It's easy to be grateful when everything runs smoothly. If we get a raise at work, we're grateful. If we get married, we're grateful. If someone surprises us with a nice present or an unasked favor, we're grateful. But if we get fired, divorced, or disappointed, gratitude flies out the window. We find ourselves becoming obsessed with the things that are wrong, even though everything else may be wonderful.
This is where we can use a gratitude list. We sit down with a pen and paper and list the people for whom we are grateful. We all have people who've supported us through life's upheavals. We list the spiritual assets we have attained, for we know we could never make it through our present circumstances without them. Last, but not least, we list our recovery itself. Whatever we have that we are grateful for goes on the list.
We're sure to find that we have literally hundreds of things in our lives that inspire our gratitude. Even those of us who are suffering from an illness or who have lost all material wealth will find blessings of a spiritual nature for which we can be thankful. An awakening of the spirit is the most valuable gift an addict can receive.
Just for today: I will write a list of things, both material and spiritual, for which I am grateful.
pg. 229
************************************************** *********
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Love consists in this, that two solitudes protect and touch and greet each other. --Rainer Maria Rilke
For a relationship to be healthy and fulfilling, each of us must respect the other. "Two solitudes" is exactly what we are, and we will never be one, no matter how close we become. It may feel like that at times, but we always remain separate persons with our own thoughts, feelings, dreams, and interests.
When we love one another, we allow each other to be who we are, to have our own lives, for it is out of those separate lives that we bring strength and energy and life into our relationships.
We are meant to honor the differences between us. Often these differences lead to squabbles, but when we recognize that each of us is necessary to the union we have created, we create a better one, far superior to the sum of its parts.
What differences between us make our lives together better?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
We love because it's the only true adventure. --Nikki Giovanni
In loving, we meet ourselves. As we have become more honest, we no longer make excuses about our relationship problems. We can't blame our troubles on our partner. Our problems with love were often because we didn't know how to be close or we didn't dare to be.
When we let ourselves engage in this adventure, we meet many obstacles - things we can't control, and sometimes we want to quit right there. We have arguments and disappointments as well as good feelings. But what adventure is without difficulty or surprises? Part of the reason for choosing new experiences is to confront forces outside our control. A relationship is a dialogue. Only if we stay with it through the frustrations, express our deepest feelings openly, and listen to our partner, do we achieve a new level of understanding and confidence in the relationship. Then deeper levels also open within ourselves.
Today, I will let honesty guide me in this adventure of my love dialogue.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
To have one's individuality completely ignored is like being pushed quite out of life. Like being blown out as one blows out a light. --Evelyn Scott
We need to know that we matter in this life. We need evidence that others are aware of our presence. And thus, we can be certain that others need the same attention from us. When we give it, we get it. So the giving of attention to another searching soul meets our own need for attention as well.
Respectful recognition of another's presence blesses her, God, and ourselves. And we help one another grow, in important ways, each time we pay the compliment of acknowledgment.
We're not sure, on occasion, just what we have to offer our friends, families, co-workers. Why we are in certain circumstances may have us baffled, but it's quite probably that the people we associate with regularly need something we can give them; the reverse is just as likely. So we can begin with close attention to people in our path. It takes careful listening and close observation to sense the message another soul may be sending to our own.
I will be conscious of the people around me. I shall acknowledge them and be thankful for all they are offering me.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Saying No
For many of us, the most difficult word to say is one of the shortest and easiest in the vocabulary: No. Go ahead, say it aloud: No.
No - simple to pronounce, hard to say. We're afraid people won't like us, or we feel guilty. We may believe that a "good" employee, child, parent, spouse, or Christian never says no.
The problem is, if we don't learn to say no, we stop liking ourselves and the people we always try to please. We may even punish others out of resentment.
When do we say no? When no is what we really mean.
When we learn to say no, we stop lying. People can trust us, and we can trust ourselves. All sorts of good things happen when we start saying what we mean.
If we're scared to say no, we can buy some times. We can take a break, rehearse the word, and go back and say no. We don't have to offer long explanations for our decisions.
When we can say no, we can say yes to the good. Our no's and our yes's begin to be taken seriously. We gain control of ourselves. And we learn a secret: "No" isn't really that hard to say.
Today, I will say no if that is what I mean.
Today I will do all that I am capable of doing at this time of my life to free myself of past mistakes. And then I will let go and live in my now... fully enjoying today. --Ruth Fishel
*****
Forward Momentum
The Train as Metaphor by Madisyn Taylor
People can be like trains, making unscheduled stops along the way, but inevitably always arriving at our proper destination.
The rails that crisscross the countryside and cut through cities have long captured people’s imaginations. Just the idea of taking a ride on a luxury train, an express commuter line, or a cargo train can often evoke a sense of freedom, adventure, or romance. Trains are like people in that they must inevitably arrive at their destinations. They make scheduled and unscheduled stops along the way and move at their different speeds. Some trains can travel for hours and are mindful of only a single destination; other trains meander from busy stop to busy stop. The route and purpose of any train may change as the years go by.
Our lives stretch out in front and behind us like train tracks, and we are the train, its passengers, and the engineer. The way you choose to live your life and the goals you are working toward are the route and destinations you have chosen. Like a passenger riding a train, you have the choice to get on and off, find new routes, pick new places to visit, or just stop and enjoy the view for awhile. Perhaps you like to move quickly through life as if you were an express train. Or maybe, like a commuter passenger, you like taking the same routes over and over again. You may even want to stop just riding along and choose a different direction you’d like you’re life to take.
If you have examined the tracks of your life and are feeling unsatisfied, you may want to explore changes you could make to find a more fulfilling path to follow. Perhaps you’d like to slow down a little bit more and take a windier path rather than just traveling down the straight and narrow. Or maybe, you’d like to experience your life more as an adventure rather than just a ride that gets you where you need to go. Changing your route can sometimes give you a chance to “get on the right track.” You may even discover that the something new you’ve been waiting for is just around the bend. Published with permission from Daily OM
*****
Journey to the Heart
Be All You Can Be
Step out into the cool night air. Look at the stars. See how they shine. Know that it is okay for you to shine,too.
Who told you you had to hold back? Who told you your gifts, your talents, your beauty-- your natural, beautiful, loving, delightful self-- was wrong? Who told you not to be all you could be? Maybe, as some suggest, we've gotten too comfortable focusing on our flaws, our errors, our dark side. Perhaps it's not our dark side we fear. Perhaps we're really afraid of our gifts, our brilliance, our light.
Now is a time of light. It's time for us to shine. We've worked hard on ourselves, dealt with our issues, gone back to the past. We've learned our lessons well. The reasons to hold back and hide away are no longer there. Enjoy the fruits of your labors.
Be all you can be, and enjoy being that. Don't hold back. Use your gifts with joy. Use your talents. Let your light shine for all the world to see.
Finally, you are free to be all that you are and can be.
*****
more language of letting go
Stop second-guessing yourself
Often in life, when an incident arises, we know what we want and need to do. It's clear. We've already got that lesson under our belt. Our hearts and inner guides are clearly speaking to us about what we want or don't want to do.
But I should be open to change and new ideas, we think. Maybe what I want is wrong. Could it really be that what I want is right? Probably not. Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.
Like Winnie the Pooh says, "Oh bother. Oh angst."
We're creating this bother and angst ourselves.
Be open to new ideas. We're not always right in what we believe. Stay open to examining and changing your beliefs and ideals. But don't spend all your time second-and third guessing yourself. Your life will whiz by. You won't get anything done. And chances are, those second, third, and fourth guesses will lead you back to the place you started from.
God, help me stop wasting my time and energy second-guessing myself. Help me learn to trust you and to trust myself.
*******************************************
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
What can we do about our resentments? Fruitful experience has shown that the best thing to do is to write them down, listing people, institutions or principles with which we’re angry or resentful. When I write down my resentments and then ask myself why I’m resentful, I’ve discovered that in most cases myself-esteem, my finances, my ambitions, or my personal relationships have been hurt or threatened. Will I ever learn that the worst thing about my resentments is my endless rehearsal of the acts of retribution?
Today I Pray
May God help me find a way to get rid of my resentments. May I give up the hours spent making up little playlets, in which I star as the angry man or woman cleverly shouting down the person who has threatened me. Since these dramas are never produced, may I instead list my resentful feelings and look at the why’s behind each one. May this be a way of shelving them.
Today I Will Remember
Resentments cause violence: resentments cause illness in non-violent people.
*******************************************
One More Day
Eat little at night, open your windows, drive out often, and look for the good in things and people … You will no long be sad, or bored, or ill.
– Mary Knowles
When we get caught up in our problems, it may seem that they will continue to escalate, repeat, and escalate again. We all have hard times — times when we are uncertain whether or not life has meaning, and at those times it may feel as though we have no control over the direction or quality of our lives.
But when we ease back a little and remember the hundreds of small choices we can make, we’re more able to accept some of the large unchangeable realities of our lives. We can’t cure ourselves or change other people, but we can make the choices and take charge of the decisions that are ours.
I can simplify my life by letting go of decisions and problems that aren’t mine to handle.
************************************************** *****************
Food For Thought
Keep It Simple
Complicated food plans and complicated lives work against us in this program. We compulsive overeaters have a hard time making decisions about food, and the more simple our menus, the better. We also tend to overextend ourselves in other areas, dissipating energy, which we need for working our program.
Our three meals a day can be nourishing and attractive without being elaborate. If we spend too much time and energy planning and preparing our food, we run the risk of reactivating our obsession. Too much thinking about food usually leads to overeating and invariably produces mental turmoil.
For our peace of mind and emotional serenity, we need to keep the mechanics of our lives as simple as possible. If the spirit is to be free, it cannot be shackled by over concern with material things.
May I keep life simple today and use my energies for working the program.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
~ SERVICE ~
You cannot do a kindness too soon ...
because you never know how soon it will be too late.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
So many people in program sit silently in meetings because they don't think they have anything of importance to say. Perhaps they haven't been in program very long, and feel that, because they aren't a seasoned veteran, they haven't the right to speak up. But everyone's experiences and insights are different, and I would appreciate hearing from those who are quiet. They just might say something that will keep me from losing my serenity and abstinence. It would be a kindness for them to speak up.
I've had people tell me, "Oh, I can't pick up the phone and make an outreach call to someone I just met." To that I say, "Why not?" It would be a kindness to let someone know that you're there and you care about them.
Sometimes a person will say, "But I'm having a bad day myself; how can I offer hope to someone when I'm in such a shape?" It would be a kindness to share your struggle, for you would be giving others the chance to serve. I think it's as much a selfishness on our part to deny someone the opportunity to serve us as it is to deny our service to someone who is hurting.
Ours is a fatal disease. I don't want to risk missing the chance to serve someone who may not be with us tomorrow. I want to do that kindness today in case it's YOU who isn't here tomorrow. I hope you would do that kindness today in case it's ME who isn't here tomorrow.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will perform an act of kindness,
for I never know when I may forever lose that opportunity.
~ JAR ~
*****************************************
AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Although these reparations take innumerable forms, there are some general principles which we find guiding. Reminding ourselves that we have decided to go to any lengths to find a spiritual experience, we ask that we be given strength and direction to do the right thing, no matter what the personal consequences may be. We may lose our position or reputation or face jail, but we are willing. We have to be. We must not shrink at anything.
Usually, however, other people are involved. Therefore, we are not to be the hasty and foolish martyr who would needlessly sacrifice others to save himself from the alcoholic pit. - Pg. 79 - Into Action
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
There are no magic wands or burning bushes in our program. Just footwork and faith.
My footwork right now is to not use any mind-affecting chemical and go to a meeting today.
The Treasures Within
Within me is the perfect life waiting to awaken. The gifts I seek are already within me. A deep pool of awareness and aliveness is present all of the time but I am too distracted to know it. I get so lost in the superficial details and tasks of my life that I forget to live it, to drop down and contact the spirit that God has planted within me. It is the best kept secret that spirit lives within me, that the way in which I come in touch with my inner light is through letting the constant preoccupations of my mind float by, not taking them so seriously, not trying to control them. Today I realize that the gold is not in my ability to control my mind, the gold is in what lies beneath. What emerges when my mind, for a precious moment, is stilled.
Spirit is with me always
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Who knows why they are chemically dependent? The answer will not change the fact, and yet many continue to question, why? Indeed, they need an answer, but they are asking the wrong question. The real question is, 'How can I become free?' Free of the fear. Free of the pain. Free of the bondage.
I do not receive the right answer when I ask the wrong question.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Make the solution so big, the problem does not exist.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I will do all that I am capable of doing at this time of my life to free myself of past mistakes. And then I will let go and live in my now fully enjoying today.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
I had these two things in my 4th Step I really didn't want to share. So I thought; 'Well she doesn't know they're in there, I'll just skip them.' So I'm all ready to go when she said; 'Before we start lets say a little prayer.' and she said something like; 'Dear God let Pat be honest tonight.' I couldn't believe it! So I read the whole thing. It took me longer to read those two things than all the rest of the pages - I just sobbed hysterically. But I did it - What I felt after that, was committed to AA. I knew I had done something that night that I couldn't do. - Pat Y.
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Post by caressa222 on Aug 7, 2018 21:54:52 GMT -5
August 8
Daily Reflections
"MADE A LIST. . . . "
Made a list of all persons we had harmed, . . . .
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS , p. 77
When I approached the Eighth Step, I wondered how I could
list all the things that I have done to other people
since there were so many people, and some of them weren't
alive anymore. Some of the hurts I inflicted weren't bad,
but they really bothered me. The main thing to see in
this Step was to become willing to do whatever I had to
do to make these amends to the best of my ability at that
particular time. Where there is a will, there's a way,
so if I want to feel better, I need to unload the guilt
feeling I have. A peaceful mind has no room for feeling
of guilt. With the help of my Higher Power, if I am honest
with myself, I can cleanse my mind of these feelings.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
For awhile, we are going back to the Big Book, Alcoholics
Anonymous, and pick out passages here and there, so that
they may become fixed in our minds, a little at a time,
day by day, as we go along. There is no substitute for
reading the Big Book. It is our "bible." We should study
it thoroughly and make it a part of ourselves. We should
not try to change any of it. Within its covers is the
full exposition of the A.A. program. There is no substitute
for it. We should study it often. Have I studied the Big
Book faithfully?
Meditation For The Day
All of life is a fluctuation between effort and rest. You
need both every day. But effort is not truly effective until
first you have had the proper preparation for it, by resting
in a time of quiet meditation. This daily time of rest and
meditation gives you the power necessary to make your best
effort. There are days when you are called on for much effort
and then comes a time when you need much rest. It is not good
to rest too long and it is not good to carry on great effort
too long without rest. The successful life is a proper
balance between the two.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be ready to make the proper effort. I pray
that I may also recognize the need for relaxation.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
In Partnership, p. 220
As we made spiritual progress, it became clear that, if we ever were
to feel emotionally secure, we would have to put our lives on a
give-and-take basis; we would have to develop the sense of being
in partnership or brotherhood with all those around us. We saw
that we would need to give constantly of ourselves without demand
for repayment. When we persistently did this, we gradually found
that people were attracted to us as never before. And even if
they failed us, we could be understanding and not too seriously
affected.
********************************
The unity, the effectiveness, and even the survival of A.A. will
always depend upon our continued willingness to give up some of our
personal ambitions and desires for the common safety and welfare.
Just as sacrifice means survival for the individual alcoholic, so
does sacrifice mean unity and survival for the group and for A.A.'s
entire Fellowship.
1. 12 & 12, pp. 115-116
2. A.A. Comes Of Age, pp. 287-288
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
No self-deception
Honesty
Most of the time, other people don't really deceive us. We deceive ourselves by refusing to face life realistically. We often believe false information simply because we want to believe it.
Living on a 12 Step basis should enable us to face reality without becoming cynical or pessimistic. If a friend appears to be lying to us, for example, we can accept this as a single lie, not as a complete betrayal. In addition, we learn not to lie to ourselves. This helps us avoid shaky business schemes and unrealistic hopes.
At the same time, we can still retain our capacity for believing in wonders and miracles. We have experienced enough miracles to prove that they really happen.
I'll use my head as much as possible today to help keep my heart from getting me into trouble, but I'll remember that it's what's in my heart that counts.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Adventure is not outside a man; it is within.---David Grayson
Sobriety. It's an exciting adventure. It's a spiritual adventure. We look inward. We find where our Higher Power lives: within us. We then reach outward. We share our joy with others. Not with words and preaching, but by trying to help others. Sobriety is faith turned into action.
Sobriety. It's an adventure in coming to know one's self. At times, we'll have to face our fears. But we'll also find just how much love we have for life.
Sobriety. It's as if we're on a trip. Our Higher Power holds the map. Our job is to listen. And we go in the direction we're told.
Prayer for the Day: I pray to be an adventurer. Higher Power, I pray to follow Your direction.
Action for the Day: I'll ask some friends to tell me about an adventure their Higher Power has taken them on.
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
I'm a most lucky and thankful woman. Lucky and thankful for each morning I wake up. For three wonderful daughters and one son. For an understanding and very loving husband with whom I've shared 52 blessed years, all in good health.
--Thelma Elliott
Gratitude for what's been offered us in our lives softens the harsh attitudes we occasionally harbor. Life presents us with an assortment of blessings; some bring us immediate joy; some invite tears; others foster fear. What we need help in understanding is that all experiences are meant for our good, all bless us in some manner. If we are able to see the big picture, we'd greet all situations, large and small, with a thankful heart.
It's so very easy to wish away our lives, never finding satisfaction with our families, our jobs, and our friends. The more we find fault with life, the more fault we are guaranteed to find. Negative attitudes attract negative experiences; while positive attitudes lighten whatever burden we may be learning from.
The years pass so quickly. Our chances to enjoy life pass quickly too. We can grab what comes our way and be grateful. We are never certain that this experience offered now might not be our last.
Each morning I awake is blessing number one.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
If your husband is a drinker, you probably worry over what other people are thinking and you hate to meet your friends. You draw more and more into yourself and you think everyone is talking about conditions at your home. You avoid the subject of drinking, even with your own parents. You do not know what to tell your children. When your husband is bad, you become a trembling recluse, wishing the telephone had never been invented.
pp. 114-115
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
Physician, Heal Thyself
Psychiatrist and surgeon, he had lost his way until he realized that God, not he, was the Great Healer.
She left, and I sat down and crossed my hands and looked up and said, "For God's sake, help me." And then a silly, simple thought came to me. I didn't know anything about being a father' I didn't know how to come home and work weekends like other husbands. I didn't know how to entertain my family. But I remembered that every night after dinner my wife would get up and do the dishes. Well, I could do the dishes. So I went to her and said, "There's only one thing I want in my whole life, and I don't want any commendation; I don't want any credit; I don't want anything from you or Janey for the rest of your life except one thing, and that is the opportunity to do anything you want always, and I would like to start off by doing the dishes." And now I am doing the darn dishes every night!
p. 307 - 308
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
Creation gave us instincts for a purpose. Without them we wouldn't be complete human beings. If men and women didn't exert themselves to be secure in their persons, made no effort to harvest food or construct shelter, there would be no survival. If they didn't reproduce, the earth wouldn't be populated. If there were no social instinct, if men cared nothing for the society of one another, there would be no society. So these desires--for the sex relation, for material and emotional security, and for companionship--are perfectly necessary and right, and surely God-given.
p. 42
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I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some
marmalade. It's amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and
scrub the floor.
--D. H. Lawrence
There is more time than life.
--Mexican Proverb
If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done.
--unknown
I don't want people who want to dance, I want people who 'have'
to dance.
--George Balanchine
"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds
you plant."
--Robert Louis Stevenson
"You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people
actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must
take action."
--Anthony Robbins
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
MONEY
"Money often costs too much."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Money can be a curse. It can destroy people. Money in itself has no
value. It needs to be "used" or "put to work". The problem is that
many people think it can work miracles, i.e., "make me happy", "give
me self-esteem", "bring love into my life", "remove my loneliness",
"cure my insecurities and remove my alcohol or drug problems!" The
historical list of wealthy casualties indicates that this is not the case.
We cannot "buy" ourselves out of a disease! In this sense, money
costs too much.
Because I have a compulsive nature, I need to be aware of my desire
for money and the responsible way I need to use it. Spirituality
involves the use of money. I need to be positive in my attitude towards
money but also creative about how to use it.
I need always to remember that true wealth is found in my discovery
of the God within and not in the clothes I wear.
O God, let me make money serve me; may I never be foolish enough
to serve it.
************************************************** *********
"Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes; And I shall keep it to
the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep your law; Indeed, I
shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me walk in the path of
Your commandments, for I delight in it."
Psalm 119:33-35
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your
own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up
against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to
make it obedient to Christ."
2 Corinthians 10:5
"He answered: " `Love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind';
and, `Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
Luke 10:27
"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:7
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind."
Romans 12:2b
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
There is never a moment that we cease being a child of God. Lord, Your love fills me with the ability to love all of Your children. Help me to set aside any hurts or reservations that I have and treat all as You would.
Often times that which we find difficult is that which teaches. Lord, may I always be able to see the good that comes from even my trials.
************************************************** *********
NA Just For Today
Responsible Recovery
"We accept responsibility for our problems and see that we're equally responsible for our solutions."
Basic Text, p.94
Some of us, well accustomed to leaving our personal responsibilities to others, may attempt the same behavior in recovery. We quickly find out it doesn't work.
For instance, we are considering making a change in our lives, so we call our sponsor and ask what we should do. Under the guise of seeking direction, we are actually asking our sponsor to assume responsibility for making decisions about our life. Or maybe we've been short with someone at a meeting, so we ask that person's best friend to make our apologies for us. Perhaps we've imposed on a friend several times in the last month to cover our service commitment. Could it be that we've asked a friend to analyze our behavior and identify our shortcomings, rather than taking our own personal inventory?
Recovery is something that has to be worked for. It isn't going to be handed to us on a silver platter, nor can we expect our friends or our sponsor to be responsible for the work we must do ourselves. We recover by making our own decisions, doing our own service, and working our own steps. By doing it for ourselves, we receive the rewards.
Just for today: I accept responsibility for my life and my recovery.
pg. 230
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
The important thing is not to conquer but to have fought at all. --Olympic motto
People come from all over the world to participate in the Olympics, and they come with a wide range of talent. A lot of them know they will not win a medal, yet they have trained hard for their event. They meet people from all corners of the earth who love the same activity.
There is a contagious joy and excitement the athletes share in their time together. It is a sense that the sharing of worldwide joy and peace is indeed possible.
Whether we succeed or fail in what we do is not the essential thing. What is important is the heart with which we live our lives.
If I could share something with the world, what would it be?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. It's amazing how it cheers one up to 'shred oranges and scrub the floor. --D. H. Lawrence
Focusing on pain or having difficulties can put us in a rut, and we neglect the other things in our lives. A simple task like making marmalade can be a brief vacation. We change our thought patterns when we change activities. The simple action of doing something pleasant might inject a new feeling into our outlook. Sharing a problem with a friend may be all we need to see it more clearly or let it go. Moving from busy physical activity to a few moments of quiet contemplation creates an inner balance. A problem that seems overwhelming at night may be met with new insight and new energy after a night's rest.
We don't have to continue feeling like victims of circumstance or remain stuck with a nagging problem. Just like changing the subject of a conversation, we can change the subject of our attention for a time. When we do, we regain our sense of hope and change our responses.
Today, I will give myself a break when I become caught or obsessed with a problem.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
I'm a most lucky and thankful woman. Lucky and thankful for each morning I wake up. For three wonderful daughters and one son. For an understanding and very loving husband with whom I've shared 52 blessed years, all in good health.
--Thelma Elliott
Gratitude for what's been offered us in our lives softens the harsh attitudes we occasionally harbor. Life presents us with an assortment of blessings; some bring us immediate joy; some invite tears; others foster fear. What we need help in understanding is that all experiences are meant for our good, all bless us in some manner. If we are able to see the big picture, we'd greet all situations, large and small, with a thankful heart.
It's so very easy to wish away our lives, never finding satisfaction with our families, our jobs, and our friends. The more we find fault with life, the more fault we are guaranteed to find. Negative attitudes attract negative experiences; while positive attitudes lighten whatever burden we may be learning from.
The years pass so quickly. Our chances to enjoy life pass quickly too. We can grab what comes our way and be grateful. We are never certain that this experience offered now might not be our last.
Each morning I awake is blessing number one.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Saying Yes
Yesterday we talked about learning to say no. Today let's discuss another important word: Yes.
We can learn to say yes to things that feel good, to what we want - for others and ourselves.
We can learn to say yes to fun. Yes to meetings, to calling a friend, asking for help.
We can learn to say yes to healthy relationships, to people and activities that are good for us.
We can learn to say yes to ourselves, what we want and need, our instincts, and the leading of our Higher Power.
We can learn to say yes when it feels right to help someone. We can learn to say yes to our feelings. We can learn to identify when we need to take a walk, take a nap, have our back rubbed, or buy ourselves flowers.
We can learn to say yes to work that is right for us.
We can learn to say yes to all that will nurture and nourish us. We can learn to say yes to the best life and love has to offer.
Today, I will say yes to all that feels good and right.
The peace that I feel in my life is growing richer every day. As I continue to walk on my spiritual path to recovery, I let myself be guided by truth and love. Conflict is leaving, making more and more room for charity, serenity and usefulness. --Ruth Fishel
*****
Composing Bliss
Poetry as Meditation by Madisyn Taylor
Sculpting your thoughts into a poem can take you on a journey where your conscious mind is momentarily cast adrift.
The creation of any kind of art can be as much a form of meditation as a vehicle for self-expression. Energetically splashing colors of paint onto a canvas can be like casting the weight of the world off your shoulders, while raising your voice to hit the high notes of a song can inspire you to release your fears so you can reach new heights in your own life. And then there is the act of meditation that can take place when you create poetry. Sculpting your thoughts and emotions into a poem can take you on a journey into your inner universe where your conscious mind is momentarily cast adrift.
Like other forms of meditation, writing poetry requires that you stay fully present during the process, rather than focusing on any outcome. In doing so, you release any inhibitions or ideas of “what needs to happen,” so that your thoughts can flow freely through you. When you write poetry, you are able to see the reflections of your innermost self imprinted on a page.
If you’d like to experience poetry as a meditation practice, you might want to try this exercise: Set aside twenty minutes where you can be alone in a quiet space. You may want to look at poems other people have written to see if there is a style of poetry you would like to try. You can also try writing in freeform. The structure of the poem will then organically reveal itself to you. When you are ready, sit down with pen and paper and let the words flow. Don’t think about what you are going to say next, and don’t worry about spelling, grammar, or logic. Instead, be as descriptive, visually precise, rhythmic, or lyrical as you want to be. When you feel complete, put the pen down, and read over what you’ve written. Appreciate this work of art you have created. You may even find that thoughts and emotions you had repressed before are now making themselves known so you can process and release them. Writing poetry as a form of meditation lets you slow down your mind long enough for you to get out of your own way, so that your soul can freely express its deepest yearnings. Published with permission from Daily OM
*****
Journey to the Heart
Touch the Timeless Rhythms of Life
Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, touched me deeply, profoundly. It sang to my soul. I walked through the canyon viewing the remnants of the Anasazi culture, touching, seeing, experiencing what was left of their sophisticated society, a civilization over two thousand years old. I felt reverence and humility as I touched the stones of a culture that no longer existed. I could almost see the people who lived there, busy with their work, their relationships, their goals, their fears and hopes. Just like us. I wondered if they knew that someday their society would be extinct, gone, vanished. I wondered if they knew how important they were, how each of us plays a tiny part in the eternal dance of the universe.
It's so easy to become consumed by the details of our lives, to be impressed with the technology of our own society, to get lost in the business and busyness of our ways. But it's important to remember ancient cultures, other civilizations, other lives lived long ago-- the lessons of our planet, the timeless lessons of love and life. I wept with wonder, awe, and joy at how important yet humble each of our lives is. My soul vibrated with the awareness of eternity with the infinite rhythms of life.
I lingered at Chaco Canyon, not wanting to leave. A still voice whispered to my soul, reminding me that I could return as often as I needed and wanted, because this place was now part of me, part of my heart.
Allow your soul to awaken. Allow it to soar. Touch the timeless rhythm and cycles of life.
*****
more language of letting go
You're being protected
It's easy to be thankful for answered prayers, easy to be joyfully grateful when the universe gives us exactly what we want. What's not so easy is to remember to be grateful when we don't get what we want.
John wanted an executive position in the company he worked for. He worked hard for the promotion. He prayed daily for his promotion, while giving a hundred percent of his energy and dedication to the position that he was in. But when the time came, he was passed over for his dream job. He left the company shortly after that. Today, he runs his own company with more responsibility, success, and joy than he could have ever hoped for at his old firm.
Susan, a recovering addict, wanted to date Sam more than anything. They got along great those times they ran into each other at work. He was charming, handsome, and sober, she thought. For months she tried to arrange a date with him, prayed that God would bring him into her life. But things never seemed to work out. She didn't know why. He seemed so interested in her. She was positive that the relationship was divinely ordained. She was stunned when she arrived at work one morning to find that Sam had died the night before of a drug overdose. He had been using drugs and lying about it the whole time.
Sometimes we get what we ask for. Sometimes we don't. God says, "No." Be grateful-- force gratitude; fake it if you must-- when God answers your furtive prayers by saying no.
Take the rejections with a smile. Let God's "no's" move you happily down the road. Maybe you're not being punished, after all. Maybe God's protecting you from yourself.
God, thank you for not always giving me what I think is best.
*******************************************
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
As a recovering alcoholic, I have to remind myself that no0 amount of social acceptance of resentments will take the poison out of them. In a way, the problem of resentments is very much like the drinking problem. Alcohol is never safe for me; no matter who is offering it. I’ve attended thingytail receptions for worthy causes, often in a convivial atmosphere that makes drinking seem almost harmless. Just as I politely but adamanity decline alcohol under any conditions, will I also refuse to accept resentments — no matter who is serving them?
Today I Pray
When anger, hurt, fear or guilt — to be socially acceptable — put on their polite, pary manners, dress up as resentment and come in the side door, may I not hobnob with them. These emotions, disguised as they are, can be a full of trickery as the chemicals themselves.
Today I Will Remember
Keep an eye on the side door.
*******************************************
One More Day
Man can do much for himself as respects his own improvement, unless self-love so blinds him that he cannot see his own imperfections and weaknesses.
– Martha Wilson
Remember Hide and Seek? Oleeey oleeey in free? What wonderful times they were when we were so certain we could hide from others. Now we are adults, and one would think we are no longer hiding. That’s not, unfortunately, always true. Many of us hide within negative behaviors which become habits.
Looking at our own weaknesses is a difficult task. We understand we have character defects, but we’re afraid to change our familiar patterns. If we can admit there is a problem, we’ve taken the first step. Wanting to change comes next. Finally, we won’t be hiding anymore.
Self-improvement is within my reach if I admit my negative behavior.
************************************************** ****************
In God’s Care
The first step toward inner peace is to decide to give love, not receive it.
~~Bernie S. Siegel
“This is a selfish program.” How many time have we heard this? It is true, of course. Whenever we make a Twelfth Step call we are doing it essentially for ourselves. We always benefit. God has given us this direct accesss to happiness, It is a lovely paradox that when we give we also receive. We are always helped by trying to help another.
Our decision to give love, then, can be a calculated one – we already know the results. This shouldn’t be our motive though. Wondering what we are getting out of giving to others can be a hindrance to our peace of mind because we’re missing God’s point. If we concentrate on the giving, the receiving will take care of itself.
Today I will try to give unselfishly.
************************************************** ****************
Day By Day
Recovering love
Our Higher Power has always loved us and always will. Our problem is learning to accept and believe that. While using mood-altering chemicals, we were unable to accept this love. Later, we could not even believe in this love. And for many of us, the same problems are true in our other relatioships.
By getting free of mood-altering chemicals, by getting into recovery and going to Twelve Step meetings, we will see love in action. We will see that it is real and can be trusted. We will feel its power to heal and make whole.
Am I experiencing love again?
Higher Power, help me to absorb the love that flows in the fellowship.
Today I will be especially loving toward…
************************************************** **************
Food For Thought
Reflecting Light
We are made to reflect the goodness and light of our Higher Power. In order to do this, we need to be as free as possible of the negative emotions and self-will which block out God’s light. The light is always here. It is our job to keep ourselves free from the entanglements and hang-ups, which cloud our vision.
Our primary means of staying in the light is to abstain from compulsive overeating. Without clean abstinence, we become muddled in our thinking and in our emotions. God’s light and love can shine through our lives if we are physically ready to receive and reflect.
Working the Steps frees us from the negative emotions, which block out the light. At first we may have wondered how the Twelve Steps were related to our problems. As we progress in the program, we see that without the spiritual growth, which they facilitate, we cannot be fully open to the light from our Higher Power.
Prepare me to reflect Your light.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
~ HAPPINESS ~
Happiness is never something you get from other
people. The happiness you feel is in direct
proportion to the love you are able to give.
Oprah Winfrey
I learned a great lesson while grieving the loss of my three-year-old son. It was Christmas time. I had three other children who were looking forward to a wonderful day with all the trimmings, but my heart was despairing. I came to the realization that I could take the experience one moment at a time. Some of those moments would be very sad, but some of those little periods of time would be joyful. I found out that happiness is moments, not a state of being. We can take those joyful moments and treasure them until they accumulate into happiness. We have the choice to treasure them or to allow them to disappear in our lack of gratitude and appreciation.
Every day there is joy that we miss because we aren't looking for it. When I look back at the end of the day and add up the good moments, I often realize there is so much joy in my life. I learn to appreciate the little things.
That Christmas is remembered more for those little moments of joy. The love in my heart for the other children helped me to rise above the despair and reach out to give them a gift of happiness on that treasured holiday.
One day at a time...
I strive to see the good in each moment.
~ Dottie ~
*****************************************
AA 'Big Book' - Quote
It was only a matter of being willing to believe in a Power greater than myself. Nothing more was required of me to make my beginning. I saw that growth could start from that point. Upon a foundation of complete willingness I might build what I saw in my friend. - Pg. 12 - Bill's Story
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Now is the time for action with our welcoming. As people come to their first meetings, shaking, scared, and confused, we give them our phone numbers, take them to meetings, and teach them what we have already learned. We use each day at the end of our first month as a forum to help others, not just with words now but with action.
Higher Power, as I understand You, show me on my 28th day how to help one other person in their recovery.
Being with Life
Today, I allow myself just to be with life. Somehow it doesn't have to prove anything to me or give me any more than I already have to be okay. The lessons I have learned through sincere dedication to my own inner growth, have taught me that I can face my most difficult feelings and still come home to a place of love and acceptance. Life is always renewing itself; nothing lasts, good or bad, and that is just the way it is. It is enough today to enjoy my coffee, to take a walk, to appreciate the people in my life. I can rest in a quiet sort of understanding that this is what it's all about; all the searching turned up such an ordinary but beautiful thing.
I am enraptured with the ordinary
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Our lives become very different once we learn to magnify our blessings the way we have our troubles.
What I think about enlarges. Am I enlarging my blessings or my troubles?
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Practice these principles in all your affairs-or change your affairs.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
The peace that I feel in my life is growing richer every day. As I continue to walk on my spiritual path to recovery, I let myself be guided by truth and love. Conflict is leaving, making more and more room for charity, serenity and usefulness.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
I argued with my sponsor about God. He wrote on a piece of paper: 'God as I understand God is...' and said, 'Go home and finish this sentence. So, I thought about this for a long time, then wrote pages and pages about what I thought was the quintessential distillation of every theory, every religious notion about God. And here I had created the perfect one. I took it back to him, he didn't even look at it, he just crumpled it up and said: 'Good, now go home and pray to it.' - John L.
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Post by majestyjo on Aug 8, 2018 18:30:59 GMT -5
August 9
Daily Reflections
". . .OF ALL PERSONS WE HAD HARMED"
"...and became willing to make amends to them all."
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 77
One of the key words in the Eighth Step is the word all. I am not free
to select a few names for the list and to disregard others. It is a list of
all persons I have harmed. I can see immediately that this Step entails
forgiveness because if I'm not willing to forgive someone, there is little
chance I will place his name on the list. Before I placed the first name
on my list, I said a little prayer: "I forgive anyone and everyone who
has ever harmed me at any time and under any circumstances."
It is well for me to contemplate a small, but very significant, two-letter
word every time the Lord's Prayer is said. The word is as. I ask,
"Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against
us." In this case, as means, "in the same manner." I am asking to be
forgiven in the same manner that I forgive others. As I say this portion
of the prayer, if I am harboring hatred or resentment, I am inviting
more resentment, when I should be calling on the spirit of forgiveness.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
"We have an allergy to alcohol. The action of alcohol on chronic
alcoholics is a manifestation of an allergy. We allergic types can never
safely use alcohol in any form at all. We cannot be reconciled to a life
without alcohol, unless we can experience an entire psychic change.
Once this psychic change has occurred, we who seemed doomed, we
who had so many problems that we despaired of ever solving them,
find ourselves able to control our desire for alcohol." Have I had a
psychic change?
Meditation For The Day
Ask God in daily prayer to give you the strength to change. When you
ask God to change you, you must at the same time fully trust Him. If
you do not fully trust Him, God may answer your prayer as a
rescuer does that of a drowning person who is putting up too much
of a struggle. The rescuer must first render the person still more
helpless, until he or she is wholly at the rescuer's mercy. just so must
we be wholly at God's mercy before we can be rescued.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be daily willing to be changed. I pray that I may put
myself wholly at the mercy of God.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
God Will Not Desert Us, p. 221
"Word comes to me that you are making a magnificent stand in
adversity--this adversity being the state of your health. It gives me
a chance to express my gratitude for your recovery in A.A. and
especially for the demonstration of its principles you are now so
inspiringly giving to us all.
"You will be glad to know that A.A.'s have an almost unfailing
record in this respect. This, I think, is because we are so aware that
God will not desert us when the chips are down; indeed, He did not
when we were drinking. And so it should be with the remainder of
life.
"Certainly, He does not plan to save us from all troubles and
adversity. Nor, in the end, does He save us from so-called
death--since this is but an opening of a door into a new life, where
we shall dwell among His many mansions. Touching these things I
know you have a most confident faith."
Letter, 1966
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Confidence In the next phase.
Assurance
"God has carried me this far. I will not be let down now." These are brave words of recovering people who find themselves facing new doubts and fears.
There's nothing unrealistic about this attitude. Those of us in 12 Step programs and beneficiaries of a miraculous chain of events that brought our movement into being. Our responsibility is to continue carrying the message by proving how the program works.
It's our success in dealing with life's problems that eventually attracts others to our fellow ship. The best proof of how our spiritual program works is showing how our Higher Power continues to solve problems in our lives.
We don't always know what the next phase in our lies will bring. We can only know that with God, all sorts of wonderful things continue to be possible.
Though I can't see around the corner, I'll know today that my Higher Power will guide me smoothly and safely through the next phase.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
If there is no wind, row.---Latin proverb
At times, staying sober will be easy; at other times, it will be hard. But we must do what is needed to stay sober. Having a hard week? Go to extra meetings. Feeling alone? Call a friend and ask if you can get together. Feel like drinking? Go to a safe place until the urge passes.
We have no choice. We must row when there's no wind. If not, we'll fall back into our addiction.
If we work hard, we'll stay sober. Plus we'll grow as spiritual people. Hard times test us and make better people. But this will only happen if we keep our Higher Power and our program close to our heart.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me remember that I grow during hard times. I pray that I'll accept and use what You've given me each day.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll list five things I learned from my program in hard times.
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
For me, stopping smoking wasn't a matter of will power, but being will-less. --Joan Gilbertson
Most of us have struggled, willfully, with untold numbers of addictions; liquor, uppers, downers, sugar, chocolate, cigarettes, men. The more we became determined to control our use or to abstain, the greater the compulsion felt for one drink, one bite, one puff. Giving in completely was the turning point.
This recovery program helps each of us find relief from our primary addiction once we humble ourselves, accept our powerlessness, and ask for help. It can help us equally effectively, every day, with any problem we are willfully trying to control. Is a family member causing us grief? Is a co-worker creating anxiety? Has a close friend pulled away? We expend so much energy trying to manage outcomes! In most cases, our attempt to control will invite even more resistance.
The program offers the way out of any frustrating situation. We can be mindful of our powerlessness and cherish the opportunities offered by our higher power. We can turn over whatever our problem to God and quietly, trustingly, anticipate the resolution. It's guaranteed.
How much easier I will find life's experiences if I will let go of my willful ways. The right outcome in all cases will more quickly surface.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
We find that most of this embarrassment is unnecessary. While you need not discuss your husband at length, you can quietly let your friends know the nature of his illness. But you must be on guard not to embarrass or harm your husband.
p. 115
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
Physician, Heal Thyself
Psychiatrist and surgeon, he had lost his way until he realized that God, not he, was the Great Healer.
Doctors have been notoriously unsuccessful in helping alcoholics. They have contributed fantastic amounts of time and work to our problem, but they weren't able, it seems, to arrest either your alcoholism or mine.
p. 308
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
Yet these instincts, so necessary for our existence, often far exceed their proper functions. Powerfully, blindly, many times subtly, they drive us, dominate us, and insist upon ruling our lives. Our desires for sex, for material and emotional security, and for an important place in society often tyrannize us. When thus out of joint, man's natural desires cause him great trouble, practically all the trouble there is. No human being, however good, is exempt from these troubles. Nearly every serious emotional problem can be seen as a case of misdirected instinct. When that happens, our great natural assets, the instincts, have turned into physical and mental liabilities.
p. 42
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You can't fly a kite unless you go against the wind and have a weight
to keep it from turning somersaults. The same with man. No man
will succeed unless he is ready to face and overcome difficulties and
is prepared to assume responsibilities.
--William J. H. Boetcker
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain - and most fools do.
But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and
forgiving.
--Dale Carnegie
Never assume you know who I am or what I'm doing, ask me a
question instead.
--Carol Neilson
Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn,
whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.
--Helen Keller
"I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all;
but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess."
--unknown
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
ACCEPTANCE
"The man who has become a
thinking being feels a
compulsion to give to every
creature the same reverence for
life that he gives to his own."
-- Albert Schweitzer
Today I accept people. Even the people with who I do not agree, I
accept. My freedom is dependent upon my attitude towards others.
My respect is rooted in the respect I give to others. God is to be found
in my neighbor!
Nowhere is this more true for me as a religious person than in my
attitude to people of other creeds --- and those who have none! The
spiritual life that unites me to God and the world requires not only
acceptance of "difference" but my personal need for it.
But more than this; even those who hurt, abuse and destroy need to be
accepted from within my spiritual self --- because something of their
life exists in mine. In this accepting love is the daily healing of my
disease.
May my acceptance of the tyrant lead to the forgiveness of the self.
************************************************** *********
Whatever you do or say; let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus.
Colossians 3:17
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will
make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6
"The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a
sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like
a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."
Isaiah 58:11
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Daily Inspiration
A thoughtful gesture can accomplish so much and can even be the beginning of a miracle. Lord, help me to warm the heart of just one person today.
Keep your feet firmly planted in your faith and your eyes raised to the heavens. Lord, You are my strength, my encouragement and my source of all that is good.
************************************************** *********
NA Just For Today
The Power Of Love
"We begin to see that God's love has been present all the time, just waiting for us to accept it."
Basic Text, p.46
God's love is the transforming power that drives our recovery. With that love, we find freedom from the hopeless, desperate cycle of using, self-hatred, and more using. With that love, we gain a sense of reason and purpose in our once purposeless lives. With that love, we are given the inner direction and strength we need to begin a new way of life: the NA way. With that love, we begin to see things differently, as if with new eyes.
As we examine our lives through the eyes of love, we make what may be a startling discovery: The loving God we've so recently come to understand has always been with us and has always loved us. We recall the times when we asked for the aid of a Higher Power and were given it. We even recall times when we didn't ask for such help, yet were given it anyway. We realize that a loving Higher Power has cared for us all along, preserving our lives till the day when we could accept that love for ourselves.
The Power of love has been with us all along. Today, we are grateful to have survived long enough to become consciously aware of that love's presence in our world and our lives. Its vitality floods our very being, guiding our recovery and showing us how to live.
Just for today: I accept the love of a Higher Power in my life. I am conscious of that Power's guidance and strength within me. Today, I claim it for my own.
pg. 231
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
What is without periods of rest will not endure. --Ovid
When we are tired, we need to stop and give ourselves time to rest. Sometimes we think we can't spare the time. But without rest, all our activity soon becomes a burden and there is no joy in it. Animals know it is necessary to take time to rest. This is part of the rhythm of life: activity and rest, effort and relaxation.
Our bad moods are often our body's way of telling us we need rest. When we were little, we needed naps. Somehow, we forget to allow ourselves this right when we are older. We are wise to remember we never outgrow this need for rest to make the day go better.
When we return to our day refreshed, we have given ourselves and all those around us the gift of ourselves at our best.
What can I do better when I am rested?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
We must embrace the absurd and go beyond everything we have ever known. --Janie Gustafson
We have stepped beyond the limits of our former life and accepted the possibility of the unknown. Many of us have always tried to be rational, to trust only what we could understand or reason through. That attempt served the part of us that lusted for control and power, but it kept us from unknown possibilities and dreams.
When we decide to be less controlling, we begin to believe in possibilities we didn't allow before. That is how we let God influence our lives. Perhaps we don't see a reasonable way to a more satisfying job, but we can be open to surprising possibilities. We may see nothing we can do to overcome our compulsions, but we pray for God to remove our shortcomings in God's way, and already we have a new attitude.
God, give me the courage to step into the unknown, the absurd, and experience the awakening of my spirit.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
For me, stopping smoking wasn't a matter of will power, but being will-less. --Joan Gilbertson
Most of us have struggled, willfully, with untold numbers of addictions; liquor, uppers, downers, sugar, chocolate, cigarettes, men. The more we became determined to control our use or to abstain, the greater the compulsion felt for one drink, one bite, one puff. Giving in completely was the turning point.
This recovery program helps each of us find relief from our primary addiction once we humble ourselves, accept our powerlessness, and ask for help. It can help us equally effectively, every day, with any problem we are willfully trying to control. Is a family member causing us grief? Is a co-worker creating anxiety? Has a close friend pulled away? We expend so much energy trying to manage outcomes! In most cases, our attempt to control will invite even more resistance.
The program offers the way out of any frustrating situation. We can be mindful of our powerlessness and cherish the opportunities offered by our higher power. We can turn over whatever our problem to God and quietly, trustingly, anticipate the resolution. It's guaranteed.
How much easier I will find life's experiences if I will let go of my willful ways. The right outcome in all cases will more quickly surface.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Asking for What We Need
Decide what it is you want and need, then go to the person you need it from and ask for it.
Sometimes, it takes hard work and much energy to get what we want and need. We have to go through the pains of identifying what we want, then struggle to believe that we deserve it. Then, we may have to experience the disappointment of asking someone, having the person refuse us, and figuring out what to do next.
Sometimes in life, getting what we want and need is not so difficult. Sometimes, all we need to do is ask.
We can go to another person, or our Higher Power, and ask for what we need.
But because of how difficult it can be, at times, to get what we want and need, we may get trapped in the mind set of believing it will always be that difficult. Sometimes, not wanting to go through the hassle, dreading the struggle, or out of fear, we may make getting what we want and need much more difficult than it needs to be.
We may get angry before we ask, deciding that we'll never get what we want, or anticipating the "fight" we'll have to endure. By the time we talk to someone about what we want, we may be so angry that we're demanding, not asking; thus our anger triggers a power play that didn't exist except in our mind.
Or we may get so worked up that we don't ask--or we waste far more energy than necessary fighting with ourselves, only to find out that the other person, or our Higher Power, is happy to give us what we want.
Sometimes, we have to fight and work and wait for what we want and need. Sometimes, we can get it just by asking or stating that this is what we want. Ask. If the answer is no, or not what we want, then we can decide what to do next.
Today, I will not set up a difficult situation that doesn't exist with other people, or my Higher Power, about getting what I want and need. If there is something I need from someone, I will ask first, before I struggle.
Today I will take the time and quiet I need to find that place of peace and happiness within me. Whatever happens outside of me will never replace that which I can find within me wherever I am. --Ruth Fishel
*****
Journey to the Heart
Grow in Your Sensitivity to Toxicity
Just as we are becoming more careful about our earth and the toxins we put into the ground and air, so will we grow in our sensitivity to events, people, places, and substances that are toxic to us.
Our bodies will speak to us, tell us what they don't want, what they can't handle anymore. Our bodies will tell us what hurts, what we're allergic to, what we wish to move away from. Often, underneath the toxins are old, embedded emotions. Release the emotions and you release the toxins. Our bodies will gasp for clarity, purity, cleansing, and detoxification.
What is toxic to one person may not be toxic to the next. What my body wants and needs today may be different from what yours wants and needs today. The answer is in listening-- listening to our bodies, listening to what they're saying, how they're reacting to the people, the substances, the world around us. Listen. What is your body telling you?
Grow in your sensitivity to toxicity. Trust the messages from your body. Let yourself heal.
*****
more language of letting go
Be thankful when you get something else
Dear God,
Thank for for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy.
--Children's Letters to God
Sometimes we look around, assess the situation, and decide what we think we need. So we go to God and begin praying.
Out of the blue, our prayers get answered. But the answer isn't what we requested. We were so specific, we think. Now, this-- this thing-- has come along. We didn't get what we asked for. Our prayers were answered, but we got something else.
Don't get bitter or so involved with feeling blue about not getting what you requested that you miss out on what you did receive. Wants and needs are closely connected. And all our needs, even the ones we're not completely aware of yet, will be met. Be grateful that God knows more about what we need than we do.
Sometimes when we pray, we get what we want. Sometimes we get what we need. Accept both answers-- the yes's and the something else's-- with heartfelt gratitude. Then look around and see what your lesson and gift is.
God, help me remember to be thankful even when the gift is not quite what I expected.
*****
Extra Weight
Choosing Loving Care by Madisyn Taylor
Our bodies are not our enemies, treat it with the care and support your mind, body and spirit deserve.
Our bodies are like living temples, and deserve all the love and care we can give them. Amazingly flexible and strong, they allow us to experience the world. If we notice that we’re not feeling our best, that we’ve put on extra weight, or that our favorite clothes don’t fit, we can make the choice to be good to ourselves in a new way today.
There are times we become conscious of a deeper hunger that will not be satisfied physically. We can make a new, healthier choice for ourselves in any moment, regardless of the hour, day, week or month. And when we make the choice lovingly, we work from a creative place of improving our lives and nurturing the best within us, so there is no need to punish ourselves. From this place, we can be gently honest with ourselves about the reasons we want to eat certain foods. We can reach out to doctors to help us determine if our bodies are out of balance at a level that requires something other than basic nutrients. We can also reach out to our friends for support and to share the journey of health, which is just another part of our adventure on the physical plane.
When we treat ourselves and our bodies as we would a trusted and loyal companion, we keep our energy free from negative thoughts that would complicate our journey. Our bodies are not our enemies, and we are not fighting a battle. Instead, we are investing our love and attention into the care and support of a beautiful creation—our selves. Published with permission from Daily OM
************************************************
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
On numerous occasions, I’ve found that there’s a strong connection between my fears and my resentments. If I secretly fear that I’m inadequate, for example, I’ll tend to resent deeply anybody whose actions or words expose my imagined inadequacy. But it’s usually too painful to admit that my own fears and doubts about myself are the cause of my resentments. It’s a lot easier to pin the blame on someone Else’s “bad behavior” or “selfish motives” – and use that as the justification for my resentment. Do I realize that by resenting someone, I all that person to live rent-free in my head?
Today I Pray
May God help me overcome my feelings of inadequacy. May I know that when I consistently regard myself as a notch or two lower than the next person, I am not giving due credit to my Creator, who has given each of us a special and worthwhile blend of talents. I am, in fact, grumbling about God’s Divine Plan. May I look behind my trash-pile of resentments for my own self-doubt.
Today I Will Remember
As I build myself up, I tear down my resentments.
*******************************************
One More Day
Usually when people are sad, they don’t do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change.
– Malcolm X
Those of us who have a chronic illness often feel a lot of anger, but we can choose how to deal with the anger. If we insist on denying it, we may isolate ourselves and be numbed by an unbearable sadness. Or we might lash out at the people we love.
A sounder choice for us is to acknowledge our anger — and our right to be angry. We don’t deserve illness. Or pain. When we allow ourselves these honest reactions, we are freer to move toward acceptance — and action. When we accept our limitations — no matter how unfair they are — we then can decide where and how and when we will make needed changes in our lives.
My anger can lead me toward growth if I use it in the right ways.
************************************************** *****************
In God’s Care
We cannot always oblige, but we can always speak obligingly.
~~Voltaire
Sometimes we forget that we’re all special people who are in each others’ lives for a purpose. Our Higher Power has guaranteed each of us love, growth, and support. In return, we’re expected to treat our fellow travelers respectfully and courteously. Abrupt or harsh comments put people on the defensive and strain communication. Then none of us feels the support and love we need from one another.
We can ease a friend or co-worker’s troubles today by quietly, calmly relying on our Higher Power to help us in our conversations. And when we are troubled, we don’t need to project our tenseness or anxiety to everyone around us. We will gain esteem for ourselves and show love to the other person if we share our words in a loving tone. It’s relly so easy to decide to honor one another in this way. In the process, we are honoring God too.
I will speak kindly and lovingly to others today.
************************************************** *****************
Day By Day
Admitting unmanageability
“What do you mean, ‘unmangeable’?” we ask when we first come into the program. (And we are surprised at the smiling faces and suppressed chuckles.) We have been living with our delusions for so long that we really believe everything is okay – or will be okay next week. We simply can’t see how out of control our lives truly are: angry creditors, unemployment, separation or divorce, health problems.
Some of these situations were ridiculous, others tragic – and still we fantasized that we were in control. After a period of time in the program, however, living with them seems hard to imagine. But if we still think we have control, we need to ask for help in facing our delusions and our tomorrow-will-be-better syndrome.
Have I turned the management of my life over to God?
Higher Power, help me to truly accept Step One.
I will look at what is unmanageable in my life today by…
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Food For Thought
Daily Inventory
When we are not functioning up to par, we need to find out where the problem is. If the day begins to fall apart and we feel overwhelmed and unable to cope, it may be a good idea to stop and take inventory.
Examining the quality of our abstinence is a good place to begin. Have we permitted thoughts of making a small exception here and there? Are we dwelling too much on what we will have for the next meal? Did we make a substitution, which gave us more carbohydrates than we could handle?
If the problem is not with abstinence, then it must be in our emotional or spiritual life. Are we harboring resentments, which are poisoning our outlook? Have we made a mistake, which we are unwilling to admit? Is there something we need to do for a family member that we are procrastinating about doing? Are we denying a legitimate need of our own?
Grant me the honesty to confront my weaknesses.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
~ ANSWERS ~
There is no need to run outside
For better seeing,
Nor to peer from a window.
Rather abide at the center of your being.
Lao Tzu
I always looked for answers outside of myself. I did not put the trust in my self and thought someone, anyone, always knew better than me. I believed the advertisements and compared myself to polished pictures of beautiful thin women.
As I recover from compulsive overeating, I am learning that all of the answers are inside of me. I need only to get quiet and listen to that still small voice. I pray that my Higher Power will give me the willingness to go inside where my truths lie.
One Day at a Time . . .
I look within and wait patiently ...
knowing the answers, however big or small,
are all within.
~ Melissa S. ~
*****************************************
AA 'Big Book' - Quote
As we discovered the principles by which the individual alcoholic could live, so we had to evolve principles by which A.A. groups and A.A. as a whole could survive and function effectively. It was thought that no alcoholic man or woman could be excluded from our Society; that our leaders might serve but never govern; that each group was to be autonomous and there was to be no professional class of therapy. - Pg. xix - 4th Edition - Forward To The Second Edition
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
When our minds clear (as the drugs of alcohol, cocaine, pot, crystal, and heroin work out of our system), our betrayals become clear. It is painful knowing we betrayed the trust of our parents, our lovers, our children, our employers and our friends. Most of all we betrayed ourselves. Our steps are the steps out of the betrayal.
Higher Power, as I understand You, help me face my betrayals with courage, knowing that each step will contribute to healing the betrayals.
Appreciating What I Have
Today I won't let my desire for more, blind me to what's already here. My life is full of blessings that I look right past when all I see is what's missing rather than what is there. Desire is natural and good, I need to feel it to grow and reach beyond myself. But today, I will appreciate what I already have before I ask for more. Appreciation is like water on a plant, it causes good to grow in my life. What I appreciate expands. It grows before my eyes, it deepens and widens. The mere act of appreciation somehow creates more of what I am already giving thanks for. It opens doors to the coffers of this generous world and invites the its bounty to come in. Appreciation lets the creative universe know that I am grateful for what is being so freely given to me.
Today I will appreciate what I have knowing that it opens a doorway to increase
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
'Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude.' ~Martin Luther King. Undoubtedly, there are many on your list to forgive. There is only one whom you must forgive 'that is yourself.'
Because my Higher Power forgives me, I forgive myself.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
It's the twelve steps, not the twelve standstills.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I will take the time and quiet I need to find that place of peace and happiness within me. Whatever happens outside of me will never replace that which I can find within me wherever I am.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Divine aid was AA's greatest asset. - Bill W.
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Post by caressa222 on Aug 9, 2018 19:06:24 GMT -5
August 10
Daily Reflections
REDOUBLING OUR EFFORTS
To a degree, he has already done this when taking moral
inventory, but now the time has come when he ought to
redouble his efforts to see how many people he had hurt,
and in what ways.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS , p. 77
As I continue to grow in sobriety, I become more aware
of myself as a person of worth. In the process, I am
better able to see others as persons, and with this comes
the realization that these were people whom I had hurt in
my drinking days. I didn't just lie, I lied about Tom. I
didn't just cheat, I cheated Joe. What were seemingly
impersonal acts, were really personal affronts, because
it was people - people of worth - whom I had harmed. I
need to do something about the people I have hurt so that
I may enjoy a peaceful sobriety.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
"The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have
discovered a common solution. We who have found this
solution to our alcoholic problem, we who are properly armed
with the facts about ourselves, can generally win the
entire confidence of another alcoholic. We who are making
the approach to new prospects have had the same difficulty
they have had. We obviously know what we are talking about.
Our whole deportment shouts at new prospects that we are
people with a real answer." Am I a person with the real
answer to the alcoholic problems of others?
Meditation For The Day
For straying from the right way there is no cure except to
keep so close to the thought of God that nothing, no other
interest, can seriously come between you and God. Sure of
that, you can stay on God's side. Knowing the way, nothing
can prevent your staying in the way and nothing can cause
you to seriously stray from it. God has promised peace if
you stay close to Him, but not leisure. You still have to
carry on in the world. He has promised heart-rest and
comfort, but not pleasure in the ordinary sense. Peace and
comfort bring real inward happiness.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may keep my feet on the way. I pray that I
may stay on God's side.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Who Is To Blame?, p. 222
At Step Four we resolutely looked for our own mistakes. Where
had we been selfish, dishonest, self-seeking, and frightened?
Though a given situation had not been entirely our fault, we often
tried to cast the whole blame on the other person involved.
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.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 67
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Am I getting too busy?
Time Management.
It's always risky when a recovering person gets too busy for meetings. It's also dangerous when business and personal concerns crowd out interest in the program.
We should never deceive ourselves by thinking that we're somehow safe just because our time is filled with useful and interesting work. Many of us have a tendency to become addicted to "busy-ness". Though less destructive than drinking, this serves as an escape, just as alcohol did.
The danger is that when the work no longer satisfies us, we'll find our lives becoming empty again. We could then be very vulnerable to taking a drink.
We should never be too busy for the wonderful, constructive work of the program. Far from taking time away from our other actives, work in the program will enhance everything we do.
I'll try to balance my activities today, making sure that I have time for the program.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
There are time we must grab God's and walk forward.--- Anonymous
Sometimes we struggle with being part of the problem, instead of being part of the solution.
Inside we know this, but somehow we can't Let Go and Let God.
To let go takes faith that the outcome will be okay. When we have faith, we know our Higher Power believes in us and will guide us. When we have faith, we believe in ourselves.
When we let go, we let go of our need to always be right. Letting go first takes place on the inside. Letting go allows us to change how we view what's happening. Often, all we really need is this change of attitude. This is the beauty of faith: it allows us to see the same thing in different
Ways.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, permit me to let go. Let me see that believing in You must also mean believing in myself.
Action for the Day: I will review my life since entering the Twelve Step program. I will work at seeing what good partners my Higher Power and I make.
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
...the growth of understanding follows an ascending spiral rather than a straight line. --Joanna Field
We each are traveling our own, very special path in this life. At times our paths run parallel to each other. On occasion they may intersect. But we do all have a common destination: knowledge of life's meaning. And we'll arrive at knowledge when we've arrived at the mountain's summit, separately and yet together.
We do not go straight up the side of the mountain on this trip. We circle it, slowly, carefully, sometimes losing our footing, sometimes back-tracking because we've reached an impasse. Many times we have stumbled, but as we grow in understanding, as we rely more and more on our inner strength, available for the taking, we become more sure-footed.
We have never needed to take any step alone on this trip. Our troubles in the past were complicated because we did not know this; but now we do. Our lifeline is to our higher power. If we hang onto it, every step of the way will feel secure. The ground will be stable under us.
I am on a path to full understanding. I am learning to trust the lifeline offered by the program and God and my friends. As I learn, my footing is less tentative, and it supports me more securely.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
When you have carefully explained to such people that he is a sick person, you will have created a new atmosphere. Barriers which have sprung up between you and your friends will disappear with the growth of sympathetic understanding. You will no longer be self-conscious or feel that you must apologize as though your husband were a weak character. He may be anything but that. Your new courage, good nature and lack of self-consciousness will do wonders for you socially.
p. 115
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
Physician, Heal Thyself
Psychiatrist and surgeon, he had lost his way until he realized that God, not he, was the Great Healer.
And the clergy have tried hard to help us, but we haven't been helped. And the psychiatrist has had thousands of couches and has out you and me on them many, many times, but he hasn't helped us very much, though he has tried hard, and we owe the clergy and the doctor and the psychiatrist a deep debt of gratitude, but they haven't helped our alcoholism, except in a few rare instances. But---Alcoholics Anonymous has helped.
p. 308
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
Step Four is our vigorous and painstaking effort to discover what these liabilities in each of us have been, and are. 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. Without a willing and persistent effort to do this, there can be little sobriety or contentment for us. Without a searching and fearless moral inventory, most of us have found that the faith which really works in daily living is still out of reach.
pp. 42-43
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Joy is the echo of God’s life in us.
--Abbot Columba Mormion
"It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day to day basis."
--Margaret Bonnano
Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart ...
Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
--Carl Jung
"We generally change ourselves for one of two reasons: inspiration or
desperation."
--Jim Rohn
"The time is always right to do what is right."
--Martin Luther King, Jr.
"What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a
butterfly."
--Lao Tsu
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
FAITH
"Faith must trample underfoot
all reason, sense and
understanding."
-- Martin Luther
An obstacle to my understanding the spiritual life was my
intellectualization; my head was forever getting in the way of my
heart. It was much easier to me to think rather than to feel; my faith
was smothered by logic. My manipulating and controlling mind was
stopping me experiencing the adventure of faith.
The poet in me grew as I began to trust others. God became alive in
my confusion. The answer was in not having to have the answers.
Today spirituality involves all the varied confusions and paradoxes of
life that I have discovered in me and in others --- and it's okay.
Today the love I give and receive is beyond my wildest dreams, and I
smile at the joy of my confusion.
May my head unite with my heart in the daily maze of life.
************************************************** *********
"Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face evermore!"
1 Chronicles 16:11
"For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in him. That is why we
say "Amen" when we give glory to God through Christ."
2 Corinthians 1:20
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Daily Inspiration
Whatever the problem, stressing over it will not solve it. Lord, I turn to You for solutions because I believe that You care for all of my needs. Bless me with the ability to remain level headed and calm as we work our way through my day.
Never forget that home is Heaven and life on earth is only temporary. Lord, may I live with deep awareness of my spiritual nature and live a life of truth.
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NA Just For Today
Regular Prayer And Meditation
"Most of us pray when we are hurting. We learn that if we pray regularly, we won't be hurting as often or as intensely."
Basic Text, p.44
Regular prayer and meditation are two more key elements in our new pattern of living. Our active addiction was more than just a bad habit waiting to be broken by force of will. Our addiction was a negative, draining dependence that stole all our positive energy. That dependence was so total, it prevented us from developing any kind of reliance on a Higher Power.
From the very beginning of our recovery, our Higher Power has been the force that's brought us freedom. First, it relieved us of our compulsion to keep taking drugs, even when we knew they were killing us. Then, it gave us freedom from the more deeply ingrained aspects of our disease. Our Higher Power gave us the direction, the strength, and the courage to inventory ourselves; to admit out loud to another person what our lives had been like, perhaps for the first time; to begin seeking release from the chronic defects of character underlying our troubles; and, at last, to make amends for the wrongs we'd done.
That first contact with a Higher Power, and that first freedom, has grown into a life full of freedom. We maintain that freedom by maintaining and improving our conscious contact with our Higher Power through regular prayer and meditation.
Just for today: I will make a commitment to include regular prayer and meditation in my new pattern of living.
pg. 232
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
It may be those who do most dream most. --Stephen Leathingy
Where would we be without the dreamers of the world--the ones who took the time to balance on the edge of wonder? Amazing connections, powerful images, and creative ideas come to us in daydreams. They creep in when we least expect them, like sleek cats, then make their presence known to us with a gentle pounce.
When we give ourselves permission to daydream--to sit for a while and do nothing but be quiet with our thoughts, we give ourselves a precious gift. And who knows, we just might be giving the world a priceless gift, too! Out of the seeds of some of our dreams, great ideas will blossom.
What first step can I take today to make a dream come true?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
According to the teachers, there is only one thing that all people possess equally. This is their loneliness. --Hyemeyohsts Storm
Many of us have tried to find a way to outwit our loneliness, or to escape its truth. We have learned that we cannot. As fathers looking at our children we may wish to spare them this pain. As men with our mates, we have dreamed of an ideal connection where all loneliness was dispelled.
We can't obliterate loneliness. But we can learn to accept and deal with it. There is no need to compulsively cover all traces and all reminders that we are alone. We can accept this universal truth. We are alone, but so is everybody. We can make true contact with each other out of our aloneness. True intimacy with another man or woman comes out of first seeing our separateness, and then bridging the gap.
Today, I accept the feeling of loneliness as part of life. I can make contact with my brothers and sisters, knowing we are all in the same condition.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
...the growth of understanding follows an ascending spiral rather than a straight line. --Joanna Field
We each are traveling our own, very special path in this life. At times our paths run parallel to each other. On occasion they may intersect. But we do all have a common destination: knowledge of life's meaning. And we'll arrive at knowledge when we've arrived at the mountain's summit, separately and yet together.
We do not go straight up the side of the mountain on this trip. We circle it, slowly, carefully, sometimes losing our footing, sometimes back-tracking because we've reached an impasse. Many times we have stumbled, but as we grow in understanding, as we rely more and more on our inner strength, available for the taking, we become more sure-footed.
We have never needed to take any step alone on this trip. Our troubles in the past were complicated because we did not know this; but now we do. Our lifeline is to our higher power. If we hang onto it, every step of the way will feel secure. The ground will be stable under us.
I am on a path to full understanding. I am learning to trust the lifeline offered by the program and God and my friends. As I learn, my footing is less tentative, and it supports me more securely.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Letting Go of Perfection
As I journey through recovery, more and more I learn that accepting myself and my idiosyncrasies - laughing at myself for my ways - gets me a lot further than picking on myself and trying to make myself perfect. Maybe that's really what it's all about - absolute loving, joyous, nurturing self-acceptance. --Anonymous
Stop expecting perfection from yourself and those around you.
We do a terrible, annoying thing to others and ourselves when we expect perfection. We set up a situation where others, including ourselves, do not feel comfortable with us. Sometimes, expecting perfection makes people so uptight that they and we make more mistakes than normal because we are so nervous and focused on mistakes.
That does not mean we allow inappropriate behaviors with the excuse "nobody's perfect." That doesn't mean we don't have boundaries and reasonable expectations of people and ourselves.
But our expectations need to be reasonable. Expecting perfection is not reasonable.
People make mistakes. The less anxious, intimidated, and repressed they are by expectations of being perfect, the better they will do.
Striving for excellence, purity in creativity, a harmonious performance, and the best we have to offer does not happen in the stymied, negative, fear-producing atmosphere of expecting perfection.
Have and set boundaries. Have reasonable expectations. Strive to do your best. Encourage others to do the same. But know that others and we will make mistakes. Know that others and we will have learning experiences, things we go through.
Sometimes, the flaws and imperfections in ourselves determine our uniqueness, the way they do in a piece of art. Relish them. Laugh at them. Embrace them, and ourselves.
Encourage others and ourselves to do the best we can. Love and nurture others and ourselves for being who we are. Then realize we are not merely human - we were intended and created to be human.
Today, God, help me let go of my need to be perfect and to unreasonably insist that others are perfect. I will not use this to tolerate abuse or mistreatment, but to achieve appropriate, balanced expectations. I am creating a healthy atmosphere of love, acceptance, and nurturing around and within me. I trust that this attitude will bring out the best in other people and in me.
Today I know my Higher Power is guiding me through the changes I choose to make in my life. I have all the energy I need today to make these changes as easily and effortless as I wish. --Ruth Fishel
*****
Journey to the Heart
Find Places of Healing
Find places of healing. Discover people, things, and places that nourish your soul, bring you back to center, help you heal.
Life is not an endurance contest. Not anymore. We are not in a race to see how long we can go without, how much we can go without, how much pain we can stay in. Although sometimes we go through dry spells and droughts, we are not cactuses.
There is a place in each of us that wants to heal, that can heal, that will heal. It's a peaceful place, one of nourishment, replenishment, peace, safety, comfort, and joy. It's a place of love and acceptance. It's a place of forgiveness, honesty, openness, nurturing, and kindness. You can find it quickly, if that's what you're seeking. You will recognize it instantly because of how it feels. It will bring you back to center. It will bring you back to calm. It will bring you back to joy.
Find places of healing. Then go there often. They are yours for the asking, yours for the seeking. Healing places are an important part of the journey.
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more language of letting go
It's all a gift
Men are not angered by mere misfortune but by misfortune conceived as injury. And the sense of injury depends on the feeling that a legitimate claim has been denied.
--C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
Oh, the grousing about we do, especially when we feel denied of one thing or another-- some reward, or achievement, or position that we felt belonged to us.
How enraged we may become when a wish, a hope, a dream, or a want is blatantly denied.
How easy it is to be jealous of the success or happiness of another, even convincing ourselves that the person has laid claim to something that rightfully belonged, instead, to us.
The lesson here is simple.
Remember to be grateful. God doesn't owe us anything. All of it is a gift.
God, thanks for everything, jusr as it is.
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Worthiness
Accepting Our Calling by Madisyn Taylor
Our worth of being on the planet at this time cannot be judged as we are all worthy and essential to being here now.
The issue of worthiness may come up in many areas of our lives, as we ask, often unconsciously, whether we are worthy of success, love, happiness, and countless other things, from supportive relationships to a beautiful home. In the end, though, it all comes down to one thing: our willingness to claim our space in this life as humans on this planet at this time. When we accept our divinity, we no longer question whether we are worthy, because we know that we are meant to be here to fulfill a particular purpose, a purpose that no one other than us can fulfill.
There are no replacements who can take over and live our lives for us, no other person who has had the experiences we have had, who has access to the same resources and relationships, who carries the same message to share with the world. Our purpose may be large or small, and in most cases it is multi-leveled, with important actions taking place on the interpersonal level, as well as in terms of the work we do in the world. Small acts of kindness share the stage with large acts of sacrifice, and only through accepting and honoring our divinity can we know what we are called to do and when.
Ultimately, we are all equally, exactly, completely worthy of being here in this life. Moreover, we are all essential to the unfolding plan of which we are each one small, but important, part. If we suffer from low self worth, it is because we have lost track of understanding this truth, and allowing it to guide our actions in the world. Seeing ourselves as part of something larger, as beings called to serve, is the ultimate cure for feelings of unworthiness. In the end, it’s not about evaluating ourselves as worthy or unworthy, so much as it’s about accepting that we have been called here to serve and taking the steps required to listen and respond to what our lives are asking us to do. Published with permission from Daily OM
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One More Day
Few men are so miserable as not to like to talk of their misfortunes…. – Maria Edgeworth
“Don’t get stuck in a conversation with Harry. He’ll bore you to death telling you his problems.” We have all had the experience of being warned away from a certain person. There have probably even been times when we were the “Harry” others tried to avoid. It’s normal to dwell on our troubles, and we all like to talk about them. There is an added responsibility on our shoulders now that there is a medical problem present.
We can minimize that problem by becoming aware of what we are doing and by saving our long medical conversations for the people who really care and need to know. Otherwise, we will find that our friends will slip away, uncertain of how to bear the burden of our changed health.
Caution will become my watchword as I learn to live with my altered health problems.
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
We’ve been our own worst enemies most of our lives, and we’ve often injured ourselves seriously as a result of a “justified” resentment over a slight wrong. Doubtless there are many causes for resentment in the world, all of them providing “justification.” But we can never begin to settle all the world’s grievances or even arrange things so as to please everybody. If we’ve been treated unjustly by others or simply by life itself, we can avoid compounding the difficulty by completely forgiving the persons involved and abandoning the destructive habit of reviewing our hurts and humiliations. Can i believe that yesterday’s hurt is today’s understanding, rewoven into tomorrow’s love?
Today I Pray
Whether I am unjustly treated or just think I am, may I try not to be a resentful person, stewing over past injuries. Once I have identified the root emotion behind my resentment, may I be big enough to forgive the person involved and wise enough to forget the whole thing.
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In God’s Care
August 10, 2013God has an exasperating habit of laying his hands on the wrong man.
~~Joseph D. Blinco
At times it seems grossly unfair that we are in the position we find ourselves. Either we aren’t ready to deal with the circumstances we encounter, or the people we find ourselves with don’t understand our problems. We feel we’re with the wrong people in the wrong place at the wrong time. But is this true?
How many times have we heard a nugget of wisdom from an unlikely source? Each of us can remember the comfort of a smile, a kind word, or a piece of sound advice from someone whom we least expected it from. Perhaps this was God’s way of reminding us that we all have value to each other and to God. We are never in the wrong place or in the wrong hands.
I will try to remember that there is a purpose for everything in my life.
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Day By Day
Adapting to the world“Live only in today; don’t worry about tomorrow.” That’s a fine ambition, we may think, but what does it mean? “Living in today” means dealing only with what is at hand now and the available courses of action.
If we are worrying about matters in the past or future, or out of our realm, we can disengage ourselves from them. We cannot bend the world to our will.
Am I learning to fit myself to the world?
Higher Power, help me remember to conquer myself, not the world.
Today I will practice adapting myself to whatever happens by
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Food For Thought
No Compromises
Where abstinence is concerned, there can be no compromising. In order to control our illness, we are willing to go to any lengths to maintain abstinence. Nothing else is as important to us.
If we are eating in a restaurant where the right kind of vegetable is not available, we can order two salads or do without a vegetable for one meal, rather than substitute a starch which will activate our disease. We learn what we can handle and what is not for us, and then we act on that knowledge in every situation. To compromise “just this once” is an invitation to trouble.
Just as we have a certain way of eating for the maintenance of our recovery, so we have a way of living based on the principle of rigorous honesty. Honesty in all of our activities is what makes us strong and effective. Where the core principles of our program are concerned, we do not compromise.
By Your grace, may I maintain my integrity in all situations.
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One Day At A Time
LOSS
“The act of giving something up is painful.
But as we negotiate the curves and corners of our lives,
we must continually give up parts of ourselves.
The only alternative is not to travel at all on the journey of life.”
M. Scott Peck
As I look back over my life, I can remember many losses. Some came about by death, some by the circumstances of life, and others by choices I made. All of my losses were painful, but only three were traumatic. Whenever I gave something up there was a period afterwards when my life wasn’t the same as it had been before. The amount of pain I experienced and the length of its duration were not contingent upon the seeming “severity” of the loss. Death was final, but not the most traumatic for me. Letting go of something takes many forms.
Though my most traumatic losses were those I experienced at the end of a relationship, there were other losses, too. I lost my youth and I mourned that. I lost a part of my life when a decades-long career gave way to retirement. I lost my role as mother when my children grew up and I found myself with an empty nest. I lost my identity when the disease I have had for a lifetime caused me to reach bottom and, in the process, took the “me who was” along with it. And I lost another part of myself when I accepted the reality of my marriage and let go of the storybook dreams I once had.
My Twelve Step program has enabled me to go through a mourning process for each loss I experienced. I have allowed myself to grieve and feel the feelings. And when all this was done, God’s grace allowed me to heal.
One day at a time ... I will learn from those things I had to give up ...
and I will continue my journey in serenity and peace.
~ Mari
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Alcoholics who have derided religious people will be helped by such contacts. Being possessed of a spiritual experience, the alcoholic will find he has much in common with these people, though he may differ with them on many matters. If he does not argue about religion, he will make new friends and is sure to find new avenues of usefulness and pleasure. He and his family can be a bright spot in such congregations. He may bring new hope and new courage to many a priest, minister, or rabbi, who gives his all to minister to our troubled world. We intend the foregoing as a helpful suggestion only. So far as we are concerned, there is nothing obligatory about it. As non-demominational people, we cannot make up others' mind for them. Each individual should consult his own conscience. - Pgs. 131-132 - The Family Afterward
Self Importance
I will get my mind off of the treadmill. There is more to life than my worries and obsessions. Just for today I won't give every little thing more importance than it deserves. In the scheme of things, all of my petty annoyances aren't all that important. I don't have to take them so seriously that they disturb my inner peace. When I am constantly preoccupies with all that's wrong, I forget to remember all that's right. Self importance is different from valuing myself. Self importance gets me tied up in mental knots, valuing myself is nourishing and loving.
I will get out of my own way today
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
We find that the smallest deed is better than the grandest intention.
My actions speak louder than words. What are my actions saying now?
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Keeping their secret keeps you sick.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I know my Higher Power is guiding me through the changes I choose to make in my life.
I have all the energy I need today to make these changes as easily and effortless as I wish.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
No big shots in AA; One shot and we're all shot. - Unknown origin. ( Aussie Version ); No seniority here. One drink and back to the vomit, - Campsie Mick.
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Post by caressa222 on Aug 10, 2018 20:30:42 GMT -5
August 11
Daily Reflections
REMOVING "THE GROUND GLASS"
The moral inventory is a cool examination of the damages that
occurred to us during life and a sincere effort to look at them in a true
perspective. This has the effect of taking the ground glass out of us,
the emotional substance that still cuts and inhibits.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 140
My Eighth Step list used to drag me into a whirlpool of resentment.
After four years of sobriety, I was blocked by denial connected with
an ongoing abusive relationship. The argument between fear and
pride eased as the words of the Step moved from my head to my
heart. For the first time in years I opened my box of paints and poured
out an honest rage, an explosion of reds and blacks and yellows. As I
looked at the drawing, tears of joy and relief flowed down my cheeks.
In my disease, I had given up my art, a self-inflicted punishment far
greater than any imposed from outside. In my recovery, I learned that
the pain of my defects is the very substance God uses to cleanse my
character and to set me free.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
"While alcoholics keep strictly away from drink, they react to life
much like other people. But the first drink sets the terrible cycle in
motion. Alcoholics usually have no idea why they take the first drink.
Some drinkers have excuses with which they are satisfied, but in their
hearts they really do not know why they do it. The truth is that at
some point in their drinking they have passed into a state where the most
powerful desire to stop drinking is of no avail." Am I satisfied that I
have passed my tolerance point for alcohol?
Meditation For The Day
He who made the ordered world out of chaos and set the stars in their
courses and made each plant to know its season, He can bring peace
and order out of your private chaos if you will let Him. God is
watching over you, too, to bless you and care for you. Out of the
darkness He is leading you to light, out of unrest to rest, out of
disorder to order, out of faults and failure to success. You belong to
God and your affairs are His affairs and can be ordered by Him if you
are willing.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be led out of disorder into order. I pray that I may be
led out of failure into success.
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As Bill Sees It
One Fellowship--Many Faiths, p.223
As a society we must never become so vain as to suppose that we
are authors and inventors of a new religion. We will humbly reflect
that every one of A.A.'s principles has been borrowed from
ancient sources.
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A minister in Thailand wrote, "We took A.A.'s Twelve Steps to
the largest Buddhist monastery in this province, and the head
priest said, "Why, these Steps are fine! For us as Buddhists, it might
be slightly more acceptable if you had inserted the word 'good' in
your Steps instead of 'God.' Nevertheless, you say that it is God
as you understand Him, and that must certainly include the good.
Yes, A.A.'s Twelve Steps will surely be accepted by the Buddhists
around here.'"
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St. Louis oldtimers recall how Father Edward Dowling helped
start their group; it turned out to be largely Protestant, but this
fazed him not a bit.
A.A. Comes Of Age
1. p. 231
2. p. 81
3. p. 37
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Walk In Dry Places
What is real Open-mindedness?
New Ideas
When we're urged to be open-minded, what's really involved? Open-mindedness certainly can't mean accepting every idea that comes down the road, because some of them are worthless or harmful.
Open-mindedness really means a readiness to put our deeply held opinions aside long enough to consider new ideas. If we simply refuse to listen to anything new, we'll avoid the bad ideas, but we'll also miss out on the ideas that can help us.
If we're really honest, we can look back to see many ideas that helped us after we reluctantly agreed to consider them. It's important to screen ideas as they come to us, but we can't block them out completely. All a good idea needs to help us is a fair chance.
I'll work at being more open-minded today. It's possible I've been blocking out ideas that could help me.
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Keep It Simple
The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win you're still a rat.--- Lily Tomlin
Alcoholism is rat race. Drug addiction is a rat race. We were always trying to keep one or two steps ahead of the cat. We were always sneaking around, and everyone was disgusted with us.
Our goal in recovery is stop acting like a rat and join the human race again. Recovery teaches us sayings like Easy Does It and One Day At a Time. Our sayings remind us to pace ourselves. Our sayings remind us that healing takes time.
We live by human values: honesty, respect from others, fairness, openness, self-respect. We work at just being ourselves. We learn that this is enough. We are enough.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me accept my humanness. I am part of the human race, not the rat race.
Action for the Day: Just for today, I'll pace myself. I'll list ways I often go to fast for my own good. I'll ask friends how they pace themselves.
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Each Day a New Beginning
Imagination has always had powers of resurrection that no science can match. --Ingrid Bengis
In the imagination are transmitted messages, from God to us. Inspiration is born there. So are dreams. Both give rise to the goals that urge us forward, that invite us to honor this life we've been given with a contribution, one like no other contribution.
Our imagination offers us ideas to ponder, ideas specific to our development. It encourages us to take steps unique to our time, our place, our intended gifts to the world. We can be alert to this special "inner voice" and let it guide our decisions; we can trust its urgings. It's charged with serving us, but only we can decide to "listen."
The imagination gives us another tool: belief in ourselves. And the magic of believing offers us strength and capabilities even beyond our fondest hopes. It prepares us for the effort we need to make and for handling whatever outcome God has intended.
My imagination will serve me today. It will offer me the ideas and the courage I need to go forth.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
The same principle applies in dealing with the children. Unless they actually need protection from their father, it is best not to take sides in any argument he has with them while drinking. Use your energies to promote a better understanding all around. Then that terrible tension which grips the home of every problem drinker will be lessened.
p. 115
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
Physician, Heal Thyself
Psychiatrist and surgeon, he had lost his way until he realized that God, not he, was the Great Healer.
What is this power that A.A. possesses? This curative power? I don't know what it is. I suppose the doctor might say, "This is psychosomatic medicine." I suppose the psychiatrist might say, "This is benevolent interpersonal relations." I suppose others would say, "This is group psychotherapy."
To me it is God.
p. 308
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
Before tackling the inventory problem in detail, let's have a closer look at what the basic problem is. Simple examples like the following take on a world of meaning when we think about them. Suppose a person places sex desire ahead of everything else. In such a case, this imperious urge can destroy his chances for material and emotional security as well as his standing in the community. Another may develop such an obsession for financial security that he wants to do nothing but hoard money. Going to the extreme, he can become a miser, or even a recluse who denies himself both family and friends.
p. 43
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If what you are doing is not working, take a moment to stop and take a
look at what you are doing and, if necessary, take another path.
--Jan Ruhe
"Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising
every time we fall."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
When it is time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived.
--Henry David Thoreau
I can get more out of God by believing Him for one minute than by
shouting at Him all night.
--Smith Wigglesworth
"I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of
my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most
precious gift I have - life itself."
--Walter Anderson
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
INDIVIDUALITY
"The race advances only by the
extra achievements of the
individual. You are the
individual."
-- Charles Towne
The spiritual program that involves a "love of self" has made me get
in touch with my individuality. Although we can identify with other
people's feelings and situations, we are also not exactly the same. Our
dreams and aspirations are different, our gifts and achievements vary,
our personal individuality adds to the variety of life.
My "difference" needs to be nurtured alongside my spiritual growth,
especially since being a recovering alcoholic I am tempted to "please"
the crowd. Today my personal inventory revolves around my needs,
hopes and dreams that are realistic. Spirituality is reality.
In helping myself to the abundant richness that is within me, I am
contributing to society and the world.
Thank You for making the world with such creative difference; may I
continue to risk in this knowledge.
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"Even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed, the Lord answered,
you could say to this mulberry tree, May God uproot you and throw
you into the sea, and it would obey you!"
Luke 17:6
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do
not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
Galatians 5:1
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Daily Inspiration
Thoughts of the past can not hurt you without your consent. Lord, help me to learn from my past, not live there by continually bringing it into the present.
The heart cannot both doubt and have faith, hate and give love, worry and trust in God for one will soon crowd out the other. Lord, I commit myself to Your way and Your will and open my heart to Your peace.
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NA Just For Today
Active Listening
"Through active listening, we hear things that work for us."
Basic Text, p.102
Most of us arrived in Narcotics Anonymous with a very poor ability to listen. But to take full advantage of "the therapeutic value of one addict helping another" we must learn to listen actively.
What is active listening for us? In meetings, it means we concentrate on what the speaker is sharing, while the speaker is sharing. We set aside our own thoughts and opinions until the meeting is over. That's when we sort through what we've heard to decide which ideas we want to use and which we want to explore further.
We can apply our active listening skills in sponsorship, too. Newcomers often talk with us about some "major event" in their lives. While such events may not seem significant to us, they are to the newcomer who has little experience living life on life's terms. Our active listening helps us empathize with the feelings such events trigger in our sponsee's life. With that understanding, we have a better idea of what to share with them.
The ability to listen actively was unknown to us in the isolation of our addiction. Today, this ability helps us actively engage with our recovery. Through active listening, we receive everything being offered us in NA, and we share fully with others the love and care we've been given.
Just for today: I will strive to be an active listener. I will practice active listening when others share and when I share with others.
pg. 233
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Friends are people who help you be more yourself, more the person you are intended to be. --Merle Shain
Sometimes a teacher, sometimes a neighbor, almost always our moms and dads encourage us to try new activities or to improve our schoolwork, sports, drawing, or gardening. Because they are our friends, they want us to be the best we can be.
Not everyone knows how to be a friend. Some people only criticize, and never praise. People who never encourage or praise us are usually unhappy with their own achievements. They don't mean us harm. Perhaps they just need a friend, too. Not only do we each need friends to help us grow, we need to be friends to others. To encourage and praise those who need it will help us in return.
Whose friend can I be today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
I'd like to get away from earth awhile and then come back to it and begin again. --Robert Frost
Do we think it's weak to need a break? Do we ignore the need to recharge our batteries? Responsibility for our own lives requires us to recognize the need to restore our energy. Maybe our former escape from the world was by using food, or drugs, or spending money, or sexual release, or preoccupation with another person.
Now, since we are developing the ability to be with ourselves, we can take a break from the world and come back restored. This meditation time generates more energy for our lives. Recreation with friends, a walk, a movie, or a concert does the same. Taking responsibility to get away is a good cure for self-pity and exhaustion.
Today, I will be aware of my need to restore my energy.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Imagination has always had powers of resurrection that no science can match. --Ingrid Bengis
In the imagination are transmitted messages, from God to us. Inspiration is born there. So are dreams. Both give rise to the goals that urge us forward, that invite us to honor this life we've been given with a contribution, one like no other contribution.
Our imagination offers us ideas to ponder, ideas specific to our development. It encourages us to take steps unique to our time, our place, our intended gifts to the world. We can be alert to this special "inner voice" and let it guide our decisions; we can trust its urgings. It's charged with serving us, but only we can decide to "listen."
The imagination gives us another tool: belief in ourselves. And the magic of believing offers us strength and capabilities even beyond our fondest hopes. It prepares us for the effort we need to make and for handling whatever outcome God has intended.
My imagination will serve me today. It will offer me the ideas and the courage I need to go forth.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Healing
Let healing energy flow through your body.
The healing energy of God, the Universe, life, and recovery surrounds us. It is available, waiting for us to draw on it, waiting for us to draw it in. It's waiting at our meetings or groups, on the words of a whispered prayer, in a gentle touch, a positive word, a positive thought. Healing energy is in the sun, the wind, and the rain, in all that is good.
Let healing energy come. Attract it. Accept it. Let it soak in. Breathe in the golden light. Exhale. Let go of fear, anger, hurt, and doubt. Let healing energy flow to you, through you.
It is yours for the asking, for the believing.
Today, I will ask for, and accept, the healing energy from God and the Universe. I will let it flow to me, through me, and back out to others. I am part of, and at one with, the continuous cycle of healing.
I will take time today to stop and give a gift to someone needy, smile at a stranger or help a small child. I will take the time to do at least one thing that I usually find myself too busy to do, and I will inwardly smile at myself, taking the time to experience the feelings of my own kindness. --Ruth Fishel
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You Deserve to Have Your Dreams Come True
Personal Power
Power is not about exerting our will over others, it is about being in complete truth with yourself.
Many of us have do not understand what personal power means. We have been given the false notion that power is bad—that it is something we use to exert our will upon others. In fact, when our personal power is intact, we are neither overbearing nor meek. We have a clear sense of our strength and the impact we can have on others. This actually enables us to be more sensitive. Personal power is what permits us to work on behalf of our dreams and desires. It allows us to realize that we are worthy and deserve to be heard. In addition, our personal power lets us extend the respect we know that we deserve to the people around us. There is no reason to be afraid or ashamed of fully owning your power.
In the chakra system, the solar plexus is the seat of personal power. One way to evaluate your sense of power is to breathe into this part of the body. If it feels tight or nervous, it is an indication that you may not be fully expressing your power. You can heal this imbalance by expanding the area of the solar plexus with your breath. You can also visualize a bright yellow sun in this part of your body. Allow its heat to melt any tension, and let its light dissolve any darkness or heaviness. Repeating this exercise on a regular basis can restore and rejuvenate your sense of power.
Another way to nurture your personal power is to honor your dreams and desires by making concrete plans to manifest them in the world. Start by making a list of things you want, and let yourself think big. Choose one goal from the list and commit to bringing it to fruition. In addition, break the goal into tasks that you can work on each day. Know that you deserve to have your dreams come true and that you have the power to bring them into being. Published with permission from Daily OM
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Journey to the Heart
Trust Yourself
When you look around, feel insecure, and wonder who you can trust, know you can trust yourself.
We often stand like little children, holding out our hands, waiting for someone to lead us somewhere, anywhere. We hope that someone can show us what we need to do next. We think, Maybe someone else knows better. But that thought is often the beginning of trouble. If we choose to let others lead us around, we'll soon find out that they don't know what's best for us.
If we abdicate responsibility for our choices,we may become angry, sometimes full of rage at others for running our lives, for telling us what to do. We need to take responsibility. We need to trust ourselves.
Sometimes we do get clues or hints from others. Sometimes we get direction from outside ourselves. But it must resonate with our heart. It must resonate with what we know to be true.
And the direction we take, what we do next, needs to be our choice, because whether we see it or not, it is our choice.
Trust and respond to your own heart. Trust the wisdom and guidance within you.
*****
more language of letting go
Pray for those you resent
My favorite story about praying for those I resent is one I told in Playing It By Heart, Here it is again.
Years ago, when I spotted the Stillwater Gazette, the oldest family-owned daily newspaper in existence, I knew I wanted to work there. I could feel it-- in my bones and in my heart. When I went in to the offices to apply for the job, however, the owner didn't have the same feeling I did. He had an opening for a reporter, but he wanted to hire someone else. Abigail, he said, was the right one for this jib.
I prayed for Abigail every day. I asked God to take care of her, guide her, and bless her richly and abundantly. I prayed for her because that's what I had been taught to do-- pray for those you resent. Sometimes I prayed for her three or four times each day. I prayed for her this much because I resented her that much.
God, I hated Abigail.
For the next months, almost half a year, I tromped down to the Gazette once a week, begging to be hired. Finally, I got a job there. But it wasn't the one I wanted. Abigail, bless her heart, had mine.
She got the best story assignments. She worked so quickly and with such journalistic ease.
So I kept praying, "God bless Abigail," because that's all I knew to do.
Over the months, as I got my lesser assignments from the editor--lesser than Abigail's, that is-- I began to watch her work. She wrote quickly and efficiently. Got right to the point. She was a good interviewer,too. I started pushing myself to write better, and more quickly. If Abigail can do it, so can I, I told myself. My enemy began to inspire me. Over the weeks and months that transpired, I spent more and more time around Abigail. I listened to her talk. I listened to her stories. Slowly, my enemy became my friend.
One day, Abigail and I were having coffee. I looked at her, looked straight in her eyes. And suddenly I realized, I didn't hate Abigail anymore. She was doing her job. I was doing mine.
Soon, I got an offer from a publisher to write a book. I was glad I didn't have Abigail's job, I wouldn't have had time to write that book. Then one day in June 1987, that book hit the New York Times best-seller list.
Years later, I wrote the story about Abigail in Playing It By Heart. The book got published. I returned to Minnesota to do a book signing. I was in the bookstore's bathroom, washing my hands, when a woman approached me.
"Hi Melody," she said. I looked at her, confused. "It's Abigail," she said. Abigail wasn't her real name; it was a name I had given her in the story. But with those words, I realized she had read the story. She knew she was Abigail, and she knew how I once felt.
We joked about it for a few moments. I asked her how her life was. She said she had quit writing and had become a wife and mother. I said I was still writing, and my years as a wife and mother were for the most part over.
Resentments are such silly little things. Envy is silly,too. But those silly little things can eat away at our hearts. Sometimes, people are put in our lives to teach us about what we're capable of. Sometimes, the people we perceive as enemies are really our friends. Is there someone in your life you're spending energy feeling envious of or resentful toward? Could that person be there to teach you something about yourself that you don't know or to inspire you along your path? You'll not know the answer to that question until you get the envy and resentment out of your heart.
God, thank you for the people I resent and envy. Bless them richly. Open doors for them, shower them with abundance. Help me know that my success doesn't depend on their failure, it's equivalent to how much I ask you to bless them.
*****
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
When I dwell on piddling things that annoy me — and they sprout resentments that grow bigger and bigger like weeds — I forget how I could be stretching my world and broadening my outlook. For me, that’s an ideal way to shrink troubles down to their real size. When somebody or something is causing me trouble, I should try to see the incident in relation to the rest of my life — especially the part that’s good and for which I should be grateful. Am I willing to waste my life worrying about trifles which drain my spiritual energy?
Today I Pray
May God keep me from worrying unduly about small things. May He, instead, open my eyes to the grandeur of His universe and the ceaseless wonders of His earth. May He grant me the breadth of vision which can reduce and small fretful concern of mine to the size of a fly on a cathedral window.
Today I Will Remember Microscopic irritations can ruin my vision.
*****
One More Day
Before an important decision someone clutches your hand — a glimpse of gold in the iron-gray, the proof of all you have never dared to believe.
– Dag Hammarskjold
There is nothing quite as lonely as having to make a decision. Imagine the feelings a family goes through when a beloved pet has to be put to sleep. The parents, because they truly understand the situation, must be the decision makers. If we are considering a job change, it will affect our immediate family and our friendships.
When a person extends a helping hand, we welcome it as a starving person would welcome food, for it offers affirmation and empathy. The decision is still difficult, but we have the inner strength to carry us through.
I believe in myself, but will welcome the support of others in my decision making.
**************************************************
Food For Thought
Sloppy Thinking
If we begin to entertain thoughts of slight deviations from our food plan, thoughts of former binge foods, thoughts that maybe once in a while we could eat “normally,” we put ourselves on shaky ground. Our disease is never cured, and sloppy thinking can lead to a weakening or loss of control.
“Normal” eating for us is abstinence. Our food plan is what saves us from bizarre eating behavior. There is no such thing as taking a vacation from abstinence.
The less we think about food, the better off we are. To remember the so-called pleasure we once associated with certain foods may cause us to forget the inevitable pain and anguish which eating them eventually produced. We do not want to ever return to the misery of compulsive overeating.
Giving our minds to our Higher Power ensures positive, healthy thinking.
Take my thoughts, Lord, and straighten them out.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
SELF-KNOWLEDGE
“The world we have created is a product of our thinking.
It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”
Albert Einstein
The world I created before finding the Twelve Steps of recovery was a world in which I had no responsibility. Everything bad in my life was someone else’s fault: my parents’, my husband’s, society’s, and, when there was no one else to blame, it was God’s fault.
As I worked Step 4, I learned that I had been a part of all of these things for which I blamed others. I learned that I had defects of character that kept me from taking part in my life. As I recognized these defects, I asked my Higher Power to remove them, and that gradually happened.
One of the things I had tried to do for many years was bury my feelings of grief and pain. I seemed to have managed that fairly well, but in doing so, I had also buried all the other emotion. I no longer took enjoyment in anything. My child’s smile evoked no feeling and I felt no pride in anything I did. I felt none of the love that others gave to me. As I started dealing with the painful feelings, the positive emotions emerged as well.
The promise the Big Book speaks of became true for me: I no longer regretted the past nor wished to shut the door on it. I was able to feel my hurt and grief. Now I am also able to feel love and happiness. I have learned how to change my thinking through the process of working these wonderful Steps.
One Day at a Time . . .
I do a daily 10th, 11th and 12th Step and am reminded that it is my responsibility to listen to my Higher Power and do my part in creating the world around me.
~ Nancy
*****************************************
AA 'Big Book' - Quote
So we think cheerfulness and laughter make for usefulness. Outsiders are sometimes shocked when we burst into merriment over a seemingly tragic experience out of our past. But why shouldn't we laugh? We have recovered, and have been given the power to help others. - Pg. 132 - The Family Afterwards
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Recovery is an attribute of two personalities which bear a relationship one to the other. This is our self and our higher self or God-self. There are two of us: self and God-self. We do not walk this path alone. It used to be self and drug-self. Now it is self and God-self.
Let me know that I do not walk this road alone but I am always with my higher self who holds my best interests in mind.
Body Memories
Understanding and thought are distributed throughout all the cells in my body. Who I am is stored in my physical self. My body carries memory and knowledge about how I have responded to the circumstances of my life, about what I brought into this world to begin with.. Today when I think positively, I will allow and invite my entire body to carry a positive thought. I will instruct each cell within me to be active, healthy and vibrant. Each time that I feel I am getting low on reserves, I will open all of my body to receiving uplifting light and energy from the universe. I am not a talking head. I am a body, mind and spirit, alive in all of me.
I ask my body to wake up and live.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
If you have never experienced the results of working the Twelve Steps, no explanation is sufficient. If you have experienced the results of working the Twelve Steps, then no explanation is necessary.
I am the poster child for the miracles I cannot explain.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Slow and sure.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
I will take time today to stop and give a gift to someone needy, smile at a stranger or help a small child.
I will take the time to do at least one thing that I usually find myself too busy to do, and I will inwardly smile at myself, taking the time to experience the feelings of my own kindness.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
I picked up this little pamphlet and on the back page it said 'Are you concerned about your drinking? If so call this number collect. 'So I called and I talked to this woman, and I told her some lies. I told her that a lot of people with whom I'd been working had drinking problems and could she help me to help them? And she said yes, there was literature and places that people could go, and she gave me lots of information and said she'd send me some books. We had a wonderful conversation and I just knew if I could just read this whole thing correctly I'd know how to control and enjoy my drinking.. And just as I was about to hang up she said: Sister, would you like to tell me a little bit about your own drinking?' She just knew. She said: 'I don't think you'd be making a long distance call at midnight if you were concerned about other people's drinking. And that was a moment of grace for me because I was able to break down and cry into the telephone to this strange voice to whom I'd never spoken before. I said: 'I don't know what to do, I don't know who to tell, I don't know where to go for help.' I'd become a public figure and I didn't want anybody to know and I was very afraid. And she said: 'Well why don't you start going to some AA meetings and listen to the feelings.' - Sr. Bea M.
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Post by majestyjo on Aug 11, 2018 18:37:23 GMT -5
August 12
Daily Reflections
A LOOK BACKWARD
First, we take a look backward and try to discover where we have
been at fault; next we make a vigorous attempt to repair the damage
we have done; . . .
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 77
As a traveler on a fresh and exciting A.A. journey of recovery, I
experienced a newfound peace of mind and the horizon appeared clear
and bright, rather than obscure and dim. Reviewing my life to
discover where I had been at fault seemed to be such an arduous and
dangerous task. It was painful to pause and look backward. I was
afraid I might stumble! Couldn't I put the past out of my mind and
just live in my new golden present? I realized that those in the past
whom I had harmed stood between me and my desire to continue my
movement toward serenity. I had to ask for courage to face those
persons from my life who still lived in my conscience, to recognize and
deal with the guilt that their presence produced in me. I had to look at
the damage I had done, and become willing to make amends. Only
then could my journey of the spirit resume.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
"There was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual
tools laid at our feet by Alcoholics Anonymous. By doing so, we have
a spiritual experience which revolutionizes our whole attitude
toward life, toward others, and toward God's universe. The central
fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has
entered into our hearts and lives there in a way that is indeed
miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us that
we could never do for ourselves." Have I let God come into my life?
Meditation For The Day
The moment a thing seems wrong to you or a person's actions to be
not what you think they should be, at that moment begins your
obligation and responsibility to pray for those wrongs to be righted
or that person to be changed. What is wrong in your surroundings or in
the people you know? Think about these things and make these
matters your responsibility. Not to interfere or be a busybody, but to
pray that a change may come through your influence. You may see
lives altered and evils banished in time. You can become a force for
good wherever you are.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be a co-worker with God. I pray that I may help
people by my example.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Leadership In A.A., p. 224
No society can function well without able leadership at all its
levels, and A.A. can be no exception. But we A.A.'s sometimes
cherish the thought that we can do without much personal
leadership at all. We are apt to warp the traditional idea of
"principles before personalities" around to such a point that there
would be no "personality" in a leadership whatever. This would
imply rather faceless robots trying to please everybody.
A leader in A.A. service is a man (woman) who can personally put
principles, plans, and policies into such dedicated and effective
action that the rest of us naturally want to back him up and help him
with his job. When a leader power-drives us badly, we rebel; but
when he too meekly becomes an order-taker and he exercises no
judgment of his own--well, he really isn't a leader at all.
Twelve Concepts, pp. 38-39
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Things I can't fix
Acceptance.
One of the sad realities of life is that we're awash in disorder that we can't fix. All around us, the world seethes and festers with aliments and injustices that are beyond our control.
We can react by becoming angry or by making quixotic efforts to solve some of these problems. Our best course, however, is to apply our 12 Step program to life in this world. The Serenity Prayer suggests we accept what we can't change. A slogan reminds us to set priorities ("First things First.") The Eleventh Step remind us to always seek God's will.
This will enable me to live effectively while doing my best to serve others. In time, I may even discover that I can fix a few of the seemingly insoluble problems around me.
I'll realize today that I have the ability only to do certain things within my sphere of experience. I'll see to it, however, that I do these things well.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Fairness is what justice really is. ---The last Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart
Some of us get hung up on what's fair. We might feel, because we've worked hard to stay sober, we should be rewarded. We might keep score of what we get and what others get. And we complain if it's "not fair."
Maybe we should be glad life isn't fair. Why? Most of us caused a lot of trouble we've never had to pay for. And we've hurt a lot of people who haven't gotten even. Would we really want life to be fair?
Our Higher Power isn't fair either. That is, our Higher Power doesn't keep score. Our Higher Power doesn't try to get even. Our Higher Power is loving and forgiving, no matter what. Our Higher Power has the same love and help for everyone.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, give me the wisdom to stop keeping score. Help me want the best for everyone.
Action for the Day: I'll list five times I've been unfair to others. Do I need to make amends?
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
When a woman has love, she is no longer at the mercy of forces greater than herself, for she, herself, becomes the powerful force. --Veronica Casey
The need for love is universal. Each of us longs for the affirmation that assures us we are needed, appreciated, desired. We are strengthened by the strokes others give us, and when no strokes are forthcoming, we sometimes falter.
With emotional and spiritual maturity comes the understanding that we are loved, unconditionally, by God. And the awareness of that love, the realization of its abiding presence, will buoy us up when no other love signals to us. Most of us still lose our connection to the omnipresent God, however. Thus, our buoyancy is tentative.
Until that time when we are certain about our value, about the presence of God's love, we'll need to practice self-affirmation. But learning how to nurture ourselves, how to be gentle and caressing to the woman within, may be painstaking. Patience will ease the process. Unconditionally loving ourselves will become natural in time. In fact, we'll sense our inner person growing, changing. Our wholeness will become apparent to others as well as to ourselves.
Love breeds love. I will shower it upon others and myself and relish the growing sense of self that emerges.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
Frequently, you have felt obliged to tell your husband’s employer and his friends that he was sick, when as a matter of fact he was tight. Avoid answering these inquiries as much as you can. Whenever possible, let your husband explain. Your desire to protect him should not cause you to lie to people when they have a right to know where he is and what he is doing. Discuss this with him when he is sober and in good spirits. Ask him what you should do if he places you in such a position again. But be careful not to be resentful about the last time he did so.
pp. 115-116
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
My Chance To Live
A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.
I came through the doors of Alcoholics Anonymous at age seventeen, a walking contradiction. On the outside, I was the portrait of a rebellious teenager, with miles of attitude to spare. On the inside, I was suicidal, bloodied, and beaten. My stride spoke of a confidence I didn't feel. My dress was that of a street-tough kid you didn't want to mess with. Inside I was trembling with fear that someone would see through my defenses to the real me.
p. 309
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
Nor is the quest for security always expressed in terms of money. How frequently we see a frightened human being determined to depend completely upon a stronger person for guidance and protection. This weak one, failing to meet life's responsibilities with his own resources, never grows up. Disillusionment and helplessness are his lot. In time all his protectors either flee or die, and he is once more left alone and afraid.
p. 43
************************************************** *********
I have been given a new day to live, to grow, to give love and to feel love.
--Ruth Fishel
Love is living in the spiritual heart.
--John-Roger
Today I choose to forgive instead of holding on to resentments.
Today I choose to let go of all feelings that block me from feeling love.
Today I choose to see everyone through the eyes of love.
--Ruth Fishel
"We must keep in mind that where the road is crooked, God makes it
straight, and where our hearts are wounded, God makes us whole.
As we open our hearts in purity and simplicity, admitting to God that
we are completely powerless in the area of our problem, His
illumination redeems us."
--Marianne Williamson
Today I know I'm just wasting my energy to try to change people,
places and things. By looking within I can really discover what needs
to be changed and then turn it over to my Higher Power to be
released.
--Ruth Fishel
"The expression of praise as thanksgiving, gratitude, and joy is among
the most powerful forms of affirmation."
--Catherine Ponder
Far too many people spend their lives reading the menu instead of
enjoying the banquet.
--unknown
You can pray for a good crop, but don't forget your hoe!
--unknown
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
LIFE
"The tragedy of life is what dies
in man while he lives."
-- Albert Schweitzer
Addiction progressively takes away the vitality of life. It robs life of
meaning. Addiction isolates; it kills by atrophy. People, places and
things lose meaning; everything becomes a chore and God is lost. We
say to compensate that we are having "fun" --- we say this a lot and at
times we believe it, but in the silence of the night we know it to be a
lie.
We lie to others and to ourselves. Sometimes we believe the lie! At
this point we begin to die unless we take courage and confront "the
lie" in order to live. Today I live because I confronted my lie. I have
discovered the spiritual power that was buried deep beneath the
progressive addiction. And I am finding it easier and less painful to
live.
May I continue to breathe a daily "yes" in my life so that I might live.
************************************************** *********
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with
God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality."
Romans 12:12-13
The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the
will of God abides forever.
1 John 2:17
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the
peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I
have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can
do everything through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:12-13
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
If you are over committed, things begin to fall apart. Lord, help me be reasonable in the expectations I place on myself so that I can efficiently use my time and still have enough time to relax and enjoy the day.
Choose to be worthy to yourself and never confuse self worth with behavior. Lord, help me to be less critical of my past and see that this moment right now is all that I can do anything about.
************************************************** *********
NA Just For Today
Enough!
"Something inside cries out, 'Enough, enough, I've had enough; and then they are ready to take that first and often most difficult step toward dealing with their disease."
Basic Text, p.203
Have we really had enough? This is the crucial question we must ask ourselves as we prepare to work the First Step in Narcotics Anonymous. It doesn't matter whether or not we arrived in NA with our families intact, our careers still working for us, and all the outward appearances of wholeness. All that matters is that we have reached an emotional and spiritual bottom that precludes our return to active addiction. If we have, we will be truly ready to go to any lengths to quit using.
When we inventory our powerlessness, we ask ourselves some simple questions. Can I control my use of drugs in any form? What incidents have occurred as a result of my drug use that I didn't want to happen? How is my life unmanageable? Do I believe in my heart that I am an addict?
If the answers to these questions lead us to the doors of Narcotics Anonymous, then we are ready to move on to the next step toward a life free from active addiction. If we have truly had enough, then we will be willing to go to any lengths to find recovery.
Just for today: I admit that I have had enough. I am ready to work my First Step.
pg. 234
************************************************** *********
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
I don't think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains. --Anne Frank
We don't find the rewards of today by searching through our misfortunes. Pausing to seek out something good for everything we find bad is a step in the right direction. We may find the good outweighs the bad.
But how much more chance we will have of living a happy day if we skip over our setbacks and concentrate as much as we can on what is going well. It is smarter to look for diamonds in a diamond mine than in a garbage dump.
Let us discard our failures, using only what we have learned from them to achieve success. Looking back at missed opportunities will make it impossible for us to recognize new chances to enjoy life to the fullest. Looking only for beauty is a beautiful thing in itself.
What beauty can I see around me right now?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
It is a terrible, an inexorable law that one cannot deny the humanity of another without diminishing one's own: in the face of one's victim, one sees oneself. --James Baldwin
Acting totally in our self-interest is shortsighted and foolishly simple. Attacking another person or another nation reflects upon us like a mirror. When any person is undermined, the human race is diminished in some measure. And humanity is our family.
Sometimes we see a reflection of ourselves in someone else and fail to recognize it. What we hate most in another may well be what we hate in ourselves. Knowing this can be useful. Perhaps our teeth are set on edge when we think about an ex wife, or father, or former friend, or a religious or racial group. How are we like that person or group? What do they cause us to face within ourselves? When we stop diminishing the other person we may still not like him or her, but we can come to terms with ourselves. We learn to live and let live.
God, help me engage in the brotherhood of my own family and with all people - and to see my own face, even in my enemy.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
When a woman has love, she is no longer at the mercy of forces greater than herself, for she, herself, becomes the powerful force. --Veronica Casey
The need for love is universal. Each of us longs for the affirmation that assures us we are needed, appreciated, desired. We are strengthened by the strokes others give us, and when no strokes are forthcoming, we sometimes falter.
With emotional and spiritual maturity comes the understanding that we are loved, unconditionally, by God. And the awareness of that love, the realization of its abiding presence, will buoy us up when no other love signals to us. Most of us still lose our connection to the omnipresent God, however. Thus, our buoyancy is tentative.
Until that time when we are certain about our value, about the presence of God's love, we'll need to practice self-affirmation. But learning how to nurture ourselves, how to be gentle and caressing to the woman within, may be painstaking. Patience will ease the process. Unconditionally loving ourselves will become natural in time. In fact, we'll sense our inner person growing, changing. Our wholeness will become apparent to others as well as to ourselves.
Love breeds love. I will shower it upon others and myself and relish the growing sense of self that emerges.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Directness
Direct people are a joy to be around.
We never have to guess what they're really thinking or feeling, because they're honest about their thoughts and openly express their feelings.
We never have to wonder if they're with us because they want to be, or if they're there out of guilt and obligation.
When they do something for us, we don't have to worry whether they'll end up resenting us because direct people generally do things that please themselves.
We don't have to fuss about the status of our relationship because if we ask, they'll tell us.
We don't have to worry if they're angry because they deal openly with their anger and resolve it quickly.
We don't have to ponder whether they are talking about us behind our backs because if they have something to say, it will be said to us directly.
We don't have to wonder if we can rely on them because direct people are trustworthy.
Wouldn't it be nice if we were all direct?
Today, I will let go of my notions that it is somehow good or desirable to be indirect. Instead, I will strive for honesty, directness, and clarity in my communication. I will let directness in my relationships begin with me.
*****
Journey to the Heart
Practice Forgiveness
He was an old man, sitting on a corner bench. "I don't know why we just keep on forgiving our brothers and sisters," he said, looking at the people walking by. "I suppose it's because when we do, we really forgive ourselves."
Is there someone we're judging, censuring? If we look more closely we'll see that when we blame others, we're chastising ourselves as well. If we're honest, really honest, we can see that often what upsets us is something similar to what we ourselves do. Other people can be mirrors of our own behavior.
Yes, there are times when another person does something absolutely outrageous. And we can stand there, hands no hips, saying, I've been wronged. I can't understand how anyone could behave that way. But often, if we're honest, we really can understand-- we have behaved that way,too.
Practice forgiveness. Judgement without forgiveness causes us to feel isolated, and apart, causes us to judge ourselves in the same way. Discover how much better you feel when you forgive others. Find out how much better you feel when you forgive yourself.
*****
more language of letting go
Be grateful for where you've been
Earlier in this book, I suggested that you write your memoirs. Even if you don't sit down to do that, I'm going to suggest that you review your life.
Reading my mother's memoirs was a profound experience, one that touched my heart and brought compassion into it in a way I hadn't been able to experience from all my family-of-origin work. As a child, I'd shut down when my mother would talk about her experiences. I'd turn off my listening device. It sounded like grumbling and complaining to me. I didn't want to hear about her pain.
But when I read about her life in story form, I experienced a different response. I was able to read it objectively, not as her daughter or a person feeling guilty because I wished she hadn't had all the pain she did. I saw how directly her experiences had created and shaped who she was. I saw the desires of her heart. I saw her tragedies, her broken dreams. I saw her heroism,too.
My snippy little reactions-- the irritating mother-daughter stuff-- vanished in this new light. She was no longer a mother who had issues. She was a human being nobly living her life. Like the rest of us, she had her frailties, her vulnerable areas, and her strong points.
The point here isn't for you to read about my mother. It's for you to take a new look at your life and all the experiences you've been through, endured, survived, and then transcended. When I wrote my life story, I resisted at first. I hadn't enjoyed it that much going through it. I didn't want to relive all those experiences.
But something happened in the actual writing. It was similar to what happened when I read my mother's account of her life. I began to see myself and what I'd been through differently, in a new, more compassionate light.
Each experience, each decade, each chapter in the book taught me something valuable. From each experience I'd been through, I reclaimed or discovered new insight and power. Maybe much of what I had preferred to forget or turn my back on wasn't the wasted life I thought it was.
What a beautiful story each one of us has. Whether your experiences ever make it into a book, it's still your book of life. Are you grateful for each chapter you've lived? Are you grateful for each experience you've had? Are you grateful for the story you're living now?
The good news is, the story of our lives hasn't ended yet.
There's still more to come.
Touch the experience of being human in all of its sorrow and joy.
Be grateful for the story you're living now.
God, help me laugh, cry, love, be aware, and be thankful with all my heart for every moment and each experience that I've been given. Thank you for my life.
*****
Set Yourself Free
Letting Go of Perfection
Life becomes much more interesting once we let go of our quest for perfection and aspire for imperfection instead.
It is good to remember that one of our goals in life is to not be perfect. We often lose track of this aspiration. When we make mistakes, we think that we are failing or not measuring up. But if life is about experimenting, experiencing, and learning, then to be imperfect is a prerequisite. Life becomes much more interesting once we let go of our quest for perfection and aspire for imperfection instead.
This doesn’t mean that we don’t strive to be our best. We simply accept that there is no such thing as perfection—especially in life. All living things are in a ceaseless state of movement. Even as you read this, your hair is growing, your cells are dying and being reborn, and your blood is moving through your veins. Your life changes more than it stays the same. Perfection may happen in a moment, but it will not last because it is an impermanent state. Trying to hold on to perfection or forcing it to happen causes frustration and unhappiness.
In spite of this, many of us are in the habit of trying to be perfect. One way to nudge ourselves out of this tendency is to look at our lives and notice that no one is judging us to see whether or not we are perfect. Sometimes, perfectionism is a holdover from our childhood—an ideal we inherited from a demanding parent. We are adults now, and we can choose to let go of the need to perform for someone else’s approval. Similarly, we can choose to experience the universe as a loving place where we are free to be imperfect. Once we realize this, we can begin to take ourselves less seriously and have more fun. Imperfection is inherent to being human. By embracing your imperfections, you embrace yourself. Published with permission from Daily OM
************************************************** *****************
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
“Quiet minds can not be perplexed or frightened,” wrote Robert Louis Stevenson, “but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm.”
In The Program, we hear many warnings against harboring resentments, and rare is the person who doesn’t occasionally yield to resentment when he feels wronged. We must remember that we have no room for resentment in our new way of life. Rather than exhausting myself by fighting resentment with grim determination, I can reason it out of existence by uncovering its cause with a quiet mind. Will I try to believe that the best antidote for resentment is the continual expression of gratitude?
Today I Pray
Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise God for our human sensitivity which, although it can feel the smallest, pin-prick hurts, can also feel the warmth of a smile, Praise God for our human insight which can peel the wraps from our resentments and expose them for what they are.
Today I Will Remember
I am grateful for feelings.
************************************************** ****************
One More Day
Life is so full of miseries, minor and major….. – Agnes Repplier
Occasionally a person who has chronic pain spends far too much time on a quest to cure or solve the pain. Support groups become much more than an extension of helpful purpose; they can become our total purpose. All the day can be filled with seeking the “right” people to solve our problems. All semblance of a well-balanced life gets pushed away.
There’s no reason to make our days miserable with unrealistic goals. Learning to live the best we can with the pain and inconvenience of illness is the only way to make minor miseries out of major ones.
I can keep myself emotionally whole by seeking balance in my life.
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Food For Thought
The Beacon
There are times when we get tired and depressed or elated and confused. We are mentally uncomfortable, knowing that something is wrong but unable to pinpoint the trouble. Our first thought may be to reach for food, but we know that way leads to disaster.
We compulsive overeaters have a beacon light for our dark and confused moments. It is our commitment to abstinence. No matter how confused we may be, we can remember that abstinence is the most important thing in our life without exception. Whatever happens, we will not be lost if we hold fast to our abstinence. From the commitment, everything else follows. As long as we do not overeat, we will be able to find our way out of a difficult situation.
Our Higher Power gives us the beacon light of abstinence, and with it He gives guidance out of our perplexities. Patiently waiting until we clearly see His will keeps us from getting lost in the darkness of self-will.
Thank You for the beacon light of abstinence.
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One Day At A Time
~ SAFETY NET ~
Leap, and the net will appear.
Julia Cameron
I’m an analyzer. Given the opportunity, I can analyze something to the point the original context has been lost. This was exactly what I did when I was first introduced to the Twelve Step recovery program. With each Step, I tried to discover a hidden meaning, an excuse not to work it. I spent more energy not doing the program than I ever would have following it.
When I finally made the leap into that first Step, my life began changing direction from the downward trend it was in. It was a leap of faith, and the net of my Higher Power caught me. This net will not break, nor will it fall. As I discover truths about myself that enable me to move forward in life and become a better person, I need the safety of that net of faith.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will take a leap of faith towards my recovery,
knowing I’ll be safe, and the miracle will happen.
~ Trish ~
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Your prospect may belong to a religious denomination. His religious education and training may be far superior to yours. In that case he is going to wonder how you can add anything to what he already knows. But he will be curious to learn why his own convictions have not worked and why yours seem to work so well. He may be an example of the truth that faith alone is insufficient. To be vital, faith must be accompanied by self sacrifice and unselfish, constructive action. - Pg. 93 - Working With Others
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
The slogans may sometimes annoy us in their simplicity. But repetition is an important learning tool. Think of the repetition that alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and depressants bring. Now you can understand the necessity of slogans to counteract the repetition of addiction.
As I go into this next hour of a clean and sober day, may I welcome the repetitions of recovery.
Life is a Spiritual Journey
No one can learn the alphabet for me. And no one can develop wisdom, appreciation or inner strength for me. These are things I have to do for myself. What is life but growth and expansion, increasing my understanding so that I can deepen my experience of feeling alive? There are gifts in healing if I am willing to see them, lessons I can learn, awareness's that I need in order to appreciate what I already have. Sickness can be my teacher if I let it. Even as I wait for strength to return to my body, still my spirit and my character can grow stronger and better and more refined. I am not doing nothing as I lie here, I am growing on the inside. Today I will use this moment that puts me into a deeper part of myself to come in contact with an openness to grow. I am in touch with a part of life that I normally don't get in touch with.
I am understanding and expanding my inner world.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
When you continually don't like the way people treat you, it is usually because you are cooperating with the treatments.
The difference between me being a victor or a victim is ability. Response ability.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Success means getting your 'but' out of the way.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I am letting go of all judgments.
I am releasing all negative emotions.
I am quietly going within and trusting my inner spirit and I will know what is right for me.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
A lot of doctors believed that alcoholism was caused by a Valium deficiency. - Trip S.
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Post by caressa222 on Aug 12, 2018 21:08:18 GMT -5
August 13
Step by Step
"When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is, or He isn't. What was our choice to be?
" ...(W)e were squarely confronted with the question of faith. We couldn't duck the issue. Some of us had already walked far over the Bridge of Reason toward the desired shore of faith. The outlines and the promise of the New Land had brought luster to tired eyes and fresh courage to flagging spirits. ...We were grateful that Reason had brought us so far. But somehow, we couldn't quite step ashore. Perhaps we had been leaning too heavily on Reason that last mile and we did not like to lose our support." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 4 ("We Agnostics"), p 53.
Today, I couldn't have reasoned myself into the condition that requires recovery without some faith even if I didn't recognize it. Even now, after my baptism into the program, if I continue to resist ideas that a power called God or anything else led me into recovery, is it plausible that the same reasoning that pushed me to the edge of darkness also pulled me back? Regardless of the answer, if I still reject the possibility of a higher power or God or whatever else anyone calls a supreme being, maybe as my recovery progresses, I will at least become willing to consider there is a force stronger and greater than I. Today, I won't debunk talk about a higher power by claiming my own reason for my recovery because, after all, it was my reasoning that contributed to me becoming an alcoholic. Maybe today will be the day I finally believe that something other than myself saved me. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.
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~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~
REALITY
Realities are far less dangerous than fantasies.
~ Anonymous ~
When we speak of being restored to sanity, we could well be speaking of restoring reality to our lives. Our addictions, compulsions, and dependencies kept us in a world of weird fantasy. Mental extremes made us think and feel unnaturally.
When intoxicated or "high," everything weird seemed to "belong," to be real and natural. The fantasy we accepted was from the realm of insanities. We accepted "fate" as our lot, but when the haze of the unreal left, we often experienced shame, guilt and regret from knowing what we had accepted.
As we found recovery and escaped the shackles of addiction, we came to realize that spiritual growth was not as hopeless for us as our experiences had led us to believe. But we had to reach for reality and reject what was fantasy. Change comes when recovery removes all of the confusion from our dream world of addiction.
Reality never changes, but my acceptance of it does. The real world is very different from the impression my addiction gave me.
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~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~
No one has completed his education who has not learned to live with an insoluble problem.
~ Edmund J. Kiefer ~
Facing, for the first time, a stone wall that we cannot change can be quite a shock. It’s a huge emotional challenge that changes us from boys to men. Some people first meet their insoluble problem in the form of the death of a loved one, others through a child with an incurable handicap, and others by way of a chronic illness or an addiction. Whatever form a man’s stone wall takes, he naturally responds first with a refusal to accept it and a search for a way around it. But when he ultimately learns to accept reality, he changes in a profound way. He has stepped into the world of adults.
We used to feel that our addiction and codependency were burdens, tragedies that we had to carry. But there is a bright side to the dark stories of our past: when we got honest about our powerlessness, we became real men.
Today I accept my powerlessness once again and feel grateful for the wisdom it has taught me.
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~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~
Laughter, like a drenching rain, settles the dust, cleans and brightens the world around us, and changes our whole perspective.
~ Jan Pishok ~
Laughter’s power is awesome. Some might say miraculous. We all know the effects of laughter, liven in the midst of frustrating circumstances, nothing seems as bleak or hopeless after being observed through the twinkling eyes of laughter.
How is it that our perspective changes after a moment or two of laughter? Does laughing shake loose the cobwebs that clutch the grim realities? All we know for certain is that nothing appears quite the same after we’ve loosened our hold on life’s dark explanations.
Laughter refreshes us. We can’t change the people we love, we can’t determine outcomes, we can’t control how God works in our lives. But we can laugh. And laughing about our experiences gives us the chance to accept them and make them work to our advantage.
Nothing is quite as serious as I make it today. Lightening up and laughing a little makes every minute easier.
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~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~
I can love myself
When I remember all the times I got high, all the junk I ate, all the sleep I lost, all the anger I kept inside (and the times I hurt myself through a rage turned inward), I realize that I have not loved myself much. It scares me to look back and imagine where I was headed.
But slowly through recovery I have begun to turn my life around, and today I am doing things differently. I am clean and sober, eating better on a regular schedule, and getting the rest I need. I'm even taking medication to help me with my psychiatric symptoms. I feel shy saying it (I guess it's just not familiar), but I care about myself today and I truly want to be healthy.
Today I will look at myself in the minor and say "I love you"—or at the very least, "I'm worth caring about."
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~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~
You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true. You may have to work for it, however.
~ Richard Bach ~
Staying free of chemicals is sometimes more difficult than simply stopping. Our sobriety is a gift, but it isn’t free. To recover, we need a plan of action and a willingness to work. If we take the Twelve Steps and group them by threes, we can see that we will “give up,” “clean up,” “make up,” and “grow up.” If we suffer a setback in one area, we can work on those steps with our sponsor. Sometimes we reach another level of growth in our recovery; then we can go back and work the Steps in a new way. So we begin again, as beginners, but with all the mental skills and clarity we’ve developed in sobriety. Safe in the care of our Higher Power, we’ve begun to dream again. And our physical selves have begun to recover, too; they will take us where we want to go.
Success comes in doing, moving forward, one step at a time. When we wish for and work at sobriety, we find our possibilities are endless.
Today grant me the willingness to dedicate effort toward the gift of sobriety.
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~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~
When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.
~ Franklin D. Roosevelt ~
In the past, you may have attempted to use your own power to climb out of the deep, dark well of addiction. The only equipment you had to help in your escape was a frayed rope attached to a weak anchor. Even when you exerted your greatest effort to inch your way up the slippery sides of the well, the rope would unravel or the anchor would slip and you would fall back down to the bottom.
But when you are ready, the program offers a sturdy ladder that is held firmly in place by many others. The strength of this ladder offers you the opportunity to finally escape from your prison. It is up to you to make the climb.
As you draw ever closer to the top of the well, when you can fully release yourself from your addiction, you will be greeted by strong hands and encouraging words. These are the hands and voices of your rescuers, who were once trapped in that same well. They know how hard it is to make the climb. But they are committed to helping you SO you do not lose your grip or your determination.
The ladder of recovery is strong. I trust that it will hold me and lead me to a place in which I can grow.
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~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~
Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the shin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
~ Samuel Ullman ~
Today we see more young people in the program. We may look at them and think, "lf only I had found the program at their age. I would have so much more time to live and grow."
We've heard it said, "You are as young as you feel." Although physically we may feel not so young, that phrase refers to our state of mind and the belief in our hearts. To feel younger, imagine the program has given us new life, and we can measure our age in terms of our time since recovery.
Perhaps today we are one year old or five or more. In the program we are all children, not adults. We are all learning for the first time how to walk on our own, how to speak our minds, and how to take care of ourselves. We are not old . . . we are but babes ready to learn and grow!
Tonight I can forget my chronological age and think instead of my youth in the program. I am young, with lots of time to grow.
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~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~
Preserving anonymity
Anonymity means more than just protecting fellow members from exposure or shame. It means placing principles above personalities. It means avoiding the temptation to use our recovery as a prestige point. Such self- seeking can be a serious spiritual danger.
Our program is our lifeline. We must respect it and all its members. Do I maintain anonymity at all times, in all ways?
Higher Power, help me to accept and respect the traditions of the Twelve Step program.
Today I will reflect on the tradition of anonymity by
God help me to stay clean and sober to day!
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~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~
In the course of time, we grow to love things we once hated and hate the things we once loved.
~ ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON ~
Newcomer
What does "Be good to yourself" really mean? Sometimes when I'm supposed to be working, I want to lie around in bed and do nothing, or sit in front of the TV eating pints of ice cream. "Be good to yourself" comes into my head, so I let myself goof off, then I feel guilty.
Sponsor
There's nothing wrong with relaxing; in fact, many of us in recovery have had a lot to learn about having fun and not treating ourselves like machines. Recovery is not about deprivation.
But being good to ourselves doesn't mean substituting new addictive substances or behaviors for the old ones. Eating a whole pint of ice cream a day, watching hours of TV, sleeping when we have things to do—these are forms of anesthesia. In that respect, they're no different from drinking alcohol or using heroin. They're ways of making feelings disappear, cutting off our connection with ourselves.
Being good to ourselves might mean taking a walk, listening to music, buying ourselves flowers, making plans with a friend—whatever genuinely nurtures us. It doesn't mean doing what we know through our experience or intuition is only going to deaden our spirits.
Today, I know how to nurture myself.
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~ THE EYE OPENER ~
The men and women who are doing the bulk of the work in your Group seldom complain. They are too busy doing their job and yours to have the time. There is no time left for griping.
If things are not being run your way, maybe that is because you are doing nothing to “change the things you can.”
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~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~
Yes or No
Higher Power, today I will remember:
When I was practicing my addiction, I lost track
Of what was right or wrong, honest or dishonest.
Pride was defended,
Anger was justified,
Lust was accepted,
Gluttony was encouraged,
Envy was normal,
Creed was there to be satisfied,
Laziness was a way of life.
In recovery I have come to recognize and rediscover
The integrity in myself by simply knowing;
What is right is what I feel good about,
What is wrong is what I feel bad about.
I will continue to live by yes and no;
This I make into a simple prayer:
Yes to everything good,
No to everything bad.
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~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~
THE SECRET PLACE
The Ninety-first Psalm is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible. Like the rest of Scripture, the underlying thought is developed through a series of symbols, and it is by the appreciation of the values lying behind these symbols that the power of this prayer is appropriated.
The way to get the most out of this psalm is to read it through quietly; pausing after each clause to consider the meaning and assenting to this mentally. If you are fearful you will find, after working through the prayer two or three times, that your fear will have gone and that you are now looking at things from a different point of view.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 9l:1).
The Secret Place of the most High is your own consciousness, and this fact is the most important practical discovery in the science of religion. The error usually made is to suppose the Secret Place of the most High to be somewhere outside of yourself, an error fatal to our hopes, because our success in prayer depends upon getting some degree of contact with God; and since He is only to be contacted within, as long as we are looking without we must fail in our objective. Jesus emphasized this truth, The kingdom of God is within you. Again he said that when we pray we are to enter into the closet and shut the door, meaning, to retire in thought within our own consciousness. In fact, this doctrine of the Secret Place and the wonders that can happen therein is taught throughout the Bible.
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~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~
Prayer Conditioned
More things are brought by prayer than this world dreams of.
~ Alfred, Lord Tennyson ~
At the orientation of a week-long spiritual conference at a Pennsylvania college, one of the 500 participants raised her hand and asked, "When are we going to get our dorm room keys?”
"We don't give out keys," the sponsor answered. "The entire campus is prayer conditioned. We have done conferences here for over ten years, we have never issued a key, and we have never had a theft or loss."
The consciousness we bring to any activity creates a psychic environment that protects or undermines what we do in that field. Prayer works. Holding an activity in prayer or prayerful attitude will draw to it a wealth of support, energy, and protection. Scientific studies have shown that praying over food changes the food's chemical properties, and that hospital patients who receive prayer treatment recover faster than control groups.
In Russia, I visited a church where an icon of the Virgin Mary had been venerated during a plague. The plague took a grueling toll on the entire region except for the town that had prayed for intervention, which miraculously remained untouched.
When undertaking any significant enterprise or relationship, or when facing a challenge, make prayer your first line of support. It will help you far more than fear or worldly manipulation.
I place my trust in You. Though unseen to the human eye, You are perfectly present.
God is my strength and my fortress. Spirit never fails.
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Post by caressa222 on Aug 13, 2018 21:55:42 GMT -5
August 14 Daily Reflections REPAIRING THE DAMAGE We attempt to sweep away the debris which has accumulated out of our effort to live on self-will and run the show ourselves. If we haven't the will to do this, we ask until it comes. Remember it was agreed at the beginning we would go to any lengths for victory over alcohol. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76 Making a list of people I had harmed was not a particularly difficult thing to do. They had showed up in my Fourth Step inventory: people towards whom I had resentments, real or imagined, and whom I had hurt by acts of retaliation. For my recovery to be thorough, I believed it was not important for those who had legitimately harmed me to make amends to me. That is important in my relationship with God is that I stand before Him, knowing I have done what I can to repair the damage I have done. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day "None of us like to think that we are bodily and mentally different from others. Our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove that we could drink like other people. This delusion that we are like other people has to be smashed. It has been definitely proved that no real alcoholic has ever recovered control. Over any considerable period we get worse, never better. There is no such thing as making a normal drinker out of an alcoholic." Am I convinced that I can never drink again normally? Meditation For The Day We should have life and have it more abundantly--spiritual, mental, physical, abundant life--joyous, powerful life. This we can have if we follow the right way. Not all people will accept from God the gift of an abundant life, a gift held out free to all. Not all people care to stretch out a hand and take it. God's gift, the richest He has to offer, is the precious gift of abundant life. People often turn away from it, reject it, and will have none of it. Do not let this be true of you. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may hasten to accept the gift of abundant spiritual life. I pray that I may live the good life to the best of my ability. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Humility for the Fellowship, Too, p. 226 We of A.A. sometimes brag of the virtues of our Fellowship. Let us remember that few of these times are actually earned virtues. We were forced into them, to begin with, by the cruel lash of alcoholism. We finally adopted them, not because we wished to but because we had to. Then, as time confirmed the seeming rightness of our basic principles, we began to conform because it was right to do so. Some of us, notably myself, conformed even then with reluctance. But at last we came to a point where we stood willing to conform gladly to the principles which experience, under the grace of God, had taught us. A.A. Comes Of Age, p.224 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Wasting Time Time management In dealing with our personal shortcomings, we may find traits of immaturity. For example, we might waste time doing the things we like to do rather than the things we must do. We sometimes find a way to justify this. Drinking coffee with friends might be called "having a meeting" even when it goes far beyond normal limits and uses up time that should be devoted to family and work responsibilities. Without becoming workaholics or drudges, we do need to be hones about our habits. If we're wasting too much time, it could be at the expense of things that need to be attended to promptly. When we waste time, we often have to work twice as hard to catch up later on. Let's be honest about the management of our time. I'll watch how I spend my time today. If I'm spending too much time socializing, I'll put myself on a reasonable schedule that balances both leisure and work. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple The best side of a saloon is outside.---Anonymous We need to stay away from places where we used to drink or use other drugs. Sometimes we need to stay away from our old using friends. But some days it's hard to stay away. We remember the fun times. Or we want a quick fix for our problems. When we feel like this, we know something is wrong. We can call our sponsor and talk about it. And get to a meeting. We need to remember how much better our lives are now. We don't want our old lives back. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me stay away from trouble. Thanks for keeping me sober today. Action for the Day: Today, I'll make a list of places that mean trouble for me---places I need to stay away from. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning Often when we're being tough and strong, we're scared. It takes a lot of courage to allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to be soft. --Dudley Martineau We've developed defenses for protection because we have felt the need for protection from the abuses of others, parents on occasion, bosses, spouses, even strangers. And in certain situations, our defenses served us well for a time. However, they have taken their toll. Hiding behind them for long makes them habitual, and we move farther and farther away from our center, from the woman each of us needs and wants to be. Exposing who we really are invites judgment, sometimes rejection, often times discounting. It's a terribly hard risk to take, and the rewards are seldom immediate. But with time, others respect us for our vulnerability and begin to imitate our example. We are served well by our integrity, in due time. Letting others see who we really are alleviates confusion, theirs and ours. We no longer need to decide who we should be; we simply are who we are. Our choices are simplified. There is only one appropriate choice to every situation--the one that is honest and wholly reflective of who we are at that moment. Rewards will be forthcoming when I am honest. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 8 - TO WIVES We have elsewhere remarked how much better life is when lived on a spiritual plane. If God can solve the age-old riddle of alcoholism, He can solve your problems too. We wives found that, like everybody else, we were afflicted with pride, self-pity, vanity and all the things which go to make up the self-centered person; and we were not above selfishness or dishonesty. As our husbands began to apply spiritual principles in their lives, we began to see the desirability of doing so too. p. 116 ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories My Chance To Live A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair. I grew up in a loving middle-class home. We had our problems--what family doesn't? But there was no abuse, verbal or physical, and it certainly couldn't be said my parents didn't do the best they could by me. My grandfathers were alcoholic, and I was raised on stories of how it had ravaged their lives and the lives of those around them. Nope, I didn't want to be an alcoholic. p. 309 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." But that is not all of the danger. Every time a person imposes his instincts unreasonably upon others, unhappiness follows. If the pursuit of wealth tramples upon people who happen to be in the way, then anger, jealousy, and revenge are likely to be aroused. If sex runs riot, there is a similar uproar. Demands made upon other people for too much attention, protection, and love can only invite domination or revulsion in the protectors themselves--two emotions quite as unhealthy as the demands which evoked them. When an individual's desire for prestige becomes uncontrollable, whether in the sewing circle or at the international conference table, other people suffer and often revolt. This collision of instincts can produce anything from a cold snub to a blazing revolution. In these ways we are set in conflict not only with ourselves, but with other people who have instincts, too. p. 44 ************************************************** ********* "Plant positive thoughts in your mind and expect a harvest of great possibilities." --Unknown To keep a lamp burning we have to keep putting oil in it. --Mother Teresa Happiness is an INSIDE job. --unknown "People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges." --Joseph F. Newton "Find the seed at the bottom of your heart and bring forth a flower." -****Shigenori Kameoka Once it flies out, you can't catch it.
--Russian proverb
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
TRUTH
"If error is corrected whenever
it is recognized as such, the path
of error is the path of truth."
-- Hans Reichenbach
I believe that in order to discover spirituality in our lives, we need to
confront the "disease", that destructive and negative side of our lives.
We need to make the disease work for us!
For too many years I tried to avoid and deny my alcoholism. I wanted
to recover by osmosis! I did not want to get my hands dirty with the
reality of my suffering but rather I wanted a "miracle" --- really
magic --- to make everything different from what it had been for
years. I did not want to face my pain! But it does not work that way. If
I am to get well, I need to confront my disease, smell my disease, hold
my disease, pull and tug at the disease in my life. Why? Because it is
mine. I need to be in touch with my disease if I am ever going to make
the necessary changes. I need to make my disease work for me --- that
is spirituality.
Let me have the courage to pass through the pain in order to
experience the gain.
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"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows,
that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh
reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap
everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due
season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
Galatians 6:7-9
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the
Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting
shadows."
James 1:17
"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are
being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which
comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
2 Corinthians 3:18
"And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know
what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit
prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the
Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the
Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will."
Romans 8:26-27
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Daily Inspiration
Every moment of every day is your choice unless you give it away. Lord, I choose to live peacefully today and ask for patience and strength when I feel stress from the demands others place on me.
To give of yourself is when you truly give. Lord, even in my busiest moments may I be able to make time when someone really needs me.
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NA Just For Today
Letting Go Of Our Limitations
"We don't have to settle for the limitations of the past. We can examine and reexamine our old ideas."
Basic Text, p.11
Most of us come to the program with a multitude of self-imposed limitations that prevent us from realizing our full potential, limitations that impede our attempts to find the values that lie at the core of our being. We place limitations on our ability to be true to ourselves, limitations on our ability to function at work, limitations on the risks we're willing to take-the list seems endless. If our parents or teachers told us we would never succeed, and we believed them, chances are we didn't achieve much. If our socialization taught us not to stand up for ourselves, we didn't, even if everything inside us was screaming to do so.
In Narcotics Anonymous, we are given a process by which we can recognize these false limitations for what they are. Through our Fourth Step, we'll discover that we don't want to keep all the rules we've been taught. We don't have to be the life-long victims of past experiences. We are free to discard the ideas that inhibit our growth. We are capable of stretching our boundaries to encompass new ideas and new experiences. We are free to laugh, to cry, and, above all, to enjoy our recovery.
Just for today: I will let go of my self-imposed limitations and open my mind to new ideas.
pg. 236
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
The moment an individual can accept and forgive himself, even a little, is the moment in which he becomes to some degree lovable. --Eugene Kennedy
If we owe a bill and pay it in full, do we return to pay that same bill over and over again? If we did, someone would surely question what was wrong with us. Yet, how often do we ask forgiveness for the same thing over and over again?
How wonderful to know that we do not have to condemn ourselves, even for not living up to a goal we have set for ourselves. Once we say we are sorry, we need to be willing to forgive ourselves. After all, how else do we learn and grow except by mistakes.
When we have forgiven ourselves, we become free to take risks again without fear of unforgivable failure, and who knows what new successes we might attain?
Is there something I can forgive myself for today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
What I do today is important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. --Hugh Mulligan
We show self-respect in how we choose to spend our time. Do we give tasks the time required for our best efforts? Or do we feel unworthy of quality work? Do we have a right to stop working and just play? Are we worth spending time with - just ourselves, or do we feel meaningful time is only spent with others? Are we worth caring enough about to enjoy bathing, grooming, or getting haircuts? Do we care enough about ourselves to see a dentist or a physician when needed?
Choices about how we use our time are basic ethical and creative choices. Beyond self-respect and care, we need to put time into our day for nourishing and enriching our spirits. We do that by reading something thoughtful or meaningful, talking to a friend about the events and feelings of our lives, listening to music, fixing a pleasant meal, exercising, and giving unpaid time and energy to worthwhile causes.
I am grateful for the gift of another day, and I will live it creatively and respectfully.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Often when we're being tough and strong, we're scared. It takes a lot of courage to allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to be soft. --Dudley Martineau
We've developed defenses for protection because we have felt the need for protection from the abuses of others, parents on occasion, bosses, spouses, even strangers. And in certain situations, our defenses served us well for a time. However, they have taken their toll. Hiding behind them for long makes them habitual, and we move farther and farther away from our center, from the woman each of us needs and wants to be.
Exposing who we really are invites judgment, sometimes rejection, often times discounting. It's a terribly hard risk to take, and the rewards are seldom immediate. But with time, others respect us for our vulnerability and begin to imitate our example. We are served well by our integrity, in due time.
Letting others see who we really are alleviates confusion, theirs and ours. We no longer need to decide who we should be; we simply are who we are. Our choices are simplified. There is only one appropriate choice to every situation--the one that is honest and wholly reflective of who we are at that moment.
Rewards will be forthcoming when I am honest.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Owning Our Power
Many of us have someone in our life that challenges our ability to trust and care for ourselves.
When we hear that person's voice or are in his or her presence, we may forget all we know about what is real, about how to own our power, about how to be direct, about what we know and believe to be true, about how important we are.
We give up our power to that person. The child in us gets hooked with a mixture of powerful feelings - love, fear, or anger. We may feel trapped, helpless, or so attracted that we can't think straight. There may be a powerful tug of war going between feelings of anger and our need to be loved and accepted, or between our head and our heart.
We may be so enamored or intimidated that we revert to our belief that we can't react or respond to this person any differently.
We get hooked.
We don't have to stay under a spell.
We start by becoming aware of the people who hook us, and then accepting that.
We can force ourselves through the motions of reacting differently to that person, even if that new reaction is awkward and uncomfortable.
Search out our motivations. Are we somehow trying to control or influence the other person? We cannot change the other person, but we can stop playing our part of the game. One good way to do this is by detaching and letting go of any need to control.
The next step is learning to own our power to take care of ourselves, to be who we are free from their influence. We can learn to own our power with difficult people. It may not happen overnight, but we can begin, today, to change our self-defeating reactions to the people who have hooked us.
God, help me identify the relationships where I have forfeited my power. Help me unhook and begin owning my power.
Today I trust what I feel and I listen to my inner voice. It does not matter if it is logical or if others agree. My feelings and emotions guide me on a path that is right for me. --Ruth Fishel
*****
Journey to the Heart
Value the Simple Tasks of Life
Simple tasks can take us back to the rhythm, the way of life we're seeking.
How often we think we don't want to be bothered with laundry, bills dishes, the lawn. We have other things to do, more important tasks to accomplish on this journey we're on. But doing the ordinary tasks doesn't take us away from the rhythm we're seeking. They don't take us away from life's magic. These tasks are the rhythm. They are the magic.
The simple tasks are important not just because they need to be done. The simple tasks are the microcosm of how our lives work. They keep us grounded in reality, they remind us of what's real, they show us how life works. They will lead us into the way of life we're seeking, if we approach them the right way. Do the laundry. Do the dishes. Pay your bills. Rake the leaves. Do these tasks with respect.
Restore and maintain order around you, and you'll feel order in your soul. Create beauty around you, and you'll feel beauty in your soul. The magic will return. The simple tasks will lead you back to it.
*****
more language of letting go
Be grateful for where you are now
"It doesn't take as much faith to believe that everything happens for a reason as it does to embrace the belief that I am who and where I am now, today, for a reason-- even if I don't know what that reason is and even if I don't particularly like who and where I am today," a friend said to me. "When I can take that in, my dissatisfaction and negativity disappear, and I can proceed calmly and gratefully with my life. To me," he said, "that's what spirituality is all about."
Faith and hope aren't just for the future. Try using them on today.
Could it be that you're who you are and where you are now for a reason? Thank God for your life, exactly as it is, right now.
God, give me enough faith to believe in today.
*****
Living Potential
Sharing Your Gift with Others
The gifts we are born with and those that we work to develop throughout our lives vary in form and function. Some we find use for every day while others are only useful in specific circumstances. Yet many times we overlook opportunities to share our unique gifts with others. It may be fear of criticism that holds us back or the paralyzing weight of uncertainty. Ultimately, we doubt that our innate talents and practiced skills can truly add value to others’ lives. But it is the world as a whole that benefits when we willingly share our gifts. Whether you have been blessed with the ability to awaken beautiful emotions in others through art or industry, or your aptitudes transmit more practical advantages, your gifts are a part of who you are. As you make use of those gifts as best you can, be assured that your contribution to worldly well-being will not be overlooked.
Your personal power is defined in part by your gifts. To use your talents is to demonstrate to the world that you understand yourself and are truly attuned to your capabilities. Your earthly existence provides you with ample opportunity to explore your purpose, to utilize your skills in a life-affirming way, and to positively touch the lives of others while doing so. Yet you may feel that your gifts are not as valuable or worthy of attention as those of others and thus hide them away. However, every gift lying dormant in your soul has the potential to fill a void in someone else’s life. Just as your existence is made richer by the love, support, friendship, aid, and compassion of others, so, too, can you add richness to their lives. Your natural ability to soothe hurt, inspire compassion, bake, dance, knit, organize, or think outside the box can be a boon to someone in need.
As you embrace your gifts and allow their light to shine, you will discover that more and more opportunities to make use of them arise. This is because your gifts are a channel through which the universe operates. By simply doing what you are good at and also love to do, you make a positive difference. The recognition you receive for your efforts will pale in comparison to the satisfaction you feel when fulfilling your innate potential. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
Step Four enables me to see myself as I really am — my characteristics, motives, attitudes and actions. I’m taught in* The Program to search out my mistakes resolutely. Where, for example, had I been selfish, dishonest, self-seeking, and frightened? I’m taught, also, that my deeply-rooted habit of self-justification may tempt me to “explain away” each fault as I uncover it, blaming others for my own shortcomings. Will I believe that personal honesty can achieve what superior knowledge often cannot?
Today I Pray
May I not make the Fourth Step a once-over-lightly, let’s get-it-over-with exercise in self-appraisal. May I know that, once I take this Step, I must review it again many times until it becomes, like the other eleven, a way of life for me. May I protect the value of my Fourth Step from my old habit of head-tripping and buck-passing my way out of responsibility.
Today I Will Remember
Personal honesty paves the way to recovery.
***********************************************
One More Day
Physical strength can never permanently withstand the impact of spiritual force.
– Franklin D. Roosevelt
It’s a peculiar twist of life that physical impairment causes some of us to become either agnostic or more spiritual. Few of us stay in the shades of gray.
Those of us who are fortunate enough to find our Higher Power or to rediscover our sense of spirituality may feel a deep and abiding belief in spiritual forces which will dwell with us at all times in our lives.
Spiritually transcends all health problems; we can call on its comfort and support at will. Our beliefs can buoy us up when we are feeling low and can richly enhance all the facets of our lives.
The spiritual forces which work within me are uniquely mine — to share or to keep private. They will always enhance my life.
************************************************** ******************
Food For Thought
Rationalizing
We compulsive overeaters are experts at making excuses for taking the line of least resistance. Before we entered this program, we could always find a reason for eating. How many times did we say, “Just one little bite can’t possibly hurt”?
It is hard to say no to ourselves and to other people, even though we may realize that saying yes would be hurtful to our health or our integrity. We think up reasons for going along with what other people want us to do, rather than “rocking the boat” by standing up for what we know to be essential for our recovery.
Often we convince ourselves by rationalizing that all is well when it is not. Our emotional and spiritual health requires that we examine honestly our behavior and our relationships. When they are not right, we need to take action to correct them.
By Your light, may I see clearly.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
~ LISTENING ~
I have learned silence from the talkative,
tolerance from the intolerant,
and kindness from the unkind.
I should not be ungrateful to those teachers.
Kahlil Gibran
Verbosity is one of my personal characteristics ... especially in my past. I remember so well discussions in which I found great joy in talking. I also remember my prayers to the God Of My Understanding in which I had a litany of things prayed for.
As I became more and more entrenched in my program, I noticed that I began to listen more and talk less. I also began to really hear what God was saying to me. Praying is our talking to God and meditating is listening to Him. So now meditation has became a way of life for me.
As I go through my life encountering the talkers of the world, I now try to listen to those who are silent but who have much to say. The loud voices of my past life were just loud. It is, however, the quiet, calm voices that have spoken to me in volumes.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will listen carefully to those who speak.
I will listen especially carefully if it's God who is speaking.
~ Mari ~
*****************************************
AA 'Big Book' - Quote
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. Certain drinkers, who would be greatly insulted if called alcoholics, are astonished at their inability to stop. We, who are familiar with these symptoms, see large numbers of potential alcoholics among young people everywhere. But try and get them to see it! - Pgs. 33-34 - More About Alcoholism
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Our new life-style calls for a new self-responsibility. Is there something we are committed to do this afternoon? Go to a group, go to a meeting, call a friend, pray? We begin the process of being responsible by being on time, keeping promises, doing what our sponsor says.
Give me the persistence to meet my obligations this afternoon.
The Mystery
Today, I accept that part of myself that will never be satisfied, and I comfort and tame it. There is a place in me that knows it will never necessarily solve the eternal questions of life: Who am I and where do I come from, and where do I go when I die? At times, I can get depressed about that and feel that there's no real point to life. But I am beginning to feel that to accept and love this side of myself is what also gives life beauty and meaning. Perhaps meaning is not knowing and understanding, but an acceptance of mystery, an embracing of the unknown. After all, it is that mystery that gives even the most ordinary circumstance an eternal sort of glow - a sense of depth, a feeling that there is more.
I accept that I will never fully understand - I embrace the mystery.
- Tian Dayton Phd
'The soul is restless and furious; it wants to tear itself apart and cure itself of being human.'- Ugo Betti
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Going to a lot of meetings is important, supportive, and full of fellowship. However, our program is not about meetings but what happens in between meetings.
Do I align my actions with the picture I paint of myself in meetings?
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
If you have two addictions, throw two bucks in the basket.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I trust what I feel and I listen to my inner voice.
It does not matter if it is logical or if others agree. My feelings and emotions guide me on a path that is right for me.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Rome wasn't built in a day - That's because and alcoholic didn't get the contract. - Broken Hill Jack. |
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Post by caressa222 on Aug 14, 2018 22:45:32 GMT -5
August 15
Daily Reflections
DIDN'T WE HURT ANYBODY?
Some of us, though, tripped over a very different snag. We clung to
the claim that when drinking we never hurt anybody but ourselves.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS , p. 79
This Step seemed so simple. I identified several people whom I had
harmed, but they were no longer available. Still, I was uneasy about
the Step and avoided conversations dealing with it. In time I
learned to investigate those Steps and areas of my life which made
me uncomfortable. My search revealed my parents, who had been
deeply hurt by my isolation from them; my employer, who worried
about my absences, my memory lapses, my temper; and the friends I
had shunned, without explanation. As I faced the reality of the
harm I had done, Step Eight took on a new meaning. I am no longer
uncomfortable and I feel clean and light.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
"Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. Commencing to drink after
a period of sobriety, we are in a short time as bad as ever. If we
have admitted we are alcoholics, we must have no reservations of any
kind, nor any lurking notion that some day we will be immune to
alcohol. What sort of thinking dominates an alcoholic who repeats
time after time the desperate experiment of the first drink?
Parallel with sound reasoning, there inevitably runs some insanely
trivial excuse for taking the first drink. There is little thought
of what the terrific consequences may be." Have I given up all
excuses for taking a drink?
Meditation For The Day
"Where two or three are banded together, I will be there in the
midst of them." When God finds two or three people in union, who
only want His will to be done, who want only to serve Him, He has
a plan that can be revealed to them. The grace of God can come to
people who are together in one place with one accord. A union like
this is miracle-working. God is able to use such people. Only good
can come through such consecrated people, brought together in
unified groups for a single purpose and of a single mind.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be part of a unified group. I pray that I may
contribute my share to its consecrated purpose.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Is Sobriety Enough? p.227
The alcoholic is like a tornado roaring his way through the lives of
others. Hearts are broken. Sweet relationships are dead. Affections
have been uprooted. Selfish and inconsiderate habits have kept
the home in turmoil.
We feel a man is unthinking when he says that sobriety is enough.
He is like the farmer who came up out of his cyclone cellar to find his
home ruined. To his wife, he remarked, "Don't see anything the
matter here, Ma. Ain't it grand the wind stop blowin'?
*********************************
We ask ourselves what we mean when we say that we have
"harmed" other people. What kind of "harm" do people do one
another, anyway? To define the word "harm" in a practical way, we
might call it the result of instincts in collision, which cause physical,
mental, emotional, or spiritual damage to those about us.
1. Alcoholics Anonymous, p.82
2. 12 & 12, p. 80
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Do We Have A Larger Purpose?
Peace
The Twelve Step program came out of a movement that was attempting to
save the world by establishing universal peace. Our purpose is
scaled down to helping the person who still suffers.
We don't really know the route to world peace, but we have learned that
we must be at peace with ourselves and others in order to live
happily. This means releasing the old resentments, distrust, and
other faults that plague so many of us.
Living the Twelve Step way might have been our first experience in
getting along with others. We found it totally different from the
hate and suspicion that once poisoned our lives and kept us in
bondage.
At some point, we may also find that we're playing a part in the larger
purpose of finding peace. We have , at least, removed ourselves
from the raging conflicts that cause so much trouble in the world.
I'll be at peace with everyone I meet today. I've forgiven
others and myself, and I'll do nothing today that gets me embroiled in
conflict with others.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
We know what we are, but know not what we may be.---Shakespeare
We are addicts. We suffer from an illness. We go to Twelve Step meetings because we know who we are. We have a sponsor because we know who we are. We ask friends for support because we know who we are. We know why we need our Higher Power to guide us. Recovery is a spiritual journey. In this journey, we are followers, not guides. It's a journey that change us. We don't know how recovery will change us, but we know it will. Is my faith strong enough for my journey? Part of how we get strong for our journey is by knowing who we truly are: addicts.
Prayer for the Day: I pray to remember who I am, so I'll learn to respect the power of my illness.
Action for the Day: I'll take time to remember my past, both good and bad. I'll also take time to think about who I am now. How far have I come?
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
Life does not need to mutilate itself in order to be pure. --Simone Weil
How terribly complicated we choose to make life's many questions. Should we call a friend and apologize or wait for her call? Are the children getting the kind of care they must, right now? That we "Came to believe in a power greater than ourselves" is often far from our thoughts when we most need it.
Our need to make all things perfect, to know all the answers, to control everything within our range, creates problems where none really exist. And the more we focus on the problem we've created, the bigger it becomes.
Inattention relieves the tension; last week's problems can seldom be recalled. The one we are keeping a problem with our undivided attention can be turned loose, at this moment. And just as quickly, the turmoil we've been feeling will be beyond recall too.
The program offers us another way to approach life. We need not mutilate it or ourselves. We can learn to accept the things we cannot change, and change the things we can . . . with practice.
I will pray for wisdom today. I shall expect wisdom, not problems, and the day will smoothly slip by.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
At first, some of us did not believe we needed this help. We thought, on the whole, we were pretty good women, capable of being nicer if our husbands stopped drinking. But it was a silly idea that we were too good to need God. Now we try to put spiritual principles to work in every department of our lives. When we do that, we find it solves our problems too; the ensuing lack of fear, worry and hurt feelings is a wonderful thing. We urge you to try our program, for nothing will be so helpful to your husband as the radically changed attitude toward him which God will show you how to have. Go along with you husband if you possibly can.
p. 116-117
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
My Chance To Live
A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.
In my early teen years I began to be bothered by feelings that I didn't fit in. Until this point, I had ignored the fact that I wasn't one of the "in" crowd. I thought if I tried hard enough I would fit in sooner or later. At fourteen I stopped trying. I quickly discovered the soothing effects of a drink. Telling myself I would be more careful than my unfortunate grandparents, I set out to feel better.
pp. 309-310
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
Alcoholics especially should be able to see that instinct run wild in themselves is the underlying cause of their destructive drinking. We have drunk to drown feelings of fear, frustration, and depression. We have drunk to escape the guilt of passions, and then have drunk again to make more passions possible. We have drunk for vain glory--that we
might the more enjoy foolish dreams of pomp and power. This perverse soul-sickness is not pleasant to look upon. Instincts on rampage balk at investigation. The minute we make a serious attempt to probe them, we are liable to suffer severe reactions.
pp. 44-45
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Never think that God's delays are God's denials. Hold on; hold fast;
hold out. Patience is genius.
--George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon
The greatest power is often simple patience.
--E. Joseph Cossman
I look at the world with gratitude, down to the smallest thing, as it is
all a gift from God.
--Shelley
Life is everything YOU put into it.
--unknown
Kindness from your heart can only bring you blessings.
--unknown
"Something must die in order to grow - your old habits, your old self
image, your old thinking, your old life - must be weeded out for the
seeds of success to grow."
--Doug Firebaugh
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
PROPERTY
"Property is the fruit of labor;
property is desirable; it is a
positive good."
-- Abraham Lincoln
God is to be found in the physical. He is to be found in my body, my
sexuality, the mountains and streams --- and also in houses and
real-estate. The luxury of comfort and good living is not incompatible
with the spiritual life --- indeed, the use of our property can be an
opportunity for gratitude and sharing.
I know many people who use their comfortable homes for
opportunities to develop sincere friendships. Luxury homes can be
used for retreats and spiritual seminars involving music, dance and
silence. Property is part of God's landscape into his world. His love,
joy and hope for mankind can be experienced by our creative use of
property.
Let me use my property creatively.
************************************************** *********
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the
Lord, not for men."
Colossians 3:23
"Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.
He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of
life."
John 8:12
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so
that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and
effective."
James 5:16
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Daily Inspiration
Others can not make you angry or upset unless you give them this power. Lord, strengthen my ability to know that how I feel is my choice and help me respond in ways that make me a happier person.
Use your talents. The world would be silent if only the birds that sing the best would sing. Lord, I will use Your gifts because You chose them especially for me.
************************************************** *********
NA Just For Today
Over Time, Not Overnight
"We found that we do not recover physically, mentally, or spiritually overnight."
Basic Text, p.27
Have you ever approached a recovery celebration with the feeling that you should be further along in your recovery than you are? Maybe you have listened to newcomers sharing in meetings, members with much less clean time, and thought, "But I'm just barely beginning to understand what they're talking about!"
It's odd that we should come into recovery thinking that we will feel wonderful right away or no longer have any difficulty handling life's twists and turns. We expect our physical problems to correct themselves, our thinking to become rational, and a fully developed spiritual life to manifest itself overnight. We forget that we spent years abusing our bodies, numbing our minds, and suppressing our awareness of a Higher Power. We cannot undo the damage in a day. We can, however, apply the next step, go to the next meeting, help the next newcomer. We heal and recover bit by bit-not overnight, but over time.
Just for today: My body will heal a little, my mind will become a little clearer, and my relationship with my Higher Power will strengthen.
pg. 237
************************************************** *********
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Roots nourish, give us life and bind us safely to earth. Plant them well. --Anonymous
All trees have different root systems. The pine grows quickly, with shallow roots that spread in every direction. A maple is a slow-growing tree, whose roots run deeper, seeking out moisture far into the earth. Both root systems give life, but when the weather turns stormy and the wind howls through the branches, the maple, with its deeper roots, will hold fast. Though the pine grows faster and needs only surface moisture, it cannot withstand the storm as well.
We often want things immediately. We want to play the piano, but only if we can learn it fast. We want others to love us right away, or we'll give up on them. If something we're doing doesn't go just so right from the start, we give up.
But the permanent things in life take time to develop. If we want our relationships, our skills, our accomplishments, to resist the storms we all encounter, we must allow time for them to grow and deepen within us, and marvel, in the meantime, at how much we can learn from the world around us.
What deep roots am I setting down right now?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
A man's life is what his thoughts make it. --Marcus Aurelius
How do we think about ourselves? Do we feel unattractive? Do we feel we aren't masculine enough? Do we doubt our ability to perform our roles as friends, husbands, or fathers? Such thoughts are common among men. There is no problem in having them; they are normal to some extent. But what we do with our thoughts - how we think about what we think - makes a big difference in our lives.
When we think we are odd or different from other men for feeling this way, we become more self-centered. When we don't stand up for our rights as men to have our doubts and weaknesses, we become even more weak and doubting. When we don't talk about our thoughts and feelings to other men, we become isolated and lonely. We have a right to feel insecure and to know we have weaknesses. We become stronger men by accepting our doubts. They may still cause some pain but they have lost their power to control us. Just as a repaired seam can be stronger than the original, what was our weakness becomes our strength.
Today, I accept my thoughts of weakness and self-doubt as part of life.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Life does not need to mutilate itself in order to be pure. --Simone Weil
How terribly complicated we choose to make life's many questions. Should we call a friend and apologize or wait for her call? Are the children getting the kind of care they must, right now? That we "Came to believe in a power greater than ourselves" is often far from our thoughts when we most need it.
Our need to make all things perfect, to know all the answers, to control everything within our range, creates problems where none really exist. And the more we focus on the problem we've created, the bigger it becomes.
Inattention relieves the tension; last week's problems can seldom be recalled. The one we are keeping a problem with our undivided attention can be turned loose, at this moment. And just as quickly, the turmoil we've been feeling will be beyond recall too.
The program offers us another way to approach life. We need not mutilate it or ourselves. We can learn to accept the things we cannot change, and change the things we can . . . with practice.
I will pray for wisdom today. I shall expect wisdom, not problems, and the day will smoothly slip by.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Leaving Room for Feelings
We need to allow enough room for others and ourselves to have and work through our feelings.
We are people, not robots. An important part of us - who we are, how we grow, how we live - is connected to our emotional center. We have feelings, sometimes - difficult ones, sometimes - disruptive ones, and sometimes - explosive ones that need to be worked through.
By facing and working through these feelings others and we grow. In relationships, whether it is a love relationship, a friendship, a family relationship, or a close business relationship, people need room to have and work through their feelings.
Some call it "going through the process."
It is unreasonable to expect ourselves or others to not need time and room to work through feelings. We will be setting ourselves and our relationships up for failure if we do not allow this time and room in our life.
We need time to work through feelings. We need the space and permission to work through these feelings in the awkward, uncomfortable, sometimes messy way that people work through feelings.
This is life. This is growth. This is okay.
We can allow room for feelings. We can let people have time and permission to go through their feelings. We do not have to keep others or ourselves under such a tight rein. While we work through our feelings we do not have to expend unnecessary energy reacting to each feeling others or we have. We don't have to take all our feelings, and others' feelings, so seriously while others or we are in the process of working through them.
Let the feelings flow and trust where the flow is taking you.
I can set reasonable boundaries for behavior, and still leave room for a range of emotions.
Today I will spend some time putting my own needs aside to help someone else. It is so good to know that I can be filled with such good feelings and I get so much when I give of myself. --Ruth Fishel
*****
Journey to the Heart
Spinning Our wheels Is Part of Getting Unstuck
When our car gets stuck in the mud or snow, we immediately try to get out. Sometimes we have to spin our wheels to get a rocking motion going. Sometimes we have to try harder, then try again before we can get out. Sometimes, spinning our wheels digs us in more deeply. Then in frustration, we let go, relax. Soon we find ourselves doing what we need to get unstuck. We ask for help or figure out another approach.
That's how it is on our journey. We may find ourselves in a situation we don't know how to handle. So we start spinning our wheels in frustration, confusion, or fear. What we know is we want out. Sometimes we need to get through that time of spinning our wheels in order to get to the next place, the place where we slow down and figure out what to do next. Sometimes our frustration helps generate energy to get momentum going in the general direction of solving the problem. Putting forth that energy gets steam built up, tells us and the universe we're ready to free ourselves.
If you find yourself spinning your wheels, be gentle with yourself. Slow down, get a nice rocking motion going, one that's rhythmic yet powerful enough to free you, than put the car in gear, step on the gas, and gently drive out of the muck.
Sometimes we need to spin our wheels. It helps us get unstuck.
*****
more language of letting go
Make a gratitude box
One day, years after I discovered the power of gratitude, I was feeling stuck, stymied, and ungrateful. Again. After a few minutes of this, I knew what to do. I understood clearly what the remedy for my situation was.
I went to a shop in town and picked out the most beautiful little box I could find. It was silver, with engraving on it. About four inches tall and six inches wide. Then I went home and took out a pad of paper. I tore it into tiny strips. On each piece of paper, I wrote one thing that was bothering or troubling me-- from finances, to work, to love.
When I had finished writing out my troubles list, I started on another one. Now, on each slip of paper, I wrote down the names of people I wanted to pray for, the people I loved, the people I wanted to ask God to bless.
When I finished, I put each little strip of paper in the box.
Then, I held the box in my hands and thanked God for everything inside.
I still have my gratitude box. I keep it in plain view. People think it's just a pretty decoration, but it means a lot more than that to me. From time to time when I feel down, I open the box. I take out one slip of paper, and I practice gratitude for whatever slip I happen to pull out. Sometimes, I pull out a name of someone I want God to bless. For that day my mission is to surround that person with my prayers.
Most of the troubles I put in that box have long since been resolved. But the box is still around to remind me of the power of gratitude.
Do you have some problems in your life today, areas that you can't seem to resolve? If you don't already have one, consider making a gratitude box. Remember, there's a difference between knowing about the power of gratitude and actually applying gratitude in our lives.
God, help me do the things I know will help me to feel better.
Activity: Take the time to make a gratitude box. Put one slip of paper in it for every problem or trouble you're currently experiencing, one slip of paper for everything and everyone you're worried about, and one slip of paper for people you'd like God to bless. The blessings include your loved ones and those whom you resent. Then spend two to five minutes each day either thanking God for everything and everyone in the box, or take out one slip of paper at a time, and thank God for that. Leave the box in plain view as a daily reminder that practicing the power of gratitude will change your life.
*****
Enjoying the Ride
The Flow of the Universe by Madisyn Taylor
Many people live their lives struggling against the current while others use the flow like a mighty wind.
The flow of the universe moves through everything. It’s in the rocks that form, get pounded into dust, and are blown away, the sprouting of a summer flower born from a seed planted in the spring, the growth cycle that every human being goes through, and the current that takes us down our life’s paths. When we move with the flow, rather than resisting it, we are riding on the universal current that allows us to flow with life.
Many people live their lives struggling against this current. They try to use force or resistance to will their lives into happening the way they think it should. Others move with this flow like a sailor using the wind, trusting that the universe is taking them exactly where they need to be at all times. This flow is accessible to everyone because it moves through and around us. We are always riding this flow. It’s just a matter of whether we are willing to go with it or resist it. Tapping into the flow is often a matter of letting go of the notion that we need to be in control at all times. The flow is always taking you where you need to go. It’s just a matter of deciding whether you plan on taking the ride or dragging your feet.
Learning to step into the flow can help you feel a connection to a force that is greater than you and is always there to support you. The decision to go with the flow can take courage because you are surrendering the notion that you need to do everything by yourself. Riding the flow of the universe can be effortless, exhilarating, and not like anything that you ever expected. When you are open to being in this flow, you open yourself to possibilities that exist beyond the grasp of your control. As a child, you were naturally swept by the flow. Tears of sadness falling down your face could just as quickly turn to tears of laughter. Just the tiniest wave carrying you forward off the shores of the ocean could carry you into peals of delight. Our souls feel good when we go with the flow of the universe. All we have to do is make the choice to ride its currents. Published with permission from Daily OM
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One More Day
As we advance in life, we learn the limits of our abilities.
– J.A. Froud
Remember the lofty goals we had when we were young? Goals that included being the best, saving all the children, having a lot of money. We could be president, put out fires, or be on stage. We could accomplish anything when we were young. The older we got, the more realistic we became. We began to be aware of what we couldn’t do, of the fact that not every family system worked, that not every person was happy.
We found new goals then, goals that we could live with for that time in our lives. Even now, as we read, we are learning about ourselves. We know that we may not reach our childhood goals. We have learned our limits and are living our lives in a realistic fashion.
Awareness of my own limits has helped me set realistic goals. I am successful.
************************************************** ****************
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
It’s often said that you can’t tell a book by its cover. For many of us, our “covers” or surface records haven’t looked all that bad; it seemed at first, that making an inventory would be a breeze.” As we proceeded, we were dismayed to discover that our “covers” were relatively blemish-free only because we’d deeply buried our defects beneath layers of self-deception. For that reason, self-searching can be a long-term process; it must go on for as long as we remain blind to the flaws that ambushed us into addiction and misery. Will I try to face myself as I am, correcting whatever is keeping me from growing into the person I want to be?
Today I Pray
May God aid me in my soul-searching, because I have hidden my faults neatly from friends, family and especially myself. If I feel more “sinned against, than sinning,” may I take it as a clue that I need to dig deeper for the real me.
Today I Will Remember
Taking stock of myself is buying stock in my future.
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In God’s Care
A consciousness of God releases the greatest power of all.
~Science of Mind, magazine
Just thinking of God as we go into situations we’re uncomfortable with or perhaps even fearful of will relieve our troubled mind and lessen our anxiety.
Carrying God in our thoughts means we don’t have to, for that moment or hour or day, feel alone. Quite miraculously, we’ll know that God can help us handle what we could not handle alone.
Most of us dwell more on negative thoughts than on thoughts of God. And our life is far more confused and complicated than it needs to be as a result. To replace one thought with another is really quite simple. A quiet reminder to stop negative thinking and remember God is all that’s necessary. We may have to repeat the process many, many times, but patience brings the result we want.
God will strengthen us and take away our fears if we remember to remember.
I will keep God in my mind today. I will concentrate on remembering.
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Day By Day
Sharing our burdens
We were disappointed in ourselves when we could not rise above situations that enveloped us. We were discouraged with friends who seemed indifferent to our suffering.
But coming to the program, we find that we need not fear the burdens of life. Our Higher Power has given us examples, promises, and friends to share all our burdens. For example, with understanding people we find that we we need never be alone again. Do I share all my crosses with my fellows and with my Creator?
Higher Power, help me to realize that there are others on my path and to believe that they can help.
The burden I will share today is…
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Food For Thought
Inner Tigers
What we fear facing and dealing with is often inside. We may transfer our fear and irritation to external circumstances and the people around us, when what we need to do is look inside. Usually, we are our own worst enemy.
Our fears go back to a time when we were very young and relatively helpless. We may still be afraid of rejection, of being inferior, of being hurt with no one to take care of us. We may have an irrational fear of economic insecurity, which comes from a time when we were aware of financial problems but were too young to understand them.
Whether our inner tigers are real or made out of paper, we need to face them instead of eating to appease them. As we recover from compulsive overeating, many of the fears, which we had tried to bury with food, come to consciousness. With the Power greater than ourselves, we are able to tame the inner tigers.
Secure in Your care, may I not fear self-discovery.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
LOVE
“Love conquers all things.
Let us, too, surrender to love.”
Virgil
Learning to love myself has been one of the hardest lessons I've had to learn. I had to discover my capacity for self-care. I had to listen to the way I talked to myself and to learn to speak in more affirming ways. Learning to smile -- and then laugh -- when I made a mistake helped me to be less self-centered and more able to just have fun.
Life is a great experience when I surrender myself to the love around me. Expressing my love to others increases its quantity and quality inside of me. We all need to know that someone loves us and that we are lovable. Everyone needs to know that they are sufficient. I've discovered that as I give love to others, it is returned to me many times over.
One day at a time...
I will work at expressing unconditional love.
~ YAL
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
There are those too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest. - Pg. 58 - How It Works
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
You never have to be alone again. Where ever you are, the Fellowship is close by and always, always where ever you are, your Higher Power is too!
Hi God!
I may not have a clear conception of You -- I may not truly believe. However, I've come this far and right now I just want to say 'Hi.'
My Only Job
My only job is to work my own recovery. I cannot work anyone else's recovery for them, I can barely keep up with my own. When I get my head stuck in other people's issues and become preoccupied with how they are doing, I lose my own grounding. Today I will ask myself the questions that are important for me to answer. HALT. Am I too hungry, angry, lonely or tired? If the answer is yes to any of these, I will attend to myself so that I don't act out, get down or pick up. I will ask myself if I have gotten enough exercise and rest. I will eat nutritious foods that give me the energy I need for my recovery and stay away from those foods that cause my blood sugar to spike then fall, leaving me depleted. I will seek out companionship and connection. I will make sure that I have kept time in my day for reflection and meditation.
I can take charge of my own experience.
- Tian Dayton Phd
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Sanskrit saying 'God sleeps in the mineral, awakens in the plants, walks in the animals, and thinks in you.' The Universal Source of life actually thinks in you. Use this well.
Every bad choice I ever made began with a single thought. Every good choice I ever made began with a single thought. I choose my thoughts carefully.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Don't romance the drug.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I will spend more time putting my own needs aside to help someone.
It is good that I can be filled with such good feelings and I get so much when I give of myself.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
We left the meeting, I was really angry. I said: 'I'm never going to that meeting again. And I'm never sharing again!' Mick said: 'Oh, you've got to share Greg.. you never know when you might tell the truth. - Greg.
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Post by caressa222 on Aug 16, 2018 1:26:41 GMT -5
August 16
Daily Reflections
"I HAD DROPPED OUT"
We might next ask ourselves what we mean when we say that we have
"harmed" other people. What kinds of "harm" do people do one
another, anyway? To define the word "harm" in a practical way, we
might call it the result of instincts in collision, which cause physical,
mental, emotional, or spiritual damage to people.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS , p. 80
I had been to Eighth Step meetings, always thinking, "I really
haven't harmed many people, mostly myself." But the time came when
I wrote my list out and it was not as short as I thought it would
be. I either liked you, disliked you, or needed something from you
- it was that simple. People hadn't done what I wanted them to do
and intimate relationships were out of hand because of my partners
unreasonable demands. Were these "sins of omission"? Because of my
drinking, I had "dropped out" - never sending cards, returning
calls, being there for other people, or taking part in their lives.
What a grace it has been to look at these relationships, to make
my inventories in quiet, alone with the God of my understanding,
and to go forth daily, with a willingness to be honest and
forthright in my relationships.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
"The alcoholic is absolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of
self-knowledge. We must admit we can do nothing about it ourselves.
Willpower and self-knowledge will never help in the strange mental
blank spots when we are tempted to drink. An alcoholic mentally is
in a very sick condition. The last flicker of conviction that we can
do the job ourselves must be snuffed out. The spiritual answer and
the program of action are the only hope. Only spiritual principles
will solve our problems. We are completely helpless apart from Divine
help. Our defense against drinking must come from a Higher Power."
Have I accepted the spiritual answer and the program of action?
Meditation For The Day
Rest now until life, eternal life, flowing through your veins and
heart and mind, bids you to bestir yourself. Then glad work will
follow. Tired work is never effective. The strength of God's spirit
is always available to the tired mind and body. He is your physician
and your healer. Look to these quiet times of communion with God for
rest, for peace, for cure. Then rise refreshed in spirit and go out
to work, knowing that your strength is able to meet any problems
because it is reinforced by God's power.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that the peace I have found will make me effective. I pray
that I may be relieved of all strain during this day.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
The Beginning of True Kinship, p.228
When we reached A.A., and for the first time in our lives stood
among people who seemed to understand, the sense of belonging
was tremendously exciting. We thought the isolation problem had
been solved.
But we soon discovered that, while we weren't alone any more in
a social sense, we still suffered many of the old pangs of
anxious apartness. Until we had talked with complete candor of
our conflicts, and had listened to someone else do the same thing, we
still didn't belong.
Step Five was the answer. It was the beginning of true kinship
with man and God.
12 & 12, p. 57
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Who is the Key person?
Respecting others
The Twelve Step movement grew out of a society that practiced a Key Person strategy; If you
could win important persons into your group, others of high
standing would follow.
The experience of Alcoholics Anonymous led a different
strategy: Work with anybody who wants help, and let leaders
appear as they will. The leaders, whom we call
trusted servants, were sometimes very ordinary people in the
eyes of the world. Some were like Bill W., people of great ability
whose careers had been wrecked by alcoholism.
In any case, it is obvious that we are poor judge of who might become a
key person. In the sight of God, we're told, all humans
are equal. Our best success comes when we treat every newcomer as a
key person.
I'll remember today to view every person with the respect and
consideration that is usually extended to people whom the world considers
important.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
The strongest rebellion may be expressed in quiet, undramatic behavior.---Benjamin Spock
In recovery, we each rebel against our disease. Each day we fight for the freedom to stay close to our Higher Power, friends and family.
It's mainly a quiet battle. It's fought daily. We fight and win by acting in a spiritual way. We fight and win every time we help a friend, go to meetings, or read about how to improve our lives
We move slowly but always forward. Rushing will only tire us out. Our battle will go on for life.
We are quiet fighters, but we're strong, for we do not fight alone. And we know what waits for us if we lose.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me stay free. When I want to give up, help me realize this is normal. Help me to keep fighting at these times.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll be a rebel. I will go to an extra meeting, or I'll talk with my sponsor. I'll find a way to help someone without the person knowing.
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Each Day a New Beginning
Love is a force. It is not a result; it is a cause. It is not a product; it produces. It is a power, like money, or steam or electricity. It is valueless unless you can give something else by means of it. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Love and feeling loved--how often both elude us! We have taken the first step, though. Let's be grateful for our recovery; this is an act of love. We have chosen to love ourselves, and the program opens the way to our loving others. Love and loving are balms for the soul sickness we experience. We are being healed. We are healing one another.
Loving others means going beyond our own selfish concerns, for the moment, and putting others' concerns first. The result is that others feel our love. They feel a caring that is healing. And our spiritual natures are likewise soothed.
We find God and ourselves through touching the souls of one another. Our most special gift is being loved and giving love. Every moment we spend with another person is gift-giving time.
Every day is a gift-giving holiday, if I will but make it so.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
If you and your husband find a solution for the pressing problem of drink you are, of course, going to very happy. But all problems will not be solved at once. Seed has started to sprout in a new soil, but growth has only begun. In spite of your new-found happiness, there will be ups and downs. Many of the old problems will still be with you. This is as it should be.
p. 117
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
My Chance To Live
A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.
Drinking released me from the suffocating fear, the feelings of inadequacy, and the nagging voices at the back of my head that told me I would never measure up. All of those things melted away when I drank. The bottle was my friend, my companion, a portable vacation. Whenever life was too intense, alcohol would take the edge off or obliterate the problem altogether for a time.
p. 310
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
If temperamentally we are on the depressive side, we are apt to be swamped with guilt and self-loathing. We wallow in this messy bog, often getting a misshapen and painful pleasure out of it. As we morbidly pursue this melancholy activity, we may sink to such a point of despair that nothing but oblivion looks possible as a solution. Here, of course, we have lost all perspective, and therefore all genuine humility. For this is pride in reverse. This is not a moral inventory at all; it is the very process by which the depressive has so often been led to the bottle and extinction.
p. 45
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In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give
out completes the circle and comes back to us.
--Flora Edwards
There are only three possible outcomes for alcoholics: locked up,
covered up, or sobered up.
--unknown
Seven days without a meeting makes one weak.
--Herb B.
"Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will
ever regret."
--Ambrose Bierce
If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time
with them, and half as much money on them.
--Abigail Van Buren
If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred
days of sorrow.
--Cited in The Best of...BITS & PIECES
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
SACRIFICE
"To believe in sensible ideas is
easy, but to implement them
involves sacrifice."
-- Dorothy Fosdick
What am I prepared to sacrifice for what I want? I remember the time
I said I would do "anything". Today I know that anything must be
translated into something. No person, job or thing can be allowed to
come between myself and abstinence. This love of self will enable me
to love others. But I must remember to sacrifice my desire to please
others and place my needs as a priority in my life.
Today I know that if I do not love myself enough to make sacrifices,
then I can be nothing.
In gratitude I give up those things I know will hurt me.
************************************************** *********
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of
love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our
Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for
the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a
holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own
purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the
beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing
of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought
life and immortality to light through the gospel.
2 Timothy 1:7-10
"He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to
your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you."
Romans 8:11
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Daily Inspiration
Becoming overwhelmed creeps up slowly, one commitment at a time. Lord, help me regain my time and sanity, accomplish my priorities without major setbacks, and have quiet time left to nurture my spirit.
Be patient with others, but mostly be patient with yourself. Lord, help me to keep a smile on my face and to realize my goodness and refuse to dwell on my imperfections.
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NA Just For Today
Up Or Down
"This is our road to spiritual growth. We change every day.... This growth is not the result of wishing but of action and prayer."
Basic Text, p. 35-36
Our spiritual condition is never static; if it's not growing, it's decaying. If we stand still, our spiritual progress will lose its upward momentum. Gradually, our growth will slow, then halt, then reverse itself. Our tolerance will wear thin; our willingness to serve others will wane; our minds will narrow and close. Before long, we'll be right back where we started: in conflict with everyone and everything around us, unable to bear even ourselves.
Our only option is to actively participate in our program of spiritual growth. We pray, seeking knowledge greater than our own from a Power greater than ourselves. We open our minds and keep them open, becoming teachable and taking advantage of what others have to share with us. We demonstrate our willingness to try new ideas and new ways of doing things, experiencing life in a whole new way. Our spiritual progress picks up speed and momentum, driven by the Higher Power we are coming to understand better each day.
Up or down - it's one or the other, with very little in between, where spiritual growth is concerned. Recovery is not fueled by wishing and dreaming, we've discovered, but by prayer and action.
Just for today: The only constant in my spiritual condition is change. I cannot rely on yesterday's program. Today, I seek new spiritual growth through prayer and action.
pg. 238
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
I'll be the sun upon your head, The wind about your face, My love upon the path you tread, And upon your wanderings, peace. --Gordon Bok
Today I will feel. I will feel wind and water, earth and sun. I will feel rain, the taste of it, and the soft sting of its coolness. I will feel the familiar touch of my shirt against my skin, my hair across my face in the wind.
Today I will feel love like a candle on a birthday cake that never goes out. No matter how much you blow on it. I will feel compassion like a toothache, a dull pain that lets me go about my business but never goes away. I will feel joy and sorrow, pain, and pleasure. Today I will feel. I will feel like a human being, unique as a snowflake, common as grass.
How many different ways do I feel today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
We did not all come over on the same ship, but we were all in the same boat. --Bernard M. Baruch
As we listen to others' stories and tell our own, we see roads into this program are different. Some of us hit bottom. Others were spared the worst catastrophes, getting the message of recovery early. In the final analysis, we are all in the same boat with our powerlessness. The differences are superficial. There is no higher or lower status for anyone in our program. When it comes to the power of our addictions and co dependencies, we are equally in need of help from our Higher Power.
Perhaps there was a time when we felt totally alone with our problems. But we were alone just like thousands of others needing recovery. Because we all have suffered and know our need for help, we can now have a caring and supportive group. We can turn to our brothers and sisters in the program knowing that they are in the same boat, and they will understand. No one else provides that kind of healing relationship.
I am grateful for the closeness I have with others who are in the same boat with me.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Love is a force. It is not a result; it is a cause. It is not a product; it produces. It is a power, like money, or steam or electricity. It is valueless unless you can give something else by means of it. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Love and feeling loved--how often both elude us! We have taken the first step, though. Let's be grateful for our recovery; this is an act of love. We have chosen to love ourselves, and the program opens the way to our loving others. Love and loving are balms for the soul sickness we experience. We are being healed. We are healing one another.
Loving others means going beyond our own selfish concerns, for the moment, and putting others' concerns first. The result is that others feel our love. They feel a caring that is healing. And our spiritual natures are likewise soothed.
We find God and ourselves through touching the souls of one another. Our most special gift is being loved and giving love. Every moment we spend with another person is gift-giving time.
Every day is a gift-giving holiday, if I will but make it so.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Rescuing Ourselves
No one likes a martyr.
How do we feel around martyrs? Guilty, angry, trapped, negative, and anxious to get away.
Somehow, many of us have developed the belief that depriving ourselves, not taking care of ourselves, being a victim, and suffering needlessly will get us what we want.
It is our job to notice our abilities, our strengths, and take care of ourselves by developing and acting on them.
It is our job to notice our pain and weariness and appropriately take care of ourselves.
It is our job to notice our deprivation, too, and begin to take steps to give ourselves abundance. It begins inside of us, by changing what we believe we deserve, by giving up our deprivation and treating ourselves the way we deserve to be treated.
Life is hard, but we don't have to make it more difficult by neglecting ourselves. There is no glory in suffering, only suffering. Our pain will not stop when a rescuer comes, but when we take responsibility for ourselves and stop our own pain.
Today, I will be my own rescuer. I will stop waiting for someone else to work through my issues and solve my problems for me.
It feels so good to know I'm making my own decisions and following my own path. My Higher Power is my guide and my inner voice is my teacher and my soul. --Ruth Fishel
*****
Journey to the Heart
Tap into the Creative Flow
Life is creative, and so are you. Let the creative energy of the universe come alive for you. Let it help you bring your creativity alive. Let it bring you the answers, the direction, the guidance you need to create. Let it bring you your ingredients.
What are you trying to create? A more loving, open relationship? More spiritual growth? A new job? A book? A new home? A friendship? A play? A song? A quilt? A meal? A budget? Ask the universe for the help you need. Ask it to help you find your ingredients; ask it to help you form your vision, get clear on your ideas, and produce the best creation you can.
Your answer may come quickly. As we grow and embrace our connection to the universe, as we embrace our connection to ourselves, we find many of our answers appearing almost immediately. If the answer doesn't come right away, don't try to force it. The help will come. The idea will come. The next ingredient for your creation will appear. Sometimes the answer will come softly, almost as a whisper. Other times the guidance will be loud and clear. You will see and hear the guidance clearly and easily when you continue to love yourself.
Tap into the creative energy of the universe. It will help you tap into your own. To tap into God and the creative force, just tap into your heart.
*****
more language of letting go
Thanks for my heart
"Last Thursday, I was able to find the courage to end a relationship I had been struggling with. I knew there was nowhere for it to go, and I was seeing some scary character traits in this person. Now, I am dealing with a lot of sadness. That tells me that the urge we humans have for bonding with each other, and the desire for companionship, must be incredibly strong. I am grateful even more than I am sad."
It was just a short message on the on-line bulletin board I maintained at the hazeldon.org Web site. That's all the woman needed to say. For me, the lesson was clear and complete: be grateful for our hearts.
God, thank you for the ability and desire to love. Love is a cherished gift from you.
*****
Burning Brightly
Allowing Your Soul to Shine by Madisyn Taylor
When we hide and try to be invisible and unseen by all we are only really hiding from ourselves.
At times, we’ve all wanted to crawl under a rock and hide away from the world. We may have preferred to be invisible rather than let other people see us or notice that we exist. This desire not to be seen often happens when we are feeling very hurt, angry, or simply weary of the world. And while we may console ourselves with the defense that we are shy, an introvert, or a loner, we may actually be hiding.
When we hide and make believe that we are invisible, we can think that we no one sees us even though, truthfully, we are only really hiding from ourselves. And while we may try to live life as inconspicuously as possible, we only succeed in becoming more conspicuous because people can’t help but notice that we are trying to hide our light. None of us are meant to hide; each one of us radiates a unique brilliance that is meant to illuminate the world. When we try to dim our light, we diminish the natural radiance of the Universe, and we deprive the people around us of the unique gifts and talents that we are here to share.
Stepping out of the wings and letting your light shine is actually a way to serve the planet. We each have a responsibility to contribute to our community, and we do this when we let ourselves be seen. It doesn’t do anyone any good when we try to hide. We are all beings of light and we are here to light the way for each other. When we let ourselves shine, we become a bright mirror that others can see their own reflected brilliance through, and they can’t help but want to shine also. Shine your light out into the world, bless those around you by sharing your gifts, and watch the universe glow. Published with permission from Daily OM
************************************************** ****************
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
Inventory-taking isn’t always done in red ink. It’s a rare day when we haven’t done something right. As I uncover and face my shortcomings, my many good qualities will be revealed to me also, reminding me that they have the same reality as my faults. Even when we’ve tried hard and failed, for instance, we can chalk that up as one of the greatest credits of all. I’ll try to appreciate my good qualities, because they not only offset the faults, but give me a foundation on which to grow. It’s just as self-deceptive to discount what’s good in us as to justify what is not. Can I take comfort in my positive qualities, accepting myself as a friend?
Today I Pray
If I find only defects when I look in that Fourth Step mirror, may I be sure that I am missing something — namely my good points. Although my ultra-modesty may be just approved socially, may I learn that it is just as dishonest as rationalizing away my faults. Even an out-and-out failure, if examined from all sides, may turn up a plus along with the obvious minuses.
Today I Will Remember
To give myself, if not a A for effort, at least an average B minus.
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One More Day
Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.
– William James
The words “life is worth living” may seem inappropriate to someone who has a serious personal conflict. A pat on the shoulder or a hug just isn’t enough to convince us that all we are going through makes life “worth living.”
A sense of worthiness is an ongoing process. And the value of life is affirmed and strengthened by our willingness to listen to our emotional and physical needs – especially when we feel unhappy or unhealthy. That willingness is shown in action. A cup of coffee and a good cry with a close friend, acceptance of our Higher Powers wisdom and care, or seeking help from a trained professional — all of these actions say, “I and my life have worth.”
By helping myself, I will act on my belief that life is worth living.
************************************************** ****************
Food For Thought
Today Is the Day
Many of us have spent most of our lives dreaming of the day when we would be thin and attractive and able to do the things we want to do. We have put off living to some indefinite time in the future. As long as we were fat, we had a reason to avoid challenges and delay satisfactions. By not attempting to realize our dreams, we averted the risks of failure and the possibilities of success.
The OA program teaches us how to live today. One step at a time, we begin today to do the things we were putting off until tomorrow. We learn that we can live now, day by day, instead of waiting for the future.
Abstaining from compulsive overeating brings self-respect and determination to develop our unique potential. The time to get a job, take dancing lessons, be a friend – that time is now, today.
Thank You for the opportunities of today.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
Twelve Steps ~ Twelve Beautiful Gifts
“Each day provides its own gifts.”
Marcus Aurelius
For each step there is a principle. I believe that with each step I received a gift.
STEP ONE: We admitted we were powerless over food ~ that our lives had become unmanageable.
(I received a silver mirror that revealed reality and truth when I looked into it.)
STEP TWO: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
(I received a stone to put in my pocket. It had the word "hope" engraved on its face and was comforting in my hand when I held it.)
STEP THREE: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
(I received a pair of wings for my soul.)
STEP FOUR: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
(I received a candle to search out my hidden shame.)
STEP FIVE: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
(I received a beautiful note that said, "Welcome to the human race. We are so glad to have you back.")
STEP SIX: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
(I received a dove to put my burdens upon and set it free.)
STEP SEVEN: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
(I received a small box engraved with the words, "I will place my problems here.")
STEP EIGHT: Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
(I received a map that led to the future.)
STEP NINE: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
(I received an eraser to correct the mistakes I had made.)
STEP TEN: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
(I received a scale to weigh and balance my actions ~ and to measure my growth.)
STEP ELEVEN: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
(I received a communication device able to span all doubt and prejudice.)
STEP TWELVE: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
One day at a time ...
The fountain I received bubbles eternal hope and new ideas. I will daily sooth my soul with gratitude.
~ Judy
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Here is the fellow who has been puzzling you, especially in his lack of control. He does absurd, incredible, tragic things while drinking. He is a real Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He is seldom mildly intoxicated. He is always more or less insanely drunk. His disposition while drinking resembles his normal nature but little. He may be one of the finest fellows in the world. Yet let him drink for a day, and he frequently becomes disgustingly, and even dangerously anti-social. He has a positive genius for getting tight at exactly the wrong moment, particularly when some important decision must be made or engagement kept. He is often perfectly sensible and well balanced concerning everything except liquor, but in that respect he is incredibly dishonest and selfish. He often possesses special abilities, skills, and aptitudes, and has a promising career ahead of him. He uses his gifts to build up a bright outlook for his family and himself, and then pulls the structure down on his head by a senseless series of sprees. - Pg. 21 - There Is A Solution
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Complete involvement in this new way of life will keep you from falling through the cracks. If you stay in the middle of us, you won't fall off the edge.
As I follow those before me, newcomers will follow behind me and I will always be in the middle of the path of progress.
First Things First
I will not forget that this disease is more powerful than me. When I try to fix others, I will remember that all of my good intentions can easily be out powered by the intention of the disease to remain in place. When I get frustrated because others don't seem to 'get it' the way I am getting it, I will remember that one day I stood in their shoes and that by the grace of God I am no longer there. When I want them to hear what I am saying, I will remember that I can only really teach by example, that I will allow them to see the changes in me and my life and I will remind myself that I lead and share by who I am not by what I say. Others will heal in God's time not mine. Others will see in God's time not mine. Just for today, the only recovery I am truly responsible for, is my own.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Another day of recovery begins and we start this day with surrender. 'From that point, each of us is reminded that a day clean is a day won.' (P 86, NA Basic Text)
When I surrender; I win.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
The best approach to any angle is the 'try' angle.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
It feels so good to know that I'm capable of making my own decisions and following my own path.
My Higher Power is my guide and my inner voice is my teacher and friend.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Drinking doesn't wash my troubles away
it irrigates them. Anon.
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Post by caressa222 on Aug 17, 2018 21:13:33 GMT -5
August 17
Daily Reflections
RIGHTING THE HARM
In many instances we shall find that though the harm done others has
not been great, the emotional harm we have done ourselves has.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 79
Have you ever thought that the harm you did a business associate, or
perhaps a family member, was so slight that it really didn't deserve an
apology because they probably wouldn't remember it anyway? If that
person, and the wrong done to him, keeps coming to mind, time and
again, causing an uneasy or perhaps guilty feeling, then I put that
person's name at the top of my "amends list," and become willing to
make a sincere apology, knowing I will feel calm and relaxed about
that person once this very important part of my recovery is
accomplished.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
"To one who feels he is an atheist or agnostic, a spiritual experience
seems impossible, but to continue as he is means disaster. To be
doomed to an alcoholic death or to live on a spiritual basis are not
always easy alternatives to face. But we have to face the fact that we
must find a spiritual basis of life--or else. Lack of power is our
dilemma. We have to find a power by which we can live, and it has to
be a power greater than ourselves." Have I found that power by which
I can live?
Meditation For The Day
Sunshine is the laughter of nature. Live out in the sunshine. The sun
and air are good medicine. Nature is a good nurse for tired bodies. Let
her have her way with you. God's grace is like the sunshine. Let your
whole being be enwrapped in the Divine spirit. Faith is the soul's
breathing in of the Divine spirit. It makes glad the hearts of human
beings. The Divine spirit heals and cures the mind. Let it have its way
and all will be well.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may live in the sunshine of God's spirit. I pray that my
mind and soul may be energized by it.
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As Bill Sees It
Day of Homecoming, p. 229
"As sobriety means long life and happiness for the individual, so
does unity mean exactly the same thing to our Society as a whole.
Unified we live; disunited we shall perish."
********************************
"We must think deeply of all those sick ones still to come to A.A. As
they try to make their return to faith and to life, we want them to
find everything in A.A. that we have found, and yet more, if that
be possible. No care, no vigilance, no effort to preserve A.A.'s
constant effectiveness and spiritual strength will ever be too great
to hold us in full readiness for the day of their homecoming."
1. Letter, 1949
2. Talk, 1959
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Whom Should we Respect?
Respecting others.
While having dinner in a nice restaurant, my friends and I realized that we were treating the young man
bussing the table with cold indifference. He appeared to be unsure of
himself, doing his work with apprehension and a lack of
confidence.
Here was an example of a person who needed silent encouragement. He
needed to be assured that his performance of honest, useful work was
respected and appreciated. He also needed to be reminded that he
had opportunities to continue developing and using his talents.
Perhaps we, as patrons of the restaurant, could provide that.
Sometimes this encouragement can simply be expressed in the way we act
and feel toward people. If it is genuine and based on good spiritual
principles, it will be understood. It's actually a form of
practicing the principles of the Twelve Steps in all our affairs.
At the same time, we practice identifying with every person we
meet.
I'll try to take note of every person I come in contact with today, knowing that everyone needs support and encouragement. I can do my part to provide that.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Words that do not match deeds are not important.---Ernesto Ch'e Guevara
What we do can be much more important than what we say. We tend to talk about things we want to do. We need to also be people who do things we talk about. We are not spiritual people unless our actions are spiritual.
Many of us used to be "all or nothing" people. That made us afraid to take the big projects. But now we can get things done, if we take one step at a time. We're not "all or nothing" people anymore. We're people who are changing and growing a little every day. And each day our deeds match our words a little better.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me live fully today. Help me not to talk to much about what I want to do. Give me the gift of patience, so I can be pleased with my progress.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll list the things that I say I'd like to do. What is one thing I can do today to make each of them happen? I'll take one step today to match my life to my dreams.
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Each Day a New Beginning
Life is not always what one wants it to be, but to make the best of it as it is, is the only way of being happy. --Jennie Jerome Churchill
We are generally so certain that we know what's best for ourselves. And we are just as often certain that what we think is best will guarantee happiness. Perhaps we should reflect on all the times in the past when our wishes didn't come true--fortunately.
Did any one of us expect to be doing today, what we each are doing? We may have expected children, a particular kind of home, a certain career, but did we really anticipate all that life has wrought? Addiction, and then recovery from it, was probably not in our pictures. But it does fit into the big picture. The happiness we experience today probably doesn't visit us in the way we anticipated a few years back. But it is measured out according to our needs. The choice to be happy with what is, is ours to make, every moment.
I can take life as it is, and trust that it is just right, just what it needs to be. The big picture guarantees me lasting happiness. Today's experiences will move me a step closer.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
The faith and sincerity of both you and your husband will be put to the test. These work-outs should be regarded as part of your education, for thus you will be learning to live. You will make mistakes, but if you are in earnest they will not drag you down. Instead, you will capitalize them. A better way of life will emerge when they are overcome.
p. 117
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
My Chance To Live
A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.
Blackouts became my goal. Though it may sound strange, they never frightened me. My life was ordered by school and home. When I blacked out, I simply went on autopilot for the remainder of the day. The thought of going through my teen years without a single memory of its passing was very appealing.
p. 310
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
If, however, our natural disposition is inclined to self righteousness or grandiosity, our reaction will be just the opposite. We will be offended at A.A.'s suggested inventory. No doubt we shall point with pride to the good lives we thought we led before the bottle cut us down. We shall claim that our serious character defects, if we think we have any at all, have been caused chiefly by excessive drinking. This being so, we think it logically follows that sobriety-- first, last, and all the time--is the only thing we need to work for. We believe that our one-time good characters will be revived the moment we quit alcohol. If we were pretty nice people all along, except for our drinking, what need is there for a moral inventory now that we are sober?
p. 45
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"We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road.
They get run over."
--Anuerin Bevan
"You cannot plan the future by the past."
--Edmund Burke
There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.
--Saint Thomas Aquinas
Life is not always what one wants it to be, but to make the best of it as
it is, is the only way of being happy.
--Jennie Jerome Churchill
It's not the load that breaks you down...it's the way you carry it.
--unknown
He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the
universe.
--Marcus Aurelius
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
COURAGE
"Nothing will ever be attempted
if all possible objections must
be first overcome."
-- Samuel Johnson
There was a time when I never attempted anything because I said it
"can't" be done. I could never get sober. I could never stand up to my
drunken friends. I could never face my buried secrets. I could never
stop gambling. I could never change my eating habits or stop using
cocaine.
Then I heard the confidence and hope that was reflected in people who
were recovering from these same problems. I heard people talk about
what it was like, what happened and what it is like now. They told me I
didn't mean "can't", I meant "won't"! They told me to take a risk,
think positive, try. Today, yesterday's objections are mere memories.
Thank You for showing me the light at the end of the tunnel. May I
continue to walk in the light.
************************************************** *********
I call on the Lord in my distress and He answers me.
Psalm 120:1
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we
do not see."
Hebrews 11:1
"However, as it is written: 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no
mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.'"
I Corinthians 2:9
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Daily Inspiration
Pray together as a family and share each other's joys and burdens. Lord, he is not heavy. He's my brother.
If you feel the need to get even, try getting even with those that have helped you. Lord, free me from any thoughts of revenge because this only shuts the door to my own happiness.
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NA Just For Today
Tell The Truth
"A symptom of our disease is alienation, and honest sharing will free us to recover."
Basic Text, p. 80
Truth connects us to life while fear, isolation, and dishonesty alienate us from it. As using addicts, we hid as much of the truth about ourselves from as much of the world as we possibly could. Our fear kept us from opening ourselves up to those around us, providing protection against what others might do if we appeared vulnerable. But our fear also kept us from connecting with our world. We lived like alien beings on our own planet, always alone and getting lonelier by the minute.
The Twelve Steps and the fellowship of recovering addicts give people like us a place where we can feel safe telling the truth about ourselves. We are able to honestly admit our frustrating, humbling powerlessness over addiction because we meet many others who've been in the same situation - we're safe among them. And we keep on telling more of the truth about ourselves as we continue to work the steps. The more we do, the more truly connected we feel to the world around us.
Today, we need not hide from the reality of our relations with the people, places, and things in our lives. We accept those relationships just as they are, and we own our part in them. We take time every day to ask, "Am I telling the truth about myself?" Each time we do this, we draw that much further away from the alienation that characterizes our addiction, and that much closer to the freedom recovery can bring us.
Just for today: Truth is my connection to reality. Today, I will take time to ask myself, "Am I telling the truth?"
pg. 239
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
The word image is nothing more than the French word for picture. --Roseann Lloyd
A positive image of our family can help us imagine healthy relationships. It can help us appreciate our family when it is working in a healthy way.
One woman took up looking at the pictures in her mind. At last she found one for her family, after considering ordinary pictures like a garden, a team, and a zoo. When her family is happy and thriving, she sees it as a mud pot in Yellowstone Park. Each person is energetic and relaxed. Each is free to bubble up ideas and feelings and projects, free to spout off, gurgle, and pop! Yet the family is together, sharing one old mud hole, warm and cozy, surrounded by beautiful pine trees.
Can I think of an image for my family?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Life is change ... Growth is optional... Choose wisely... --Karen Kaiser Clark
We can certainly count on change. We become fathers, our children become more independent, we make new friends, and other friends move away. When a man clings too tightly to the status quo or tries to control the direction of change, he is bound to be disappointed. We are like skiers on a mountain. We must continue down the slope. We can vary our speed somewhat, but if we stop for too long we will get cold or hungry; if we ski too fast, we may have a serious fall. Part of the pleasure is in not being able to control or predict every circumstance we will meet.
We don't control which loved ones come into our lives and which ones go or whether we become ill or stay healthy. We don't control life's opportunities. We can control how we choose to respond to these transitions. Whatever happens can be used for growth and we can commit ourselves to use all experiences that way.
Today, I will not try to control change but will choose to use whatever happens for growth.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Life is not always what one wants it to be, but to make the best of it as it is, is the only way of being happy. --Jennie Jerome Churchill
We are generally so certain that we know what's best for ourselves. And we are just as often certain that what we think is best will guarantee happiness. Perhaps we should reflect on all the times in the past when our wishes didn't come true--fortunately.
Did any one of us expect to be doing today, what we each are doing? We may have expected children, a particular kind of home, a certain career, but did we really anticipate all that life has wrought? Addiction, and then recovery from it, was probably not in our pictures. But it does fit into the big picture. The happiness we experience today probably doesn't visit us in the way we anticipated a few years back. But it is measured out according to our needs. The choice to be happy with what is, is ours to make, every moment.
I can take life as it is, and trust that it is just right, just what it needs to be. The big picture guarantees me lasting happiness. Today's experiences will move me a step closer.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Healing Thoughts
Think healing thoughts.
When you feel anger or resentment, ask God to help you feel it, learn from it, and then release it. Ask Him to bless those who you feel anger toward. Ask Him to bless you too.
When you feel fear, ask Him to take it from you. When you feel misery, force gratitude. When you feel deprived, know that there is enough.
When you feel ashamed, reassure yourself that who you are is okay. You are good enough.
When you doubt your timing or your present position in life, assure yourself that all is well; you are right where you're meant to be. Reassure yourself that others are too.
When you ponder the future, tell yourself that it will be good. When you look back at the past, relinquish regrets.
When you notice problems, affirm there will be a timely solution and a gift from the problem.
When you resist feelings or thoughts, practice acceptance. When you feel discomfort, know it will pass. When you identify a want or a need, tell yourself it will be met.
When you worry about those you love, ask God to protect and care for them. When you worry about yourself, ask Him to do the same.
When you think about others, think love. When you think about yourself, think love.
Then watch your thoughts transform reality.
Today, I will think healing thoughts.
Today I know that whatever is in my life I have put there and therefore I can let it go as well. Today I have faith and trust that I can take an honest look at what needs to be changed in my life. --Ruth Fishel
*****
Journey to the Heart
Let the Shifts Happen
I listened as the tour guide explained the crack, the huge gaping rupture in the earth's surface as we traveled along Bryce Canyon. My mind traveled back to an earthquake that shook southern California in January 1994. Earthquakes are reminders that life shifts, moves, changes places. Sometimes the shifts are gradual and begin slowly, like the gaping hole in Bryce Canyon that started with a tiny split. Sometimes, as in the California earthquake, the shifts happen in an instant. We don't know in advance about, and can't plan for the shift.
But there's one thing we can count on. Just as nature shifts and moves into new shapes and forms, so do we. Sometimes our shifts happen suddenly. Other times, they take place over years, beginning almost imperceptibly. As we move into increased self-awareness, we will become more aware of these shifts. We'll know, see, and feel when they're taking place. We may not know where they're leading, but we'll know something's afoot. The more we value and trust life, the more we can count on these shifts to lead us forward and trust the new shape being formed in our lives. The more flexible we become, the more we allow for these shifts and work with them instead of against them, the easier they will be.
Life is always moving, changing, shifting into its next shape. The movement is natural. It is how we evolve. Let the shift happen. Take responsibility for yourself each step of the way. Trust the new shape and form of your world.
*****
more language of letting go
Get out of the nest
The mother eagle teaches her little ones to fly by making their nest so uncomfortable that they are forced to leave it and commit themselves to the unknown world of air outside. And just so does our God to us.
--Hannah Whitall Smith
Sometimes, the pressure comes from within us. Sometimes, it's external. That job folds. The relationship stops working. Alcohol and drugs stop working. What am I going to do?
Oh, I see. God's teaching me to fly again.
Thank you God, for pushing me out of the nest.
*****
Taking the Risk
Permission to Be Real by Madisyn Taylor
When we present ourselves to the world without a mask and keep it real, we offer the same opportunity for others to do the same.
Most of us are familiar with the idea of keeping it real and have an intuitive sense about what that means. People who keep it real don’t hide behind a mask to keep themselves safe from their fear of how they might be perceived. They don’t present a false self in order to appear more perfect, more powerful, or more independent. People who keep it real present themselves as they truly are, the good parts and the parts most of us would rather hide, sharing their full selves with the people who are lucky enough to know them.
Being real in this way is not an easy thing to do as we live in a culture that often shows us images of physical and material perfection. As a result, we all want to look younger, thinner, wealthier, and more successful. We are rewarded externally when we succeed at this masquerade, but people who are real remind us that, internally, we suffer. Whenever we feel that who we are is not enough and that we need to be bigger, better, or more exciting, we send a message to ourselves that we are not enough. Meanwhile, people who are not trying to be something more than they are walk into a room and bring a feeling of ease, humor, and warmth with them. They acknowledge their wrinkles and laugh at their personal eccentricities without putting themselves down.
People like this inspire us to let go of our own defenses and relax for a moment in the truth of who we really are. In their presence, we feel safe enough to take off our masks and experience the freedom of not hiding behind a barrier. Those of us who were lucky enough to have a parent who was able to keep it real may find it easier to be that way ourselves. The rest of us may have to work a little harder to let go of our pretenses and share the beauty and humor of our real selves. Our reward for taking such a risk is that as we do, we will attract and inspire others, giving them the permission to be real too. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
August 17
Reflection For The Day
The Fourth Step suggest we make a searching and fearless moral inventory — not an immoral inventory of ourselves. The Steps are guidelines to recovery, not whipping posts for self-flagellation. Taking my inventory doesn’t mean concentrating on my shortcomings until all the good is hidden from view. By the same token, recognizing the good need not be an act of pride or conceit. If I recognize my good qualities as God-given, I can take an inventory with true humility while experiencing satisfaction in what is pleasant, loving and generous in me. Will I try to believe, in Walt Whitman’s words, that “I am larger, better than I thought; I did not know I held so much goodness…”?
Today I Pray
When I find good things about myself, as I undertake this inner archaeological dig, may I give credit where it is due — to God, who is the giver of all good. May I appreciate whatever is good about me with humility, as a gift from God.
Today I Will Remember
Goodness is a gift from God
************************************************** ****************
One More Day
August 17
Sadness is almost never anything but a form of fatigue.
– Andre Gide
There are times in every life when the road gets a little bumpy. Occasionally we become so overwhelmed with work, with life in general, that we become exhausted. With fatigue can come sadness — sadness at not being able to work the way we expected to, sadness at not looking or feeling as well as we want to, or sadness caused by grieving. We may feel sorry for ourselves or feel nearly paralyzed by fatigue.
We can recognize that fatigue is one of the many forms that sadness takes. Feeling of sorrow or helplessness can be diminished by confiding them to a friend or to a physician. We can only be as well as we expect to be — as well as we allow ourselves to be.
When I feel very fatigued or sad, I can be open and honest about my problem. Hiding behind fatigue only causes sadness.
************************************************** ***************
Food For Thought
Punishing Ourselves
Most of us have been carrying around a load of guilt. We felt guilty about overeating and periodically used dieting as a form of self-punishment. We felt guilty about not being perfect, and we felt guilty unless we said yes to everything that everyone expected of us.
In this program, we learn to accept the fact that we are human and not perfect. Through the Steps, we are able to get rid of unnecessary guilt and make a fresh start each day. We do not need to continue to punish ourselves for past mistakes, either by overeating or by denying our legitimate rights as individuals.
Abstinence gives us freedom from compulsive overeating and freedom from self-punishment. We give our bodies what they need, and we also nourish our minds, hearts, and spirits. In our fellowship and in our contact with God as we understand Him, we experience the Power of love which wipes out guilt.
I am glad to learn that self-punishment is no longer necessary.
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One Day At A Time
TRUST
" 'Come to the edge',"he said.
They said, 'We are afraid.'
'Come to the edge,' he said.
They came. He pushed them.
....and they flew."
Guillaume Apollinaire
Whenever things look bleak I remember how dark and dismal my life was before my Higher Power led me to this Twelve Step program. Before program I was afraid to reach for recovery. I was afraid to try to be an over-comer and I was afraid to come to the edge. But slowly I inched my way over to that edge and my Higher Power gave me a gentle nudge. I was flying! I wasn't chained by my disease anymore. I wasn't trapped in the darkness. I'd come into the light. That day I received a gift from my Higher Power ... I received a taste of recovery.
One day at a time ...
I come to the edge and trust my
Higher Power to give me wings to fly.
~ Jeff R.
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
A co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. The birth of our Society dates from his first day of permanent sobriety. June 10, 1935.
To 1950, the year of his death, he carried the A.A. message to more than 5,000 alcoholic men and women, and to all these he gave his medical services without thought of charge.
In this prodigy of service, he was well assisted by Sister Ignatia at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio, one of the greatest friends our Fellowship will ever know. - Pg. 171 - DOCTOR BOB'S NIGHTMARE
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Compulsive behavior is characterized by the need to be better than, sooner than, bigger then, more than. This creates pressure which creates stress, which for us creates danger! That is why we take the slogan 'Easy Does It,' seriously.
Help me to enjoy the journey, slow down and not expect five years of recovery in five weeks.
Hesitation
Today, I will walk the walk and talk the talk. It will not be good for me, ultimately, to half commit myself. In a way, the particular path that I take is less significant than that I take a path. I can second-guess myself and my experience. Commitment to a path is really commitment to myself. I am allowing myself to take a clear direction, one in which I can actualize my talents on a day-to-day basis, one that will allow me to build a foundation and a structure in which I can live. I will have a passion in life, a passion that takes me beyond myself, a passion to love, nourish, be led and challenged by. I will follow it, and it will follow me.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
How to share what it was like, what happened, and what it is like now. Be sincere. Be brief. Be seated.
When I share, I share to draw attention to the message, not the messenger.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Controlling life isn't the answer, it's the problem.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I know that whatever is in my life I have put there and therefore I can let it go as well.
Today I have faith and trust that I can take an honest look at what needs to be changed in my life.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Resentments come in the back door - wearing sunglasses. Anon.
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Post by caressa222 on Aug 17, 2018 21:16:20 GMT -5
August 18
Daily Reflections
GETTING WELL, p.239
Very deep, sometimes quite forgotten, damaging emotional
conflicts persist below the level of consciousness.
12 & 12, pp. 79-80
Only through positive action can I remove the remains of guilt and
shame brought on by alcohol. Throughout my misadventures when
I drank, my friends would say, "Why are you doing this? You're
only hurting yourself." Little did I know how true were those
words. Although I harmed others, some of my behavior caused
grave wounds to my soul. Step Eight provides me with a way of
forgiving myself. I alleviate much of the hidden damage when I
make my list of those I have hurt. In making amends, I free
myself of burdens, thus contributing to my healing.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
"We of agnostic temperament have found that as soon as we were
able to lay aside prejudice and express a willingness to believe in a
Power greater than ourselves, we commenced to get results, even
though it was impossible for any of us to fully define or
comprehend that Power, which we call God. As soon as you can
say that you do believe or are willing to believe, you are on your
way. Upon this simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective
spiritual structure can be built." Am I willing to depend on a Power
that I cannot fully define or comprehend?
Meditation For The Day
We seek God's presence and "they who seek shall find." It is not
a question of searching so much as an inner consciousness of the
Divine spirit in your heart. To realize God's presence you must
surrender to His will in the small as well as in the big things of life.
This makes God's guidance possible. Some things separate you
from God--a false word, a fear-inspired failure, a harsh criticism, a
stubborn resentment. These are the things that put a distance
between your mind and God. A word of love, a selfless
reconciliation, a kind act of helpfulness--these bring God closer.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may think and say and do the things that bring God
closer to me. I pray that I may find Him in sincere prayer, a kind
word, or an unselfish deed.
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As Bill Sees It
Love Everybody?, p. 230
Not many people can truthfully assert that they love everybody.
Most of us must admit that we have loved but a few; that we have
been quite indifferent to the many. As for the remainder--well, we
have really disliked or hated them.
We A.A.'s find we need something much better than this in order to
keep our balance. The idea that we can be possessively loving of
a few, can ignore the many, and can continue to fear or hate
anybody at all, has to be abandoned, if only a little at a time.
We can try to stop making unreasonable demands upon those we
love. We can show kindness where we had formerly shown none.
With those we dislike we can at least begin to practice justice and
courtesy, perhaps going out of our way at times to understand and
help them.
12 & 12, pp. 92-93
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Walk In Dry Places
Handle Today's Problem
Living Today
Many of us face seemingly insurmountable
difficulties, perhaps because of our compulsion or simply through
misfortune. Whatever the scale of our problems,One Day at a
Time and First things First, are keys to handling them.
Today, we can deal only with today's problems. One of today's problems, of course,
may be worrying about the future. A good method of handling that problem
is to turn our concern about it over to our Higher Power. But when
we do have work that clearly should be done today, we must carry through
with it. It's neither reasonable nor sensible to put off things that we
can and should do today.
There are certain tasks and responsibilities that must be dealt with
today. I will not put them off.
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Keep It Simple
The Master doesn't talk, she acts. When her work is done, the people say, "Amazing: we did it, all by ourselves!"
Our Higher Power works like the Master. Quietly. In fact, we usually take the credit ourselves!
We're like the child who bakes cookies for the first time. Mother found the recipe, bought the ingredients, and got out the bowl and pans and sthingys. She told us what to do, and finished when we got tired. Then she cleaned up after us. We proudly served our cookies, saying, "I made them all by my self!"
In recovery, our Higher Power helps and teaches us every step of the way, just like a loving parent.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thank-you ---for my life, for my recovery, for love, for hope, and for faith. Thank-you for teaching me how to live in a better way.
Action for the Day: I'll list five ways my Higher Power has acted in my life.
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Each Day a New Beginning
Today was like a shadow. It lurked behind me. It's now gone forever. Why is it that time is such a difficult thing to befriend? --Mary Casey
Each passing minute is all that we are certain of having. The choice is ever present to relish the moment, reaping fully whatever its benefits, knowing that we are being given just what we need each day of our lives. We must not pass up what is offered today.
Time accompanies us like a friend, though often a friend denied or ignored. We can't recapture what was offered yesterday. It's gone. All that stands before us is here, now.
We can nurture the moment and know that the pain and pleasures offered us with each moment are our friends, the teachers our inner selves await. And we can be mindful that this time, this combination of events and people, won't come again. They are the gift of the present. We can be grateful.
We miss the opportunities the day offers because we don't recognize the experiences as the lesson designed for the next stage of our development. The moment's offerings are just, necessary, and friendly to our spiritual growth.
I will take today in my arms and love it. I will love all it offers; it is a friend bearing gifts galore.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 8 - TO WIVES
Some of the snags you will encounter are irritation, hurt feelings and resentments. Your husband will sometimes be unreasonable and you will want to criticize. Starting from a speck on the domestic horizon, great thunderclouds of dispute may gather. These family dissensions are very dangerous, especially to your husband. Often you must carry the burden of avoiding them or keeping them under control. Never forget that resentment is a deadly hazard to an alcoholic. We do not mean that you have to agree with you husband whenever there is an honest difference of opinion. Just be careful not to disagree in a resentful or critical spirit.
p. 117
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
My Chance To Live
A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.
I hadn't given up on life, just childhood. Adults had it made. They made all the rules. Being a kid stunk. If I could hold out until I was eighteen, everything would turn around. I had no idea at the time how true those words would prove to be.
p. 310
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
We also clutch at another wonderful excuse for avoiding an inventory. Our present anxieties and troubles, we cry, are caused by the behavior of other people--people who really need a moral inventory. We firmly believe that if only they'd treat us better, we'd be all right. Therefore we think our indignation is justified and reasonable--that our resentments are the "right kind." We aren't the guilty ones. They are!
pp. 45-46
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The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new
landscapes but in having new eyes.
--Marcel Proust
"The first recipe for happiness is: Avoid too lengthy meditations on
the past."
--André Maurois
"Act so as to elicit the best in others and thereby in thyself."
--Felix Adler
"The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching
the egg - not by smashing it."
--Arnold Glasow
"Patience and perseverance at length / Accomplish more than anger
or brute strength."
--Jean de La Fontaine
Hold your head high, stick your chest out. You can make it. It gets
dark sometimes but morning comes... Keep hope alive.
--Jesse Jackson
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
ABILITY
"Man's ability is derived from
God and does not have to be
acquired."
-- James H. McReynolds
I woke this morning and remembered that sobriety and serenity are
gifts from God that are freely given. I need only discover them within
my capacity to be honest. I need only seek them in my new attitudes. I
need only discover them in the spiritual program from my life.
God is alive in my life and His acceptance of me is guaranteed.
May I continue to discover more of Your beauty in my life.
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"Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath."
James 1:19
"The Father and I are one."
John 10:30
"But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from
the evil one."
2 Thessalonians 3:3
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Daily Inspiration
The more frantic we feel on the inside, the more compulsive we try to organize the outside. Lord, help me bring peace and order to my inner spirit by letting go of the past, bring resolution to the issues that are pressing and making a commitment to enjoy my life right now.
Do not be afraid to ask everything of God. He is always present and always loving us. Lord, I trust in You and ask for Your help in all that I do and need and want. I also ask for Your help in accepting Your answers when they are different than I would want or expect.
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NA Just For Today
How Long Do I Have To Go?
"The way to remain a productive, responsible member of society is to put our recovery first."
Basic Text, p. 102
The meetings have been great! Each night we've attended, we've gathered with other addicts to share experience, strength, and hope. And each day, we've used what we've learned in the meetings to continue in our recovery.
Meanwhile, life goes on. Work, family, friends, school, sport, entertainment, community activities, civic obligations-all call out for our time. The demands of everyday living sometimes make us ask ourselves, "How long do I have to go to these meetings?"
Let's think about this. Before coming to Narcotics Anonymous, could we stay clean on our own? What makes us think we can now? Then there's the disease itself to consider - the chronic self-centeredness, the obsessiveness, the compulsive behavior patterns that express themselves in so many areas of our lives. Can we live and enjoy life without effective treatment for our disease? No.
"Ordinary" people may not have to worry about such things, but we're not "0rdinary" people - we're addicts. We can't pretend we don't have a fatal, progressive illness, because we do. Without our program, we may not survive to worry about the demands of work, school, family, or anything else. NA meetings give us the support and direction we need to recover from our addiction, allowing us to live the fullest lives possible.
Just for today: I want to live and enjoy life. To do that, I will put my recovery first.
pg. 240
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Large streams from little fountains flow. --David Everett
Somewhere nearby, no matter where we are, runs a creek. We've seen plenty of them, narrow and rocky. In summer it's hardly a creek at all, but in the spring, it feeds a mighty river.
Each of us is like that creek, a trickle contributing to some greater plan. Sometimes we feel dried up, contributing nothing. Often we feel small, rocky, not up to the task--when we can understand what the task is.
Sometimes the task seems too simple--get up each morning, love and work and live the day as honestly as we can. What kind of contribution is that? Sometimes it seems too complicated. How much more we could contribute if we could see the whole river--where it begins and ends--if we knew what would happen tomorrow.
So we ebb and flow. And in our moments of contentment, we know we are doing the best we can each day.
What contribution, however small, can I offer the world today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
The years forever fashion new dreams when old ones go. God pity the one dream man. --Robert Goddard
A painful loss can seem like the end of hope for us. It is true that the place a loved one had in our lives will never be filled. The loss of a job may dash a dream that will not come true - at least not as we thought it would. The aging of our body ends physical strength, and we lose options that will not come around a second time. Yet, change is a basic fact of life. We must empty a glass before we can fill it with something else. Our spiritual task is to become less rigid in our attachments and more accepting of the flow of life.
When we look straight at our losses and allow ourselves to cry and grieve over them, we are saying good-bye and letting go. Grief cleanses the soul and frees us to move on to new dreams. The loss of a job may put us in a position to discover undreamed of possibilities. In time, the loss of a love heals, and it deepens our relationship with our Higher Power and with our other friends. The other side of grief is freedom, and we are learning to have many new dreams in our lives.
I pray for the freedom that comes with having dreams in my life.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Today was like a shadow. It lurked behind me. It's now gone forever. Why is it that time is such a difficult thing to befriend?
--Mary Casey
Each passing minute is all that we are certain of having. The choice is ever present to relish the moment, reaping fully whatever its benefits, knowing that we are being given just what we need each day of our lives. We must not pass up what is offered today.
Time accompanies us like a friend, though often a friend denied or ignored. We can't recapture what was offered yesterday. It's gone. All that stands before us is here, now.
We can nurture the moment and know that the pain and pleasures offered us with each moment are our friends, the teachers our inner selves await. And we can be mindful that this time, this combination of events and people, won't come again. They are the gift of the present. We can be grateful.
We miss the opportunities the day offers because we don't recognize the experiences as the lesson designed for the next stage of our development. The moment's offerings are just, necessary, and friendly to our spiritual growth.
I will take today in my arms and love it. I will love all it offers; it is a friend bearing gifts galore.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Valuing this Moment
Detachment involves present moment living - living in the here and now. We allow life to happen instead of forcing and trying to control it. We relinquish regrets over the past and fears about the future. We make the most of each day. --Codependent No More
This moment, we are right where we need to be, right where we are meant to be.
How often we waste our time and energy wishing we were someone else, were doing something else, or were someplace else. We may wish our present circumstances were different.
We needlessly confuse ourselves and divert our energy by thinking that our present moment is a mistake. But we are right where we need to be for now. Our feelings, thoughts, circumstances, challenges, and tasks - all of it is on schedule.
We spoil the beauty of the present moment by wishing for something else.
Come back home to yourself. Come back home to the present moment. We will not change things by escaping or leaving the moment. We will change things by surrendering to and accepting the moment.
Some moments are easier to accept than others.
To trust the process, to trust all of it, without hanging on to the past or peering too far into the future, requires a great deal of faith. Surrender to the moment. If you're feeling angry, get mad. If you're setting a boundary, dive into that. If you're grieving, grieve. Get into it. Step where instinct leads. If you're waiting, wait. If you have a task, throw yourself into the work. Get into the moment; the moment is right.
We are where we are, and it is okay. It is right where we're meant to be to get where we're going tomorrow. And that place will be good.
It has been planned in love for us.
God, help me let go of my need to be someone other than who I am today. Help me dive fully into the present moment. I will accept and surrender to my present moments - the difficult ones and the easy ones, trusting the whole process. I will stop trying to control the process; instead, I will relax and let myself experience it.
I have all the time in the world to do God's Will for me today I trust that my Higher Power is filling me with all the energy that I need for these 24 hours. --Ruth Fishel
*****
Journey to the Heart
Throw Away Old Messages
Who told you that you were bad and wrong? Are you still letting others tell you that-- after all these years?
Listen quietly. Whose voice do you hear telling you that? Is someone still putting you down, sabotaging your happiness, preventing you from living and moving in self-acceptance, joy, and love?
Inhale and breathe in love, peace, and joy. Exhale and breathe out negative energy and negative messages. Feel them loosen, disintegrate, release. Feel your soul, mind, and heart become clear. You don't have to let others take your power, rob your joy. Don't become so accustomed to living with the pain of old, negative messages that you don't notice how much they hurt.
Get rid of these old messages. Pull them out of your soul just as you would pull out barbs or knives. Pull them out on by one, then toss them away. You don't have to work around the pain from these messages any more. You don't have to figure out how to incorporate that pain into your life.
Allow yourself to heal. Find new messages than empower you with love, messages that set you free.
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more language of letting go
Say thanks for the help
There's so much do-it-yourself talk. So much self-help talk.
Healing is a gift.
Yes, we participate in our gifts. If we're recovering from chemical dependency, we go to our meetings and work the Steps. The same is true if we're recovering from codependency or other issues that we might face.
We stand at each gateway and protest, "I don't want this. I don't want the problem. I don't want the healing. I want my life back, the way it was-- or the way I imagined it to be." And we resist and struggle, but the changes fall upon us anyway.
We do our part, whatever that means to us, each day. Bit by bit, the next step becomes clear. A healing begins to settle in.
We receive our medallions for the number of days we've stayed straight or gone to Al-Anon. Or we go through an important holiday without breaking down and crying, because we focus on who is there, instead of who isn't there.
We can feel good about the things we've done, the part we've played in taking care of our lives. But remember, healing is a gift. So is love. So is success. Feel good about doing your part in helping yourself. But a gentle thank you may be in order,too.
God, thanks.
*****
Sweetening a Sour Apple
When a Bad Apple Spoils the Bunch by Madisyn Taylor
When dealing with negative people we can choose not to respond to their behavior and allow our positive behavior be an example.
Because life requires that we interact with different personalities, it is not uncommon for us to encounter a situation where there is one person whose behavior may negatively impact the experiences of others. Someone who is loud and crass can interrupt the serenity of those who come together to practice peace. A disruptive worker can cause rules to be imposed that affect their colleagues’ professional lives. A team member who is pessimistic or highly critical may destroy the morale of their fellow members. And one “bad apple” in your personal life can be a potent distraction that makes it difficult to focus on the blessings you’ve been given and the people who love you.
There may always be people in your life who take it upon themselves to create disruption, foster chaos, stamp out hope, and act as if they are above reproach – even when, in doing so, they put a blight on their own experiences. But you don’t need to allow their negativity and callousness to sour your good mood. Often, our first impulse upon coming head-to-head with a bad apple is to express our anger and frustration in no uncertain terms. However, bad apples only have the power to turn our lives sour if we let them.
If you can exercise patience and choose not to respond to their words or actions, you will significantly limit the effect they are able to have on you and your environment. You can also attempt to encourage a bad apple to change their behavior by letting your good behavior stand as an example. If your bad apple is simply hoping to attract notice, they may come to realize that receiving positive attention is much more satisfying than making a negative impression. While you may be tempted to simply disassociate yourself entirely from a bad apple, consider why they might be inclined to cause disturbances. Understanding their motivation can help you see that bad apples are not necessarily bad people. Though bad apples are a fact of life, minimizing the impact you allow them to have upon you is empowering because you are not letting anyone else affect the quality of your experiences. You may discover that buried at the very heart of a bad apple is a seed of goodness. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day At A Time
August 18
Reflection For The Day
As Addictive persons, self-delusion was intricately woven through almost all our thoughts and actions. We became experts at convincing ourselves, when necessary, that black was white, that wrong was right, or even that day was night. Now that we’re in The Program, our need for self-delusion is fading. If I’m fooling myself these days, my sponsor can spot it quickly. And, as he skillfully steers me away from my fantasies, I find that I’m less and less likely to defend myself against reality and unpleasant truths about myself. Gradually, in the process, my pride, fear and ignorance are losing their destructive power. Do I firmly believe that a solitary self-appraisal wouldn’t be nearly enough?
Today I Pray
May I understand that not only must I look to my Higher Power, but that I need to trust my fellow members of the group in this Step of self-evaluation. For we mirror each other in all of our delusions and fantasies, and with there facing mirrors, we produce a depth of perspective that we could never come by alone.
Today I Will Remember
To see myself all around, I need a three-way mirror — with reflections from God, my friends and me.
*****
One More Day
August 18
You may judge others only according to your knowledge of yourself.
– Kahlil Gibran
We know that our behavior patterns may not be the only acceptable ones. Many of us have spent the major part of our lives trying to please others. We finally understand that there’s no need for us to reach beyond our own capabilities.
Now that our physical health is limited and our emotional health is stretched almost to the breaking point, we begin to realize that people around us may have serious problems of their own. By reaching out, unselfishly, we can help. Inadvertently, we will reap the benefits of our own behavior.
As I understand my limitations, I begin to know myself more intimately than ever before. I am learning about my untapped potential.
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Food For Thought
Self-Respect
When we were overeating, we did not have much self-respect. Because we felt guilty about the quantity of food we were consuming and the way we looked, we had a very poor self-image. Since we did not respect ourselves, we did not act in a way which evoked respect from others. We put ourselves down and allowed other people to use us.
Abstinence and the OA program produce a change, which is often astonishing. Our self-respect grows in direct proportion to the control we acquire. When we stop overeating and begin to live in accordance with the will of our Higher Power, we can accept and respect ourselves. Those around us respond to us differently as our own attitude improves.
What we realize is that self-respect and inner acceptance are more important than any external approval or disapproval. Instead of living for the admiration of others, we seek each day to follow the will of our Higher Power.
I am grateful for the self-respect OA has given me.
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One Day At A Time
FEAR
“Some of your griefs you have cured
And the sharpest you still have survived ~
But what torments of pain you endured
From evils that never arrived.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
As a compulsive overeater I have lived my life in fear. I feared the apparent cruelty of the surrounding world. I feared to challenge the unknown and chose instead to seek safety in familiar "surroundings." I was afraid to have ambition and dreams.
My whole life I've battled an increasing waistline. I realized that I was stagnate in a world of pain and darkness because my fears of responsibility as a "slim" person sabotaged my efforts to lose weight.
I’ve learned that worrying about a situation doesn't change the outcome! My fears simply prevented me from moving forward. They clouded the real issues and hid the answers to my problems. Instead of expending so much energy into worrying and fearing an event, I could put it to much better use by dealing with the present realities in my life.
Surviving a situation provides added armor for the next battle. Overcoming a fearful predicament puts confidence in my stride towards my next goal. Faith is the opposite of fear. Having faith in my choices, abilities and ambitions will provide the steadfast pathway ahead.
One Day at a Time . . .
I try to remember that fear and worry only serve to chain me to the present. Faith can break the shackles and enable me to walk on to where I was heading.
~ Nancy
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
THIS WAS STEP FOUR: A business which takes no regular inventory usually goes broke. Taking a commercial inventory is a fact-finding and fact-facing process. It is an effort to discover the truth about the stock-in-trade. One object is to disclose damaged or unsalable goods, to get rid of them promptly and without regret. If the owner of the business is to be successful, he cannot fool himself about values.
We did exactly the same thing with our lives. We took stock honestly. First, we searched out the flaws in our make-up which caused our failure. Being convinced that self, manifested in various ways, was what had defeated us, we considered its common manifestations. - Pg. 64 - How It Works
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Do you feel like you are compelled to do everything perfectly now that you're sober? Impatient for everything to be normal? Take three deep breaths and relax. You are right where you are supposed to be and all will unfold in it own good time.
The world ran in spite of the fact that I was 'out of it' in the past. Help me accept that the world will chug along without me while I recover, too.
Out of My Pores Please
I do not want this disease in my life any more. For as long as I remember, this illness of addiction surrounds me. It is everywhere in my family. The distorted and stinkin thinking, the grandiosity, living on the edge, the inability to face reality and the unwillingness to be humbled by our own powerlessness in front of the disease tears at my heart and sickens my stomach. I see its poison enveloping generation after generation. I am disgusted, horrified and deeply saddened by witnessing the wreckage of this illness.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
'Resentment' is when you didn't get your way yesterday. 'Anger' is when you don't get your way today. 'Fear' is that you won't get your way tomorrow.
There are no good reasons for resentment, anger, and fear-- just good excuses.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Progression: The bottom will start falling out faster than you can lower your standards.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
I have all the time in the world to do God's Will for me today.
I trust that my Higher Power is filling me with all the energy that I need for this 24 hours.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Trying not so much to think of myself less, as less of myself. - Brian.
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Post by bluidkiti on Sept 8, 2018 2:48:07 GMT -5
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Post by majestyjo on Sept 9, 2018 13:08:21 GMT -5
September 9
Daily Reflections
OPENING NEW DOORS
They [the Promises] are being fulfilled among us - sometimes quickly,
sometimes slowly.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84
The Promises talked about in this passage are slowly coming to life for
me. What has given me hope is putting Step Nine into action. The Step
has allowed me to see and set goals for myself in recovery. Old habits
and behaviors die hard. Working Step Nine enables me to close the
door on the drunk I was, and to open new avenues for myself as a
sober alcoholic. Making direct amends is crucial for me. As I repair
relationships and behavior of the past, I am better able to live a sober
life! Although I have some years of sobriety, there are times
when the "old stuff" from the past needs to be taken care of, and
Step Nine always works, when I work it.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
When an alcoholic is offered a life of sobriety by following the A.A.
program, he will look at the prospect of living without alcohol and he
will ask: "Am I to be consigned to a life where I shall be stupid, boring
and glum, like some of the righteous people I see? I know I must get
along without liquor, but how can I? Have you a sufficient
substitute?" Have I found a more than sufficient substitute for
drinking?
Meditation For The Day
In God's strength you conquer life. Your conquering power is the
grace of God. There can be no complete failure with God. Do you
want to make the best of life? Then live as near as possible to God,
the Master and Giver of all life. Your regard for depending on God's
strength will be sure. Sometimes the reward will be renewed power to
face life, sometimes wrong thinking overcome, sometimes people
brought to a new way of living. Whatever success comes will not be all
your own doing, but largely the working out of the grace of God.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may try to rely more fully on the grace of God. I pray
that I may live a victorious life.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Face the Music, p.251
"Don't be too discouraged about that slip. Practically always, we
drunks learn the hard way.
"Your idea of moving on to somewhere else may be good, or it may
not. Perhaps you have got into an emotional or economic jam that
can't be well handled where you are. But maybe you are doing just
what all of us have done, at one time or another: Maybe you are
running away. Why don't you try to think that through again
carefully?
"Are you really placing recovery first, or are you making it
contingent upon other people, places, or circumstances? You may
find it ever so much better to face the music right where you are
now, and, with the help of the A.A. program, win through. Before
you make a decision, weigh it in these terms."
Letter, 1949
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Compliance isn’t acceptance
Honesty
We are sometimes mystified when people come into the AA program,
respond to its message for months or years, and then disappear, seemingly without
a trace. Later, we may be shocked to learn that they’re drinking again.
While we have no way of knowing the real reason, one possible explanation
is that they were practicing compliance without really accepting the program. The
danger of compliance is that it may simply be an outward show of working the
program while leaving one’s real thoughts and feelings unchanged.
At the same time, we often urge people to practice what is really only a form
of compliance. We then the, for example, to “bring the body” to meetings in the
belief that they heart will follow. This does little good if one’s heart does not
follow!
The only solution is to continue the difficult but rewarding search for
honesty in all things. When we examine ourselves honestly, we will recognize
when we are truly accepting and when we are merely complying.
I’ll remember today that the real success of AA is not in the number of people
who show up at meetings, but in how we truly accept the program.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
One of the best ways to persuade others is with your ears---by listening to them. ---Dean Rusk
We hate being told what to think. We like to make up our own minds.
It helps to talk things out with another person who, listens to us.
Someone who care what we think.
We can give this respect to others. We can listen their point of view.
We can try to understand them and care about what they think.
When we do this, others start to care what we think too. We share ideas.
The ideas get a little more clear. They change a little. We get a little
closer to agreement. We both feel good.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me know when to listen and
when to talk today. Work for me and though me. Thanks.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll look for chances to listen to others
when I really want to talk. I’ll say, “Tell me more about that.” And I’ll listen.
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
I do not want to die . . . until I have faithfully made the most of
my talent and cultivated the seed that was placed in me until the
last small twig has grown. --Kathe Kollwitz
There's so much to do before we rest . . . so much to do. We each
are gifted with talents, similar in some respects to others' talents,
but unique in how we'll be able to use them. Do we realize our talents?
We need only to dare to dream, and there they'll be.
It's so easy to fall into the trap of self-pity, thinking we have no
purpose, fearing we'll take life nowhere, dreading others' expectations
of us. But we can turn our thinking around at any moment. The choice
is ours. We can simply decide to discover our talents, and nurture them
and enrich the lives of others. The benefits will be many. So will the joys.
We have a very important part to play, today, in the lives we touch. We
can expect adventure, and we'll find it. We can look for our purpose;
it's at hand. We can remember, we aren't alone. We are in partnership
every moment. Our talents are God-given, and guidance for their full
use is part of the gift.
I will have a dream today. In my dream is my direction.
************************************************** *********
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
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
My Chance To Live
A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.
If everyone who needed A.A. showed up, we would be bursting at the seams. Unfortunately, most never make it to the door. I believe I was one of the lucky ones. Not just because I found this program at such a young age; I feel fortunate that I found A.A. at all. My approach to drinking brought me to the jumping-off place described in the Big Book much faster than anyone could imagined.
pp. 315-316
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Five - "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs."
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 Five. But scarcely any Step is more necessary to longtime sobriety and peace of mind than this one.
p. 55
************************************************** *********
Today, help me, God, to let go of my resistance to change. Help me to
be open to the process. Help me believe that the place I'll be dropped
off will be better than the place where I was picked up. Help me
surrender, trust, and accept, even if I don't understand.
--Melody Beattie
We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
--Mahatma Gandhi
Today I will spend some time putting my own needs aside to help
someone else. It is so good to know that I can be filled with such good
feelings and I get so much when I give of myself.
--Ruth Fishel
God loves all of us, whether we walk away pain-free or not. Keep
taking care of yourself, no matter what. God, transform my pain into
compassion for others and myself.
--Melody Beattie
Never look down on anybody unless you're helping them up.
--Jesse Jackson
My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but
doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next
moment.
--Oprah Winfrey
"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, "The Prophet"
Don't wait for your ship to come in, swim out to meet it...
--unknown
The task before you is never greater than the power behind you...
--unknown
Always, He will watch over us and comfort us.
--Ernest Holmes
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
RELIGION
"Science without religion is
lame, religion without science is
blind."
-- Albert Einstein
In the field of addiction we need to work together and listen to the
professionalism we all bring: the answer will be in "the many".
So often we divide ourselves up into "ghettos" of learning and miss
what "the others" are saying -- and the disease wins! This is
reminiscent of the old days in the church when science was seen as
the enemy, the world was flat and the earth was the center of the
universe. Pride and ego kept people sick, isolated and afraid -- and
thousands suffered and died. However, people began to listen to each
other and the world benefited from the shared wisdom.
As addictionologists and recovering people we need to listen to each
other.
Help me to see You in the honest experience of every man.
************************************************** *********
Help me, O LORD my God; save me in accordance with your love.
Let them know that it is your hand, that you, O LORD, have done it.
Psalm 109:26-27
With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD; in the great throng I
will praise him. For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to
save his life from those who condemn him.
Psalm 109:30-31
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
James 1:2-3
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
If a part of your past continues to haunt you and rob you of your joy, forgive.
Lord, I can not undo the past, but with Your help, I can let go by forgiving myself
and everyone else that has hurt me.
Do not let yourself be judged by others or ruled by approval or disapproval.
Lord, may I always trust in myself and You and live each day accordingly.
************************************************** *********
NA Just For Today
Feet Of Clay
"One of the biggest stumbling blocks to recovery seems to be placing unrealistic expectations on... others."
Basic Text p.78
Many of us come into Narcotics Anonymous feeling pretty poorly about ourselves. By comparison, the recovering addicts we meet at meetings may seem almost superhumanly serene. These wise, loving people have many months, even years of living in accordance with spiritual principles, giving of themselves to others without expecting anything back. We trust them, allowing them to love us until we can love ourselves. We expect them to make everything alright again.
Then the glow of early recovery begins to fade, and we start to see the human side of our NA friends and sponsor. Perhaps a fellow member of our home group stands us up for a coffee date, or we see two old-timers bickering at a committee meeting, or we realize our sponsor has a defect of character or two. We're crushed, disillusioned-these recovering addicts aren't perfect after all! How can we possibly trust them anymore?
Somewhere between "the heroes of recovery" and "the lousy NA bums" lies the truth: Our fellow addicts are neither completely bad nor completely good. After all, if they were perfect, they wouldn't need this program. Our friends and sponsor are ordinary recovering addicts, just like we are. We can relate to their ordinary recovery experience and use it in our own program.
Just for today: My friends and my sponsor are human, just like me-and I trust their experience all the more for that.
pg. 263
************************************************** *********
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
A terrace nine stories high begins with a pile of earth. --Lao-tzu
Imagine yourself with a pile of dirt in front of you and building plans for a one-story structure. It would be easy to think, "Oh, this is impossible--it will never get done."
But the architect hires people to help. A foundation is built, and then the frame. From there, step-by-step, the rest is filled in. We have all watched a building take shape and become a finished product.
Building plans are like the goals we all have. We want to be a better person or friend, a better artist or athlete. Reaching a goal is like putting up a building. Once we have a goal, we need a strong foundation to support us. All of us need the help of others to reach our goals.
What small step can I take toward a goal today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was. --R. L. Evans
Feelings of discouragement are to be expected as part of life. We will have our times of greater energy and hope and our times of feeling depleted and lost. As we mature we learn to see many peaks and valleys across the landscape.
Giving ourselves over to feelings of discouragement is self-indulgent and saps our strength. We cannot see into the future. The dailiness of our lives isn't always dramatic and doesn't usually offer great changes. But we are part of an unfolding process. Looking back over just a week or a month, we can recall troubled times that now seem insignificant. We see other' people and their progress, and we know they too grew just one day at a time and couldn't see what the future would bring them. So we continue - knowing that our process is hopeful - even though we cannot foresee the details of our future.
I have the strength to live through the peaks and valleys and to stay faithful to my recovery.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
I do not want to die . . . until I have faithfully made the most of my talent and cultivated the seed that was placed in me until the last small twig has grown. --Kathe Kollwitz
There's so much to do before we rest . . . so much to do. We each are gifted with talents, similar in some respects to others' talents, but unique in how we'll be able to use them. Do we realize our talents? We need only to dare to dream, and there they'll be.
It's so easy to fall into the trap of self-pity, thinking we have no purpose, fearing we'll take life nowhere, dreading others' expectations of us. But we can turn our thinking around at any moment. The choice is ours. We can simply decide to discover our talents, and nurture them and enrich the lives of others. The benefits will be many. So will the joys.
We have a very important part to play, today, in the lives we touch. We can expect adventure, and we'll find it. We can look for our purpose; it's at hand. We can remember, we aren't alone. We are in partnership every moment. Our talents are God-given, and guidance for their full use is part of the gift.
I will have a dream today. In my dream is my direction.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Perspective
Too often, we try to gain a clear perspective before it is time.
That will make us crazy.
We do not always know why things are happening the way they are. We do not always know how a particular relationship will work out. We do not always understand the source of our feelings, why we've been led down a particular path, what is being worked out in us, what we are learning, why we needed to recycle, why we had to wait, why we needed to go through a time of discipline, or why a door closed. How our present circumstances will work into the larger scheme of events is not always clear to us. That is how it needs to be.
Perspective will come in retrospect.
We could strain for hours today for the meaning of something that may come in an instant next year.
Let it go. We can let go of our need to figure things out, to feel in control.
Now is the time to be. To feel. To go through it. To allow things to happen. To learn. To let whatever is being worked out in us take its course.
In hindsight, we will know. It will become clear. For today, being is enough. We have been told that all things shall work out for good in our life. We can trust that to happen, even if we cannot see the place today's events will hold in the larger picture.
Today, I will let things happen without trying to figure everything out. If clarity is not available to me today, I will trust it to come later, in retrospect. I will put simple trust in the truth that all is well, events are unfolding as they should, and all will work out for good in my life - better than I can imagine.
It feels so comfortable when I trust my own truth. It is both powerful and peaceful to know that we are all at choice. Each and everyone of us is being led on a path to peace and love. --Ruth Fishel
******************************
Journey To The Heart
Take Time to Be Pleased
Take time to be pleased with all the beauty in this world. Do more than drive by and casually notice a particularly beautiful stretch of scenery. Stop the car. Get out. Take it in. See it, smell it, touch it if possible. Absorb and feel the beauty you see. Then thank the universe for giving this moment to you.
Take time to be pleased with your creations too- your work, your life, yourself. Look around. Then look again. Take time to see the beauty in your own life. Take time to absorb and be pleased with the beauty you see.
Then take this gift to others,too. Take time to notice and really see all that is beautiful in the people you know. Then tell them about what they mean to you, and how beautiful you think they are.
Opening up to ourselves and the world means learning to recognize and absorb its beauty. Allow yourself to grow, to define and redefine what true beauty means and feels like to you. You may have deprived yourself of noticing beautiful sights too long. It’s time to take those dark glasses off. Appreciate the beauty around you.
Our soul is nurtured and fed by taking pleasure in the beauty in this world.
*****
more language of letting go
Discover what works for you
"Enroll in this weight loss program and you'll lose thirty pounds in five days!" "Come to this free seminar and after spending one hundred dollars on books you'll be a millionaire!"
There is no quick fix, no panacea that will work for every person. Success rarely happens overnight or in five days. Even the Twelve Steps are only suggestions. Although proven to work, the details and decisions about how we apply those Steps in our lives are left to each one of us.
And few things happen overnight, except the beginning of a new day.
Listen to your mentors. Examine what's been tried and true, and has worked and helped countless others along their paths. The Twelve Steps are one of those approaches. But don't be taken in by false claims of overnight success and instant enlightenment along your path.
True change takes time and effort, especially when we're changing and tackling big issues. We can often get exactly the help we need at times from a therapist, book, or seminar-- the best things in life really are free and available to each one of us.The Twelve Steps, again, qualify in this area.
Discover what works for you.
Trust that you'll be guided along your path and receive exactly the help and guidance you need. Then give it time.
There really isn't an easier, softer way.
God, give me perseverance to tackle my problems.
*****
An Incomplete Understanding
Feeling Lonely
We all have days when we feel lonely, but the idea comes from the false notion that we are separate from each other.
We all have days when we feel lonely, but the very idea of loneliness comes from the false notion that we are separate and isolated parts in a world filled with other separate, isolated parts. In truth, we can no more be separate from our world than a fish can be separate from the water in which it swims. When we really begin to look at the boundaries we see as so solid, they prove to be, in fact, quite porous. For example, it is not clear exactly where our skin ends and the air begins when we consider how our skin is affected by changes in the quality of the air. When it is dry, our skin becomes dry, and when it is humid, our skin becomes moist and supple.
By the same token, it is difficult sometimes to distinguish the boundary between one person and another, especially when our actions tie us together so inextricably. Every move we make has an effect that touches all the people around us. On an even more subtle level, when we share space with another person, we often pick up on their energy, feeling how they feel and attuning to them, whether we mean to or not. This is what we mean when we say a mood or a feeling is contagious. We cannot help but be part of the realities of the people around us because we take form from the same energetic force, and this force unifies all life. This force is the light that all the great mystics and gurus encourage us to move toward, and it is the light we will dissolve into when we move beyond our individual egos.
If loneliness is a temporary condition based on an incomplete understanding of what we are made of, we can think of its presence as a catalyst for exploring our ideas about reality. We can respond by testing the boundaries we believe separate us from the life within and all around us. If we test them, we will discover that they are not so solid after all and that we can never really be alone. Published with permission from Daily OM
******************************
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
The longer I’m in The Program and the longer I try to practice its principles in all my affairs, the less frequently I become morose and depressed. Perhaps, too, there’s something to that cynical old saying, “Blessed is he that expect nothing, for he shall not be disappointment.” If such a person is in The Program, he or she shall not be disappointed, but instead will be delighted daily by new and fresh evidence of the love of God and the friendliness of men and women. Does someone, somewhere,need me today? Will I look for that person and try to share what I’ve been given in The Program?
Today I Pray
May I be utterly grateful for God for lifting my depression. May I know that my depression will always lighten if I do not expect too much. May I know that the warmth of friends can fill the cold hollow of despair. May I give my warmth to someone else.
Today I Will Remember
To look for someone to share with.
******************************
One More Day
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
– The Serenity Prayer
The Serenity Prayer has comforted millions of people who strive to cope with change, disappointments, chemical dependency, and all sorts of other problems. This prayer can comfort us as we deal with the realities of chronic illness.
When we’re overcome with pain or disappointed about slow or little progress, this prayer can help us put our lives into focus. It helps us see if we’re wasting time and energy on things we can’t change, such as the chronic conditions we live with, how others feel, and the past. And just as important, this prayer points us toward the things that we can control — our attitude, our willingness to change, and the outcome of this day.
I pray for the wisdom to recognize the difference between things I can and cannot change.
************************************************** *******************
Food For Thought
Amends to Others
The people most affected by our disease were undoubtedly the members of our own family. Then came our closest friends, if we had any when we were overeating. These people were directly affected by our negative moods and by our withdrawal away from them into overeating. They also may have been affected by not getting food which should have been theirs, but which we had eaten. Some of us stole money to buy food that we did not need but had to have. Some of us stole food.
Making amends is sometimes embarrassing and often difficult. It involves much pride swallowing. A simple, sincere apology may be all that is necessary. There may be concrete acts, which we can perform. As with making amends to ourselves, the best way we can make up for the hurt we have caused to family and friends is by abstaining from compulsive overeating. As we abstain, we reach out to those around us instead of withdrawing. Our own sanity is the best gift we can give to others.
May I have the courage to make amends.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
CONNECTION
We all have God's phone number
but the only number we tend to use is 911.
We only call in an emergency
instead of calling just for daily connection with God.
Mary Manin Morrissey
When I first came into the program, my goal was to lose weight. It’s still my goal, but now it’s not the main focus of my program of recovery.
I’ve learned that my spiritual and emotional fitness are every bit as important as my physical fitness. In fact, I’m finding that for me the spiritual aspect is the most important. If my relationship to the God of my understanding is in order, then everything else seems to fall into place. If I leave my Higher Power out of my life, then everything falls apart.
There’s an old program saying, “If you feel apart from God, then who moved?” Whenever I feel like God is a million miles away, I know it’s because I moved away from Him, not the other way around. When I am feeling separated from God, I see my disease of compulsion start to take over. That’s why it’s very important to me to maintain a conscious contact with my Higher Power. If I let things get too far out of hand and I start to move away from Him, then I need to pray. But my intention is to keep in constant touch with God so that a spiritual emergency isn’t the only reason I check in with Him.
One day at a time...
I will do all I can on a daily basis to connect with my Higher Power.
~ Jeff
*****************************************
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
Do you have a phone list of clean and sober people in the program? If yes, call one person right now and share a clean and sober morning greeting. If not, take this book and begin a sober list in the back. Collect names and numbers at the meeting you go to today.
People say, 'Call me anytime.' Let me know that as long as I am clean and sober, they mean it!
Forgiveness
Today I recognize forgiveness as the quickest road to freedom and serenity. When I forgive my past, I release myself from the grip that it has on my present. I no longer carry that heavy baggage around with me. It is difficult to live in peace today if I am psychically engaged in yesterday's battles. But I cannot forgive and release what I do not first feel and come to terms with. The type of forgiveness that bypasses this stage only pays lip service to letting go. I will do what I need to do today to process fully the issues in my life that remain unresolved so that I can let them go.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Take a breath and hold it. Take another and hold, hold, hold. You can see that you can't live on the inhale alone. The inhale is the breath of the program bringing you life. The exhale is you working with others.
I inhale healing for my soul and exhale hope for others.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Your situation is your situation, not your problem.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
It feels so comforting when I trust my own truth.
It is both powerful and peaceful to know that we are all at choice. Each and every one of us is being led on a path of peace and love.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Alcoholics Anonymous is an utter simplicity which encases a complete mystery. - Bill W.
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Post by majestyjo on Sept 12, 2018 9:58:33 GMT -5
September 10
Daily Reflections
RECOVERY BY PROXY?
They [the Promises] will always materialize if we work for them.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS p. 84
Sometimes I think: "Making these amends is going too far! No one
should have to humble himself like that!" However, it is this very
humbling of myself that brings me that much closer to the sunlight of
the spirit. A.A. is the only hope I have if I am to continue healing and
gain a life of happiness, friendship and harmony.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Here are answers to the question of how a person can live without
liquor and be happy: "The things we put in place of drinking are more
than substitutes for it. One is the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.
In this company, you find release from care, boredom, and worry. Your
imagination will be fired. Life will mean something at last. The
most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead. Among other
A.A.s you will make lifelong friends. You will be bound to them with
new and wonderful ties." Does life mean something to me now?
Meditation For The Day
Do you want the full and complete satisfaction that you find in serving
God and all the satisfactions of the world also? It is not easy to serve
both God and the world. It is difficult to claim the rewards of both. If
you work for God, you will still have great rewards in the world. But
you must be prepared to sometimes stand apart from the world. You
cannot always turn to the world and expect all the rewards that life
has to offer. If you are trying sincerely to serve God, you will have
other and greater rewards than the world has to offer.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may not expect too much from the world. I pray that I
may also be content with the rewards that come from serving God.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Alone No More, p.252
Alcoholism was a lonely business, even though we were surrounded
by people who loved us. But when our self-will had driven
everybody away and our isolation became complete, we commenced
to play the big shot in cheap barrooms. Failing even in this, we
had to fare forth alone on the street to depend upon the charity of
passers-by.
We were trying to find emotional security either by dominating or by
being dependent upon others. Even when our fortunes had not totally
ebbed, we nevertheless found ourselves alone in the world. We still
vainly tried to be secure by some unhealthy sort of domination or
dependence.
For those of us who were like that, A.A. has a very special meaning. In
this Fellowship we begin to learn right relations with people who
understand us; we don't have to be alone any more.
12 & 12, pp. 116-117
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Watch those feelings
Feelings.
In AA's early years, there was very little talk about "feelings' or "emotions."
The phrase "getting in touch with your feelings" had not been popularized, yet
the AA pioneers knew that bitter and resentful feelings were destructive, while
warm and optimistic feelings enhanced sobriety.
Now we know that feelings are extremely are extremely important for groups as
well as individuals. We know that some AA groups can give off feelings that make
them more attractive than others. Some groups are considered "cold," while
others are "warm." Such differences are rooted in the feelings of each member
of the group.
How can we be sure that our feelings will make our groups warm and inviting to
others? We can "tune" our feelings by looking at our attitudes. If we are truly
dedicated to our principles and want to share them with others, the feelings we
project will be welcoming. Whatever we really feel will be expressed in our daily
affairs and in our group activities.
I'll check my attitude today for good feelings as I go about my work and activities.
These feelings will, in turn, send out signals that everyone can understand and appreciate.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
If you want a thing done “right,” you have to do it yourself.---Anonymous
We addicts can be very picky. We think there’s only one way to do things. It’s our way,
But we call it the right way. When we think like this, three things happen. First, we put
down other people. Second, we end up doing all the work. Third, everyone feels bad.
The other person feels hurt that we don’t respect him or her. And we feel angry
because we “had” to do all the work.
We need to know that there are many ways to do things. It’s okay when others don’t
do things our way. Their way probably works just fine for them. If they want your
advice they’ll ask for it.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me accept other people and their ways.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll watch how other people do things. Maybe I’ll
learn a better way to do some things.
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
It isn't for the moment you are struck that you need courage, but for the long uphill
climb back to sanity and faith and security. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Most of us are on a long uphill climb at this moment. It is a climb we are making
together, and yet a climb we can't do for each other. I can reach out my hand to you,
and you can grasp my hand in return. But my steps are my own, just as you, too, can
only take one-step at a time.
For brief periods we skip, even run, along the uphill path. The rocks and the occasional
boulder momentarily trip us up. We need patience and trust that the summit is still
achievable. We can help one another have patience. We can remind one another to trust.
We look back at the periods that devastated us so long ago. And now we are here.
We have climbed this far. We are stronger, saner, and more secure. Each step makes
easier the next step--each step puts us on more solid ground.
I may run into some rocks or even a boulder today. I have stepped around them
in the past. I will do so again.
************************************************** *********
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
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
My Chance To Live
A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.
I'm convinced if I had continued on my course, I wouldn't have survived much longer. I don't believe I was smarter than anyone else, as I'm often told by those who came in at a later age. It was my time, my chance to live, and I took it. If there had still been joy in my drinking or even a remote chance of the joy returning, I would not have stopped drinking when I did.
p. 316
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Five - "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs."
A.A. experience has taught us we cannot live alone with our pressing problems and the character defects which cause or aggravate them. If we have swept the searchlight of Step Four back and forth over our careers, and it has revealed in stark relief those experiences we'd rather not remember, if we have come to know how wrong thinking and action
have hurt us and others, 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.
p. 55
************************************************** *********
Today, I will be open to growing in my understanding of my Higher
Power. I will be open to letting go of old, limiting, negative beliefs
about God. No matter how I understand God, I will be grateful that
God understands me.
--Melody Beattie
We are enrolled in a full time, informal school called, "Life." Each day
of this school, we have the opportunity to learn lessons. We may like
the lessons or hate them, but they are part of the curriculum. The
greatest lessons we learn are about love and fear, that every action is
either an expression of love, or a call for love. And the great blessing
is that every lesson repeats itself until we learn it.
--Mary Manin Morrissey
I have all the time in the world to do God's Will for me today. I trust
that my Higher Power is filling me with all the energy that I need for
these 24 hours.
--Ruth Fishel
Those who withhold forgiveness only withhold it from themselves."
--Paul Ferrini
Happiness is an inside job.
--Unknown
Do you want to be happy or do you want to be right?
--Gerald Jampolsky
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
NEIGHBORS
"The good neighbor looks beyond
the external accidents and
discerns those inner qualities that
make all men human and,
therefore, brothers."
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.
As a drunk I said cruel things about other people. My prejudices hid
my fears and insecurities. I condemned in others what I saw in myself.
I deflected attention from me by the name-calling others: sick
manipulations. "Neighbor" was only a word that I could spell and
interpret, useful for religious homilies or pretentious innuendoes but
not something I really experienced.
Today I am able to be the "good neighbor" to many people, known and
unknown. My recovery has brought people into my life. Relationships
mean something; friends are important; the world is one. Black, Asian,
Hispanic -- all add a variety to my life that enable me to get in touch
with buried feelings of my "difference". In the stranger I discover
something of myself; the foreigner has become both friend and
neighbor.
God, I never cease to be amazed at the mystery and variety that is
"me".
************************************************** *********
But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already
has?"
Romans 8:24
"One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to
be poor, yet has great wealth."
Proverbs 13:7
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
If a person or a situation causes you to feel insecure, you have forgotten who you really are.
Lord, You are my Father. I am Your child. How can I ever feel like less.
God gives abundantly to those who pass His gifts on to others.
Lord, let Your blessings flow in to me and then out from me. I will neither be selfish nor let
my gifts stagnate.
************************************************** *********
NA Just For Today
More powerful than words
Page 264
"We learn that a simple, loving hug can make all the difference in the world."
Basic Text, p.91
Perhaps there have been times in our recovery when we were close to someone who was in great pain. We struggled with the question, "What can I do to make them feel better?" We felt anxious and inadequate to relieve their suffering. We wished we had more experience to share. We didn't know what to say.
But sometimes life deals wounds that can't be eased by even the most heartfelt words. Words can never express all we mean when our deepest feelings of compassion are involved. Language is inadequate to reach a wounded soul, as only the touch of a loving Higher Power can heal an injury to the spirit.
When those we love are grieving, simply being present is perhaps the most compassionate contribution we can offer. We can rest assured that a loving Higher Power is working hard at healing the spirit; our only responsibility is to be there. Our presence, a loving hug, and a sympathetic ear will surely express the depth of our feelings, and do more to reach the heart of a human being in pain than mere words ever could.
Just for Today: I will offer my presence, a hug, and a sympathetic ear to someone I love.
************************************************** *********
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to you. --Madeline Bridges
Sometimes we feel lazy or bored, and then we don't do our best work. Maybe our writing becomes hard to read, or we miss a porch when delivering newspapers. Perhaps we are daydreaming instead of listening closely to what a friend is trying to tell us. When we are not really paying attention to our activities or the people around us, we'll likely miss out on something important because we do receive in equal measure what we give. And this truth works in every aspect of our lives.
When we treat our friends, our families, even people we don't know well with kindness, we'll experience kindness in return. Our own actions and attitudes toward others are what we can expect from others as well.
How can I increase the kindness in the world today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
It is not a question of how a husband and wife can be equal and alike. But rather, it is a problem of how a couple can be equal and different. --Pierre Mornell
In seeking closeness with loved ones, we have often made the mistake of looking only for similarities. Although common ground helps understanding, we must learn how to get close to others by "borrowing their eyes and ears." We expand our understanding of others by accepting that what we see, hear, think, and feel will not be exactly what anyone else does. We can deepen our relationships by exchanging our experiences with others.
We don't have to agree on everything. Simply learning about each other's differences and letting each other know that we hear and understand will create a feeling of intimacy.
I will be receptive and appreciate differences in those I love.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
It isn't for the moment you are struck that you need courage, but for the long uphill climb back to sanity and faith and security. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Most of us are on a long uphill climb at this moment. It is a climb we are making together, and yet a climb we can't do for each other. I can reach out my hand to you, and you can grasp my hand in return. But my steps are my own, just as you, too, can only take one-step at a time.
For brief periods we skip, even run, along the uphill path. The rocks and the occasional boulder momentarily trip us up. We need patience and trust that the summit is still achievable. We can help one another have patience. We can remind one another to trust.
We look back at the periods that devastated us so long ago. And now we are here. We have climbed this far. We are stronger, saner, and more secure. Each step makes easier the next step--each step puts us on more solid ground.
I may run into some rocks or even a boulder today. I have stepped around them in the past. I will do so again.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Self-approval
Most of us want to be liked. We want other people to think of us as nice, friendly, kind, and loving. Most of us want the approval of others.
Since childhood, some of us have been trying to get approval, trying to get people to like us and think highly of us. We may be afraid people will leave us if they disapprove of our actions. We may look for approval from people who have none to give. We may not know that we're lovable now and can learn to approve of ourselves.
In order to live happily, to live consistently with the way our Higher Power wants us to live, and to tap into a way of life that is in harmony with the universe, we need to let go of our extreme need for approval. These unmet needs for approval and love from our past give others control over us today. These needs can prevent us from acting in our best interest and being true to ourselves.
We can approve of ourselves. In the end, that's the only approval that counts.
Today, I will let go of my need for approval and my need to be liked. I will replace them with a need to like and approve of myself. I will enjoy the surprise I find when I do this. The people who count, including myself, will respect me when I am true to myself.
Peace is flowing through me everywhere today, pouring all over my mind and my body... releasing all my tensions and anxiety... emptying me of all my negativity and fear.... I am being filled with peace and love and serenity. --Ruth Fishel
*****
Journey to the Heart
Laugh Often
"When I woke up the other morning, the blahs were back," a friend said. "I switched on the television. An old movie, a comedy, was on. At first I thought it was a waste of time to get involved in it. Within half an hour, I was laughing out loud. By the time the movie was over, I felt good."
Remember to laugh. No matter what our circumstance, where we are, what's going on, laughter is important. It's essential. Laughter changes our face. It changes our outlook. Some even suggest it changes our biochemistry.
Lighten up. Joke a little. Laugh at yourself. Laugh at life. The truth need not always be grim, serious business. Often, the truth we've been so serious about finding can only be found when we laugh.
Learn the power of humor. It will take you a long way. And it will help the road you travel be more fun.
*****
more language of letting go
Be who and where you are
One day when I was new to recovery from chemical dependency, I looked around at my living situation, my job, my relationships. Nothing felt right. A chronic sense of being in the wrong place at the right time was overriding everything I did. My life felt like an ongoing series of errors.
I had heard talk about a brilliant therapist, one who was particularly effective in getting to core issues. Whatever was going on in my core, I wanted it to be resolved.
The problem was that this therapist lived way out in a rural area. I didn't have a car. I'd need to take the bus. He saw people only during the week. I worked nine-to-five, Monday to Friday. And his fees, althought well-deserved, were high for my budget.
I saved enough money to pay for a session. Then I made an appointment. I was so excited.
The big day arrived. I started my series of bus rides (I had to transfer three times) at 5:00 PM, when I finished work. By 7:30 that evening. I arrived at the estate where this therapist lived and worked. I was exhausted but elated when I finally sat down across from this teddy bear of a man who had helped so many people progress in their lives.
In elaborate detail, I began spilling out what was going on in my life. I explained that I was recovering, trying to do the right things, going to my support groups, making my amends to people I had hurt-- but nothing felt right. A chronic sense of uneasiness plagued my life, no matter what I did.
He listened to what I said. Then he leaned back in his chair.
"Melody," he said calmly, confidently.
"Yes?"
" You're right where you need to be."
Session ended.
I gathered my things, walked the two blocks to the bus stop, and rode the several buses back to my small cubicle of an apartment in South Minneapolis. The lesson stayed with me for life. When nothing in our lives feels right, sometimes the answer isn't doing more or searching frantically for the miracle we need. The miracle comes when we accept, believe, and trust that who we are right now is who we need to be.
Save yourself the time, the money, and the trip.
Be your own guru.
God, thank you for where I am today. Help me trust that when I need to be someplace else, you'll naturally move me to that place.
*****
A World in Confusion
Cultivating Inner Clarity by Madisyn Taylor
When the world is in chaos, we can still have our own inner peace and maintain a sense of calm in sea of unrest.
People who maintain their sense of calm when things around them are in a state of flux and confusion are always wonderful to be around. We feel calmer just being near them, as if they have activated our own sense of inner peace. From them we learn that we can be calm, even when everything around us is in turmoil, because we know that no matter what happens, this inner sense of calm will help us to function well. Often, times of confusion are the times that enable us to find that part of ourselves that knows how to cope, and how to be a light to others in the storm.
If we allow ourselves to be thrown off balance by every piece of disturbing news that comes our way, we may be relying too much on our emotions. On the other hand, our thoughts may also be unreliable at times like these, as they chatter on endlessly about what might happen next. If our feelings and thoughts activate one another in a hectic way, then we become caught up in the confusion that surrounds us. However, if we can locate the stillness at the center of our hearts, we can find composure in almost any situation. In addition, we provide a safe place for our friends and family, who are also prone to taking on the confusion of a world in flux.
It helps to remember that we don’t need to completely understand what’s happening right now, nor do we need to be able to predict the future. Most of us just want to find our way to being at peace with whatever happens, and we can find this peace inside. Cultivating our inner clarity with meditation, journaling, and reading words that inspire us, will lead us to that place inside us that’s already there, just waiting. Published with permission from Daily OM
*****
A Day at a Time
Reflection for the Day
Years ago, Dr. Alfred Adler prescribed this remedy for depression to a patient: “You can be healed if every day you begin the first thing in the morning to consider how you can bring a real joy to someone else. If you can stick to this for two weeks, you will no longer need therapy.” Adler’s “prescription,” of course, is not much different than the suggestion that we work more intensively The Program’s Twelve Steps to rid ourselves of depression.
When I am depressed, do I keep my feelings to myself? Or do I do what friends in The Program have suggested that I do?
Today I Pray
May I turn myself inside out, air out the depression which has been closeted inside me, replace it with the comfortable feeling that I am cared about by real friends, then pass along that comfort to others caught in the same despair.
Today I Will Remember
The only real despair is loneliness
************************************************** ********************
Food For Thought
Listening
As we learn to listen to our Higher Power, we also learn to listen with more awareness to others and ourselves. Being willing to spend time alone, in quiet, is essential to listening. We often fear silence and being alone, and we escape into distractions and busy work.
Prayer is not so much telling and asking as it is listening. Prayer in this sense may be practiced continually during the day. By taking Step Three, we are giving up our will and becoming receptive to the will of our Higher Power. We focus less on our egotistical concerns and more on God, as we understand Him. That understanding grows through listening.
By listening, we become aware of needs, feelings, and responses within ourselves, which we had previously ignored. Knowing ourselves better, we are more direct and honest with others and more responsive to them. The communication which develops with our Higher Power is on a level deep enough to relate us more meaningfully to everyone around us.
I will listen today to Your voice.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
FAITH
“Faith has to work twenty-four hours a day
in and through us, or we perish."
The Big Book, page 16
The Big Book states that if we are rigorously honest we will receive release from our addictive compulsions. Working the Steps is what keeps us honest. I didn’t believe this with my whole heart and I lived within my disease. My sponsor told me to just “do it” and see what happened; to “act as if it were true.”
What is faith? It is the belief that if we stay close to our Higher Power we will be where we need to be. It is the guarantee that we do not walk through this world or this disease alone. Faith requires commitment to a belief that is greater than what we can see, hear, taste or smell. It’s knowing that there is a God who loves us as we are, and Who will journey through this life with us. And faith requires that we act on that knowledge. That is faith.
I did the Steps and the compulsion was removed. A miracle? Absolutely! I had faith that the program would work. Putting the faith to work by diving into the Steps released me from the grips of the disease, one day at a time. The beauty of the program is faith in a Higher Power who will walk us through one hour, one day and one miracle at a time.
One day at a time...
I will act as if there is a God who loves me.
~ Sara H.
*****************************************
AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Faced with alcoholic destruction, we soon became as open minded on spiritual matters as we had tried to be on other questions. In this respect alcohol was a great persuader. It finally beat us into a state of reasonableness. - Pg. 48 - We Agnostics
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Another part of learning good hourly habits is to take time for physical exercise. This is part of the balance of our new lives. We need activity for the well-being of the body and for self-discipline. We can walk, swim, jog, take up sports, aerobics, dance, or even yoga--just as long as we are consistent and somehow active.
Give me the self-discipline to maintain some type of physical activity in my clean and sober life-style.
Managing Added Stress
Stress affects my body and my mind. When I am under stress, I tend to do the same thing more intensely, but less efficiently. Stress undermines my state of health and makes me feel stuck in non productive, compulsive routines. I lose my spontaneity. Stress chemicals do everything from lock in the storage of fat cells to making my hair and nails brittle. Stress adds nothing to my day and it takes away a lot. Today when I feel stressed I will use my stress busters. I will take a walk or exercise, use my breathing to calm and quiet my nervous system, listen to music, take a warm bath or sit quietly by myself and meditate. I know what works best for me to get back into a relaxed space. Sometimes it's just collapsing in front of my favorite show. But the key is, I will notice when I am stressed and do something to counter it before it spins out of control. Today, I will take responsibility for my own state of calm.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
In the words of Father Joe Martin, 'You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink. But you sure as hell can make them thirsty!'.
Just living my new, free life is often enough to make others 'thirsty' for recovery. I don't always have to carry the message; I am the message.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Replace 'What ifs' with 'What is'.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Peace is flowing through me everywhere today, pouring all over my mind and my body . . . releasing all my tensions and anxiety . . . emptying me of all my negativity and fear . . . .
I am being filled with peace and love and serenity.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
I think God's job is to keep the planets from hitting each other, He's busy enough with that. I don't think He takes a lot of time wondering if I'm going to have a parking space at the meeting. - John L.
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Post by majestyjo on Sept 12, 2018 9:59:27 GMT -5
September 11
Daily Reflections
MAKING AMENDS
Above all, we should try to be absolutely sure that we are not
delaying because we are afraid.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 87
To have courage, to be unafraid, are gifts of my recovery. They
empower me to ask for help and to go forth in making my amends with
a sense of dignity and humility. Making amends may require a certain
amount of honesty that I feel I lack, yet with the help of God and
the wisdom of others, I can reach within and find the strength to
act. My amends may be accepted, or they may not, but after they are
completed I can walk with a sense of freedom and know that, for
today, I am responsible.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Continuing the answers to the question of how a person can live
without liquor and be happy, we say: "You will be bound to the other
A.A.s with new and wonderful ties, for you and they will escape
disaster together and all will commence shoulder to shoulder the
common journey to a better and more satisfactory life. You will know
what it means to give of yourself that others may survive and
rediscover life. You will become happy, respected, and useful once
more. Since these things have happened to us, they can happen to
you." Have these things happened to me?
Meditation For The Day
God manifests Himself in human lives as strength to overcome evil
and power to resist temptation. The grace of God is that power which
enables a human being to change from a useless, hopeless individual
to a useful, normal person. God also manifests Himself as love--love
for other people, compassion for their problems, and a real
willingness to help them. The grace of God also manifests itself as
peace of mind and serenity of character. We can have plenty of power,
love, and serenity in our lives if we are willing to ask God for
these things each day.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may see God's grace in the strength I receive, the love
I know, and the peace I have. I pray that I may be grateful for the
things I have received through the grace of God.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
"Look Before You Leap"?, p.253
"Wise men and women rightly give a top rating to the virtue of
prudence. They know that without this all important attribute
little wisdom is to be had.
"Mere 'looking before we leap' is not enough. If our looking is
charged with fear, suspicion, or anger, we had better not have looked
or acted at all."
********************************
"We lose the fear of making decisions, great and small, as we realize
that should our choice prove wrong we can, if we will, learn from the
experience. Should our decision be the right one, we can thank God
for giving us the courage and the grace that caused us so to act."
Letters, 1966
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
With Whom are we Honest?
Honesty
"When you're up before a judge, you can't be honest with the court,"
an AA member said, with some regret. "If you are, the judge will throw
the book at you."
This member was right in the sense that court-room disclosures must
always be made with prudence. What's more important is that we are
always completely honest with ourselves and the close friends who serve
as our sponsors. As for what is disclosed in a court situation, for example,
we follow sound professional advice. Under no circumstances, of course,
should we tell an outright lie, however.
Our practice of honesty also does not require us to tell every person we
know about our alcoholism. We are entitled to our privacy as well as anonymity.
Others, in turn, need not be burdened with complete knowledge about our lives.
Our Higher Power will guide us along honest paths once we're committed to the
program. We will know when and how to make the right disclosures about ourselves.
I'll practice rigorous honest today. At the same time, I will be prudent in the way
I disclose personal information.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
This above all: To thine own self be true.
---William Shakespeare
What does this saying mean: “To thine own self be true”? Hadn’t we thought
only of ourselves before recovery? The answer is no. That wasn’t the real us.
Each of us lost touch with our real self because of our addiction. We lost our
goals, our feelings, our values. We chased the high. In this way, we lost our
spirit. We became addicts.
With sobriety, we find ourselves again---and it feels great! We stop playing a
role and become ourselves---and it’s wonderful. We follow our dreams and
beliefs, not some addictive wild goose chase. We are again free to be ourselves.
Thank you. Higher Power.
Prayer for the Day: Today, I pray to be myself, to know all of me. I can trust
myself because my spirit is good.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll pray: “thine own self be true.”
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
I used to think I'd never know the difference between serenity and depression
because depression subdued me. --S.H.
Depression is familiar to us all, and less incapacitating than it used to be. We
have made progress, we can be assured. "This too shall pass" is not an empty slogan.
Each of us can recall, with ease probably, a period we thought we'd never survive.
Maybe our problem was family-related, or a tough on-the-job situation. Or maybe
we felt inadequate and lacking in strength to cope with all situations. But we managed.
Here we are today, taking charge of our lives and moving forward in search of serenity.
Serenity no doubt eludes us, again and again, throughout the day. But we can let our
minds rest. We can give our thoughts to the wind, and serenity will find us. Serenity's
peace nurtures us, strengthens us to withstand the turmoil ahead. There is always
turmoil ahead. Life's lessons are found there. The irony is that a life with no problems
doesn't offer the opportunities we must have if we are to grow.
I will let the serene moments wash over me. I will cherish them. They soften me.
And the blows of today's tumultuous storm will be lessened.
************************************************** *********
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
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
My Chance To Live
A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.
No one who drank as I did wakes up on the edge of the abyss one morning and says: Things look pretty scary; I think I'd better stop drinking before I fall in. I was convinced I could go as far as I wanted, and then climb back out when it wasn't fun anymore. What happened was, I found myself at the bottom of the canyon thinking I'd never see the sun again. A.A. didn't pull me out of that hole. It did give me the tools to construct a ladder, with Twelve Steps.
p. 316
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Five - "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs."
So intense, though, is our fear and reluctance to do this, that many A.A.'s at first try to bypass Step Five. We search for an easier way--which usually consists of the general and fairly painless admission that when drinking we were sometimes bad actors. Then, for good measure, we add dramatic descriptions of that part of our drinking behavior which our friends probably know about anyhow.
p. 55
************************************************** *********
Few is the number of those who think with their own mind and feel
with their own heart.
--Albert Einstein
"I think everybody has to experience a certain amount of pain on the
way to maturity."
--Ruth Casey
"The great mind knows the power of gentleness."
--Robert Browning
God is guiding me in all my thoughts and plans and actions. I have
given up all my struggling and self-defeating messages and have
turned over all my thoughts to the power and energy of goodness and
love.
--Ruth Fishel
Today, I will not run from myself, my circumstances, or feelings. I will
be open to myself, others, my Higher Power, and life. I will trust that
by facing today to the best of my ability, I will acquire the skills I need
to face tomorrow.
--Melody Beattie
We do not possess our home, our children, or even our own body. They
are only given to us for a short while to treat with care and respect.
--Jack Kornfield
"Two things are hard on the heart - running upstairs and running down
people."
--Unknown
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
THOUGHT
"To be able to be caught up in a
world of thought -- that is being
educated."
-- Edith Hamilton
For years I didn't think I reacted. Things happened and I felt I had to
respond -- but rarely was it a considered response. I had no
program for my life. I was like a boat without a sail.
Today I think before I speak. I talk things over with a sponsor or
friends before I make an important decision. I listen to the opinions
of others before I make a choice. Today I am caught up in a world
of thought and it isn't simply my own. God knows my best thinking
nearly killed me!
The world only makes sense because people share. It is the giving
and receiving that makes life worthwhile. To be an island unto
myself is isolation. I know what it was to be lonely. Today I desire a
relationship of mind, body and feelings.
Let me find You in my neighbor and be sustained by the stranger.
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"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends."
John 15:13
"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that
which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto
the hearers."
Ephesians 4:29
"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and
dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many
seeds."
John 12:24
If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full
measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and
running over. Whatever measure you use in giving "large or small" it
will be used to measure what is given back to you.
Luke 6:38
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Daily Inspiration
The little moments of the day are as important in building our foundation as the impact of great events.
Lord, thank You for my blessings and my crosses. Graciously bless me with the courage to grow closer
to You with all that fills my day.
Never doubt the power, the wisdom and the love that God has for you.
Lord, thank You for Your constant care and the certainty of Your love for me.
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NA Just For Today
Bend With The Wind
"We learn to become flexible.. As new things are revealed, we feel renewed."
Basic Text p.98
"Flexibility" was not a part of the vocabulary we used in our using days. We'd become obsessed with the raw pleasure of our drugs and hardened to all the softer, subtler, more infinitely varied pleasures of the world around us. Our disease had turned life itself into a constant threat of jails, institutions, and death, a threat against which we hardened ourselves all the more. In the end we became brittle. With the merest breath of life's wind we crumbled at last, broken, defeated, with no choice but to surrender.
But the beautiful irony of recovery is that, in our surrender, we found the flexibility we had lost in our addiction, the very lack of which had defeated us. We regained the ability to bend in life's breeze without breaking. When the wind blew, we felt its loving caress against our skin, where once we would have hardened ourselves as if against the onrush of a storm.
The winds of life blow new airs our way each moment, and with them new fragrances, new pleasures, varied, subtly different. As we bend with life's wind, we feel and hear and touch and smell and taste all it has to offer us. And as new winds blow, we feel renewed.
Just for today: Higher Power, help me bend with life's wind and glory in its passing. Free me from rigidity.
pg. 265
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Good friendships are fragile things and require as much care as any other fragile and precious things. --Randolph Bourne
A good friendship is like a flower garden. It needs attention and care. We start by preparing the soil and then planting our tiny seeds. Our friendships have foundations like the soil, and in them we plant seeds of trust and understanding.
Like a garden, friendships need care and love in order to thrive. We nourish friendships with visits, thoughtful favors, and trust. When we are feeling down or in need of help, a friendship can offer us more than just beauty.
When we work at our friendships, they are not seasonal but bloom in any weather, and they surround us with comfort and the knowledge that we have, and deserve, love.
How can I nurture a friendship today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
A man can stand a lot as long as he can stand himself. --Axel Munthe
Sometimes we're mistaken about the source of our unhappiness. We walk around with a short fuse, ready to explode if anyone crosses our path. Then, when we do explode, we think it is the other person's fault. At other times we have frightening physical reactions and worry that something is wrong with our bodies. But we are not aware that a deeper feeling of not being able to stand ourselves causes the problem.
Most of us have problems accepting ourselves. When we make peace with our consciences, some of our problems vanish. Other problems may never disappear, but our pain is eased because our inner battle has ceased and we have the energy we need to cope.
I am grateful for the gift of self-respect this program gives me.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
I used to think I'd never know the difference between serenity and depression because depression subdued me. --S.H.
Depression is familiar to us all, and less incapacitating than it used to be. We have made progress, we can be assured. "This too shall pass" is not an empty slogan.
Each of us can recall, with ease probably, a period we thought we'd never survive. Maybe our problem was family-related, or a tough on-the-job situation. Or maybe we felt inadequate and lacking in strength to cope with all situations. But we managed. Here we are today, taking charge of our lives and moving forward in search of serenity.
Serenity no doubt eludes us, again and again, throughout the day. But we can let our minds rest. We can give our thoughts to the wind, and serenity will find us. Serenity's peace nurtures us, strengthens us to withstand the turmoil ahead. There is always turmoil ahead. Life's lessons are found there. The irony is that a life with no problems doesn't offer the opportunities we must have if we are to grow.
I will let the serene moments wash over me. I will cherish them. They soften me. And the blows of today's tumultuous storm will be lessened.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Conflict and Detachment
In a relationship, there are those wonderful times when things go smoothly for both people, and neither person needs to focus too heavily on the concept of detachment. But there are those challenging times when one person is in crisis or changing - and we need to detach.
Then there are stressful cycles when both people in a relationship are in the midst of dealing with intense issues. Both are needy and neither has anything to give.
These are times when detachment and taking care of ourselves are difficult.
It is helpful, in these moments, to identify the problem. Both people are in the midst of dealing and healing. Neither has much to give, at least at the moment. And both are feeling particularly needy.
That is the problem.
What's the solution?
There may not be a perfect solution. Detachment is still the key, but that can be difficult when we need support ourselves. In fact, the other person may be asking for support rather than offering it.
We can still work toward detachment. We can still work through our feelings. We can accept this as a temporary cycle in the relationship, and stop looking to the other person for something he or she cannot give at the moment.
We can stop expecting ourselves to give at the moment as well.
Communication helps. Identifying the problem and talking about it without blame or shame is a start. Figuring out alternative support systems, or ways to get our needs met, helps.
We are still responsible for taking care of ourselves - even when we are in the best of relationships. We can reasonably expect conflicts of need and the clashing of issues to occur in the most loving, healthy relationships.
It is one of the cycles of love, friendship, and family.
If it is a healthy relationship, the crisis will not go on endlessly. We will regain our balance. The other person will too. We can stop making ourselves so crazy by looking for the other person to be balanced when he or she isn't.
Talk things out. Work things out. Keep our expectations of other people, our relationships, and ourselves healthy and reasonable.
A good relationship will be able to sustain and survive low points. Sometimes we need them, so we can both grow and learn separately.
Sometimes, people who are usually there for us cannot be there for us. We can find another way to take care of ourselves.
Today, I will remember that my best relationships have low points. If the low point is the norm, I may want to consider the desirability of the relationship. If the low point is a temporary cycle, I will practice understanding for myself and the other person. God, help me remember that the help and support I want and need does not come in the form of only one person. Help me be open to healthy options for taking care of myself, if any normal support system is not available.
I am letting go of all that is holding me back from spiritual progress today. My path is becoming easier as I open myself up to faith and trust. --Ruth Fishel
*****
Journey To The Heart
Heal Your Fear of Abandonment
Some say the fear of abandonment is a universal fear. It’s common to most people in most places. It is that anguishing, heartbreaking moment when we believe someone is going to leave us. For many of us, the fear began when some important person did leave or abandon us– physically or emotionally. Now the very thought of it happening again terrifies us.
Although the fear may be universal, if we have it, it still belongs to us. It needs to be faced, felt, acknowledged, and released– it needs to be healed– or else it may control our lives and harm our relationships.
Sometimes we may fear being abandoned so much that we don’t want anyone to leave us– even people we don’t like– because it triggers that old familiar feeling. If we don’t deal with it, however, people can use it against us. All they have to do is threaten to leave and we crumble, acquiesce at the mere thought of feeling that way again.
Underneath the fear of abandonment another fear may lurk too, a deeper fear, the fear that somehow we’ve made the people we love go away. Sometimes in our lives, certain people have had to go away, because that is where their path led them. But if they felt confused, guilty, or uncertain about the leaving, they may have lied to us. They may have told us we did something wrong, we caused the separation, it was our fault they were leaving. And their lie became embedded in us.
Did someone tell that lie to you? Tell yourself something different. Tell yourself the truth. You don’t make people go away. You weren’t the cause. If someone needed to leave you, that was his or her choice.
Heal your fear of abandonment. Set yourself and others free.
*****
more language of letting go
Listen to yourself
In the Bible, God tells us, "Be still and know that I am God." Learn to silence the chattering of your ego, whether through prayer, meditation, or a long walk in the park. Find that place where you can detach from the pressures of the world. Find that place where your body and spirit work together in harmony.
Being aware of your true self is the best way to free yourself from the controlling, manipulative behaviors of others. You don't need the right car, the right shoes, the right girlfriend to be complete. All you really need is to be yourself.
Your spirit is the real you. Let it guide you.
Be still. Listen to your spirit say, I am, and I am enough.
In the silence, you'll hear God.
God, help me be quiet so I can hear you.
*****
Underneath the Noise
Hearing the Whisper by Madisyn Taylor
There is beauty and power when we listen to the whisper.
You may have noticed that if you want to speak to someone in a noisy, crowded room, the best thing to do is lean close and whisper. Yelling in an attempt to be louder than the room’s noise generally only hurts your throat and adds to the chaos. Similarly, that still, small voice within each of us does not try to compete with the mental chatter on the surface of our minds, nor does it attempt to overpower the volume of the raucous world outside. If we want to hear it, no matter what is going on around us or even inside us, we can always tune in to that soft voice underneath the surrounding noise.
It is generally true that the more insistent voices in our heads delivering messages that make us feel panicky or afraid are of questionable authority. They may be voices we internalized from childhood or from the culture, and as such they possess only half-truths. Their urgency stems from their disconnectedness from the center of our being, and their urgency is what catches our attention. The other voice that whispers reassurances that everything is fundamentally okay simply delivers its message with quiet confidence. Once we hear it, we know it speaks the truth. Generally, once we have heard what it has to say, a powerful sense of calm settles over our entire being, and the other voices and sounds, once so dominant, fade into the background, suddenly seeming small and far away.
We may find that our own communications in the world begin to be influenced by the quiet certainty of this voice. We may be less inclined to indulge in idle chatter as we become more interested in maintaining our connection to the whisper of truth that broadcasts its message like the sound of the wind shaking the leaves of a tree. As we align ourselves more with this quiet confidence, we become an extension of the whisper, penetrating the noise of the world and creating more peace, trust, and confidence. Published with permission from Daily OM
*****
A Day at a Time
Reflection for the Day
The one thing, more than anything else, that can relieve my occasional feeling of depression is love. I have to keep myself “lovable” in the sense of being able to love others, rather than being concerned with whether others love me. In somehow losing myself in others, emotionally or spiritually, I usually find myself. Today I understand what they meant at those first blurry meetings of The Program when they told me that I was the most important person in the room.
Do I say the same thing to other new members today, and mean it?
Today I Pray
May I know that if I can love others, without expecting to be loved back, chances are that I will receive a share of love in return. It is only my expectation of approval which cancels out the value of my love.
Today I Will Remember
Love is not an investment, but a charitable contribution.
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Food For Thought
Praying Only…
In Step Eleven, we are “praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.” How that simplifies our prayer! We do not have to worry about asking for the right things in the right way. We simply pray that we may know God’s will and be given the power to do it.
This Step is closely related to Step Three, since we are leaving the decisions up to God. He knows better than we what is best for us to have and to do. We make ourselves available to His direction without attaching conditions and clauses about what we will and will not do.
This kind of prayer frees us from much worry and anxiety. We accept abstinence as God’s will for us, since without abstinence we are powerless to do much of anything. Beyond that, we are prepared to live each day as our Higher Power gives it to us, trusting that He will show us His will and supply us with the power that we need.
This is my prayer, Lord.
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One Day At A Time
The Present
“Real generosity towards the future
consists in giving all to what is present.”
Albert Camus
Fear ruled my life until two years ago. I was paralyzed with fear about the future and what would happen when “they” discovered how bad I really was and how little they could trust me. I was terrified that the past would catch up with me and I’d be found out. The guilt and shame of my last binge came along for the ride as I replayed the scene compulsively and beat myself up for screwing up yet again. This made it impossible for me to stay in the present.
In program I learned that I wasn’t really paralyzed by the past nor the future; rather, I was paralyzed by fear of losing control. The only way to release that fear was to admit, every hour of every day, that I was powerless over people, the past, the future and the food. When I wrote it down and put it in my God box, I could live in the present time. It was hard at first, and I'd grab it back when the fear crept in. But I'd let it go a little more each time, allowing me to be free of fear and enjoy moments of the day. The moments turned into hours and soon I was experiencing a full day without fear. The fear of the past and the future held less sway over me as I worked the Steps, surrendered my fears, and did service.
Service is the most important tool for me. The more service I do, the more I am fully alive in the present and I worry less about the past and the future. The peace and serenity that replaced the fear are blessed gifts allowing me to explore more of the present day. With them, I can honestly share myself with others and rebuild relationships. I now know the freedom of “giving all to what is present” and I pray for the willingness to stay in the present and be generous toward my future.
One day at a time...
I live fully in the present, easily and effortlessly surrendering the past and the future to my Higher Power.
~ Anne L.
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
He will presently try the old game again, for he isn't happy about his sobriety. He cannot picture life without alcohol. Some day he will be unable to imagine life either with alcohol or without it. Then he will know loneliness such as few do. He will be at the jumping-off place. He will wish for the end. - Pg. 152 - A Vision For You
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Many times we go to meetings to listen to what happens to people who don't go to meetings. When they ask for a topic at today's meeting, suggest 'What Happens to People Who Don't go to Meetings.'
One meeting a day can not possibly take as much time as my former bars, parties, connections, and the energy I put into using and drinking, so help me see that any complaints about the 'frequency' is unfounded.
Meditation
Today I draw strength and nourishment from within. I will meditate. There is a medicine chest inside of me if I tap into it. I have body chemicals that are meant to smooth me out, to nourish me and let me feel good inside. I can get those going through quiet and meditation. I can feel them coursing through my system, elevating my mood. In my own inner quiet, I will look for nothing. I will simply be. I will bear witness to the inner workings of my mind but I will not tell my mind to do or be anything. I will just let it flow and float in and out of consciousness. I will just be.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
We are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
I cannot feel my way into better behavior, I must behave my way into better feelings.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Give your smile to the next person you meet.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
I am letting go of all that is holding me back from spiritual progress today.
My path is becoming easier as I open myself up to faith and trust.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Step One is pretty straight forward; I can't drink - and I have trouble not drinking. - Clancy I.
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. I will be back looking for Lin and others.