Daily Recovery Readings - November

[bluidkiti]

November 1

Daily Reflections

I CANNOT CHANGE THE WIND

It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are
headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 85

My first sponsor told me there were two things to say about prayer and meditation: first,
I had to start and second, I had to continue. When I came to A.A. my spiritual life was
bankrupt; if I considered God at all, He was to be called upon only when my self-will was
incapable of a task or when overwhelming fears had eroded my ego.

Today I am grateful for a new life, one in which my prayers are those of thanksgiving.
My prayer time is more for listening than for talking. I know today that if I cannot
change the wind, I can adjust my sail. I know the difference between superstition and
spirituality. I know there is a graceful way of being right, and many ways to be wrong.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

I have hope. That magic thing that I had lost or misplaced. The future looks dark no
more. I do not even look at it, except when necessary to make plans. I try to let the future
take care of itself. The future will be made up of todays and todays, stretching out as
short as now and as long as eternity. Hope is justified by many right nows, by the
rightness of the present. Nothing can happen to me that God does not will for me. I can
hope for the best, as long as I have what I have and it is good. Have I hope?

Meditation For The Day

Faith is the messenger that bears your prayers to God. Prayer can be like incense, rising
ever higher and higher. The prayer of faith is the prayer of trust that feels the presence
of God which it rises to meet. It can be sure of some response from God. We can say a
prayer of thanks to God every day for His grace, which has kept us on the right way and
allowed us to start living the good life. So we should pray to God with faith and trust and
gratitude.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may feel sure of some response to my prayers. I pray that I may be content
with whatever form that response takes.

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As Bill Sees It

Loving Advisers, p. 303

Had I not been blessed with wise and loving advisers, I might have
cracked up long ago. A doctor once saved me from death by
alcoholism because he obliged me to face up to the deadlines of that
malady. Another doctor, a psychiatrist, later on helped me save my
sanity because he led me to ferret out some of my deep-lying defects.
>From a clergyman I acquired the truthful principles by which we
A.A.'s now try to live.

But these precious friends did far more than supply me with their
professional skills. I learned that I could go to them with any problem
whatever. Their wisdom and their integrity were mine for the asking.

Many of my dearest A.A. friends have stood with me in exactly this
same relation. Oftentimes they could help where others could not,
simply because they were A.A.'s.

Grapevine, August 1961

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Walk In Dry Places

Do we have the free will?
The question of a human being's free will has been argued for centuries by learned individuals. We can answer it for ourselves as a result of our experience in AA.
Our freedom was lost while we were in the grip of alcohol. Once free of drink, we still realized that many things in life are controlled by other people and things, such as political and economic forces.
If our employer closes the business, for example, we may have to choose less satisfactory employment. If a person threatens physical violence, we may have to go along with his or her wishes against our will.
In all circumstances, our free will lies in the way we choose to think about what's happening. We always have the choice of turning to our Higher Power in thought, rather than reacting with fear and resentment. This is the only free will we can possibly have in the world, but it may be all we really need.
If a difficult situation or problem arises, I'll remember that no human power could have relieved my alcoholism. This will remind me that the true source of power is always at hand.

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Keep It Simple

Sought through pray and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him. . . First half of Step Eleven
Through Step Eleven, we develop a lasting, loving relationship with our Higher Power. Conscious contact means knowing and sensing God in our lives throughout the day.
God is not just an idea. We talk with our Higher Power through prayer. As we meditate, we sense God’s love for us, and we get answers to our questions. When we pray and meditate, we become aware that God is always with us. Our Higher Power becomes our best friend. Our Higher Power is there for advice, support, celebration, comfort.
Prayer for the Day: Dear Higher Power, I pray that our relationship grows stronger every day. I accept the friendship You offer me.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll seek out God through prayer and meditation.

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Each Day a New Beginning

For to be a woman is to have interests and duties, raying out in all directions from the central mother-core, like spokes from the hub of a wheel. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh
It is sometimes easy to get overwhelmed by our duties, forgetting that our interests fit the scheme of our lives. They are inspired by our lives and flow from them. Our interests round us out; they beckon us to become our better selves.
Our duties have their places as well. In our careers, with our families and friends, we have responsibilities. People need to be able to count on us for our part in completing their particular scheme for life.
Finding the right balance between our duties and our interests takes daily attention. It is perhaps our greatest struggle. Feeling duty-bound is common among women; putting a low value on our interests is a familiar trick we play on ourselves.
We need reminding that our interests will cull out our better, inner selves. We must stretch to become all we are meant to be. Our interests entice us to live up to God's expectations.
Each day I need to pay heed to interests as well as duties. I will let no day go by without heeding an interest.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

The Doctor's Opinion

Many years ago one of the leading contributors to this book came under our care in this hospital and while here he acquired some ideas which he put into practical application at once.
Later, he requested the privilege of being allowed to tell his story to other patients here and with some misgiving, we consented. The cases we have followed through have been most interesting; in fact, many of them are amazing. The unselfishness of these men as we have come to know them, the entire absence of profit motive, and their community spirit, is indeed inspiring to one who has labored long and wearily in this alcoholic field. They believe in themselves, and still more in the Power which pulls chronic alcoholics back from the gates of death.
Of course an alcoholic ought to be freed from his physical craving for liquor, and this often requires a definite hospital procedure, before psychological measures can be of maximum benefit.

pp. xxvii-xxviii

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

Student Of Life

Living at home with her parents, she tried using willpower to beat the obsession to drink. But it wasn't until she met another alcoholic and went to an A.A. meeting that sobriety took hold.

About this time the TV movie My Name Is Bill W., about the co-founder of A.A., was aired. Intrigued, I sat down with my whiskey and soda bottles to watch it. When Bill whipped out a flask in the car to bolster himself before his visit with his father-in-law, I heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh, I'm not that bad," I thought to myself. I then proceeded to get drunk and black out. I don't remember any more of the movie.

p. 322

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Two - "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."

The moment they read Step Two, most A.A. newcomers are confronted with a dilemma, sometimes a serious one. How often have we heard them cry out, "Look what you people have done to us! You have convinced us that we are alcoholics and that our lives are unmanageable. Having reduced us to a state of absolute helplessness, you now declare that none but a Higher Power can remove our obsession. Some of us won't believe in God, others can't, and still others
who do believe that God exists have no faith whatever He will perform this miracle. Yes, you've got us over the barrel, all right--but where do we go from here?"

p. 25

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Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference.
They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.
--Barbara De Angelis

However long the night, the dawn will break.
--African Proverb

Let your anger set with the sun and not rise again.
--Irish Proverb

Gratitude is to thank God for all His infinite goodness with all our heart.
--Ottokar Prohaszka

Gods love, can heal all things.
--Shelley

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

RISKS

"Appeasers believe that if you
keep on throwing steaks to
tigers, the tiger will become a
vegetarian."
-- Heywood Broun

Spirituality involves taking risks. But the risk has to be sensible, having the possibility of
success. The risks I take today have a chance, usually a good chance, of succeeding and I
always discuss "the risk" with a sponsor or recovering friend with some years of
sobriety.

Today I take risks on things and situations that have the possibility of working for me,
rather than against me. God has given me freedom and He has taken a risk on how I
exercise that freedom. God's love is revealed in the risk. But risk should have the
possibility of success!

I pray that I will continue to take sensible risks.

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"I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in
darkness."
John 12:46

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind."
Matthew 22:37

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Daily Inspiration

The ordinary things we do each day are often taken for granted and make us feel unimportant. Lord, help me change my thinking so that I can happily see that the little things I do are very important and that I do make a very big difference.

When you are troubled, comfort someone more troubled, when lonely, reach out to one that is lonelier and when unsure, give encouragement to the weary. To care for another makes us forget our own sorrows. Lord, You comfort me. Help me now to be a comforter.

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NA Just For Today

Awakening

"God helps us as we help each other."

Basic Text p.51

Our addiction caused us to think almost exclusively of ourselves. Even our prayers - if we prayed at all - were self-centered. We asked God to fix things for us or get us out of trouble. Why? Because we didn't want to live with the problems we'd created for ourselves. We were insecure. We thought life was about getting, and we always wanted more.

And in recovery we get more - more than just not using. The spiritual awakening we experience in working the Twelve Steps reveals to us a life we never dreamed possible. We no longer need to worry about whether there will be "enough," for we come to rely on a loving Higher Power who meets all our daily needs. Relieved of our incessant insecurity, we no longer see the world as a place in which to compete with others for the fulfillment of our desires. Instead, we see the world as a place in which to live out the love our Higher Power has shown us. Our prayers are not for instant gratification; they are for help in helping each other.

Recovery awakens us from the nightmare of self-centeredness, strife, and insecurity that lies at the core of our disease. We wake up to a new reality. All that is worth having can be kept only by giving it away.

Just for today: My God helps me as I help others. Today, I will seek help in giving away the love my Higher Power has given me, knowing that is the way to keep it.

pg. 319

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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Oh, this is the creature that doesn't exist . . . . In fact, it never was. But since they loved it, a pure beast came to be.
--Rainer Maria Rilke
The unicorn, serene and white, is a strong and graceful animal with the body of a horse. A single white horn grows from its brow, making it unique among all animals. It is gentle, shy, and good, and though stories have been told about it for centuries, many people say it never existed. We call it a myth, yet in telling its story, we make it real.
Friendship is like the unicorn: created from faith. Before we speak, reach out, believe in the possibility of relations with another, friendship does not exist. But when we share a meal, a joke, or a walk--a piece of ourselves--we open up to two friends . . . one in the other person, the other within ourselves.
How does sharing myself with another create a friend within me?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. --Berthold Auerbach
We may have spiritual experiences in our daily lives that we don't think of as spiritual. For many of us, music lifts us from the practical and mundane circumstances of our lives into communion with the universe. One man may like to listen to country music on the radio, another one might play the piano, and another may go to rock concerts. For each of us, music is a different world from the reasonable, hard data, task-oriented world we usually live in. Music touches our feelings and speaks to us in a special language. It brings us back to special times in the past, perhaps recalls a night of fun and excitement or a person we shared a song with. Music lifts our spirits and opens us to deeper feelings we weren't in touch with. Many of us meet our Higher Power through the music we love.
Today, I will make room for the restorative powers of music in my life.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
For to be a woman is to have interests and duties, raying out in all directions from the central mother-core, like spokes from the hub of a wheel. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh
It is sometimes easy to get overwhelmed by our duties, forgetting that our interests fit the scheme of our lives. They are inspired by our lives and flow from them. Our interests round us out; they beckon us to become our better selves.
Our duties have their places as well. In our careers, with our families and friends, we have responsibilities. People need to be able to count on us for our part in completing their particular scheme for life.
Finding the right balance between our duties and our interests takes daily attention. It is perhaps our greatest struggle. Feeling duty-bound is common among women; putting a low value on our interests is a familiar trick we play on ourselves.
We need reminding that our interests will cull out our better, inner selves. We must stretch to become all we are meant to be. Our interests entice us to live up to God's expectations.
Each day I need to pay heed to interests as well as duties. I will let no day go by without heeding an interest.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Transformation through Grief
We're striving for acceptance in recovery - acceptance of our past, other people, our present circumstances, and ourselves. Acceptance brings peace, healing, and freedom - the freedom to take care of ourselves.
Acceptance is not a one step process. Before we achieve acceptance, we go toward it in stages of denial, anger, negotiating, and sadness. We call these stages the grief process. Grief can be frustrating. It can be confusing. We may vacillate between sadness and denial. Our behaviors may vacillate. Others may not understand us. We may neither understand our own behavior nor ourselves while we're grieving our losses. Then one day, things become clear. The fog lifts, and we see that we have been struggling to face and accept a particular reality.
Don't worry. If we are taking steps to take care of ourselves, we will move through this process at exactly the right pace. Be understanding with yourself and others for the very human way we go through transition.
Today, I will accept the way I go through change. I will accept the grief process, and its stages, as the way people accept loss and change.


It feels so good to know that I am truly full of goodness and love and that I can begin from this very moment to choose to express that part of myself. --Ruth Fishel

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Journey To The Heart
November 1
Open Up to Your Connection

Many religions teach about interconnectedness, the subtle effect each person and each movement in the universe has on all the others. I was profoundly reminded of this teaching at Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. In the remnants of the Anasazi culture can be found symbols for the connections the people believed in, taught, and lived. One dwelling was a structure in which over eight hundred rooms were built in a connected circle. Each room touched the next, and the structure contained all the areas the people needed to work, to live, to play, and to worship.

An exhibit in the visitor’s center describes the spiritual philosophy of the descendants of the Anasazi. The Pueblo people live at the center of their universe, all things are interconnected and form a part of the whole. Where the sky and the earth touch are the boundaries for all things to live. All things share in the essence of life through cycles of birth and death.” Although the walls of the circular structure have crumbled and the Anasazi themselves have disappeared, the Pueblo philosophy still symbolizes the way we’re connected to each other today.

Take time to remember how connected you are. You are connected not just to the people you’ve met and know, but to all who live, past and present, in this world. You are part of a dance, the magical dance of the universe taking place each moment in time.

Even if you live alone, you’re part of a large family. Even if you work alone, you’re really part of a team. Take time to honor your connections, and the impact of each person you’ve met. See how people have helped shape you; see how you’ve touched and shaped them. Each interaction creates a ripple affect; each encounter helps shape destiny.

You no longer have to be isolated or suffer from separateness. Take time to see and honor your connections and value your place in the whole.

*****

more language of letting go
Learn to say I can

"This is for you," my friend said on my birthday.

I opened the tiny box with that feeling most women get when they know they're about to receive jewelry. I was right. I lifted out the necklace and held it in my hand.

"Read the brochure that comes with it," my friend encouraged.

I picked up the tiny leaflet. The necklace was more than a piece of jewelry. It was an ancient symbol that represented self-confidence-- that intangible thing that can so easily enhance, or distract from, our ability to joyfully and peacefully live our lives.

It was exactly the reminder I needed.

The next day, I drove to the airport for my flying lesson. I wasn't exhilarated to be flying that day, but I wasn't dreading it, either. I was simply living each moment. It was time for me to get into the pilot's seat and fly the plane.

I taxied down the runway, then pushed in the throttle, wearing the self-confidence medallion around my neck. The plane lifted happily into the air, I gently took us up to five thousand five hundred feet. Following Rob's instructions, I turned left, steeply. Then I did a steep turn to the right. I did a power-on stall, something that had horrified me in the past, then a power-off stall. The airplane and my flying worked.

It was a breakthrough day in flying. Until then, I had been acting as if, going through the motions, making myself fly. Today, I genuinely enjoyed my time in the air.

The necklace didn't have any power. The power came from remembering to believe in myself.

It's easy to give up confidence in ourselves. We can give it to people from the past who encouraged us to not believe in ourselves. We can give it to mistakes we've made, building a solid case against ourselves based on some lessons we went through, past errors in judgement, and learning experiences. We can forfeit our confidence to a traumatic event-- like a divorce, a death, or a loss.

Don't panic.

Breath.

Stop saying, I can't.

Part of the language of letting go is learning to say,I can.

Give the gift of confidence to yourself.

God, I believe in you. Now help me learn to believe in myself,too.

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Anxiety about Change
Anticipating the Good by Madisyn Taylor

Change will occur in almost every aspect of our lives, we can learn to embrace it while releasing the past with grace.

When we find ourselves going through any kind of change in our lives, our natural response may be to tense up on the physical, mental, or emotional level. We may not even notice that we have braced ourselves against a shift until we recognize the anxiety, mood swings, or general worried feeling toward the unknown that usually results. There are positive ways to move through change without pushing it away, however, or attempting to deny that it is happening. Since change will occur in almost every aspect of our lives, we can learn to make our response to it an affirmative one of anticipation, welcoming the new while releasing the past with grace.

One thing we can do is change our perspective by changing the labels we use to identify our feelings. We can reinterpret feelings of anxiety as the anxious butterflies that come with eager expectation. With this shift, we begin to look for the good that is on its way to us. Though we may only be able to imagine the possibilities, when we acknowledge that good is there for us to find, we focus our energy on joyful anticipation and bring it into our experience while allowing the feelings to carry us forward.

We can also choose to do a ceremony to allow our emotions to process. Every culture has created ceremonies to help people make the transition from one phase of life to the next. We can always create a ceremony too, perhaps by burning written thoughts to watch the smoke carry them away, thereby releasing them, or we can welcome new endeavors by planting flowers or trees. Some ceremonial activities such as a farewell send-off or housewarming party, we may do automatically. Society also has built-in ceremonies, like graduation and weddings, which may satisfy the need we feel. Sometimes the shift from denial to acceptance is all that is needed to ease our anxiety, allowing us to bring our memories with us as we move through nervousness to joyful excitement about the good to come. Published with permission from Daily OM

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

Those whom I most respect in The Program — and, in turn, those from whom I’ve learned the most — seem convinced that pride is, as one person put it, the “root-sin.” In moral theology, pride is the first of the seven deadly sins. It is also considered the most serious, standing apart from the rest by virtue of its unique quality, Pride gets right into our spiritual victories. It insinuates itself into all our successes and accomplishments, even when we attribute them to God. Do I struggle against pride by working the Tenth Step regularly, facing myself freshly and making things right where they’ve gone wrong?

Today I Pray

May I be on guard constantly against the sneakiness of pride, which can creep into every achievement, every triumph, every reciprocated affection. May I know that whenever things are going well for me, my pride will be on the spot, ready to take credit. May I watch for it.

Today I Will Remember

Put pride in its place.

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One More Day

Old age, to the unlearned, is winter; to the learned, it is harvest time.
– Judah Leib Lazerov

Too many of us fear old age, for it is seen all too often as merely the bridge between retirement and senility or death. This, of course, is only a myth. Advancing years do not automatically mean poor health or dependency.

We should always be aware of the pride and integrity that come with old age. Some older people stand as role models to youth. Decades of work have honed skills which can and should continue to be used in various ways. There is always more to learn and more to do. We can use our time to pursue interests and to develop any skills that give us joy.

I will not be frightened of growing older, for I intend to do so with the pride and integrity developed with age and experience.

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Food For Thought

Food Is Not Love

With our heads, we know that food is not the same thing as love. When this fact sinks into our emotions, we are released from our obsession with food. In order to reach this point of emotional development, we need to abstain physically from compulsive overeating. As long as we are physically addicted to refined sugars and starches and binge foods, we do not have the perspective necessary to move away from our emotional attachment to these foods.

It is easy for babies and children to confuse food with love. As they mature, they learn to discriminate between the two. If we are compulsive overeaters, we need the OA program and a spiritual awakening to bring clarity to our confusion. We have much emotional and spiritual growing up to do.

If our early needs for love was not satisfied, no amount of food will compensate. It is by giving love that we are able to fill our inner emptiness, and it is through our Higher Power that we are healed and made able to love.

May we remember in our hearts that food is not love.

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One Day At A Time

ACCEPTANCE
“Acceptance is not submission; it is acknowledgement
of the facts of the situation. Then deciding what to do with it.”
Kathleen Casey Theisen

Before program I kept wishing that I had a perfect body, spouse, mother, child, or whatever. My dissatisfaction with the things in my life kept me from really accepting that things were exactly the way they were meant to be for that time. I always used the excuse, "If you had a spouse, ex-husband, mother, or whatever like I did, you’d also have to eat.” I never took responsibility for my compulsive eating and I lived in blame and guilt.

When I came into program and heard the Serenity Prayer at my first meeting, I didn’t fully understand its meaning. What I have finally come to understand is that I cannot begin to change the things within my control until I accept my powerlessness over food and over the people and circumstances in my life. I have now come to accept the fact that there are some things I cannot change, but I can change my attitude towards others. As I do so, I am learning to take responsibility for my part in the things that happen to me. What a difference that is from the past.

One day at a time ...
Only when I acknowledge and accept the reality of what is in my life, can I begin to change the things that are within my control.
~ Sharon S.

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

My friend promised when these things were done I would enter upon a new relationship with my Creator; that I would have the elements of a way of living which answered all my problems. Belief in the power of God, plus enough willingness, honesty, and humility to establish and maintain the new order of things, were the essential requirements.

Simple, but not easy; a price had to be paid. It meant destruction of self-centeredness. I must turn in all things to the Father of Light who presides over us all. - Pgs. 13-14 - Bill's Story

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

During crisis, we must not act as isolated persons with nothing gained from fellowship. We stick together. If one of us pulls away, we pull them back. WE recover as WE, not as an I.

As I walk this road of recovery, let me know I don't walk alone. In fact I march in an army of WE.

Ego Death

When I begin to experience real love, I go through an ego death. On my road to spiritual freedom, which is nothing more than learning to love, I go through what has long been called a dark night of the soul. This is a death of the ego, not in the Freudian sense, but in the way ego is defined in Eastern philosophy. I have a small 'I' and a large 'I.'
Part of my path toward expansion into my larger external self, which is of God and Love, is a death of my smaller self, which sees the world as here only to feed my needs. Really it is through the recognition of giving and receiving and of loving that we become full.
I allow and understand my ego death.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Sometimes it is heard around the tables that there's 'us alkies and addicts' and then there's the so-called 'normal people. So-called 'normal' people are simply people that you haven't gotten to know very well.

'Normal' is a cycle on my washing machine, not a cycle in my life.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

God's will: you've turned it over. Self-will: you've over turned it.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

It feels so good to know that I am truly full of goodness and love and that I can begin from this very moment to choose to express that part of myself.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

If you say the Lord's Prayer, be careful of saying the lines: 'Forgive my trespasses as I forgive those who trespass against me.' if there are people you haven't forgiven. Because you'll be asking God to do the same.'
- Un-remembered source ( paraphrased )

[bluidkiti]

November 2

Daily Reflections

KEEPING OPTIMISM AFLOAT

The other Steps can keep most of us sober and somehow functioning. But Step Eleven
can keep us growing. . . .
THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 240

A sober alcoholic finds it much easier to be optimistic about life. Optimism is the natural
result of my finding myself gradually able to make the best, rather than the worst, of each
situation. As my physical sobriety continues, I come out of the fog, gain a clearer
perspective and am better able to determine what courses of action to take. As vital as
physical sobriety is, I can achieve a greater potential for myself by developing an
ever-increasing willingness to avail myself of the guidance and direction of a Higher
Power. My ability to do so comes from my learning--and practicing--the principles of the
A.A. program. The melding of my physical and spiritual sobriety produces the substance
of a more positive life.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

I have faith. That thing that makes the world seem right. That thing that makes sense at
last. That awareness of the Divine Principle in the universe which holds it all together and
gives it unity and purpose and goodness and meaning. Life is no longer ashes in my
mouth or bitter to the taste. It is all one glorious whole, because God is holding it
together. Faith--that leap into the unknown, the venture into what lies beyond our ken,
that which brings untold rewards of peace and serenity. Have I faith?

Meditation For The Day

Keep yourself like an empty vessel for God to fill. Keep pouring out yourself to help
others so that God can keep filling you up with His spirit. The more you give, the more
you will have for yourself. God will see that you are kept filled as long as you are giving
to others. But if you selfishly try to keep all for yourself, you are soon blocked off from
God, your source of supply, and you will become stagnant. To be clear, a lake must have
an inflow and an outflow.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may keep pouring out what I receive. I pray that I may keep the stream
clear and flowing.

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As Bill Sees It

Single Purpose, p. 304

There are those who predict that A.A. may well become a new
spearhead for a spiritual awakening throughout the world. When our
friends say these things, they are both generous and sincere. But we
of A.A. must reflect that such a tribute and such a prophecy could well
prove to be a heady drink for most of us--that is, if we really came to
believe this to be the real purpose of A.A., and if we commenced to
behave accordingly.

Our Society, therefore, will prudently cleave to its single purpose:
The carrying of the message to the alcoholic who still suffers. Let us
resist the proud assumption that since God has enabled us to do well in
one area we are destined to be a channel of saving grace for
everybody.

A.A. Comes Of Age, p. 232

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Walk In Dry Places

God's will and My will.
False Gods"
It is always risky to announce with certainty what we believe God's will to be, even for ourselves. It is rarely helpful to use one's material success as an example of God's grace. "Isn't God a millionaire?" a spiritual leader who quoted as saying in defense of his luxurious lifestyle.
It is reasonable to believe that God will guide us to the right career and business opportunities that fit our needs. We can even believe that universal prosperity is part of God's plan, though we're far short of it now. We need not envy wealthy people, nor should we want to take what they have.
The real danger of equating prosperity with God's will is that the material quickly becomes dominant. We might also fall into the trap of gauging spiritual progress by our bank balance. This can lead to selfishness and arrogance, which immediately drive out spiritual power. We already had the bitter experience of making a false god out of alcohol. We must not make new false gods out of material success.
I'll accept any material success with gratitude, knowing that my real trust must be in God.

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Keep It Simple

. . .praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. --Second half of Step Eleven
Step Eleven teaches us how to pray. We pray for God's will to replace ours. Our will got us in trouble. God's will guides us to simple serenity. We pray for power to live a spiritual life. This is important, for it takes much strength and courage to live a spiritual life.
The sober path is not always easy. It takes self-discipline. We have to say no to our self-will. We follow God's will for us. The rewards are great. We get sobriety. We get serenity. We get friendship. We regain our family. We get a deep, loving relationship with a Higher Power who wants peace and joy for us and for the world.
Prayer for the Day: Dear Higher Power, I pray the words of Step Eleven. I pray to know Your will for me. And I pray that I have the power to carry out Your will.
Action for the Day: I will examine my life. I will look to see how my will gets in the way of God's will.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

Love and the hope of it are not things one can learn; they are a part of life's heritage. --Maria Montessori
Love is a gift we've been given by our Creator. The fact of our existence guarantees that we deserve it. As our recognition of this grows, so does our self-love and our ability to love others.
High self-esteem, stable self-worth were not our legacies before finding this program. We sought both through means which led nowhere. These Steps and our present relationships are providing the substance and direction needed in our lives to discover our worthiness.
Had we understood that we were loved, in all the years of our youth, perhaps we'd not have struggled so in the pain of alienation. We were always at the right hand of God, never apart, loved and watched over. But we didn't recognize the signs. The signs are everywhere present now. Each Step is a constant reminder. Every human contact is a message from God. Any desire we are eager to make manifest is a beckoning from God for growth.
I will look for the signs of my benefactor today. They're present everywhere.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

The Doctor's Opinion

We believe, and so suggested a few years ago, that the action of alcohol on these chronic alcoholics is a manifestation of an allergy; that the phenomenon of craving is limited to this class and never occurs in the average temperate drinker. These allergic types can never safely use alcohol in any form at all; and once having formed the habit and found they cannot break it, once having lost their self-confidence, their reliance upon things human, their problems pile up on them and become astonishingly difficult to solve.

p. xxviii

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

Student Of Life

Living at home with her parents, she tried using willpower to beat the obsession to drink. But it wasn't until she met another alcoholic and went to an A.A. meeting that sobriety took hold.

My parents were at a total loss. I was going nowhere and I was irritable and hostile. Since they had no experience with alcoholism, they had no idea what was wrong with me and or what to do about it, and neither did I. I knew I drank too much and that my life was miserable, but I never made the connection between those two conditions. My parents made the only suggestion that then made sense to them--they offered to help me financially if I wanted to go back to school. Seeing no other way out, I jumped at the opportunity.

p. 322

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Two - "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."

Let's look first at the case of the one who says he won't believe--the belligerent one. He is in a state of mind which can be described only as savage. His whole philosophy of life, in which he so gloried, is threatened. It's bad enough, he thinks, to admit alcohol has him down for keeps. But now, still smarting from that admission, he is faced with something really impossible. How he does cherish the thought that man, risen so majestically from a single cell in the primordial ooze, is the spearhead of evolution and therefore the only god that his universe knows! Must he renounce all this to save himself?

p. 25

************************************************** *********

Life has a practice of living you if you don't live it.
--Philip Larkin

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new
eyes."
--Marcel Proust

GOOD DEEDS
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
--John Wesley

It takes only a smile to make a bad day seem better. Think about this and smile at
someone today.
--unknown

Teach me, my God and King,
In all things thee to see,
And what I do in anything,
To do it as for thee.
--George Herbert

Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.
--unknown

If you pray for God to move a mountain, be prepared to wake up next to a shovel.
--unknown

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

SOLITUDE

"In solitude, be a multiple of
thyself."
-- Tibullus

When I am alone and still, I get in touch with that side of me that is "the many".
There are so many sides to me; the crazy and the sane; the extrovert and the
introvert; the demanding and the submissive; the bigot and the compassionate; the
religious and the skeptic; the happy and the sad; the comic and the tragedian; the
child and the adult; the sick and the recovering.

Today in the silence of solitude I experience the many sides of me that I must live
with this is my spiritual reality.

May I always use my multiple experiences to relate and understand others.

************************************************** *********

But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we
are the work of Your hand.
Isaiah 64:8

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
1 Thessalonians 5:11

"Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore."
1 Chronicle 16:11

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

Being overly critical of ourselves sabotages our ability to complete our tasks. Lord, bless me with the ability to see how capable I am.

God's blessings enable us to go far beyond our natural abilities. Lord, You have created me and then unceasingly bless me with the strength to soar high.

************************************************** *********

NA Just For Today

Living With Unresolved Problems

"It makes a difference to have friends who care if we hurt."

Basic Text p.54

For most of our problems, the solution is simple. We call our sponsor, pray, work the steps, or go to a meeting. But what about those situations where the burden is ongoing and there's no end in sight?

Most of us know what it's like to live with a painful situation - a problem that just isn't going to disappear. For some of us, the problem is an incurable, life-threatening illness. Some of us have incorrigible children. Some of us find that our earnings simply don't cover our living expenses. Some of us care for a chronically ill friend or family member.

Those of us who have ever had to live with an unresolved problem know the relief that comes from just talking about our problem with our recovering friends. We may get some comic relief. Our friends may commiserate or cry in sympathy. Whatever they do, they ease our burden. They may not be able to solve our problem for us or take away our painful feelings, but just knowing that we are loved and cared about makes our problems bearable. We never have to be alone with our pain again.

Just for today: Those problems I can't resolve can be made bearable by talking to a friend. Today, I will call someone who cares.

pg. 320

************************************************** *********

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
For no actual process happens twice; only we meet the same sort of occasion again. --Suzanne K. Langer
Today is not going to be like yesterday. Nor will it resemble tomorrow. Each day is special and promises us many new ideas--perhaps the chance to make a friend, or to learn something interesting from a teacher or a book. Some activities today will be familiar, just like playing a game for the second, third, or tenth time is familiar. And yet, the way each player moves the pieces around the board will be different. The excitement about today is that it is full of surprises. Every thing we do, every conversation we have, will not be repeated in just the same way again, and this reminds us how special each of us is.
What new discovery will I make today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Honesty is stronger medicine than sympathy, which may console but often conceals. --Gretel Ehrlich
We owe our brothers and sisters in this program our honest feedback. And we need the same honesty from them. There are times in meetings when it would be easiest to give someone sympathy and privately mutter to ourselves, "He isn't facing the bitter truth." That sympathy avoids a confrontation, but it doesn't give the healing medicine of honesty. In the same way, we may long, at times, for someone to give us warm strokes, and what they give instead is a bitter pill.
The most important thing we have to give one another is the truth of what we see and hear. We don't have to tell them what to do. We don't have to have all the right answers. But we do have the obligation to speak up about how things look to us. And we need to listen without defensiveness when others are honest with us.
Today, I will say what I see and hear. I will listen to other people's honesty with me.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Love and the hope of it are not things one can learn; they are a part of life's heritage. --Maria Montessori
Love is a gift we've been given by our Creator. The fact of our existence guarantees that we deserve it. As our recognition of this grows, so does our self-love and our ability to love others.
High self-esteem, stable self-worth were not our legacies before finding this program. We sought both through means which led nowhere. These Steps and our present relationships are providing the substance and direction needed in our lives to discover our worthiness.
Had we understood that we were loved, in all the years of our youth, perhaps we'd not have struggled so in the pain of alienation. We were always at the right hand of God, never apart, loved and watched over. But we didn't recognize the signs. The signs are everywhere present now. Each Step is a constant reminder. Every human contact is a message from God. Any desire we are eager to make manifest is a beckoning from God for growth.
I will look for the signs of my benefactor today. They're present everywhere.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
The Grief Process
To let ourselves wholly grieve our losses is how we surrender to the process of life and recovery. Some experts, like Patrick Carnes, call the Twelve Steps "a program for dealing with our losses, a program for dealing with our grief."
How do we grieve?
Awkwardly. Imperfectly. Usually with a great deal of resistance. Often with anger and attempts to negotiate. Ultimately, by surrendering to the pain.
The grief process, says Elisabeth Kubler Ross, is a five stage process: denial, anger, bargaining, sadness, and, finally, acceptance. That's how we grieve; that's how we accept; that's how we forgive; that's how we respond to the many changes life throws our way.
Although this five-step process looks tidy on paper, it is not tidy in life. We do not move through it in a compartmentalized manner. We usually flounder through, kicking and screaming, with much back and forth movement - until we reach that peaceful state called acceptance.
When we talk about "unfinished business" from our past, we are usually referring to losses about which we have not completed grieving. We're talking about being stuck somewhere in the grief process. Usually, for adult children and codependents, the place where we become stuck is denial.. Passing through denial is the first and most dangerous stage of grieving, but it is also the first step toward acceptance.
We can learn to understand the grief process and how it applies to recovery. Even good changes in recovery can bring loss and, consequently, grief. We can learn to help others and ourselves by understanding and becoming familiar with this process. We can learn to fully grieve our losses, feel our pain, accept, and forgive, so we can feel joy and love.
Today, God, help me open myself to the process of grieving my losses. Help me allow myself to flow through the grief process, accepting all the stages so I might achieve peace and acceptance in my life. Help me learn to be gentle with others and myself while we go through this very human process of healing.


I am filled with all the strength and energy I need today to follow my own truth. I am willing to take risks today and to find out for myself what works for me in my life. --Ruth Fishel

*************************************

Journey to the Heart
November 2
See How Much Easier Life can Be

The old way said do do, do. Push, push, push. Only when the work was done could we allow ourselves time to rest. But when the work was finished, we often forgot to reward ourselves. The old way won’t work anymore. We have learned too much, come too far. Our body won’t let us. Our heart will object.

Let the work be more fun. Don’t push yourself so hard. Let your actions be effortless– an easy result of learning to focus and learning to trust your inner timing. Learn to let your actions spring naturally and easily from there.

Let your inner voice and life guide you into breaks while you’re working, while you’re focusing on the task. Stop fearing it won’t get done. Stop worrying if you’re doing it well enough. Take breaks when you need to and really let go.

Take time at the end of the task,too. Take time to reward yourself, to feel pleasure in your accomplishment, to play at the end of the day.

See how balance occurs naturally when we trust our heart. See how much easier life can be when we live it from the heart.

*****

more language of letting go
Yes, you can

Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
--Step Two

Oh.no. I couldn't possibly do that.
Well, maybe I could try.
I guess I can do it, but not very well.
I'm doing it, but I'm very, very frightened.
Oh,my. I'm doing it better.
Oops! I made a mistake. Guess I can't do it, after all.
Oh well. I'll try again.
See! I'm not doing any better this time.
Okay, I'll try one more time. Maybe twice.
Hey look! I'm pretty good!
I guess I can do it, after all.
Wow! This is really fun.

There's a learning curve for anything we want to learn to do. We don't just know how to do something, and do it well.

One good reason to have a Higher Power is that He or She believes in us, even when we don't believe in ourselves. We don't just need to come to believe in God. We need to come to believe in ourselves.

Let your I can't turn into an I can. Take all the time you need. Learn to enjoy the process of coming to believe you can. Be patient. Accept where you are in your learning curve today.

God, please grant me a humble confidence that allows me to enjoy the gift of life, myself, and all the things you've given me to do.

*****

Bear Medicine
Living in All Realms by Madisyn Taylor

We can incorporate bear energy into our lives by remembering to take time to go inward to rest and rejuvenate in daily mini hibernations.

When the image of a bear enters our consciousness, we may first notice their size, strength, and power, but beyond their physical attributes lay many traits that can guide us deeper into our experience of life. Their abilities as hunters and powerful protectors of their loved ones are well known, but you may also envision them on a quest for variety as they seek out the flavors and scents of the world, first fishing, then enjoying berries, or braving angry bees to indulge in honey. But their hidden strength lies in the bear’s ability to travel between the physical and spiritual worlds, a talent that is recognized all around the world by those who live in harmony with nature.

One way that bears access their inner world is during hibernation when they find a safe and womblike environment to let their physical bodies rest while their spirit travels. They travel through time, mentally digesting and learning from their experiences, but they also travel beyond the realm of mind and body into the dreamtime, where they are able to be rejuvenated by the source of all life. In this sacred space, they are connected to physical, mental, and spiritual realms all at once and can find the balance that they need to reenter the world.

Polar bears don’t enter a deep state of hibernation like other bears, but instead fluidly cross between realms on the physical plane as well the spiritual. Their reflective, translucent fur makes them difficult to see as they move across the frozen ice, blending into terrain covered with snow, making them seem like they are shimmering between dimensions. They move as easily in water as on land, agile and able in both worlds. They can remind us that we are one with our environment, inseparable from it. They teach us that while we can take time apart to connect with spirit, we can also carry that awareness with us as we move through life, making the spiritual indistinguishable from the material. By aligning ourselves with bear energy, we fully embody the best of all worlds. Published with permission from Daily OM

*************************************

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

For more self-searching we do, the more we realize how often we react negatively because our “pride has been hurt.” Pride is at the root of most of my personal problems. When my pride is “hurt,” for example, I almost invariably experience resentment and anger — sometimes to the point where I’m unable to talk or think rationally. When I’m in that sort of emotional swamp, I must remind myself that my pride — and nothing but my pride — has been injured. I have to pause and try to cool off until such time as I can evaluate the problem realistically. When my pride is injured or threatened, will I pray for humility so that I can rise above myself?

Today I Pray

May I know that if my pride is hurt, the rest of me may not be injured at all. May I know that my pride can take a battering and still come back stronger than ever for more. May I know that every time my pride takes a blow, it is liable to get more defensive, nastier, more unreasonable, more feisty. May I learn to keep my upstart pride in another place, where it will not be so easily hurt — or so willing to take credit.

Today I Will Remember

Humility is the only authority over pride.

*************************************

One More Day

Grace is the absence of everything that indicates pain or difficulty, hesitation or incongruity.
– William Hazlitt

Grace is the power to look within ourselves and become stronger. When we’re truly gracious, we try to put ourselves in another’s place so we can imagine how that person might feel. This becomes an especially important issue when we are physically impaired, for those around us will take their cue from our behavior.

Trying to cope with the internal forces of health changes can be very lonely. When we need to use assistance devices such as canes, walkers, or wheelchairs, other people may at first not know quite how to react. We can help ease their discomfort and guide their reactions by our positive actions.

I will be gracious to others by being aware of their level of comfort when we are together.

************************************

Food For Thought

Fear of Giving

It is often the fear of rejection, which makes us afraid to give of ourselves. The person who is reluctant to share at a meeting may be holding back because of this fear. To share is to reveal who we are and where we are. If we feel inadequate, we do not want to expose this imagined inadequacy to other people.

If our self-image is too grand and inflated, we cannot possibly live up to it in reality. Expecting ourselves to be perfect sets us up for frustration and fear, since we know deep down that we do not measure up to our image of perfection.

With humility comes the willingness to give of what we have and what we are right now, without waiting until we are more eloquent or more accomplished. What we have to share is what someone else needs to receive. By focusing more on the needs of others and less on the imaginary concept of ourselves, which is our ego, we learn to overcome our fear of giving. What we have to give now is enough for today.

May I not be afraid to give.

*****************************************

One Day At A Time

~ TODAY ~
Finish each day and be done with it.
You have done what you could;
some blunders and absurdities have crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely
and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

For a long time I went through therapy, dealing with the past. But working the Steps has helped me to focus on today. What happened is over. It is my choice how I allow it to affect my life now. When I cannot seem to let the past go, I have to remind myself that I need only to let God have the past. Yesterday is beyond my ability to change. Today is my charge.

Today I write before I eat compulsively. Today I give service to others in recovery. Today I choose to not eat compulsively and to seek all the support I can find to hold to that choice. I put aside yesterday, reflecting on the lessons learned. Like a hiker looking ahead to mark the next point on the trail, I look to the future that is stretching out before me. But it is today that I act. Today I do not worry about what I have not done, but rest in the knowledge that I have done what is before me to be done. Day after day will add up to recovery, to serenity, to living.

One Day at a Time . . .
is all the time I have within my control so I choose to live in the now.
~ Tassy~

*****************************************

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Faith without works was dead, he said. And how appallingly true for the alcoholic! For if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead. - Pg. 14-15 - Bill's Story

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

It is important to learn the focal points of our continuing recovery. They are: meetings, steps, a sponsor, and fellowship.

May the focal points of recovery burn into my consciousness now.

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

They say that when you are angry or resentful at someone, your best course of action is to pray for them. That's difficult when you'd rather bop the bastard. Say it like you mean it, until you mean to say it.

Whenever I want to get even, I get even worse.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

If you don't hear what you need to hear, say what you need to hear.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I am filled with all the strength and energy I need today to follow my own truth. I am willing to take risks today and to find out for myself what works for me in my life.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Most of my problems today are in areas that I didn't even have areas when I was drinking. - Earl H.

[bluidkiti]

November 3

Daily Reflections

FOCUSING AND LISTENING

There is a direct linkage among self-examination, meditation, and prayer. Taken
separately, these practices can bring much relief and benefit.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 98

If I do my self-examination first, then surely, I'll have enough humility to pray and
meditate - because I'll see and feel my need for them. Some wish to begin and end with
prayer, leaving the self-examination and meditation to take place in between, whereas
others start with meditation, listening for advice from God about their still hidden or
unacknowledged defects. Still others engage in written and verbal work on their defects,
ending with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. These three--self-examination,
meditation and prayer-- form a circle, without a beginning or an end. No matter where, or
how, I start, I eventually arrive at my destination: a better life.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

I have charity, another word for love. That right kind of love which is not selfish passion
but an unselfish, outgoing desire to help other people. To do what is best for the other
person, to put what is best for him or her above my own desires. To put God first, the
other person second, and myself last. Charity is gentle, kind, understanding,
long-suffering, and full of desire to serve. A.A. has given me this. What I do for
myself is lost; what I do for others may be written somewhere in eternity. Have I
charity?

Meditation For The Day

"Ask what you will and it shall be done unto you." God has unlimited power. There is no
limit to what His power can do in human hearts. But we must will to have God's power and
we must ask God for it. God's power is blocked off from us by our indifference to it. We
can go along our own selfish way without calling on God's help and we get no power. But
when we trust in God, we can will to have the power we need. When we sincerely ask God
for it, we get it abundantly.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may will to have God's power. I pray that I may keep praying for the
strength I need.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

From The Taproot, p. 305

The principle that we shall find no enduring strength until we first
admit complete defeat is the main taproot from which our whole
Society has sprung and flowered.

<< << << >> >> >>

Every newcomer is told, and soon realizes for himself, that his humble
admission of powerlessness over alcohol is his first step toward
liberation from its paralyzing grip.

So it is that we first see humility as a necessity. But this is the barest
beginning. To get completely away from our aversion to the idea of
being humble, to gain a vision of humility as the avenue to true
freedom of the human spirit, to be willing to work for humility as
something to be desired for itself, takes most of us a long, long time.
A whole lifetime geared to self-centeredness cannot be set in reverse
all at once.

12 & 12
1. pp. 21-22
2. pp. 72-73

************************************************** *********

Walk In Dry Places

Living with impossible dreams
Hope and false hope.
No matter how badly we managed our lives while drinking, many of us survived by holding on to the hope that some great stroke of luck would rescue us. Either we would find a windfall to pay off our debts, or a kind benefactor would appear to set things right.
These are impossible dreams, but they helped sustain us in the miserable half-world of alcoholism. We could not see that drinking was the real problem.
But we did have our great stroke of luck in finding AA. This helped us face our debts. At the same time, we found benefactors i the form of sponsors and other friends. We also found a Higher Power.
Even in sobriety, we have to guard against the impossible dreams we nourished while drinking. Again and again, we must remind ourselves that sober living is based on reality. Even reality, however, can have its miracles.
I'll keep my dreams alive today, but I'll make sure that they have a good foundation in reality.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

Words are the voice of the heart.---Confucius
What does my heart have to say today? Am I happy ? Or I’m I troubled? We will find this out if we slow down and listen to our words. We can also hear our spirit in the tone of our words.
We are to meditate. Meditation is about slowing down so we can hear what our spirit is trying to tell us. Meditation is listening. Our spirit is but a quiet whisper inside us. To hear we must quiet ourselves.
Slowing down allows us to find our center. As we find our center we find our spirit and our Higher Power. Do I take the time needed to slow myself down? Do I take the time ot listen---to listen to my heart?
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, teach me to slow down. Teach me to hear Your whisper as well as Your yells.
Action for the Day: Today, I will take a half hour to slow down and listen. I will find a place to relax and listen to my heart and my words.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

It is the calm after the storm. I feel a rainbow where there once were clouds, and while my Spirit dances in gratitude, my mind speculates on the next disaster. Duality. --Mary Casey
Our growth as women is contingent on our ability to flow with the dualities, the contradictions inherent in one's lifetime, not only to flow with them but to capitalize on them.
We are not offered a painless existence, but we are offered opportunities for gathering perspective from the painful moments. And our perspectives are cushioned by the principles of the program. The rough edges of life, the storms that whip our very being, are gifts in disguise. We see life anew, when the storm has subsided.
We can enjoy the calm, if that surrounds us today. We deserve the resting periods. They give us a chance to contemplate and make fully our own that which the recent storm brought so forcefully to our attention. We are powerless over the storm's onslaught. But we can gain from it and be assured that the storm gives all the meaning there is in the calm.
I will be glad today for the clouds or the rainbows. Both are meant for my good. And without both, neither has meaning.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

The Doctor's Opinion

Frothy emotional appeal seldom suffices. The message which can interest and hold these alcoholic people must have depth and weight. In nearly all cases, their ideals must be grounded in a power greater than themselves, if they are to re-create their lives.

p. xxviii

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

Student Of Life

Living at home with her parents, she tried using willpower to beat the obsession to drink. But it wasn't until she met another alcoholic and went to an A.A. meeting that sobriety took hold.

I spent two years in graduate school 750 miles from home. I can honestly say I know why they call it geographical cure. For about nine months, I was able to cut my drinking down sharply. I still drank almost every day, but not to the point of my usual stupors, and I didn't black out very often. I was able to concentrate on my schoolwork that first year and make lots of friends. However, geographical cures are only temporary; mine lasted a little less than a year. After about ten months or so, I slowly started to slide back to the same quantities of whiskey I drank at home, and the blackouts returned. My grades started to drop, and my friends started to wonder. I even begun watching reruns again--I had brought my homemade videotapes with me to school.

pp. 322-323

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Two - "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."

At this juncture, his A.A. sponsor usually laughs. This, the newcomer thinks, is just about the last straw. This is the beginning of the end. And so it is: the beginning of the end of his old life, and the beginning of his emergence into a new one. His sponsor probably says, "Take it easy. The hoop you have to jump through is a lot wider than you think. At least I've found it so. So did a friend of mine who was a one-time vice-president of the American Atheist Society, but he got through with room to spare."

p. 26

************************************************** *********

Lay hold of today's task, and you will not depend so much on tomorrow's.
--Seneca

The secret of life is not to do what you like, but to like what you do.
--American Proverb

A saddened heart is not made happier with a change of place.
--Capt. Michael Hobson

"Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons."
--Ruth Ann Schabaker

Gods compass will lead me and give me direction.
--Shelley

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

CHOICES

"Another good reducing
exercise consists in placing both
hands against the table edge
and pushing back."
-- Robert Quillen

I am an alcoholic and today I choose not to drink. When alcohol is offered, I say
"no". I do not go into "wet places", spend time with drinkers or put myself in
awkward situations. I assist my abstinence by the choices I make.

The recovering gambler avoids Las Vegas. The drug addict avoids sick relationships.
The compulsive overeater must exercise the spiritual power of choice around food.
"No" must involve both hands! For the recovering addict, talk must be accompanied by
action. Some people, places and things must be avoided.

Spirituality is making my talk a visible reality.

************************************************** *********

"Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth,
and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation."
Psalm 25:4-5

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."
I Peter 5:7

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

Be able to do more today by expanding your vision of what you can accomplish. Lord, help me realize that my limits are beyond what I think and fill me with motivation to reach higher.

When you have faith in yourself and God, you will know that you are loved and safe and never alone. Lord, I am these things because You are always with me.

************************************************** *********

NA Just For Today

No Matter What

"We eventually have to stand on our own feet and face life on its own terms, so why not from the start."

Basic Text p.85

Some of us feel that we should protect newcomers by telling them that, while everything used to be horrible, now we're in recovery it's all wonderful. We feel that we might scare someone away if we speak of pain or difficulties, broken marriages, being robbed, and the like. In a sincere and well-intentioned desire to carry the message, we tend to talk glowingly only about what's going well in our lives.

But most newcomers already suspect the truth, even if they've only been clean for a few days. Chances are that the "life on life's terms" the average newcomer is experiencing is quite a bit more stressful than what the average old-timer deals with each day. If we do manage to convince a newcomer that everything becomes rosy in recovery, we had better make sure we are there to support that newcomer when something goes wrong in his or her life.

Perhaps we simply need to share realistically about how we use the resources of Narcotics Anonymous to accept "life on life's terms," whatever those terms may be on any given day. Recovery, and life itself, contain equal parts of pain and joy. It is important to share both so the newcomer can know that we stay clean no matter what.

Just for today: I will be honest with the newcomers I share with and let them know that, no matter what life brings, we never have to use drugs again.

pg. 321

************************************************** *********

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Here's Sulky Sue
What shall we do?
Turn her face to the wall . . . .
--Mother Goose
When she put her Sulky Sue up against the wall, was this mother a wise or silly goose? If Sue was confused, could she talk sense with a wall? If she was angry, would the wall ever know why? If she was sad, would the wall wipe her tears away? If she was lonely, would the wall take her by the hand? Some walls are built for support, others to keep people away. To sulk is to look for support, someone strong to hold us up, not a silly goose who will turn us away.
Sulking is not the best way to look for help, and when we sulk, we are likely to end up isolating ourselves in some corner of our own making. And on the other hand, when we see another sulking, how much better it is to offer support instead of isolation!
Do I build walls of isolation, or walls of support?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
I, God, am your playmate! I will lead the child in you in wonderful ways for I have chosen you. --Mechtild of Magdeburg
Our relationship with our Higher Power is not all solemnness. Facing the pains and guilts and griefs of our codependent relationships and our addictions might lead us to think recovery is only serious business. Not so!
This program liberates us from the heaviness by facing it. We are not meant to stay stuck there. Recovery teaches us to enjoy life. Our Creator has concocted a world of many pleasures and delights to play in. As we progress in our recovery we learn to let our hair down and play. Some of us have become more able to enjoy good-natured roughhousing with our children. Maybe we have become more free to joke and banter with friends. Our spiritual lives grow with good-natured fun.
I am grateful for the child who still lives in me. He keeps alive my delight in the world.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
It is the calm after the storm. I feel a rainbow where there once were clouds, and while my Spirit dances in gratitude, my mind speculates on the next disaster. Duality. --Mary Casey
Our growth as women is contingent on our ability to flow with the dualities, the contradictions inherent in one's lifetime, not only to flow with them but to capitalize on them.
We are not offered a painless existence, but we are offered opportunities for gathering perspective from the painful moments. And our perspectives are cushioned by the principles of the program. The rough edges of life, the storms that whip our very being, are gifts in disguise. We see life anew, when the storm has subsided.
We can enjoy the calm, if that surrounds us today. We deserve the resting periods. They give us a chance to contemplate and make fully our own that which the recent storm brought so forcefully to our attention. We are powerless over the storm's onslaught. But we can gain from it and be assured that the storm gives all the meaning there is in the calm.
I will be glad today for the clouds or the rainbows. Both are meant for my good. And without both, neither has meaning.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Denial
Denial is fertile breeding ground for the behaviors we call codependent: controlling, focusing on others, and neglecting ourselves. Illness and compulsive or addictive behaviors can emerge during denial.
Denial can be confusing because it resembles sleeping. We're not really aware we're doing it until we're done doing it. Forcing ourselves - or anyone else - to face the truth usually doesn't help. We won't face the facts until we are ready. Neither, it seems, will anyone else. We may admit to the truth for a moment, but we won't let ourselves know what we know until we feel safe, secure, and prepared enough to deal and cope with it.
Talking to friends who know, love, support, encourage, and affirm us helps.
Being gentle, loving, and affirming with ourselves helps. Asking ourselves, and our Higher Power, to guide us into and through change helps.
The first step toward acceptance is denial. The first step toward moving through denial is accepting that we may be in denial, and then gently allowing ourselves to move through.
God, help me feel safe and secure enough today to accept what I need to accept.


In the silence of my meditation, I receive guidance and direction. I am filled with all the power I need to take my next step. --Ruth Fishel

*************************************

Journey to the Heart
November 3
You Haven’t Lost Your Place

Sometimes when life shifts and changes, it can feel like we’ve lost our place.

During those times when our lives are changing, we may feel out of tune, out of rhythm, out of balance. Out of step. Maybe an old feeling is surfacing, clearing, so that we can learn something new and move forward to a new place. Maybe our attention is being diverted to a new focus so we can find and experience another lesson. Sometimes the form or shape of our life is changing dramatically. The old picture is being erased so a new one can be drawn. Familiar people are leaving; new people are entering. We may ache, feel irritable, and doubt the course of our entire journey. We may doubt whether the magical way we were living was even real and whether the magic will ever return.

Let the changes happen. Take extra loving care of yourself. Be attentive to what you need. The magic isn’t gone; it hasn’t disappeared. You’re just going through a shift. That means things are moving, and movement is good.

For now it may feel like you can’t find your place, but that’s because your place is changing.

*****

more language of letting go
You're learning something new

"What are we supposed to be looking for?" Stanley asked him.
"You're not looking for anything. You're digging to build character."...
[Stanley] glanced helplessly at his shovel. It wasn't dedective. He was defective.
--Louis Sachar, Holes

Sometimes when faced with a difficult obstacle in life-- a new job, new school, new anything-- it's easy to feel overwhelmed and to start believing the worst about ourselves. Maybe we really don't have what it takes after all, we think. Myabe we should just stay where we are-- whether we like that place or not.

One of the wonderful things about being human is our ability to adapt to new situations. Another is our ability to change and grow.

What new situation is facing you? Whether it's beginning a recovery process, starting a new job, going for your master's degree, learning to be divorced, or learning to be a happy spouse, you're up to whatever life is asking you to do.

It is important to start at the beginning of things, and often that means feeling ill prepared for the task ahead. That's good. If you were completely comfortable with everything going on around you, then chances are you wouldn't be growing and learning anything new.

Be aware of how you talk to yourslf, whether you're telling yourself I can or I can't. Then let the words be filled with cheerful confidence. Recognize any feelings that prevent you from believing in yourself. Then let those feelings go. Let go of fear and feeling overwhelmed.

You can learn the new task. You can harmonize with your new boss. You can learn to take care of yourself. You can. You can. And you will. You can and will grow into this role.

You're not defective. Neither is your shovel. Grab it, and dig in.

God, give me the strength and the confidence to grow, learn, and see the wonder of this world.

*****

Making Time for Reflection
Going on Retreat

Putting our trust in the retreat process will make space and dedication for the necessary work we have to do.

Giving ourselves time to reflect and heal can be a powerful way to process the things that are happening in our lives, and one of the best approaches to do this is by going on a retreat. Going on a retreat means that we have set the intention to heal and learn more about our spirit, and doing this is a decision that we make for ourselves.

Since everyone sees and experiences the world differently, it is important to choose a type of retreat that works best for us. Even though a friend or loved one may recommend something, we have to trust our intuition and select a path that really connects with what our soul needs most at the time. The most essential thing is to be willing to respect our unique stage of development and to be patient with ourselves since any thoughts or issues that arise are simply part of the process of healing. Just remembering that a retreat is an intense period of time where serious soul searching takes place can help us allow whatever may happen to us to fully unfold. Going on retreat may sound like a vacation, but most retreat experiences ask you to look deep inside of yourself, and sometimes this can be uncomfortable or stir the pot of our soul.

Putting our trust in the retreat process will make space for the necessary work we have to do, making it easier for our hearts and minds to explore wholly the innermost reaches of our soul. By paying attention to these messages, we pave the way for greater healing and transformation, since spending time in contemplation at a retreat will give us the gift of insight and understanding that we can use in all aspects of our daily lives. Published with permission from Daily OM

*************************************

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

The Program’s Twelve Steps comprise a body of living spiritual wisdom. To the degree that we continue to study The Steps and apply them to our daily lives, our knowledge and understanding expands without limitation. As we say in The Program, “It gets better…and better…and better.” The Eleventh Step speaks of prayer and meditation, urging us to apply our minds quietly to the contemplation of spiritual truth. By its nature, the Eleventh Step illuminates for us the purpose and value of the other Steps. As we seek through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, the remaining Steps become ever more useful in our new way of life. Do I take the time each day to pray and meditation?

Today I Pray

May I seek — as the Eleventh Step says — to know God better through prayer and meditation, talking to and listening for God. As my life becomes more full of the realities of earth — may I always keep aside a time for communion with God. May this communion define my life and give it purpose.

Today I Will Remember

Take time out for God.

*************************************

One More Day

It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give when unasked through understanding. -Kahlil Gibran

Some of us wonder how we will live the rest of our lives with the problems we are currently carrying. The days loom long, with no specific goals in sight; so it is up to us to formulate new plans and goals for ourselves.

These plans — social, spiritual, academic, or volunteer — are good for us if they revolve around other people, many of whom have even greater problems than ours. Sharing our hope, faith, and varied experiences with others who also suffer is a caring gesture and an opportunity to see ourselves and our problems more clearly within the total human picture.

Today, I will choose some way to help myself and others. Sharing my experiences and skills keeps me in touch with my humanness.

************************************

Food For Thought

Learning Moderation

If we had known how to practice moderation, we would not have become compulsive overeaters. Following the abstinence guidelines enables us to eat moderately. Working the Twelve Steps teaches us moderation in other activities.

Knowing when to quit involves knowing ourselves. We tend to get carried away with our determination to finish a job today, to explain our life history to a new friend in one afternoon, to complete a major project in record time. The tendency to devour life rapidly in huge chunks can be as damaging as compulsive overeating.

It is the serenity we acquire from contact with our Higher Power that saves us from wearing ourselves out compulsively. An awareness of the quiet Power and order, which sustains all life calms our over, stimulated personalities. Dependence on God as we understand Him gives us the support and confidence we need to be content with moderate efforts and accomplishments.

Teach me to practice moderation.

*****************************************

One Day At A Time

~ INNER STRENGTH ~
Troubles are often the tools
by which God fashions us for better things.

H. W. Beecher

I often wondered why so much seemed to happen to me. Why was it that no sooner had I picked myself up from some trauma or tragedy than another one came along. Most people had never had car accidents, but I'd had two, one almost life-threatening. I'd been through an unpleasant divorce; I lost a brother and a stepson, both dying unnatural deaths at an early age, and could not understand why these kinds of things were always happening to me. I used to be so angry with God. "Why me?" I'd ask. It just seemed so unfair. Everybody else appeared to have lives that were so much better and free of all this trauma. For a long time I retreated into depression and food to cope with what seemed to be a miserable life.

But God must have had other plans for me. I truly believe I must have been guided to my first meeting so that I would not only find a way to live free of my compulsive eating, but would also be able to learn some lessons from my seemingly tough life. I have been very blessed in that, because of all my experiences, and the fact that I was literally brought to my knees and had to seek God out, I have learned the meaning of true spirituality. I have also learned some valuable lessons from all these experiences that have made me a much stronger person. I have so much more to offer than I would have had my life been the nice easy one I always wanted. Because of what I have learned as a result of my many struggles and difficult times, I am now able to pass on that wisdom to others on this journey of recovery.

One Day at a Time . . .
I will try to remember that when God sends me difficulties, I must view them as lessons He wants me to learn so I can become a better and more useful person.
~ Sharon S. ~

*****************************************

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

In some circumstances we have gone out deliberately to get drunk, feeling ourselves justified by nervousness, anger, worry, depression, jealousy, or the like. But even in this type of beginning we are obliged to admit that our justification for a spree was insanely insufficient in the light of what always happened. We now see that when we began to drink deliberately, instead of casually, there was little serious or effective thought during the period of premeditation of what the consequences might be. - Pg. 37 - More About Alcoholism

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

There are no maps to recovery, only steps to freedom from active addiction. Take out your book right now and read the first three steps. These are the tools you need for recovery.

I can't. God can. I think I'll let God do it!

Anger and Blame

Today, I accept my feelings of anger and blame without beating myself up for them. Feelings aren't facts; they are meant to inform me of what is going on inside me. When I constantly judge myself for what I feel, I make my difficult emotions much more complicated, and they last ten times as long. There is nothing inherently wrong with any feelings - so what if I am angry and feel like getting mad? Accepting this allows the feeling to pass through me. Fighting it keeps me tangled up inside with no way out. Judging myself doesn't help anyone, least of all me. Frightening feelings are just frightening feelings. I do not have to overreact to them.

My own feelings need not toss me in every direction.
- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

People may off handedly say 'Have a nice day,' and you don't see anything 'nice' about today. Maybe they should say, 'Have a nice day, unless you have other plans.'

I don't 'have' a nice day, I 'make' a nice day!

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Appreciate simplicity.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

In the silence of my meditation, I receive guidance and direction. I am filled with all the power I need to take my next step.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I was furious. I looked up at the ceiling and screamed; 'I don't believe in you and I think you're a jerk!' then I realized, if I didn't believe in God, who in the hell was I yelling at? Then, being a good ex-Catholic, I waited for three weeks to see if I was going to be punished for calling Him a jerk. - Ken D.

[bluidkiti]

November 4

Daily Reflections

A DAILY DISCIPLINE

, . . when they [self-examination, meditation and prayer] are logically related and
interwoven, the result is an unshakable foundation for life.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 98

The last three Steps of the program invoke God's loving discipline upon my willful nature.
If I devote just a few moments every night to a review of the highlights of my day, along
with an acknowledgment of those aspects that didn't please me so much, I gain a personal
history of myself, one that is essential to my growth, or lack of it, and to ask in prayerful
meditation to be relieved of those continuing shortcomings that cause me pain. Meditation
and prayer also teach me the art of focusing and listening. I find that the turmoil of the day
gets tuned out as I pray for His will and guidance. The practice of asking Him to help
me in my strivings for perfection puts a new slant on the tedium of any day, because I know
there is honor in any job done well. The daily discipline of prayer and meditation will keep
me in fit spiritual condition, able to face whatever the day brings - without the thought of a
drink.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

I can do things that I never did before. Liquor took away my initiative and my ambition. I
couldn't get up the steam to start anything. I let things slide. When I was drunk, I was too
inert to even comb my hair. Now I can sit down and do something. I can write letters that
need to be written, I can make telephone calls that should be made. I can work in my
garden. I can pursue my hobbies. I have the urge to create something, that creative urge
that was completely stifled by alcohol. Have I recovered my initiative?

Meditation For The Day

"In Thy presence is fullness of joy. At Thy right hand are pleasures forever." We cannot
find true happiness by looking for it. Seeking pleasure does not bring happiness in the long
run, only disillusionment. Do not seek to have this fullness of joy by seeking pleasure. It
cannot be done that way. Happiness is a by-product of living the right kind of life. True
happiness comes as a result of living in all respects the way you believe God wants you to
live, with regard to your self and to other people.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not always seek pleasure as a goal. I pray that I may be content with the
happiness that comes when I do the right thing.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

Is Happiness The Goal?, p. 306

"I don't think happiness or unhappiness is the point. How do we meet
the problems we face? How do we best learn from them and transmit
what we have learned to others, if they would receive the knowledge?

"On my view, we of this world are pupils in a great school of life. It is
intended that we try to grow, and that we try to help our fellow travelers
to grow in the kind of love that makes no demands. In short, we try to
move toward the image and likeness of God as we understand Him.

"When pain comes, we are expected to learn from it willingly, and help
others to learn. When happiness comes, we accept it as a gift, and
thank God for it."

Letter, 1950

************************************************** *********

Walk In Dry Places

The Gift of Sensitivity
Facing reality
Some of us complain about being too sensitive, or others may tell us so. This sets us up for all kinds of hurts, both real and imaginary.
In drinking, we actually dulled any sensitivity, though we thought we were expressing more feelings. This dulling of our sensitive nature blinded us to the damage we were doing.
In sobriety, we are learning that sensitivity is a gift that we can channel wisely. It can make us more aware of the feelings and needs of others. It can help us become a part of the group.
Like all gifts, sensitivity has its downside. It can make us vulnerable to problems that do not belong to us, and it can lead us into the trap of worrying about things we can do nothing about. But sensitivity is generally good, and in sobriety we can become better people because of it.
I 'll take great satisfaction today in the full use of my senses, including that part of me that perceives and expresses deep feelings.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

Each day comes bearing its gifts. Untie the ribbons.
---Ruth Ann Schabacker
How full life can be! We can untie the ribbons on this gift by keeping our spirits open.
Open to life. Open to how much our Higher Power love us.
Who knows what the gifts the day may bring? Maybe it brings a solution to a problem.
Maybe it brings the smile of a child. Maybe we’ll find a new friend. Whatever gifts the day brings, we must be able to receive them. How do we do this? We keep our spirit open and lively through prayer and meditation. Then we’ll be awake to see the beauty and the wonders life holds for us.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, remind me to pray to You often. Remind me to stop and listen to You. Remind me that You love me very much.
Action for the Day: At the end of the day, I’ll take time to list the gifts I’ve been given today. This will be first on my list: I am sober.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

Beginnings are apt to be shadowy. --Rachel Carson
When we embark on a new career, open an unfamiliar door, begin a loving relationship, we can seldom see nor can we even anticipate where the experience may take us. At best we can see only what this day brings. We can trust with certainty that we will be safely led through the "shadows."
To make gains in this life we must venture forth to new places, contact new people, chance new experiences. Even though we may be fearful of the new, we must go forward. It's comforting to remember that we never take any step alone. It is our destiny to experience many new beginnings. And a dimension of the growth process is to develop trust that each of these experiences will in time comfort us and offer us the knowledge our inner self awaits. Without the new beginnings we are unable to fulfill the purpose for which we've been created.
No new beginning is more than we can handle. Every new beginning is needed by our developing selves, and we are ready for whatever comes.
I will look to my new beginnings gladly. They are special to the growth I am now ready for.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

The Doctor's Opinion

If any feel that as psychiatrists directing a hospital for alcoholics we appear somewhat sentimental, let them stand with us a while on the firing line, see the tragedies, the despairing wives, the little children; let the solving of these problems become a part of their daily work, and even of their sleeping moments, and the most cynical will not wonder that we have accepted and encouraged this movement. We feel, after many years of experience, that we have found nothing which has contributed more to the rehabilitation of these men than the altruistic movement now growing up among them.

p. xxviii

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

Student Of Life

Living at home with her parents, she tried using willpower to beat the obsession to drink. But it wasn't until she met another alcoholic and went to an A.A. meeting that sobriety took hold.

Fortunately, I managed to graduate, but I had gone nowhere. After graduation, I returned to my parents' house, as I had been unsuccessful in securing a job. I was back. I was back in my old bedroom, back to the same routine of drinking every evening until I passed out, and it was getting worse. I was starting earlier and earlier and consuming more and more liquor. I had no job, no friends; I saw no one but my parents.

p. 323

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Two - "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."

"Well," says the newcomer, "I know you're telling me the truth. It's no doubt a fact that A.A. is full of people who once believed as I do. But just how, in these circumstances, does a fellow `take it easy'? That's what I want to know."
"That," agrees the sponsor, "is a very good question indeed. I think I can tell you exactly how to relax. You won't have to work at it very hard, either. Listen, if you will, to these three statements. First, Alcoholics Anonymous does not demand that you believe anything. All of its Twelve Steps are but suggestions. Second, to get sober and to stay sober, you don't have to swallow all of Step Two right now. Looking back, I find that I took it piecemeal myself. Third, all you really need is
a truly open mind. Just resign from the debating society and quit bothering yourself with such deep questions as whether it was the hen or the egg that came first. Again I say, all you need is the open mind."

p. 26

************************************************** *********

You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips.
--Oliver Goldsmith

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
--Mother Teresa

May I love myself, as God loves me. May I love others, as God loves them.
--Shelley

As you walk through life, you are building your own reference material. This material is
called a memory. Make the most of yours by making them mean something.
--unknown

Silence is the great revelation.
--Lao Tzu

"We need to build downtime into our lives, so that we can have solitude without feeling
overcome with guilt."
--Melody Beattie

This is a great day to be sober, patient, tolerant, kindly and loving.
--unknown

C A R E = Comforting And Reassuring Each other.

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

TEACHING

"I hear and I forget. I see and I
remember. I do and I
understand."
-- Chinese Proverb

I suppose the best way to learn a thing is to do it, practice it, demonstrate it, make it real in
our lives. Spirituality needs to be experienced, not talked about. You cannot learn
spirituality, get spirituality from a famous guru, read and acquire spirituality from a
book--spirituality needs to be discovered in our lives. It needs to be found in body,
sexuality, sweat, anger, morning exercise and kneeling in prayer and gratitude at the end
of the day.

God, may You be real in my life.

************************************************** *********

Proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9

LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The
boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will
praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the
LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore
my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will
not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made
known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal
pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 16

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

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

Be creative in what you have to do today to bring enjoyment to this moment and make your work will feel less like work. Lord, help me become inspirational in my ordinary responsibilities so that I am able to make my place more interesting and exciting.

Those that least deserve your love are the ones that need it the most. Lord, may I have the humbleness of spirit to reach out even when my feelings may be hurt.

************************************************** *********

NA Just For Today

Exchanging Love

"...we give love because it was given so freely to us. New frontiers are open to us as we learn how to love. Love can be the flow of life energy from one person to another"

Basic Text pp. 100-101

Love given, and love received, is the essence of life itself. It is the universal common denominator, connecting us to those around us. Addiction deprived us of that connection, locking us within ourselves.

The love we find in the NA program reopens the world to us. It unlocks the cage of addiction which once imprisoned us. By receiving love from other NA members, we find out - perhaps for the first time - what love is and what it can do. We hear fellow members talk about the sharing of love, and we sense the substance it lends to their lives.

We begin to suspect that, if giving and receiving love means so much to others, maybe it can give meaning to our lives, too. We sense that we are on the verge of a great discovery, yet we also sense that we won't fully understand the meaning of love unless we give ours away. We try it, and discover the missing connection between ourselves and the world.

Today, we realize that what they said was true: "We keep what we have only by giving it away."

Just for today: Life is a new frontier for me, and the vehicle I will use to explore it is love. I will give freely the love I have received.

pg. 322

************************************************** *********

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise. --Sigmund Freud
The truth is our friend. It is a rough and humble kind of friend--but a friend nonetheless. Each of us will need to learn to spend time with this friend because it is one that is not easy to escape. It is always turning up when we least expect it. The truth about ourselves is hard to avoid. It seems to knock at our door until we let it in.
Perhaps we have played the game of hide and seek sometime in our lives. Sometimes we tell little lies about ourselves to impress others, or we act in ways that, deep down, we know are not really the way we want to be. We can never be comfortable this way. We know what it is like to hide and try to keep from being found. The truth about us is an expert player. It seeks us out until we put our arms around it and welcome it.
Is there something I am hiding from today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Much as I long to be out of here, I don't believe a single day has been wasted. What will come out of my time here it is too early to say. But something is bound to come out of it. --Dietrich Bonhoeffer
These words, written by a man imprisoned for standing up against the Nazis, speak to us today about our own lives. We too long for release, and we cannot see where things will lead us. His spirituality is heroic; it inspires us. We do not know just where our lives will lead or what the outcome will be. But we can know our lives are taking us in the right direction. We make our choices today and stand up with all our energy for the honesty and dignity, which this program provides.
We choose to trust life. In each tiny detail of this day we move forward, asserting our faith and seeking to know and do the will of a Power greater than ourselves.
I will open myself to the will of my Higher Power as I move forward on the path, living with my unrevealed future.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Beginnings are apt to be shadowy. --Rachel Carson
When we embark on a new career, open an unfamiliar door, begin a loving relationship, we can seldom see nor can we even anticipate where the experience may take us. At best we can see only what this day brings. We can trust with certainty that we will be safely led through the "shadows."
To make gains in this life we must venture forth to new places, contact new people, chance new experiences. Even though we may be fearful of the new, we must go forward. It's comforting to remember that we never take any step alone. It is our destiny to experience many new beginnings. And a dimension of the growth process is to develop trust that each of these experiences will in time comfort us and offer us the knowledge our inner self awaits. Without the new beginnings we are unable to fulfill the purpose for which we've been created.
No new beginning is more than we can handle. Every new beginning is needed by our developing selves, and we are ready for whatever comes.
I will look to my new beginnings gladly. They are special to the growth I am now ready for.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Anger
Feeling angry - and, sometimes, the act of blaming - is a natural and necessary part of accepting loss and change - of grieving. We can allow ourselves and others to become angry as we move from denial toward acceptance.
As we come to terms with loss and change, we may blame our higher Power, others, or ourselves. The person may be connected to the loss, or he or she may be an innocent bystander. We may hear ourselves say: "If only he would have done that... If I wouldn't have done that... Why didn't God do it differently?"... We know that blame doesn't help. In recovery, the watchwords are self-responsibility and personal accountability, not blame. Ultimately, surrender and self-responsibility are the only concepts that can move us forward, but to get there we may need to allow ourselves to feel angry and to occasionally indulge in some blaming.
It is helpful, in dealing with others, to remember that they, too, may need to go through their angry stage to achieve acceptance. To not allow others, or ourselves, to go through anger and blame may slow down the grief process.
Trust the grief process and ourselves. We won't stay angry forever. But we may need to get mad for a while as we search over what could have been, to finally accept what is.
God, help me learn to accept my own and others' anger as a normal part of achieving acceptance and peace. Within that framework, help me strive for personal accountability.


I speak from my own truth today. I come from a place of love or I say nothing at all. --Ruth Fishel

*************************************

Journey to the Heart
November 4
Move On To Joy

Are you willing to be here in constant, abject pain one minute longer? I’m not. Are you willing to be here suffering endlessly and needlessly through distressing situations– worrying, fussing, fretting about things you can do nothing about? I’m not. And we don’t have to be.

We’re here to feel joy and absorb all of life’s beauty we can. If pain comes, let it pass quickly through. Then move on to joy.

It’s a conscious choice.

*****

more language of letting go
Let yourself be uncomfortable

"It seems as though everything you do for fun terrifies you," my friend Andy said to me one day. "What's that about?"

I thought about his question. It was true. Flying scared me. Jumping out of that airplane for the first time was a terrifying prospect. I wasn't comfortable at all. I started hyperventilating and thought I was having a heart attack, at first.

The first day I decided to be sober and clean and not use alcohol and drugs anymore, I was faced with changing my entire life. The prospect of starting this new life scared me to death.

The day my divorce from the children's father was finalized, I was exhilarated for one moment, then I was terrified. I had an anxiety attack and called 911.

I was paralyzed with fear the first day I sat at my cubicle at the newspaper office staring at the blank screen while the deadline for the front-page story I'd been assigned was only two hours away.

"It's not that I'm an adrenaline junkie," I said to my friend. "At least the issue isn't entirely that. It's that everything new and worthwhile I've ever done on my path has required me to be uncomfortable and sometimes downright scared for a while. I've had to walk through a wall of fear."

I enjoyed creating a comfortable place to live with downfilled sofas and beds that make me feel like I'm sleeping in the clouds. Learning to relax and learning to identify what makes us comfortable is an important part of learning to take good care of ourselves.

But sometimes we need to leave that nice, comfy, cozy place.

"I can't do this. I'm not comfortable," I'd say time and time again to my flight instructor Rob as he insisted that I take the controls of the plane.

"Yes, you can," he'd say, not feeding into my fear. "Just breathe. And relax."

Sometimes fear is a good thing. It warns us of real dangers and imminent threats. It tells us "don't do that" or "stay away."

Sometimes afraid and uncomfortable is just how we're feeling because we're learning something new. Relax. Breathe deeply. Do it-- whatever it is-- anyway. You're supposed to feel that way.

Is your fear based on an intuitive feeling of self-protection or something new and unknown? If your fear isn't based on a legitimate intuitive threat, then get comfortable feeling uncomfortable.

Walk through your wall of fear.

Do the thing that scares you. Grow. Then check your fear and do it again.

God, teach me to overcome my fears. Help me mature by becoming comfortable with this discomfort of growth.

*****

Plunging Into The Deep
Life Can Be Scary

Life can take us on a roller coaster ride full of highs and lows and twists and turns. Even for those of us who enjoy unexpected thrills, it’s frightening to suddenly find ourselves heading for a deep plunge. Yet, it happens to all of us. At these moments, it is important to remember that you are not alone in your experiences. No matter how brave, strong, or levelheaded we are, sometimes, we all get scared.

Our fears may revolve around our physical safety, particularly if we are not feeling well, living under difficult circumstances, or doing work that exposes us to hazardous conditions. Or, we may be experiencing financial woes that are causing us to be fearful about making ends meet. We may also fear the loss of a loved one who is sick, or we may be scared of never finding someone special to spend our life with. We may be scared to start at a new school, begin a different job, move to a new town, or meet new people. Whatever our fears are, they are valid, and we do not need to feel ashamed or embarrassed that we are, at times, afraid.

It may be comforting to know that everyone gets scared, and it is perfectly OK. Sometimes just acknowledging our fears is enough to make us feel better. And while it sometimes takes a lot more to ease our mind, we can console ourselves with the knowledge that life can be scary at times. Giving ourselves permission to be scared lets us move through our fears so we can let it go. It also makes it alright to share our fears with others. Sharing our apprehensions with other people can make our fears less overwhelming because we are not letting them grow inside of us as pent up emotions. Sharing our fears also can lighten our burden because we are not carrying our worries all by ourselves. Remember that you are not alone. Published with permission from Daily OM

*************************************

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

Were taught in The Program that debate has no place in meditation. In a quiet place and time of our own choosing, we simply dwell on spiritual matters to the best of our capability, seeking only to experience and learning. We strive for a state of being which, hopefully, deepens our conscious contact with God. We pray not for things, but essentially for knowledge and power. If you knew what God wanted you to do, you would be happy. you are doing what God wants you to do, so be happy.

Today I Pray

May I find my own best way to God, my own best technique of meditation – whether I use the oriental mantra, substitute the name of Jesus Christ, or just allow the spirit of God, as I understand Him, to settle into me and give me peace. By whatever means I discover my God, may I learn to know Him well and feel His presence — not only at these quiet times, but in everything I do.

Today I Will Remember

Meditation is opening myself to the spirit of God.

*************************************

One More Day

You cannot create experience. You must undergo it.
– Albert Camus

Who among us hasn’t wanted to play with or read to a pleading child? Who hasn’t thought of volunteering some time so others — and we — could have happier and richer lives? We may have put off or refused these opportunities because we felt overwhelmed by the limitations of a chronic illness. Perhaps we felt like victims who had lost an essential power to control our lives.

Our days are increasingly better when we understand that all experience, good and bad, isn’t orchestrated by us — and it never was. Yet this doesn’t mean we are helpless. We now see choices and chances to let our actions be positive life-affirming statements. We see opportunities for sharing, for joining in, and for reaching out. And we take them.

I will concentrate on making good choices, not just easy choices.

************************************

Food For Thought

How Much Is Enough?

We continue to weigh and measure our food when we are maintaining as well as when we are losing. Since we are compulsive overeaters, we do not have a built in concept of how much food is enough. Exact measurements relieve us of the anxiety of deciding how much is enough. Since we are experts at rationalizing extra amounts, we do not allow ourselves to estimate portions when scales and measuring cups are available.

For the compulsive overeater, no amount of food is enough. We make a rational decision about our food plan for the day, basing the decision on the objective nutritional requirements of our body rather than subjective emotional cravings. We give this food plan to a qualified sponsor, which prevents us from getting lost in endless preoccupation and anxiety about what we are going to eat.

When we conscientiously follow the abstinence guidelines, we can rest secure in the knowledge that we have eaten the right amount of food.

May I be satisfied with enough.

*****************************************

One Day At A Time

~ SERVICE ~
When people are serving, life is no longer meaningless.

John Gardner

I used to always think that I was kind and helpful, and that I was always there for other people. Well, of course I was. I was a people-pleaser, and the payoff was to be liked. That never happened, or at least I didn't think so, and I became more resentful and full of self-pity. The truth was that I was so self-absorbed and self-seeking that I didn't know how to really be there for other people, not even my own children. I'm sure that for a long period, even though I was always doing things for them, I was emotionally absent and unavailable when they really needed me. The focus was on me and how fat I looked, or how nobody fulfilled my needs, instead of looking outside of myself to what I could REALLY do for others.

This recovery program has taught me, first and foremost, how to love myself so that I am able to love others, especially my children. I was spiritually and emotionally empty before, but now I am being constantly filled and nurtured spiritually. Now I am able to give back what has freely been given to me. I am learning for the first time the pleasure of giving of myself, of my time and my experience, strength and hope, that others may walk this beautiful road to recovery as I have. In giving what I have, I am strengthening my program and my own recovery. What a joy that has been!

One Day at a Time . . .
I remember that when I do service and give away what I have, I will experience the promises of the program on a daily basis.
~ Sharon S. ~

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

There will be other profound changes in the household. Liquor incapacitated father for so many years that mother became head of the house. By force of circumstances, she was often obliged to treat father as a sick or wayward child. Even when he wanted to assert himself he could not, for his drinking placed him constantly in the wrong. Mother made all the plans and gave the directions. When sober, father usually obeyed. Thus mother, though no fault of her own, became accustomed to wearing the family trousers. Father, coming suddenly to life again, often begins to assert himself. This means trouble, unless the family watches for these tendencies in each other and comes to a friendly agreement about them. - Pgs. 130-131 - The Family Afterward

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Meditation is a sacred activity that will strengthen not only your recovery but rejuvenate you physically and mentally as well. Prayers and meditation have even been proven to strengthen the immune system. You send a message of life to your immune system when you envision yourself healthy and whole.

I picture myself as a healthy and whole person in recovery practicing the principles I learn.

The Witness

Today, I will become aware of that part of me that is separate and observes all that I say, do, think and feel. I have a witness within me that can become a very useful part of my life. Watching my behavior with a little bit of objectivity will help me to see myself as I really am. I will look with a compassionate eye. Just as I know it is not right to hurt others intentionally, it is equally not right to hurt myself. I recognize the godlike nature within me and others - we are all a part of the same Higher Power. By allowing my mind to watch itself with no thought of controlling or participating, I can learn a great deal about the way I work.

I am an uncritical observer of my own inner workings.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

White lies, little lies, and unimportant lies are still all lies. Even small dishonesties will make your life uncomfortable. Is it worth it?

If I always tell the truth, I never have to remember what I have said.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Good things get better when they are shared.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I speak from my own truth today. I come from a place of love or I say nothing at all.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

It seems a sponsor's job is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. - Bob E.

[bluidkiti]

November 5

Daily Reflections

"THE QUALITY OF FAITH"

This. . . has to do with the quality of faith. . . . In no deep or meaningful sense had we ever
taken stock of ourselves. . . . We had not even prayed rightly. We had always said,
"Grant me my wishes" instead of "Thy will be done."
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.32

God does not grant me material possessions, take away my suffering, or spare me
from disasters, but He does give me a good life, the ability to cope, and peace of
mind. My prayers are simple: first, they express my gratitude for the good things in
my life, regardless of how hard I have to search for them; and second, I ask only for
the strength and the wisdom to do His will. He answers with solutions to my
problems, sustaining my ability to live through daily frustrations with a serenity I did
not believe existed, and with the strength to practice the principles of A.A. in all of
my everyday affairs.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

During our thoughts about the rewards that have come to us as a result of our new
way of living, we find that we have new kinds of homes, new relationships with our
spouses and with our children. Also, peace, contentment, hope, faith, charity, and
new ambition. What are some of the things we have lost? Each one of us can
answer this question in many ways. I have lost much of my fear. It used to control
me; it was my master. It paralyzed my efforts. Fear always got me down. It made me
an introvert, an ingrown person. When fear was replaced by faith, I got well. Have I
lost some of my fears?

Meditation For The Day

The world would sooner be brought close to God. His will would sooner be done on
earth, if all who acknowledge Him gave themselves unreservedly to being used by Him.
God can use every human being as a channel for divine love and power. What delays the
bringing of the world closer to God is the backwardness of His followers. If each one
lived each day for God and allowed God to work through him, then the world would soon
be drawn much closer to God, its Founder and Preserver.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be used as a channel to express the Divine Love. I pray that I may
so live as to bring God's spirit closer to the world.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

Circle and Triangle, p. 307

Above us, at the International Convention at St. Louis in 1955, floated
a banner on which was inscribed the then new symbol for A.A., a circle
enclosing a triangle. The circle stands for the whole world of A.A.,
and the triangle stands for A.A.'s Three Legacies: Recovery, Unity,
and Service.

It is perhaps no accident that priests and seers of antiquity regarded
this symbol as a means of warding off spirits of evil.

<< << << >> >> >>

When, in 1955, we oldtimers turned over our Three Legacies to the
whole movement, nostalgia for the old days blended with gratitude for
the great day in which I was now living. No more would it be
necessary for me to act for, decide for, or protect A.A.

For a moment, I dreaded the coming change. But this mood quickly
passed. The conscience of A.A. as moved by the guidance of God
could be depended upon to insure A.A.'s future. Clearly my job
henceforth was to let go and let God.

A.A. Comes of Age
1. p. 39
2. pp. 46.48

************************************************** *********

Walk In Dry Places

No apologies for sobriety
Attitude
Now that we are sober, some of us are invited to social events where there is drinking. Now and then, we see raised eyebrows when others learn that we're having only soft drinks.
Some of us may respond by explaining that we're alcoholics and cannot take even one drink. A few recovering alcoholics handle the situation by pretending that they're holding an alcoholic drink---- perhaps enlisting the bartender's aid in making the drink appear to contain liquor.
While it may be useful to tell others about our alcoholism, we are under no obligation to do so, particularly in a drinking environment. At the same time, there's something wrong with pretending that one is still taking alcoholic drinks.
Our best course is to remember that we never have to apologize for not drinking. In a world that makes so much fuss about the right to drink, we surely have a right not to drink, and we do not have to explain why we are not drinking.
If I find myself in a drinking environment today, I'll handle it with dignity and cheerfulness, but I will not feel I must defend my sobriety to others.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

Acceptance and faith are capable of producing 100%
sobriety. --Grapevine.
Acceptance and faith are the most important parts of our recovery. If we boil down Steps One
And Two, we'll find acceptance and faith. Acceptance means we see the world as it is, not as we want it to be. We start to see ourselves as humans, not as gods. We are good, and we are bad. We need to fit in the world, not run it.
Acceptance also guides us toward faith. Faith is believing. We start to believe that someone or something will take care of us. Faith is about giving up control of outcomes. We learn to say to our Higher Power, “Thy will be done.”
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power help me accept my illness. Give me the faith to know that You and I, together, will keep me sober.
Action for the Day: Throughout the day, I'll think of the 11th step. I'll pray to my Higher Power, “Thy Will be done, not mine.” Amen.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

The future is made of the same stuff as the present. --Simone Weil
The only lessons that matter for our lives at this time will come to us today. Just as what we needed and were ready for yesterday came yesterday, tomorrow insures more of the same. Concerning ourselves with any other moment but the present prevents us from responding when "the teacher appears."
In years gone by, we perhaps hung onto yesterday's problems. We may still struggle to hang onto them. Or perhaps we try to see too far ahead. But we are learning that there is a right time for all growth. A right time for all experiences. And the right time may not fit our timetable. What doesn't come our way today, will come when the time is right. Each day we are granted just what is needed. We need not worry about the future. It will offer us whatever rightly comes next, but it can't do so until we have experienced these 24 hours before us.
There is wonder and joy awaiting me, each day. The growth I experience is just what is needed at this time. I am a student, and the teacher will appear.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

The Doctor's Opinion

Men and women drink essentially because they like the effect produced by alcohol. The sensation is so elusive that, while they admit it is injurious, they cannot after a time differentiate the true from the false. To them, their alcoholic life seems the only normal one. They are restless, irritable and discontented, unless they can again experience the sense of ease and comfort which comes at once by taking a few drinks—drinks which they see others taking with impunity. After they have succumbed to the desire again, as so many do, and the phenomenon of craving develops, they pass through the well-known stages of a spree, emerging remorseful, with a firm resolution not to drink again. This is repeated over and over, and unless this person can experience an entire psychic change there is very little hope of his recovery.

pp. xxviii-xxix

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

Student Of Life

Living at home with her parents, she tried using willpower to beat the obsession to drink. But it wasn't until she met another alcoholic and went to an A.A. meeting that sobriety took hold.

I was beyond frustration at this point. Hadn't I done everything that was expected of me? Hadn't I graduated from college and gone on to earn a master's degree? I had never gone to jail, crashed any cars, or got into trouble like a real alcoholic would. When I was working, I never missed a day because of drinking. I never ran myself into debt, nor had I abused a spouse or children. Sure I drank a lot, but I didn't have a problem; how could I when I hadn't done any of the things that prove you're an alcoholic? So what was the problem? All I wanted was a decent job so I could be independent and productive. I could not understand why life just wouldn't cut me a break.

p. 323

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Two - "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."

The sponsor continues, "Take, for example, my own case. I had a scientific schooling. Naturally I respected, venerated, even worshipped science. As a matter of fact, I still do--all except the worship part. Time after time, my instructors held up to me the basic principle of all scientific progress: search and research, again and again, always with the open mind. When I first looked at A.A. my reaction was just like yours. This A.A. business, I thought, is totally unscientific. This I can't swallow. I simply won't consider such nonsense.

pp. 26-27

************************************************** *********

When looking in the mirror you see the most important person in the world to you. If
you can't look that person in the eye and say "I love you," change something. Your
life depends on it.
--NoMoGin

I must empty myself, so God can fill me up.
--Shelley

God can make all things new - even you.
--unknown

Tart words make no friends; a spoonful of honey will catch more flies than a gallon of
vinegar.
--unknown

The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it.
--unknown

I never imagined that the greatest achievement of my life would be peace of mind.
--unknown

Service is spirituality in action.
--unknown

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

FEAR

"The spirit of liberty . . . is the
spirit which is not too sure it is
always right."
-- Judge Learned Hand

I am free to make mistakes. It is okay for me to be wrong. I can say or do something
that proves to be incorrect. I am not perfect. Part of the liberty of being a human being is
not being perfect; I am not God. In a sense this is a relief. I do not have to take
responsibility for the lives of others or the crises in the world. It is okay not to have all
the answers. Indeed, sometimes the spiritual life is discovered in "not knowing" and the
answer will forever remain in the question. It is human to ask "why are we like we
are?" But the answer rests in God.

God of Reason, let me be satisfied with discovering You in the questions.

************************************************** *********

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen
you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10

"Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men,
for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."
Psalm 107:8-9

For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
1 Corinthians 3:9

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

When your energy levels are low and your spirit needs a boost, take a short walk or quiet break and use the time for a talk with God and a little healing meditation. Lord, help me to brighten my day, keep my spirit strong, and bring more laughter to my life.

If you think success and really believe it will happen, you will perform in a manner that leads to success. Lord, may I always avoid negative thoughts and visualize myself in the manner that You intended for me.

************************************************** *********

NA Just For Today

God's Guidance

"Our Higher power is accessible to us at all times. We receive guidance when we ask for knowledge of God's will for us."
Basic Text p. 92

It's not always easy to make the right decision. This is especially true for addicts learning to live by spiritual principles for the first time. In addiction, we developed self-destructive, anti-social impulses. When conflict arose, we took our cues from those negative impulses. Our disease didn't prepare us to make sound decisions.

Today, to find the direction we need, we ask our Higher Power. We stop; we pray; and, quietly, we listen within for guidance. We've come to believe that we can rely on a Power greater than ourselves. That Power is accessible to us whenever we need it. All we need do is pray for knowledge of our God's will for u and the power to carry it out.

Each time we do this, each time we find direction amidst our confusion, our faith grows. The more we rely on our Higher Power, the easier it becomes to ask for direction: We've found the Power we were lacking in our addiction, a Power that available to us at all times. To find the direction we need to live fully and grow spiritually, all we have to do is maintain contact with the God of our understanding.

Just for today: My Higher Power is a source of spiritual guidance within me that I can always draw upon. When I lad direction today. I will ask for knowledge of my Higher Power will.

pg. 323

************************************************** *********

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Nature, the Gentlest Mother, is
Impatient of no Child . . . .
--Emily Dickinson
When a girl sits on the seashore, the waves do not try to slap her around. When a boy wanders alone in a field, the sky does not accuse him of talking back. When a man is alone in the woods, does the earth nag him for failing once more? And when a woman is alone in the park, does the wind whisper behind her back? Nature never blames or condemns: she gives us freedom of thought and plenty of space. Nature's ways are proven and true; she lets us grow at our own rate. Nature brings us sleep, dawn, new days; she is full of new life.
We are a part of nature, and everything we do is part of it. We can find comfort in this knowledge, if we take the time to remember it when we are feeling bad. Nature is always willing to share its serenity.
When we escape to nature, what feelings do we have that we want to take back home with us?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
The struggle of the male to learn to listen to and respect his own intuitive, inner promptings is the greatest challenge of all. His ... conditioning has been so powerful that it has all but destroyed his ability to be self-aware. --Herb Goldberg
Men strive to be successful with mechanical, physical, and powerful things. Some of us have succeeded in those supposedly "male" ways and others haven't. But whether we have or not, most of us have poured our energies into those directions and neglected the other way of being strong men. We may not have learned how to be gentle and helpful fathers, sensitive lovers, or men in tune with our own spirits and feelings. Many of us never learned to recognize what we feel.
Perhaps we were taught to stand up for ourselves. But have we learned to stand up for our right to have feelings? Do we stand up for our right to be learners and to make mistakes? Do we stand up for our right to be aware and to be the men we find ourselves to be, rather than what others tell us we should be?
I will become more aware of my inner-self as a growing man on this uncharted journey.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
The future is made of the same stuff as the present. --Simone Weil
The only lessons that matter for our lives at this time will come to us today. Just as what we needed and were ready for yesterday came yesterday, tomorrow insures more of the same. Concerning ourselves with any other moment but the present prevents us from responding when "the teacher appears."
In years gone by, we perhaps hung onto yesterday's problems. We may still struggle to hang onto them. Or perhaps we try to see too far ahead. But we are learning that there is a right time for all growth. A right time for all experiences. And the right time may not fit our timetable. What doesn't come our way today, will come when the time is right. Each day we are granted just what is needed. We need not worry about the future. It will offer us whatever rightly comes next, but it can't do so until we have experienced these 24 hours before us.
There is wonder and joy awaiting me, each day. The growth I experience is just what is needed at this time. I am a student, and the teacher will appear.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Let's Make a Deal
The relationship just wasn't working out, and I wanted it to so badly. I kept thinking if I just made myself look prettier, if I just tried to be a more loving, kind person, then he would love me. I turned myself inside out to be something better, when all along, who I was okay. I just couldn't see what I was doing, though, until I moved forward and accepted reality. --Anonymous
One of the most frustrating stages of acceptance is the bargaining stage. In denial, there is bliss. In anger, there is some sense of power. In barraging, we vacillate between believing there is something we can do to change things and realizing there isn't.
We may get our hopes up again and again, only to have them dashed.
Many of us have turned ourselves inside out to try to negotiate with reality. Some of us have done things that appear absurd, in retrospect, once we've achieved acceptance.
"If I try to be a better person, then this won't happen...If I look prettier, keep a cleaner house, lose weight, smile more, let go, hang on more tightly, close my eyes and count to ten, holler, then I won't have to face this loss, this change."
There are stories from members of Al Anon about attempts to bargain with the alcoholic's drinking: "If I keep the house cleaner, he won't drink.... If I make her happy by buying her a new dress, she won't drink... If I buy my son a new car, he'll stop using drugs."
Adult children have bargained with their losses too: "Maybe if I'm the perfect child, then Mom or Dad will love and approve of me, stop drinking, and be there for me the way I want them to be." We do big, small, and in between things, sometimes-crazy things, to ward off, stop, or stall the pain involved with accepting reality.
There is no substitute for accepting reality. That's our goal. But along the way, we may try to strike a deal. Recognizing our attempts at bargaining for what they are - part of the grief process - helps our lives become manageable.
Today, I will give others and myself the freedom to fully grieve losses. I will hold myself accountable, but I will give myself permission to be human.


Today I do everything that I can to be in the now. That means letting go of all the baggage of the past that I am still carrying with me. --Ruth Fishel

*************************************

Journey to the Heart

Create Your Destiny from Your Heart

Be aware of life’s energy moving, pushing, pulling, guiding you forward each moment of the day

And know each moment is your destiny.

You’re connected to and part of a mysterious, invisible life force. Let it guide you forward. Let it move you along. Clear yourself of all that blocks your connection to that life force– old emotions, old beliefs, remnants of the past.

Listen to your heart. It will take you, move you to where you need to go. No, you cannot see as far ahead as you would like, as far ahead as you used to think you could. That is because you have undertaken the journey to your heart. Seeing would prevent you from listening, trusting, opening to the magical guidance that comes from within. You would confuse things, think you had to control, manage, make things happen. You would confound yourself with the illusions of the past. You would become afraid.

Stay in the present moment. Listen to your inner guidance. Trust the wisdom of your heart. Feel the life force, guiding you, moving you forward. Go where it leads.

Embrace your destiny. Know you help create it by what you choose each step of the way.

*****

more language of letting go
A miracle is taking place

One evening, I was sitting with my children around the dinner table. Shane was talking about his plans for the next day. Nichole was planning a pajama party. I was working on some project at that time. I was partly thinking about it but still enjoyed listening to the children talk.

It was a friendly, relaxed supper. Later, I put the children to bed and quietly went to my room, peacefully getting ready to retire for the night.

That's when it hit me. Like the proverbial bolt of lightening, it struck out of the blue.

I was so terrified when I had begun the journey of being a single parent. After ten years of being married, I was scared of little things like sleeping alone in bed at night and falling asleep without a man in the house.

Sometimes I went to bed with the phone in my hand, ready to dial 911. Everything about this new life as a single parent had overwhelmed me. I didn't feel up to the task. But somewhere along the line, I had come to believe I could. I didn't know when it happened. It wasn't an instant transformation. It had happened slowly, bit by bit.

"Woohoo!" I said, doing a victory dance in the room.

"I didn't think I could do this. But I can and I am."

Celebrate the miracle of transformation in your life-- whatever you're trying to become, do, or learn. Let it happen as quickly, or as slowly, as it needs.

Day by day, month by month, then year after year, the feeling of quiet confidence will slowly replace the overwhelming fear. That task or job that first seemed so overwhelming will begin to feel natural and right. You'll gradually become so comfortable you may not even know when that miraculous transformation took place.

Enjoy where you are today in your process of growth. You might not see it or know it yet, but an ordinary miracle is taking place.

God, thank you for where I am in my learning curve and growth process today. Help me know that whether I see it or not, a miracle is taking place.

*****

Seeing Ourselves
You Are Beautiful by Madisyn Taylor

Many of us do not take the time to notice and acknowledge how beautiful we are as humans.

Many of us do not take the time to notice and acknowledge how beautiful we are as humans. We may be great lovers of beauty, seeing it in the people, places, and things around us, while completely missing it in ourselves. Some of us feel that it is vain to consider our appearance too much, or we may find that when we look at ourselves, all we see are imperfections. Often we come to the mirror with expectations and preconceived notions about beauty that blind us from seeing ourselves clearly. As a result, we miss the beauty that is closest to us, the beauty we are. Sometimes we see our beauty in a shallow way, noticing how well we are conforming to social norms, but failing to see the deeper beauty that shines out from within and that will continue to shine regardless of how we measure up to society’s ideal.

If we can cut through all these obstacles and simply appreciate how beautiful we are, we free up so much energy. We also become less dependent upon the opinions and feedback of others since we become our own greatest admirers. Many of us know that after a great yoga practice or a long, deep meditation, we are more able to see how beautiful we are. This is because we have released some of our baggage, thus unburdening ourselves and summoning forth the spirit that dwells within us. It is the heady combination of the divine spirit and the human body that conveys beauty more accurately than anything else.

To keep ourselves in touch with our own beauty, we can surround ourselves with images that reflect our beauty back to us—photos of a relative or child who has our eyes, images of teachers who embody spirit, or self-portraits that capture our essence in a way that allows us to see ourselves anew. The best way to keep ourselves in touch with our own beauty is to keep looking deeply into our own souls and opening our eyes to the human being we see in the mirror every day. Published with permission from Daily OM

*************************************

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

For many months after I came to The Program, I paid little attention to the practice of serious meditation and prayer. I felt that it might help me meet an emergency — such as a sudden craving to return to my old ways — but it remained among the lowest levels on my list of priorities. In those early days, I equated prayer and meditation with mystery and even hypocrisy. I’ve since found that prayer and meditation are more rewarding in their results than I could ever have imagined. For me today, the harvest is increasingly bountiful, and I continue to gain peace of mind and strength far beyond my human limitations. Is my former pain being replaced by tranquility?

Today I Pray

May I discover that prayer and meditation make up the central hall of my life’s structure — the place where my thoughts collect and form into order. May I feel God’s mystery there, and an overwhelming resource of energy.

Today I Will Remember

Fantasy is mine. Mystery is God’s.

*************************************

One More Day

I remember those happy days and often wish I could peak into the ears of the dead the gratitude which was due to them in life and so ill-returned.
– Gwyn Thomas

We respond to loss in predictable ways. One common response to loss — whether of a loved one or of good health — is regret. “I should have told him how much he was loved,” or “I wish I’d told her I was sorry for what I said.” These statements of regret are much like the regrets accompanying chronic illness. “I wish I’d pursued my dreams when I was healthy.” We move out of our sadness only when we are able to remember that our only mistake was a human one — always believing there would be more time to say and do the things we wanted. Our healing is complete when we bring this awareness to the present, when we say and do positive things today.

Letting go of past regrets frees me to be a more loving person today.

************************************

Food For Thought

No Perfect People

We may have spent much time and energy looking for perfect people to fulfill our lives. This process involves projecting our fond illusions onto those we meet, building them up way out of reality, and then being terribly disillusioned when extended and intimate acquaintance proves them to be just ordinary people.

Accepting our friends and family for what they are rather than what we idealize them to be is part of growing up emotionally. It is our own weakness and insecurity that causes us to try to make gods out of other people. As we learn to accept ourselves as less than perfect, we are able to reduce the unreasonable demands we make on others. As we come to know our Higher Power, we do not need to make gods out of fellow human beings.

By not expecting perfection from others, we can love them as they are, encouraging their strengths and supporting their weaknesses.

I pray for the emotional maturity to accept myself and those I love.

*****************************************

One Day At A Time

~ FOCUS ON OTHERS ~
I had the blues because I had no shoes
until upon the street I met a man who had no feet.
Denis Waitely

I find that when I am stuck or feeling sorry for myself I just need to reach out and help someone who is worse off than me. When I pray for someone to help, someone always shows up. This past weekend I was feeling sorry for myself. I went to church and prayed for God to bring someone for me to help. Alas, as I walked in to school this morning I was greeted by a tearful friend whose husband was just diagnosed with lung cancer. I hugged her and told her I was there for her. It took the focus off of ME and I was able to help someone else feel better.

One day at a time . . .
Allow me to be of service to others. I need them as much as they need me.
Sue

*****************************************

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

If you think you are an 'atheist, an agnostic, a skeptic, or have any form of intellectual pride which keeps you from accepting what is in this book, I feel sorry for you. If you still think you are strong enough to beat the game alone, that is your affair. But if you really and truly want to quit drinking liquor for good and all, and sincerely feel that you must have some help, we know that we have an answer for you. It never fails, if you go about it with one half the zeal you have been in the habit of showing when you were getting another drink.

Your Heavenly Father will never let you down! - Pg. 181 - Doctor Bob's Nightmare

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

To insist stubbornly on clinging to old relationships, when they are basically drug oriented relationships is sabotaging our recovery process. Is it not our disease finding a 'good' excuse to keep us close to drugs?

May I be able to hear the suggestions of those who work with me. May I listen in this next hour and follow the suggestions.

Separation

Today, I see that some of my anger towards my parents or their generation is about my need to separate from them and seek an individual identity. Even if my parents were wonderful, it would be natural to want to become my own person. Healthy parents have an easier time allowing this process because they have their own identity and intuitively understand what their children are doing. Less healthy parents take separation as a personal indictment and tend either to hold on tighter or to reject the relationships altogether. It is difficult to separate under these circumstances because it becomes so threatening. It is difficult to establish an individual identity without fearing either great loss or engulfment.

I see separation for what it is.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Emotions are influenced by our interactions with others. How we signal others greatly influences how they respond to us.

If I am constantly being mistreated, I am probably co-operating with the treatments.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Walk on soles, not on souls.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I do everything that I can to be in the now. That means letting go of all the baggage of the past that I am still carrying with me.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Egotism enables a man in a rut to think he's in a groove. - Anon.

[bluidkiti]

November 6

Daily Reflections

GOING WITH THE FLOW

Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we
understood Him. .
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 96

The first words I speak when arising in the morning are, "I arise, O God, to do Thy will."
This is the shortest prayer I know and it is deeply ingrained in me. Prayer doesn't change
God's attitude toward me; it changes my attitude toward God. As distinguished from
prayer, meditation is a quiet time, without words. To be centered is to be physically relaxed,
emotionally calm, mentally focused and spiritually aware. One way to keep the channel
open and to improve my conscious contact with God is to maintain a grateful attitude. On
the days when I am grateful, good things seem to happen in my life. The instant I start
cursing things in my life, however, the flow of good stops. God did not interrupt the flow;
my own negativity did.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Fear and worry had me down. They were increased by my drinking. I worried about what I
had done when I was drunk. I was afraid of what the consequences might be. I was afraid to
face people because of the fear of being found out. Fear kept me in hot water all the time. I
was a nervous wreck from fear and worry. I was a tied-up bundle of nerves. I had a fear of
failure, of the future, of growing old, of sickness, of hangover, of suicide. I had a wrong set
of ideas and attitudes. When A.A. told me to surrender these fears and worries to a Higher
Power, I did so. I now try to think faith instead of fear. Have I put faith in place of fear?

Meditation For The Day

Spiritual power is God in action. God can only act through human beings. Whenever you,
however weak you may be, allow God to act through you, then all you think and say and do
is spiritually powerful. It is not you alone who produces a change in the lives of others! It is
also the Divine Spirit in you and working through you. Power is God in action. God can use
you as a tool to accomplish miracles in peoples' lives.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may try to let God's power act through me today. I pray that I may get rid of
those blocks which keep His power from me.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

A Way Out Of Depression, p. 308

"During acute depression, avoid trying to set your whole life in order
all at once. If you take on assignments so heavy that you are sure to
fail in them at the moment, then you are allowing yourself to be
tricked by your consciousness. Thus you will continue to make sure of
your failure, and when it comes you will have another alibi for still
more retreat into depression.

"In short, the 'all or nothing' attitude is a most destructive one. It is
best to begin with whatever the irreducible minimums of activity are.
Then work for an enlargement of these--day by day. Don't be
disconcerted by setbacks--just start over."

Letter, 1960

************************************************** *********

Walk In Dry Places

Dealing with worry
Dealing with feelings
There's nothing like a siege of worry to spoil our day. It matters little whether the worry is about a real problem or something we're imagining. In either case, worry makes us unhappy, depressed, and even fatigued.
It doesn't help to be urged not to worry. We may even know worry is harmful, yet be unable to stop it. In fact, one of the things we may have sought in the bottle was an easing of worry.
The best answer to worry is in the 12 Step program. If we have turned our will and lives over to our Higher Power, the real direction of our lives is out of our hands. We must think of ourselves as passengers in a divinely guided vehicle.
Some will think this philosophy is preposterous and irresponsible, but in reality we are taking right actions in an orderly way, as our guidance continues. We need only prove to ourselves that our program works. Worry is merely a signal that we need to work our program.
If I catch myself worrying, I'll remind myself that my Higher Power is in charge of all outcomes. I'll do my best and expect the best.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

That suit is best that best suits me.---John Clark
How mush time do we spend trying to “fit in”? Many of us used to care to much what other people thought about us---our clothes, our ideas, our work. Did we drink the right brand, drive the right car, listen to the right music?
In our program, we still have to watch out for fads and peer pressure. We have to ask ourselves if we’re really in touch with our Higher Power. Are we searching for a sponsor who has inner peace
and direction? Or do we look for people who are like our old using friends? As we learn to find our own way of following our Higher Power, we need to be okay with being different.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me be the best me I can be today.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll work to be me---honestly me---to everyone I meet.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

Of course fortune has its part in human affairs, but conduct is really much more important. --Jeanne Detourbey
Behaving the way we honestly and sincerely believe God wants us to behave eliminates our confusion. When we contribute in a loving manner to the circumstances involving us, we carry God's message; and that's all that's expected of us in this life.
This recovery program has involved us in the affairs of many other people. We are needed to listen, to guide, to sponsor, to suggest. Each time we have an opportunity to make an impact on another person, it's to our benefit, and hers too, to let God direct our conduct.
Too often God's message is missed due to our selfish concerns, but it's never too late to begin listening for it. God is forever at hand, awaiting our recognition. We can be mindful that the ease of our lives is directly proportional to the recognition we offer.
Right conduct is never a mystery to us. We may not always choose to do it, but we never fail to know what should be done.
I will trust my conscience to be my guide every moment.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

The Doctor's Opinion

On the other hand—and strange as this may seem to those who do not understand—once a psychic change has occurred, the very same person who seemed doomed, who had so many problems he despaired of ever solving them, suddenly finds himself easily able to control his desire for alcohol, the only effort necessary being that required to follow a few simple rules.

p. xxix

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

Student Of Life

Living at home with her parents, she tried using willpower to beat the obsession to drink. But it wasn't until she met another alcoholic and went to an A.A. meeting that sobriety took hold.

I did odd projects around the house for my parents to earn my keep until I took a job for a local entrepreneur. This job did not offer much opportunity for advancement, nor did it pay very well, but it got me out of the house, and it was challenging in many ways. At this point I was in a vicious battle to control my drinking. I knew that if I took only one drink, I'd lose complete control and drink until I passed out. Nevertheless, I tried day after day to beat this obsession with alcohol.

pp. 323-324

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Two - "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."

"Then I woke up. I had to admit that A.A. showed results, prodigious results. I saw that my attitude regarding these had been anything but scientific. It wasn't A.A. that had the closed mind, it was me. The minute I stopped arguing, I could begin to see and feel. Right there, Step Two gently and very gradually began to infiltrate my life. I can't say upon what occasion or upon what day I came to believe in a Power greater than myself, but I certainly have that belief now. To acquire it, I had only to stop fighting and practice the rest of A.A.'s program as enthusiastically as I could.

p. 27

************************************************** ********

Gods grace is like the wind: I can't see the wind, but I can surely feel the effects of
the wind.
--John G.

AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time.
--Rufus K.

When the solution is simple, God is answering.
--Albert Einstein

You can't lose if you stay in God's game plan.
--unknown

"Friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering
how to fly."
--Unknown

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

BELIEF

"An atheist is a man who has no
invisible means of support."
-- John Buchanan

The common cry of those who suffer from addiction is that they feel isolated. Not only
isolated from self, family and friends but also from God. One reason for this feeling of
isolation is teachings and attitudes that produced guilt, shame and fear. God was seen as
a hammer with which society beat the addict.

Today, in an atmosphere of love and fellowship, we begin to look at these old attitudes
and, hopefully, begin to change them. God can be seen in the hug as well as the
sacrament; in the doubt as well as the dogma. In the honest sharing of fellow addicts,
God is made known. God needs to be given a human face.

Teach me to grow in the virtues of tolerance and understanding.

************************************************** *********

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him."
Psalm 62:5

"I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust."
Psalm 91:2

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

Emotions can be dealt with by motion. Lord, when I feel controlled by feelings and complaints, help to get me up and get me moving to change my disposition even if it's something simple like stretching or organizing something or starting something I've been putting off.

When you are troubled, comfort someone more troubled, when lonely, reach out to one that is lonelier and when unsure, give encouragement to the weary. To care for another makes us forget our own sorrows.

************************************************** *********

NA Just For Today

Understanding Humility

"Humility is a result of getting honest with ourselves."

Basic Text p. 35

Humility was an idea so foreign to most of us that we ignored it as long as we could. When we first saw the word "humbly" ahead in Step Seven, we may have figured it meant we had quite a bit of humiliation in store. Perhaps we chose to look it up in the dictionary, only to become even more confused by the definition. We didn't understand how "lowliness and subservience" applied to recovery.

To be humble does not mean we are the lowest form of life. On the contrary, becoming humble means we attain a realistic view of ourselves and where we fit in the world. We grow into a state of awareness founded on our acceptance of all aspects of ourselves. We neither deny our good qualities nor overemphasize our defects. We honestly accept who we are.

No one of us will ever attain a state of perfect humility. But we can certainly strive to honestly admit our faults, accept our assets, and rely on our Higher Power as a source of strength. Humility doesn't mean we have to crawl life's path on our hands and knees; it just means we must admit we cannot recover on our own. We need each other and, above all, we need the power of a loving God.

Just for today: To be humble, I will honestly accept all facets of myself, seeing my true place in the world. For the strength I need to fill that place, I will rely on the God of my understanding.

pg. 324

************************************************** *********

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Work is love made visible. --Kahlil Gibran
Family members show love and concern for others through their work. Parents might build a bookcase or prepare the meals. Children might help by emptying the wastebaskets. All are showing love through what they do. In our lives together, our work is an important way of saying I love you. We will still want to give them lots of hugs and kisses. But our work shows how much we care, and who is important to us. Our work around the house is an investment. It makes a home for all of us, constructed of visible love.
How can I make our home a better one today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
The main thing in life is not to be afraid of being human. --Pablo Casals
The "shoulds" of our lives can be found all around us. We should wear our seat belts. We should not cry. We should go to our meetings. These "shoulds" usually serve as good guides for us, but they can intrude upon us. If we give them power, they only condemn us and give no useful help. At times we jump toward the "should" because we don't have the courage to live with the insecurity of being human.
If someone at work gets an unfair shake, it takes courage to speak up and say what we think. We may have an impulse to reach out to a stranger, but it takes courage to do it. When an inner feeling emerges from our honesty, fear may prompt us to avoid it, and we need to call on our courage. That is how we fulfill the uniqueness of each of us.
I am alive as a man and a human being. I will not shy away from opportunities to express my humanity.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Of course fortune has its part in human affairs, but conduct is really much more important. --Jeanne Detourbey
Behaving the way we honestly and sincerely believe God wants us to behave eliminates our confusion. When we contribute in a loving manner to the circumstances involving us, we carry God's message; and that's all that's expected of us in this life.
This recovery program has involved us in the affairs of many other people. We are needed to listen, to guide, to sponsor, to suggest. Each time we have an opportunity to make an impact on another person, it's to our benefit, and hers too, to let God direct our conduct.
Too often God's message is missed due to our selfish concerns, but it's never too late to begin listening for it. God is forever at hand, awaiting our recognition. We can be mindful that the ease of our lives is directly proportional to the recognition we offer.
Right conduct is never a mystery to us. We may not always choose to do it, but we never fail to know what should be done.
I will trust my conscience to be my guide every moment.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Enjoying Life
Do something fun today.
If you're relaxing, let yourself relax, without guilt, without worrying about the work that is undone.
If you're with loved ones, let yourself love them, and let them love you. Let yourself feel close.
Let yourself enjoy your work, for that can be pleasurable too.
If you're doing something fun, let yourself enjoy it.
What would feel good? What would you enjoy? Is there a positive pleasure available? Indulge.
Recovery is not solely about stopping the pain. Recovery is about learning to make ourselves feel better; then it's about making ourselves feel good.
Enjoy your day.
Today, I will do something fun, something I enjoy, and something just for me. I will take responsibility for making myself feel good.


Today I know that I am in charge of the quality of my life. I am growing in the ability to become aware of the thoughts that have been controlling me. --Ruth Fishel

*************************************

Journey to the Heart

Value Each Moment

How often we wait for those grand moments of revelation, those intense times that blast us into transformation, those turning points that forever change us and our lives. Those are the dramatic moments we write about, see in movies, and long for in our lives. Yes, they are wonderful. But turning points such as those happen only a couple of times in a movie and a few times in a lifetime.

Each moment of each day in our lives is a valuable turning point– an important part of our spiritual growth, an important scene in the movie of our lives. Each feeling is important: boredom, fear, hate, love, despair, excitement. Each action we take has value, an act of love, an act of healing. Each word we speak, each word we hear, each scene we allow ourselves to see, and each scenario we participate in changes us.

Trust and value each moment of your life. Let it be important. It is a turning point. It is a spiritual experience.

*****

more language of letting go
Become willing

There's nothing against you to fall down flat.
But to lie there-- that's disgrace.
Edmond Vance Cooke

Sometimes the problem isn't that we don't believe we can. The problem is that we don't want to do it, whatever the current task or challenge is.

When I began my writing and recovery, I wanted to do these things. The challenge was invigorating. I wanted to get back up. I wanted to push ahead. I wanted to get into the game.

When my son Shane died, I didn't want to get up.

I didn't want the challenge. It wasn't invigorating. I didn't want the loss, and I didn't want to heal from my grief.

One day in those painful, awful, early years of grief, a friend stopped by the house. I had known him for a long time. He had suffered a permanent loss,too-- the use of his leg muscles from a form of polio he had suffered during his teenage years.

People hadn't known what to do with me back then. They had watched me flounder in my grief. They had tried to be compassionate, and that was good. But right now compassion wasn't exactly what I needed to hear.

"You've got to get up," my friend said in a loud voice. "You've got to get back up on your feet again. Stand up to life."

Sometimes life's problems and challenges are invigorating. Sometimes they're not. But no matter what we get hit with, we need to get up again.

Let yourself grieve. Let yourself become enraged over your losses, if you must. Then, whether you want the loss or not, get back up again. You don't have to want to, you don't even have to believe you can. Sometimes all we need to do is be open to wanting to and then believe we can.

God, help me believe in life.

*****

Actions Speak Louder than Words
Aligning Actions and Words by Madisyn Taylor

Words carry a lot of weight in this world, but it is through our actions that we bring things into being.

Words carry a lot of weight in this world, from how we say them to what we say with them, but it is through our actions that we bring things into being. This is what we mean when we say to one another that actions speak louder than words. In many cases, what we say doesn’t necessarily line up with what we are doing, and it is here that it becomes clear that it’s easier to talk about doing something than it is to actually do something. At the same time, it’s easy to keep doing something that we don’t necessarily acknowledge ourselves doing verbally. It’s good for all of us to take a look every once and a while to make sure there is alignment between what we say and what we do.

For example, it’s easy to talk about our dreams, but it takes a lot more energy to take the many small steps that lead to bringing our dreams into reality. If all we ever do is talk about it, we begin to lose faith in ourselves because nothing changes on the external level. In this way, being all talk and no action is actually a form of self-sabotage. It’s also useful to examine our actions to see if, through them, we are following through on our words. For example, in expressing concern about the environment, we can look to make sure that we are taking the simple steps we can take to put that concern into action.

It’s always helpful to observe what we talk about and who we say we are, and then to observe what we actually do in the world. Sometimes we realize our actions haven’t caught up with what we are saying, and at other times we see that we might change our words in a way that it will more adequately reflect what we do in the world. Either way, the more we align our words and our deeds, the clearer we are in expressing our truth in the world, and the more powerful we are in bringing it into reality. Published with permission from Daily OM

*************************************

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

There are no boundaries to meditation. It has neither width, depth nor height, which means that it can always be further developed without limitation of any sort. Meditation is an individual matter; few of us meditate in the same way, and in that sense, it is truly a personal adventure. For all of us who practice meditation seriously, however, the purpose is the same; to improve our conscious contact with God. Despite its lack of specific dimensions and despite its intangibility, meditation is, in reality, the most intensely practical thing that e can do. One of its first rewards, for example, is emotional balance. What could be more practical than that? Am I broadening and deepening the channel between myself and God?

Today I Pray

As I seek God through daily prayer and meditation — may I find the peace that passes understanding, that balance that gives perspective to the whole of life. May I center myself in God.

Today I Will Remember

My balance comes from God.

*************************************

One More Day

To achieve great things we must live as though we were never going to die.
– Vauvenarques

Of all the limitations we face, one of them greatest is actually one we impose upon ourselves. We limit ourselves by believing that it’s too late to go back to school, to change careers, or to start something new. We artificially restrict ourselves because we misunderstand the concept of time.

We can decide if time is a friend or an enemy. It’s our enemy when we shy away from new experiences. But when we willingly take unsteady steps into unknown territory by lifting a brush to canvas or finally learning to drive a car or applying for the job we’ve always wanted, then time is our friend. We have all the time in the world because we have this moment, this day, and that is all the time we need to begin great things.

I am the only one who can decide which great things I will begin today.

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Food For Thought

Pain

Living without the narcotic of excess food means learning to cope with emotional pain. Uncomfortable feelings, which we have covered up by eating, begin to surface as we abstain. At first, our emotional reactions are often vague and diffuse, since we have not yet acquired enough insight to identify what it is that is bothering us.

If we are willing to stay with the emotional discomfort and pain, we will eventually gain understanding. Sometimes we have to spend time hurting before we are able to pass through one phase in our development and move on to the next. Whatever the suffering, it is preferable to the agony of a binge. Facing emotional pain is constructive; trying to bury it under food is destructive.

Our pain is often associated with events in the past, which are still troubling us unconsciously. When we are able to identify the source of the pain, we can examine it in the light of our present maturity and begin to put it behind us. As long as we avoid feeling the pain, we deny ourselves the healing which our Higher Power can give us.

May I accept the pain that is necessary for continued growth.

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One Day At A Time

~ FREEDOM ~
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

The Bible, Book of John
In the past, when I was threatened by another person's thoughts, beliefs, actions, or desires, I simply deemed them completely unacceptable and worked hard to convince the other person just how wrong they were. I cited all kinds of religious doctrine and politically correct ideas to try to convince the other person why their ideas were unacceptable.

This "convincing" was nothing more than an attempt to control another so I wouldn't have to face myself or any of the things that caused me anxiety and fear. All I succeeded in doing was forcing others to help me lie to myself. Of course, this also created its own anxiety and fear, so I had to do something to cover it up. What did I do? I compulsively overate, I binged, I purged, I exercised, I starved myself, I abused laxatives, and on and on.

Today, because of my Higher Power and the gifts of this program, I can look at why some thoughts, feelings, beliefs and desires threaten me. I can be gentle with myself as I look at which of my "boo-boo buttons" have been pushed. I can ask myself how I've been hurt by these ideas in the past and learn how those "boo-boo buttons" were produced in the first place.

Just like a wound, exposing my hurts to the sunlight helps them heal. Bringing them out into the light helps me see all the truth about them--not just the distorted parts I felt in the darkness. I can see what my part was and I can see what the part of others may have been. Through working the Twelve Steps, I can find peace with these hurts and experience the promise of not regretting or wanting to close the door on the past.

One Day at a Time . . .
I can set myself free from the darkness by looking at past hurts in the light of truth.
~ Sandee S. ~

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Next, we decided that hereafter in this drama of life, God was going to be our Director. He is the Principle: we are His agents. He is the Father, and we are His children. Most good ideas are simple, and this concept was the keystone of the new and triumphant arch through which we passed to freedom. - Pg. 62 - How It Works

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Doubts can be a good thing. It shows we're still thinking. Of course we doubt the wisdom of taking steps, going to meetings, and practicing spiritual principles to arrest this deadly disease of addiction. Even Thomas doubted his path with Jesus, but given time, he saw the wisdom of the spiritual path. His doubts were allayed.

May my doubts, like Thomas's fade away in time, as I observe the miracles in myself and others.

Projection

Today, I understand that when I project my feelings outward and see them as belonging to other people and not to me, I postpone my own self-awareness. The only way I can deal with difficult feelings is first to claim them as my own. Sitting with anxiety, anger, rage and jealousy is not pleasant, but actually experiencing my own feelings is the only way to get through them.

I own my feelings and am willing to experience them.
- Tian Dayton PhD

'Self-forgiveness brings your mental and emotional energy systems back into balance. That's all. No big deal. It's not necessarily religious or spiritual, it's just good ol' street sense - the missing link in intelligence that scientists are looking for. Once you practice forgiving and releasing yourself, you'll realize the benefits soon in the way you feel overall.'
- Doc Childre

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

'We don't see things as they are. We see things as we are.' ~Talmudic Saying

I need to put things in perspective because I have a disease of perception.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I know that I am in charge of the quality of my life. I am growing in the ability to become aware of the thoughts that have been controlling me.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Diabetics watch what they eat and take insulin. I watch what I drink and take the steps. - Anon.