More Recovery Thoughts and Quotes - July

[yukonm]

July 1

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

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. - Pg. xxix - 4th. Edition - The Doctor's Opinion

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Mind is the path. Flesh is the vehicle. We must establish a new mind through the creative power of thought using the 12 steps. We must establish a new body, protecting it from drugs. Only then do we become an aspirant of a whole life.

I ask my Creator to make me WHOLE in body, mind, and spirit.

Letting Go

Letting go of the past and moving on is a tall order; it requires a kind of releasing that I still find difficult to do. My past will always be in the shadows of my memory to haunt me if I do not recognize it as a part of me. If I pretend it's not important, grit my teeth and force myself to numb myself, I have missed the point of this process. On the other had, if I am unwilling to let go no matter how many times I have worked through certain issues, I am also not allowing myself to be fully healthy and return to life. The part of my healing that is a flowing through the stored pain from the past is a decisive, forward-moving action.

I understand that, as part of my process of healing, my responsibility to let go and move on.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

'You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. ...You must do the thing you cannot do.' -Eleanor Roosevelt

I do the thing I cannot do as I overcome F.E.A.R. I Face Everything And Recover.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

The program fixes it so we don't have to suffer from insanity anymore. Now we can enjoy it!

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I trust my instincts. Today I trust I will know at the right time the right answer. Today I have the faith to know that God guides me in my choices.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I only need one meeting a week, but I go to seven because I don't know which one I need. - Anon.

[MajestyJo]

Glad you found Hour to Hour, perhaps I was too early in the morning and it hadn't been released when I was there.

Always like Alkiespeaks. So man words of wisdom, most times, I have been there and wore the t-shirt.

Seems like a good explanation as to why I went to 2-3 meetings a week for two years. If I missed a meeting, I thought I was setting myself up for relapse.

[yukonm]

July 2

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

I was not too well at the time, and was plagued by waves of self-pity and resentment. This sometimes nearly drove me back to drink, but I soon found that when all other measures failed, work with another alcoholic would save the day. Many times I have gone to my old hospital in despair. On talking to a man there, I would be amazingly lifted up and set on my feet. It is a design for living that works in rough going. - Pg. 15 - Bill's Story

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Although we don't know it, there is a cloud over our brains in the first days. It takes just about 30 days for this drug cloud to lift from our thinking. Any time now, this cloud will leave and our vision will become clearer than it has been in years.

May my eyes clear, my mind clear, my desires clear as I begin my clean and sober days.

Reinvestment

I have been through a journey of forgiveness. I've faced my anger and hurt and brought order and clarity to my inner world. I've accepted the things I cannot change and changed the things that I could. Because I've shown the courage to face my inner demons and look them in the eye, I feel stronger and more competent. Forgiveness of my self and others has offered me a way out of pain and confusion, and now I find I have a renewed interest in life. I see things differently. I feel liberated from something that was tying up me energy. And I recognize and accept my own humanity, and the humanity of others. I am ready and willing to reinvest in the ideal of love. I want to find worthy projects and passions, and put my energy toward them. I have something to give to the world and the world has something to give to me. I am right where I am supposed to be and I've met the challenges of my life. I am ready to live.

I invest my energy with care and gusto.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Don't let the therapeutically 'correct' way to run a group hijack your meeting. Leaders are reluctant to cut a newcomer off for fear of shaming their inner child, rejecting them, or appearing to be mean. We are not therapy and we can't share with them if they can't listen.

I do not let the newcomer's inner child run our meetings. This is not play therapy.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

God does not want me to do extraordinary things; He wants me to do ordinary things extraordinarily well.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I am accepting myself just as I am, imperfections and all. I am not striving to be perfect today. I only want to grow, to change, to become more and more open and let God and love be in charge of my life.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

You can tell an alcoholic - but you can't tell him much. Anon.

[MajestyJo]

When I was on call for AA at nights, I was told not to talk to a drunk that they won't remember the next day. They stressed "Don't talk to a drunk."

I talked to a few. One lady said, "I don't want to talk to you, where is that nice man I talked to last night."

One special case, I talked to a girl, went on the bus to meet her at a meeting. She had driven over 30 miles drunk. I felt bad, but she said, "Don't worry, if I hadn't come here, I would have gone out drinking." Every time I see her, I get the warm fuzzies.

[bluidkiti]

July 3

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

An alcoholic in his cups is an unlovely creature. Our struggles with them are variously strenuous, comic, and tragic. - Pg. 16 - Bill's Story

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Another part of learning good hourly habits is to take time for physical exercise. This is part of the balance of our new lives. We need activity for the well-being of the body and for self-discipline. We can walk, swim, jog, take up sports, aerobics, dance, or even yoga--just as long as we are consistent and somehow active.

Give me the self-discipline to maintain some type of physical activity in my clean and sober life-style.

The Creative Power of My Thoughts

Today, I recognize that I tend to produce in my life what I feel is true for myself. Thoughts have a creative power of their own. If I look closely, I can see my thoughts come to life. I create the possibility of what I would like by first experiencing it in my mind. I will visualize what I would like to have in my life in my mind's eye. I will accept what I see in my inner eye as being there for me, and I will fully participate in my vision as if it were mine. I will be specific about what I see, smell, feel, and I will accept my inner vision as fully as possible. I will enjoy my vision, then let it go and move on in my day, releasing it with no thought of controlling it further. I will let it happen, if it is right for me, in God's time.

All good things are possible for me.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

When you start the day with quiet meditation, you create a consciousness of serenity and peace. At anytime during the day you can bring your mind back to this moment.

When things get hectic or stressful, I bring my awareness back to the peace that I create now.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Sometimes before you can have a spiritual awakening, you have to have some rude awakenings.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Say I can search my own heart and discover whether my intentions are for positive or constructive reasons. Today I can trust that when I come from good and love, I am making the right choices.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Daily meditation for about twenty minutes is recommended for all in recovery - unless you're very busy, then you should do half an hour. - Anon.

[yukonm]

July 4

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

But we saw that it really worked for others, and we had come to believe in the hopelessness and futility of life as we had been living it. When, therefore, we were approached by those in whom the problem had been solved, there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet. We have found much of heaven and we have been rocketed into a fourth dimension of existence of which we had not even dreamed. - Pg. 25 - There Is A Solution

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

We make two great choices in life: one, the decision to get clean and sober; the other, the choice to stay that way.

God, as I understand You, help me stay away from that first fix, pill, drink, smoke, or snort for this hour.

Standing in Self

Today, I own the truth of my recovery. If I am to stand centered and strong within my life and self, I will need to plant a garden within my own soul. A garden for me to nurture and to nurture me. A haven of beauty. I will find my own voice and sing my song because if I don't sing it, it will not be sung. It is all I have and it is enough. I do not need to prove anything to anyone anymore. I have come home - to me. The truth is, I was here all along, only I forgot to look for myself. Instead, I searched for me in other people's meaning and became lost in their stories. I am not lost today. I know that there is nowhere to look for me but within myself, and no one to lead me there but me.

Thank you, life, for letting me see this.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

We make two great choices in life: one, the decision to get clean and sober; the other, the choice to stay that way.

God, as I understand You, help me stay away from that first fix, pill, drink, smoke, or snort for this hour.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

If you put sobriety first, everything you put second will be first class.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I will find someone less fortunate than I and give them what I can. Today I will let go of my own troubles and self pity by finding someone I can help.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

My mind would have killed me but it needed me for transportation. - Bob E.

[yukonm]

July 5

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

All our past 'good intentions' were fragmentary at best, facades at worse. Some of us didn't mean to mess things up (some of us did mean to), always justifying our inadequacies by blaming parents, spouses, society, or God. This hour we must accept who we are, and stop looking around for the culprit--he is us!

May I recognize, as this program teaches, that I am at the root of my own problems and this hour, I can be at the root of my recovery.

Friendship

Today, I make choices about my company and friends. Whom I choose to spend time with is very important to me, and the relationships that I begin I wish to respect and nurture. A handful of dear friends is far more meaningful to me than lots of acquaintances. I choose to share myself where I feel a return of good feeling. I want both to have a friend and to be a friend. One of the unusual gifts of growing up in a dysfunctional household was that I learned the value of friendship because I had to turn to my friends to meet very deep needs. I am grateful for my friends, and for what I learned and felt from them.

I value friendship.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Try broadening your spiritual path by making your relationship with the Divine proactive. Ask not what the Universe can do for you, but rather what you can do for the Universe! Begin the morning with: Hi World, what can I do for You today?

Asking what I can do for the Creative Source will serve us both better than simply seeking what can be done for me.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I am very grateful to be exactly where I am today. I do not need to be a victim of my past or controlled by circumstances. I am in recovery today and it feels wonderful!

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

It says ( pg. 68. AA Big Book ) 'We put these fears on paper and ask ourselves why we had them. 'That's it. ( Yells ) I can't work these steps they're too difficult!! If they left you there, this could be difficult. If they left you with 'Why do I have these fears?' I could go back to 'It's Ma's fault: bad milk. It's my Dad's fault: bad example. But they don't leave me there. They tell us exactly why we have these fears: 'Wasn't it because self sufficiency failed us?' It's as simple as that. Do you know how much sense that makes to me? If I've got these fears and I've been relying on myself to remove them and I still have them, then obviously my power has failed me, so I better go to another power. How does that sound? Is that too tough? - Milt L.

[yukonm]

July 6

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

One dismal afternoon he paced a hotel lobby wondering how his bill was to be paid. At one end of the room stood a glass covered directory of local churches. Down the lobby a door opened into an attractive bar. He could see the gay crowd inside. In there he would find companionship and release. Unless he took some drinks, he might not have the courage to scrape an aquaintance and would have a lonely week-end.
Of course he couldn't drink, but why not sit hopefully at a table, a bottle of ginger ale before him? After all, had he not been sober six months now? Perhaps he could handle, say, three drinks - no more! Fear gripped him. He was on thin ice. Again it was the old, insidious insanity - that first drink. With a shiver, he turned away and walked down the lobby to the church directory. Music and gay chatter still floated to him from the bar.
But what about his responsibilities - his family and the men who would die because they would not know how to get well, ah - yes, those other alcoholics? There must be many such in this town. He would phone a clergyman. His sanity returned and he thanked God. Selecting a church at random from the directory, he stepped into a booth and lifted the receiver. - Pgs. 154-155 - A Vision For You

( Note: This is when Bill Wilson is subsequently introduced to Dr. Bob )

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Stumbling blocks can become stepping stones if we use each adversity as a chance to practice our new way of life. Then problems become challenges so we can see what part of our program will solve them. What principle can you apply to your current situation?
Divine Intelligence encourages me not to escape my every problem, but face it and learn to practice this program in all my affairs.

Inside My Mind

Today, I am grateful to feel alive and to recognize that life is a spiritual journey. All my life circumstances are spiritual challenges, if I choose to look at them that way. Getting free of my own over-attachment to people, places, things and ideas, mistaking them for me, releases my spirit. Once my spirit is released, it can travel and experience the real beauty of life. Life surrounds me; it is inside, outside and everywhere. If I am free and still inside, life is there. If I am not ruminating and filling my mind with unnecessary preoccupations - life is there, spirit is there - waiting to be seen and felt.

I allow my mind its freedom.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Since life is 10% actuality and 90% re-actuality you must chose your reactions carefully. The program has given you choice and how you choose to react to this day can make the difference between simply being dry or being sober.
I live today as I want to remember my life.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

If you're happy, notify your face. If you're not, notify your sponsor.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

It is a great relief to know that all I have to do is turn to the twelve steps of recovery and help is with me today. Today I am given all the tools that I need and I am so grateful that I no longer have to struggle alone.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I got sicker, quicker, on less liquor. - Unknown origin.

[yukonm]

July 7

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

When you have carefully explained to such people that he is a sick person, you will have created a new atmosphere. Barriers which have sprung up between you and your friends will disappear with the growth of sympathetic understanding. You will no longer be self-conscious or feel that you must apologize as though your husband were a weak character. He may be anything but that. Your new courage, good nature and lack of self-consciousness will do wonders for you socially. - Pg. 115 - To Wives

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

It is necessary in the beginning to be clean from dry drugs and dry from wet drugs, but it is not all we want to obtain. We want wholeness and we want growth. This comes from living each hour according to the principles we are learning.

My Spiritual Source demonstrates that clean and dry is not my only goal--but growth is.

Dreaming Dreams

Today, I will dream dreams. There is nothing wrong with having a couple of dreams for myself if they are realistic and don't remove me from life too much. To work toward a dream can be a constructive use of my talents and energies. It can give me a positive focus. If my dreams are wild and I am not willing to do the work necessary to realize them, they will only frustrate me and lower my self-esteem. If, however, I am able to dream what makes sense for me and work to put it within my reach, it can be a real process of growth and challenge. My energy and enthusiasm can help me move through blocks, and my commitment can show me that love and effort can be their own reward.

I can stretch myself.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Deal with the small stuff or it will deal with you. Do not allow the small stuff to pile up on the camel's back. Take each situation that bothers you and deal with that as one unit, not as the straw that breaks the camel's back.

When I feel it, I deal with it and then can heal from it.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Do your Third Step every morning and turn your will over to the care of the God of your understanding. At night, take a Tenth Step to see how God's doing.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I let go totally and give God the space to do His work.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

A man was walking on a beach after a storm. Thousands of starfish were stranded on the shore. He saw a boy throwing starfish back into the ocean and asked the boy why. The boy replied: 'The tide's going out, the starfish will die in the sun. The man said; 'But there's so many of them, what difference can it make? The boy threw another starfish and said : It'll make a difference to that one.' Anon.

[yukonm]

July 8

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

3. - Our membership ought to include all who suffer from alcoholism. Hence we may refuse none who wish to recover. Nor ought A.A. membership ever depend upon money or conformity. Any two or three alcoholics gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an A.A. group, provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation. - Pg. 563 - 4th. Edition - The Twelve Traditions ( The Long Form )

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

The slogans may sometimes annoy us in their simplicity. But repetition is an important learning tool. Think of the repetition that alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and depressants bring. Now you can understand the necessity of slogans to counteract the repetition of addiction.

As I go into this next hour of a clean and sober day, may I welcome the repetitions of recovery.

Having Fun

Today, I will have fun. What's the point of all the work I do in recovery if my life doesn't become lighter and happier? Even though I am working through deep issues, there is no reason why I can't have some enjoyment in the process. Fun is when I relax and let things happen - when I can laugh at myself and other people - when I don't take everything in life so seriously. It is when I can enjoy a seemingly meaningless conversation just for its own sake. Fun is when it doesn't have to be all my way - when the heavy load is removed, when my meter is turned off and I just goof around in the moment. Fun is something I don't have enough of for a number of silly reasons. Today I see that there is no reason not to enjoy myself.

I can let go and have fun.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

It doesn't pay to argue with 'slippers' about the proper way of getting clean and sober. Why should people who are still drinking and drugging tell those who are sober why it can't be done! We learn not to get in a pissing contest with a skunk. (or should we say drunk!)

The only thing I need to tell a drunk is how I got sober. I can't tell him or her how they will get sober, because I don't know.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Remember what you have left, not what you have lost.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I'm looking within to discover what I am holding on to from the past. Today I am willing to let go of all old anger and resentments that keep me stuck in tension and pain.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

To an alcoholic, changing drinks is like changing cabins on the Titanic. - Unknown origin.

[yukonm]

July 9

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Speaking at a dinner given by John D. Rockefeller Jr. to introduce Alcoholics Anonymous to some of his friends, Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick remarked:
'I think that psychologically speaking there is a point of advantage in the approach that is being made in this movement that cannot be duplicated. I suspect that if it is wisely handled - and it seems to be in wise and prudent hands - there are doors of opportunity ahead of this project that may surpass our capacities to imagine.' - Pg. 572 - 4th. Edition - Appendix V - The Religious View On A.A.

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Whether serious and conservative or eager and flighty, newcomers often feel no necessity for embracing recovery. REMEMBER, millions have gone before you. You don't have to embrace the 12 steps but embrace something that works for recovery.

I embrace a program of recovery, not my self will, but a program I trust with clean and people that I can see!

Spiritual Transformation

Today, I see that to change my life I have to change myself. Nothing less than a spiritual transformation will allow me to experience my current life as an alive, serene and whole person. When I say that I would like world peace, first I will understand that without inner peace there will be no world peace. One of the ways in which I can serve the cause of humanity is to be, within myself, a genuinely spiritual person - respecting all sects and creeds, but standing on my own as a conduit of higher truth, recognizing that each person has equal access to that knowledge. I will look for truth today within myself rather than outside. I will not wait for peace to be handed to me as some sort of prize for good behavior but will do the inner work needed to achieve it.

I seek truth within myself.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

A main theme in most spiritual traditions states that the best way to get what you want is to provide it for another. If you want serenity, make it peaceful and serene for another. Do you want a feeling of safety? Provide a safe place for another. Do you want to understand what has happened? Help another to understand.

I teach best what I most need to learn.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

The slogans work much better when you decorate your life with them rather than decorating the walls with them.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I am learning to stop judging and comparing so that I can be with what is. I am learning to accept what is without the struggle of trying to decide whether it is right or wrong.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I'm getting younger in AA. When I came in I was an old man of thirty, I couldn't walk across the alley. Now at seventy I'm running marathons. - Waggy Bill.

[yukonm]

July 10

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

This thought brings us to STEP TEN, which suggests we continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along. We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. - Pg. 84 - Into Action

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

What are the daily habits that you are forming right now to aid your recovery? Picking up this book is a good habit. If this doesn't quiet your spirit, you pick up another program book; if that doesn't work you must call a program person; if that doesn't work, then you meet them in person. Our hourly habits form our daily habits which form our recovery.

I ask the Divine Forces to help me implement the changes I need in my hourly habits to aid my recovery.

Becoming Real

Today, I let go and become real. I know that by holding on too tightly, I squeeze the life out of myself and those around me. Recovery has taught me to value being authentic above being something or someone. Recovery is a process of facing and removing those obstacles that have been in the way on my road back to myself. It has been my willingness to risk and trust that my Higher Power will hold me that has brought me to life again. Now it is time for me to live each day as it comes and give some of what I have received. So many people have helped me along the way - it is also part of my recovery to share what I have learned, in case it might help someone else.

I am open to life and all it holds.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

If you have one hand in the fellowship and one hand in your Higher Power's, you can't pick up today.

I put my hand in my Higher Power's by saying. 'Thy will not mine be done;' I put my hand in the fellowship by saying 'I'll be there, at the next meeting.'

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

As you sponsor others, remember this: If you are trying to recreate someone in your own image, then one of you will be redundant.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I will share my strength, hope and experience with someone still in pain. I will serve as I power of example to someone who is willing to let go of her suffering.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Fellowship for long winded speakers: Alconon and on, and on.. - Ted H.

[MajestyJo]

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

As you sponsor others, remember this: If you are trying to recreate someone in your own image, then one of you will be redundant.

This is so true. One of the biggest errors sponsor's make is trying to clone their sponsees into their own image. The sponsee puts the sponsor on a pedestal, and then when the sponsor doesn't walk their talk, the sponsee is devastated, and the sponsor falls off, and it becomes a rude awakening or a bruised ego.

We are all alcoholics and addicts, but that doesn't make us all the same, it gives us a common denominator, but each person is an individual and has his/her own Higher Power. All we do is guide and share our experience, strength, and hope, we don't become a sergeant general and imposing rules and regulation and saying, "This is how it is done."

There are guidelines and suggestions, but each person has to find the way that is right for them. People would probably have gone out and got drunk and given up if they had followed my regime over the years. Using was never an option, and I check all areas of recovery. Contempt prior to investigation can get you drunk.

I went to meetings and took a little from this one and that one, a lot from that one, very little from others, and then there were those who showed me how to work my program and how not to work my program.

Many times I found myself saying, "If that is sobriety, I don't want it!" I couldn't put my focus on others and forget my own recovery, how can I give what I don't have.

I have heard the quote in another way, "If there is only one thought in the room, someone isn't allowed to think for themselves." We learn by practice and doing. I try to stick to basics. If I am not feeling right, then I know that I have gotten off the path and emotionally or spiritually, heading for a relapse.

[yukonm]

July 11

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Upon therapy for the alcoholic himself, we surely have no monopoly. Yet it is our great hope that all those who have yet found no answer may begin to find one in the pages of this book and will presently join us on the high road to a new freedom. - Pg. xxi - 4th. Edition - Forward To Second Edition

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

There are no magic wands or burning bushes in our program. Just footwork and faith.

My footwork right now is to not use any mind-affecting chemical and go to a meeting today.

One Foot in Front of the Other

Today, all I have to do is live the next hour as well as I can. I will not get ahead of myself. I cannot be anywhere but right where I am. When I allow myself to be here now, to live in the present fully and freely, the rest of life takes care of itself. So few people live in the moment, that in itself will make me rare. That will make me someone I feel good about being and others can enjoy being around. When I am in the moment, the next right action reveals itself. When I align my will with the will of my Higher Power, I become one with diving purpose and I connect with the spirituality of life.

I surrender to the path

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

90 meetings in 90 days is not nearly enough. Tell newcomers to always catch a ride or give a ride to their daily meeting. This way they get a meeting on the way to the meeting, a meeting during the meeting, and a meeting on the way home. That makes 270 meetings in the first 90 days!

Who am I taking to a meeting tonight?

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Any failure will tell you-success is nothing but luck.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I look within to find my truth. I ask a power greater than myself to guide me and show me the way and all I have to do is follow. It is that simple.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Nobody's any better than anyone else. We're all just trying to stay away from a drink. The God that I was looking for, over here, over there; in some guy, the right motorcycle, the best tattoo. And all the time it was right here inside. And it's hope, and I have it every day if I choose to look for it. And you have it too, you have it right inside of yourself. I know that sounds like an after school special like happy little Care Bears or something, but it's really true. And you never have to drink again if you find that little light inside yourself. You are so set. It's really excellent. Sobriety rocks. - Gail.

[yukonm]

July 12

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

When working with a man and his family, you should take care not to participate in their quarrels. You may spoil your chance of being helpful if you do. But urge upon a man's family that he has been a very sick person and should be treated accordingly. You should warn against arousing resentment or jealousy. You should point out that his defects or character are not going to disappear over night. Show them that he has entered upon a period of growth. Ask them to remember, when they are impatient, the blessed fact of his sobriety. - Pg. 100 - Working With Others

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

The world is not consistent, you are not consistent, and those around you will not always be consistent. We don't have to be. We only have to remember not to use mind-affecting chemicals right now and our world will improve.

When inconsistency scares or annoys me, let me understand that to remain always constant would be like a plastic plant, never to grow and change!

Inner Hearing, Inner Sight

Today, I will trust my own heart. The clear message that whispers within me has more to tell me than a thousand voices. I have a guide within me who knows what is best for me. There is a part of me that sees the whole picture and knows how it all fits together. My inner voice may come in the form of a strong sense, a pull from within, a gut feeling or a quiet knowing. However my inner voice comes to me, I will learn to pay attention. In my heart I know what is going on. Though I am conditioned by the world to look constantly outside myself for meaning, today I recognize that it is deeply important for me to hear what I am saying from within. I give myself the gift of listening.

I will trust my inner voice.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

No one wants to hear the Sermon on the Mount or Zen philosophy when they're trying to save their ass. They want to know what to do--not hear words of wisdom. Tell them what you did.

I do not get so spiritual, that I am of no earthly value.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

If you think you have a good idea you might want to get second opinion from your sponsor.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I am at choice today. I accept the responsibilities of my life with a new sense of maturity, confidence and even excitement.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I went through life waiting for a space ship to land and a voice to say: 'Sorry, dropped you on the wrong planet, time to go home now.' - Trip S.