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07-31-2014, 09:36 AM | #1 |
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Daily Recovery Readings - August
Daily Reflections LIVING IT The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it. ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS , p. 83 When new in the program, I couldn't comprehend living the spiritual aspect of the program, but now that I'm sober, I can't comprehend living without it. Spirituality was what I had been seeking. God, as I understand Him, has given me answers to the whys that kept me drinking for twenty years. By living a spiritual life, by asking God for help, I have learned to love, care for and feel compassion for all my fellow men, and to feel joy in a world where, before, I felt only fear. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day The Alcoholics Anonymous program has borrowed from medicine, psychiatry, and religion. It has taken from these what it wanted and combined them into the program which it considers best suited to the alcoholic mind and which will best help the alcoholic to recover. The results have been very satisfactory. We do not try to improve on the A.A. program. Its value has been proved by the success it has had in helping thousands of alcoholics to recover. It has everything we alcoholics need to arrest our illness. Do I try to follow the A.A. program just as it is? Meditation For The Day You should strive for a union between your purposes in life and the purposes of the Divine Principle directing the universe. There is no bond of union on earth to compare with the union between a human soul and God. Priceless beyond all earth's rewards is that union. In merging your heart and mind with the heart and mind of the Higher Power, a oneness of purpose results, which only those who experience it can even dimly realize. That oneness of purpose puts you in harmony with God and with all others who are trying to do His will. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may become attuned to the will of God. I pray that I may be in harmony with the music of the spheres. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Complete the Housecleaning, p. 213 Time after time, newcomers have tried to keep to themselves shoddy facts about their lives. Trying to avoid the humbling experience of the Fifth Step, they have turned to easier methods. Almost invariably they got drunk. Having persevered with the rest of the program, they wondered why they fell. We think the reason is that they never completed their housecleaning. They took inventory all right, but hung on to some of the worst items in stock. They only thought they had lost their egoism and fear; they only thought they had humbled themselves. But they had not learned enough of humility, fearlessness, and honesty, in the sense we find it necessary, until they told someone else their entire life story. Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 72-73 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Who is sincere? Sincerity. We sometimes dismiss others people's relapses with the explanation that they didn't really want to stay sober or that they lacked sincerity of purpose. We have no way of gauging just how sincere anybody really is. Even in trying to understand ourselves, we may detect traces of double-mindedness that got us into trouble. Even if we've been sober for years, the old desire to drink can be lurking somewhere in the back of our minds. It's wise to assume that this is so even when there's no conscious desire to drink. If hidden desires to drink still persist even after years of sobriety, it points to the persistence of the disease.... Not to one's insincerity. It may even be that sincerity, like sobriety, has to be sought on a daily basis. Perhaps we are capable of being sincere today, and then lapse into insincerity tomorrow. To accept this is a sign of prudence and maturity, and perhaps even a measure of humility. I'll seek to be sincere today about the things that really count. If I know I'm insincere in certain areas, I'll seek more understanding about it. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple Made a list of all persons we had harmed . . . ---First half of Step Eight By the time we get to Step Eight, we're ready to work on our relationships. We start by making a list of all persons we've harmed. We look at where we have been at fault. We own our behavior. Now we're healing, and we must help others to heal too. Our list must be as complete as we can make it. As our recovery goes on we'll remember others we have hurt. We add them to our list. By doing this, we heal even more. Remember, this Step is for us. It is to help us stay sober. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me make a complete list. Help me keep it open-ended. Allow me and those I've harmed to be healed. Action for the Day: Even if I've made a list before, I'll make another one today. I will list all those I have harmed. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning The secret of seeing is to sail on solar wind. Hone and spread your spirit, till you yourself are a sail, whetted, translucent, broadside to the merest puff. --Annie Dillard Our progress today, and certainly our serenity, is enhanced by our willingness to accept all that we are blessed with today. Not only to accept, but to celebrate, trusting that these events are moving us toward our special destiny. Flowing with the twists and turns in our lives, rather than resisting them, guarantees smooth sailing, helps us to maximize our opportunities, increases our serenity. Accepting our powerlessness over all but our own attitude is the first step we need to take toward finding serenity. Resistance, whether it is against a person or a situation in our lives, will compound the problem, as we perceive it. We can believe in the advantages for growth that all experiences offer. We can sail with our experiences. We can be open to them so they can carry us to our destination. We can trust, simply trust, that all is well and in our favor, every moment. My serenity is in my control today. I will look to this day with trust and thanksgiving. And my Spirit will soar. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You But life among Alcoholics Anonymous is more than attending gatherings and visiting hospitals. Cleaning up old scrapes, helping to settle family differences, explaining the disinherited son to his irate parents, lending money and securing jobs for each other, when justified—these are everyday occurrences. No one is too discredited or has sunk too low to be welcomed cordially—if he means business. Social distinctions, petty rivalries and jealousies—these are laughed out of countenance. Being wrecked in the same vessel, being restored and united under one God, with hearts and minds attuned to the welfare of others, the things which matter so much to some people no longer signify much to them. How could they? p. 161 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." Since this Step so specifically concerns itself with humility, we should pause here to consider what humility is and what the practice of it can mean to us. p. 70 ************************************************** ********* Lost time is never found again. --Thelonious Monk Time is a created thing. To say, "I don't have time" is like saying "I don't want to..." --Lao-Tzu There are really only 2 choices: worry or trust God. --unknown Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself. --Og Mandino Don't let yesterday use up too much of today. --Native American Proverb "Fall seven times, stand up eight." --Japanese Proverb "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." --Confucius If you put everything off till you're sure of it, you'll get nothing done. --Norman Vincent Peale *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation SELF-RELIANCE "The way to greatness is the path of self-reliance, independence and steadfastness in times of trial and stress." -- Herbert Hoover Today I take responsibility for my life. Today I take responsibility for my disease. Today I take responsibility for my recovery. I know I am not perfect and I have many pains and problems yet to face, but I take hope in my daily conquests. Nothing is too great for me to overcome so long as I have confidence in myself. It is my "yes" or "no" that makes the difference. In the power of my choice rests my freedom. God, I thank You for my daily trials that ensure my victories. ************************************************** ********* "Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life. Psalm 27:4 "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: `It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Acts 20:35 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. Psalm 46:1 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration The more blessings you thank God for, the more blessings you begin to realize that you have been given. Lord, thank you for Your constant Love and unending blessings. Keep your heart clean by constant spring cleaning. Then there will be a place for beauty and peace. Lord, help me to remove carelessness and disrespect from my heart and in all things may I celebrate Your love for me.
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"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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08-01-2014, 10:17 AM | #2 |
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August 2
Daily Reflections WE BECOME WILLING. . . . . At the moment we are trying to put our lives in order. But this is not an end in itself. ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS , p. 77 How easily I can become misdirected in approaching the Eighth Step! I wish to be free, somehow transformed by my Sixth and Seventh Step work. Now, more than ever, I am vulnerable to my own self-interest and hidden agenda. I am careful to remember that self-satisfaction, which sometimes comes through the spoken forgiveness of those I have harmed, is not my true objective. I become willing to make amends, knowing that through this process I am mended and made fit to move forward, to know and desire God's will for me. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day Alcoholics Anonymous has no quarrel with medicine, psychiatry, or religion. We have great respect for the methods of each. And we are glad for any success they may have had with alcoholics. We are desirous always of cooperating with them in every way. The more doctors, the more psychiatrists, the more clergy and rabbis we can get to work with us, the better we like it. We have many who take a real interest in our program and we would like many more. Am I ready to cooperate with those who take a sincere interest in A.A.? Meditation For The Day God is always ready to pour His blessings into our hearts in generous measure. But like the seed-sowing, the ground must be prepared before the seed is dropped in. It is our task to prepare the soil. It is God's to drop the seed. This preparation of the soil means many days of right living, choosing the right and avoiding the wrong. As you go along, each day you are better prepared for God's planting, until you reach the time of harvest. Then you share the harvest with God -- the harvest of a useful and more abundant life. Prayer For The Day I pray that my way of living may be properly prepared day by day. I pray that I may strive to make myself ready for the harvest which God has planted in my heart. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Only Try, p. 214 In my teens, I had to be an athlete because I was not an athlete. I had to be a musician because I could not carry a tune. I had to be the president of my class in boarding school. I had to first in everything because in my perverse heart I felt myself the least of God's creatures. I could not accept my deep sense of inferiority, and so I strove to become captain of the baseball team, and I did learn to play the fiddle. Lead I must--or else. This was the "all or nothing" kind of demand that later did me in. ******************************** "I'm glad you are going to try that new job. But make sure that you are only going to 'try.' If you approach the project in the attitude that "I must succeed, I must not fail, I cannot fail,' then you practically guarantee the flop which in turn will guarantee a drinking relapse. But if you look at the venture as a constructive experiment only, then all should go well." 1. A.A. Comes Of Age, p. 53 2. Letter, 1958 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places "That's the way I am" Getter Better Bad behavior is sometimes justified as a form of self-expression: "That's the way I am." Others are supposed to tolerate this or risk losing a friendship. In our program, we should modify any behavior that offends or hurts others. If we have been too brutally frank in our comments, for example, maybe we're at fault. What we call honesty is really a form of cruelty. If we persist in "being the way we are" even when it doesn't work, we have nobody to blame but ourselves when things go wrong. Other people are entitled to be treated fairly and decently. Just as we want to be. Perhaps "the way I am" is something that can be changed for the good of all, ourselves included. If I have habits and traits that cause friction with others, I'll take a new look at them. It's possible that this is something I can and should change. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple . . . and because willing to make amends to them all.---Second half of Step Eight. We have made our list of persons we've harmed. Now we look at how willing we are to make amends. We might find that we aren't ready and willing to make amends to everyone. Maybe they have wronged us more than we have wronged them. Maybe we're afraid they'll get angry with us. Maybe we're afraid they'll put us in jail. We get ready to make amends by listening and talking to others in our group---and to our sponsor. We pray for help to be willing to make amends. Becoming willing does not just happen. We have to work at it. We need to be willing to let go of the past. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me become willing. Help me see my part. I know "my part" is the only part I can change. Action for the Day: I will take time to go over my list. To whom am I not ready to make amends? I will take time to read the Serenity Prayer. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning Though we be sick and tired and faint and worn--Lo, all things can be borne! --Elizabeth Chase Akers What bothered us most a year ago? A month ago? Even a week ago? It's probably that whatever it was, we were obsessed with it, certain that our futures were ruined, that there was no reasonable solution. It's also probable that we feared we simply couldn't survive the complexity of the situation. But we did. And we always will be able to survive any and all difficulties. We are never, absolutely never, given more than we can handle. In fact, we are given exactly what we need, at any given time. We have many lessons to learn. Fortunately, we have the structure of the Twelve Steps to guide us through the lessons. We need mainly to remember what we are powerless over, that there is a power greater than ourselves, and that life will become simple; we'll need no extra homework when we've turned it over to the care of God. Whatever my problem today, I will let God have it. A solution is in the making. I'll see it just as quickly as I can let go of the problem. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You Under only slightly different conditions, the same thing is taking place in many eastern cities. In one of these there is a well-know hospital for the treatment of alcoholic and drug addiction. Six years ago one of our number was a patient there. Many of us have felt, for the first time, the Presence and Power of God within its walls. We are greatly indebted to the doctor in attendance there, for he, although it might prejudice his own work, has told us of his belief in ours. pp. 161-162 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." Indeed, the attainment of greater humility is the foundation principle of each of A.A.'s Twelve Steps. For without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all. Nearly all A.A.'s have found, too, that unless they develop much more of this precious quality than may be required just for sobriety, they still haven't much chance of becoming truly happy. Without it, they cannot live to much useful purpose, or, in adversity, be able to summon the faith that can meet any emergency. p. 70 ************************************************** ********* Today...well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. --unknown "Treat People The Way You Want To Be Treated." "To Thine Own Self Be True!" "This Is The Real Thing IT'S No Dress Rehearsal." "Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves." --Thomas Carlyle "In any situation, no matter how painful, we have two choices: Hold onto anger, resentment, hurt, and fear, or open our hearts and look at the other person with understanding, empathy, & forgiveness." --Melody Beattie "Look back and be grateful, look ahead and be hopeful, look around and be helpful." --unknown The first step identifies the problem. The second step identifies the solution. The third step identifies the action. --unknown When I came into AA all I could say was, "I know" and "yeah but..." Then I got a sponsor who said, "You don't know, and there are no buts!" --unknown *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation LAUGHTER "Nobody ever died of laughter." -- Max Beerbohm I knew that I was growing in self-esteem and confidence when I was able to laugh, express that "belly" laugh that proclaims that I am glad to be alive. So many religious people are too serious. They seem to think that God disapproves of laughter and yet it seems the most natural emotion in the world. Sobriety is a statement that the pain is being overcome and the hope that is experienced will necessarily release laughter. Laughter also stops us from treating ourselves and the world too seriously. I remember a professor telling me, "God created the world for fun. Find the key to life and enjoy it." Spirituality is that key. Sometimes, Lord, in the silence of my car, my joy is so great and my gratitude so overwhelming, I can do nothing but laugh. Thank You for the gift of laughter. ************************************************** ********* "For you are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord shall enlighten my darkness." II Samuel 22;29 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Whether the friendships we have last a lifetime or only a brief period, they bring joy and make life a little better. Lord, may I be genuine and honest with the people in my life so that each relationship is a blessing. As we help those in need or comfort those in trouble, God's great love and divine glory is revealed to the world. Lord, I am Your servant. May others know more of You through me.
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"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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08-02-2014, 11:20 AM | #3 |
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August 3
Daily Reflections . . .TO BE OF SERVICE Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 77 It is clear that God's plan for me is expressed through love. God loved me enough to take me from alleys and jails so that I could be made a useful participant in His world. My response is to love all of His children through service and by example. I ask God to help me imitate His love for me through my love for others. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day We in A.A. must remember that we are offering something intangible. We are offering a psychological and spiritual program. We are not offering a medical program. If people need medical treatment, we call in a doctor. If they need a medical prescription, we let the doctor prescribe for them. If they need hospital treatment, we let the hospital take care of them. Our vital A.A. work begins when a person is physically able to receive it. Am I willing to leave medical care to the doctors? Meditation For The Day Each moment of your day which you devote to this new way of life is a gift to God. The gift of the moments. Even when your desire to serve God is sincere, it is not an easy thing to give Him many of these moments: the daily things you had planned to do, given up gladly so that you can perform a good service or say a kind word. If you can see Gods purpose in many situations, it will be easier to give Him many moments of your day. Every situation has two interpretations -- your own and God's. Try to handle each situation in the way you believe God would have it handled. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may make my day count somewhat for God. I pray that I may not spend it all selfishly. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Constructive Workouts, p. 215 There are those in A.A. whom we call "destructive" critics. They power-drive, they are "politickers," they make accusations to gain their ends--all for the good of A.A., of course! But we have learned that these folks need not be really destructive. We ought to listen carefully to what they say. Sometimes they are telling the whole truth; at other times, a little truth. If we are within their range, the whole truth, the half-truth, or no truth at all can prove equally unpleasant to us. If they have got the whole truth, or even a little truth, then we had better thank them and get on with our respective inventories, admitting we were wrong. If they are talking nonsense, we can ignore it, or else try to persuade them. Failing this, we can be sorry they are too sick to listen, and we can try to forget the whole business. There are few better means of self-survey and of developing patience than the workouts these usually well-meaning but erratic members so often afford us. Twelve Concepts, p. 40 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Watch out for peer pressure Maintaining Sobriety It's said that peer pressure often draws young people into alcoholism and drug addition. As adults following a recovery program, we also are susceptible to peer pressure. At a cocktail reception, for example, some people may express mild pity that we're having "only soft drinks," as if we're doing a form of penance. Or they may express exaggerated admiration for our success in recovery. Even this can make us feel different. We need not be critical of such reactions. The fact is that we are somewhat different when we're staying sober in situations where excessive drinking is normal. We should not, however, make this our problem if others draw attention to it. This is peer pressure, but we should be mature enough to dismiss it. Whatever situation I'm in today, if I know I'm on the right path, I'll not be swayed by the opinions and comments of others. Their opinions cannot affect me if I know I'm doing the right thing. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple Alcoholism isn't a spectator sport. Eventually the whole family gets to play. ---Joyce Rebeta-Burditt One of the biggest lies addicts can tell themselves is, "I'm not hurting anyone but myself." This is just another way we don't see how important we are to others. During our using, love was a burden. When anyone showed love for us, we turned away. They hurt. And we hurt. In recovery, when ready, we try and help our families heal. We listen as they speak of how our illness has hurt them. We comfort them as they tell their stories. Remember, our illness hurt them. Remember, our recovery will help them heal. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me face the pain my illness has brought to others. Let me know their pain. Let it help me stay sober. Action for the Day: I will list all persons my illness has hurt. I will say a prayer for them, even if they have harmed me. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning All that is necessary to make this world a better place to live is to love - to love as Christ loved, as Buddha loved. --Isadora Duncan To be unconditionally loved is our birthright, and we are so loved by God. We desire just such a love from one another, and we deserve it; yet, it's a human quality to look for love before giving it. Thus many of us search intently for signs of love. Too many of us are searching, rather than loving. Truly loving another means letting go of all expectations. It means full acceptance, even celebration of another's personhood. Not easy, but so rewarding, to ourselves as well as to the one who is the focus of our love. Love is a balm that heals. Loving lightens whatever our burdens. It invites our inner joy to emerge. But most of all, it connects us, one with another. Loneliness leaves. We are no longer alienated from our environment. Love is the mortar that holds the human structure together. Without the expression of love, it crumbles. This recovery program has offered us a plan for loving others, as well as ourselves. Love will come to us, just as surely as we give it away. Each and every expression of love I offer today will make smooth another step I take in this life. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You Every few days this doctor suggests our approach to one of his patients. Understanding our work, he can do this with an eye to selecting those who are willing and able to recover on a spiritual basis. Many of us, former patients, go there to help. Then, in this eastern city, there are informal meetings such as we have described to you, where you may now see scores of members. There are the same fast friendships, there is the same helpfulness to one another as you find among our western friends. There is a good bit or travel between East and West and we foresee a great increase in this helpful interchange. p. 162 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." Humility, as a word and as an ideal, has a very bad time of it in our world. Not only is the idea misunderstood; the word itself is often intensely disliked. Many people haven't even a nodding acquaintance with humility as a way of life. Much of the everyday talk we hear, and a great deal of what we read, highlights man's pride in his own achievements. p. 70 ************************************************** ********* Life is a gift ... open it every day. --Unknown When I live in the past, I live in regret. When I live in the future, I live in fear. When I stay in the NOW, everything's always okay. --Joan T. Be grateful for spiritual community. None of us are smart enough or sufficiently sensitive to notice every subtle sign that something is amiss before it becomes a large problem. Through community, through those who hold the energy that keeps us awake, we can tune in and ask God for guidance. No individual knows everything, but God does. Spiritual community reminds us that we are connected. --Mary Manin Morrissey "I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well." --Diane Ackerman Courage, it would seem, is nothing less than the power to overcome danger, misfortune, fear, injustice, while continuing to affirm inwardly that life with all its sorrows is good; that everything is meaningful even if in a sense beyond our understanding; and that there is always tomorrow. --Dorothy Thompson There is no personal history or past experience that is bigger or more powerful than the great God that resides within us. --Mary Manin Morrissey *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation UNDERSTANDING "Man --- a being in search of meaning." -- Plato Today I am on my way. With my sobriety has come a desire to understand --- understand life, understand me, understand my relationships and understand God. Meaning --- what is true? What is noble? What is spiritual? These are important to me today. I no longer wish to hurt, damage, ridicule, destroy, fight, lie or cheat in my life. I've had enough of being negative. I've had enough of being lost and isolated in my arrogance. I've had enough of standing on the outside of life, feeling resentful and afraid. Sobriety, for me today, involves my search for meaning --- knowing full well that my understanding will always be imperfect and I can never comprehend fully. The ultimate answer is in living with confusion. I am not God . . . but I still intend to reach for the stars. Lord, my cry for self-awareness is answered in the journey and not the destination. ************************************************** ********* "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." James 3:17 "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16 "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." II Corinthians 10:5 "Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:1-2 "Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels." II Timothy 2:23 "Do everything without complaining or arguing." Philippians 2:14 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Begin every day as if it were your very first because you really are always at the beginning. Lord, thank you for the constant ability to stop any offensive behaviors that I have and the gift of being forgiven and being able to forgive myself. When your world turns upside down and everything seems so frightening, thank God for His unchanging and constant love. Lord, Your love is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. In You I am safe and cared for.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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08-03-2014, 01:48 PM | #4 |
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August 4
Daily Reflections SEEDS OF FAITH Faith, to be sure, is necessary, but faith alone can avail nothing. We can have faith, yet keep God out of our lives. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 34 As a child I constantly questioned the existence of God. To a "scientific thinker" like me, no answer could withstand a thorough dissection, until a very patient woman finally said to me, "You must have faith." With that simple statement, the seeds of my recovery were sown! Today, as I practice my recovery -- cutting back the weeds of alcoholism -- slowly I am letting those early seeds of faith to grow and bloom. Each day of recovery, of ardent gardening, brings the Higher Power of my understanding more fully into my life. My God has always been with me through faith, but it is my responsibility to have the willingness to accept His presence. I ask God to grant me the willingness to do His will. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day We in A.A. are offering a kind of psychological program as well as a spiritual one. First, people must be mentally able to receive it. They must have made up their minds that they want to quit drinking, and they must be willing to do something about it. Their confidence must be obtained. We must show them that we are their friends and really desire to help them. When we have their confidence, they will listen to us. Then the A.A. fellowship is a kind of group therapy. Newcomers need the fellowship of other alcoholics who understand their problem because they have had it themselves. Individuals must learn to reeducate their minds. They must learn to think differently. Do I do my best to give mental help? Meditation For The Day "And this is life eternal, that they may know Thee." It is the flow of life eternal through spirit, mind, and body that cleanses, heals, restores, and renews. Seek conscious contact with God more and more each day. Make God an abiding presence during the day. Be conscious of His spirit helping you. All that is done without God's spirit is passing. All that is done with God's spirit is life eternal. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may be in the stream of eternal life. I pray that I may be cleansed and healed by the Eternal Spirit. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It After the "Honeymoon", p. 216 "For most of us, the first years of A.A. are something like a honeymoon. There is a new and potent reason to stay alive, joyful activity aplenty. For a time, we are diverted from the main life problems. That is all to the good. "But when the honeymoon has worn off, we are obliged to take our lumps, like other people. This is where the testing starts. Maybe the group has pushed us onto the side lines. Maybe difficulties have intensified at home, or in the world outside. Then the old behavior patterns reappear. How well we recognize and deal with them reveals the extent of our progress." ******************************** The wise have always known that no one can make much of his life until self-searching becomes a regular habit, until he is able to admit and accept what he finds, and until he patiently and persistently tries to correct what is wrong. 1. Letter, 1954 2. 12 & 12, p. 88 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Treating loved ones worse than strangers. Personal Relations Some of us grew up with resentments about the way our families treated us. It was confusing to notice how nice our parents could be toward strangers and then how abruptly they could become abusive toward us. The best release for this kind of resentment is forgiveness, but we should also ask ourselves if we're guilty of the same faults. Are we discourteous and inconsiderate toward our own children and family members? Do we apologize when we offend strangers, but not when we hurt our own children? We should try to treat everyone with fairness and kindness. No family member should be subjuected to our incessant criticism and rudeness. We owe them the same courtesies we extend to strangers. If I've had bad examples of abusive treatment in my own early years, I'll change the pattern by treating my own family with fairness and kindness, starting today. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple Let him that would move the world, first move himself.---Socrates Before recovery, most of us were big talkers. The Twelve Steps are for doers, not talkers. In the Steps we find action words: admitted, humbly asked, made direct amends, continued to take personal inventory. All these words speak of action, of doing. Recovery is about action. It's for doers. An action may be very simple. Such as going to a meeting early to set up chairs. Or it could be helping a neighbor. The program teaches that spirituality active, we grow and change. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, give me movement. Give me spiritual movement. Help me be a doer, not just a talker. Teach me to work my program. Today's Action: Today, I'll remember the words actions go together. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning Let me tell thee, time is a very precious gift of God; so precious that it's only given to us moment by moment. --Amelia Barr Where are our minds right now? Are we focused fully on this meditation? Or are our minds wandering off to events scheduled for later today or tomorrow perhaps? The simple truth is that this moment is all God has allowed right now. It's God's design that we will live fully each moment, as it comes. Therein lies the richness of our lives. Each moment contributes to the full pattern that's uniquely our own. We must not miss the potential pleasure of any experience because our thoughts are elsewhere. We never know when a particular moment, a certain situation, may be a door to our future. What we do know is that God often has to work hard getting our attention, perhaps allowing many stumbling blocks in order to get us back on target. Being in tune with now, this moment, guarantees a direct line of communication to God. It also guarantees a full, yet simple life. Our purpose becomes clear as we trust our steps to God's guidance. How terribly complicated we make life by living in the past, the present, and many future times, all at once! One step, one moment, and then the next step and its moment. How the simple life brings me freedom! ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You Some day we hope that every alcoholic who journeys will find a Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous at his destination. To some extent this is already true. Some of us are salesmen and go about. Little clusters of twos and threes and fives of us have sprung up in other communities, through contact with our two larger centers. Those of us who travel drop in as often as we can. This practice enables us to lend a hand, at the same time avoiding certain alluring distractions of the road, about which any travelling man can inform you.* * Written in 1939. In 1990, there are about 88,000 groups. There is A.A. activity in 134 countries, with an estimated membership of two million. p. 162 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." With great intelligence, men of science have been forcing nature to disclose her secrets. The immense resources now being harnessed promise such a quantity of material blessings that many have come to believe that a man-made millennium lies just ahead. Poverty will disappear, and there will be such abundance that everybody can have all the security and personal satisfactions he desires. The theory seems to be that once everybody's primary instincts are satisfied, there won't be much left to quarrel about. The world will then turn happy and be free to concentrate on culture and character. Solely by their own intelligence and labor, men will have shaped their own destiny. pp. 70-71 ************************************************** ********* Keep looking for the positive and that's what you'll get! --unknown Having a resentment is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die. --unknown >From a little spark comes a great fire. --Polish Proverb Sometimes love has its ups and downs. Mostly though, there are more ups than downs and true love will weather any storm. --K. Lytestone "Wake up with a smile and go after life . . .. Live it, enjoy it, taste it, smell it, feel it." --Joe Knapp If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us. --Hermann Hesse Expectation is the greatest impediment to living. In anticipation of tomorrow, it loses today. --Seneca *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation POTENTIAL "Education is helping the child realize his potentialities." -- Eric Fromm When I was drinking, I behaved like a child. I behaved not just like a child but "childish". I was so dependent upon my alcohol, so addicted, that I never realized my potential in life. I never realized the gift of life! Today I have a spiritual program that offers me the world; it sets no limits on my horizons; it encourages me to discover my potential and live it. Today I am learning new languages, visiting different countries and enjoying alternative cultures, making new friendships and, most importantly, discovering the "bigness" of God in His world. The education I have gained in my sobriety seems unending and unstoppable. Each day produces a new opportunity and a different experience. Everyday is a time to receive. Teach me to journey through the words into the experience. ************************************************** ********* "I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'" Psalm 91:2 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10 This is the message he has given us to announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are not living in the truth. But if we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. 1 John 1:5-7 Don't be impatient for the LORD to act! Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you, giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed. Psalm 37:34 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Never worry about the opinion others have of you because there is only one opinion that counts. Lord, I will walk in Your footsteps and seek to please You in my daily life. When you live in the spirit of God you will always feel the love within you. Lord, may I seek peace in You and not from the outside world.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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08-04-2014, 09:51 AM | #5 |
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August 5
Daily Reflections LISTENING DEEPLY, p.226 How persistently we claim the right to decide all by ourselves just what we shall think and just how we shall act. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 37 If I accept and act upon the advice of those who have made the program work for themselves, I have a chance to outgrow the limits of the past. Some problems will shrink to nothingness, while others may require patient, well-thought-out action. Listening deeply when others share can develop intuition in handling problems which arise unexpectedly. It is usually best for me to avoid impetuous action. Attending a meeting or calling a fellow A.A. member will usually reduce tension enough to bring relief to a desperate sufferer like me. Sharing problems at meetings with other alcoholics to whom I can relate, or privately with my sponsor, can change aspects of the positions in which I find myself. Character defects are identified and I begin to see how they work against me. When I put my faith in the spiritual power of the program, when I trust others to teach me what I need to do to have a better life, I find that I can trust myself to do what is necessary. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day We in A.A. are offering a spiritual program. The fundamental basis of A.A. is belief in some Power greater than ourselves. This belief takes us off the center of the universe and allows us to transfer our problems to some power outside of ourselves. We turn to this Power for the strength we need to get sober and stay sober. We put our drink problem in God's hands and leave it there. We stop trying to run our own life and seek to let God run it for us. Do I do my best to give spiritual help? Meditation For The Day God is your healer and your strength. You do not have to ask Him to come to you. He is always with you in spirit. At your moment of need He is there to help you. Could you know God's love and His desire to help you, you would know that He needs no pleading for help. Your need is God's opportunity. You must learn to rely on God's strength whenever you need it. Whenever you feel inadequate to any situation, you should realize that the feeling of inadequacy is disloyalty to God. Just say to yourself: I know that God is with me and will help me to think and say and do the right thing. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may never feel inadequate to any situation. I pray that I may be buoyed up by the feeling that God is with me. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Hope Born >From Hopelessness, p. 217 Letter to Dr. Carl Jung: "Most conversion experiences, whatever their variety, do have a common denominator of ego collapse at depth. The individual faces an impossible dilemma. "In my case the dilemma had been created by my compulsive drinking, and the deep feeling of hopelessness had been vastly deepened by my doctor. It was deepened still more by my alcoholic friend when he acquainted me with your verdict of hopelessness respecting Rowland H. "In the wake of my spiritual experience there came a vision of a society of alcoholics. If each sufferer were to carry the news of the scientific hopelessness of alcoholism to each new prospect, he might be able to lay every newcomer wide open to a transforming spiritual experience. This concept proved to be the foundation of such success as A.A. has since achieved." Grapevine, January 1963 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Can We Fix Other People's Problems? Problem Solving In Twelve Step work, we never run out of people who face serious problems. We're often tempted to use our own expertise and resources to fix these problems for others. This can be a mistake. It is always risky to undertake such assignments without a great deal of thought and understanding. Such attempts to fix others usually deal only with symptoms rather than causes. Unless another person is totally helpless, the best course is to share experiences and knowledge with others, but to leave the problem solving to them. We should not encourage anyone to become dependent on us, nor should we set ourselves up as godlike individuals who have all the answers. We actually may be showing off instead of helping, and we may also be robbing others of the self-confidence and growth that come from fixing their own problems. I'll share my experiences and hope today, while refraining from trying to fix people. I don't have answers for everybody, and it's wrong to believe I do. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple You're only human, you've suppose to make mistakes.---Billy Joel Listen to the kind voice inside. Listen to the voice that tells you you're good enough. Listen to the voice that tells you it's okay to make mistakes---you'll learn from them. Listen to the voice that tells you to go to your meeting even though it's cold outside and you're tired. Listen and let this voice become more and more clear. Listen, and welcome it in your heart. Talk with the voice. Ask it questions and seek it out when you need a friend. This voice is your Higher Power. Listen as your Higher Power speaks to you. Listen as your Higher Power tells you what a great person you are. Prayer for the Day: I pray to the gentle, loving voice that lives in me. Higher Power, You've always been kind to me. You've always loved me. Help me to remember You're always there---inside me. Action for the Day: I will take time from my busy day to listen and talk with the loving voice that lives inside me. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning The bottom line is that I am responsible for my own well-being, my own happiness. The choices and decisions I make regarding my life directly influence the quality of my days. --Kathleen Andrus There is no provision for blaming others in our lives. Who we are is a composite of the actions, attitudes, choices, decisions we've made up to now. For many of us, predicaments may have resulted from our decisions to not act when the opportunity arose. But these were decisions, no less, and we must take responsibility for making them. We need not feel utterly powerless and helpless about the events of our lives. True, we cannot control others, and we cannot curb the momentum of a situation, but we can choose our own responses to both; these choices will heighten our sense of self and well-being and may well positively influence the quality of the day. I will accept responsibility for my actions, but not for the outcome of a situation; that is all that's requested of me. It is one of the assignments of life, and homework is forthcoming. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You Thus we grow. And so can you, though you be but one man with this book in your hand. We believe and hope it contains all you will need to begin. pp. 162-163 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." Certainly no alcoholic, and surely no member of A.A., wants to deprecate material achievement. Nor do we enter into debate with the many who still so passionately cling to the belief that to satisfy our basic natural desires is the main object of life. But we are sure that no class of people in the world ever made a worse mess of trying to live by this formula than alcoholics. For thousands of years we have been demanding more than our share of security, prestige, and romance. When we seemed to be succeeding, we drank to dream still greater dreams. When we were frustrated, even in part, we drank for oblivion. Never was there enough of what we thought we wanted. p. 71 ************************************************** ********* Hope is the companion of power, and mother of success; for who so hopes strongly has within him the gift of miracles. --Samuel Smiles It is better to live one day wisely and reflectively than to live a hundred years in ignorance and indulgence." --Buddha Without forgiveness life is governed...by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation. --Robert Assaglioli Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace. --Buddha Do not fear going forward slowly; fear only to stand still. --Chinese Proverb Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been. --Mark Twain And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. --Abraham Lincoln Sometimes even to live is an act of courage. --Seneca *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation THOUGHT "Thought makes the whole dignity of man; therefore endeavor to think well, that is the only morality." -- Blaise Pascal I think that human beings are very imitative creatures; we imitate clothes, hair styles, mannerisms and lifestyles. A man's mind will be influenced by what he listens to and what he reads. And what we think is very important to sobriety. Today I make an effort to examine my thinking and check it out with a sponsor or in a support group. I know that my dignity in sobriety is connected not only with what I do but also with my attitudes and thoughts --- when my thinking begins to go crazy, I know I am in a dangerous place and I need to talk. God created me with the ability to think, therefore, I need to safeguard the information I put in my mind. Let me learn to develop morality of mind. ************************************************** ********* "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained." Philippians 3:12-16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Colossians 3:16 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Whatever your problem, know that there is a solution. Lord, I trust in You always even to the point of a miracle. God is always at work in your life. Notice His light on the events of your day. Lord, I sometimes look without really seeing. Help me to pause and notice.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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08-05-2014, 10:08 AM | #6 |
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August 6
Daily Reflections DRIVEN Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS , p. 62 My selfishness was the driving force behind my drinking. I drank to celebrate success and I drank to drown my sorrows. Humility is the answer. I learn to turn my will and my life over to the care of God. My sponsor tells me that service keeps me sober. Today I ask myself: Have I sought knowledge of God's will for me? Have I done service for my A. A. group? ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day Psychologists are turning to religion because just knowing about ourselves is not enough. We need the added dynamic of faith in a power outside of ourselves on which we can rely. Books on psychology and psychiatric treatments are not enough without the strength that comes from faith in God. And clergy and rabbis are turning to psychology because faith is an act of the mind and will. Religion must be presented in psychological terms to some extent in order to satisfy the modern person. Faith must be built largely on our own psychological experience. Have I taken what I need from both psychology and religion when I live the A.A. way? Meditation For The Day Refilling with the spirit is something you need every day. For this refilling with the spirit, you need these times of quiet communion, away, alone, without noise, without activity. You need this dwelling apart, this shutting yourself away in the very secret place of your being, away alone with your Maker. >From these times of communion you come forth with new power. This refilling is the best preparation for effective work. When you are spiritually filled, there is no work too hard for you. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may be daily refilled with the right spirit. I pray that I may be full of the joy of true living. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Happy--When We're Free, p. 218 For most normal folks, drinking means release from care, boredom, and worry. It means joyous intimacy with friends and a feeling that life is good. But not so with us in those last days of heavy drinking. The old pleasures were gone. There was an insistent yearning to enjoy life as we once did and a heartbreaking delusion that some new miracle of control would enable us to do it. There was always one more attempt--and one more failure. ******************************** We are sure God would like to see us happy, joyous, and free. Hence, we cannot subscribe to the belief that this life necessarily has to be a vale of tears, though it once was just that for many of us. But it became clear that most of the time we had made our own misery. Alcoholics Anonymous 1. p. 151 2. p. 133 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Am I Special? Self-understanding An early professional believed that alcoholics get into trouble because they thought they were SPECIAL. Thinking we're special certainly creates all sorts of problems. It's true that every person is special in that no two people are exactly alike. But we're also part of the human race, and we are bound by the general limitations that apply to everyone. We got into trouble partly because we thought we were special and could break universal commonsense rules. When we stop thinking of ourselves as special, we also become more teachable. We learn more frm the experiences of others. Then we realize that we're both special and generic, and we use his knowledge for self-improvement rather than self-destruction. I'll remember today that I'm special in certain ways, but that I'm also part of the human race and subject to things that apply to everyone. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple Fear of people and economic insecurity will leave you. . . Alcoholics Anonymous We don't have to fear people. They can't wreck our spirit. We don't have to fear money problems. We won't have to starve to death. Our Higher Power will lead us on a safe path through life. Our Higher power wants us to be safe, happy, and wise. Our Higher power wants us to feel loved. We'll learn to trust our Higher Power. And we'll learn to trust the happiness we find in our new way of life. People may still hurt us, but there will be much more love to carry us through. Prayer For the Day: Higher Power, I know You protect me and care for me. Help me stop worrying. Action for the Day: Today, I'll list four fears I have. I will talk with my sponsor about how to turn these over to my Higher Power. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning They sicken of the calm, who knew the storm. --Dorothy Parker Variety in experiences is necessary for our continued growth. We mistakenly think that the "untroubled" life would be forever welcome. It's the deep waves of life that teach us to be better swimmers. We don't know how to appreciate the calm without the occasional storm that pushes us to new limits of ourselves. The calm following the storm offers us the time we need to become comfortable with our new growth. We are ever changing, refining our values, stepping gingerly into uncharted territories. We are forever in partnership in these new territories, let us not forget. We long for challenge even in the midst of the calm that blesses us. Our inner selves understand the journey; a journey destined to carry us to new horizons; a journey that promises many stormy seasons. For to reach our destination, we must be willing to weather the storms. They are challenges, handpicked for us, designed to help us become all that we need to be in this earthly life. The mixture of the calm with the storm is not haphazard. Quite the contrary. My growth is at the center of each. I will trust its message. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You We know what you are thinking. You are saying to yourself: “I’m jittery and alone. I couldn’t do that.” But you can. You forget that you have just now tapped a source of power much greater than yourself. To duplicate, with such backing, what we have accomplished is only a matter of willingness, patience and labor. p. 163 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." In all these strivings, so many of them well-intentioned, our crippling handicap had been our lack of humility. We had lacked the perspective to see that character-building and spiritual values had to come first, and that material satisfactions were not the purpose of living. Quite characteristically, we had gone all out in confusing the ends with the means. Instead of regarding the satisfaction of our material desires as the means by which we could live and function as human beings, we had taken these satisfactions to be the final end and aim of life. p. 71 ************************************************** ********* When you have read the Bible, you will know it is the word of God, because you will have found it the key to your own heart, your own happiness, and your own duty. --Woodrow Wilson Time is like a river - it flows by and doesn't return. --Chinese Proverb We will be known forever by the tracks we leave. --Native American Proverb "People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges." --Joseph F. Newton "Find the seed at the bottom of your heart and bring forth a flower." -****Shigenori Kameoka "Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned." --Buddha *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation LEARNING "If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." -- Jesus (Matthew 15:14) I need to understand before I can teach; I need to listen before I give advice; I need to associate myself with the "winners" to become a winner. For years I sought advice and direction from those who did not understand. They tried to help but they did not understand. Today I understand that part of my denial and manipulation was choosing those who did not understand to help me. This way I could stay sick! My spiritual journey involves seeking out those who have that "something" that I want --- and being willing to follow their directions; I surrender to live. Teach me to develop the spiritual ego that is teachable. ************************************************** ********* But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 "Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might." Ephesians 6:10 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. Ephesians 1:18 Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. Psalm 100:1-2 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." I Corinthians 1:3-4 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Don't miss a single chance to enrich your life or the lives of others. Lord, Your blessings are countless. May I always be aware of Your presence in my life, share my blessings, and use my blessings to be a blessing to others. Keep your feet firmly planted in your faith and your eyes raised to the heavens. Lord, You are my strength, my encouragement and my source of all that is good.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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08-06-2014, 10:25 AM | #7 |
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August 7
Daily Reflections A "DESIGN FOR LIVING" We in our turn, sought the same escape with all the desperation of drowning men. What seemed at first a flimsy reed, has proved to be the loving and powerful hand of God. A new life has been given us or, if you prefer, "a design for living" that really works. ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS , p. 28 I try each day to raise my heart and hands in thanks to God for showing me a "design for living" that really works through our beautiful Fellowship. But what, exactly, is this "design for living" that "really works"? For me, it is the practice of the Twelve Steps to the best of my ability, the continued awareness of a God who loves me unconditionally, and the hope that, in each new day, there is a purpose for my being. I am truly, truly blessed in the Fellowship. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day We in A.A. are offering an intangible thing, a psychological and spiritual program. It's a wonderful program. When we learn to turn to a Higher Power, with faith that that Power can give us the strength we need, we find peace of mind. When we reeducate our minds by learning to think differently, we find new interests that make life worthwhile. We who have achieved sobriety through faith in God and mental reeducation are modern miracles. it is the function of our A.A. program to produce modern miracles. Do I consider the change in my life a modern miracle? Meditation For The Day You should never doubt that God's spirit is always with you, wherever you are, to keep you on the right path. God's keeping power is never at fault, only your realization of it. You must try to believe in God's nearness and availability of His grace. It is not a question of whether God can provide a shelter from the storm, but of whether or not you seek the security of that shelter. Every fear, worry, or doubt is disloyalty to God. You must endeavor to trust God wholly. Practice saying: "All is going to be well." Say it to yourself until you feel it deeply. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may feel deeply that all is well. I pray that nothing will be able to move me from that deep conviction. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Willing To Believe, p. 219 Do not let any prejudice you may have against spiritual terms deter you from honestly asking yourself what they might mean to you. At the start, this was all we needed to commence spiritual growth, to effect our first conscious relation with God as we understood Him. Afterward, we found ourselves accepting many things which had seemed entirely out of reach. That was growth. But if we wished to grow we had to begin somewhere. So at first we used our own conceptions of God, however limited they were. We needed to ask ourselves but one short question: "Do I now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power greater than myself?" As soon as a man can say that he does believe, even in this small degree, or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on his way. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 47 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Competing with others Attitude Some of us never liked close competition. We preferred to be clear winners or not to compete at all. We didn't like to have competitors breathing down our necks. This attitude kept us from doing our best, and we made a mistake when we thought we were competing with others. We're actually competing with ourselves at all times, trying to do better than we did yesterday. The presence of other people only helps us to set performance standards and goals. Once we accept the idea of self-improvement, we can delight in competition. We can take satisfaction in situations where, though we were not number one, we came in a close second instead of a sullen last. I'll know today that I'm always working with others but only competing against myself. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple True enjoyment comes from activity of the mind and exercise of the body.---Humboldt In recovery, we work at taking better care of ourselves. We care for our mind and our body. Often, during our drinking and drugging, we ignored our mind and body. We probably ate poorly, and we pushed our body to the limit. But now, we are to recover. . .totally! We are to care for our mind and body as we care for our spirit. Our illness is an illness of mind, body, and spirit. So let's care for all three. In recovery, we learn to care for and love all of who we are. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me care for my mind and body as I recover. You love all of me. Help me to respect and care for all of me. Action for the Day: I will write down how much time I've spent caring for my mind and body in the past two weeks. Is it enough? ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning To have one's individuality completely ignored is like being pushed quite out of life. Like being blown out as one blows out a light. --Evelyn Scott We need to know that we matter in this life. We need evidence that others are aware of our presence. And thus, we can be certain that others need the same attention from us. When we give it, we get it. So the giving of attention to another searching soul meets our own need for attention as well. Respectful recognition of another's presence blesses her, God, and ourselves. And we help one another grow, in important ways, each time we pay the compliment of acknowledgment. We're not sure, on occasion, just what we have to offer our friends, families, co-workers. Why we are in certain circumstances may have us baffled, but it's quite probably that the people we associate with regularly need something we can give them; the reverse is just as likely. So we can begin with close attention to people in our path. It takes careful listening and close observation to sense the message another soul may be sending to our own. I will be conscious of the people around me. I shall acknowledge them and be thankful for all they are offering me. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You We know of an A.A. member who was living in a large community. He had lived there but a few weeks when he found that the place probably contained more alcoholics per square mile than any city in the country. This was only a few days ago at this writing. (1939) The authorities were much concerned. He got in touch with a prominent psychiatrist who had undertaken certain responsibilities for the mental health of the community. The doctor proved to be able and exceedingly anxious to adopt any workable method of handling the situation. So he inquired, what did our friend have on the ball? p. 163 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." True, most of us thought good character was desirable, but obviously good character was something one needed to get on with the business of being self-satisfied. With a proper display of honesty and morality, we'd stand a better chance of getting what we really wanted. But whenever we had to choose between character and comfort, the character-building was lost in the dust of our chase after what we thought was happiness. Seldom did we look at character-building as something desirable in itself, something we would like to strive for whether our instinctual needs were met or not. We never thought of making honesty, tolerance, and true love of man and God the daily basis of living. pp. 71-72 ************************************************** ********* There is no try. There is either do or don't do. --unknown I wake each morning with the thrill of expectation and the joy of being truly alive. And I'm thankful for this day. --Angela L. Woznick How I relate to my inner self influences my relationships with all others. My satisfaction with myself and my satisfaction with other people are directly proportional. --Sue Atchley Ebaugh My relationships with others are as healthy and fulfilling as my communication with God. --unknown Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, and faith looks up. --unknown "Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start." --Nido Qubein *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation PREJUDICE "There is no more evil thing in the world than race prejudice . . . it justifies and holds together more baseness, cruelty and abomination than any other sort of error in the world." -- H. G. Wells Something about me fears racism because I know that I am at risk. If a group of people can be persecuted or ridiculed for being "different" from others, then why shouldn't it eventually happen to me? With racism the whole world is at risk. Also racism is the opposite of spirituality. Spirituality always seeks to include, bring together and unite. The world that God has made is ONE. All people and races are "a family" that must learn to co-exist together if we are to be productive and creative. In the variety is the strength. With the unusual and peculiar comes divinity. God is to be found in the confusions of life. Teacher, let me have the courage to expose the inadequacies in my life. ************************************************** ********* Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak! Matthew 26:41 "Make me know Thy ways, O LORD; teach me Thy paths." Psalm 25:4 "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him." John 7:18 "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." I Peter 3:3-4 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration It is always possible to pray no matter what you are doing. Lord, You are with me, guiding and caring for me. It takes but a brief moment to turn my thoughts to You. God sends us His message, but we must be willing to receive it and then live it. Lord, when I yield to You, I become free and full of the richness of life.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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08-07-2014, 10:55 AM | #8 |
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August 8
Daily Reflections "MADE A LIST. . . . " Made a list of all persons we had harmed, . . . . TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS , p. 77 When I approached the Eighth Step, I wondered how I could list all the things that I have done to other people since there were so many people, and some of them weren't alive anymore. Some of the hurts I inflicted weren't bad, but they really bothered me. The main thing to see in this Step was to become willing to do whatever I had to do to make these amends to the best of my ability at that particular time. Where there is a will, there's a way, so if I want to feel better, I need to unload the guilt feeling I have. A peaceful mind has no room for feeling of guilt. With the help of my Higher Power, if I am honest with myself, I can cleanse my mind of these feelings. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day For awhile, we are going back to the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, and pick out passages here and there, so that they may become fixed in our minds, a little at a time, day by day, as we go along. There is no substitute for reading the Big Book. It is our "bible." We should study it thoroughly and make it a part of ourselves. We should not try to change any of it. Within its covers is the full exposition of the A.A. program. There is no substitute for it. We should study it often. Have I studied the Big Book faithfully? Meditation For The Day All of life is a fluctuation between effort and rest. You need both every day. But effort is not truly effective until first you have had the proper preparation for it, by resting in a time of quiet meditation. This daily time of rest and meditation gives you the power necessary to make your best effort. There are days when you are called on for much effort and then comes a time when you need much rest. It is not good to rest too long and it is not good to carry on great effort too long without rest. The successful life is a proper balance between the two. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may be ready to make the proper effort. I pray that I may also recognize the need for relaxation. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It In Partnership, p. 220 As we made spiritual progress, it became clear that, if we ever were to feel emotionally secure, we would have to put our lives on a give-and-take basis; we would have to develop the sense of being in partnership or brotherhood with all those around us. We saw that we would need to give constantly of ourselves without demand for repayment. When we persistently did this, we gradually found that people were attracted to us as never before. And even if they failed us, we could be understanding and not too seriously affected. ******************************** The unity, the effectiveness, and even the survival of A.A. will always depend upon our continued willingness to give up some of our personal ambitions and desires for the common safety and welfare. Just as sacrifice means survival for the individual alcoholic, so does sacrifice mean unity and survival for the group and for A.A.'s entire Fellowship. 1. 12 & 12, pp. 115-116 2. A.A. Comes Of Age, pp. 287-288 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places No self-deception Honesty Most of the time, other people don't really deceive us. We deceive ourselves by refusing to face life realistically. We often believe false information simply because we want to believe it. Living on a 12 Step basis should enable us to face reality without becoming cynical or pessimistic. If a friend appears to be lying to us, for example, we can accept this as a single lie, not as a complete betrayal. In addition, we learn not to lie to ourselves. This helps us avoid shaky business schemes and unrealistic hopes. At the same time, we can still retain our capacity for believing in wonders and miracles. We have experienced enough miracles to prove that they really happen. I'll use my head as much as possible today to help keep my heart from getting me into trouble, but I'll remember that it's what's in my heart that counts. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple Adventure is not outside a man; it is within.---David Grayson Sobriety. It's an exciting adventure. It's a spiritual adventure. We look inward. We find where our Higher Power lives: within us. We then reach outward. We share our joy with others. Not with words and preaching, but by trying to help others. Sobriety is faith turned into action. Sobriety. It's an adventure in coming to know one's self. At times, we'll have to face our fears. But we'll also find just how much love we have for life. Sobriety. It's as if we're on a trip. Our Higher Power holds the map. Our job is to listen. And we go in the direction we're told. Prayer for the Day: I pray to be an adventurer. Higher Power, I pray to follow Your direction. Action for the Day: I'll ask some friends to tell me about an adventure their Higher Power has taken them on. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning I'm a most lucky and thankful woman. Lucky and thankful for each morning I wake up. For three wonderful daughters and one son. For an understanding and very loving husband with whom I've shared 52 blessed years, all in good health. --Thelma Elliott Gratitude for what's been offered us in our lives softens the harsh attitudes we occasionally harbor. Life presents us with an assortment of blessings; some bring us immediate joy; some invite tears; others foster fear. What we need help in understanding is that all experiences are meant for our good, all bless us in some manner. If we are able to see the big picture, we'd greet all situations, large and small, with a thankful heart. It's so very easy to wish away our lives, never finding satisfaction with our families, our jobs, and our friends. The more we find fault with life, the more fault we are guaranteed to find. Negative attitudes attract negative experiences; while positive attitudes lighten whatever burden we may be learning from. The years pass so quickly. Our chances to enjoy life pass quickly too. We can grab what comes our way and be grateful. We are never certain that this experience offered now might not be our last. Each morning I awake is blessing number one. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You Our friend proceeded to tell him. And with such good effect that the doctor agreed to a test among his patients and certain other alcoholics from a clinic which he attends. Arrangements were also made with the chief psychiatrist of a large public hospital to select still others from the stream of misery which flows through that institution. p. 163 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." This lack of anchorage to any permanent values, this blindness to the true purpose of our lives, produced another bad result. For just so long as we were convinced that we could live exclusively by our own individual strength and intelligence, for just that long was a working faith in a Higher Power impossible. This was true even when we believed that God existed. We could actually have earnest religious beliefs which remained barren because we were still trying to play God ourselves. As long as we placed self reliance first, a genuine reliance upon a Higher Power was out of the question. That basic ingredient of all humility, a desire to seek and do God's will, was missing. p. 72 ************************************************** ********* I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. It's amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor. --D. H. Lawrence There is more time than life. --Mexican Proverb If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done. --unknown I don't want people who want to dance, I want people who 'have' to dance. --George Balanchine "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant." --Robert Louis Stevenson "You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action." --Anthony Robbins *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation MONEY "Money often costs too much." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson Money can be a curse. It can destroy people. Money in itself has no value. It needs to be "used" or "put to work". The problem is that many people think it can work miracles, i.e., "make me happy", "give me self-esteem", "bring love into my life", "remove my loneliness", "cure my insecurities and remove my alcohol or drug problems!" The historical list of wealthy casualties indicates that this is not the case. We cannot "buy" ourselves out of a disease! In this sense, money costs too much. Because I have a compulsive nature, I need to be aware of my desire for money and the responsible way I need to use it. Spirituality involves the use of money. I need to be positive in my attitude towards money but also creative about how to use it. I need always to remember that true wealth is found in my discovery of the God within and not in the clothes I wear. O God, let me make money serve me; may I never be foolish enough to serve it. ************************************************** ********* "Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes; And I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it." Psalm 119:33-35 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5 "He answered: " `Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, `Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Luke 10:27 "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7 "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Romans 12:2b ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration There is never a moment that we cease being a child of God. Lord, Your love fills me with the ability to love all of Your children. Help me to set aside any hurts or reservations that I have and treat all as You would. Often times that which we find difficult is that which teaches. Lord, may I always be able to see the good that comes from even my trials.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
08-08-2014, 10:04 AM | #9 |
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August 9
Daily Reflections ". . .OF ALL PERSONS WE HAD HARMED" "...and became willing to make amends to them all." TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 77 One of the key words in the Eighth Step is the word all. I am not free to select a few names for the list and to disregard others. It is a list of all persons I have harmed. I can see immediately that this Step entails forgiveness because if I'm not willing to forgive someone, there is little chance I will place his name on the list. Before I placed the first name on my list, I said a little prayer: "I forgive anyone and everyone who has ever harmed me at any time and under any circumstances." It is well for me to contemplate a small, but very significant, two-letter word every time the Lord's Prayer is said. The word is as. I ask, "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." In this case, as means, "in the same manner." I am asking to be forgiven in the same manner that I forgive others. As I say this portion of the prayer, if I am harboring hatred or resentment, I am inviting more resentment, when I should be calling on the spirit of forgiveness. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day "We have an allergy to alcohol. The action of alcohol on chronic alcoholics is a manifestation of an allergy. We allergic types can never safely use alcohol in any form at all. We cannot be reconciled to a life without alcohol, unless we can experience an entire psychic change. Once this psychic change has occurred, we who seemed doomed, we who had so many problems that we despaired of ever solving them, find ourselves able to control our desire for alcohol." Have I had a psychic change? Meditation For The Day Ask God in daily prayer to give you the strength to change. When you ask God to change you, you must at the same time fully trust Him. If you do not fully trust Him, God may answer your prayer as a rescuer does that of a drowning person who is putting up too much of a struggle. The rescuer must first render the person still more helpless, until he or she is wholly at the rescuer's mercy. just so must we be wholly at God's mercy before we can be rescued. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may be daily willing to be changed. I pray that I may put myself wholly at the mercy of God. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It God Will Not Desert Us, p. 221 "Word comes to me that you are making a magnificent stand in adversity--this adversity being the state of your health. It gives me a chance to express my gratitude for your recovery in A.A. and especially for the demonstration of its principles you are now so inspiringly giving to us all. "You will be glad to know that A.A.'s have an almost unfailing record in this respect. This, I think, is because we are so aware that God will not desert us when the chips are down; indeed, He did not when we were drinking. And so it should be with the remainder of life. "Certainly, He does not plan to save us from all troubles and adversity. Nor, in the end, does He save us from so-called death--since this is but an opening of a door into a new life, where we shall dwell among His many mansions. Touching these things I know you have a most confident faith." Letter, 1966 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Confidence In the next phase. Assurance "God has carried me this far. I will not be let down now." These are brave words of recovering people who find themselves facing new doubts and fears. There's nothing unrealistic about this attitude. Those of us in 12 Step programs and beneficiaries of a miraculous chain of events that brought our movement into being. Our responsibility is to continue carrying the message by proving how the program works. It's our success in dealing with life's problems that eventually attracts others to our fellow ship. The best proof of how our spiritual program works is showing how our Higher Power continues to solve problems in our lives. We don't always know what the next phase in our lies will bring. We can only know that with God, all sorts of wonderful things continue to be possible. Though I can't see around the corner, I'll know today that my Higher Power will guide me smoothly and safely through the next phase. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple If there is no wind, row.---Latin proverb At times, staying sober will be easy; at other times, it will be hard. But we must do what is needed to stay sober. Having a hard week? Go to extra meetings. Feeling alone? Call a friend and ask if you can get together. Feel like drinking? Go to a safe place until the urge passes. We have no choice. We must row when there's no wind. If not, we'll fall back into our addiction. If we work hard, we'll stay sober. Plus we'll grow as spiritual people. Hard times test us and make better people. But this will only happen if we keep our Higher Power and our program close to our heart. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me remember that I grow during hard times. I pray that I'll accept and use what You've given me each day. Action for the Day: Today, I'll list five things I learned from my program in hard times. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning For me, stopping smoking wasn't a matter of will power, but being will-less. --Joan Gilbertson Most of us have struggled, willfully, with untold numbers of addictions; liquor, uppers, downers, sugar, chocolate, cigarettes, men. The more we became determined to control our use or to abstain, the greater the compulsion felt for one drink, one bite, one puff. Giving in completely was the turning point. This recovery program helps each of us find relief from our primary addiction once we humble ourselves, accept our powerlessness, and ask for help. It can help us equally effectively, every day, with any problem we are willfully trying to control. Is a family member causing us grief? Is a co-worker creating anxiety? Has a close friend pulled away? We expend so much energy trying to manage outcomes! In most cases, our attempt to control will invite even more resistance. The program offers the way out of any frustrating situation. We can be mindful of our powerlessness and cherish the opportunities offered by our higher power. We can turn over whatever our problem to God and quietly, trustingly, anticipate the resolution. It's guaranteed. How much easier I will find life's experiences if I will let go of my willful ways. The right outcome in all cases will more quickly surface. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You So our fellow worker will soon have friends galore. Some of them may sink and perhaps never get up, but if our experience is a criterion, more than half of those approached will become fellows of Alcoholics Anonymous. When a few men in this city have found themselves, and have discovered the joy of helping others to face life again, there will be no stopping until everyone in that town has had his opportunity to recover -- if he can and will. pp. 163-164 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." For us, the process of gaining a new perspective was unbelievably painful. It was only by repeated humiliations that we were forced to learn something about humility. It was only at the end of a long road, marked by successive defeats and humiliations, and the final crushing of our self sufficiency, that we began to feel humility as something more than a condition of groveling despair. Every newcomer in Alcoholics Anonymous 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. pp. 72-73 ************************************************** ********* You can't fly a kite unless you go against the wind and have a weight to keep it from turning somersaults. The same with man. No man will succeed unless he is ready to face and overcome difficulties and is prepared to assume responsibilities. --William J. H. Boetcker Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain - and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving. --Dale Carnegie Never assume you know who I am or what I'm doing, ask me a question instead. --Carol Neilson Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content. --Helen Keller "I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess." --unknown *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation ACCEPTANCE "The man who has become a thinking being feels a compulsion to give to every creature the same reverence for life that he gives to his own." -- Albert Schweitzer Today I accept people. Even the people with who I do not agree, I accept. My freedom is dependent upon my attitude towards others. My respect is rooted in the respect I give to others. God is to be found in my neighbor! Nowhere is this more true for me as a religious person than in my attitude to people of other creeds --- and those who have none! The spiritual life that unites me to God and the world requires not only acceptance of "difference" but my personal need for it. But more than this; even those who hurt, abuse and destroy need to be accepted from within my spiritual self --- because something of their life exists in mine. In this accepting love is the daily healing of my disease. May my acceptance of the tyrant lead to the forgiveness of the self. ************************************************** ********* Whatever you do or say; let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus. Colossians 3:17 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6 "The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Isaiah 58:11 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration A thoughtful gesture can accomplish so much and can even be the beginning of a miracle. Lord, help me to warm the heart of just one person today. Keep your feet firmly planted in your faith and your eyes raised to the heavens. Lord, You are my strength, my encouragement and my source of all that is good.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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08-09-2014, 10:37 AM | #10 |
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August 10
Daily Reflections REDOUBLING OUR EFFORTS To a degree, he has already done this when taking moral inventory, but now the time has come when he ought to redouble his efforts to see how many people he had hurt, and in what ways. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS , p. 77 As I continue to grow in sobriety, I become more aware of myself as a person of worth. In the process, I am better able to see others as persons, and with this comes the realization that these were people whom I had hurt in my drinking days. I didn't just lie, I lied about Tom. I didn't just cheat, I cheated Joe. What were seemingly impersonal acts, were really personal affronts, because it was people - people of worth - whom I had harmed. I need to do something about the people I have hurt so that I may enjoy a peaceful sobriety. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day "The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution. We who have found this solution to our alcoholic problem, we who are properly armed with the facts about ourselves, can generally win the entire confidence of another alcoholic. We who are making the approach to new prospects have had the same difficulty they have had. We obviously know what we are talking about. Our whole deportment shouts at new prospects that we are people with a real answer." Am I a person with the real answer to the alcoholic problems of others? Meditation For The Day For straying from the right way there is no cure except to keep so close to the thought of God that nothing, no other interest, can seriously come between you and God. Sure of that, you can stay on God's side. Knowing the way, nothing can prevent your staying in the way and nothing can cause you to seriously stray from it. God has promised peace if you stay close to Him, but not leisure. You still have to carry on in the world. He has promised heart-rest and comfort, but not pleasure in the ordinary sense. Peace and comfort bring real inward happiness. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may keep my feet on the way. I pray that I may stay on God's side. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Who Is To Blame?, p. 222 At Step Four we resolutely looked for our own mistakes. Where had we been selfish, dishonest, self-seeking, and frightened? Though a given situation had not been entirely our fault, we often tried to cast the whole blame on the other person involved. We finally saw that the inventory should be ours, not the other man's. So we admitted our wrongs honestly and became willing to set these matters straight. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 67 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Am I getting too busy? Time Management. It's always risky when a recovering person gets too busy for meetings. It's also dangerous when business and personal concerns crowd out interest in the program. We should never deceive ourselves by thinking that we're somehow safe just because our time is filled with useful and interesting work. Many of us have a tendency to become addicted to "busy-ness". Though less destructive than drinking, this serves as an escape, just as alcohol did. The danger is that when the work no longer satisfies us, we'll find our lives becoming empty again. We could then be very vulnerable to taking a drink. We should never be too busy for the wonderful, constructive work of the program. Far from taking time away from our other actives, work in the program will enhance everything we do. I'll try to balance my activities today, making sure that I have time for the program. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple There are time we must grab God's and walk forward.--- Anonymous Sometimes we struggle with being part of the problem, instead of being part of the solution. Inside we know this, but somehow we can't Let Go and Let God. To let go takes faith that the outcome will be okay. When we have faith, we know our Higher Power believes in us and will guide us. When we have faith, we believe in ourselves. When we let go, we let go of our need to always be right. Letting go first takes place on the inside. Letting go allows us to change how we view what's happening. Often, all we really need is this change of attitude. This is the beauty of faith: it allows us to see the same thing in different Ways. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, permit me to let go. Let me see that believing in You must also mean believing in myself. Action for the Day: I will review my life since entering the Twelve Step program. I will work at seeing what good partners my Higher Power and I make. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning ...the growth of understanding follows an ascending spiral rather than a straight line. --Joanna Field We each are traveling our own, very special path in this life. At times our paths run parallel to each other. On occasion they may intersect. But we do all have a common destination: knowledge of life's meaning. And we'll arrive at knowledge when we've arrived at the mountain's summit, separately and yet together. We do not go straight up the side of the mountain on this trip. We circle it, slowly, carefully, sometimes losing our footing, sometimes back-tracking because we've reached an impasse. Many times we have stumbled, but as we grow in understanding, as we rely more and more on our inner strength, available for the taking, we become more sure-footed. We have never needed to take any step alone on this trip. Our troubles in the past were complicated because we did not know this; but now we do. Our lifeline is to our higher power. If we hang onto it, every step of the way will feel secure. The ground will be stable under us. I am on a path to full understanding. I am learning to trust the lifeline offered by the program and God and my friends. As I learn, my footing is less tentative, and it supports me more securely. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You Still you may say: "But I will not have the benefit of contact with you who wrote this book." We cannot be sure. God will determine that, so you must remember that your real reliance is always upon Him. He will show you how to create the fellowship you crave. [NOTE: Alcoholics Anonymous will be glad to hear from you. Address P.O. Box 459, Grand Central Station, New York, N.Y. 10017] p. 164 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." 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. Rebellion dogs our every step at first. p. 73 ************************************************** ********* Joy is the echo of God’s life in us. --Abbot Columba Mormion "It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day to day basis." --Margaret Bonnano Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart ... Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens. --Carl Jung "We generally change ourselves for one of two reasons: inspiration or desperation." --Jim Rohn "The time is always right to do what is right." --Martin Luther King, Jr. "What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly." --Lao Tsu *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation FAITH "Faith must trample underfoot all reason, sense and understanding." -- Martin Luther An obstacle to my understanding the spiritual life was my intellectualization; my head was forever getting in the way of my heart. It was much easier to me to think rather than to feel; my faith was smothered by logic. My manipulating and controlling mind was stopping me experiencing the adventure of faith. The poet in me grew as I began to trust others. God became alive in my confusion. The answer was in not having to have the answers. Today spirituality involves all the varied confusions and paradoxes of life that I have discovered in me and in others --- and it's okay. Today the love I give and receive is beyond my wildest dreams, and I smile at the joy of my confusion. May my head unite with my heart in the daily maze of life. ************************************************** ********* "Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face evermore!" 1 Chronicles 16:11 "For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in him. That is why we say "Amen" when we give glory to God through Christ." 2 Corinthians 1:20 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Whatever the problem, stressing over it will not solve it. Lord, I turn to You for solutions because I believe that You care for all of my needs. Bless me with the ability to remain level headed and calm as we work our way through my day. Never forget that home is Heaven and life on earth is only temporary. Lord, may I live with deep awareness of my spiritual nature and live a life of truth.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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08-10-2014, 10:55 AM | #11 |
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August 11
Daily Reflections REMOVING "THE GROUND GLASS" The moral inventory is a cool examination of the damages that occurred to us during life and a sincere effort to look at them in a true perspective. This has the effect of taking the ground glass out of us, the emotional substance that still cuts and inhibits. AS BILL SEES IT, p. 140 My Eighth Step list used to drag me into a whirlpool of resentment. After four years of sobriety, I was blocked by denial connected with an ongoing abusive relationship. The argument between fear and pride eased as the words of the Step moved from my head to my heart. For the first time in years I opened my box of paints and poured out an honest rage, an explosion of reds and blacks and yellows. As I looked at the drawing, tears of joy and relief flowed down my cheeks. In my disease, I had given up my art, a self-inflicted punishment far greater than any imposed from outside. In my recovery, I learned that the pain of my defects is the very substance God uses to cleanse my character and to set me free. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day "While alcoholics keep strictly away from drink, they react to life much like other people. But the first drink sets the terrible cycle in motion. Alcoholics usually have no idea why they take the first drink. Some drinkers have excuses with which they are satisfied, but in their hearts they really do not know why they do it. The truth is that at some point in their drinking they have passed into a state where the most powerful desire to stop drinking is of no avail." Am I satisfied that I have passed my tolerance point for alcohol? Meditation For The Day He who made the ordered world out of chaos and set the stars in their courses and made each plant to know its season, He can bring peace and order out of your private chaos if you will let Him. God is watching over you, too, to bless you and care for you. Out of the darkness He is leading you to light, out of unrest to rest, out of disorder to order, out of faults and failure to success. You belong to God and your affairs are His affairs and can be ordered by Him if you are willing. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may be led out of disorder into order. I pray that I may be led out of failure into success. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It One Fellowship--Many Faiths, p.223 As a society we must never become so vain as to suppose that we are authors and inventors of a new religion. We will humbly reflect that every one of A.A.'s principles has been borrowed from ancient sources. ******************************** A minister in Thailand wrote, "We took A.A.'s Twelve Steps to the largest Buddhist monastery in this province, and the head priest said, "Why, these Steps are fine! For us as Buddhists, it might be slightly more acceptable if you had inserted the word 'good' in your Steps instead of 'God.' Nevertheless, you say that it is God as you understand Him, and that must certainly include the good. Yes, A.A.'s Twelve Steps will surely be accepted by the Buddhists around here.'" ******************************** St. Louis oldtimers recall how Father Edward Dowling helped start their group; it turned out to be largely Protestant, but this fazed him not a bit. A.A. Comes Of Age 1. p. 231 2. p. 81 3. p. 37 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places What is real Open-mindedness? New Ideas When we're urged to be open-minded, what's really involved? Open-mindedness certainly can't mean accepting every idea that comes down the road, because some of them are worthless or harmful. Open-mindedness really means a readiness to put our deeply held opinions aside long enough to consider new ideas. If we simply refuse to listen to anything new, we'll avoid the bad ideas, but we'll also miss out on the ideas that can help us. If we're really honest, we can look back to see many ideas that helped us after we reluctantly agreed to consider them. It's important to screen ideas as they come to us, but we can't block them out completely. All a good idea needs to help us is a fair chance. I'll work at being more open-minded today. It's possible I've been blocking out ideas that could help me. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win you're still a rat.--- Lily Tomlin Alcoholism is rat race. Drug addiction is a rat race. We were always trying to keep one or two steps ahead of the cat. We were always sneaking around, and everyone was disgusted with us. Our goal in recovery is stop acting like a rat and join the human race again. Recovery teaches us sayings like Easy Does It and One Day At a Time. Our sayings remind us to pace ourselves. Our sayings remind us that healing takes time. We live by human values: honesty, respect from others, fairness, openness, self-respect. We work at just being ourselves. We learn that this is enough. We are enough. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me accept my humanness. I am part of the human race, not the rat race. Action for the Day: Just for today, I'll pace myself. I'll list ways I often go to fast for my own good. I'll ask friends how they pace themselves. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning Imagination has always had powers of resurrection that no science can match. --Ingrid Bengis In the imagination are transmitted messages, from God to us. Inspiration is born there. So are dreams. Both give rise to the goals that urge us forward, that invite us to honor this life we've been given with a contribution, one like no other contribution. Our imagination offers us ideas to ponder, ideas specific to our development. It encourages us to take steps unique to our time, our place, our intended gifts to the world. We can be alert to this special "inner voice" and let it guide our decisions; we can trust its urgings. It's charged with serving us, but only we can decide to "listen." The imagination gives us another tool: belief in ourselves. And the magic of believing offers us strength and capabilities even beyond our fondest hopes. It prepares us for the effort we need to make and for handling whatever outcome God has intended. My imagination will serve me today. It will offer me the ideas and the courage I need to go forth. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You Our book is meant to be suggestive only. We realize we know only a little. God will constantly disclose more to you and to us. Ask Him in your morning meditation what you can do each day for the man who is still sick. The answers will come, if your own house is in order. But obviously you cannot transmit something you haven’t got. See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for us. p. 164 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." When we have finally admitted without reservation that we are powerless over alcohol, we are apt to breathe a great sigh of relief, saying, "Well, thank God that's over! I'll never have to go through that again!" Then we learn, often to our consternation, that this is only the first milestone on the new road we are walking. Still goaded by sheer necessity, we reluctantly come to grips with those serious character flaws that made problem drinkers of us in the first place, flaws which must be dealt with to prevent a retreat into alcoholism once again. We will want to be rid of some of these defects, but in some instances this will appear to be an impossible job from which we recoil. And we cling with a passionate persistence to others which are just as disturbing to our equilibrium, because we still enjoy them too much. How can we possibly summon the resolution and the willingness to get rid of such overwhelming compulsions and desires? p. 73 ************************************************** ********* If what you are doing is not working, take a moment to stop and take a look at what you are doing and, if necessary, take another path. --Jan Ruhe "Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." --Ralph Waldo Emerson When it is time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived. --Henry David Thoreau I can get more out of God by believing Him for one minute than by shouting at Him all night. --Smith Wigglesworth "I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself." --Walter Anderson *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation INDIVIDUALITY "The race advances only by the extra achievements of the individual. You are the individual." -- Charles Towne The spiritual program that involves a "love of self" has made me get in touch with my individuality. Although we can identify with other people's feelings and situations, we are also not exactly the same. Our dreams and aspirations are different, our gifts and achievements vary, our personal individuality adds to the variety of life. My "difference" needs to be nurtured alongside my spiritual growth, especially since being a recovering alcoholic I am tempted to "please" the crowd. Today my personal inventory revolves around my needs, hopes and dreams that are realistic. Spirituality is reality. In helping myself to the abundant richness that is within me, I am contributing to society and the world. Thank You for making the world with such creative difference; may I continue to risk in this knowledge. ************************************************** ********* "Even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed, the Lord answered, you could say to this mulberry tree, May God uproot you and throw you into the sea, and it would obey you!" Luke 17:6 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Thoughts of the past can not hurt you without your consent. Lord, help me to learn from my past, not live there by continually bringing it into the present. The heart cannot both doubt and have faith, hate and give love, worry and trust in God for one will soon crowd out the other. Lord, I commit myself to Your way and Your will and open my heart to Your peace.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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08-11-2014, 10:22 AM | #12 |
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August 12
Daily Reflections A LOOK BACKWARD First, we take a look backward and try to discover where we have been at fault; next we make a vigorous attempt to repair the damage we have done; . . . TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 77 As a traveler on a fresh and exciting A.A. journey of recovery, I experienced a newfound peace of mind and the horizon appeared clear and bright, rather than obscure and dim. Reviewing my life to discover where I had been at fault seemed to be such an arduous and dangerous task. It was painful to pause and look backward. I was afraid I might stumble! Couldn't I put the past out of my mind and just live in my new golden present? I realized that those in the past whom I had harmed stood between me and my desire to continue my movement toward serenity. I had to ask for courage to face those persons from my life who still lived in my conscience, to recognize and deal with the guilt that their presence produced in me. I had to look at the damage I had done, and become willing to make amends. Only then could my journey of the spirit resume. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day "There was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet by Alcoholics Anonymous. By doing so, we have a spiritual experience which revolutionizes our whole attitude toward life, toward others, and toward God's universe. The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives there in a way that is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us that we could never do for ourselves." Have I let God come into my life? Meditation For The Day The moment a thing seems wrong to you or a person's actions to be not what you think they should be, at that moment begins your obligation and responsibility to pray for those wrongs to be righted or that person to be changed. What is wrong in your surroundings or in the people you know? Think about these things and make these matters your responsibility. Not to interfere or be a busybody, but to pray that a change may come through your influence. You may see lives altered and evils banished in time. You can become a force for good wherever you are. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may be a co-worker with God. I pray that I may help people by my example. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Leadership In A.A., p. 224 No society can function well without able leadership at all its levels, and A.A. can be no exception. But we A.A.'s sometimes cherish the thought that we can do without much personal leadership at all. We are apt to warp the traditional idea of "principles before personalities" around to such a point that there would be no "personality" in a leadership whatever. This would imply rather faceless robots trying to please everybody. A leader in A.A. service is a man (woman) who can personally put principles, plans, and policies into such dedicated and effective action that the rest of us naturally want to back him up and help him with his job. When a leader power-drives us badly, we rebel; but when he too meekly becomes an order-taker and he exercises no judgment of his own--well, he really isn't a leader at all. Twelve Concepts, pp. 38-39 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Things I can't fix Acceptance. One of the sad realities of life is that we're awash in disorder that we can't fix. All around us, the world seethes and festers with aliments and injustices that are beyond our control. We can react by becoming angry or by making quixotic efforts to solve some of these problems. Our best course, however, is to apply our 12 Step program to life in this world. The Serenity Prayer suggests we accept what we can't change. A slogan reminds us to set priorities ("First things First.") The Eleventh Step remind us to always seek God's will. This will enable me to live effectively while doing my best to serve others. In time, I may even discover that I can fix a few of the seemingly insoluble problems around me. I'll realize today that I have the ability only to do certain things within my sphere of experience. I'll see to it, however, that I do these things well. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple Fairness is what justice really is. ---The last Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart Some of us get hung up on what's fair. We might feel, because we've worked hard to stay sober, we should be rewarded. We might keep score of what we get and what others get. And we complain if it's "not fair." Maybe we should be glad life isn't fair. Why? Most of us caused a lot of trouble we've never had to pay for. And we've hurt a lot of people who haven't gotten even. Would we really want life to be fair? Our Higher Power isn't fair either. That is, our Higher Power doesn't keep score. Our Higher Power doesn't try to get even. Our Higher Power is loving and forgiving, no matter what. Our Higher Power has the same love and help for everyone. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, give me the wisdom to stop keeping score. Help me want the best for everyone. Action for the Day: I'll list five times I've been unfair to others. Do I need to make amends? ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning When a woman has love, she is no longer at the mercy of forces greater than herself, for she, herself, becomes the powerful force. --Veronica Casey The need for love is universal. Each of us longs for the affirmation that assures us we are needed, appreciated, desired. We are strengthened by the strokes others give us, and when no strokes are forthcoming, we sometimes falter. With emotional and spiritual maturity comes the understanding that we are loved, unconditionally, by God. And the awareness of that love, the realization of its abiding presence, will buoy us up when no other love signals to us. Most of us still lose our connection to the omnipresent God, however. Thus, our buoyancy is tentative. Until that time when we are certain about our value, about the presence of God's love, we'll need to practice self-affirmation. But learning how to nurture ourselves, how to be gentle and caressing to the woman within, may be painstaking. Patience will ease the process. Unconditionally loving ourselves will become natural in time. In fact, we'll sense our inner person growing, changing. Our wholeness will become apparent to others as well as to ourselves. Love breeds love. I will shower it upon others and myself and relish the growing sense of self that emerges. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny. May God bless you and keep you—until then. p. 164 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." But again we are driven on by the inescapable conclusion which we draw from A.A. experience, that we surely must try with a will, or else fall by the wayside. At this stage of our progress we are under heavy pressure and coercion to do the right thing. We are obliged to choose between the pains of trying and the certain penalties of failing to do so. These initial steps along the road are taken grudgingly, yet we do take them. We may still have no very high opinion of humility as a desirable personal virtue, but we do recognize it as a necessary aid to our survival. pp. 73-74 ************************************************** ********* I have been given a new day to live, to grow, to give love and to feel love. --Ruth Fishel Love is living in the spiritual heart. --John-Roger Today I choose to forgive instead of holding on to resentments. Today I choose to let go of all feelings that block me from feeling love. Today I choose to see everyone through the eyes of love. --Ruth Fishel "We must keep in mind that where the road is crooked, God makes it straight, and where our hearts are wounded, God makes us whole. As we open our hearts in purity and simplicity, admitting to God that we are completely powerless in the area of our problem, His illumination redeems us." --Marianne Williamson Today I know I'm just wasting my energy to try to change people, places and things. By looking within I can really discover what needs to be changed and then turn it over to my Higher Power to be released. --Ruth Fishel "The expression of praise as thanksgiving, gratitude, and joy is among the most powerful forms of affirmation." --Catherine Ponder Far too many people spend their lives reading the menu instead of enjoying the banquet. --unknown You can pray for a good crop, but don't forget your hoe! --unknown *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation LIFE "The tragedy of life is what dies in man while he lives." -- Albert Schweitzer Addiction progressively takes away the vitality of life. It robs life of meaning. Addiction isolates; it kills by atrophy. People, places and things lose meaning; everything becomes a chore and God is lost. We say to compensate that we are having "fun" --- we say this a lot and at times we believe it, but in the silence of the night we know it to be a lie. We lie to others and to ourselves. Sometimes we believe the lie! At this point we begin to die unless we take courage and confront "the lie" in order to live. Today I live because I confronted my lie. I have discovered the spiritual power that was buried deep beneath the progressive addiction. And I am finding it easier and less painful to live. May I continue to breathe a daily "yes" in my life so that I might live. ************************************************** ********* "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." Romans 12:12-13 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:17 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12-13 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration If you are over committed, things begin to fall apart. Lord, help me be reasonable in the expectations I place on myself so that I can efficiently use my time and still have enough time to relax and enjoy the day. Choose to be worthy to yourself and never confuse self worth with behavior. Lord, help me to be less critical of my past and see that this moment right now is all that I can do anything about.
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"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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08-12-2014, 10:36 AM | #13 |
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August 13
Daily Reflections A CLEAN SWEEP . . . . and third, having thus cleaned away the debris of the past, we consider how, with our newfound knowledge of ourselves, we may develop the best possible relations with every human being we know. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS , p. 77 As I face the Eighth Step, everything that was required for successful completion of the previous seven Steps came together: courage, honesty, sincerity, willingness and thoroughness. I could not muster the strength required for this task at the beginning, which is why this Step reads "Became willing. . . . " I needed to develop the courage to begin, the honesty to see where I was wrong, a sincere desire to set things right, thoroughness in making a list, and willingness to take the risk required for true humility. With the help of my Higher Power in developing these virtues, I completed this Step and continued to move forward in my quest for spiritual growth. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day "We had but two alternatives; one was to go on to the bitter end, blotting out the consciousness of our intolerable situation as best we could, and the other was to accept spiritual help. We became willing to maintain a certain simple attitude toward life. What seemed at first a flimsy reed has proved to be the loving and powerful hand of God. A new life has been given us, a design for living that really works. All of us establish in our own individual way our personal relationship with God." Have I established my own relationship with God? Meditation For The Day Make it a daily practice to review your character. Take your character in relation to your daily life, to your dear ones, your friends, your acquaintances, and your work. Each day try to see where God wants you to change. Plan how best each fault can be eradicated or each mistake be corrected. Never be satisfied with a comparison with those around you. Strive toward a better life as your ultimate goal. God is your helper through weakness to power, through danger to security, through fear and worry to peace and serenity. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may make real progress toward a better life. I pray that I may never be satisfied with my present state. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It The Answer in the Mirror, p. 225 While drinking, we were certain that our intelligence, backed by will power, could rightly control our inner lives and guarantee us success in the world around us. This brave philosophy, wherein each man played God, sounded good in the speaking, but it still had to meet the acid test: How well did it actually work? One good look in the mirror was answer enough. ******************************** My spiritual awakening was electrically sudden and absolutely convincing. At once I became a part--if only a tiny part--of a cosmos that was ruled by justice and love in the person of God. No matter what had been the consequences of my own willfulness and ignorance, or those of my fellow travelers on earth, this was still the truth. Such was the new and positive assurance, and this has never left me. 1. 12 & 12, p. 37 2. Grapevine, January 1962 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Blaming others Common sense Action NO matter what happens, some people insist that a culprit must be found when things go awry. Someone must be blamed for every wrong or catastrophe. We must be careful not to buy into this practice in three ways: FIRST, we must avoid being help responsible for problems we didn't cause. SECOND, we must also avoid any personal guilt for such problems. THIRD, we must not fall into the trap of unfairly blaming other people. The best use of energy we spend hunting down culprits is to fix what's within our powers, to have the courage to change the things (we) can. Then we will have done what we can to reduce the number of problems in the world while putting our own talents and energies to their best uses. I'll keep some balance today if I hear anybody blaming others for the world's woes. We'll probably fix most problems one day at a time, and I'll do the best I can with those problems I know something about. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple Once it[a spoken word] flies out, you can't catch it. ---Russian proverb We've said many mean words. Our words often hurt the people we love. We can never really take back the words. But we're learning now to speak with care . We know the words have a lot of power. What do we say when we're angry? When we want something? When we're trying to be kind? Now, think about this: people will remember out words. If we're honest and careful in our speech, people will respect us. But if we say things to force our will, we may be sorry later. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, speak through me today. Action for the Day: Today, I'll ask one question of the person I love the most: "How have my words hurt you in the past?" Then I'll talk with my sponsor about this. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning Anything forced into manifestation through personal will is always "ill got" and has "ever bad success." --Florence Scovel Shinn The main thrust of our recovery is to attune ourselves to God's will, struggling no longer to impose our own. The pain we've endured in past years was often of our own making. We controlled situations until we managed to force the outcome we desired, only to realize it didn't offer happiness. It was, instead, a bitter ending to the struggle. When we want something or someone to play by our rules, we can expect barriers. And when the barriers don't give way with a gentle push, we should consider it a clue that we are off course. When we want what God wants for us, the barriers, if any, will fall away. What God wants for us at every moment is growth and happiness. When we step away from our ego and develop a selfless posture toward life, we'll find serenity in the midst of any turmoil. Serenity is God's promise. When we get in line with God's will, we'll find peace. I will know God's will if I will listen to my inner voice. I will do what feels right, and peace will be my reward. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Doctor Bob's Nightmare A co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. The birth of our Society dates from his first day of permanent sobriety. June 10, 1935. To 1950, the year of his death, he carried the A.A. message to more than 5,000 alcoholics men and women, and to all these he gave his medical services without thought of charge. In this prodigy of service, he was well assisted by Sister Ignatia at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio, one of the greatest friends our Fellowship will ever know. I WAS born in a small New England village of about seven thousand souls. The general moral standard was, as I recall it, far above the average. No beer or liquor was sold in the neighborhood, except at the State liquor agency where perhaps one might procure a pint if he could convince the agent that he really needed it. Without this proof the expectant purchaser would be forced to depart empty handed with none of what I later came to believe was the great panacea for all human ills. Men who had liquor shipped in from Boston or New York by express were looked upon with great distrust and disfavor by most of the good townspeople. The town was well supplied with churches and schools in which I pursued my early educational activities. p. 171 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." But when we have taken a square look at some of these defects, have discussed them with another, and have become willing to have them removed, our thinking about humility commences to have a wider meaning. By this time in all probability we have gained some measure of release from our more devastating handicaps. We enjoy moments in which there is something like real peace of mind. To those of us who have hitherto known only excitement, depression, or anxiety--in other words, to all of us--this newfound peace is a priceless gift. Something new indeed has been added. Where humility had formerly stood for a forced feeding on humble pie, it now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient which can give us serenity. p. 74 ************************************************** ********* "Let go of your attachment to being right, and suddenly your mind is more open. You're able to benefit from the unique viewpoints of others, without being crippled by your own judgment." --Ralph Marston "Once you face your fear, nothing is ever as hard as you think." --Olivia Newton-John A clean conscience makes a soft pillow. --unknown A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing. --unknown All I have to do is make the right choices. I will always know which they are, when I ask for guidance. --unknown I will look to each moment with child-like eyes. I'll find joy and contentment. --unknown Adventure is not outside a man; it is within. --David Grayson *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation REALITY "Humankind cannot bear very much reality." -- T. S. Eliot I wonder why we find it hard to face reality? I preferred to escape from my problems, avoid who I was, not deal with issues of God, relationships or loneliness --- and live in a world of "make believe". However, it did not work. The pain of being a "fake" and living a lie became too great so I asked for help. Today I am on a journey towards reality and it is a spiritual journey. I know I will never be completely real. A part of me will always be "diseased". I must live and treat my compulsive behavior on a daily basis --- but my life is getting better, and I am slowly growing in an understanding of who I am and what I need. God, let me be as real as I can be. ************************************************** ********* Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Ephesians 6:10-18 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration As you wake, remember that God is the first one waiting to talk with you. Good morning, Lord. Let's have a grand and wonderful day. Our time here is short and there is still so much to be done. Lord, please let me do a little more for You today so that the world may be a little better because of me.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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08-13-2014, 11:21 AM | #14 |
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August 14
Daily Reflections REPAIRING THE DAMAGE We attempt to sweep away the debris which has accumulated out of our effort to live on self-will and run the show ourselves. If we haven't the will to do this, we ask until it comes. Remember it was agreed at the beginning we would go to any lengths for victory over alcohol. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76 Making a list of people I had harmed was not a particularly difficult thing to do. They had showed up in my Fourth Step inventory: people towards whom I had resentments, real or imagined, and whom I had hurt by acts of retaliation. For my recovery to be thorough, I believed it was not important for those who had legitimately harmed me to make amends to me. That is important in my relationship with God is that I stand before Him, knowing I have done what I can to repair the damage I have done. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day "None of us like to think that we are bodily and mentally different from others. Our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove that we could drink like other people. This delusion that we are like other people has to be smashed. It has been definitely proved that no real alcoholic has ever recovered control. Over any considerable period we get worse, never better. There is no such thing as making a normal drinker out of an alcoholic." Am I convinced that I can never drink again normally? Meditation For The Day We should have life and have it more abundantly--spiritual, mental, physical, abundant life--joyous, powerful life. This we can have if we follow the right way. Not all people will accept from God the gift of an abundant life, a gift held out free to all. Not all people care to stretch out a hand and take it. God's gift, the richest He has to offer, is the precious gift of abundant life. People often turn away from it, reject it, and will have none of it. Do not let this be true of you. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may hasten to accept the gift of abundant spiritual life. I pray that I may live the good life to the best of my ability. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Humility for the Fellowship, Too, p. 226 We of A.A. sometimes brag of the virtues of our Fellowship. Let us remember that few of these times are actually earned virtues. We were forced into them, to begin with, by the cruel lash of alcoholism. We finally adopted them, not because we wished to but because we had to. Then, as time confirmed the seeming rightness of our basic principles, we began to conform because it was right to do so. Some of us, notably myself, conformed even then with reluctance. But at last we came to a point where we stood willing to conform gladly to the principles which experience, under the grace of God, had taught us. A.A. Comes Of Age, p.224 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Wasting Time Time management In dealing with our personal shortcomings, we may find traits of immaturity. For example, we might waste time doing the things we like to do rather than the things we must do. We sometimes find a way to justify this. Drinking coffee with friends might be called "having a meeting" even when it goes far beyond normal limits and uses up time that should be devoted to family and work responsibilities. Without becoming workaholics or drudges, we do need to be hones about our habits. If we're wasting too much time, it could be at the expense of things that need to be attended to promptly. When we waste time, we often have to work twice as hard to catch up later on. Let's be honest about the management of our time. I'll watch how I spend my time today. If I'm spending too much time socializing, I'll put myself on a reasonable schedule that balances both leisure and work. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple The best side of a saloon is outside.---Anonymous We need to stay away from places where we used to drink or use other drugs. Sometimes we need to stay away from our old using friends. But some days it's hard to stay away. We remember the fun times. Or we want a quick fix for our problems. When we feel like this, we know something is wrong. We can call our sponsor and talk about it. And get to a meeting. We need to remember how much better our lives are now. We don't want our old lives back. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me stay away from trouble. Thanks for keeping me sober today. Action for the Day: Today, I'll make a list of places that mean trouble for me---places I need to stay away from. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning Often when we're being tough and strong, we're scared. It takes a lot of courage to allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to be soft. --Dudley Martineau We've developed defenses for protection because we have felt the need for protection from the abuses of others, parents on occasion, bosses, spouses, even strangers. And in certain situations, our defenses served us well for a time. However, they have taken their toll. Hiding behind them for long makes them habitual, and we move farther and farther away from our center, from the woman each of us needs and wants to be. Exposing who we really are invites judgment, sometimes rejection, often times discounting. It's a terribly hard risk to take, and the rewards are seldom immediate. But with time, others respect us for our vulnerability and begin to imitate our example. We are served well by our integrity, in due time. Letting others see who we really are alleviates confusion, theirs and ours. We no longer need to decide who we should be; we simply are who we are. Our choices are simplified. There is only one appropriate choice to every situation--the one that is honest and wholly reflective of who we are at that moment. Rewards will be forthcoming when I am honest. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Doctor Bob's Nightmare A co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. The birth of our Society dates from his first day of permanent sobriety, June 10, 1935. To 1950, the year of his death, he carried the A.A. message to more than 5,000 alcoholics men and women, and to all these he gave his medical services without thought of charge. In this prodigy of service, he was well assisted by Sister Ignatia at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio, one of the greatest friends our Fellowship will ever know. My father was a professional man of recognized ability and both my father and mother were most active in church affairs. Both father and mother were considerably above the average in intelligence. pp. 171-172 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." This improved perception of humility starts another revolutionary change in our outlook. Our eyes begin to open to the immense values which have come straight out of painful ego-puncturing. Until now, our lives have been largely devoted to running from pain and problems. We fled from them as from a plague. We never wanted to deal with the fact of suffering. Escape via the bottle was always our solution. Character-building through suffering might be all right for saints, but it certainly didn't appeal to us. p. 74 ************************************************** ********* "Plant positive thoughts in your mind and expect a harvest of great possibilities." --Unknown To keep a lamp burning we have to keep putting oil in it. --Mother Teresa Happiness is an INSIDE job. --unknown "People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges." --Joseph F. Newton "Find the seed at the bottom of your heart and bring forth a flower." -****Shigenori Kameoka Once it [a spoken word] flies out, you can't catch it. --Russian proverb *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation TRUTH "If error is corrected whenever it is recognized as such, the path of error is the path of truth." -- Hans Reichenbach I believe that in order to discover spirituality in our lives, we need to confront the "disease", that destructive and negative side of our lives. We need to make the disease work for us! For too many years I tried to avoid and deny my alcoholism. I wanted to recover by osmosis! I did not want to get my hands dirty with the reality of my suffering but rather I wanted a "miracle" --- really magic --- to make everything different from what it had been for years. I did not want to face my pain! But it does not work that way. If I am to get well, I need to confront my disease, smell my disease, hold my disease, pull and tug at the disease in my life. Why? Because it is mine. I need to be in touch with my disease if I am ever going to make the necessary changes. I need to make my disease work for me --- that is spirituality. Let me have the courage to pass through the pain in order to experience the gain. ************************************************** ********* "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." Galatians 6:7-9 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17 "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18 "And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will." Romans 8:26-27 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Every moment of every day is your choice unless you give it away. Lord, I choose to live peacefully today and ask for patience and strength when I feel stress from the demands others place on me. To give of yourself is when you truly give. Lord, even in my busiest moments may I be able to make time when someone really needs me.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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08-14-2014, 10:16 AM | #15 |
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August 15
Daily Reflections DIDN'T WE HURT ANYBODY? Some of us, though, tripped over a very different snag. We clung to the claim that when drinking we never hurt anybody but ourselves. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS , p. 79 This Step seemed so simple. I identified several people whom I had harmed, but they were no longer available. Still, I was uneasy about the Step and avoided conversations dealing with it. In time I learned to investigate those Steps and areas of my life which made me uncomfortable. My search revealed my parents, who had been deeply hurt by my isolation from them; my employer, who worried about my absences, my memory lapses, my temper; and the friends I had shunned, without explanation. As I faced the reality of the harm I had done, Step Eight took on a new meaning. I am no longer uncomfortable and I feel clean and light. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day "Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. Commencing to drink after a period of sobriety, we are in a short time as bad as ever. If we have admitted we are alcoholics, we must have no reservations of any kind, nor any lurking notion that some day we will be immune to alcohol. What sort of thinking dominates an alcoholic who repeats time after time the desperate experiment of the first drink? Parallel with sound reasoning, there inevitably runs some insanely trivial excuse for taking the first drink. There is little thought of what the terrific consequences may be." Have I given up all excuses for taking a drink? Meditation For The Day "Where two or three are banded together, I will be there in the midst of them." When God finds two or three people in union, who only want His will to be done, who want only to serve Him, He has a plan that can be revealed to them. The grace of God can come to people who are together in one place with one accord. A union like this is miracle-working. God is able to use such people. Only good can come through such consecrated people, brought together in unified groups for a single purpose and of a single mind. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may be part of a unified group. I pray that I may contribute my share to its consecrated purpose. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Is Sobriety Enough? p.227 The alcoholic is like a tornado roaring his way through the lives of others. Hearts are broken. Sweet relationships are dead. Affections have been uprooted. Selfish and inconsiderate habits have kept the home in turmoil. We feel a man is unthinking when he says that sobriety is enough. He is like the farmer who came up out of his cyclone cellar to find his home ruined. To his wife, he remarked, "Don't see anything the matter here, Ma. Ain't it grand the wind stop blowin'? ********************************* We ask ourselves what we mean when we say that we have "harmed" other people. What kind of "harm" do people do one another, anyway? To define the word "harm" in a practical way, we might call it the result of instincts in collision, which cause physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual damage to those about us. 1. Alcoholics Anonymous, p.82 2. 12 & 12, p. 80 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Do We Have A Larger Purpose? Peace The Twelve Step program came out of a movement that was attempting to save the world by establishing universal peace. Our purpose is scaled down to helping the person who still suffers. We don't really know the route to world peace, but we have learned that we must be at peace with ourselves and others in order to live happily. This means releasing the old resentments, distrust, and other faults that plague so many of us. Living the Twelve Step way might have been our first experience in getting along with others. We found it totally different from the hate and suspicion that once poisoned our lives and kept us in bondage. At some point, we may also find that we're playing a part in the larger purpose of finding peace. We have , at least, removed ourselves from the raging conflicts that cause so much trouble in the world. I'll be at peace with everyone I meet today. I've forgiven others and myself, and I'll do nothing today that gets me embroiled in conflict with others. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple We know what we are, but know not what we may be.---Shakespeare We are addicts. We suffer from an illness. We go to Twelve Step meetings because we know who we are. We have a sponsor because we know who we are. We ask friends for support because we know who we are. We know why we need our Higher Power to guide us. Recovery is a spiritual journey. In this journey, we are followers, not guides. It's a journey that change us. We don't know how recovery will change us, but we know it will. Is my faith strong enough for my journey? Part of how we get strong for our journey is by knowing who we truly are: addicts. Prayer for the Day: I pray to remember who I am, so I'll learn to respect the power of my illness. Action for the Day: I'll take time to remember my past, both good and bad. I'll also take time to think about who I am now. How far have I come? ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning Life does not need to mutilate itself in order to be pure. --Simone Weil How terribly complicated we choose to make life's many questions. Should we call a friend and apologize or wait for her call? Are the children getting the kind of care they must, right now? That we "Came to believe in a power greater than ourselves" is often far from our thoughts when we most need it. Our need to make all things perfect, to know all the answers, to control everything within our range, creates problems where none really exist. And the more we focus on the problem we've created, the bigger it becomes. Inattention relieves the tension; last week's problems can seldom be recalled. The one we are keeping a problem with our undivided attention can be turned loose, at this moment. And just as quickly, the turmoil we've been feeling will be beyond recall too. The program offers us another way to approach life. We need not mutilate it or ourselves. We can learn to accept the things we cannot change, and change the things we can . . . with practice. I will pray for wisdom today. I shall expect wisdom, not problems, and the day will smoothly slip by. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Doctor Bob's Nightmare A co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. The birth of our Society dates from his first day of permanent sobriety, June 10, 1935. To 1950, the year of his death, he carried the A.A. message to more than 5,000 alcoholics men and women, and to all these he gave his medical services without thought of charge. In this prodigy of service, he was well assisted by Sister Ignatia at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio, one of the greatest friends our Fellowship will ever know. Unfortunately for me I was the only child, which perhaps engendered the selfishness which played such an important part in bringing on my alcoholism. >From childhood through high school I was more or less forced to go to church, Sunday School and evening service, Monday night Christian Endeavor and sometimes to Wednesday evening prayer meeting. This had the effect of making me resolve that when I was free from parental domination, I would never again darken the doors of a church. This resolution I kept steadfastly for the next forty years, except when circumstances made it seem unwise to absent myself. p. 172 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." Then, in A.A., we looked and listened. Everywhere we saw failure and misery transformed by humility into priceless assets. We heard story after story of how humility had brought strength out of weakness. In every case, pain had been the price of admission into a new life. But this admission price had purchased more than we expected. It brought a measure of humility, which we soon discovered to be a healer of pain. We began to fear pain less, and desire humility more than ever. p. 75 ************************************************** ********* Never think that God's delays are God's denials. Hold on; hold fast; hold out. Patience is genius. --George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon The greatest power is often simple patience. --E. Joseph Cossman I look at the world with gratitude, down to the smallest thing, as it is all a gift from God. --Shelley Life is everything YOU put into it. --unknown Kindness from your heart can only bring you blessings. --unknown "Something must die in order to grow - your old habits, your old self image, your old thinking, your old life - must be weeded out for the seeds of success to grow." --Doug Firebaugh *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation PROPERTY "Property is the fruit of labor; property is desirable; it is a positive good." -- Abraham Lincoln God is to be found in the physical. He is to be found in my body, my sexuality, the mountains and streams --- and also in houses and real-estate. The luxury of comfort and good living is not incompatible with the spiritual life --- indeed, the use of our property can be an opportunity for gratitude and sharing. I know many people who use their comfortable homes for opportunities to develop sincere friendships. Luxury homes can be used for retreats and spiritual seminars involving music, dance and silence. Property is part of God's landscape into his world. His love, joy and hope for mankind can be experienced by our creative use of property. Let me use my property creatively. ************************************************** ********* "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." Colossians 3:23 "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." John 8:12 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Others can not make you angry or upset unless you give them this power. Lord, strengthen my ability to know that how I feel is my choice and help me respond in ways that make me a happier person. Use your talents. The world would be silent if only the birds that sing the best would sing. Lord, I will use Your gifts because You chose them especially for me.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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