AA Thoughts For Today - September

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AA Thought for the Day

September 24

Reliance

"When we encountered A.A., the fallacy of our defiance
was revealed. At no time had we asked what God's
will was for us; instead we had been telling Him what it
ought to be. No man, we saw, could believe in God and
defy Him, too. Belief meant reliance, not; defiance."
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Two) p. 31

Thought to Ponder . . .
We had always said, "Grant me my wishes"
instead of "Thy will be done."

AA-related 'Alconym'
E G O = Edging God Out.

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~

Willingness
"My friend suggested what then seemed a novel idea.
He said, 'Why don't you choose your own
conception of God?'
That statement hit me hard.
It melted the icy intellectual mountain in whose shadow
I had lived and shivered many years.
I stood in the sunlight at last.
It was only a matter of being willing to believe
in a Power greater than myself.
Nothing more was required of me to make my beginning."
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 12

Thought to Consider . . .
The peaks and valleys of my life
have become gentle rolling hills.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
W H O = Willingness, Honesty, Openmindedness

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

Like a Crowbar
From: "Listening to the Wind"
The Twelve Steps worked like a crowbar, prying into my dishonesty and fear. I didn't like the things I learned about myself, but I didn't want to go back where I had come from. I found out that there was no substance on the planet that could help me get honest. I would do just about anything to avoid working on myself.
2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 467-468

*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"While we readily share our views, perhaps one of the nicest things about the AA program is that we don't always have to agree with each other."
Brooklyn, N.Y., June 1975
"Self-Acceptance"
Emotional Sobriety II

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*

"We usually conclude the period of meditation with a prayer that we
be shown all through the day what our next step is to be, that we be
given whatever we need to take care of such problems. We ask
especially for freedom from self-will, and are careful to make no
request for ourselves only. We may ask for ourselves, however, if
others will be helped. We are careful never to pray for our own
selfish ends. Many of us have wasted a lot of time doing that and it
doesn't work."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 87~

"Now we need more action, without which we find
that “Faith without works is dead.’’ Let’s look at
Steps Eight and Nine. We have a list of all persons we have
harmed and to whom we are willing to make amends.
We made it when we took inventory. We subjected
ourselves to a drastic self-appraisal. Now we go out to
our fellows and repair the damage done in the past.
We attempt to sweep away the debris which has accu*
mulated 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, Page 76, Into Action, 4th Edition~

Modem-to-modem or face-to-face, A.A.'s speak the language of the heart in all its power and simplicity.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. xxiv (Foreword to the Fourth Edition)

The unity of Alcoholics Anonymous is the most cherished quality our Society has.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 129

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

As excuse-makers and rationalizers, we drunks are champions. It is the business of the psychiatrist to find the deeper causes for our conduct. Though uninstructed in psychiatry, we can, after a little time in A.A., see that our motives have not been what we thought they were, and that we have been motivated by forces previously unknown to us. Therefore we ought to look, with the deepest respect, interest, and profit, upon the example set us by psychiatry.
'Spiritual growth through the practice of A.A.'s Twelve Steps, plus the aid of a good sponsor, can usually reveal most of the deeper reasons for our character defects, at least to a degree that meets our practical needs. Nevertheless, we should be grateful that our friends in psychiatry have so strongly emphasized the necessity to search for false and often unconscious motivations.

Prayer for the Day: For Those Who Have Relapsed - O God of all mercies and comfort, Who helps us in time of need, we humbly ask You to behold, visit, and relieve those who have relapsed for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon them with the eyes of Your mercy; comfort them with a sense of Your goodness; preserve them from the temptations of their addiction; and give them patience under their affliction. In Your time, restore them to the Program and physical, mental, and spiritual health. And help them, we pray, to listen, believe and do Your will.