Daily Recovery Readings - November 5

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God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
and Wisdom to know the difference.
Thy will, not mine, be done.

November 5

Daily Reflections

"THE QUALITY OF FAITH"

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

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

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

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

Meditation For The Day

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

Prayer For The Day

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

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As Bill Sees It

Circle and Triangle, p. 307

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Walk In Dry Places

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

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Keep It Simple

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

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Each Day a New Beginning

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

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

WE AGNOSTICS

Actually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man, woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form or other it is there. For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as old as man himself.

p. 55

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

Then Prohibition came into effect, and the facts that the stuff obtainable was so horrible and sometimes deadly, and that I had married and had a job which I had to look after, helped me for a period of some three or four years, although I would get drunk every time I could get hold of enough to drink to get started. My wife and I belonged to some bridge clubs and they began to make wine and serve it. However, after two or three trials, I found this was not satisfactory because they did not serve enough to satisfy me. So I would refuse to drink. This problem was soon solved, however, as I began to take my bottle along with me and hide it in the bathroom or in the shrubbery outside.

pp. 183-184

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Three - "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."

But suppose that instinct still cries out, as it certainly will, "Yes, respecting alcohol, I guess I have to be dependent upon A.A., but in all other matters I must still maintain my independence. Nothing is going to turn me into a nonentity. If I keep on turning my life and my will over to the care of Something or Somebody else, what will become of me? I'll look like the hole in the doughnut." This, of course, is the process by which instinct and logic always seek to bolster egotism, and so frustrate spiritual development. The trouble is that this kind of thinking takes no real account of the facts. And the facts seem to be these: The more we become willing to depend upon a Higher Power, the more independent we actually are. Therefore dependence, as A.A. practices it, is really a means of gaining true independence of the spirit.

pp. 35-36

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

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

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

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

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

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

Service is spirituality in action.
--unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

FEAR

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Daily Inspiration

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

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

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NA Just For Today

God's Guidance

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

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

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

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

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

pg. 323

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


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


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


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


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

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Journey to the Heart

Create Your Destiny from Your Heart

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

And know each moment is your destiny.

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

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

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

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

*****

more language of letting go
A miracle is taking place

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*****

Seeing Ourselves
You Are Beautiful by Madisyn Taylor

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

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

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

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

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

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

Today I Pray

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

Today I Will Remember

Fantasy is mine. Mystery is God’s.

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One More Day

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

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

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

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Food For Thought

No Perfect People

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

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

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

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

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One Day At A Time

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

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

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

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

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

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

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

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

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

Separation

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

I see separation for what it is.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

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

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

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Walk on soles, not on souls.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

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

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

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

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AA Thought for the Day

November 5

Acceptance
Our very first problem is to accept our present circumstances as they are, ourselves as we are,
and the people about us as they are. . .
This is an exercise in acceptance that we can profitably practice every day of our lives.
- As Bill Sees It, p. 44

Thought to Ponder . . .
The Three A's .. Awareness, Acceptance, Action.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A B C = Acceptance, Belief, Change.

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

Service
"Service, gladly rendered, obligations squarely met,
troubles well accepted or solved with God's help,
the knowledge that at home or in the world outside
we are partners in a common effort,
the well-understood fact that in God's sight
all human beings are important,
the proof that love freely given surely brings a full return,
the certainty that we are no longer isolated and alone
in self-constructed prisons,
the surety that we need no longer be square pegs
in round holes
but can fit and belong in God's scheme of things --
these are the permanent and legitimate satisfactions
of right living
for which no amount of pomp and circumstance,
no heap of material possessions,
could possibly be substitutes."
c. 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 124

Thought to Consider . . .
Service is spirituality in action.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O P E = Helping Other People Every day

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

Test That Theory
From: "A Drunk Like You"
Now somehow, between the time I lost my job and my flight to the convention, I decided maybe I was not an alcoholic and I needed to test that theory. After all, I was a researcher, and things had to be tested. I decided that on the plane (it seemed like a safe place) I would put the question to the test. If I could have one drink and no more, I was not an alcoholic - alcoholics can't do that. So when the stewardess came by to ask me if I wanted a drink, I said, "Yes." She put two little bottles' worth in a glass ("No ice, thank you very much") and went up the aisle. On her way back she asked if I wanted another, and I said, "Yes." I drank for the whole flight - before dinner, during dinner, and after dinner. As we approached our destination, I searched my pocket for a pen to fill out the in-flight magazine response card. I found this large coin. I took it out to see what it was. It was my ninety-day pocket piece, and I was reminded of what I was doing. And the thought came to me: Wow, those guys at the meeting were right - I am powerless over alcohol. I put that coin back in my pocket and from that day to this, some 15-1/2 years later, I have had no urge to drink.
2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 404

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

"One of the truly great gifts in this Fellowship of mutually concerned people is the gift of the art of listening ... But our need to listen goes beyond meetings and talks with friends ... We need Step Eleven and our greater conscious contact with the Divine Listener. Then will our serenity emerge; then will our help to others have quality."
Spiritual Awakenings Vol. 1
Anonymous, May 1960
"Where the Words Come From,"

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

THE PROMISES
"If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will
be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new
freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to
shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will
know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will
see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness
and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things
and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our
whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and
of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to
handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize
that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, Page 83~

Most of us have been unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics. No
person likes to think he is bodily and mentally different from his
fellows. Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers
have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could
drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday he will
control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every
abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing.
Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death.
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, Page 30~

We have begun to learn tolerance, patience and good will toward all men, even our enemies, for we look on them as sick people.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p.70

A continuous look at our assets and liabilities, and a real desire to learn and grow by this means, are necessities for us.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.88

Misc. AA Literature - Quote
It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us. If somebody hurts us and we are sore, we are in the wrong, too.
But are there no exceptions to this rule? What about 'justifiable' anger? If somebody cheats us, aren't we entitled to be mad? And shouldn't we be properly angry with self-righteous folks?
For us of A.A. these adventures in anger are sometimes very dangerous. We have found that even justified anger ought to be left to those better qualified to handle it.

Prayer for the Day: Change - I pray that I might continue to change, and I appreciate You for investing in me Your time, Your patience, Your understanding, and for seeing in me someone worthwhile. I am sorry for the past---but I will change for the better, and I am grateful for the opportunity.

Ask and you shall receive,
Seek and ye shall find,
Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Matthew 7:7