Daily Recovery Readings - October

[bluidkiti]

October 1

Daily Reflections

LEST WE BECOME COMPLACENT

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

When I am in pain it is easy to stay close to the friends I have
found in the program. Relief from that pain is provided in the
solutions contained in A.A.'s Twelve Steps. But when I am feeling
good and things are going well, I can become complacent. To put
it simply, I become lazy and turn into the problem instead of the
solution. I need to get into action, to take stock: where am I and
where am I going? A daily inventory will tell me what I must
change to regain spiritual balance. Admitting what I find within
myself, to God and to another human being, keeps me honest and humble.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

A.A. will lose some of its effectiveness if I do not do my share.
Where am I failing? Are there some things I do not feel like doing?
Am I held back by self-consciousness or fear? Self-consciousness is
a form of pride. It is a fear that something may happen to you.
What happens to you is not very important. The impression you
make on others does not depend so much on the kind of job you
do as on your sincerity and honesty of purpose. Am I holding back
because I am afraid of not making a good impression?

Meditation For The Day

Look to God for the true power that will make you effective. See
no other wholly dependable supply of strength. That is the secret
of a truly effective life. And you, in your turn, will be used to help
many others find effectiveness. Whatever spiritual help you need,
whatever spiritual help you desire for others, look to God. Seek
that God's will be done in your life and seek that your will conforms
to His. Failures come from depending too much on your own strength.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may feel that nothing good is too much for me if I look
to God for help. I pray that I may be effective through His guidance.

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As Bill Sees It

Troubles of Our Own Making, p.272

Selfishness--self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our
troubles. 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. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without
provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we
have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a
position to be hurt.

So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They
arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of
self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't think so. Above
everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness. We must,
or it kills us!

Alcoholics Anonymous, p.62

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Walk In Dry Places

Thinking about Blame.
Inventory.
Which is worse: blaming ourselves or others for things that go wrong?
A better question might be, Is anyone to blame?
We're really better off, in 12 Step living, to begin dropping the idea of
placing blame for our thinking altogether. Even is someone's responsibility
for a mistake or wrong is fully evident, we get nowhere by pointing the
finger at him or her. What often happens, in fact, is that the person
becomes defensive... just as we do... And retreats into denial or anger.
Another problem is that placing blame quickly becomes the sticky
business of taking another person's inventory. Let's leave such matters
to courts and prosecutions and focus instead on solving our own problems.
I'll not waste time today thinking about who's to blame. My focus will
be on what can be done for general improvement.

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Keep It Simple

Continued to take personal inventory. . .First half of Step Ten
Step Ten tells us to keep looking at who we are. We ask ourselves,
“Is what I’m doing okay?”
If it is, then we take pride in the way we're acting. If not, we change our
behavior. Step Ten keeps us in the right direction.
Throughout time, wise persons have told us to get to know ourselves.
Step Ten helps us do this.
We become our own best friend. A true friend tells us when we’re doing
right and when we’re messing up. Step Ten is our teacher. Even when
we want to pretend we don’t know right from wrong, Step Ten reminds
us that we do know. Step Ten is our daily reminder that we now have
values---good values.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, Step Ten is a lot of work. Keep me
working. Help me form a habit. Let this habit be called “Step Ten.”
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll continue to take a personal inventory.
I will list what is good about me today and what I don’t like.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Women are often caught between conforming to existing standards
or role definitions and exploring the promise of new alternatives.
--Stanlee Phelps and Nancy Austin
This is a time of exploring for many of us. Recovery means change
in habits, change in behavior, change in attitudes. And change is
seldom easy. But change we must, if we want to recover successfully.
We do have support for trying our new alternatives. We have support
from our groups and our higher power. Perhaps we want a career or
more education. Perhaps we want to develop a hobby or try a sport.
Sharing that desire and then looking for support guarantees some
guidance. This program has given us a chance to start fresh--
to become our inner desire.
We are only caught in an old pattern if we assent to it. The going
won't always be easy, but support and guidance are available and
free if we but look for them.
Today I will consider my alternatives. Do I want to make a change?

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreword To Second Edition

Figures given in this foreword describe the Fellowship as it was in 1955.

Since the original Foreword to this book was written in 1939, a wholesale miracle has taken place. Our earliest printing voiced the hope "that every alcoholic who journeys will find the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous at his destination. Already," continues the early text, "twos and threes and fives of us have sprung up in other communities."

p. xv

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Stories

My Chance To Live

A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.

Now, I had been thinking that my problem was insanity, and what happened on my night off clinched it: I missed this motley crew who had plagued my existence for over a month. I missed the laughter and their bright smiles. I went and had coffee with them.

p. 313

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Twelve - "Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities."

With characteristic intemperance, however, some of our newcomers cared not at all for secrecy. They wanted to shout A.A. from the housetops, and did. Alcoholics barely dry rushed about bright-eyed, buttonholing anyone who would listen to their stories. Others hurried to place themselves before microphones and cameras. Sometimes, they got distressingly drunk and let their groups down with a bang. They had changed from A.A. members into A.A. show-offs.

p. 185

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"How things look on the outside of us depends on how things are
on the inside of us."
--Parks Cousins

I shall continue to believe. In hope there is faith, miracles do happen,
in God I trust.
--Shelley

Time is my most precious resource, I choose to use it wisely and
to cherish each moment, sober.
--Bob

I have a choice, I do not have to accept unacceptable behavior.
--Shelley

Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide
upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There
are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are
right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some
of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it
takes brave men and women to win them.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Some people make the future; most wait for the future to make them.
--Cited in The Best of BITS & PIECES

There is a choice you have to make, In everything you do. And you
must always keep in mind, The choice you make, makes you.
--Unknown

You can preach a better sermon with your life than you can with your lips.
--Unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

LAUGHTER

"We are all here for a spell, get
all the good laughs you can."
-- Will Rogers

When I first heard recovering alcoholics laughing, I thought I was
in the wrong place. I was angry that they treated the disease so lightly.
Then slowly I began to see that laughter is part of joy --- a deep joy that
comes from personal healing. Laughter is spiritual because it is a
positive response to life. It is the noise of optimism.

And there is so much in life to laugh about --- not only the funny things
we did, but also the "humor" that abounds in living. How funny is our
self-righteousness! How amusing we are in courtship. How ridiculous we
appear when we pretend to be serious and "in charge".

Laughter is the conversation of angels.

Let me see the miracle of humor in the gift of life --- and let me be
prepared to share it.

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Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6

"Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs."
Proverbs 10:12

Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
James 2:17

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Daily Inspiration

Don't give up because your best has not yet been achieved. Lord,
take away my doubts and give me courage to accept my opportunities.

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.

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NA Just For Today

Not just a motivation for growth
Page 287

"We learn that pain can be a motivating factor in recovery."

Basic Text, p.30

"Pain-who needs it!" we think whenever we're in it. We see no good purpose for pain. It seems to be a pointless exercise in suffering. If someone happens to mention spiritual growth to us while we're in pain, we most likely snort in disgust and walk away, thinking we've never encountered a more insensitive person.

But what if human beings didn't feel pain-either physical or emotional? Sound like an ideal world? Not really. If we weren't capable of feeling physical pain, we wouldn't know when to blink foreign particles out of our eyes; we wouldn't know when to stop exercising; we wouldn't even know when to roll over in our sleep. We would simply abuse ourselves for lack of a natural warning system.

The same holds true for emotional pain. How would we have known that our lives had become unmanageable if we hadn't been in pain? Just like physical pain, emotional pain lets us know when to stop doing something that hurts. But pain is not only a motivating factor. Emotional pain provides a basis for comparison when we are joyful. We couldn't appreciate joy without knowing pain.

Just for Today: I will accept pain as a necessary part of life. I know that to whatever level I can feel pain, I can also feel joy.

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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Perhaps nature is our best assurance of immortality. --Eleanor Roosevelt
Everything in nature contributes to something else--like the hundred-year-old tree that stood tall until a wind storm. The protection it gave to thousands of birds and squirrels it now gives to insects and fungi. As it slowly decays, it nourishes the ground, and from the enriched soil grow several other trees. We human beings are part of this eternal cycle, our ideas and actions enriching those around us and influencing generations yet to come. Being part of this vast plan gives us comfort, and faith that everything that happens is meant to be. Our hearts fill with joy with the knowledge that we are needed; just as every tree is needed.
How do I fit into nature's plan today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
It was football time, apple time, harvest time, hunting time, and school time. Footsteps quickened. It was exciting to be in transition. It seemed more like the beginning of something than like the end of it. --Paul Gruchow
Some days seem filled with the exciting energy of change. They are like walking on a bridge from one time period to the next. In the fall, our senses are filled with messages of change. Trees tell us it is happening. So do football games, and the cool chill in the morning air.
As summer wanes and winter approaches, we may need to grieve for what we leave behind before greeting what comes next. The changes we experience in recovery bring similar responses. We grieve the loss of our old friends, the bottle, the food binge, the romantic thrill, or the excitement of gambling or spending. We are able to grieve our losses because we accept them. We have chosen them. Now we move to the next season of our lives.
As I experience the circle of seasons outside me, I am grateful for the ongoing flow of change within.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Women are often caught between conforming to existing standards or role definitions and exploring the promise of new alternatives. --Stanlee Phelps and Nancy Austin
This is a time of exploring for many of us. Recovery means change in habits, change in behavior, change in attitudes. And change is seldom easy. But change we must, if we want to recover successfully.
We do have support for trying our new alternatives. We have support from our groups and our higher power. Perhaps we want a career or more education. Perhaps we want to develop a hobby or try a sport. Sharing that desire and then looking for support guarantees some guidance. This program has given us a chance to start fresh--to become our inner desire.
We are only caught in an old pattern if we assent to it. The going won't always be easy, but support and guidance are available and free if we but look for them.
Today I will consider my alternatives. Do I want to make a change?


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Be Who You Are
In recovery, we're learning a new behavior. It's called Be Who You Are.
For some of us, this can be frightening. What would happen if we felt what we felt, said what we wanted, became firm about our beliefs, and valued what we needed? What would happen if we let go of our camouflage of adaptation? What would happen if we owned our power to be ourselves?
Would people still like us? Would they go away? Would they become angry?
There comes a time when we become willing and ready to take that risk. To continue growing, and living with ourselves, we realize we must liberate ourselves. It becomes time to stop allowing ourselves to be so controlled by others and their expectations and be true to ourselves - regardless of the reaction of others.
Before long, we begin to understand. Some people may go away, but the relationship would have ended anyway. Some people stay and love and respect us more for taking the risk of being whom we are. We begin to achieve intimacy, and relationships that work.
We discover that who we are has always been good enough. It is who we were intended to be.
Today, I will own my power to be myself.


I am grateful for the power I have over the future of my life. I am being guided at all times to use my power with wisdom and with love. --Ruth Fishel

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Journey To The Heart
October 1
Are You Ready, Willing, and Able?

Have you cleared the path you want to travel? Are you ready, willing, and able to do whatever it takes to have what you want?

Decide what you want. Be as clear as you can be. Say it. Write it. Share your idea with a friend. Then ask yourself if you are ready, willing, and able to do what it takes to have what you want. Ask yourself the question as often as you need to.

Watch how you feel when you say what you want. Look for objections, blocks from within, obstacles on your path. Look closely at yourself, your fears, your angers, your resistance. Let your feelings come up, acknowledge them, then let them go. One after another remove the blocks until the path you want to travel is clear. Remove the obstacles until you can clearly see your vision and your voice is strong and clear. I’m ready, willing, and able to have what I want and it’s in my highest good.

The way to your dreams, the way to make your visions come alive is by taking a journey inside your soul. Are you ready, willing, and able to have what you want? Do you believe it when you hear yourself say it? When you do, the road will be clear, and you’ll be ready to travel the path you desire.

*****

more language of letting go for October
Say I see

I was out at the drop zone one day soon after I'd begun skydiving, when the idea occurred to me. I know, I thought, I'll get a cabin out here, on a little hill with a hot tub, fireplace, and lined inside with scented cedar wood.

Wouldn't it be nice, I thought, to live high on a hill and look down at night at the twinkling lights, overlooking the city and the lake?

I didn't think much more about it, until the cold, rainy season started. Then, despite all my efforts to repress the dream of the cabin, it just popped up and sprang right out from inside of me.

I called my friend Kyle and asked him if he was busy. He said no. So I asked him if he had some time to go driving around with me.

"I just want to check out the area," I said. "Let's see if the cabin's there. Let's just drive to where my intuition takes me."

We drove down highway fifteen when an exit approached. Taking the exit felt like the thing to do. We turned off and started driving west. I looked to my right and suddenly felt an urge to drive up the hill. So we followed the road, driving by one house after another. Finally, at the end of the road, there was a small cabin at the top of a hill. The outside was covered with rough-sawn cedar. A brick fireplace covered the front of the house. A hot tub sat in the backyard. And a for sale sign was posted in the frontyard.

There are other pieces to this story. Chip got in on the dream. At some point we stopped calling it "the cabin," and it became the Blue Sky Lodge. Pat and Andy came along and helped make the dream real. It was going to be a comfortable place for people who liked to do things in the air. We'd have extra beds available. It wouldn't be a hotel, but it was open to any guest who wanted to spread his or her wings and learn how to fly.

We camped at the Lodge during construction, Everything took longer than we thought, but eventually it turned into the place of our dreams.

There's a pool table, a dartboard, a whimsical guest room called the clown room, a comfy guest bedroom, a living room with a massive stone fireplace and a big-screen TV. Then there's the Blue Room, a master bedroom with blue plaid material on the walls. It houses the biggest, most comfortable bed in the world-- the Cloud Bed-- and my desk.

Red beams line the cedar wood ceiling. Chip has a desk in the foyer, and there's video cameras and regular cameras and computers on top of it. And there's books and CDs and flight bags and parachutes and helmets and climbing ropes lying around all over the house.

The Blue Sky Lodge is really about learning that your dreams can come true.

Whether your dreams for yourself come to you in bits and pieces, over a period of time, or whether you practice visualization to see and focus on your dreams yourself, dreams are just another way of God communicating with us

She's saying, "Look at what you can have."

An important part of the language of letting go is learning to say, "I see what I can have, who I am, where I am, and what I have right now."

God, help me become aware.

*****

Observing Evolution
Allowing Others to Walk Their Paths by Madisyn Taylor

It is important to allow others to walk their own path because it is just that, their own path.

Watching a loved one or a peer traverse a path littered with stumbling blocks can be immensely painful. We instinctively want to guide them toward a safer track and share with them the wisdom we have acquired through experience. Yet all human beings have the right to carve their own paths without being unduly influenced by outside interference. To deny them that right is to deny them enlightenment, as true insight cannot be conveyed in lectures. Rather, each individual must earn independence and illumination by making decisions and reflecting upon the consequences of each choice. In allowing others to walk their paths freely, you honor their right to express their humanity in whatever way they see fit. Though you may not agree with or identify with their choices, understand that each person must learn in their own way and at their own pace.

The events and circumstances that shape our lives are unique because each of us is unique. What touches one person deeply may do nothing more than irritate or confound another. Therefore, each of us is drawn to different paths—the paths that will have the most profound effects on our personal evolution. If you feel compelled to intervene when watching another human being make their way slowly and painfully down a difficult path, try to empathize with their need to grow autonomous and make their own way in the world. Should this person ask for your aid, give it freely. You can even tell them about your path or offer advice in a conscious loving way. Otherwise, give them the space they need to make their own mistakes, to enjoy the fruits of their labors, to revel in their triumphs, and to discover their own truths.

The temptation to direct the paths of others is a creature of many origins. Overactive egos can convince us that ours is the one true path or awaken a craving for control within us. But each person is entitled to seek out their path leading from the darkness into the light. When we celebrate those paths and encourage the people navigating them, we not only enjoy the privilege of watching others grow—we also reinforce our dedication to diversity, independence, and individuality. Published with permission from Daily OM

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

We can be surrounded by people and still feel lonely. We can be all by ourselves and still feel happy and content. What makes the difference? We feel lonely if we look to other people for something they really can’t provide. None else can give us peace of mind, an inner sense of acceptance, and serenity. And when we find ourselves alone, we needn’t feel lonely. God is with us; His presence is like a warm shawl enfolding us. The more we’re aware of ourselves as beloved by God, the more we’re able to feel content and secure — whether we’re with others or when alone. Am I experiencing a sense of God and His love at all times and in all places?

Today I Pray

May I understand that we each have our own kind of loneliness — whether we are young and friendless, old and kept waiting by death, bereft, left, running away, or just feeling out of it in a crowd. May my loneliness be eased a bit by the fact that loneliness is, indeed, a universal feeling that everyone knows first hand — even though some lives seem more empty than others. May I — and all the lonely people — take comfort in the companionship of God.

Today I Will Remember

Shared loneliness is less lonely.

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One More Day

Solitude is not measured by the miles of space that intervene between a man and his fellows.
– Henry David Thoreau

Solitude is the time we choose to be alone, but it becomes loneliness when we believe we have no choice. When we are lonely, we feel trapped in a web of isolation.

Lonely people are caught in a trap with only themselves for company. There can be a difference between loneliness and aloneness — or solitude.

We are finding ways to create solitude from loneliness. We strive to fill our lives with meaningful experiences such as work, family, hobbies, and relationships with friends. As we enrich our lives with these activities, our alone time becomes solitude — a peaceful time to withdraw from the world and into thoughts, prayers, and meditation.

A moment of solitude today can enrich and replenish me.

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Food For Thought

Being True

Without rigorous honesty, we do not recover from compulsive overeating. We need to be honest about what we eat and honest about how we feel. In the past, we covered up pain with sugar frosting and tried to drown our inadequacies in carbohydrates. The time has come to deal with truth.

Alone, we are not perceptive enough to see the truth, nor strong enough to bear it. It is through our Higher Power and the OA fellowship that we are able to become true to the best that is in us. We admit that we have been living falsely, and we turn over our muddled lives so that God may straighten them out. His spirit is truth, and the light of that truth is what we need for our recovery.

Our Higher Power shows us how to be true step by step, as we are ready to progress. Each day we become more in touch with our real selves and each day our strength increases. Being true sets us free from compulsive overeating and free from the false values, hopes, and expectations, which have inhibited us.

Lead me into truth.

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One Day At A Time

The Fear of Failure

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare;
it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.”
Seneca

I was full of excuses: “I can’t start a food plan. Won't it be the same as a diet? I’m a free spirit! I don't like such restrictions! If I can’t do something perfectly, why should I even start? I do it perfectly, or I don’t do it at all! I have gone too far to ever go back to being anywhere near healthy. I don’t have time to plan my Food. I am young. I have plenty of time to worry about taking off the weight!”

These were my favorite excuses. Underlying all the excuses was the fear of failure. I did not know that true failure comes about by not ever having tried. My life circumstances never got better by ignoring my problems with food. Ignoring my condition began to complicate every aspect of my life.

This moment I have a choice. I dare to choose in the next few moments even one small thing that I can do to make my life better or more healthful.

One day at a time...
If I cannot think of anything, I will pause and ask my Higher Power to help me learn to choose.
~ January K.

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

The distinguished American psychologist, William James, in his book 'Varieties of Religious Experience,' indicates a multitude of ways in which men have discovered God. We have no desire to convince anyone that there is only one way by which faith can be acquired. If what we have learned and felt and seen means anything at all, it means that all of us, whatever our race, creed, or color are the children of a living Creator with whom we may form a relationship upon simple and understandable terms as soon as we are willing and honest enough to try. Those having religious affiliations will find here nothing disturbing to their beliefs or ceremonies. There is no friction among us over such matters. - Pg. 28 - There Is A Solution

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Sometimes we are confused about what to do. But we tell people, 'Do the next right thing.' We do know what is right and what is wrong from the age of seven. Often our mind tries to muddy our thinking by making excuses or rationalizing. You really do know the right thing to do.

Higher Power, of my understanding, please let me respond to the right and wrong of my Higher Self--for the basic knowledge that was once so clear.

My Family Illness

My family has a disease and it's not me. My family drinks poison and serves poison up to each other, but I don't have to. My family chooses to deny the impact of addiction and the trauma that follows it but I don't have to. My family defends their right to stay sick but I want to get well. My family, for whatever reason, is determined to not identify the family illness that has made us all sick. But the illness stands out to me in Technicolor. I see it and I trust my own eyes.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

When you place your sponsor on a pedestal you are like a child bragging to the other kids, 'Nah, nah, nah, my sponsor is better than your sponsor!'

I don't place my sponsor on a pedestal. It is only from a high place that they can fall.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Addiction: touched by an angle. Recovery: touched by an angel.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

As I am learning to see the world through the eyes of love and compassion, I am becoming more and more full of love and compassion for myself and others.

I deserve to feel good about myself today and I am learning how.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Why I tell you how long I've been sober is that there are so many new things happening in AA that one day we might get a pension plan going here, and I want to get my full benefit! - Norm A.

[bluidkiti]

October 2

Daily Reflections

THE ACID TEST

As we work the first nine Steps, we prepare ourselves for
the adventure of a new life. But when we approach Step Ten
we commence to put our A.A. way of living to practical use,
day by day, in fair weather or foul. Then comes the acid
test: can we stay sober, keep in emotional balance, and
live to good purpose under all conditions?
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 88

I know the Promises are being fulfilled in my life, but I
want to maintain and develop them by the daily application
of Step Ten. I have learned through this Step that if I am
disturbed, there is something wrong with me. The other
person may be wrong too, but I can only deal with my feelings.
When I am hurt or upset, I have to continually look for the
cause in me, and then I have to admit and correct my mistakes.
It isn't easy, but as long as I know I am progressing
spiritually, I know that I can mark my effort up as a job well
done. I have found that pain is a friend; it lets me know there
is something wrong with my emotions, just as a physical pain
lets me know there is something wrong with my body. When I take
the appropriate action through the Twelve Steps, the pain
gradually goes away.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

What makes an effective talk at an A.A. meeting? It is not a
fine speech with fine choices of words and an impressive
delivery. Often a few simple words direct from the heart are
more effective than the most polished speech. There is always
a temptation to speak beyond your experience, in order to
make a good impression. This is never effective. What does not
come from the heart does not reach the heart. What comes from
personal experience and a sincere desire to help the other
person, reaches the heart. Do I speak for effect or with a deep
desire to help?

Meditation For The Day

"Thy will be done" must be your oft-repeated prayer. And in
the willing of God's will there should be gladness. You should
delight to do that will because when you do, all your life goes
right and everything tends to work out for you in the long run.
When you are honestly trying to do God's will and humbly
accepting the results, nothing can seriously hurt you. He who
accepts the will of God in his life may not inherit the earth,
but he will inherit real peace of mind.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may have a yielded will.
I pray that my will be attuned to the will of God.

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As Bill Sees It

Compelling Love, p.273

The life of each A.A. and of each group is built around our Twelve
Steps and Twelve Traditions. We know that the penalty for
extensive disobedience to these principles is death for the individual
and dissolution for the group. But an even greater force for
A.A.'s unity is our compelling love for our fellow members and for
our principles.

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

You might think the people at A.A.'s headquarters in New York
would surely have to have some personal authority. But, long ago,
trustees and secretaries alike found they could do no more than
make very mild suggestions to the A.A. groups.

They even had to coin a couple of sentences which still go into half
the letters they write: "Of course you are at perfect liberty to
handle this matter any way you please. But the majority experience
in A.A. does seem to suggest . . ."

A.A. world headquarters is not a giver of orders. It is, instead, our
largest transmitter of the lessons of experience.

1. Twelve Concepts, p.8
2. 12 & 12, pp. 173-174

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Walk In Dry Places

Living or Waiting?
Using time wisely
What is the real secret of living 24 hours at a time? Isn't it really a
matter of feeling completely comfortable in the present rather than
believing that happiness depends on something in the future?
Whatever our situation today, it's something we must live through and
deal with effectively. We may be overlooking many wonderful things
in our present life simply because we believe we need some exciting
experience that can only come later on.
We also might be overlooking present opportunities because we're
spending too much time in the past. The past, whether it was good or
bad, is beyond our control.
Our mission is to live effectively and happily today. We can do this
best when we realize that yesterday and tomorrow don't really exist...
today is all we can be sure of.
I'll live today in the present, handling every problem as well as I can
and enjoying every experience that comes to me.

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

Keep It Simple

. . .and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.---Second half of Step Ten
We are human. We make mistakes. This is half the fun of being human.
Step Ten clearly tell us what to do when we are wrong: admit it. This
keeps us honest. It keeps us from hiding secrets that could cause us to
use alcohol or other drugs again.
Trust the gift we get from Step Ten. When we admit our wrongs, people
start to trust us again. We feel good, and people feel good being around us.
Even when they don’t like how we act, they can trust us to run our lives.
No one will ever be perfect. The closest we get is that we admit it when
we’re wrong. This is as good as it gets.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me admit my wrongs. Help me
earn the trust of others by being honest about my mistakes.
Action for the Day: I will list any wrongs I’ve done today. That way,
I’ll start tomorrow fresh and without any burdens from today.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

Fortunate are the people whose roots are deep. --Agnes Meyer
Deep roots offer strength and stability to an organism. They
nourish it plentifully. They anchor it when the fierce winds blow.
We each are offered the gifts of roots when we give ourselves
fully to the program.
We are never going to face, alone, any difficult situation after
discovering recovery. Never again need we make any decision
in isolation. Help is constant. Guidance through companionship
with others and our contacts with God will always be as close as
our requests. The program anchors us; every prayer we make,
every step we take, nourishes the roots we are developing.
Becoming rooted in the program, with daily attention to the
nourishment we need, offers us sanity and hope. We discover
that all things can be handled; no situation is too much for us.
Strength, confidence, freedom from fear are the benefits of
our deepening roots. We will be anchored if we do what needs
to be done by us. The program's gifts are ours, only if we work
the program.
I won't neglect my roots today. I will nourish them so they in
turn can fill me up with confidence when my need is there.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreword To Second Edition

Figures given in this foreword describe the Fellowship as it was in 1955.

Sixteen years have elapsed between our first printing of this book and the presentation in 1955 of our second edition. In that brief space, Alcoholics Anonymous has mushroomed into nearly 6,000 groups whose membership is far above 150,000 recovered alcoholics. Groups are to be found in each of the United States and all of the provinces of Canada. A.A. has flourishing communities in the British Isles, the Scandinavian countries, South Africa, South America, Mexico, Alaska, Australia and Hawaii. All told, promising beginnings have been made in some 50 foreign countries and U.S. possessions. Some are just now taking shape in Asia. Many of our friends encourage us by saying that this is but a beginning, only the augury of a much larger future ahead.

p. xv

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Stories

My Chance To Live

A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.

Through a chain of events I choose to believe were the actions of a Higher Power, they convinced me to go to a meeting. I was told it was a special A.A. anniversary open meeting, which meant that anyone could attend. I thought to myself: What could it hurt? I wait on these people; perhaps it will help me to better understand them.

p. 313

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Twelve - "Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities."

This phenomenon of contrast really set us thinking. Squarely before us was the question "How anonymous should an A.A. member be?" Our growth made it plain that we couldn't be a secret society, but it was equally plain that we couldn't be a vaudeville circuit, either. The charting of a safe path between these extremes took a long time.

p. 185

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

Friends in your life are like pillars on your porch. Sometimes they hold
you up and sometimes they lean on you. Sometimes it's just enough to
know they're standing by.
--Elizabeth Foley

"Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes
misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate."
--Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)

"In the hope of reaching the moon men fail to see the flowers that blossom at their feet."
--Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)

When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in
the life of another.
--Helen Keller

"God, I do believe in Your power and Your wisdom. Your glory is far
greater than I could ever envision, and I am thankful to be within the circle of your
ever-renewing life."
--©2000 by Unity School of Christianity

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

REALITY

"The books that the world calls
immoral are the books that show
the world its own shame."
-- Oscar Wilde

In my addiction I avoided things that I did not like, did not want to consider. I hid from life
and condemned things I did not wish to understand. My ego created a hypocritical purity
that enabled me to judge, condemn and abuse the thoughts and ideas of those I
considered inferior to myself.

Today I try to live and let live. I do this not to avoid conflict or criticism but because I
have found, through experience, how my ideas and attitudes have changed during my
years of recovery. People who I would have condemned to Hell have now become my
friends and mentors. Concepts and lifestyles that were once abhorrent to me are now
appreciated and inspiring. What was once dismissed as immoral is today, for me, a part of
life.

God of Truth and Reality, help me to accept the difference that is in others.

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

May my meditation be pleasing to Him as I rejoice in the Lord.
Psalm 104:34

"Lord, I believe."
John 9:38

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

Daily Inspiration

The condition of your heart is reflected in your face. Lord, help me to
remove all harsh feelings from within my soul so that I will radiate
love and kindness and others can feel safe in seeking me out.

If you exercise your mind, your spirit will never get old. Lord, give
me the ability to rise above my worldly burdens and ability to always
make things a little better.

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

NA Just For Today

Keeping faith
Page 288

"We grasp the limitless strength provided for us through our daily prayer and surrender as long as we keep faith and renew it."

Basic Text, p.46

There are two parts to recovery: getting clean, and staying clean. Getting clean is comparatively easy because we only have to do it once. Staying clean is more difficult, requiring attention every day of our lives. Yet both draw their power from faith.

We got clean on faith. We admitted that addiction was more powerful than we were, and we stopped trying to fight it on our own. We turned the battle over to a Power greater than ourselves, and that Higher Power got us clean. We stay clean each day the same way: on faith. Just for today, we surrender. Life may be too big for us to tackle on our own power. When it is, we seek a Power greater than ourselves. We pray, asking our Higher Power for direction and the strength to follow it. By exercising and renewing our faith on a daily basis, we tap the resources we need to live clean, full lives.

There is limitless strength available to us whenever we need it. To grasp it, all we need to do is keep faith in the Higher Power that got us clean and keeps us clean.

Just for Today: Faith got me clean, and faith will keep me clean. Today, I will keep faith with my Higher Power. I will renew my surrender and pray for knowledge and strength.

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

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Stars have always helped me to get things into perspective . . . I tried to let the starlight heal something deep in me that hurt. --Madeleine L'Engle
For a long time, people have used stars to find their way in the dark. Many a lost soul has been guided by the North Star or the Big Dipper.
If we watch the sky at night, we can see thousands of twinkling stars. They are our friends. They remind us how small we are. They remind us of the vastness of the universe, of the power and beauty that surround us.
Starlight in the sky, or reflected on a lake, can comfort us when we hurt. With safe and open arms, nature accepts our sorrow, no matter how we express it. Starlight, like all of nature, reflects a light that comes from way beyond us. It is that light that heals us in a deep and quiet way.
How has nature comforted me when I am troubled?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
One ought, each day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture and, if possible, speak, a few reasonable words. --Goethe
A spiritual man can nourish his growing spirit through enriching and beautiful experiences. Such experiences might be quiet meditation, reading something, which provides ideas to ponder, conversation with a friend, or listening to music. Men have been taught to focus on things more than on people, on goals and achievement, and we neglect to provide ourselves with nourishment for our minds and souls.
Life's experiences include joy and beauty and pain and grief. If we are uplifted every day by beauty in its many forms, we are strengthened and carried along to meet the tougher parts of our day. We may need to push some other things aside to have it. Perhaps some jobs can wait until tomorrow, and we can linger over a meal with our loved ones. Maybe mowing the lawn or fixing the car isn't as important as a half-hour of good music. Do we make space for nourishing moments in each day?
I am grateful for the beauty all around. Help me keep life more balanced so I can receive the spiritual nourishment it provides.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Fortunate are the people whose roots are deep. --Agnes Meyer
Deep roots offer strength and stability to an organism. They nourish it plentifully. They anchor it when the fierce winds blow. We each are offered the gifts of roots when we give ourselves fully to the program.
We are never going to face, alone, any difficult situation after discovering recovery. Never again need we make any decision in isolation. Help is constant. Guidance through companionship with others and our contacts with God will always be as close as our requests. The program anchors us; every prayer we make, every step we take, nourishes the roots we are developing.
Becoming rooted in the program, with daily attention to the nourishment we need, offers us sanity and hope. We discover that all things can be handled; no situation is too much for us. Strength, confidence, freedoms from fear are the benefits of our deepening roots. We will be anchored if we do what needs to be done by us. The program's gifts are ours, only if we work the program.
I won't neglect my roots today. I will nourish them so they in turn can fill me up with confidence when my need is there.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Coping with Families
There are many paths to self-care with families. Some people choose to sever connections with family members for a period of time. Some people choose to stay connected with family members and learn different behaviors. Some disconnect for a time, and then return slowly on a different basis.
There is no one or perfect way to deal with members of our family in recovery. It is up to each of us to choose a path that suits us and our needs at each point in time.
The idea that is new to us in recovery is that we can choose. We can set the boundaries we need to set with family members. We can choose a path that works for us, without guilt and obligation or undue influence from any source, including recovery professionals.
Our goal is to detach in love with family members. Our goal is to be able to take care of ourselves, love ourselves, and live healthy lives despite what family members do or don't do. We decide what boundaries or decisions are necessary to do this.
It's okay to say no to our families when that is what we want. It's okay to say yes to our families if that feels right. It's okay to call time out and it's okay to go back as a different person.
God, help me choose the path that is right for me with family. Help me understand there is no right or wrong in this process. Help me strive for forgiveness and learn to detach with love, whenever possible. I understand that this never implies that I have to forfeit self-care and health for the good of the system.


As I am learning to see the world through the eyes of love and compassion, I am becoming more and more full of love and compassion for myself and others. I deserve to feel good about myself today and I am learning how. --Ruth Fishel

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

Journey To The Heart
October 2
Trust the Unknown

Look! See how much you’ve changed. See the difference in your perspective.

Remember all those years you were so fearful, trying to peek ahead, trying to see what the future held. Remember how upset you got, how uncertain and abandoned you felt because you didn’t know the plan.

Now life has taken you to a new place, a new place for you but a place that is ancient. All along, you were not supposed to be getting the answers about what the future held. You were supposed to be learning the magical way of trust and inner guidance, learning to feel your way through, trusting and committing to your vision, your energy, your purpose, your place, each day and moment along the way. You were supposed to be learning to allow the universe to magically unfold and trust that it would. You have been learning this lesson. You have been learning it well.

See how you delight in life’s magic now, the surprises, the not knowing, the absolute trust in the universe to bring you your answers, manifest your visions, and help you when you can’t quite see. See how much you cherish your relationship to the universe, a relationship so much broader and more encompassing, so much more vital that you could ever before imagine. See how joyfully you walk your path, enjoying all the sights, opening your heart to loved one and strangers.

See how benevolent it really is when you are not able to see ahead. Not knowing has taught you about life’s magic. It has connected you to yourself and to the universe. It has connected you to God.

Not knowing has taught you to know more than you could ever imagine.

*****

more language of letting go
Manifest your reality

In the skydiving world, at drop zones, there's usually a small office where the sky diver goes. This office or place is called manifest. The potential sky diver must submit the ticket and be assigned to a particular flight. Sometimes things happen. The winds might pick up, canceling that particular flight. The sky might cloud over. Something could happen that would change that sky diver's mind about getting on the plane. But for all purposes, once you've been to manifest, you're going to be at the door of the airplane looking down 12,500 feet with a group of sky divers yelling at you to jump.

If you don't want to be at that door, trying to let go and wondering how you got yourself there, don't make the trip to manifest.

It's easy to see how events get manifested in the skydiving world. Sometimes it's more difficult to see the manifest office in our daily lives.

"How did I get here," we say, looking around at the city we live in, the person we married, or the job we have. Of course, destiny and our Higher Power play a large part in where we are.

But so do we.

Choices we make lead us along. The big decisions we make help shape our destiny. Our thoughts, intentions, and inagination have more to do with shaping our present moment that we could ever imagine.

The problem is that usually there's a gap between our intentions or behavior and seeing them manifest in reality. By the time an event takes place, we've forgotten that B happened because we did A. It's difficult to see the progressive effect of the many choices we make in a day.

I'm not saying that we create everything that happens to us. We don't have that much power. But God alone didn't send a lot of the stuff that comes our way. We created much of it ourselves.

Be aware of the words you use, especially those combined with powerful emotions or will. If we're going to manifest something in reality, let's make it good.

God, show me the creative powers I possess, especially my power to manifest events in my life. Teach me to use these powers to create harmony and beauty in the world.

*****

Hidden Gems
Experiences We Don't Understand

Sometimes we have an experience that we don’t understand, but if we look deeply, or wait long enough, a reason for that experience will usually reveal itself. All the events in our lives lead to other events, and all that we have manifested in this present moment is the result of past events and experiences. We cannot easily tease apart the many threads that have been woven together to create our current reality. Experiences that don’t make sense, as well as any that we regret, are just as responsible for the good things in our lives as the experiences we do understand or label as "good."

This is especially important to remember at times when we feel directionless or unsure of what to do. It is often at times like these that we take a job or move to a place without really knowing if it’s the right thing to do. We may ultimately end up leaving the job or the place, but often during that time we will have met someone who becomes an important friend, or we may have an experience that changes us in a profound way. When all the pieces of our life don’t quite make sense, we can remember that there may be some hidden gem of a reason that we are where we are having the experiences we are having.

It’s fun to look back on past experiences with an eye to uncovering those gems—the dreadful temporary job in a bland office building that introduced you to the love of your life; the roommate you couldn’t tolerate who gave you a book that changed your life; the time spent living in a city you didn’t like that led you into a deeper relationship with yourself. Remembering these past experiences can restore our faith in the present. Life is full of buried treasures. Chances are, you’re sitting on some right now. Published with permission from Daily OM

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

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

An entire philosophy of life is condensed in the slogan Live and Let Live. First we’re urged to live fully, richly and happily — to fulfill our destiny with the joy that comes from doing well whatever we do. Then comes a more difficult challenge: Let live. This means accepting the right of every other person to live as he or she wishes, without criticism or judgement from us. The slogan rules out contempt for those who don’t think as we do. It also warns against resentments, reminding us not to interpret other people’s actions as intentional injuries to us. Am I becoming less tempted to involve my mind with thoughts of how others act or live?

Today I Pray

May I live my life to the fullest, understanding that pure pleasure-seeking is not pleasure-finding, but that God’s goodness is here to be shared. May I partake of it. May I learn not to take over the responsibility for another adult decisions; that is my old controlling self trying , just one more time, to be the executive director of other people’s lives.

Today I Will Remember

Live and Let Live.

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

One More Day

God wrote His loveliest poem on this day
He made the first tall, poplar tree,
And set it high upon a pale-gold hill
For all the now enchanted earth to see.
– Grace Noll

Autumn was such a wonderful time when we were youngsters. Raking meant gleefully jumping into mountains of leaves and later gathering with our families to watch the blazing piles.

We can still enjoy the trees and leaves around us. If we take time to observe even a single leaf, we will again be surprised as its beauty, its perfection. The golden or red or brown leaf is a small part of nature’s balance.

We enjoyed trees before; we can find multiple ways to enjoy them now. Like all of the world around us, the leaves lend color, beauty, and meaning to our lives, if we only look.

All natural beauty deserves a second look before I turn away.

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

Food For Thought

The Power of Faith

A very small amount of faith is all that is required to begin the OA program. Hearing the stories of those who have changed and found new life gives us faith in the program. Coming to the limit of our resources makes us willing to try believing in a Higher Power, or at least acting as if we believed.

Sometimes we resist believing because deep down we do not want to change. When we honestly want to stop eating compulsively more than we want anything else, we will be given the necessary faith.

Faith grows as we work the program. As we see results, we are encouraged to keep trying in spite of setbacks. When we are able to stop eating compulsively through OA and our Higher Power, we come to believe that we can succeed in other areas of life, as well. Faith spreads to include other accomplishments, which before had seemed impossible. Through the power of faith, we are able to become all that God intends us to be.

May our faith grow daily.

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

One Day At A Time

COMPULSIONS

“All human actions have one or more of these seven causes:
chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, desire.”
Aristotle

When I was eating compulsively, it was similar to taking nitrous oxide at my dentist. Like a heavy anesthesia, the food comforted me and gave me an extraordinary sense of well-being. Like many short-term cures for what is bothering us, it took its toll. Any resemblance to reality while in the fog of compulsive eating is purely coincidental. While there may be times in my life I needed anesthesia, to use it day in and day out to block emotional pain is a burden only compulsive eaters know about.

Compulsion is self-will gone berserk. I try to think of it as the opposite of effortless abstinence. Between the two are miles and miles of varying experiences. For me there was never moderation ... only the two extremes. It took several years of squeaky clean abstinence to trust myself and begin to try moderation in eating. At that point I had learned to recognize and be aware of the dangers of that first compulsive bite. There have been times when this cunning disease always waiting to pounce has sent me straight back to hell as a result of that one single compulsive bite.

One day at a time...
I will pray that my actions are caused by anything except compulsions.

~ Mari

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

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

We found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and express even a willingness to believe in a Power greater than ourselves, we commenced to get results, even though it was impossible for any of us to fully define or comprehend that Power, which is God. - Pg. 46 - We Agnostics

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

How do we know that this process of sobriety is valid for us? We all ask this at one time or another. But we need to give the program time. How long has addiction had? Months, years, decades? Ask this same question at the same time, next year. Why not judge the effect on your life then when there is an 'effect' to judge?

Higher Power, as I understand You, grant me the ability to stay clean and sober today, so in future 'todays' I will be able to judge the effect of sobriety.

A Reservoir of Peace Within Me

I have a reservoir of peace within me into which I can retreat for safety. There is peace in the heart of God. Today I rest in the awareness that God's presence is in my heart and that is where I can go for shelter. I will bring all of my consciousness into my heart and become one with God consciousness. I can feel safe from whatever is happening around me if I do this. I can feel protected when I go here. I can tolerate what I previously thought was intolerable if I know where to go to find shelter, to find peace, to find love.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

The greatest fault of all is to be conscious of none.

Referring to my list again, I put out of my mind the wrongs others have done, and look at what my part is. (adapted from the AA Big Book, P 67)

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

The longer you've been in recovery, the more successful you've been in the past.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I choose to be in places and situations and with people where I feel good about myself.

I deserve to feel good and I trust that my heart will tell me where to go.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. - Albert Einstein. ] = 'Early Bird promises for the first year: You will continually know what city, state, and country you are in; You'll answer the door with reckless abandon; You will have a solid bowel motion - Some people think that's their first spiritual experience. - Ken D.