Daily Recovery Readings - March

[bluidkiti]

March 16, 2014

Daily Reflections

AS WE UNDERSTAND HIM

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

I remember the times I looked up into the sky and reflected on who
started it all, and how. When I came to A.A., an understanding of some
description of the spiritual dimension became a necessary adjunct to a
stable sobriety. After reading a variety of versions, including the
scientific, of a great explosion, I went for simplicity and made the God
of my understanding the Great Power that made the explosion
possible. With the vastness of the universe under His command, He
would, no doubt, be able to guide my thinking and actions if I was
prepared to accept His guidance. But I could not expect help if I turned
my back on that help and went my own way. I became willing to believe
and I have had 26 years of stable and satisfying sobriety.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Before we decide to quit drinking, most of us have come up against a
blank wall. We see that we're licked, that we have to quit. But we
don't know which way to turn for help. There seems to be no door in
that blank wall. A.A. opens the door that leads to sobriety. By
encouraging us to honestly admit that we're alcoholics and to realize
that we can't take even one drink, and by showing us which way to
turn for help, A.A. opens the door in that blank wall. Have I gone
through that door to sobriety?

Meditation For The Day

I must have a singleness of purpose to do my part in God's work. I
must not let material distractions interfere with my job of improving
personal relationships. It is easy to become distracted by material
affairs, so that I lose my singleness of purpose. I do not have time to
be concerned about the multifarious concerns of the world. I must
concentrate and specialize on what I can do best.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not become distracted by material affairs. I pray that
I may concentrate on doing what I can do best.

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As Bill Sees It

Losing Financial Fears, p. 75

When a job still looked like a mere means of getting money rather
than an opportunity for service, when the acquisition of money for
financial independence looked more important than a right
independence upon God, we were the victims of unreasonable fears.
And these were fears which would make a serene and useful
existence, at any financial level, quite impossible.

But as time passed we found that with the help of A.A.'s Twelve
Steps we could lose those fears, no matter what our material
prospects were. We could cheerfully perform humble labor without
worrying about tomorrow. If our circumstances happened to be good,
we no longer dreaded a change for the worse, for we had learned that
these troubles could be turned into great values, for ourselves and for
others.

12 & 12, pp. 121-122

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Walk in Dry Places

Anger…. A dangerous weapon
Self-control
One reason some of us have trouble overcoming anger is that we've used it too often as an offensive weapon. It can be employed as an excuse to leave the house, it can bring an argument to an explosive end, and it can make others fearful and defensive. In the past this brought results of a sort, and helped reinforce the idea that anger works.
The trouble with anger, though, is that it's destructive. Once angry, we hurt ourselves and we hurt others. Terrible things said in anger leave wounds that never heal, creating problems that lead to more anger.
The AA program can show us that there is virtually no justification for anger, under any and all circumstances. If we sense it coming on, we have the choice of taking charge of our feelings. If we're angry over another's behavior, we can remember that anger might be a way of reacting, but it's not necessary in our lives.
I'll make it through this day without a trace of anger. I'll frequently remind myself that anger is destructive and that my real purpose is to build a better life.

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Keep It Simple

Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.---Oscar Wilde
We all change. We learn, and change, and grow. We once made alcohol or other drugs our Higher Power. Perhaps we had other higher powers too---like money, gambling, food, or sex. But, it's never too late to be in touch with a true Higher Power. Each day we follow a false higher power, we aren't.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me put my life and will in Your hands today. Help me be a saint, just for today.
Action for the Day: How have my ideas about saints and sinners changed since I got into a Twelve Step program?
I'll talk with my sponsor about it today.

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Each Day a New Beginning

True intimacy with another human being can only be experienced when you have found true peace within yourself.
--Angela L. Wozniak
Intimacy means disclosure--full expression of ourselves to another person. Nothing held back. All bared. There are risks, of course: rejection, criticism, perhaps ridicule. But the comfort we feel within is directly proportional to the peace we've come to know.
Each day we commit ourselves to recovery, we find a little more peace. Each conversation we have with our higher power brings us a little more security. Each time we turn our full attention to another person's needs, we feel our own burdens lightened.
Peace comes in stages. As we continue to accept our powerlessness, the depth of our peace increases. Turning more often to a power greater than ourselves eases our resistance to whatever condition prevails. Forgiving ourselves and others, daily, heightens our appreciation of all life and enhances our humility. Therein lies peace.
We each are a necessary part of the creative spirit prevailing in this world. The details of our lives are well in hand. We can be at peace. Who we are is who we need to be.
Intimacy lets me help someone else also live a full and peace-filled life. I will reach out to someone today.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 8 - TO WIVES

You would suppose that men in the fourth classification would be quite hopeless, but that is not so. Many of Alcoholics Anonymous were like that. Everybody had given them up. Defeat seemed certain. Yet often such men had spectacular and powerful recoveries.

p. 113

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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."

But it became apparent that the word-of-mouth method was too limited. Our work, as such, needed to be publicized. The A.A. groups would have to reach quickly as many despairing alcoholics as they could. Consequently, many groups began to hold meetings which were open to interested friends and the public, so that the average citizen could see for himself just what A.A. was all about. The response to these meetings was warmly sympathetic. Soon, groups began to receive requests for A.A. speakers to appear before civic organizations, church groups, and medical societies. Provided anonymity was maintained on these platforms, and reporters present were cautioned against the use of names or pictures, the result was fine.

p. 186

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Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart...
Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens."
--Carl Jung

No matter how long a room is dark, turn on a light and the room
brightens. Today marks a new beginning. You can claim a clean slate
with God.
--Mary Manin Morrissey

The principle we are working with today is STILLNESS. It is
accomplished through the act of meditation, which is stilling of the
physical/conscious mind to all external stimuli.
Continuous, contemplative thought given to truth. A steady effort of
the mind to know and hear the voice of God from within the being.
The act of not doing in an attempt to expand the awareness of being.
When we quiet the conscious mind to hear the Divine presence.
--Iyalna Vanzant

Is my way of handling anger pleasing to God?
--Marilyn Watson

I Am Responsible . . .
When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of A.A. always to be there.
And for that: I am responsible.
--Declaration of 30th Anniversary
International Convention, 1965
As Bill Sees It, p. 332

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

RISK

"A free society is one where it is
safe to be unpopular."
-- Adlai Stevenson

Tough love requires that at times I must say or do things that make me
"unpopular". That is part of the spiritual risk of loving: to be popular
is not always to be right!

As an alcoholic I was a people-pleaser; concerned with saying what
people wanted to hear, do what people expected, remain silent rather
than cause upsets. I was afraid that if I said what I really thought, I
might be rejected. My self-esteem was secondary to what other
people thought of me.

Today in my sobriety I love myself enough to say what I believe and do
what I consider right. I refuse to remain silent when confronted with
injustice or the addictions of others. My spiritual program risks the
possibility of being unpopular.

Teach me to always say and do what I believe to be true.

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"For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he
does."
Psalm 33:4

Thine, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and
the victory and the majesty.
1 Chronicles 29:11

Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.
Ephesians 4:26

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Daily Inspiration

Prayer turns the attention from ourselves to God and helps us see His hand working in our lives. Lord, You give me reasons for a daily commitment to achieving a full and energetic life.

Allow the power of God to work within you because He is able to accomplish far more than we can dream. Lord, Your spirit empowers me. May I do Your Will and always give glory to You.