AA Thought For Today - October

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AA Thought for the Day

October 25

Spiritual Awakening
So, then, what is this "spiritual awakening," this "transforming experience"?
How do we receive it and what does it do?
To begin with, a spiritual awakening is our means of finding sobriety.
And to us of AA sobriety means life itself.
We know that a spiritual experience is the key to survival from alcoholism
and that for most of us it is the only key.
We must awake or we die.
- The Language of the Heart, pp. 233-234

Thought to Ponder . . .
The greatest gift that can come to anybody is a spiritual awakening.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
S O B E R = Spiritually On Beam; Everythings's Right.

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

The Group
"Over the years, every conceivable deviation
from our Twelve Steps and Traditions have been tried.
That was sure to be, since we are so largely a band
of ego-driven individuals.
Children of chaos, we have defiantly played with
every brand of fire,
only to emerge unharmed and, we think, wiser.
These very deviations created a vast process
of trial and error, which, under the grace of God,
has brought us to where we stand today. . .
We saw that the group, exactly like the individual,
must eventually conform to whatever
tested principles would guarantee survival."
c.1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 146

Thought to Consider . . .
Working with alcoholics in committees
is like trying to herd cats.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C H A O S = Can't Handle Another Overwhelming Situation

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

Business
From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":
"When they heard that the book was making money, some of the cash subscribers, including even Charlie Towns, began to get restless. They wanted to know why all of the profits of the book were being spent to finance a Headquarters for A.A. We replied that there was not any other way; would they like to see all those pleas for help thrown in the wastebasket? But a few still insisted on getting their money back, and something had to be done.
"Therefore Ruth and I set about making Works Publishing's first report to its stockholders. We outlined the history of the book project and painted a rosy picture for the future. From the mass of check stubs, old bills, and receipts we made an approximate accounting. As I remember, the publishing company had shown a profit of about $3,000, which had all been spent on A.A. work at the office."
2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 188

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

"I made the decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God, and then I got out of the way."
Christchurch, New Zealand, March 2010
"Gimme Shelter,"
No Matter What: Dealing with Adversity in Sobriety

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

"We have begun to comprehend their futility and their fatality. We
have commenced to see their terrible destructiveness. 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, 4th Edition, How It Works, Pg. 70~

Thus we grow. And so can you, though you be but one man with this
book in your hand. We believe and hope it contains all you will need
to begin.
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 162

And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p.417

Can we accept poverty, sickness, loneliness, and bereavement with courage and serenity?
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.112

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Even the newest of newcomers finds undreamed rewards as he tries to help his brother alcoholic, the one who is even blinder than he. This is indeed the kind of giving that actually demands nothing. He does not expect his brother sufferer to pay him, or even to love him.
And then he discovers that through the divine paradox of this kind of giving he has found his own reward, whether or not his brother has yet received anything. His own character may still be gravely defective, but he somehow knows that God has enabled him to make a mighty beginning, and he senses that he stands at the edge of new mysteries, joys, and experiences of which he had never before dreamed.

Prayer for the Day: No Other - I have no other helper than You, no other father, no other redeemer, no other support. I pray to You. Only You can help me. My present misery is too great. Despair grips me, and I am at my wits' end. I am sunk in the depths, and I cannot pull myself up or out. If it is Your will, help me out of this misery. Let me know that You are stronger than all misery and all enemies. Oh Lord, if I come through this, please let the experience contribute to my and my brothers' blessing. You will not forsake me; this I know.