AA Thoughts For Today - June

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AA Thought for the Day

June 1

Essentials of Recovery

Most emphatically we wish to say that any alcoholic capable of honestly
facing his problems in the light of our experience can recover, provided
he does not close his mind to all spiritual concepts. He can only be
defeated by an attitude of intolerance or belligerent denial. We find that
no one need have difficulty with the spirituality of the program.
Willingness, honesty and open mindedness are the essentials of recovery.
But these are indispensable.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Appendix II, Spiritual Experience) p. 568

Thought to Ponder
The Twelve Steps -- a manuscript for rational living.

AA-related 'Alconym'
H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.

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

Four Horsemen
"The less people tolerated us,
the more we withdrew from society, from life itself.
As we became subjects of King Alcohol,
shivering denizens of his mad realm,
the chilling vapor that is loneliness settled down.
It thickened, ever becoming blacker.
Some of us sought out sordid places,
hoping to find understanding companionship and approval.
Momentarily we did - then would come oblivion
and the awful awakening
to face the hideous Four Horsemen -
Terror, Bewilderment, Frustration, Despair.
Unhappy drinkers who read this page will understand!"
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 151

Thought to Consider . . .
Alcohol gave me wings to fly,
and then it took away the sky.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A A = Absolute Abstinence

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

Conception
From "Back to the Fundamentals":
"The answer I was looking for was on page 12, in Ebby's words to Bill: '"Why don't you choose your own conception of God?"'
"'I've tried everything else,' I thought, 'and I've got no place else to go. I might just as well.' I sat down at my desk, got a
pad of paper and a pencil, and asked myself, 'If you could pick the kind of God that you could believe in, what would He
be like?' I bore in mind the facts that I was an alcoholic and that I had been a perfectionist all my life. The world was
never perfect enough for me. Everything that I ever believed in, every ideal that I ever followed turned out to have feet of
clay. Here was my chance. For the first time in my life, I could create something perfect. All right!
"I wrote across the page, 'God is the perfection I've been searching for all my life. He is too perfect to have human
characteristics and faults.' That was the start.
"Then I wrote, 'God is the ultimate perfection. He is the perfect love, the perfect truth, the perfect goodness, the perfect
understanding, tolerance, mercy, forgiveness. God is so perfect that no matter how evil, how unclean we may be, He'll
forgive us if we ask, and grant us strength to overcome our shortcomings.'"
1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pgs. 63-64

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

"Change is scary, even if it promises a better life."
Step by Step
Watsonville, Calif., June 2009
"As Long As I Stay Willing"

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quotes ^*~*~*~*~*

"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."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 55~

"We never apologize to anyone for depending upon our Creator. We can
laugh at those who think spirituality the way of weakness.
Paradoxically, it is the way of strength. The verdict of the ages is
that faith means courage. All men of faith have courage. They trust
their God. We never apologize for God. Instead we let Him
demonstrate, through us, what He can do. We ask Him to remove our
fear and direct our attention to what He would have us be. At once,
we commence to outgrow fear."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 68~

Our eyes begin to open to the immense values which have come straight out of painful ego-puncturing.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 74

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Deep down in every man, woman, and child is the fundamental idea of a 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.
'Faith may often be given through inspired teaching or a convincing personal example of its fruits. It may sometimes be
had through reason. For instance, many clergymen believe that St. Thomas Aquinas actually proved God's existence by
sheer logic. But what can one do when all these channels fail? This was my own grievous dilemma.
'It was only when I came fully to believe I was powerless over alcohol, only when I appealed to a God who just might
exist, that I experienced a spiritual awakening. This freedom-giving experience came first, and then faith followed
afterward--a gift indeed!

Prayer For The Day: Dear heavenly Father, thank you for not only saving my soul, but for the promise of healing also. I do appreciate the many times over the years that You have healed me personally. I also thank you for the gift of healing as I have prayed and You have touched others with Your healing virtue. You truly are the Great Physician. I do appreciate that about You. Lord, I do want to always remain in a joyful attitude, no matter what might come my way. Fill me with Your love, joy and peace daily, so that I might be an example of Your goodness. I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.