Monday, August 31, 2015
Aug. 31, 2015 - Oklahoma inmate's pending execution attracting international scrutiny
Aug. 31, 2015 - No empirical support for argument that gays are also pedophiles
Aug. 31, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Monday, Aug. 31, 2015
Today's thought from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
Be aware of wonder.
-- Robert Fulghum
We have days when we experience the small coincidences in life - our car breaks down and we run into an old friend at the service station; we're thinking about someone and she calls just because we've been on her mind; we ask ourselves a question and the answer appears on the side of a bus or out of the mouth of a stranger at the bus stop. These serendipitous events usually leave us with at least a bit of awe.
The more serendipity we have in our life, the more spiritually connected we are. We're tuned in, attentive, aware, and detached. We're getting responses to questions and meeting the people we need to be with at just the right moments. We couldn't have planned it better. We couldn't have planned it at all.
Serendipity is a sign that we're letting the universe organize the events that lead to answered questions and fulfilled dreams. Life becomes a process of unraveling a mystery.
Today I will recognize the serendipity in the day's events.
Be aware of wonder.
-- Robert Fulghum
We have days when we experience the small coincidences in life - our car breaks down and we run into an old friend at the service station; we're thinking about someone and she calls just because we've been on her mind; we ask ourselves a question and the answer appears on the side of a bus or out of the mouth of a stranger at the bus stop. These serendipitous events usually leave us with at least a bit of awe.
The more serendipity we have in our life, the more spiritually connected we are. We're tuned in, attentive, aware, and detached. We're getting responses to questions and meeting the people we need to be with at just the right moments. We couldn't have planned it better. We couldn't have planned it at all.
Serendipity is a sign that we're letting the universe organize the events that lead to answered questions and fulfilled dreams. Life becomes a process of unraveling a mystery.
Today I will recognize the serendipity in the day's events.
You are reading from the book:
Letting Go of Debt © 2000 by Hazelden Foundation
Aug. 31, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Step by Step
Monday, Aug. 31, 2015
Today, Step 11 to answer honestly if I have "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve (my) conscious contact with God as (I) understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for (me) and the power to carry that out." Simply acknowledging a Higher Power and looking to Him as a guide through recovery is not enough. We must also seek what He requires of us and the knowledge and power to do what He wants of us. Why is the 11th Step important to both the early and later stages of recovery? In seeking our Higher Power's will for us, we are getting away from one of our most dangerous and contributory spiritual afflictions - selfishness. We dare not risk what progress we have made or seek by holding onto those poisonous character and spiritual defects like selfishness, anger, hate and bitterness that will undermine either the quality of recovery or sobriety itself. Today, seek through prayer and meditation the will of our Higher Power, not ours. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015
Aug. 31, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Monday, Aug. 31, 2015
AA Thought for the Day
"Call on new prospects while they are still jittery. They may be more receptive when depressed. See them alone if possible. Tell them enough about your drinking habits and experiences to encourage them to speak of themselves. If they wish to talk, let them do so. If they are not communicative, talk about the troubles liquor has caused you, being careful not to moralize or lecture. When they see you know all about the drinking game, commence to describe yourself as an alcoholic and tell them how you learned you were sick."
Am I ready to talk about myself to new prospects?
Meditation for the Day
Try not to give way to criticism, blame, scorn or judgment of others, when you are trying to help them. Effectiveness in helping others depends on controlling yourself. You may be swept away by a temporary natural urge to criticize or blame, unless you keep a tight rein on your emotions. You should have a firm foundation of spiritual living which makes you truly humble, if you are going to really help other people. Go easy on them and be hard on yourself. That is the way you can be used most to uplift a despairing spirit. And seek no personal recognition for what you are used by God to accomplish.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may try to avoid judgment and criticism. I pray that I may always try to build up others instead of tearing them down.
Hazelden Foundation
Aug. 31, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time
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| The Serenity Prayer |
A Day at a Time
Monday, Aug. 31, 2015
Monday, Aug. 31, 2015
Reflection for the Day
From time to time, I begin to think I know what God's will is for other people. I say to myself, "This person ought to be cured of his terminal illness," or, "That one ought to be freed from the torment she's going through," and I begin to pray for those specific things. My heart is in the right place when I pray in such fashion, but those prayers are based on the supposition that I know God's will for the person for whom I pray. The Program teaches me, instead, that I ought to pray that God's will - whatever it is - be done for others as well as for myself.
Will I remember that God is ready to befriend me, but only to the degree that I trust Him?
Today I Pray
I praise God for the chance to help others. I thank God also for making me want to help others, for taking me out of my tower of self so that I can meet and share with and care about people. Teach me to pray that "Thy will be done" in the spirit of love, which God inspires in me.
Today I Will Remember
I will put my trust in the will of God.
Hazelden Foundation
From time to time, I begin to think I know what God's will is for other people. I say to myself, "This person ought to be cured of his terminal illness," or, "That one ought to be freed from the torment she's going through," and I begin to pray for those specific things. My heart is in the right place when I pray in such fashion, but those prayers are based on the supposition that I know God's will for the person for whom I pray. The Program teaches me, instead, that I ought to pray that God's will - whatever it is - be done for others as well as for myself.
Will I remember that God is ready to befriend me, but only to the degree that I trust Him?
Today I Pray
I praise God for the chance to help others. I thank God also for making me want to help others, for taking me out of my tower of self so that I can meet and share with and care about people. Teach me to pray that "Thy will be done" in the spirit of love, which God inspires in me.
Today I Will Remember
I will put my trust in the will of God.
Hazelden Foundation
Aug. 31, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Monday, Aug. 31, 2015
It is a constant source of amazement to some of the Old-Timers to answer a call for help from some alcoholic and to find that the person in trouble is a neighbor, relative, friend or fellow employee or a member of AA.
It sometimes happens that the new man preferred it that way as he would rather discuss the matter with a stranger than someone near him.
It is also true that some of us are not quick to grasp the opportunities to pass the Message along. If you see a man is beyond his depth and can't swim, why should you wait for him to yell for help? He might be deaf and dumb.
Hazelden Foundation
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Aug. 30, 2015 - Commentary: Je suis Rentboy.com
Aug. 30, 2015 - Editorial: Buying sex should not be legal
Aug. 30, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015
Today's thought from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
Detachment doesn't mean denying compassion
Approaching life with detachment may seem cold at first. We are accustomed to offering lots of help to other people. Thus the first few times we back off from what has become our natural inclination we feel uncomfortable.
Through this program we are learning so much about ourselves. For example, we never knew that we attained much of our worth from how we took care of others. Detachment doesn't mean we stop loving them. We are discovering that letting them be wholly in charge of themselves is really far more loving And it doesn't mean we can't have deep feelings of care and concern. We simply need to stop doing for others what they need to do for themselves.
I will evaluate my need for taking care of a friend's problem today. Letting others take care of themselves is far more loving.
Detachment doesn't mean denying compassion
Approaching life with detachment may seem cold at first. We are accustomed to offering lots of help to other people. Thus the first few times we back off from what has become our natural inclination we feel uncomfortable.
Through this program we are learning so much about ourselves. For example, we never knew that we attained much of our worth from how we took care of others. Detachment doesn't mean we stop loving them. We are discovering that letting them be wholly in charge of themselves is really far more loving And it doesn't mean we can't have deep feelings of care and concern. We simply need to stop doing for others what they need to do for themselves.
I will evaluate my need for taking care of a friend's problem today. Letting others take care of themselves is far more loving.
You are reading from the book:
A Life of My Own by Karen Casey. © 1993 by Hazelden Foundation
Aug. 30, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Step by Step
Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015
Today, Step 10 because it is one of the most integral maintenance Steps: "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it." The 10th is the logical extension of the Fourth in which we "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." We cannot and should not believe that our personal inventory and admission of our wrongs is a one-time exercise. Not only can those wrongs be resurrected in recovery and even after we've asked our Higher Power to remove them, but "new" defects can and do evolve in recovery. But why should we look in the mirror long after our last drink or use? Failing to do so risks old character defects to rise again, possibly undetected, and a fearless honesty will likely tell us that our active addiction was fueled by those defects. And a relapse, even a so-called "slip," is too high a price to pay for neglecting our maintenance of the progress we achieve. Today, I have to muster the honesty required of a continued personal inventory - my recovery is too precious a gift to risk. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015
Aug. 30, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015
AA Thought for the Day
"Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as extensive work with other alcoholics. Carry the message to other alcoholics. You can help when no one else can. You can secure their confidence when others fail. Life will take on a new meaning for you. To watch people recover, to see them help others in turn, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow about you, to have a host of friends, this is an experience you must not miss."
Am I always ready and willing to help other alcoholics?
Meditation for the Day
One secret of abundant living is the art of giving. The paradox of life is that the more you give, the more you have. If you lose your life in the service of others, you will save it. You can give abundantly and so live abundantly. You are rich in one respect - you have a spirit that is inexhaustible. Let no mean or selfish thought keep you from sharing this spirit. Of love, of help, of understanding and of sympathy, give and keep giving. Give your personal ease and comfort, your time, your money and most of all, yourself. And you will be living abundantly.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may live to give. I pray that I may learn this secret of abundant living.
Hazelden Foundation
Aug. 30, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015
Reflection for the Day
I'll begin today with a prayer - prayer in my heart, prayer in my mind and words of prayer on my lips. Through prayer, I'll stay tuned to God today, reaching forward to become that to which I aspire. Prayer will redirect my mind, helping me rise in consciousness to the point where I realize that there's no separation between God and me. As I let the power of God flow through me, all limitations will fall away.
Do I know that nothing can overcome the power of God?
Today I Pray
Today may I offer to my Higher Power a constant prayer, not just a "once-in-the-morning-does-it" kind. May I think of my Higher Power at coffee breaks, lunch, tea time, during a quiet evening - and at all times in between. May my consciousness expand and erase the lines of separation, so that the Power is a part of me and I am a part of the Power.
Today I Will Remember
To live an all-day prayer.
Hazelden Foundation
Aug. 30, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015
You can't swim like a fish, run like a deer, fight like a tiger or fly like a bird. Every one of your five senses is excelled by some member of the animal kingdom. Man, physically, has many superiors and would long since have been extinct but for the fact that he alone possess reasoning power.
With this advantage he can build ships to outswim the fish, motor cars to outrun the deer, perfect weapons to outfight the tiger and airplanes to outstrip the fastest of birds. With this reason he can visualize the reason behind all Nature and thus avail himself of a Power greater than himself and all the forces with which he has to contend.
Hazelden Foundation
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Aug. 29, 2015 - Editorial: Homeland Security’s peculiar prosecution of Rentboy.com
Aug. 29, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015
Today's thought from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
Be grateful for where you are now
"It doesn't take as much faith to believe that everything happens for a reason as it does to embrace the belief that I am who and where I am now, today, for a reason - even if I don't know what that reason is and even if I don't particularly like who or where I am today," a friend said to me.
"When I can take that in, my dissatisfaction and negativity disappear, and I can proceed calmly and gratefully with my life. To me," he said, "that's what spirituality is all about."
Faith and hope aren't just for the future. Try using them on today.
Could it be that you're who you are and where you are now for a reason? Thank God for your life, exactly as it is, right now.
God, give me enough faith to believe in today.
Be grateful for where you are now
"It doesn't take as much faith to believe that everything happens for a reason as it does to embrace the belief that I am who and where I am now, today, for a reason - even if I don't know what that reason is and even if I don't particularly like who or where I am today," a friend said to me.
"When I can take that in, my dissatisfaction and negativity disappear, and I can proceed calmly and gratefully with my life. To me," he said, "that's what spirituality is all about."
Faith and hope aren't just for the future. Try using them on today.
Could it be that you're who you are and where you are now for a reason? Thank God for your life, exactly as it is, right now.
God, give me enough faith to believe in today.
You are reading from the book:
More Language of Letting Go © 2000 by Melody Beattie
Aug. 29, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Step by Step
Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015
Today, understand that serenity comes from within and not from people and things on the outside. I wasted too much time, emotion and energy in my drinking days searching and even clinging to outside things and people in whom I vested my sobriety. But now I must accept that my sobriety comes from within. I no longer can demand or hope that the world and other people can change to accommodate my recovery but that I must change to fit into the world and the people in it. AA gives me the road map to arrive at such a lofty destination, in Step Four: "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." Steps Five, Six and Seven, then, guide us through the admission to God, to ourselves and another human being the "exact nature" of the wrongs we find in Step Four. The Steps are dependent on action by me, not someone or something else. Today, I assume responsibility for both my addiction and recovery. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015
Aug. 29, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015
AA Thought for the Day
"We cannot get along without prayer and meditation. On awakening, let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking. Our thought lives will be placed on a much higher plane when we start the day with prayer and meditation. We conclude this period of meditation with a prayer that we will be shown through the day what our next step is to be. The basis of all our prayers is: Thy will be done in me and through me today."
Am I sincere in my desire to do God's will today?
Meditation for the Day
Breathe in the inspiration of goodness and truth. It is the spirit of honesty, purity, unselfishness and love. It is readily available if we are willing to accept it wholeheartedly. God has given us two things - His spirit and the power of choice - to accept or not, as we will. We have the gift of free will. When we choose the path of selfishness and greed and pride, we are refusing to accept God's spirit. When we choose the path of love and service, we accept God's spirit and it flows into us and makes all things new.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may choose the right way. I pray that I may try to follow it to the end.
Hazelden Foundation
Aug. 29, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time
Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015
Reflection for the Day
Prayer can have many rewards. One of the greatest rewards is the sense of belonging it brings to me. No longer do I live as a stranger in a strange land, alien in a completely hostile world. No longer am I lost, frightened and purposeless. I belong. We find, in The Program, that the moment we catch a glimpse of God's will - the moment we begin to see truth, justice and love as the real and eternal things in life - we're no longer so deeply upset by all the seeming evidence to the contrary surrounding us in purely human affairs.
Do I believe that God lovingly watches over me?
Today I Pray
May I be grateful for the comfort and peace of belonging - to God the ultimately wise "parent" and to His family on earth. May I no longer need bumper stickers or boisterous gangs to give me my identity. Through prayer, I am God's.
Today I Will Remember
I find my identity through prayer.
Hazelden Foundation
Aug. 29, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener
Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015
The relationship of hours to a lifetime is comparable to the relationship of bricks to a house. Every brick that is laid must be a separate and distinct operation, yet so tied to the preceding and the following brick that their positions are level and plumb. Each one is an entirety in itself, but all the bricks are either supporting or are supported by each other.
Our hours, lived one by one, are in no sense different. The beauty, strength and durability of our lives will be determined by the individual hours viewed collectively.
Hazelden Foundation
Friday, August 28, 2015
Aug. 28, 2015 - The male face of a mental breakdown
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