Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Connecticut latest state to ban tax-paid travel to Indiana over LGBT discrimination law

Associated Press: March 31, 2015 - Connecticut governor bans state funded travel to Indiana over ‘religious freedom’ law – LGBTQ Nation

Washington governor joins the boycott: No state-funded travel to Indiana

Associated Press: March 31, 2015 - Washington governor joins boycott: No state-funded travel to Indiana – LGBTQ Nation

Indiana's largest-circulation newspaper calls for 'fix' to discrimination law and protected status for LGBT's

Advocate.com: March 31, 2015 - Indiana Newspaper Makes Huge Statement on Front Page | Advocate.com

Indiana-based corporations come forward with worries about LGBT discrimination law

Huffington Post: March 31, 2015 - Leaders Of Indiana Companies 'Deeply Concerned' Over LGBT Discrimination Law

It's time for civil disobedience in Indiana

The Good Men Project: March 31, 2015 - It's Time for Civil Disobedience in Indiana -

Let's not be too quick to stigmatize role of mental illness in Germanwings tragedy

The Good Men Project: March 31, 2015 - The Slippery Slope of Blaming Depression or Anxiety For The GermanWings Murder-Suicide -

Indiana races to fight surge in HIV infections tied to drug abuse

New York Times: March 31, 2015 - Indiana Races to Fight H.I.V. Surge Tied to Drug Abuse - NYTimes.com

Eroding freedom in the name of freedom - and religion

New York Times: March 31, 2015 - Eroding Freedom in the Name of Freedom - NYTimes.com

Editorial: Disguising bigotry as religion in Indiana

New York Times: March 31, 2015 - Editorial: In Indiana, Using Religion as a Cover for Bigotry - NYTimes.com

March 31, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden

The Serenity Prayer
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Whatever you may be sure of, be sure of this, you are dreadfully like other people.
 -- James Russell Lowell


Sharing our many experiences with our friends in Twelve Step meetings helps us understand how very similar we all are. We are unique only in the sense that each of us has a special contribution to make in life, one not quite like anyone else's.

Keeping secrets from others can make us fearful. We think. Could they really like me if they knew this? Yet we feel profound relief when we share our most shameful secrets in a meeting and the men and women listening to us don't blink an eye.

We no longer find rewards from pretending we're someone we're not. Our greatest reward now is the peace we experience from not having anything to hide. We have learned genuine humility and that we are equals with other people. No better, no worse.

Today I will enjoy the serenity of having no more secrets and will celebrate my humanity.
You are reading from the book:
In God's Care by Karen Casey. © 1991 by Hazelden Foundation

March 31, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

The Serenity Prayer
Step by Step
Tuesday, March 31, 2015 
Today, I will not allow self-pity to shake my recovery program regardless if my recovery began 24 months or 24 hours ago. Self-pity may be the deadliest of poisons that can undo, in the blink of an eye, any progress I've made. Self-pity is giving up my belief and total surrender to my Higher Power and is the epitome of selfishness. If there is adversity this day, I will face it with the courage, strength, hope and dignity with which my Program has endowed me, and I've already been empowered with courage, strength, hope and dignity merely by committing myself to recovery. Nor will I whine, "Why me?" And if I say no to self-pity today, I have no reason or excuse to drink, to use - and this day, then, will be good. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015

March 31, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

The Serenity Prayer
Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Tuesday, March 31, 2015 
AA Thought for the Day
Since I've been in AA, have I made a start towards being more unselfish? Do I no longer want my own way in everything? When things go wrong and I can't have what I want, do I no longer sulk? Am I trying not to waste money on myself? And does it make me happy to see my family and my home have enough attention from me? 
Am I trying not to be all get and no give? 
Meditation for the Day
Each day is a day of progress, steady progress forward, if you make it so. You may not see it, but God does. God does not judge by outward appearance. He judges by the heart. Let Him see in your heart a simple desire always to do His will. Though you may feel that your work has been spoiled or tarnished, God sees it as an offering for Him. When climbing a steep hill, a person is often more conscious of the weakness of his stumbling feet than of the view, the grandeur or even of the upward progress. 
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may persevere in all good things. I pray that I may advance each day in spite of my stumbling feet. 

Hazelden Foundation

March 31, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

The Serenity Prayer
A Day at a Time
Tuesday, March 31, 2015 
Reflection for the Day
My illness is unlike most other illnesses in that denial that I am sick is a primary symptom that I am sick. Like such other incurable illnesses as diabetes and arthritis, however, my illness is characterized by relapses. In The Program, we call such relapses "slips." The one thing I know for certain is that I alone can cause myself to slip. 
Will I remember at all times that the thought precedes the action? Will I try to avoid "stinking thinking?" 
Today I Pray
May God give me the power to resist temptations. May the responsibility for giving in, for having a "slip," be on my shoulders and mine only. May I see beforehand if I am setting myself up for a slip by blame-shifting, shirking my responsibility to myself, becoming the world's poor puppet once again. My return to those old attitudes can be as much of a slip as the act of losing my sobriety. 
Today I Will Remember
Nobody's slip-proof. 

Hazelden Foundation

March 31, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Serenity Prayer
The Eye Opener
Tuesday, March 31, 2015 
We as alcoholics are so used to getting by with a minimum of effort on our part that we sometimes fail to appreciate that only those things earned have any real lasting value. 
We allowed our families to cover up for us and support us, we panhandled, we were experts in the game of something for nothing. 
Nothing free is worth having. AA has no initiation fees or dues, but it also costs a lot if you want to get a lot. You can procure a two-bit brand of AA, but we don't guarantee it will work. 

Hazelden Foundation

Monday, March 30, 2015

A gay father on businesses that use 'religious freedom' to justify discrimination

The Good Men Project: March 30, 2015 - A Gay Dad Sounds Off on Businesses Who Humiliate Due to "Religious Freedom" -

Seven attitudes men must change about violence against women

The Good Men Project: March 30, 2015 - Men’s Violence Against Women -

Out Apple CEO Tim Cook warns of 'dangerous' wave of anti-gay legislation nationwide

Washington Post: March 30, 2015 - Tim Cook: Pro-discrimination ‘religious freedom’ laws are dangerous - The Washington Post

For millennials, homosexuality is more acceptable than casual sex

Washington Post: March 30, 2015 - For millennials, homosexuality more acceptable than casual sex - The Washington Post

Why is HIV devastating rural Indiana?

HIV Plus: March 30, 2015 - As HIV Devastates Rural Indiana, Experts Ask: How Could This Happen? | HIVPlusMag.com

Only two things can be taken from Mike Pence's dissembling interview with ABC

Advocate.com: March 30, 2015 - The Only 2 Things to Know Out of Mike Pence's Dissembling Interview | Advocate.com

Alan Cumming is bisexual - and you might be, too

Advocate.com: March 30, 2015 - Alan Cumming Is Bisexual — And You Might Be Too | Advocate.com

Seeing debacle in Indiana, Montana House narrowly defeats anti-gay 'religious freedom' bill

Associated Press: March 30, 2015 - Montana House narrowly defeats ‘religious freedom’ bill on deadlocked vote – LGBTQ Nation

Video: Indiana governor won't change state's new anti-gay 'religious freedom' law

The New Civil Rights Movement: March 30, 2015 - Watch – Mike Pence Doubles Down On Anti-Gay Law: 'We're Not Going To Change This' (Video) - The New Civil Rights Movement

March 30, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden

The Serenity Prayer
Monday, March 30, 2015
Today's thought from Hazelden is:

I usually just lived one day at a time. I never had a sense of where I was going.
 -- Ruth Casey


Did any of us really know where we were going? We probably spent many hours, days, weeks even, making detailed plans for the people around us. These plans didn't usually suit others so they didn't often materialize. God, however, always had a plan in store for each of us, although sometimes we were the last to know it.

Is there any reason to think that anything has changed? Not really. We're still here, so that means God is still in charge of whatever should transpire today. Our part is to be willing to listen to God's direction and to follow it. We don't have to know where our steps are leading us. We can simply move forward, trusting that we will end up where we need to be.

We may have complicated our lives for too many years. That's not unusual. Busy people tend to do that. What we needed to do, where we needed to go, was always under the direction of God. It still is. Let's rejoice that our part is doable.

Living one day at a time works best. I'll give up thoughts of all else today.
You are reading from the book:
Keepers of the Wisdom © 1996 by Karen Casey

March 30, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

The Serenity Prayer
Step by Step
Monday, March 30, 2015
 
Today, I cannot crumble to temptation even if I think I do not feel tempted to try "just one" drink. Regardless of how many 24 Hours of sobriety any AA disciple has, none of us is immune to the thought, however fleeting, that maybe one drink won't do any damage. Of course it will, as we know from bitter experience. If temptation is a human foible, it is one that none of us in recovery can afford; for us, temptation, rather, is our failure to integrate into the deepest of our souls the Program's first four words - "Admitted we were powerless ..." Temptation is also our own will run riot and rejection of the humility of surrendering our will to our Higher Power. Still, if temptation sneaks in, may I have imprinted in my conscience the outcome of all those times in the past when I did give into temptation. And the memory of that outcome is too costly and painful to give in another time to the myth that temptation creates. Today, I hope I am not tempted, but I will not take for granted that I won't so that, if I am, I am strong and honest enough in my Program. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015

March 30, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

The Serenity Prayer
Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Monday, March 30, 2015 
AA Thought for the Day
Before I met AA, I was very unloving. From the time I went away to school, I paid very little attention to my mother and father. I was on my own and didn't even bother to keep in touch with them. After I got married, I was very unappreciative of my spouse. Many a time I would go out all by myself to have a good time. I paid too little attention to our children and didn't try to understand them or show them affection. My few friends were only drinking companions, not real friends. 
Have I gotten over loving nobody but myself? 
Meditation for the Day
Be calm, be true, be quiet. Do not get emotionally upset by anything that happens around you. Feel a deep, inner security in the goodness and purpose in the universe. Be true to your highest ideals. Do not let yourself slip back into the old ways of reacting. Stick to your spiritual guns. Be calm always. Do not talk back or defend yourself too much against accusation, whether false or true. Accept abuse as well as you accept praise. Only God can judge the real you. 
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may not be upset by the judgment of others. I pray that I may let God be the judge of the real me. 

Hazelden Foundation

March 30, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

The Serenity Prayer
A Day at a Time
Monday, March 30, 2015 
Reflection for the Day
"When I meditate upon such a vision," Bill W. continued, "I need not be dismayed because I shall never attain it, nor need I swell with presumption that one of these days its virtues shall all be mine. I only need to dwell on the vision itself, letting it grow and ever more fill my heart ...Then I get a sane and healthy idea of where I stand on the highway to humility. I see that my journey towards God has scarcely begun. As I thus get down to my right size and stature, my self-concern and importance become amusing." 
Do I take myself too seriously? 
Today I Pray
May the grandiosity which is a symptom of my chemical addiction be brought back into proportion by the simple comparison of my powerlessness with the power of God. May I think of the meaning of Higher Power as it relates to my human frailty. May it bring my ego back down to scale and help me shed my defenses of pomp or bluster or secret ideas of self-importance. 
Today I Will Remember
He is great. I am small. 

Hazelden Foundation

March 30, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Serenity Prayer
The Eye Opener
Monday, March 30, 2015 
The truly great man can afford to be humble, for hundreds of others are exalting him. You have only one horn to blow and other people can't toot it if you are eternally tooting it yourself. 
The proud man is aggressive in his own interest; the humble man is aggressive in the ideals he believes in. Humility is not passive resignation; it is, rather, subjecting self for lofty purposes. 

Hazelden Foundation

Sunday, March 29, 2015

NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley calls for college basketball's biggest game to be pulled from Indiana

Gay Star News: March 29, 2015 - NBA Hall of Famer wants college basketball's biggest game pulled out of Indiana | Gay Star News

Seattle ends state-paid travel to Indiana in disapproval of anti-gay law

Associated Press: March 29, 2015 - Seattle mayor Ed Murray joins Indiana boycott, says no city-funded travel – LGBTQ Nation

In light of fallout and lost revenues, Indiana governor didn't predict 'hostiltity' toward state

Indianapolis Star: March 29, 2015 - Swarens: Gov. Mike Pence to push for clarification of ‘religious freedom’ law

Hundred rally at Indiana Statehouse against homophobic 'religious freedom' law

Associated Press: March 29, 2015 - Hundreds rally at Indiana state capitol in opposition to anti‑LGBT religious freedom law – LGBTQ Nation

The six things a gay father wants his gay son to understand

The Good Men Project: March 29, 2015 - The 6 Things a Gay Dad Wants His Gay Son to Understand -

The nine ugly faces of HIV stigma

Advocate.com: March 29, 2015 - 9 Ugly Faces of HIV Stigma | Advocate.com

Is it time for these business events to relocate from Indiana?

Advocate.com: March 29, 2015 - These Indiana Events Need to Relocate to a New State | Advocate.com

Fallout in Indiana continues as Angie's List cancels statewide expansion

Advocate.com: March 29, 2015 - Backlash Continues: Angie's List Cancels Indiana Expansion | Advocate.com

After Indiana, 23 more states could adopt LGBT discrimination laws

Advocate.com: March 29, 2015 - After Indiana, 23 More States Could Pass Discrimination Bills | Advocate.com

March 29, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden

The Serenity Prayer
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Today's thought from Hazelden is:

I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And never a word said she;
But, Oh, the things I learned from her
When Sorrow walked with me!
 -- Robert Browning Hamilton


We may think that forgetting the past is essential for growth and peace of mind. It's a tempting idea: we'll start over again, we think, fresh and new. But if we lose that old pain, we'll also lose all that we learned. We may repeat our mistakes, or make even worse ones next time. Dwelling on the past is equally dangerous. We began recovery to build a better life.

To find and maintain our balance, each area of our lives needs attention. A healthy mind in a healthy body is free to find God. And, with God's help, we can learn to recognize and forgive our past mistakes, while we keep the remarkable lessons we learned from life.

With our remembering, with our inventory, we can truly experience the repentance that frees us from regret and remorse. When we acknowledge our mistakes, we can learn from them and come to forgive ourselves.

Today help me use my memories to learn and change. Help me to forgive my past.
You are reading from the book:
Body, Mind, and Spirit © 1990 by Hazelden Foundation

March 29, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

The Serenity Prayer
Step by Step
Sunday, March 29, 2015
 
Today, if I start my day with dread, I probably need to do a 10th Step at least or re-do my Fourth at most. Clearly something is wrong and I have not yet reaped benefits of sobriety or, worse, I am little more than a dry drunk. The Serenity Prayer tells me that I have no control over what this day might serve up, but it also tells me what I can change is me. The Program gives me the tools to do it, from the first four words of the Program - "Admitted (I am) powerless" - to the 12th Step's promise of a new me through a spiritual awakening and its command to practice all the Steps "in all (my) affairs." And if I take the attitude that the day ahead is something to just get through, I will likely make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. Today, I will admit that I am powerless over whatever this day has in store, but that my attitude toward it can make or break the peace of mind that recovery promises - and that faith in my Higher Power will give me the courage to change me. Sobriety and, for that matter, life are not things to endure or to just get through. Today, I will live, not just endure or just get through. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015

March 29, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

The Serenity Prayer
Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Sunday, March 29, 2015 
AA Thought for the Day
Before I met AA, I was very dishonest. I lied to my spouse constantly about where I had been and what I'd been doing. I took time off from my work and pretended I'd been sick or gave some other dishonest excuse. I was dishonest with myself, as well as with other people. I would never face myself as I really was or admit when I was wrong. I pretended to myself that I was as good as the next person, although I suspected I wasn't. 
Am I now really honest? 
Meditation for the Day
I must live in the world and yet live apart with God. I can go forth from my secret times of communion with God to the work of the world. To get the spiritual strength I need, my inner life must be lived apart from the world. I must wear the world as a loose garment. Nothing in the world should seriously upset me, as long as my inner life is lived with God. All successful living arises from this inner life. 
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may live my inner life with God. I pray that nothing shall invade or destroy that secret place of peace.

Hazelden Foundation

March 29, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

The Serenity Prayer
A Day at a Time
Sunday, March 29, 2015 
Reflection for the Day
What is the definition of humility? "Absolute humility," said AA co-founder Bill W., "would consist of a state of complete freedom from myself, freedom from all the claims that my defects of character now lay so heavily upon me. Perfect humility would be a full willingness, in all times and places, to find and to do the will of God." 
Am I striving for humility? 
Today I Pray
May God expand my interpretation of humility beyond abject subservience or awe at the greatness of others. May humility also mean freedom from myself, a freedom which can come only through turning my being over to God's will. May I sense the omnipotence of God, which is simultaneously humbling and exhilarating. May I be willing to carry out His will. 
Today I Will Remember
Humility is freedom.

Hazelden Foundation

March 29, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Serenity Prayer
The Eye Opener
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Do you want to be happy? Then go buy that strange kid on the corner a bag of candy. It may help cause his teeth to decay, but what's a tooth between two glad hearts?

Hazelden Foundation

Saturday, March 28, 2015

San Francisco becomes first major city to severe ties with Indiana over 'religious freedom' law

Media reporting co-pilot who crashed Germanwings jetliner was bullied as gay man

Gay Star News: March 28, 2015 - Media claims killer co-pilot Andreas Lubitz was gay | Gay Star News

Ohio State wrestling champ Mike Pucillo publicly comes out as gay

The Open Mat: March 28, 2015 -Pucillo leans on friendship to ease difficult decision | theopenmat.com

Indiana officials, businesses scramble to stem fallout from anti-gay ‘religious freedom’ law

Associated Press: March 28, 2015 - Indiana officials, businesses scramble to stem ‘religious freedom’ law fallout – LGBTQ Nation

#BoycottIndiana: Celebs, public figures blow up social media to denounce Hoosierland

Advocate.com: March 28, 2015 - Time to #BoycottIndiana? Celebs Blow Up Social Media | Advocate.com