Aug. 6, 2013 - Step by Step

Step by Step

Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013

Today, I will remember all that I have lost – since I literally stumbled into AA and began to work a Program. I have lost waking up in my own vomit, the daily hangovers, the shakes and needing the whiskey shot every morning to stops the tremors. I’ve lost not being able to function physically and cognitively, and I’ve lost having to call in sick with the lie that I’m having a tooth pulled or that my grandmother died – for the sixth or seventh time. I’ve lost feeling sorry for myself and the ego that fueled it, and I’ve lost my refusal to accept responsibility for the consequences of my bad choices. I can easily get all that back but, today, I have a gift to choose waking up without all that garbage. I’ll take the second option and stick with the Program that took all that stuff away. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2013

Aug. 6, 2013 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013

AA Thought for the Day
Psychologists are turning to religion because just knowing about ourselves is not enough. We need the added dynamic of faith in a power outside of ourselves on which we can rely. Books on psychology and psychiatric treatments are not enough without the strength that comes from faith in God. And clergymen and rabbis are turning to psychology because faith is an act of the mind and will. Religion must be presented in psychological terms to some extent in order to satisfy the modern person. Faith must be built largely on our own psychological experience.

Have I taken what I need from both psychology and religion when I live the AA way?

Meditation for the Day
Refilling with the spirit is something you need every day. For this refilling with the spirit, you need these times of quiet communion, away, alone, without noise, without activity. You need this dwelling apart, this shutting yourself away in the very secret place of your being, away alone with your Maker. From these times of communion you come forth with new power. This refilling is the best preparation for effective work. When you are spiritually filled, there is no work too hard for you.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be daily refilled with the right spirit. I pray that I may be full of the joy of true living.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 6, 2013 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013

Reflection for the Day
Sometimes through bitter experience and painful lessons, we learn in our fellowship with others in The Program that resentment is our number one enemy. It destroys more of us than anything else. From resentment stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we’ve been not only mentally and physically ill, but spiritually ill as well. As we recover and as our spiritual illness is remedied, we become well physically and mentally.

Am I aware that few things are more bitter than to feel bitter? Do I see that my venom is more poisonous to me than to my victim?

Today I Pray
I ask for help in removing the pile of resentments I have collected. May I learn that resentments are play-actors, too; they may be fears – of losing a job, a love, an opportunity; they may be hurts or guilty feelings. May I know that God is my healer. May I admit my need.

Today I Will Remember
Resentments are rubbish; haul them away.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 6, 2013 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013

It is not natural for a human being to be entirely contemptuous of public opinion. We all smart under criticism and we all enjoy applause. We cannot be blamed for purring like a cat when our fur is being rubbed the right way.

Neither public acclaim nor public censure is always deserved, however, and we should therefore temper our reactions to them until we have received the stamp of approval from the little man inside us, who really knows the facts as to our desserts.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 6, 2013 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013

Today’s thought from Hazelden is:

An alcoholic spends his life committing suicide on the installment plan.
 – Laurence Peter

None of us woke up one morning and found we had suddenly turned into an addict. We got to be one by practice. And we practiced often. We ignored our families – we left work early – and went drinking and drugging. Daily, we chose chemicals over anything else.

Likewise, getting sober is no accident. We use the Steps. We work the program. At meetings, we’re reminded to help others. We all get sober on the installment plan. A day at a time. We got sick one day at a time; we recover one day at a time.

Prayer for the Day
Today, with my Higher Power‘s help, I’ll be happier, more honest, more sober. Sobriety is like a good savings account. Higher Power, help me to put in more than I take out.

Action for the Day
I’ll go over my Step One to remind myself it’s no accident I’m an addict.

From the book:

Keep It Simple by Anonymous

Keep It Simple © 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 5, 2013 - Step by Step

Step by Step
Monday, Aug. 5, 2013

“Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.” - Step 11

Today, I need to revisit the 11th Step with the understanding that this Step is the logical extension of the Third - “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him” - and it, like all the Steps, are daily maintenance tasks and never a one-time shot. I am living in the Program on a day-by-day reprieve from the gutter and am not guaranteed anything more regardless of the number of sober 24 Hours I have. While one person’s recovery Program differs from that of another person, all have at least one common thread: the surrender of self-will to the Higher Power of our individual understanding, and Step 11 is the one that compels us to hand over our self-will and ask for the will of our Higher Power over our own. And by daily seeking a power greater than our own, we may be at the same time improving our conscious contact with our Higher Power. Today, I remind myself that I have to hand over my self-will daily because to take it back and try life my way is the formula for a slip or relapse. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2013

Aug. 5, 2013 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Monday, Aug. 5, 2013

AA Thought for the Day
We in AA are offering a spiritual program. The fundamental basis of AA is belief in some Power greater than ourselves. This belief takes us off the center of the universe and allows us to transfer our problems to some power outside of ourselves. We turn to this Power for the strength we need to get sober and stay sober. We put our drink problem in God‘s hands and leave it there. We stop trying to run our own life and seek to let God run it for us.

Do I do my best to give spiritual help?

Meditation for the Day
God is your healer and your strength. You do not have to ask Him to come to you. He is always with you in spirit. At your moment of need, He is there to help you. Could you know God’s love and His desire to help you, you would know that He needs no pleading for help. Your need is God’s opportunity, whenever you need it. Whenever you feel inadequate to any situation, you should realize that the feeling of inadequacy is disloyalty to God. Just say to yourself: I know that God is with me and will help me to think and say and do the right thing.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may never feel inadequate to any situation. I pray that I my need be buoyed up by the feeling that God is with me.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 5, 2013 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Monday, Aug. 5, 2013

Reflection for the Day
Among the important things we learn in The Program is to be good to ourselves. For so many of us, though, this is a surprisingly difficult thing to do. Some of us relish our suffering so much that we balloon each happening to enormous proportions in the reliving and telling. Self-pitiers are drawn to martyrdom as if by a powerful magnet – until the joys of serenity and contentment come to them through The Program and Twelve Steps.

Am I gradually learning to be good to myself?

Today I Pray
May I learn to forgive myself. I have asked – and received – forgiveness from God and from others, so why is it so hard to forgive myself? Why do I still magnify my suffering? Why do I go on licking my emotional wounds? May I follow God’s forgiving example, get on with The Program and learn to be good to myself.

Today I Will Remember
Martyrdom; martyr dumb.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 5, 2013 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Monday, Aug. 5, 2013

In our drinking days, when we were called upon to face a problem, we would sidestep it, tunnel under it, jump over it or run away from it. It never occurred to us to face it and to walk through it.

It is remarkable how cowardly a trouble is when face to face with a person who is ready and willing to take him on. Try it.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 5, 2013 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Monday, Aug. 5, 2013

Today’s thought from Hazelden is:
Self-Acceptance and Self-Knowledge

God, grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change

Courage to change the things I can

And wisdom to know the difference.

This well-known prayer expresses some key guidelines to our philosophy of living. One group member explained it this way:

“For me, the things I cannot change are other people, places, and circumstances. The only things I can change are my attitudes, reactions and action toward the people, places and circumstances in my life.

“The wisdom to know the difference, well, that’s a hard one. I don’t always know what I can and cannot change until I try changing it. Wisdom comes by trial and error. The more experience I have, the more understanding, knowledge, and wisdom I have.”

Today I will accept that much of my wisdom can only come through my daily experiences. I need to expect to make some mistakes in my attitudes, actions, and judgment of what I can and cannot change. I will learn to be patient with myself and others as I gain more understanding from my mistakes.

From the book:

The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes

The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes. © 1981 by Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 4, 2013 - Step by Step

Step by Step
Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013

” …(S)ubconsciously I was in earnest about wanting to quit liquor forever. It was no momentary emotionalism born of self-pity in a maudlin condition. I was seeking something, and I was ready to learn. I did not need to be told that my efforts were and would be unavailing if I did not get help. …(L)ittle by little, I learned how my need could be met. The story of Alcoholics Anonymousfascinated me.” - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, “Personal Stories,” Ch 7 (“The News Hawk”), p 258.

Today, all I need ask is how much more the cost to answer how willing I am to get sober, when enough is enough, when I can take no more, when self-loathing and self-disgust are enough to motivate me to take responsibility for both my addiction and recovery and get to work on them both. If I’ve reached the proverbial bottom but, more practically, if I’ve hit the point when not even I believe my lies anymore, when I’ve had enough of needing more whiskey or any other drug every day just to achieve “normalcy” and when the “buzz” doesn’t buzz anymore and when I have no other option but to believe that there is something better – my time has come. TheTwelve Steps are there; all I need do is begin working them, Step by Step. How much more is my addiction going to cost me? Starting today, no more. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2013

Aug. 4, 2013 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013

AA Thought for the Day
We in AA are offering a kind of psychological program as well as a spiritual one. First, people must be mentally able to receive it. They must have made up their minds that they want to quit drinking, and they must be willing to do something about it. Their confidence must be obtained. We must show them that we are their friends and really desire to help them. When we have their confidence, they will listen to us. Then the AA fellowship is a kind of group therapy. Newcomers need the fellowship of other alcoholics who understand their problem because they have had it themselves. Individuals must learn to re-educate their mind. They must learn to think differently.

Do I do my best to give mental help?

Meditation for the Day
“And this is life eternal, that they may know Thee.” It is the flow of the life eternal through spirit, mind and body that cleanses, heals, restores and renews. Seek conscious contact with Godmore and more each day. Make God an abiding presence during the day. Be conscious of His spirit helping you. All that is done without God’s spirit is passing. All that is done with God’s spirit is life eternal.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be in the stream of an eternal life. I pray that I may be cleansed and healed by the Eternal Spirit.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 4, 2013 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013

Reflection for the Day
One of the best ways to get out of the self-pity trap is to do some “instant bookkeeping.” For every entry of misery on the debit side of our ledger, we can surely find a blessing to mark on the credit side; the health we enjoy, the illnesses we don’t have, the friends who love us and who allow us to love them, a clean and sober 24 hours, a good day’s work. If we but try, we can easily list a whole string of credits that will far outweigh the debit entries which cause self-pity.

Is my emotional balance on the credit side today?

Today I Pray
May I learn to sort out my debits and credits, and add it all up. May I list my several blessings on the credit side. May my ledger show me, when all is totaled, a fat fund for good things to draw on.

Today I Will Remember
I have blessings in my savings.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 4, 2013 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013

It is almost a general rule that no one achieves in life what they planned in their youth. The great ambitions of our teens never seem to materialize.

In spite of all our plans, it is a safe bet to say, however, that we are where we were intended to be, doing the things that we were intended to do, whether we like it or not. Apparently we are not running the world.

It is very probable that we would have made a terrible mess of it had we followed our wishes and would have wound up a much bigger flop than we did. No matter what our station in life, we can daily thank God that it is no worse than it is.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 4, 2013 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013

Today’s thought from Hazelden is:

I just pictured in my mind what I wanted to do. You can use that same formula in accomplishing anything in life.
 – Ida Bellegarde

The imagination is a powerful tool. With practice we can perfect our use of it and the results will astound us. Research has shown that athletes who visualize a practice session on the field or mountain or course hone their skills as effectively as those who practice “in the flesh.” This may be hard to believe, but it’s nonetheless true.

If this formula has worked for others, it can work for you too. But how do you begin? First, consider what you would like to do. The next step is to sit quietly, close your eyes and imagine, in detail, the activity you want to pursue. Stay quiet with this image until it feels natural. Take special note of the sensations you feel throughout your body, the colors you see around you, your inner voice’s message. Absorb the experience fully before coming back to reality.

Repeated “journeys” with your mind will make any activity feel familiar, and enough familiarity makes success possible.

I am not prevented from doing anything I really want to do. Using my imagination to experience it the first time will get me started.

From the book:

Keepers of the Wisdom by Karen Casey

Keepers of the Wisdom © 1996 by Karen Casey