June 2, 2018 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Saturday, June 2, 2018

Today’s thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Life has lessons to teach. We can remember them and share them with others, or we can forget them and have to learn them again.

 — Jan Pishok

What we are destined to learn in this life will keep presenting itself until “contact” has been made. Each experience is a minute part of the big picture that’s unfolding. We will receive the information we need, again and again if necessary. Let’s give up our fear about where we are going and how we’ll get there. We are in caring, capable hands. We will get to the right destination on time.

In this program we are invited to share with others what our experiences have taught us. What better way to recall, and thus relearn, what we have been taught, than to tell another about it. Every Twelve Step program is specifically designed to simplify our lives. The Steps coach us through every situation, and they never shame us for needing reminders of our lessons.

I will help others through sharing my own experiences today. In the process, I’ll recapture the essence of the lessons I have learned.

You are reading from the book:

A Woman’s Spirit by Karen Casey

A Woman’s Spirit by Karen Casey. © 1994 by Hazelden Foundation

June 2, 2018 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

Step by Step
Saturday, June 2, 2018

"There may be some wrongs we can never fully right. We don't worry about them if we can honestly say to ourselves that we would right them if we could. Some people cannot be seen - we send them an honest letter. And there may be a valid reason for postponement in some cases. But we don't delay if it can be avoided. ...As God's people, we stand on our feet; we don't crawl before anyone." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 6, p 83.

Today, do not take for granted the weight of Step Nine when considering to whom we must - and can - approach with amends. Some wrongs may never be made right, and there may be no recourse if making an amend only to clear our conscience risks further injury or implicates an unknowing other person. In cases in which we can honestly conclude that direct amends are not possible, our actions rather than our words may be our only atonement, and our strongest action is to get and stay sober and continue to grow in recovery. When we can and must make amends, however, we are cautioned not to "crawl before anyone," not to submit to being the proverbial doormat. In drunkenness, we lost our footing which, in turn, triggered the damage we inflicted; in sobriety, we must stand on our own feet to give integrity to our amends. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2018

June 2, 2018 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Saturday, June 2, 2018

AA Thought for the Day
Some more things I do not miss since becoming dry: wondering if the car is in the garage and how I got home; struggling to remember where I was and what I did since my last conscious moment; trying to delay getting off to work, and wondering how I will look when I get there; dreading the day ahead of me.

I'm quite sure that I don't miss these things, am I not?

Meditation for the Day
You cannot believe in God and keep your selfish ways. The old self shrivels up and dies, and upon the reborn soul God's image becomes stamped. The gradual elimination of selfishness in the growth of love for God and your fellow human beings is the goal of life. At first, you have only a faint likeness to the Divine, but the picture grows and takes on more and more of the likeness of God until those who see you can see in you some of the power of God's grace at work in a human life.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may develop that faint likeness I have to the Divine. I pray that others may see in me some of the power of God's grace at work.

Hazelden Foundation

June 2, 2018 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Saturday, June 2, 2018

Reflection for the Day
In the process of learning to love myself and, in turn, to love others freely with no strings attached, I've begun to understand these words of St. Augustine: "Love slays what we have been, that we may be what we were not." More and more, I feel this enormous power of such love in The Program; for me, the words, "we care," also mean, "we love."

Just for today, will I try to be loving in every thought and action?

Today I Pray
I pray that I may feel the enormity and the power of the love I find in The Program. May my own caring be added to that great energy of love which belongs to all of us. May I care with my whole heart that my fellow members maintain their sobriety and are learning to live with it comfortably and creatively. May I never doubt that they care the same way about me.

Today I Will Remember
Caring makes it happen.

Hazelden Foundation

June 2, 2018 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Saturday, June 2, 2018

We come into AA and are told that we should endeavor to establish a conscious contact with our God as we understand Him; that we should, through prayer and meditation, get on speaking terms with Him. We brushed up on our rusty salutations of "Almighty" and practiced on our Thee's and Thou's only to learn that there was a simpler and more direct approach.

We found that we could "tune God in" to our hearts and consciences and that no other method was needed to send and receive messages. We learned that what we said was of no great consequence anyway, as our prayers were for His will, not ours, and we also learned that we had to make no direct request for those things that were for our good, as He knew our needs before we ever realized them ourselves.

Hazelden Foundation

June 2, 2018 - Let's make it a safe and relaxing Saturday and weekend, folks

June 1, 2018 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Friday, June 1, 2018

Today’s thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Remember the Golden Key

Whenever trouble arises, the first thing to do is to turn it over to our Higher Power. We can take all necessary practical steps to solve a problem, but we don’t need to decide what the answer may be. Do this, and you’ll soon be out of your difficulty.

This is essentially the formula of the Golden Key as taught by Emmet Fox. It is also the core idea of Steps Three and Eleven. It is a manner of living one’s life with the constant knowledge that a Higher Power is always part of it.

We should also condition ourselves to believe that our Higher Power has been with us all along and will continue to show us the way. Nothing depends on our being “spiritual” or “saintly” or perfect in behavior. With all our shortcomings, we are and ever will be children of God.

My Higher Power is always with me today, supplying whatever I need for the accomplishment of any good purpose.

You are reading from the book:

Walk in Dry Places by Mel B.

Walk in Dry Places by Mel B. © 1996 by Hazelden Foundation

June 1, 2018 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

Step by Step
Friday, June 1, 2018

"The spiritual life is not theory. We have to live it. Unless one's family expresses a desire to live upon spiritual principles, we think we ought not to urge them. We should not talk incessantly to them about spiritual matters. They will change in time. Our behavior will convince them more than our words." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 6, p 83.

Today, if called on to 12th-Step a prospect, I will not hammer the spiritual aspect of recovery if the topic seems to push away rather than draw in the prospect. Should the prospect who is weary of spirituality subsequently embrace the program and find sobriety, the words "(Spiritual awareness) will change in time"  will ring true. Paraphrasing the saying that I was born of the Spirit but was taught religion, let me understand that others, like me, also may tie the two together - religion and spirituality - but that the program will lead them to their own understanding of a Higher Power. Today, if spirituality cannot be discussed with a potential member, let my actions speak louder than my words. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2018

June 1, 2018 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Friday, June 1, 2018

AA Thought for the Day
Some things I do not miss since becoming dry: that overall awful feeling physically, including the shakes, a splitting headache, pains in my arms and legs, bleary eyes, fluttering stomach, droopy shoulders, weak knees, a three-day beard, and a flushed complexion. Also, facing my wife or my husband at breakfast. Also, comprising the alibi and sticking to it. Also, trying to shave or put on makeup with a shaky hand. Also, opening up my wallet to find it empty.

I don't miss these things, do I?

Meditation for the Day
You were born with a spark of the Divine within you. It had been all but smothered by the life you were living. That celestial fire has to be tended and fed so that it will grow eventually into a real desire to live the right way. By trying to do the will of God, you grow more and more in the new way of life. By thinking of God, praying to Him and having communion with Him, you gradually grow more like Him. The way of your transformation from the material to the spiritual is the way of Divine Companionship.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may tend the spark of the Divine within me so that it will grow. I pray that I may be gradually transformed from the old life to the new life.

Hazelden Foundation

June 1, 2018 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Friday, June 1, 2018

Reflection for the Day
Slowly but surely, I'm becoming able to accept other people's faults as well as their virtues. The Program is teaching me to "always love the best in others - and never fear their worst." This is hardly an easy transition from my old way of thinking, but I'm beginning to see that all people - including myself - are to some extent emotionally ill as well as frequently wrong.

Am I approaching true tolerance? Am I beginning to see what real love for my fellows actually means?

Today I Pray
May God give me tolerance for any shortcomings or sick symptoms or insensitivities of others, so that I can love the qualities that are good in them. May God instruct me in the truest meaning of love - which must also include patience and forgiveness. May I not overlook the faults of those I love, but may I try to understand them.

Today I Will Remember
Love is understanding.

Hazelden Foundation

June 1, 2018 - Readins in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Friday, June 1, 2018

Each of us has only so many hours to live, and we alcoholics have wasted far too many of them in the past.

New men, by the thousands, are crowding our doors, searching for our Message of Hope. Those who are endeavoring to carry the Message are frequently pushed to the limit of their available time for this purpose.

Have you the right to monopolize the time of the Twelve Steppers by indulging yourself in so-called slips?

Hazelden Foundation

June 1, 2018 - Good morning to a fabulous Friday and awesome new month

May 31, 2018 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Today’s thought from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Procrastination is the thief of time.

 — Edward Young

When we have a problem with putting things off, we seem to add to our troubles by mentally flogging ourselves. We know we are losing time. We criticize ourselves for our irrational behavior. Whether we are putting off an important task in our lives or letting many little undone jobs accumulate, we could benefit from stopping the self criticism and asking ourselves for the spiritual message in our actions. Perhaps we need some quiet time to do absolutely nothing. Maybe our perfectionism is paralyzing us. Is an “all or nothing” attitude telling us if we can’t do the whole job right away, there is no point in beginning? Unexpressed anger may be blocking us from doing what we need to do.

Whenever we find ourselves doing things that seem irrational we can ask, “What is the message from my Higher Power in this behavior?” This question will carry us much further toward spiritual growth than the mental criticism we are tempted to do.

Today, I will do what I can within the limits of one day, and I will stay in communication with my Higher Power.

You are reading from the book:

Touchstones by Anonymous

Touchstones ©1986, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation

May 31, 2018 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

Step by Step
Thursday, May 31, 2018

"...(D)eep 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, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 4 ("We Agnostics"), p 55.

Today, if I expect AA to work for me, I must work with it, and I must knock down the wall that separates me from a power stronger than myself to begin my recovery. If I am struggling or even rejecting the possibility of such a power, let me read and embrace these words and accept on blind faith the hope that somewhere inside me is a "fundamental idea of God." He, God, need not be a religious entity but a spiritual one, and a "spiritual awakening," even if it is a basic change in my psyche or character, is required if I am to achieve any kind of quality sobriety. Today, I must put aside any resistance and open myself to the idea of a power stronger than myself so that I can earn the benefits of recovery. If alcohol is stronger than me, I have to believe that a force stronger than alcohol can restore me. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2018

May 31, 2018 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Thursday, May 31, 2018

AA Thought for the Day
I shall not wait to be drafted for service to AA. I shall volunteer. I shall be loyal in my attendance, generous in my giving, kind in my criticism, creative in my suggestions, loving in my attitudes. I shall give to AA my interest, my enthusiasm, my devotion and, most of all, myself.

Do I also accept this as my AA credo?

Meditation for the Day
Prayer is of many kinds but, of whatever kind, prayer is the linking up of the soul and mind to God. So, if prayer is only a glance of faith, a look or a word of love or just a feeling of confidence in the goodness and purpose in the universe, still the result of that prayer is added strength to meet all temptations and to overcome them. Even if no supplication is expressed, all the supply of strength that is necessary is secured because the soul, being linked and united to God, receives from Him all spiritual help needed. The soul, when in its human body, still needs the things belonging to its heavenly habitation.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be taught how to pray. I pray that I may be linked through prayer to the mind and will of God.

Hazelden Foundation