Oct. 1, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Everyone needs a sanctuary, yet few take time to create one. Many people have favorite spots in the natural external world they enjoy visiting, places where they renew themselves, such as a garden, beach, or forest path. For others it might be a city sculpture garden, a cozy library nook, or a tranquil cafe. Even a pen, a journal, and a quiet place might suffice for some.

We just need to turn off everything else! We can also use our creative imagination to build and enjoy an inner haven that is extremely calming and empowering. The setting and overall structures may be anywhere, with any special features or chambers we might want to conceive. Perhaps there is a waterfall where we can allow whatever quality we need at the moment to penetrate every cell of our being. Maybe there is a healing grotto, a wisdom altar, or a gazebo where our Higher Power or other guides offer advice on dilemmas.

When we take the time to slow down and go within, we discover that we are both architect and interior designer of our sanctuary. We determine how grand and elaborate, or simple and cozy, our place of calm and peace needs to be. Our sanctuary—inner, outer, or a combination of both—is our own personalized, private enclave of possibility.

I see the enormous potential in establishing a sanctuary—inside and outside—for myself.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 1, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020

"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, Alcoholics Anonymous

Today, whether I have embraced a Higher Power or am skeptical either as an atheist or agnostic, Step 11 suggests that I be at least open to the possibility of something greater and stronger than myself. I must also seek the will and way of something other than my own. This is the definition of humility - to be open to learning and carrying out the will of a power stronger and wiser than me. I cannot be reminded or jolted enough that history has proven time and again that running my life on my terms has always led to the same disastrous results and outcome; thus, the insanity of alcoholism. Today, I remember that I am dependent on a wiser and stronger power to guide me on a non-destructive course and that I am risking a slip or relapse if I forget that it hasn't worked my way. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2020

Oct. 1, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020

AA Thought for the Day
AA will lose some of its effectiveness if I do not do my share. Where am I failing? Are there some things I do not feel like doing? Am I held back by self-consciousness or fear? Self-consciousness is a form of pride. It is a fear that something may happen to you. What happens to you is not very important. The impression you make on others does not depend so much on the kind of a job you do as on your sincerity and honesty of purpose.

Am I holding back because I am afraid of not making a good impression?

Meditation for the Day
Look to God for the true power that will make you effective. See no other wholly dependable supply of strength. That is the secret of a truly effective life. And you, in your turn, will be used to help many others find effectiveness. Whatever spiritual help you need, whatever spiritual help you desire for others, look to God. Seek that God's will be done in your life and seek that your will conforms to His. Failures come from depending too much on your own strength.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may feel that nothing good is too much for me if I look to God for help. I pray that I may be effective through His guidance.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 1, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020

Reflection for the Day
We can be surrounded by people and still feel lonely. We can be all by ourselves and still feel happy and content. What makes the difference? We feel lonely if we look to other people for something they really can't provide. No one else can give us peace of mind, an inner sense of acceptance, and serenity. And when we find ourselves alone, we needn't feel lonely. God is with us; His presence is like a warm shawl enfolding us. The more we're aware of ourselves as beloved by God, the more we're able to feel content and secure - whether we're with others or when alone.

Am I experiencing a sense of God and His love at all times and in all places?

Today I Pray
May I understand that we each have our own kind of loneliness - whether we are young and friendless, old and kept waiting by death, bereft, left, running away or just feeling out of it in a crowd. May my loneliness be eased a bit by the fact that loneliness is, indeed, a universal feeling that everyone knows first-hand - even though some lives seem more empty than others. May I - and all the lonely people - take comfort in the companionship of God.

Today I Will Remember
Shared loneliness is less lonely.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 1, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020

Somewhere we read that alcoholics made their own bedlam and then lied out of it. This has not been our experience. We made our own bedlam, it is true, but unfortunately we were usually stuck with it. Somehow we could never successfully lie out of it. Lying somehow always failed and on the few occasions when we did get by with one, we were forced to tax our feeble brains for the balance of our days to guard it and not expose ourselves. A liar must of necessity have a good memory, or he's sunk.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 1, 2020 - Rise 'n shine for a terrific Thursday and new month with confidence that both will be whatever we want them to be

 

Good morning and let's embrace this beautiful Thursday and new month with confidence that both are headed for awesome ...make it a truly great but productive and safe day -- and that leaves no room for anything and anybody out to wreck it

Sept. 30, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

It’s only moment by moment that we experience life

Worrying distorts our perception of an experience. It takes away the spontaneous joy that we might have known. Even more troubling, it compromises our ability to be present in the moment. When we worry, we aren’t in touch with what is happening in the present. Meanwhile, our lives can pass us by.

There are so many things we can learn from Al-Anon or other Twelve Step programs. We can learn to live in the here and now. We can adopt a new set of values if the ones we’ve been living by serve us no more. We can learn from the experiences of others how to save ourselves from unnecessary pain. We can get to know our assets and our defects. And we can learn to rebuild bridges to link ourselves with other people, bridges that were burned in the past.

Changing our lives with the help of the program gives us hope that we can begin to experience God’s plan for us as it unfolds moment by moment. Nothing can bring us greater freedom.

I can live in the present moment. With determination I can let my worries go.

Hazelden Foundation

Sept. 30, 2020 - Good morning, and let's not worry about anything today and just savor a magnificent Wednesday

 

Good morning to this wonderful Wednesday, and let's not fret over anything and just make it a stress- and worry-free day ...and that means flipping off everything and everyone out to de-serene it

Sept. 30, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020

"11. - Our relations with the general public should be characterized by personal anonymity. We think AA ought to avoid sensational advertising. Our names and pictures as AA members ought not be broadcast, filmed or publicly printed. Our public relations should be guided by the principle of attraction rather than promotion. There is never need to praise ourselves. We feel it better to let our friends recommend us." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Appendices, "The Twelve Traditions" (long form), p 567.

Today, no "praise" of my recover, be it years of sobriety or a decision to attend my first meeting tonight. While it is appropriate to give a quick pat on the back for working toward recovery, the overwhelming "credit" belongs to the Program without which we have no lifeline to grab and hold onto. If I should boast about my sobriety as my own achievement, if I become complacent in sobriety or if I neglect to do what the Program suggests I do, I have probably neglected my responsibility to be one of its "success" stories anonymously. Today, I will be stingy in claiming my sobriety as my own accomplishment and instead remember that the credit is AA's. And our common journey continues. Step by Step. - Chris M., 2020

Sept. 30, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020

AA Thought for the Day
There are no leaders in AA, except as they volunteer to accept responsibility. The work of carrying on AA - leading group meetings, serving on committees, speaking before other groups, doing twelfth-step work, spreading AA among the alcoholics of the community - all these things are done on a volunteer basis. If I don't volunteer to do something concrete for AA, the movement is that much less effective. I must do my fair share to carry the load. AA depends on all its members to keep it alive and to keep it growing.

Am I doing my share for AA?

Meditation for the Day
When you look to God for strength to face responsibility and are quiet before Him, His healing touch causes the Divine Quiet to flow into your very being. When in weakness you cry to God, His touch brings healing, the renewal of your courage and the power to meet every situation and be victorious. When you faint by the way or are distracted by feelings of inferiority, then rely on the touch of God's spirit to support you on your way. Then arise and go forth with confidence.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may lay myself open today to the healing touch of God. I pray that I may not falter or faint by the wayside, but renew my courage through prayer.

Hazelden Foundation

Sept. 30, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020

Reflection for the Day
No matter what other people do or don't do, we have to remain sober and free from other addictions for ourselves. When our program of recovery becomes contingent on the actions or inactions of another person - especially someone with whom we're emotionally involved - the results are invariably disastrous. We need to also remember that intense dislike is as much an emotional involvement as newfound romantic love. In short, we have to cool any risky emotional involvements in the first few months of our recovery, trying to accept the fact that our feelings could change quickly and dramatically. Our watchword must be "First Things First," concentrating on our number one problem before anything else.

Am I building a firm foundation while steering clear of slippery emotional areas?

Today I Pray
May I always remember that healthy relationships with people are necessary for my recovery. But - that substituting an obsession with either a love or hate object is as dangerous to my self-being as any other addiction.

Today I Will Remember
A dependency is a dependency is a dependency.

Hazelden Foundation

Sept. 30, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020

Our AA philosophy is an idealistic philosophy. It has to be in order to be a happy philosophy. Some may declare that it is too much so, that we ignore more materialistic facts. Let us take from our philosophy all the good and the joy it promises. Let us give our gold no acid test.

If our philosophy is unreal and foolish in the eyes of the more materialistic world, then what of it? It enables us to be happier than those that have good sense.

Hazelden Foundation

Sept. 29, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Reflection for the Day

Those of us who find recovery choose to admit that we’re personally powerless over our addictions. In the program, as we surrender to our Higher Power, we develop a new, healthy dependence, even if it simply takes the shape of a dependence upon our group.

Have I chosen to try for a life of honesty and humility, of selfless service to my fellows and my Higher Power?

Today I Pray

May I grow the wisdom to know the difference between “willpower” (which has failed me before) and “willingness” to seek help for my addiction, through my Higher Power and through others who are also recovering. May I know that there are choices open to me as there are to my fellow sufferers in the foggiest stages of addiction. May I choose the kind of life that my Higher Power wants for me.

Today I Will Remember

Willingness, more than willpower, is the key to recovery.

Hazelden Foundation

Sept. 29, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020

"12. - ...(W)e of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the principle of anonymity has an immense spiritual significance. It reminds us that we are to place principles before personalities; that we are actually to practice a genuine humility. This to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us; that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him who presides over us all." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Appendices, "The Twelve Traditions" (long form), pp 567-68.

Today, Traditions 9-12, that anonymity of all those in the Program is a principle rather than a courtesy. If we can understand that a principle is an ethic that governs AA, any personal grievances we have become insignificant and futile in the goal of our individual recoveries and the effectiveness of the Program as a whole. As the 12th Tradition promises, anonymity has the spiritual power for us to be hungry for "genuine humility," or our desire to know and carry out the will of our Higher Power as we understand Him  and not our will. Today, I renew my commitment to respect the 12th Tradition and all others as AA's code of ethics. In the process, God grant that I know the humility of the principle of anonymity and, maybe more, develop a higher sense of responsibility to my sobriety. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2020

Sept. 29, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020

AA Thought for the Day
Having got this far, shall we pause and ask ourselves some searching questions? We need to check up on ourselves periodically. Just how good an AA am I? Am I attending meetings regularly? Am I doing my share to carry the load? When there is something to be done, do I volunteer? Do I speak at meetings when asked, no matter how nervous I am? Do I accept each opportunity to do twelfth-step work as a challenge? Do I give freely of my time and money? Am I trying to spread AA wherever I go? Is my daily life a demonstration of AA principles?

Am I a good AA?

Meditation for the Day
How do I get strength to be effective and to accept responsibility? By asking the Higher Power for the strength I need each day. It has been proved in countless lives that for every day I live, the necessary power shall be given me. I must face each challenge that comes to me during the day, sure that God will give me the strength to face it. For every task that is given me, there is also given me all the power necessary for the performance of that task. I do not need to hold back.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may accept every task as a challenge. I know I cannot wholly fail if God is with me.

Hazelden Foundation