Nov. 6, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Monday, Nov. 6, 2023

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

AA Thought for the Day

I have learned to be less negative and more positive. I used to take a negative view of almost everything. Most people, in my estimation, were bluffing. There seemed to be very little good in the world but lots of hypocrisy and sham. People could not be trusted. They would “take you” if they could. It seemed I should take everything “with a grain of salt.” That was my general attitude toward life. Now I am more positive. I believe in people and in their capabilities. There is much love and truth and honesty in the world. I try not to run people down. Life now seems worthwhile, and it is good to live.

Am I less negative and more positive?

Meditation for the Day

Think of God as a Great Friend and try to realize the wonder of that friendship. When you give God not only worship, obedience, and allegiance, but also close companionship, then He becomes your friend, even as you are His. You can feel that He and you are working together. He can do things for you and you can do things for Him. Your prayers become more real to you when you feel that God counts on your friendship and you count on His.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may think of God as my Friend. I pray that I may feel that I am working for Him and with Him.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 6, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Monday, Nov. 6, 2023

“When we first come into AA, many of us are confused because, as a general rule, we’re at the end of our respective ropes, and we don’t know what to do. It’s like the fellow who came in AA and his sponsor said to him, ‘Listen, buddy, do you believe in a Higher Power?’ And the guy said, ‘Heck, yes, I been married to her for years!’ Yes, we find it rather confusing but, as we get around and get to know people in the group, they lead the way and all we have to do is to follow.” — Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, “They Lost Nearly All,” Ch 8 (“Desperation Drinking”), p 512.

Today, through the confusion of sobering up and even in recovery, the answers are simply simple, and the simplest is “to follow.” We cannot nor should we follow others in recovery for they, too, are in the same boat. Instead, all of us need to follow the Program and its 12 Steps and Traditions of principles and ethics. Complications that arise are not from the Program or Traditions but from within; we make it as complicated, confusing or difficult as we allow it. Today, I will counter any confusion, complications or doubts with the simple motto, “Keep It Simple.” And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023

Nov. 6, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Monday, Nov. 6, 2023

AA Thought for the Day
Fear and worry had me down. They were increased by my drinking. I worried about what I had done when I was drunk. I was afraid of what the consequences might be. I was afraid to face people because of the fear of being found out. Fear kept me in hot water all the time. I was a nervous wreck from fear and worry. I was a tied-up bundle of nerves. I had a fear of failure, of the future, of growing old, of sickness, of hangovers, of suicide. I had a wrong set of ideas and attitudes. When AA told me to surrender these fears and worries to a Higher Power, I did so. I now try to think faith instead of fear.

Have I put faith in place of fear?

Meditation for the Day
Spiritual power is God in action. God can only act through human beings. Whenever you, however weak you may be, allow God to act through you, then all you think and say and do is spiritually powerful. It is not you alone who produces a change in the lives of others! It is also the Divine Spirit in you and working through you. Power is God in action. God can use you as a tool to accomplish miracles in people’s lives.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may try to let God’s power act through me today. I pray that I may get rid of those blocks which keep His power from me.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 6, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Monday, Nov. 6, 2023

Reflection for the Day
There are no boundaries to meditation. It has neither width, depth nor height, which means that it can always be further developed without limitation of any sort. Meditation is an individual matter; few of us meditate in the same way, and in that sense, it is truly a personal adventure. For all of us who practice meditation seriously, however, the purpose is the same: to improve our conscious contact with God. Despite its lack of specific dimensions and despite its intangibility, meditation is, in reality, the most intensely practical thing that we can do. One of its first rewards, for example, is emotional balance. What could be more practical than that?

Am I broadening and deepening the channel between myself and God?

Today I Pray
As I seek God through daily prayer and meditation — may I find the peace that passes understanding, that balance that gives perspective to the whole of life. May I center myself in God.

Today I Will Remember
My balance comes from God.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 6, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Monday, Nov. 6, 2023

According to St. John, God is Love. That appears to be the only description given and leads us to assume that it is His chief attribute. The fact that things are not always as we think they should be does not contradict it. Practically all our griefs we brought upon ourselves, many of them were essential in order to fully develop our characters, and many may be the result of God’s long-range planning that we, with our limited perception, cannot conceive.

If God had not loved the world, He would have given up on it a long time ago.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 6, 2023 – Good morning to a marvelous Monday and new week

 

Good morning and here’s a box of cute pussy kitties to help get your Monday and a new week off to a fabulous start …make it a great and productive day, and don’t be discouraged by people and things who offer nothing constructive

Nov. 5, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Loss is another word for change.

— M. Tating

We don’t always realize how loss and grief are natural parts of life. Every change contains a loss within it. If we get a job promotion, we lose some elements of our work that are familiar and maybe enjoyable. If we get married, we lose the independence of the single life. If we choose recovery, we lose the friends we had in our addiction and codependency. And, of course, when we lose a loved one, the changes that follow are never chosen, but they may actually lead us toward new possibilities.

Surprisingly, every loss, every grief, has embedded within it the gift of a new beginning. In the midst of our losses, we can seldom see the gift. We don’t want to lose what we love. And grief is a necessary part of letting go. Grief is the wail of pain that comes when we know we must let go. And then life goes on. There is life after loss! It is a changed life. Perhaps nothing will ever be the same as it was. But it can become a new stage of our life, deeper and richer, even though we never could have imagined it.

Today, I embrace change, even knowing it means some loss.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 5, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023

Today, if I woke up sober and went through the day without a drink, if I did at work, home or wherever else what I was expected to do and did it without complaining and maybe even thanked my Higher Power for something good, if I reacted with logic and ethics and without emotions like anger, fear or revenge, if I am ending this day without a drink, a hit or a pill, then today was good. For that I owe gratitude and indebtedness to the Program and its members who have ever been part of my journey from the despair of emptiness, loneliness, drunkenness, fear and a shattered soul. Tonight, I am grateful because I am sober — and, God granting, I will awaken sober. Today was good. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023

Nov. 5, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023

AA Thought for the Day
During our thoughts about the rewards that have come to us as a result of our new way of living, we find that we have new kinds of homes, new relationships with our husbands or wives and our children. Also peace, contentment, hope, faith, charity and new ambition. What are some of the things we have lost? Each one of us can answer this question in many ways. I have lost much of my fear. It used to control me; it was my master. It paralyzed my efforts. Fear always got me down. It made me an introvert, an ingrown person. When fear was replaced by faith, I got well.

Have I lost some of my fears?

Meditation for the Day
The world would sooner be brought close to God, His will would sooner be done on earth, if all who acknowledge Him gave themselves unreservedly to being used by Him. God can use every human being as a channel for divine love and power. What delays the bringing of the world closer to God is the backwardness of His followers. If each one lived each day for God and allowed God to work through Him, then the world would soon be drawn much closer to God, its Founder and Preserver.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be used as a channel to express the Divine Love. I pray that I may so live as to bring God’s spirit closer to the world.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 5, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023

Reflection for the Day
For many months after I came to The Program, I paid little attention to the practice of serious meditation and prayer. I felt that it might help me meet an emergency — such as a sudden craving to return to my old ways — but it remained among the lowest priorities. In those early days, I equated prayer and meditation with mystery and even hypocrisy. I’ve since found that prayer and meditation are more rewarding in their results than I could ever have imagined. For me today, the harvest is increasingly bountiful, and I continue to gain peace of mind and strength far beyond my human limitations.

Is my former pain being replaced by tranquility?

Today I Pray
May I discover that prayer and meditation make up the central hall of my life’s structure — the place where my thoughts collect and form into order. May I feel God’s mystery there, and an overwhelming resource of energy.

Today I Will Remember
Fantasy is mine. Mystery is God’s.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 5, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023

One of the first things we should endeavor to do is to kill the lawyer instinct in ourselves. In our effort to get the new guy straightened out, we try to cure all his troubles by giving advice on subjects on which we possess neither the training nor ability to talk constructively.

Let us confine our efforts as far as possible to those things of which we have real knowledge – his sobriety and the AA Program.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 5, 2023 – Good morning and let’s shoot for a productive but peaceful Sunday

 

Good morning with hopes of a quiet but productive and worthwhile Sunday for everyone …and without the negative influences of people and things who don’t deserve our attention

Nov. 4, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Because thoughts come from the inside, and not from the outside, what we think determines what we see.

— Jane Nelsen

It’s difficult to remember that we are in charge of our thoughts and thus what we experience. But it’s also exciting to contemplate all the changes we can make by focusing on positive thoughts.

Perhaps we can try this together. Put this book aside for a moment and look closely at your surroundings. Think about how lucky you are to have a place to sit, a peaceful moment to contemplate your life. Think grateful thoughts about your friends and family. Notice how you feel when you have pleasant thoughts running through your mind.

Our lives are as fruitful, hopeful, and peaceful as we choose. The show that goes on in our minds and is acted out in our experiences has been produced and directed by us.

I am eager to experience my life today. Knowing that it will match my thoughts is exhilarating.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 4, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023

Today, focus on making the faith I have been given as a gift of intelligence rather than an emotional one. As an alcoholic, my emotions are usually in excess — and anything in excess is risky, including faith if I ground it in emotion. By striving for an intelligent faith, I hope to remove the influence of my unsteady emotions — a faith in which I have unconditional trust in my Higher Power as opposed to one in which I let my feelings challenge His will. And with an intelligent faith rather than an emotional one, hopefully those things I cannot control can be more faithfully surrendered to my Higher Power and without me taking them back. Hopefully, then, I can take a step toward the goal of total faith, hope and charity — and a quality recovery. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023

Nov. 4, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023

AA Thought for the Day
I can do things that I never did before. Liquor took away my initiative and my ambition. I couldn’t get up the steam to start anything. I let things slide. When I was drunk, I was too inert to even comb my hair. Now I can sit down and do something. I can write letters that need to be written. I can make telephone calls that should be made. I can work in my garden. I can pursue my hobbies. I have the urge to create something, that creative urge that was completely stifled by alcohol. I am free to achieve again.

Have I recovered my initiative?

Meditation for the Day
“In Thy presence is fullness of joy. At Thy right hand are pleasures forever.” We cannot find true happiness by looking for it. Seeking pleasure does not bring happiness in the long run, only disillusionment. Do not seek to have this fullness of joy by seeking pleasure. It cannot be done that way. Happiness is a by-product of living the right kind of a life. True happiness comes as a result of living in all respects the way you believe God wants you to live, with regard to yourself and to other people.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may not always seek pleasure as a goal. I pray that I may be content with the happiness that comes when I do the right thing.

Hazelden Foundation