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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
 Posted - 12/10/2008 : 09:21:40 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 10, 2008
Healing Ourselves
We realize now that we were excessively self-centered,
chiefly concerned about our feelings, our problems,
other people's reactions to us, and our own past and future.
Therefore, trying to get into communication with and help other people
is a recovery measure for us, because it helps take us out of ourselves.
Trying to heal ourselves by helping others works,
even when it is an insincere gesture.
Try it some time.
© 1998 AAWS, Living Sober, p.85
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Trust God. Clean house. Help others.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Helping Othere People Every day.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Pamela7030
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800 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2008 : 5:31:24 PM
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Wednesday, December 10, 2008
"Problems are solutions in training."
This was definitely not the way I used to look at problems before recovery. My problems used to overwhelm me; they had no solutions, and there was a long list of them. I would bounce from one to the other, and as I tried to solve them, I just seemed to create more and more.
When I entered the program, I surrendered both my problems and my solutions. My sponsor kept pounding into my head that my best thinking had gotten me here, and with her help I was able to turn my will and my life over to a power greater than myself. And that's when the real solution started to appear.
As I stayed sober and worked the steps, my problems began to solve themselves. As I became more experienced in turning them over, working the steps on them, and using more of the tools in my spiritual tool kit, I found that my problems were actually opportunities for me to grow and change. Today my problems have become my teachers, leading me to spiritual solutions when I become willing to look for them.
Today, my problems truly are solutions in training.
From the web site Wisdom of The Rooms
www.theWisdomoftheRooms.com
"Reach for the stars...You will at least end up among the clouds"
Share your experience, strength, and hope with another and see the miracles transform your life!
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Pamela7030
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800 Posts |
Posted - 12/11/2008 : 05:36:42 AM
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Thursday, December 11, 2008.....................Coping With Anger
From "As Bill Sees It", Page 179
Few people have been more victimized by resentments than have we alcoholics. A burst of temper could spoil a day, and a well-nursed grudge could make us miserably ineffective. Nor were we ever skillful in separating justified from unjustified anger. As we saw it, our wrath was always justified. Anger, that occasional luxury of more balanced people, could keep us on an emotional jag indefinitely. These “dry benders” often led straight to the bottle.
<< << << >> >> >>
Nothing pays off like restraint of tongue and pen. We must avoid quick-tempered criticism, furious power-driven argument, sulking, and silent scorn. These are emotional booby traps baited with pride and vengefulness. When we are tempted by the bait, we should train ourselves to step back and think. We can neither think nor act to good purpose until the habit of self-restraint has become automatic.
Twelve and Twelve
1. p. 90
2. p. 91
From As Bill Sees It, The AA Way of Life, selected writings of AA's co-founder, Alcoholics Anonymous Worlds Services, Inc., New York.
"Reach for the stars...You will at least end up among the clouds"
Share your experience, strength, and hope with another and see the miracles transform your life!
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 12/11/2008 : 08:22:21 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 11, 2008
Source of Strength
When World War II broke out, this spiritual principle had its first major test.
AA's entered the services and were scattered all over the world.
Would they be able to take discipline, stand up under fire,
and endure the monotony of war?
Would the kind of dependence they had learned in AA carry them through?
Well, it did. They had even fewer alcoholic lapses or emotional binges
than AA's safe at home did.
Whether in Alaska or on the Salerno beachhead,
their dependence upon a Higher Power worked.
And far from being a weakness,
this dependence was their chief source of strength.
© 1953 AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pp.38-9
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
A Green Beret's Prayer:
LORD let me be . . .
Wise enough to know when I am wrong,
Strong enough to see where I am weak,
and Brave enough to face myself when I am afraid.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
For All I Trust Him.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2008 : 06:52:26 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 12, 2008
Challenges
Life is meant to be lived by facing the challenges it brings.
Otherwise, I'm not living, just existing.
God didn't give me this gift of sobriety to sit in a rocking chair,
imagining myself as some wise old woman who has arrived somewhere.
There is no easier, softer way. . .
The teaching I receive in Alcoholics Anonymous about courage and love
helps me to continue to grapple with the challenges of life
as they are given to me one day at a time.
© 1998 The AA Grapevine, Inc., The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 3], p.320
Thought to Ponder . . .
Life is a steady drizzle of small things -- carry an umbrella.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
One Day At A Time.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Pamela7030
Moderator
800 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2008 : 10:03:33 AM
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December 12, 2008.........Chapter Six, THE TWELVE TRADITIONS OF NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS
Basic Text, pages 57, 72 and 73
We keep what we have only with vigilance, and just as freedom for the individual comes from the Twelve Steps, so freedom for the group springs from our Traditions. As longs as the ties that bind us together are stronger than those that would tear us apart, all will be well.
TRADITION TWELVE
“Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities”
A dictionary definition of anonymity is “a state of bearing no name.” In keeping with Tradition Twelve, the “I” becomes “we.” The spiritual foundation becomes more important than any one group or individual.
As we find ourselves growing closer together, the awakening of humility occurs. Humility is a by-product that allows us to grow and develop in an atmosphere of freedom, and removes the fear of becoming known by our employers, families or friends as addicts. Therefore, we attempt to rigorously adhere to the principle that “what” is said in meetings stays in meetings.”
(continued in the next post) |
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Pamela7030
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800 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2008 : 10:07:30 AM
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December 12, 2008.........Chapter Six, THE TWELVE TRADITIONS OF NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS (continued from above post)
Basic Text, page 73
TRADITION TWELVE (continued from above post)
Throughout our Traditions, we speak in terms of “we” and “our” rather than “me” and “mine.” By working together for our common welfare, we achieve the true spirit of anonymity.
We have heard the phrase “principles before personalities” so often that is like a cliché. While we may disagree as individuals, the spiritual principle of anonymity makes us all equal as members of the group. No member is greater or lesser than any other member. The drive for personal gain in the areas of sex, property and social position, which brought so much pain in the past, falls by the way side if we adhere to the principle of anonymity. Anonymity is one of the basic elements of our recovery and it pervades our Traditions and our Fellowship. It protects us from our own defects of character and renders personalities and their differences powerless. Anonymity in action makes it impossible for personalities to come before principles.
From the Basic Text of Narcotics Anonymous, Fifth Edition,
Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc., Chatsworth, California
"Reach for the stars...You will at least end up among the clouds"
Share your experience, strength, and hope with another and see the miracles transform your life!
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2008 : 06:47:28 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 13, 2008
Pass It On
I'll never forget the first time I met Bill Wilson.
I was a couple of months sober
and so excited, so thrilled to actually meet the co-founder
that I gushed all over him with what my sobriety meant to me
and my undying gratitude for his starting AA.
When I ran down, he took my hand in his and said simply,
'Pass it on.'
© 1984 AAWS, 'Pass It On,' Preface.
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Always Awesome.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2008 : 10:10:03 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 14, 2008
Humility
On his desk, Dr. Bob had a plaque defining humility:
"Perpetual quietness of heart. It is to have no trouble.
It is never to be fretted or vexed, irritable or sore;
to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me.
It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised,
it is to have a blessed home in myself where I can go in and shut the door
and kneel to my Father in secret and be at peace, as in a deep sea of calmness,
when all around and about is seeming trouble."
© 1980 AAWS, Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, p. 222
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
The storm has passed. I've learned a little more about peace.
It was inside all the time.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2008 : 08:58:59 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 15, 2008
Instincts
Our desires for emotional security and wealth,
for personal prestige and power,
for romance, and family satisfactions --
all these have to be tempered and redirected. . .
If we place instincts first, we have got the cart before the horse;
we shall be pulled backward into disillusionment.
But when we are willing to place spiritual growth first --
then and only then do we have a real chance.
© 1953 AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 114
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional,
growing spiritually is up to you.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Altered Attitudes.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Pamela7030
Moderator
800 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2008 : 10:26:54 AM
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December 15, 2008.........Addiction, Drugs, and Recovery
“Addiction is a physical, mental and spiritual disease that affect every area of our lives.”
Basic Text, p. 20
Before we started using, most of us had a stereotype, a mental image of what addicts were supposed to look like. Some of us pictured a junkie robbing convenience markets for drug money. Others imagined a paranoid recluse peering at life from behind perpetually drawn drapes and locked doors. As long as we didn’t fit any of the stereotypes, we thought, we couldn’t be addicts.
As our using progressed, we discarded those misconceptions about addiction, only to come up with another: the idea that addiction was about drugs. We may have thought addiction meant a physical habit, believing any drug that didn’t produce physical habituation was not “addictive.” Or we thought the drugs we took were causing all our problems. We thought that merely getting rid of the drugs would restore sanity to our lives.
One of the most important lessons we learn in Narcotics Anonymous is that addiction is much more than the drugs we used. Addiction is a part of us; it’s an illness that involves every area of our lives, with or without drugs. We can see its effects on our thoughts, our feelings, and our behavior, even after we stop using. Because of this, we need a solution that works to repair every area of our lives: the Twelve Steps.
Just For Today: Addiction is not a simple disease, but it has a simple solution. Today, I will live in that solution: the Twelve Steps of recovery.
From the book Just For Today, Daily Meditations for
Recovering Addicts, NA World Services, Inc. page 364
"Reach for the stars...You will at least end up among the clouds"
Share your experience, strength, and hope with another and see the miracles transform your life!
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| Information in this forum is not monitored or provided by a medical professional. The information reflects member opinions only. Do not act on advice from these forums without first consulting a qualified medical professional. All content is copyrighted and protected by Aelius Group. |
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Pamela7030
Moderator
800 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2008 : 05:38:52 AM
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December 16, 2008
"We're not bad people getting good, we're sick people getting better."
I was attending a meeting the other night and a newcomer raised his hand and asked what he could do to relieve the shame he felt. He shared that he hadn't been sober very long, and that the list of wreckage he had created was overwhelming. He was just becoming conscious of the damage he had caused and the feelings of remorse he felt were intense. He couldn't believe the things he had done, and his family wasn't letting him forget it either. How could he have been so bad, he asked?
And that's when someone shared this quote. They reminded him - and everyone at the meeting - that alcoholism is a disease, not a moral failing. He said that when we are drinking and using (in our disease), the things we do almost always lead to sorrow and remorse, and that it is because we are sick, not necessarily bad people. Once we treat the disease, the behavior almost always gets better, and so do we. He ended by advising this person not to focus on his old behavior, but rather, on the process of recovery.
This advice is right on, though it took me many years to see the wisdom in it. I was so used to identifying with my behaviors that I rarely looked at the underlying cause - a sickness called alcoholism. But once I focused on my recovery, I did start to get better, my behavior changed, and my wreckage cleared up as well. I "grew a consciousness" so to speak, and today I act differently.
Today I know that we're not bad people getting good, we're sick people getting better.
From the web site Wisdom of The Rooms
www.theWisdomoftheRooms.com
"Reach for the stars...You will at least end up among the clouds"
Share your experience, strength, and hope with another and see the miracles transform your life!
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2008 : 08:39:17 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 16, 2008
The Merry-go-round
I began to feel like a clown juggling too many balls.
Each ball represented a problem I was keeping up in the air.
My arms were weary and I knew I couldn't keep up much longer,
but I was not about to give up. My pride and ego wouldn't let me.
Bosses, judges, co-workers, lawyers, car notes, bar tabs, loan sharks,
utility payments, landlords, my girlfriend, people I had double-crossed --
I looked to all these as the source of my problems,
while overlooking the most basic problem; my drinking and myself.
I'd known for a long time that I desperately wanted off this merry-go-round,
but I had no idea how to do it.
© 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 506
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
I can't start doing what's right until I stop doing what's wrong.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Acceptance, Belief, Change.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2008 : 08:46:53 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 17, 2008
A New Dimension
In the late stages of our drinking, the will to resist has fled.
Yet when we admit complete defeat
and when we become entirely ready to try AA principles,
our obsession leaves us and we enter a new dimension --
freedom under God as we understand Him.
© 1967 AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 283
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Within our wonderful new world,
we have found freedom from our fatal obsession.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Happy, Joyous, Free.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 12/18/2008 : 09:22:31 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 18, 2008
H.O.W.
They said if you want to know how this program works,
take the first word of your question -- the "H" is for honesty,
the "O" is for open-mindedness, and the "W" is for willingness;
these our Big Book calls the essentials of recovery.
© 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 549-550
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Every recovery from alcoholism began with one sober hour.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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