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Pamela7030
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800 Posts |
 Posted - 02/06/2009 : 10:48:27 AM
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February 6, 2009
Recovery and Relapse
Many people think that recovery is simply a matter of not using drugs. They consider a relapse a sign of complete failure, and long periods of abstinence a sign of complete success. We in the recovery program of Narcotics Anonymous have found that this perception is too simplistic. After a member has had some involvement in our Fellowship, a relapse may be the jarring experience that brings about a more rigorous application of the program. By the same token we have observed some members who remain abstinent for long periods of time whose dishonesty and self-deceit still prevent them from enjoying complete recovery and acceptance within society. Complete and continuous abstinence, however, in close association and identification with others in N.A. groups, is still the best ground for growth.
Although all addicts are basically the same in kind, we do, as individuals, differ in degree of sickness and rate of recovery. There may be times when a relapse lays the groundwork for complete freedom. At other times that freedom can only be achieved by a grim and obstinate willfulness to hang on to abstinence come hell or high water until a crisis passes. An addict, who by any means can lose, even for a time, the need or desire to use, and has free choice over impulsive thinking and compulsive action, has reached a turning point that may be the decisive factor in his recovery. The feeling of true independence and freedom hangs here at times in the balance. To step out alone and run our own lives again draws us, yet we seem to know that what we have has come from dependence on a Power greater than ourselves and from the giving and receiving of help from others in acts of empathy. Many times in our recovery the old bugaboos will haunt us. Life may again become meaningless, monotonous and boring. We may tire mentally in repeating our new ideas and tire physically in our new activities, yet we know that if we fail to repeat them we will surely take up our old practices. We suspect that if we do not use what we have, we will lose what we have. These time are often the periods of our greatest growth. Our minds and bodies seem tired of it all, yet the dynamic forces of change or true conversion, deep within, may be working to give us the answers that alter our inner motivations and change our lives.
Recovery as experienced through our Twelve Steps is our goal, not mere physical abstinence. To improve ourselves takes effort, and since there is no way in the world to graft a new idea on a closed mind, an opening must be made somehow. Since we can do this only for ourselves, we need to recognize two of our seemingly inherent enemies, apathy and procrastination. Our resistance to change seems built in, and only a nuclear blast of some kind will bring about any alteration or initiate another course of action. A relapse, if we survive it, may provide the charge for the demolition process. A relapse and sometimes subsequent death of someone close to us can do the job of awakening us to the necessity for vigorous personal action.
© 2003 NAWSO, Basic Text of Narcotics Anonymous, Fifth Edition, Pages, 74 and 75
with permission form Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
"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
964 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2009 : 08:06:51 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
February 7, 2009
Footprints
Stepping into the first footprint that led from the dismal swamp of alcoholism
toward the sunlight of sobriety would not take me far enough.
Would I muddle along some little trail of my own in the weeds,
vaguely paralleling the clearly marked AA road?
Or would I choose to follow in the exact footsteps of the AAs who had preceded?
The choice was up to me. . .
Since I had already taken Step One, I could decide to stop right there.
I could just dry up, period. I could survive like a raisin the rest of my life.
AA Grapevine, January 1970, Vol. 26 No. 8
Thought to Ponder . . .
I stood in the sunlight at last.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Solutions To Every Problem, Sober.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 02/08/2009 : 10:08:20 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
February 8, 2009
Irrationality
Few indeed are the practicing alcoholics who have any idea
how irrational they are, or seeing their irrationality, can bear to face it.
Some will be willing to term themselves "problem drinkers"
but cannot endure the suggestion that they are in fact mentally ill.
They are abetted in this blindness by a world which does not understand
the difference between sane drinking and alcoholism.
"Sanity" is defined as "soundness of mind."
Yet no alcoholic, soberly analyzing his destructive behavior,
whether he fell on the dining room furniture or his own moral fiber,
can claim "soundness of mind" for himself.
©1953 AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pp. 32-3
Reprinted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
If you think you are an alcoholic, chances are you are.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Not Using The Steps.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2009 : 3:51:18 PM
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AA Thought for the Day
February 9, 2009
Simplicity
The simple words "Thy Will Be Done" and the simple ideas of honesty
and of helping others are taking on a new meaning for me.
I should not be surprised to find myself coming to the astounding conclusion
that God, whoever or whatever He may be,
is eminently more capable of running this universe than I am.
At last I believe I am on my way.
©1939 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous [First Edition], p. 377
Reprinted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
The will of God will never take me where the grace of God will not protect me.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
People Relying On God Relaying A Message.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Pamela7030
Moderator
800 Posts |
Posted - 02/10/2009 : 07:03:21 AM
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February 10, 2009
"Resentment - Taking poison and hoping the other person dies."
Boy was this a shocker the first time I heard it. I was new in recovery and I had so many resentments that I didn't even know about them all yet. What I also didn't realize was that the people, places and things I resented didn't know or care about how I felt. The only person suffering from my resentments was me.
When I started working the fourth step - made a searching and fearless moral inventory - I began to see all the resentments I had secretly been harboring. As I uncovered, discovered and then discarded them, I felt a new freedom and a sense of peace and happiness came into my life.
Today, I understand the danger and futility of having resentments. Today I prefer to remain comfortable in my own skin so whenever I'm upset or feeling slighted, I look for my part and clean my side of the street. If I'm still feeling resentful, I pray for the other person for two weeks - this always works.
Today, I no longer let resentments poison me, because today I choose to live happy, joyous and free.
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
964 Posts |
Posted - 02/10/2009 : 11:11:13 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
February 10, 2009
Decision
It is by circumstance rather than by any virtue that we have been driven to AA,
have admitted defeat, have acquired the rudiments of faith,
and now want to make a decision to turn our will and our lives
over to a Higher Power.
©1953 AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 38
Reprinted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Maturity is the ability to make a decision and follow through.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Willingness Over Willpower
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2009 : 07:37:00 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
February 11, 2009
Patience
Just try it. Drive with an easy rein; don't worry;
seek and be with the Group as much as you possibly can.
Coast along with us, work with us,
and you will gradually find fear being replaced by confidence,
doubts taking wing; depression being replaced by happiness
and faith in yourself and others and in the future emerging
into the full light of everyday living.
Just try it; keep dry, think. . .a little plea for help from some greater Power.
Have patience and you will get the answer to real living and happiness.
Then try to return just a little of all that has been given you
by trying to pass it on to others who are sick and need help.
It's the road to the top of the mountain--into the sun--and it's yours for the effort.
Reprinted from Box 1980: The AA Grapevine, November 1944, Vol. 1 No. 6
Reprinted with permission of The AA Grapevine, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Patience is passion tamed.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
One Day At A Time.
As Always
Sending angels,
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 02/12/2009 : 10:07:04 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
February 12, 2009
Discovery
I've learned since being in AA that the more I worry about me loving you,
and the less I worry about you loving me, the happier I'll be. I discovered a fellowship of human beings that I'd never seen before.
I learned how to have self-respect through work that AA gave me to do.
I learned how to be a friend. . .
I have learned that the more I give, the more I will have;
the more I learn to give, the more I learn to live.
Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous [Second Edition], pp. 538-539.
Thought to Ponder....
Recovery is discovery.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
The Happiness I Never Knew.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2009 : 09:02:48 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
Immunity
We have seen the truth demonstrated again and again:
"Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic."
Commencing to drink after a period of sobriety,
we are in a short time as bad as ever.
If we are planning to stop drinking, there must be no reservation of any kind
nor any lurking notion that someday we will be immune to alcohol.
Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous [First Edition], p. 41
Reprinted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.*
Thought to Ponder . . .
If we want to quit drinking, we are going to have to quit drinking.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
No Other Way.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 02/14/2009 : 09:56:48 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
Selfishness
Selfishness -- self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.
Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity,
we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate.
Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation,
but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions
based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt.
Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous [First Edition], p. 74
Reprinted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Never become so heavenly that you're no earthly good.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Personal Recovery Involves Deflating Ego.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2009 : 10:13:08 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
February 15, 2009
Essentials
Any alcoholic capable of honestly facing his problems
in the light of our experience can recover
provided he does not close his mind to all spiritual concepts.
He can only be defeated by an attitude of intolerance or belligerent denial.
We find that no one need have difficulty with the spiritual side of the program.
Willingness, honesty and open-mindedness are the essentials of recovery.
But these are indispensable.
Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous [First Edition], p. 399
Thought to Ponder . . .
Spirituality is the ability to get our minds off ourselves.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Willingness, Honesty, Open-mindedness.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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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 - 02/15/2009 : 9:56:46 PM
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PHYSICIAN, HEAL THYSELF!
I tried every gimmick that there was to get some peace of mind, but it was not until I was brought to my alcoholic knees, when I was brought to a group in my own community with the butcher, the baker, the carpenter, and the mechanic, who were able to give me the Twelve Steps, that I was finally given some semblance of an answer to the last half of the First Step. So, after taking the first half of the First Step, and very gingerly admitting myself to Alcoholics Anonymous, something happened. And then I thought to myself: Imagine an alcoholic admitting anything! But I made my admission just the same.
© 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 305
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Step One
"We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable."
"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
964 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2009 : 11:02:35 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
February 16, 2009
Happiness
I have found a joy in living that has nothing to do
with money or material success.
I know that incomparable happiness that comes from helping
some other fellow get straightened out.
Don't get me wrong. We are not a bunch of angels.
None of us has any notion of becoming such.
But we know that we can never go completely back to old ways
because we are traveling upward through service to others
and in trying to be honest, decent, and loving toward the world.
Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous [First Edition], p. 335
Thought to Ponder . . .
Happiness is part of the journey, not some distant destination.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Happy, Joyous, Free.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2009 : 09:37:14 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
February 17, 2009
Life on Life's Terms
As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful,
and ask for the right thought or action.
We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show,
humbly saying to ourselves many times each day "Thy will be done."
Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous [First Edition], p. 100
Thought to Ponder . . .
Wisdom is knowing the right path to take. Integrity is taking it.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Accountable Actions.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Pamela7030
Moderator
800 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2009 : 7:02:13 PM
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Power Greater Than Ourselves.
I had always believed in a Power greater than myself. I had often pondered these things. I was not an atheist. Few people really are, for that means blind faith in the strange proposition that this universe originated in a cipher and aimlessly rushes nowhere. My intellectual heroes, the chemists, the astronomers, even the evolutionists, suggested vast laws and forces at work. Despite contrary indications, I had little doubt that a mighty purpose and rhythm underlay all. How could there be so much of precise and immutable law, and no intelligence? I simply had to believe in a Spirit of the Universe, who knew neither time nor limitation. But that was as far as I had gone.
With ministers, and the world’s religions, I parted right there. When they talked of a God personal to me, who was love, superhuman strength and direction, I became irritated and my mind snapped shut against such a theory.
To Christ I conceded the certainty of a great man, not too closely followed by those who claimed Him. His moral teaching--most excellent. For myself, I had adopted those parts which seemed convenient and not too difficult; the rest I disregarded.
The wars which had been fought, the burnings and chicanery that religious dispute had facilitated, made me sick. I honestly doubted whether, on balance, the religions of mankind had done any good. Judging from what I had seen in Europe and since, the power of God in human affairs was negligible, the Brotherhood of Man a grim jest. If there was a Devil, he seemed the Boss Universal, and he certainly had me.
But my friend sat before me, and he made the point-blank declaration that God had done for him what he could not do for himself. His human will had failed. Doctors had pronounced him incurable. Society was about to lock him up. Like myself, he had admitted complete defeat. Then he had, in effect, been raised from the dead, suddenly taken from the scrap heap to a level of life better than the best he had ever known!
Had this power originated in him? Obviously it had not. There had been no more power in him then there was in me at that minute; and this was none at all.
That floored me. It began to look as though religious people were right after all. Here was something at work in a human heart which had done the impossible. My ideas about miracles were drastically revised right then. Never mind the musty past; here sat a miracle directly across the kitchen table. He shouted great tidings.
I saw that my friend was much more than inwardly reorganized. He was on a different footing. His roots grasped a new soil.
Despite the living example of my friend there remained in me the vestiges of my old prejudice. The word God still aroused a certain antipathy. When the thought was expressed that there might be a God personal to me this feeling was intensified. I didn’t like the idea. I could go for such conceptions as Creative Intelligence, Universal Mind or Spirit of Nature but I resisted the thought of Czar of the Heavens, however loving His sway might be. I have since talked with scores of men who felt the same way.
My friend suggested what then seemed a novel idea. He said, “Why don’t you choose your own conception of God?”
That statement hit me hard. It melted the icy intellectual mountain in whose shadow I had lived and shivered many years. I stood in the sunlight at last.
It was only a matter of being willing to believe in a Power greater than myself. Nothing more was required of me to make my beginning. I saw that growth could start from that point. Upon a foundation of complete willingness I might build what I saw in my friend. Would I have it? Of course I would!
Thus was I convinced that God is concerned with us humans when we want Him enough. At long last I saw, I felt, I believed. Scales of pride and prejudice fell from my eyes. A new world came into view.
© 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous (Fourth Addition), pages 10-12
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
(Bill's Story - Bill and Ebby in the Kitchen!)
"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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Edited by - Pamela7030 on 02/17/2009 7:11:12 PM |
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