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Freefly
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966 Posts |
 Posted - 04/06/2009 : 12:30:16 PM
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AA Thought for the Day
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April 6, 2009
Acceptance
It was a matter of developing the willingness
to accept these new facts of living.
We neither ran nor fought. But accept we did. And then we were free.
There had been no irretrievable disaster.
- Bill W., AA Grapevine, September, 1975
Thought to Ponder . . .
My serenity is directly proportional to my level of acceptance.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
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966 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2009 : 03:22:11 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
April 7, 2009
Warmth of the Heart
AA is not a place; it's an attitude of mind, a warmth of the heart --
a spiritual fourth dimension where material things can't get the upper hand.
it's where accidents and hardships and common problems draw us together
just as surely as AA parties and conventions and birthdays.
-AA Grapevine, May 1966
Thought to Ponder . . .
Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Attitude Adjustment.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
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966 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2009 : 09:44:52 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
April 8, 2009
Transformation
Our eyes begin to open to the immense values
which have come straight out of painful ego-puncturing.
Until now, our lives have been largely devoted to running
from pain and problems.
Escape via the bottle was always our solution.
Then in AA, we looked and listened.
Everywhere we saw failure and misery transformed by humility
into priceless assets.
-As Bill Sees It, p. 156
Thought to Ponder....
Learn to listen; listen to learn.
Recovery Related Acronym
Achieve Anything.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
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966 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2009 : 08:05:58 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
April 9, 2009
Foundation for Life
There is a direct linkage among self-examination, meditation, and prayer.
Taken separately, these practices can bring much relief and benefit.
But when they are logically interwoven,
the result is an unshakable foundation for life.
-As Bill Sees It, p. 33
Thought to Ponder . . .
The will of God will never take me where the grace of God will not protect me.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Gently Releasing All Conscious Expectations.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
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966 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2009 : 06:41:33 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
April 10, 2009
Happiness
Happiness to me is fulfillment,
the satisfaction of knowing that you did the very best
your honestly evaluated limitations would permit -- in all phases of living.
Happiness is gratitude for the miracle
which granted another go-around at a life once abandoned.
Happiness is growing up.
It is learning to recognize all the things you really have.
Happiness is for experiencing, as well as remembering.
- Came To Believe . . ., p. 112
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
966 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2009 : 10:14:18 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
April 11, 2009
Easier, Softer Way
When I couldn't find an easier, softer way,
I looked for the person with the magic wand,
the one person in AA who could make me all better, right now.
This was a frustrating task, and I finally realized that if I wanted this life,
I was going to have to do what the others had done.
No one made me drink, and no one was going to make me stay sober.
This program is for people who want it, not people who need it.
-Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 315
Thought to Ponder....
If we want to quit drinking, we are going to have to quit drinking.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Happy Our Program Exists.
As Always
Sending angels
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
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966 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2009 : 10:17:45 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
April 11, 2009
Easier, Softer Way
When I couldn't find an easier, softer way,
I looked for the person with the magic wand,
the one person in AA who could make me all better, right now.
This was a frustrating task, and I finally realized that if I wanted this life,
I was going to have to do what the others had done.
No one made me drink, and no one was going to make me stay sober.
This program is for people who want it, not people who need it.
-Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 315
Thought to Ponder....
If we want to quit drinking, we are going to have to quit drinking.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Happy Our Program Exists.
As Always
Sending angels
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
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966 Posts |
Posted - 04/12/2009 : 07:20:05 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
April 12, 2009
Daily Reprieve
It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action
and rest on our laurels.
We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe.
We are not cured of alcoholism.
What we really have is a daily reprieve
contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 85
Thought to Ponder . . .
Every day is a gift. That is why we call it the present.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
One Day At A Time.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
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966 Posts |
Posted - 04/13/2009 : 07:29:56 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
April 13, 2009
Love and Service
When we love, we will see in others what we wish to have in ourselves.
We will know that love is a privilege given to us by God.
When we love, we will never be bored with life or our program.
It is what impels us to be active and to get involved in service.
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 3], p. 297
Thought to Ponder . . .
Love creates in a sober AA member the outer show of an inner glow.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Living Our Victories Everyday.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
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966 Posts |
Posted - 04/14/2009 : 07:27:58 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
April 14, 2009
Honesty
The biggest word for me in AA is "honesty."
I don't believe this program would work for me
if I didn't get honest with myself about everything.
Honesty is the easiest word for me to understand
because it is the exact opposite of what I've been doing all my life.
- Experience, Strength and Hope, pp. 400-401
Thought to Ponder . . .
Honesty is the absence of the intent to deceive.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 04/16/2009 : 06:18:23 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
April 16, 2009
Resentments
It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment
leads only to futility and unhappiness.
To the precise extent that we permit these,
do we squander the hours
that might have been worth while. . .
When harboring such feeling
we shut ourselves off from the
sunlight of the Spirit.
Alcoholics Anonymous, (2nd edition), page 66.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Live Easy But Think First!
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Always Say A Prayer
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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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 2:23:36 PM
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AA Thought for the Day
April 17, 2009
Fear
When fear persisted, we saw it for what it was,
and we became able to handle it.
We began to see each adversity as a God-given opportunity
to develop the kind of courage which is born of humility,
rather than of bravado.
- As Bill Sees It, p. 91
Thought to Ponder . . .
Breathe in faith, breathe out fear.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Forgetting Everything's All Right.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
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966 Posts |
Posted - 04/18/2009 : 10:21:26 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
April 18, 2009
Surprise
Somewhat to our surprise, staying sober turns out
not to be the grim, wet-blanket experience we had expected!
While we were drinking, a life without alcohol seemed like no life at all.
But for most members of AA, living sober is really living -- a joyous experience.
We much prefer it to the troubles we had with drinking.
One more note: anyone can get sober. We have all done it lots of times.
The trick is to stay sober and to live sober.
That is what this booklet is about.
- Living Sober, Foreword
Thought to Ponder . . .
Life didn't end when I got sober -- it started.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Son Of a Biscuit, Everything's Real.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
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966 Posts |
Posted - 04/19/2009 : 09:05:30 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
April 19, 2009
Meditation
Meditation, practiced in the form of simply talking to whatever
I thought might be there, was helping to change my life.
I could deal with life now
rather than running to a bottle and momentary oblivion.
I quit the debating society over whether God is or isn't.
I made my decision that God is.
. . . I could never have imagined that meditation
could be as simple as having a conversation.
- AA Grapevine, April 2009, p. 17
Thought to Ponder . . .
Meditation is my step out into the sun.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
His Ever-Loving Presence.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Pamela7030
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800 Posts |
Posted - 04/20/2009 : 07:11:04 AM
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April 20, 2009
The newcomer to AA is asked, not so much to learn new values, as to unlearn those he comes in with; not so much to adopt new goals, as to abandon old ones. To my mind, one of the most significant sentences in the entire book Alcoholics Anonymous is this: “Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely.” The rigidity with which even some nondrinking alcoholics will cling to the opinions, beliefs and convictions they had upon entering AA is well-nigh incredible. One of the major objectives of AA therapy is to help the alcoholic finally recognize these ideas and become willing to relinquish his death grip on them.
Now then, you ask, where can these unique factors be found? Where are they at work? Where do they occur? Is the answer always such and such a meeting at such and such an address at such and such a time? No. The real answer is that this unique therapy occurs wherever two alcoholics meet: at home, at lunch, in a street, in a car, on the sidewalk, on a porch, and oh God, on the telephone. There is only one requirement: One of them should be sober. But even this is not absolutely necessary. I am living proof that two drunken alcoholics, once having been exposed to AA, can talk each other into returning.
At this point you may very well ask: Out of all this uniqueness, what finally happens? Well, I’ll admit that’s the heart of the matter, all right, and I only wish the answer was as easy as the question. On second thought, there is an easy answer. I could echo a saying that has long winged its way down the corridors of AA: “The miracle of AA occurs.” There’s no doubt that those words would get me out from under – poetically and beautifully. But I don’t think either of us would know very much more than we did before the question was posed.
There is a widely held belief in AA that if a newcomer will simply continue to attend meetings, “Something will finally rub off on you.” And the implication, of course, is that the something which rubs off will be this so-called miracle of AA. Now, there is no doubt in my mind that many people in AA accept this statement quite literally. I have observed them over the years. The faithfully attend meetings, faithfully waiting for “something to rub off.” The funny part about it is that “something” is rubbing of on them. Death. They sit there – week after month after year – while mental, spiritual, and physical rigor mortis slowly sets in.
I believe the real “miracle of AA,” the “something” that will rub off, we hope, is simply the alcoholic’s willingness to act. Why he finally becomes willing, I hope to touch on later. Right now, let’s turn our attention to what it is he becomes willing to do.
AA has been happily called “a program of action.” In fact, one of our most-quoted aphorisms is “Action is the magic word.” When the newcomer hears this, he invariably gets a mental picture of his attending meetings, making what are known as “Twelfth Step calls” on other alcoholics, speaking at meetings, joining committees – in general, a kind of constant rushing to and fro. Let’s see whether this is what it really is.
Quoting from Chapter V of the book Alcoholics Anonymous:
“Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program of recovery:
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Mad a searching ad fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. 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.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
What you have just heard are AA’s famed Twelve Steps. They have been described by various members at various times in various phrases, ranging from “The Golden Stairs to Happiness” to “all that God stuff.”
The pamphlet: A Member’s eye view of Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 13 thru 15 |
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