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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
 Posted - 07/07/2009 : 06:30:07 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
July 7, 2009
No Cop-outs
We have to keep our sobriety independent of everything else,
not entangled with any people,
and not hedged in by any possible cop-outs or conditions.
- Living Sober, p. 64
Thought to Ponder . . .
I am worth staying sober for.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
No Other Way.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Pamela7030
Moderator
800 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2009 : 12:53:52 PM
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AA Thought for the Day
July 7, 2009
The only requirement is a desire.......
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.
The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions.
AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes.
Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.
AA Grapevine |
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2009 : 08:28:40 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
July 9, 2009
We Need Each Other
We need each other's experience, strength, and hope,
regardless of age or length of sobriety.
The saving grace of God doesn't come like a bolt out of the blue.
It comes through, in, and from other suffering, as well as rescued,
souls like you and me.
- Came To Believe . . ., p. 94
Thought to Ponder . . .
God enters us through our wounds.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
ealing, njoying, nd ecovering ogether.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2009 : 10:03:04 AM
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ONE OF THE BEST READINGS ALL YEAR MY OPINION..
AA Thought for the Day
July 10, 2009
Acceptance
And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today.
When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation
-- some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me,
and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing,
or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 417
Thought to Ponder . . .
My serenity is directly proportional to my level of acceptance.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Acceptance, Belief, Change.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2009 : 2:06:31 PM
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AA Thought for the Day
July 11, 2009
Honesty
I don't believe this program would work for me
if I didn't get honest with myself about myself.
Honesty is the easiest word for me to understand
because it is the exact opposite of what I've been doing all my life.
Therefore, it will be the hardest to work on.
- Experience, Strength and Hope, pp. 400-01
Thought to Ponder . . .
Honesty isn't an event ... it's a process.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.
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 - 07/13/2009 : 08:39:33 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
July 13, 2009
Habits
Our drinking was connected with many habits -- big and little.
Some of them were thinking habits,
or things we felt inside ourselves.
Others were doing habits -- things we did, actions we took.
- Living Sober, p. 1
Thought to Ponder . . .
Habits are like cork or lead --
they tend to keep you up or hold you down.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2009 : 06:20:59 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
July 14, 2009
Harmony
Courtesy, kindness, justice, and love are the keynotes
by which we may come into harmony with practically anybody.
When in doubt we can always pause, saying,
"Not my will, but Thine, be done."
And we can often ask ourselves, "Am I doing to others
as I would have them do to me -- today?"
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 93
Thought to Ponder . . .
I cannot add to the peace and good will of the world
if I fail to create an atmosphere of harmony and love.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
One Day At A Time.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2009 : 09:00:32 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
July 16, 2009
Think, Think, Think!
We ask God to direct our thinking,
especially asking to be divorced from self-pity,
dishonest or self-seeking motives.
Under these conditions we can employ our mental faculties with assurance,
for after all God gave us brains to use.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 86
Thought to Ponder . . .
The Seven T's -- Take Time To Think The Thing Through.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Thoughtful, Honest, Informed, Necessary, Kind.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2009 : 08:02:54 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
July 18, 2009
Fear
Fear can be a stepping-stone to prudence and to a decent respect for others.
It can point the path to justice, as well as to hate.
And the more we have of respect and justice,
the more we shall begin to find the love which can suffer much,
and yet be freely given.
- The Language of the Heart, p. 265
Thought to Ponder . . .
Breathe in faith, breathe out fear.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
False Events Appearing Real.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2009 : 10:32:20 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
July 19, 2009
Ask for Help
If you think you are an atheist, an agnostic, a skeptic
or have any other form of intellectual pride which keeps you from accepting
what is in this book, I feel sorry for you.
If you still think you are strong enough to beat the game yourself,
that is your affair.
But if you really and truly want to quit drinking liquor for good and all,
and sincerely feel that you must have some help,
we know that we have an answer for you.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 181
Thought to Ponder . . .
Simply asking for help seems to be a help in itself.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Hope, Encouragement, Love, Patience.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 07/20/2009 : 06:16:20 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
July 20, 2009
Step Two
It wasn't AA that had the closed mind, it was me.
The minute I stopped arguing, I could begin to see and feel.
Right there, Step Two gently and very gradually
began to infiltrate my life.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 27
Thought to Ponder . . .
"Came to believe that a Power Greater than ourselves
could restore us to sanity."
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Acceptance, Belief, Change.
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 - 07/20/2009 : 7:05:20 PM
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AA Thought for the Day
July 20, 2009
Step Seven “Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.”
The attainment of greater humility is the foundation principle of each of AA’s Twelve Steps. For without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all. Nearly all AA’s have found, too, that unless they develop much m ore of this precious quality than may be required just for sobriety, they still haven’t much chance of becoming truly happy. Without it, they cannot live to much useful purpose, or, in adversity, be able to summon the faith that can meet any emergency.
Humility, as a word and as an ideal, has a very bad time of it in our world. Not only is the idea misunderstood; the word itself is often intensely disliked. Many people haven’t even a nodding acquaintance with humility as a way of life. Certainly no alcoholic and surely no member of AA want to deprecate material achievement. For thousands of years we have been demanding more than our share of security, prestige, and romance. When we seemed to be succeeding, we drank to dream still greater dreams. When we were frustrated, even in part, we drank for oblivion. Never was there enough of what we thought we wanted.
In all these strivings, so many of them well-intentioned, our crippling handicap had been our lack of humility. We had lacked the perspective to see that character-building and spiritual values had to come first, and that material satisfactions were not the purpose of living. Quite characteristically, we had gone all out in confusing the ends with the means. Instead of regarding the satisfaction of our material desires with the means by which we could live and function as human beings, we had taken these satisfactions to be the final end and aim of life.
True, most of us thought good character was desirable, but obviously good character was something one needed to get on with the business of being self-satisfied. Seldom did we look at character-building as something desirable in itself, something we would like to strive for whether our instinctual needs were met or not. We never thought of making honesty, tolerance, and true love of man and God the daily basis of living.
As long as we placed self-reliance first, a genuine reliance upon a Higher Power was out of the question. That basic ingredient of all humility, a desire to seek and do God’s will, was missing.
For us, the process of gaining a new perspective was unbelievably painful. It was only by repeated humiliations that we were forced to learn something about humility. It was only at the end of a long road, marked by successive defeats and humiliations, and the final crushing of our self-sufficiency that we began to feel humility as something more than a condition of groveling despair. Every newcomer in AA is told, and soon realizes for himself, that his humble admission of powerlessness over alcohol is his first step toward liberation from its paralyzing grip.
A whole life-time geared to self-centeredness cannot be set in reverse all at once. Rebellion dogs our every step at first.
When we have finally admitted without reservation that we are powerless over alcohol, we are apt to breathe a great sigh of relief, saying, “Well, thank God that’s over! I’ll never have to go through that again!” Then we learn, often to our consternation, that this is only the first milestone on the new road we are walking. Still goaded by sheer necessity, we reluctantly come to grips with those serious character flaws that made problem drinkers of us in the first place, flaws which must be dealt with to prevent a retreat into alcoholism once again. We will want to be rid of some of these defects, but in some instances this will appear to be an impossible job from which we recoil. And we cling with a passionate persistence to others which are just as disturbing to our equilibrium, because we still enjoy them too much. How can we possibly summon the resolution and the willingness to get rid of such overwhelming compulsions and desires?
When we have taken a square look at some of these defects, have discussed them with another, and have become willing to have them removed, our thinking about humility commences to have a wider meaning. By this time in all probability we have gained some measure of release from our more devastating handicaps. We enjoy moments in which there is something like real peace of mind. Where humility had formerly stood for a forced feeding on humble pie, it now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient which can give us serenity.
Until now, our lives have been largely devoted to running from pain and problems. We fled from them as from a plague. We never wanted to deal with the fact of suffering. Escape via the bottle was always our solution.
In AA we saw failure and misery transformed by humility into priceless assets. We heard story after story of how humility had brought strength out of weakness. In every case, pain had been the price of admission into a new life. It brought a measure of humility, which we soon discovered to be a healer of pain. We began to fear pain less, and desire humility more than ever.
A great turning point in our lives came when we sought for humility as something we really wanted, rather than as something we must have.
The chief activators of our defects have been self-centered fear—primarily fear that we would lose something we already possessed or would fail to get something we demanded.
The whole emphasis of Step Seven is on humility. It is really saying to us that we now ought to be willing to try humility in seeking the removal of our other shortcomings just as we did when we admitted that we were powerless over alcohol, and came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. If that degree of humility could enable us to find the grace by which such a deadly obsession could be banished, then there must be hope of the same result respecting any other problem we could possibly have.
“Step Seven” - from the book the “Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions”, pages 70-76
“……the thought came that there were thousands of hopeless alcoholics who might be glad to have what had been so freely given me. Perhaps I could help some of them. They in turn might work with others.”
__from “Bill’s Story” (Alcoholics Anonymous)
Living upon a basis of unsatisfied demands, we were in a state of continual disturbance and frustration.
We can put a man on the moon----and there is help for your alcohol and drug addictions. If you are sick and tired of being sick and tired. There is a solution! |
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 07/21/2009 : 07:26:46 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
July 21, 2009
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."
- 'Pass It On', p. 7
Thought to Ponder . . .
Let it begin with me.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Help Open People's Eyes.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
966 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2009 : 05:56:06 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
July 23, 2009
Ambition
True ambition is not what we thought it was.
True ambition is the deep desire to live usefully
and walk humbly under the grace of God.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pp. 124-5
Thought to Ponder . . .
Once we understand ourselves, the rest of living falls in line.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Gently Releasing All Conscious Expectations.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Pamela7030
Moderator
800 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2009 : 2:46:54 PM
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AA Thought for the Day
July 21, 2009
Bill’s Story, pgs 14, 15 & 16
My friend had emphasized the absolute necessity of demonstrating these principles in all my affairs. Particularly was it imperative to work with others as he has worked with me. Faith without works was dead, he said. And how appallingly true for the alcoholic! For if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead. If he did not work, he would surely drink again, and if he drank, he would surely die. Then faith would be dead indeed. With us it is just like that.
An alcoholic in his cups is an unlovely creature. Our struggles with them are variously strenuous, comic and tragic. One poor chap committed suicide in my home. He could not, or would not, see our way of life.
There is however, a vast amount of fun about it all. I suppose some would be shocked at our seeming worldliness and levity. But just underneath there is deadly earnestness. Faith has to work twenty-four hours a day in and through us, or we perish.
Most of us feel we need look no further for Utopia. We have it with us right here and now. Each day my friend’s simple talk in our kitchen multiplies itself in a widening circle of peace on earth and good will to men.
Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book
“Share your experience, strength, and hope with another and see the miracles transform your life!” |
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