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Daily Readings 04-25-2023

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Old 04-24-2023, 03:05 PM
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Daily Readings 04-25-2023

Daily Reflections

ENTERING 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 A.A. principles, our obsession leaves
us and we enter a new dimension - freedom under God as we
understand Him.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 283

I am fortunate to be among the ones who have had this awesome
transformation in my life. When I entered the doors of A.A.,
alone and desperate, I had been beaten into willingness to
believe anything I heard. One of the things I heard was,
"This could be your last hangover, or you can keep going
round and round." The man who said this obviously was a
whole lot better off than I. I liked the idea of admitting
defeat and I have been free ever since! My heart heard what
my mind never could: "Being powerless over alcohol is no
big deal." I'm free and I'm grateful!

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

I don't believe that A.A. works because I read it in a book
or because I hear people say so. I believe it because I see
people getting sober and staying sober. An actual demonstration
is what convinces me. When I see the change in people, I can't
help believing that A.A. works. We could listen to talk about
A.A. all day and still not believe it, but when we see it work,
we have to believe it. Seeing is believing. Do I see A.A. work
every day?

Meditation For The Day

Try saying "God bless her (or him)" of anyone who is in
disharmony with you. Also say it of those who are in trouble
through their own fault. Say it, willing that showers of
blessings may fall upon them. Let God do the blessing. Leave
to God the necessary correcting or disciplining. You should
only desire blessing for them. Leave God's work to God. Occupy
yourself with the task that He gives you to do. God's blessing
will also break down all your own difficulties and build up all
your successes.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may use God's goodness so that it will be a
blessing to others. I pray that I may accept God's blessing so
that I will have harmony, beauty, joy, and happiness.

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As Bill Sees It

Each Man's Vision, p. 116

"Beyond a Higher Power, as each of us may vision Him, A.A. must
never, as a society, enter the field of dogma or theology. We can
never become a religion in that sense, lest we kill our usefulness by
getting bogged down in the theological contention."

<< << << >> >> >>

"The really amazing fact about A.A. is that all religions see in our
program a resemblance to themselves. For example, Catholic
theologians declare our Twelve Steps to be in exact accord with their
Ignatian Exercises for Retreat, and, though our book reeks of sin,
sickness, and death, the Christian Science Monitor has often praised
it editorially.

"Now, looking through Quaker eyes, you, too, see us favorably.
What happy circumstances, these!"

1. Letter, 1954

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Walk in Dry Places

Fixing needs____ Inventory.
AA pioneers once thought of their work as "fixing" drunks. That was dropped in AA, but "getting a fix" survives in the drug culture
The truth is, we can't fix anybody, nor can we fix any problem with a destructive, mood altering drug. What we're really seeking … what every compulsive person really seeks…. Is to fix the conflicting needs that tear us apart at the seams.
We can fix many of those needs over time if we practice Twelve step principles. "That searching and fearless moral inventory", humbling though it may be, will expose the fierce drives that are consuming us. Sharing the truth about ourselves with others helps us understand both what is right and what is wrong in our lives. The power to change ourselves, when we desire it, comes from a Higher Power… God as we understand Him.
Somebody has summed this process up this way: "Need a fix? Fix the need!" We can use that idea to fix our needs today by following the Twelve step program. At times, we may not even by completely aware of our real needs. This too will be revealed to us as we continue in this program.
I'll start my day by affirming that there's no need that can cause me to do anything destructive. As any problem arises, I learn how to fix my needs in healthy ways.

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Keep It Simple

You're never to old to grow up.---Shirley Conran
Some of us have spent many years trying not to grow up. As children, we watched the adults around us. They may not have seemed happy. "Is life all hard work for grown-ups?" we wondered. No, it's not hard work. There are lots of good things about growing up. We can take charge of our life. We can learn to take care of ourselves. We can learn to share feelings with good friends. We can make our world safe enough for us to express feelings again. We learn how to love others. We do have choices.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me grow up into a happy, grateful adult.
Action for the Day: There are happy grown-ups. I'll find one to be my sponsor.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content. --Helen Keller
There is wonder in the moment, if we but look for it, let it touch us, believe in it. And with the recognition and celebration of the wonder comes the joy we desire and await.
Being wholly in tune with the present moment is how we'll come to know the spiritual essence that connects all of life. We search for peace, happiness, and contentment outside of ourselves. We need instead to discover it within us, now and always, in whatever we are experiencing.
We can let our experiences wash over us. Longing for a different time, a distant place, a new situation breeds discontent. It prevents us from the thrill, the gifts offered in this present moment. But they are there.
We can practice feeling joyful in the present, be thrilled with the realization that right now, all is well. All is always well. Life is full of mystery and wonder and each moment of our awareness adds to the wonder.
I am moving forward; we all are. I am on target. I am participating in a glorious, wonderful drama. Let me jump for joy. I have been specially blessed.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreword to First Edition

This is the Foreword as it appeared in the first printing of the first edition in 1939

When writing or speaking publicly about alcoholism, we urge each of our Fellowship to omit his personal name, designating himself instead as "a member of Alcoholics Anonymous."
Very earnestly we ask the press also, to observe this request, for otherwise we shall be greatly handicapped.

p. xiii

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

EMPTY ON THE INSIDE - She grew up around A.A. and had all the answers--except when it came to her own life.

We have had some tough times. Our son is the third generation of A.A.’s in my family. After a suicide attempt at age fourteen, we found out he too was an alcoholic. After his one year in A.A., it’s hard to tell what will happen, but we trust Alcoholics Anonymous, even on the days we don’t trust our son. Our daughter is a beautiful, confident teenager who has found her own path to God without having to drink. She is the product of the love and faith of Alcoholics Anonymous.

p. 521

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Twelve - "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."

Most married folks in A.A. have very happy homes. To a surprising extent, A.A. has offset the damage to family life brought about by years of alcoholism. But just like all other societies, we do have sex and marital problems, and sometimes they are distressingly acute. Permanent marriage breakups and separations, however, are unusual in A.A. Our main problem is not how we are to stay married; it is how to be more happily married by eliminating the severe emotional twists that have so often stemmed from alcoholism.

p. 117

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NA Just For Today


Embracing Reality

"Recovery is a reality for us today"
Basic Text, p. 97

Pain and misery were realities in our using lives. We were unwilling either to accept our living situation or to change what was unacceptable in our lives. We attempted to escape life's pain by taking drugs, but using only compounded our troubles. Our altered sense of reality became a nightmare.

Through living the program of Narcotics Anonymous, we learn that our dreams can replace our nightmares. We grow and change. We acquire the freedom of choice. We are able to give and receive love. We can share honestly about ourselves, no longer magnifying or minimizing the truth. We accept the challenges real life offers us, facing them in a mature, responsible way.

Although recovery does not give us immunity from the realities of life, in the NA Fellowship we can find the support, genuine care, and concern we need to face those realities. We need never hide from reality by using drugs again, for our unity with other recovering addicts gives us strength. Today the support, the care, and the empathy of recovery give us a clean, clear window through which to view, experience, and appreciate reality as it is.

Just for today: A gift of my recovery is living and enjoying life as it truly is. Today, I will embrace reality.

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A Day At A Time


Reflection For The Day

I have much more to be grateful for than I realize. Too often, I don’t remember to give thought to all the things in my life that I could enjoy and appreciate. Perhaps I don’t take time for this important meditation because I’m too preoccupied with my own so-called woes. I allow my mind to overflow with grievances; the more I think about them, the more monumental they seem. Instead of surrendering to God and His goodness, I let myself be controlled by the negative thinking into which my thoughts are apt to stray unless I guide them firmly into brighter paths. Do I try to cultivate an “attitude of gratitude?”

Today I Pray

May god lead me away from my pile-up of negative thoughts, which make for detours in my path of personal growth. May I break the old poor-me habits of remembering the worst and expecting the most dire. May I turn my thoughts ahead to a whole new world out there. May I allow myself to envision the glory of God.

Today I Will Remember

Keep an attitude of gratitude.

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One More Day

Every tub must stand on its own bottom.
– Thomas Fuller

As we accomplish each goal in our lives, we feel a tremendous sense of pride. Whether from success at the job, in school, or in a volunteer capacity, achieving a goal is personally gratifying.

The challenge that chronic illness presents is to reorganize our goals so they are still practical and attainable. If we spend our time complaining rather than changing, we may never fear to live successfully with the illness. It’s not going to go away. Things will never be the same as before. Accepting this fact is a colossal challenge.

My faith in myself has waned with the onset of my illness. I am just realizing that I can still depend upon myself.

************************************

Food For Thought

Forgetting Food

Abstinence enables us to stop being preoccupied with food. We decide that we will have three meals a day with nothing in between, and we have a definite plan for those meals. Whenever cravings or thoughts of food begin to distract us, we put them out of our mind. We remember that food has proved to be a false friend, and we no longer permit it to control our life.

Through OA, we have found new interests and activities. We have friends to call when we are lonely or upset. When we are feeling shaky, we can go to a meeting. Perhaps our new energies have led to involvement in community activities, new jobs, hobbies and projects.

Each of us faces a certain amount of sluggishness and inertia when we decide to get involved in something new. It is easier to stay in the same old rut, since we often fear what is untried and unknown. Let us not permit apathy or anxiety to weaken our resolution. Escape into food and overeating is no longer an option.

Keep my thoughts on the new possibilities, which You have opened for me.

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One Day At A Time

~ Understanding ~

Understanding is the wellspring of life.
The Bible, Book of Proverbs

Early on in my recovery I became aware that understanding myself and my disease was going to be a tool of success. For many years I lived day after day in my addiction, bemoaning it, suffering in it, struggling against it, and adopting the world view of my condition. I came to believe that losing weight was the answer to all my problems ... if I could stick to a diet. Because I couldn't, the thoughts of worthlessness, ignorance, shame and guilt were repeatedly reinforced.

In working the Steps, the idea of recovery through understanding myself was born. Through knowledge of my Higher Power, and by His guidance, the understanding of my past and my present have given me keys to freedom from compulsive overeating. I welcome working the Steps because they have opened doors of my heart to mend the past and receive hope for the future. Understanding who I am and why I'm like I am, allows me to be abstinent and to develop new ways of coping with the stresses of life. Understanding the disease frees me from guilt and shame and releases self-acceptance.

One Day at a Time . . .
I continue to seek knowledge and understanding as a way to recovery.
~ Diane ~

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Now we try to put spiritual principles to work in every department of our lives. When we do that, we find it solves our problems too; the ensuing lack of fear, worry and hurt feelings is a wonderful thing. - Pgs. 116-117 - To Wives

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Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Get a sponsor, get a program, get into service, get a Higher Power in your life, pray every day, go to 90 meetings in 90 days, work the steps or die. Get a life. Wake up and smell the recovery.

When I am tempted to think these clean and sober people at meetings are full of ****, let me remember that they're full of clean and sober **** and I'd do well to listen.

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Appreciating Life

I have the gift of life. I am here. I am alive, with all of my senses and able to experience the magic of this incredible world. Whatever this day has in store for me, I am open to receive. I will act on my day and allow my day to act on me. I am open. I will take steps that I know will make my day feel good, productive and pleasurable, and then I will let the rest happen. Each day presents me with gifts and surprises, if I know how to unwrap the present, if I remember how to be astonished or pleased.

Life itself is the gift.

- Tian Dayton PhD

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Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Sobriety often brings us effects we never expected, like becoming the person we used to resent!

I used to resent people whose standards I could not live up to. Now, by the Grace of God, I am one!

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"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Respect the anonymity of others.

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Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Positive energy attracts positive energy. Today my Higher Power continues to guide my growth so that I am more and more open. I am becoming free and unblocked and am attracting all that is good and right in my life.

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Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I couldn't handle the grog - and I was no longer my own boss. - Koori 1st Step. Australia.
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Old 04-24-2023, 03:54 PM
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Thanks for doing this Patcha

D
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Old 04-25-2023, 06:18 AM
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Yes, thank you Patcha.
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Old 04-27-2023, 02:28 PM
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You're welcome! Happy to be of service. I couldn't access the site the last few days. I worked out how to turn the VPN off so hopefully that means I won't get blocked again.
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