Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
Created to carry the message of recovery to all addicts. Whether the addiction is alcohol, drugs, food or any other addiction the program of recovery is the same. I am a recovering alcoholic of over twenty-seven years, a day at a time of course and I believe my primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve recovery. Remember seven days without a meeting makes one weak. Sign up to get emails.This Blog is NOT IN ANY WAY affiliated to either A.A. or N.A. Help to stop drinking.
Saturday, 25 September 2021
Daily Dose Of Emmet Fox #essentialsofrecovery
Realizing God as Truth will save you hours of work in research in any field. You will be led to the right book or the right place or the right person without loss of time, or the necessary information will come to you in some other way.
Daily Reflections #essentialsofrecovery
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: Job or no job — wife or no wife — we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 98
Before coming to A.A., I always had excuses for taking a drink: “She said . . . , ” “He said . . . ,” “I got fired yesterday,” “I got a great job today.” No area of my life could be good if I drank again. In sobriety my life gets better each day. I must always remember not to drink, to trust God, and to stay active in A.A. Am I putting anything before my sobriety, God, and A.A. today?Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
Just For Today #essentialsofrecovery
The Fourth Step – Fearing Our Feelings
“We may fear that being in touch with our feelings will trigger an overwhelming chain reaction of pain and panic.” Basic Text, p.29
A common complaint about the Fourth Step is that it makes us painfully conscious of our defects of character. We may be tempted to falter in our program of recovery. Through surrender and acceptance, we can find the resources we need to keep working the steps.
It’s not the awareness of our defects that causes the most agony-it’s the defects themselves. When we were using, all we felt was the drugs; we could ignore the suffering our defects were causing us. Now that the drugs are gone, we feel that pain. Refusing to acknowledge the source of our anguish doesn’t make it go away; denial protects the pain and makes it stronger. The Twelve Steps help us deal with the misery caused by our defects by dealing directly with the defects themselves.
If we hurt from the pain of our defects, we can remind ourselves of the nightmare of addiction, a nightmare from which we’ve now awakened. We can recall the hope for release the Second Step gave us. We can again turn our will and our lives over, through the Third Step, to the care of the God of our understanding. Our Higher Power cares for us by giving us the help we need to work the rest of the Twelve Steps. We don’t have to fear our feelings. Just for today, we can continue in our recovery.
Just for today: I won’t be afraid of my feelings. With the help of my Higher Power, I’ll continue in my recovery.
Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrecovery
A.A. Thought For The Day
Let us consider the term “spiritual experience” as given in Appendix II of the Big Book: “A spiritual experience is something that brings about a personality change. By surrendering our lives to God as we understand Him, we are changed. The nature of this change is evident in recovered alcoholics. This personality change is not necessarily in the nature of a sudden and spectacular upheaval. We do no need to acquire an immediate and overwhelming God-consciousness followed at once by a vast change in feeling and outlook. In most cases, the change is gradual.” Do I see a gradual and continuing change in myself?
Meditation For The Day
“Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” For rest from the care of life, you can turn to God each day in prayer and communion. Real relaxation and serenity comes from a deep sense of the fundamental goodness of the universe. God’s everlasting arms are underneath all and will support you. Commune with God, not so much for petitions to be granted as for the rest that comes from relying on His will and His purposes for your life. Be sure of God’s strength available to you, be conscious of His support, and wait quietly until that true rest from God fills your being.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be conscious of God’s support today. I pray that I may rest safe and sure therein.
Let us consider the term “spiritual experience” as given in Appendix II of the Big Book: “A spiritual experience is something that brings about a personality change. By surrendering our lives to God as we understand Him, we are changed. The nature of this change is evident in recovered alcoholics. This personality change is not necessarily in the nature of a sudden and spectacular upheaval. We do no need to acquire an immediate and overwhelming God-consciousness followed at once by a vast change in feeling and outlook. In most cases, the change is gradual.” Do I see a gradual and continuing change in myself?
Meditation For The Day
“Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” For rest from the care of life, you can turn to God each day in prayer and communion. Real relaxation and serenity comes from a deep sense of the fundamental goodness of the universe. God’s everlasting arms are underneath all and will support you. Commune with God, not so much for petitions to be granted as for the rest that comes from relying on His will and His purposes for your life. Be sure of God’s strength available to you, be conscious of His support, and wait quietly until that true rest from God fills your being.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be conscious of God’s support today. I pray that I may rest safe and sure therein.
Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
As Bill Sees It #essentialsofrecovery
Behind Our Excuses, p.267
As excuse-makers and rationalizers, we drunks are champions. It is the business of the psychiatrist to find the deeper causes for our conduct. Though uninstructed in psychiatry, we can, after a little time in A.A., see that our motives have not been what we thought they were, and that we have been motivated by forces previously unknown to us. Therefore we ought to look, with the deepest respect, interest, and profit, upon the example set us by psychiatry.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“Spiritual growth through the practice of A.A.’s Twelve Steps, plus the aid of a good sponsor, can usually reveal most of the deeper reasons for our character defects, at least to a degree that meets our practical needs. Nevertheless, we should be grateful that our friends in psychiatry have so strongly emphasized the necessity to search for false and often unconscious motivations.”
1. A.A. Comes Of Age, p.236
2. Letter, 1966
As excuse-makers and rationalizers, we drunks are champions. It is the business of the psychiatrist to find the deeper causes for our conduct. Though uninstructed in psychiatry, we can, after a little time in A.A., see that our motives have not been what we thought they were, and that we have been motivated by forces previously unknown to us. Therefore we ought to look, with the deepest respect, interest, and profit, upon the example set us by psychiatry.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“Spiritual growth through the practice of A.A.’s Twelve Steps, plus the aid of a good sponsor, can usually reveal most of the deeper reasons for our character defects, at least to a degree that meets our practical needs. Nevertheless, we should be grateful that our friends in psychiatry have so strongly emphasized the necessity to search for false and often unconscious motivations.”
1. A.A. Comes Of Age, p.236
2. Letter, 1966
Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
Keep It Simple #essentialsofrecovery
Martyrs set bad examples
—David Russell
Sometimes we call people “martyrs.” We sometimes think of them as victims. They suffer, but sometimes not for a cause. They play “poor me.” They want people to notice how much they suffer. They are afraid to really live. These are the people who set bad examples.
True martyrs died for causes they believed in. We remember them because they were so full of energy and spirit. Recovery helps us live better. Let’s go for it!
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thanks for giving me energy and for healing my spirit. Help me live fully by putting my life in Your care.
Action for the Day: What kind of example do I set? Does my life reflect joy for life and recovery?
—David Russell
Sometimes we call people “martyrs.” We sometimes think of them as victims. They suffer, but sometimes not for a cause. They play “poor me.” They want people to notice how much they suffer. They are afraid to really live. These are the people who set bad examples.
True martyrs died for causes they believed in. We remember them because they were so full of energy and spirit. Recovery helps us live better. Let’s go for it!
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thanks for giving me energy and for healing my spirit. Help me live fully by putting my life in Your care.
Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrecovery
PRAYER
“Prayer is not asking. It is a language of the soul.”
“Prayer is not asking. It is a language of the soul.”
– Mohandas Gandhi
At school I was told that prayer is “talking to God”. Then I discovered that prayer is more than this — prayer is a relationship with God. It is a two-way system — I talk to God but I must also listen to Him. Like any relationship that is going to work and grow, it needs time. I must spend time developing my relationship with God. I must create an awareness of his presence in my life because I believe He is always there for me.
But more than this, prayer is a yearning for truth within the center of my being. In prayer I get in touch with that part of me that will be forever restless until it finds rest, eternal rest, in Him.
Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
A Day At A Time #essentialsofrecovery
Reflection For The Day
At the suggestion of a long-timer in The Program, I began taking “recovery inventories” periodically. The results showed me — clearly and unmistakeably — that the promises of The Program have been true for me. I am not the sick person I was in years past; I am no longer bankrupt in all areas; I have a new life and a path to follow, and I’m at peace with myself most of the time. And that’s far way from the time in my life when I dreaded facing each new day. Perhaps we should all write recovery inventories from time to time, showing how The Program is working for each of us. Just for today, will I try to sow faith where there is fear?
Today I Pray
God, let me compare my new life with the old one — just to see how things have changed for me. May I make progress reports for myself now and then — and for those who are newer to The Program. May these reports be — heartrendingly — about “what I am doing” rather than — smug — about “what I have done.”
Today I Will Remember
Has The Program kept its promise? Have I kept mine?
At the suggestion of a long-timer in The Program, I began taking “recovery inventories” periodically. The results showed me — clearly and unmistakeably — that the promises of The Program have been true for me. I am not the sick person I was in years past; I am no longer bankrupt in all areas; I have a new life and a path to follow, and I’m at peace with myself most of the time. And that’s far way from the time in my life when I dreaded facing each new day. Perhaps we should all write recovery inventories from time to time, showing how The Program is working for each of us. Just for today, will I try to sow faith where there is fear?
Today I Pray
God, let me compare my new life with the old one — just to see how things have changed for me. May I make progress reports for myself now and then — and for those who are newer to The Program. May these reports be — heartrendingly — about “what I am doing” rather than — smug — about “what I have done.”
Today I Will Remember
Has The Program kept its promise? Have I kept mine?
Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
Elder’s Meditation of the Day #essentialsofrecovery
“Even the trees have spirits – everything has a spirit.”
–Mary Hayes, CLAYOQUOT
The trees are great teachers. The trees are great listeners. That is why we should meditate in their presence. The Great spirit is in every rock, every animal, every human being and in every tree. The Great Spirit has been in some trees for hundreds of years. Therefore, the trees have witnessed and heard much. The trees are the Elders of the Elders. Their spirits are strong and very healing.
Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
The Eye Opener #essentialsofrecovery
Everyone is potentially as good as God made him, and the reason that he does not show it is because he has buried the fact beneath a mountain of selfishness.
It has ever been man’s misdirected efforts to benefit himself and himself alone that have resulted in his greatest disservice to himself.
The closer man gets to himself, the further away he is from God and the world. The further he is away from God and the world, the further away he is from God’s blessings and the world’s happiness.
Copyright Hazelden Foundation
It has ever been man’s misdirected efforts to benefit himself and himself alone that have resulted in his greatest disservice to himself.
The closer man gets to himself, the further away he is from God and the world. The further he is away from God and the world, the further away he is from God’s blessings and the world’s happiness.
Copyright Hazelden Foundation
Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
The Eye Opener #essentialsofrecovery
Everyone is potentially as good as God made him, and the reason that he does not show it is because he has buried the fact beneath a mountain of selfishness.
It has ever been man’s misdirected efforts to benefit himself and himself alone that have resulted in his greatest disservice to himself.
The closer man gets to himself, the further away he is from God and the world. The further he is away from God and the world, the further away he is from God’s blessings and the world’s happiness.
Copyright Hazelden Foundation
It has ever been man’s misdirected efforts to benefit himself and himself alone that have resulted in his greatest disservice to himself.
The closer man gets to himself, the further away he is from God and the world. The further he is away from God and the world, the further away he is from God’s blessings and the world’s happiness.
Copyright Hazelden Foundation
Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
Daily Tao / 269 - NATURE
My back is stooped from scholarship,
My eyes are dimmed by history's words.
Surrounded though I may be by learning,
I still cannot compare with nature's perfection.
Learning is a passion shared by many of us. There is a great allure to education and a fascination with the accomplishments of civilization. We go to libraries and museums. We go to exhibits showing the diggings from royal tombs. We are enchanted with new inventions. And yet, if we look out our windows and see a tree in its perfection, or gaze into a tide pool, or watch a cat as it strolls its territory, or see the flash of a blue jay, we can see another order of beauty and intelligence in this life.
The works of humanity cannot compare to the works of nature. The works of civilization lack the balance and refinement of nature. Too many times, our accomplishments are tainted by impure motives : profit, hardship, desire for fame, simple greed. We achieve, but we cannot foresee the results because we are unable to place our actions into a greater context.
Nature is a conglomeration of contending forces, of tooth and claw, venom and perfume, mud and excrement, eggs and bones, lightning and lava. It seems chaotic. It seems terrible. And yet, for all its unfathomable workings, it far surpasses the business of our society.
Think about what you do. How much of it can compare to the perfection of nature?
Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
Daily Zen #essentialsofrecovery
He who treads the Path in earnest Sees not the mistakes of the world; If we find fault with others We ourselves are also in the wrong.
- The Sutra of Hui Neng
- The Sutra of Hui Neng
Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)