Daily Dose Of Emmet Fox

Up Till Now

It is sometimes said: "What is the use of treatment? Up till now my treatments have produced very little result." the answer to this is that in very many cases treatment has produced extraordinary and dramatic results. "It has subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, turned the edge of the sword, out of weakness made strength, and turned to fight the armies of hell," not only in Bible times, but in our own age and day.

If it is objected that one treatment or one week of treatment does not make the complete and final demonstration, that, apparently, one will be required to go on praying all his life, this is perfectly true. We are required to go on praying all our lives. But it may be added that as we progress in the quality of our prayers, they will not be a burden, but a joy and a refreshment--and in any case, there is no other way.

It is also said, and it is perfectly true, that in some cases there is very little result to show for treatment; but this only means either that the patient or his healer has not been treating in the right way (and this is to be remedied by praying for guidance); or that the difficulty is very deeply seated in consciousness and is requiring more treatment than has yet been given.
Because one does not yet see a result it does not at all follow that no work has been done. But in any cases, the remedy is still--more treatment, because there is simply not any other way out of trouble.


The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble (Psalm 9:9).



Fox, Emmet (2010-09-07). Stake Your Claim: Exploring the Gold Mine Within (pp. 83-84). Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition. 

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Daily Dose Of Emmet Fox #essentialsofrecovery

God is life. I understand that and express it. God is perfect Truth. I understand that and express it. God is Love. I understand that and express it. I radiate thoughts of love and peace and healing to the whole universe. If anyone has ever injured me or done me any harm, I fully and freely forgive that person now, and the thing is done forever. I go free.

Emmet Fox 

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Daily Reflections #essentialsofrecovery

FREEDOM FROM FEAR

When, with God’s help, we calmly accepted our lot, then we found we could live at peace with ourselves and show others who still suffered the same fears that they could get over them, too. We found that freedom from fear was more important than freedom from want. 

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 122

Material values ruled my life for many years during my active alcoholism. I believed that all of my possessions would make me happy, yet I still felt bankrupt after I obtained them. When I first came into A. A., I found out about a new way of living. As a result of learning to trust others, I began to believe in a power greater than myself. Having faith freed me from the bondage of self. As material gains were replaced by the gifts of the spirit, my life became manageable. I then chose to share my experiences with other alcoholics. 

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Just For Today #essentialsofrecovery

Going Beyond Step Five

“We may think that we have done enough by writing about our past. We cannot afford this mistake.” 

Basic Text p.32

Some of us aren’t too keen on writing out our Fourth Step; others take it to an obsessive extreme. To our sponsor’s growing dismay, we inventory ourselves again and again. We discover everything there is to know about why we were the way we were. We have the idea that thinking, writing, and talking about our past is enough. We hear none of our sponsor’s suggestions to become entirely ready to have our defects removed or make amends for the harm we’ve caused. We simply write more about those defects and delightedly share our fresh insights. Finally, our worn-out sponsor withdraws from us in self-defense.

Extreme as this scenario may seem, many of us have found ourselves in just such a situation. Thinking, writing, and talking about what was wrong with us made us feel like we had it all under control. Sooner or later, however, we realized we were stuck in our problems, the solutions nowhere in sight. We knew that, if we wanted to live differently, we would have to move on beyond Step Five in our program. We began to seek the willingness to have a Higher Power remove the character defects of which we’d become so intensely aware. We made amends for the destruction we had caused others in acting out on those defects. Only then did we begin to experience the freedom of an awakening spirit. Today, we’re no longer victims; we are free to move on in our recovery.

Just for today: Although necessary, Steps Four and Five alone will not bring about emotional and spiritual recovery. I will take them, and then I will act on them. 

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrecovery

A.A. Thought For The Day

Step One is, “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol–that our lives had become unmanageable.”

This step states the membership requirement of A.A. We must admit that our lives are disturbed. We must accept the fact that we are helpless before the power of alcohol. We must admit that we are licked as far as drinking is concerned and that we need help. We must be willing to accept the bitter fact that we cannot drink like normal people. And we must make, as gracefully as possible, a surrender to the inevitable fact that we just stop drinking. Is it difficult for me to admit that I am different from normal drinkers?

Meditation For The Day

“Show us the way, O Lord, and let us walk in Thy paths.” There seems to be a right way to live and a wrong way. You can make a practical test. When you live the right way, things seem to work out well for you. When you live the wrong way, things seem to work out badly for you. You seem to take out of life about what you put into it. If you disobey the laws of nature, the chances are that you will be unhealthy. If you disobey the spiritual and moral laws, the chances are that you will be unhappy. By following the laws of nature, and the spiritual laws of honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love, you can expect to be reasonably healthy and happy.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may try to live the right way. I pray that I may follow the path that leads to a better life. 

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As Bill Sees It #essentialsofrecovery

Servant, Not Master, p.259

In A.A., we found that it did not matter too much what our material condition was, but it mattered greatly what our spiritual condition was. As we improved our spiritual outlook, money gradually became our servant and not our master. It became a means of exchanging love and services with those about us.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

One of A.A.’s Loners is an Austrian sheepman who lives two thousand miles from the nearest town, where yearly he sells his wool. In order to be paid the best prices he has to get to town during a certain month. But when he heard that a big regional A.A. meeting was to be held at a later date when wool prices would have fallen, he gladly took heavy financial loss in order to make his journey then. That’s how much an A.A. meeting means to him.

1. 12 & 12, p.122
2. A.A. Comes Of Age, p.31 

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Walk In Dry Places #essentialsofrecovery

The world will recover
Belief

If our recovery program is working properly, an amazing thing can happen. Instead of being the bad actors of society, we become people who can be considered solid citizens in every way.. So square that we might even have sharp corners.

We might then start becoming critical of the world in general. “I’ve recovered, so why does the rest of the world have to be the way it is?” A person might say. “Why don’t other people do something about their resentments and fears, just as I have?”

In asking such a question, we’re already in danger of becoming self-righteous. We can remember, however, that our Higher Power has the same concern for others that was shown to us. By the grace of God, and in God’s own good time, the world can and will recover.
I’ll remember today that God is in charge of the world and will set all things straight, just as I was brought to recovery. 

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Keep It Simple #essentialsofrecovery

It is better to be wanted too much than not a all.

—Anonymous

It may seem that so many people want our time and love. Parents say we don’t call often enough. Children demand our time. Our partners say we’re gone to much. Our sponsor tells us to check in more often.

When we feel off balance by all these people, we need to stop and rest. We need to remember how lonely we were when we were using. No one wanted our time and love then! Now we’re important to others again.

You can handle all this by giving people what they need and ask for, within reason—not what you think they need, which may be way too much. Maybe you need Al-Anon, to learn to love others while taking care of yourself.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me put my time and energy to best use today. Help me find the balance I need between work, play, loving others, and self-care.

Action for the Day: When I feel I have to give too much today, I’ll stop and ask my Higher Power for guidance.

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Father Leo’s Daily Meditation

PEOPLE-PLEASING


“I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is try to please everybody.”

– Herbert Bayard Swope

Part of my recovery is not that I never “people-please” but that I know when I am doing it . . . and I am doing it less!

My low self-esteem was revealed in the way I would say what I felt you wanted to hear, do what you wanted to do, go where you wanted to go — and for years I missed me. For years I missed my life because I was preoccupied with other people. And I wasn’t honest. I hated being that way but I wouldn’t admit it. Now I see that my guilt around my addiction led me into this sick cycle, and recovery is taking me out of it. Today I say “I don’t want to go.” “I don’t agree with what you are saying.” “I refuse to do that.”

My dignity is being discovered in my straight forwardness.

God, may I have the courage to share my true feelings. 

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

In a letter to a friend, AA co-founder Bill W. wrote, “I don’t think happiness or unhappiness is the point. How do we meet the problems we face? How do we best learn from them and transmit what we have learned to others, if they would receive the knowledge? In my view, we of this owrld are pupils in a great school of life. It is intended that we try to grow, and that we try to help our fellow travelers to grow in the kind of love that makes no demands…When pain comes, we are expected to learn from it willingly, and help others to learn. When happiness comes, we accept it as a gift, and thank God for it.” Can I accept both pain and happiness willingly?

Today I Pray

God, please help me remember that everything that happens to me has its worth, including the misery of addiction. May I believe that even my dependency was part of God’s Grand Scheme to bring me to Him.

Today I Will Remember

All that I am is all that has happened to me. 

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One Day At A Time

AGING


“We turn, not older with years, but newer every day.”

–Emily Dickinson

Until I found Program, I used to think that being young was good and that being old was undignified. But working the 12 Steps helped me find the natural wisdom that comes from living over time without practicing addiction.

Now that I’m middle-aged, I feel a power, wisdom and dignity I’ve never felt before. Youth was good. This is good, too. For me, in fact, it’s better. I know myself at last. I have so many more resources inside me. I am grateful to be in my middle years.

As I get older, I seem to be getting more innocent. I no longer need to fit in, please others, or do things just because everyone else is doing them.

Somehow this has cleared my vision and it is easier for me to see and appreciate things the way they really are.

In the end, it is easier every day to see myself for who I really am and to accept and love myself.

One day at a time…
I am willing to be innocent and new; to go wherever my Higher Power leads me next.

~ Juno V. 

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Elder’s Meditation of the Day

“The old people must start talking and the young people must start listening.”

–Thomas Banyacya, HOPI

We are at a critical time in transferring cultural knowledge, spiritual ways. During the last few years the young people have not been interested in learning the old ways. The only place this knowledge is found is among the Elders. We must encourage the young to visit with the Elders. The adults need to think also about learning the culture. The Elders are getting old and soon will go to the other side. Each of us must pause and think about our individual responsibility to learn the culture and teach this to our young.

Great Spirit, help us to learn and remember the old ways. 

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Today’s Gift #essentialsofrecovery

The universe is transformation; our life is what our thoughts make it.

— Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

It’s awesome, the power we each wield in the life that unfolds before us. The inclination of our thoughts invites that which we encounter, which is that which we expect to find. What we can become or experience is limited only by our imagination. Our dreams shine like beacons in the dimness of our minds.

Just as our thoughts can nurture positive experiences and outcomes, negative episodes might be drawn to us, too. We can be sure, though, that we use this individual power to create the flavor of each day as it’s met.

Our attitude is the by-product of our thoughts. It is in our attitude that we discover strength or weakness, hope or anxiety, determination or frustration. Alone, we determine whether our attitude will be loving or jaundiced.

The breadth of personal power is awesome. Today will be what I choose to make it. No more and no less.

From the book:

The Promise of a New Day by Karen Casey and Martha Vanceburg 

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The Eye Opener

Many people in AA take too literally the statement they hear to the effect “we have no initiation fee or dues.”

Alcoholics Anonymous is not free – it costs a whale of a lot. It takes your time, your money, your thoughts, your prayers. It will give you a lot every day of your life, but it also requires a lot of your everyday living.

If you are stingy with AA, you are cheating yourself.

If you want a horse to work for you, you must feed him.

Copyright Hazelden Foundation   

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Daily Tao / 260 – Stimulation

Sex, coffee, liquor, and cigarettes
Are the totems of today.
Stimulation has replaced feeling.

In today’s world, these are the unfortunate equations :

Do you want intimacy? Have sex.
Do you want to be energetic? Drink coffee.
Do you want freedom from inhibitions? Drink wine.
Do you want a fashionable prop? Smoke cigarettes.

Why is it that these things have replaced what should naturally be done? Because people have lost the knowledge of how to do these things without artificial stimulation. Why not seek intimacy through sensitivity? Energy through good health? If we overcome our obstacles, we won’t need inhibition. Pretension will fall away. Only then will there be a blossoming of Tao. 

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Daily Zen

The fool who thinks he is a fool is for that very reason a wise man;
But the fool who thinks he is a wise man is rightly called a fool.

-Dhammapada 63
From "365 Buddha: Daily Meditations," edited by Jeff Schmidt. 

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