Essentials Of Recovery : October 2018

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.

Wednesday 31 October 2018

Big Book - Alcoholics Anonymous -ACCEPTANCE WAS THE ANSWER - p. 419

- The physician wasn’t hooked, he thought–he just prescribed drugs medically indicated for his many ailments. Acceptance was his key to liberation. Today Max and I try to communicate what we feel rather than what we think. We used to argue about our differing ideas, but we can’t argue about our feelings. I can tell her she ought not to think a certain way, but I certainly can’t take away her right to feel however she does feel. When we deal in feelings, we tend to come to know ourselves and each other much better.

Big Book - Alcoholics Anonymous -ACCEPTANCE WAS THE ANSWER - p. 419

Bob. L. - A.A. Big Book Speaker

Daily Dose Of Emmet Fox #essentialsofrecovery

The birth of that marvelous wish in your soul -- the dawning of that secret dream -- was the Voice of God Himself telling you to arise and come up higher because He has need of you.
~Emmet Fox

DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrecovery

AVOIDING CONTROVERSY

All history affords us the spectacle of striving nations and groups finally torn asunder because they were designed for, or tempted into, controversy. Others fell apart because of sheer self-righteousness while trying to enforce upon the rest of mankind some millennium of their own specification.

~ TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 176 ~

As an A.A. member and sponsor, I know I can cause real damage if I yield to temptation and give opinions and advice on another’s medical, marital, or religious problems. I am not a doctor, counselor, or lawyer. I cannot tell anyone how he or she should live; however, I can share how I came through similar situations without drinking, and how A.A.’s Steps and Traditions help me in dealing with my life.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc.

DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrecovery

Just For Today #essentialsofrecovery

Our Relationship With A Higher Power

“Ongoing recovery is dependent on our relationship with a loving God who cares for us and will do for us what we find impossible to do for ourselves.”

Basic Text, p.96

Working the Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous gives us a fresh start in life and some guidance for living in the world. But the steps are more than a fresh start. When we do our best to work the steps, we develop a relationship with our personal Higher Power.

In the Third Step, we decide to allow a loving God to influence our lives. Much of the courage, trust, and willingness we need to continue through the succeeding steps comes from this decision. In the Seventh Step, we go even further by asking this Higher Power to change our lives. The Eleventh Step is a way for us to improve the relationship.

Recovery is a process of growth and change in which our lives are renewed. The Twelve Steps are the roadmap, the specific directions we take in order to continue in recovery. But the support we need to proceed with each step comes from our faith in a Higher Power, the belief that all will be well. Faith gives us courage to act. Each step we work is supported by our relationship with a loving God.

Just for today: I will remember that the source of my courage and willingness is my relationship with my Higher Power.

Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrecovery

A.A. Thought For The Day

When I came into A.A., was I a desperate person? Did I have a soul-sickness? Was I so sick of myself and my way of living that I couldn’t stand looking at myself in a mirror? Was I ready for A.A.? Was I ready to try anything that would help me to get sober and to get over my soul-sickness? Should I ever forget the condition I was in?

Meditation For The Day

In the new year, I will live one day at a time. I will make each day one of preparation for better things ahead. I will not dwell on the past or the future, only on the present. I will bury every fear of the future, all thoughts of unkindness and bitterness, all my dislikes, my resentments, my sense of failure, my disappointments in others and in myself, my gloom and my despondency. I will leave all these things buried and go forward, in this new year, into a new life.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that God will guide me one day at a time in the new year. I pray that for each day, God will supply the wisdom and the strength that I need.

AS BILL SEES IT

Single Purpose

There are those who predict that A.A. may well become a new spearhead for a spiritual awakening throughout the world. When our friends say these things, they are both generous and sincere. But we of A.A. must reflect that such a tribute and such a prophecy could well prove to be a heady drink for most of us—that is, if we really came to believe this to be the real purpose of A.A., and if we commenced to behave accordingly.

Our Society, therefore, will prudently cleave to its single purpose: the carrying of the message to the alcoholic who still suffers. Let us resist the proud assumption that since God has enabled us to do well in one area we are destined to be a channel of saving grace for everybody.

~ A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 232 ~

Copyright © 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc.

AS BILL SEES IT

Single Purpose

There are those who predict that A.A. may well become a new spearhead for a spiritual awakening throughout the world. When our friends say these things, they are both generous and sincere. But we of A.A. must reflect that such a tribute and such a prophecy could well prove to be a heady drink for most of us—that is, if we really came to believe this to be the real purpose of A.A., and if we commenced to behave accordingly.

Our Society, therefore, will prudently cleave to its single purpose: the carrying of the message to the alcoholic who still suffers. Let us resist the proud assumption that since God has enabled us to do well in one area we are destined to be a channel of saving grace for everybody.

~ A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 232 ~

Copyright © 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc.

WALK IN DRY PLACES #essentialsofrecovery

BE STILL—FOR A WHILE, ANYHOW

God’s will for us

The bible reminds us: “Be still, and know that I am God.” What does this say to the recovering alcoholic who is struggling against a tidal wave of problems?

It must be a reminder that our true place and right work is part of a great purpose, though we may still not know who we fit into the larger plan. We can know, however, that God’s plan will include peaceful actions, just and moral solutions, and results that are wholly beneficial to all concerned.

One does not have to be a theologian to decide that staying sober is part of God’s will for us. That’s why we can expect the support of Higher Power at all times, even when we feel fearful and abused.

Aside from staying sober, each of us will have individual work and responsibilities in life. We should be careful not to measure anyone’s success—including our own—against worldly standards. If God is in charge, wherever we are and whatever we happen to be doing can a part of the divine will.

In keeping sober today, I’ll know that I’m carrying out God’s will. I’ll also be open to unexpected opportunities to carry out God’s directions.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation

KEEP IT SIMPLE

A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it is committing another mistake.

~ Confucius ~

Step Ten tell us that when we are wrong, we must “promptly” admit it. We aren’t used to admitting our mistakes. We defend ourselves and blame others. This is call denial.

Denial is bad for two reasons. First, it keeps from learning from our mistakes, so we keep making them. Second, we don’t listen to others, so we close ourselves and become lonely.

What a relief it is to admit our wrongs! We don’t have to keep trying to do things the hard way. We can learn new way to think and act that will work better for us. We can let other people be our teachers.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me out of denial, so I can see the changes I need to make.

Action for the Day

Today, If I disagree with someone, I’ll promptly admit when I’m wrong. If I’m right, I’ll be gentle. I don’t have to prove anything.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation

Father Leo’s Daily Meditation

SAINTS/SINNERS

“Every saint has a past and every sinner a future.”

— Oscar Wilde

I must not allow the painful things of my past to affect what I can do today. Guilt is a killer if I allow it power in my life. I have made my amends. I have apologized to those I hurt. Today I begin the rest of my life.

Alcoholism produces behavior that causes guilt and shame. In this sense it is different from so many other diseases. The shame and guilt I felt for years grew out of my alcoholic behavior and I need to remember that I am not responsible for being alcoholic. It is not my fault. However, with the knowledge and acceptance of the disease comes a determination to live responsibly. I have a sense of responsibility in my recovery. Spirituality involves being a responsible person. The awareness and acceptance of my past can help create a loving future.

Today I understand that in the failures of the past are sown the seeds of greatness.

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

If I’m to continue growing in The Program, I must literally “get wise to myself.” I must remember that for most of my life I’ve been terribly self-deceived. The sin of pride has been at the root of most of my self-deception, usually masquerading under the guise of some virtue. I must work continually to uncover pride in all its subtle forms, lest it stop me in my tracks and push me backward once again to the brink of disaster. When it comes to pride, do I believe, in Emerson’s words, that “it is impossible for a man to be cheated by anyone but himself…?”

Today I Pray

May I know that button-popping pride is inappropriate for me as a recovering addict. It hides my faults for me. It turns people off and gets in the way of my helping others. It halts my progress because it makes me think I’ve done enough self-searching and I’m “cured.” I pray to my Higher Power that I may be realistic enough to accept my success in The Program without giving in to pride.

Today I Will Remember

Pride halts progress.

One Day At A Time

SERVICE

“Service is the rent that you pay for room on this earth.””

~ Shirley Chisholm ~

Midway through my first fourth step someone asked me to sponsor her. I was thrilled and eager to share my experience, strength and hope. As my work with my sponsee progressed, something began to happen in my own program. All that I had learned and was sharing with my sponsee reminded me of where I came from and how far I had progressed. I found that my recovery was strengthened through this process of giving away my experiences in program. This service allowed me to keep what I had received.

It is vital for me that I serve the program of OA in all different manners: as a sponsor; as a leader of a step meeting; as treasurer of a local meeting; and by reaching out to newcomers, people in relapse, and others in the OA fellowship. The more I give, the more I receive.

One day at a time…

I will give service to the OA fellowship so that I may remain in recovery.
~ Cindi L ~

Elder’s Meditation of the Day #essentialsofrecovery

"One is not born a Tewa but rather one is made a Tewa … once made, one has to work hard continuously throughout one’s life to remain a Tewa.”

-Alfonso Ortiz, SAN JUAN PUEBLO
Being Indian is being spiritual.
It is not the color of our skin.
Being Indian is how we think.
We need to learn our culture, our language, our dances, our traditions, and customs.

It is one thing to know these things, but another to live them.
We need to spend time with the Elders and get their guidance.
We need to go to the mountains, woods, and desert to pray.
Being spiritual is the way for us to think right.
Walking the Red Road and thinking right is the greatest gift we can give to our children.

Grandfather, help me to Walk the Talk.

Today's Gift

The only sense that is common in the long run is the sense of change – and we all instinctively avoid it.
—E. B. White

Nature reveals to us a world that is always changing. No two sunsets are alike. Winter brings invigorating days while spring brings new buds and blossoms every day. Summer brings lazy warmth and star-filled evenings while fall brings crisp afternoons and a sense of nostalgia.

Even though nature shows us a constantly changing world, we often resist the changes in our own lives. Changes can be both hard and sad, yet they are a part of life. Perhaps we are moving on to a new school or a new neighborhood, or perhaps we are feeling the changes that come with a divorce in the family.

With every change we say a sad goodbye to something old, something familiar – in the same way we feel sadness for summer’s end when the first leaves begin to fall. Yet every change also offers us the excitement and potential of a new season – with its own opportunity for new smells, special gifts, and invigorating days.

How have I changed today?

The Eye Opener #essentialsofrecovery

One day, not too long ago, you lost everything in the world you held dear, then a man sat down with you and he gave you friendship, understanding, faith, hope, courage and opportunity. Have you ever realized the great value of what this man gave you? These were the tools with which you made a new and better life.

Someone did this for you, so “go and do thou likewise.”

Copyright Hazelden Foundation

Daily Tao / 294 – Sitting

Cat sits in the sun.
Dog sits in the grass.
Turtle sits on the rock.
Frog sits on the lily pad.
Why aren't people so smart?

Those who follow Tao are fond of pointing out the wisdom of animals. When they see a cat sitting motionless in the sun or a turtle who stretches her head upward in a still pose, they say that these animals are meditating. They know how to be still and conserve their internal energy. They do not dissipate themselves in useless activity but instead withdraw into themselves to recharge.

It is only people who label meditation as some sort of odd religious activity. This is not the actual case. Something like meditation happens when we sleep, or when we are absorbed in reading a book, or when we “daydream” and become so lost in a thought or an image that we do not notice what is going on around us.

There is no reason to think of meditation as something out of the ordinary. Quite the opposite. Meditation is the purest and most natural expression we can have. When you next look at a cat or a dog sitting still, and admire the naturalness of their actions, think then of your own life. Don’t meditate because it is a part of your schedule or is demanded by your particular philosophy. Meditate because this is natural.

Daily Zen #essentialsofrecovery

Listen to the sound of water. Listen to the water running through chasms and rocks. It is the minor streams that make a loud noise; the great waters flow silently.

The hollow resounds and the full is still. Foolishness is like a half-filled pot; the wise man is a lake full of water.

-Sutta Nipata

Tuesday 30 October 2018

Daily Dose OF Emmet Fox #essentialsofrecovery

“The present moment is never intolerable. It is always what is coming in five minutes or five days that makes people despair. The Law of Life is to live in the present, and this applies to both time and place. Keep your attention to the present moment, and in the place where your body is now. Do a fair day’s work, and then stop. Overwork is not productive in the long run.”

~Emmet Fox

Daily Reflections #essentialsofrecovery

A. A.’S “MAIN TAPROOT”

The principle that we shall find no enduring strength until we first admit complete defeat is the main taproot from which our whole Society has sprung and flowered.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 21-22

Defeated, and knowing it, I arrived at the doors of A.A., alone and afraid of the unknown. A power outside of myself had picked me up off my bed, guided me to the phone book, then to the bus stop, and through the doors of Alcoholics Anonymous. Once inside A.A. I experienced a sense of being loved and accepted, something I had not felt since early childhood. May I never lose the sense of wonder I experienced on that first evening with A.A., the greatest event of my entire life.

JUST FOR TODAY #essentialsofrecovery

Courage

“Our newly found faith serves as a firm foundation for courage in the future.”

~ Basic Text, p.93 ~

Narcotics Anonymous is no place for the faint of heart! Facing life on life’s terms without the use of drugs isn’t always easy. Recovery requires more than hard work; it requires a liberal dose of courage.

What is courage, anyway? A quick look at a dictionary will tell us. We have courage when we face and deal with anything that we think of as difficult, dangerous, or painful, rather than withdrawing from it. Courage means being brave; having a purpose; having spirit. So what is courage, really? Courage is an attitude, one of perseverance.

That’s what an addict in recovery really needs – perseverance. We make that commitment to stick with our program, to avoid using, no matter what happens. A courageous addict is one who doesn’t use, one day at a time, no matter what. And what gives us courage? A relationship with a Higher Power gives us the strength and the courage to stay clean. We know that, so long as we are in our God’s care, we will have the power we need to face life on its own terms.

Just for today: I have a Higher Power who cares for me, no matter what. Knowing that, I will strive to have an attitude of courage today.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc.

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY #essentialsofrecovery

A.A. Thought for the Day

I have real friends, where I had none before. My drinking companions could hardly be called my real friends, though when drunk we seemed to have the closest kind of friendship. My idea of friendship has changed. Friends are no longer people whom I can use for my own pleasure or profit. Friends are now people who understand me and I them, whom I can help and who can help me to live a better life. I have learned not to hold back and wait for friends to come to me, but to go half way and to be met half way, openly and freely. Does friendship have new meaning for me?

Meditation for the Day

There is a time for everything. We should learn to wait patiently until the right time comes. Easy does it. We waste our energies in trying to get things before we are ready to have them, before we have earned the right to receive them. A great lesson we have to learn is how to wait with patience. We can believe that all our life is a preparation for something better to come when we have earned the right to it. We can believe that God has a plan for our lives and that this plan will work out in the fullness of time.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may learn the lesson of waiting patiently. I pray that I may not expect things until I have earned the right to have them.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

AS BILL SEES IT #essentialsofrecovery

Loving Advisers

Had I not been blessed with wise and loving advisers, I might have cracked up long ago. A doctor once saved me from death by alcoholism because he obliged me to face up to the deadlines of that malady. Another doctor, a psychiatrist, later on helped me save my sanity because he led me to ferret out some of my deep-lying defects. From a clergyman I acquired the truthful principles by which we A.A.’s now try to live.

But these precious friends did far more than supply me with their professional skills. I learned that I could go to them with any problem whatever. Their wisdom and their integrity were mine for the asking.

Many of my dearest A.A. friends have stood with me in exactly this same relation. Oftentimes they could help where others could not, simply because they were A.A.’s.

~ GRAPEVINE, AUGUST 1961 ~

Copyright © 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc.

WALK IN DRY PLACES #essentialsofrecovery

WHO IS A WINNER?

Staying Sober

Newcomers in AA are urged to “stick with the winners.” But who is a winner?

A winner in AA is one who finds sobriety and represents principles that help others find and maintain sobriety. Any person who can help others is a winner.

The losers are people who don’t make enough of a commitment to find and maintain sobriety. It may not be their fault. On the other hand, some losers eventually become winners.

It is not our purpose to apply ratings to various individuals, whether they’re winner or losers. We must know, however, that we cannot benefit from the suggestions of people who do not stay sober. We are looking for the path of recovery, not the road to ruin. The winners are people who can help us in our recovery.

I’ll spend as much time as possible with people who want to stay sober. I have no intention of joining anyone on the road to ruin.
© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation

KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrecovery

The universe is full of magical things waiting for our wits to grow sharper.

~ Eden Phillpots

How nice to have the fog lifted! Sobriety lets our wits grow sharper. We can go after our dreams and ideas. We can listen to music and sing. We are part of the magic of the universe. At times we may not feel very magical, but we are. Our spirits hold much magic. Sobriety is magic. We work at making the world a better place. In doing so, we get magical powers. Power that heals and comfort others. Powers to understand things that before we could not. Powers that let us see the world as we’ve never seen it. Enjoy the magic and use your powers wisely!

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, let Your magic enter and fill my heart.

Action for the Day

I’ll list four magical powers I have from being sober.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation

Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrecovery

FOOD

“Seeing is deceiving. It’s eating that’s believing.”

— James Thurber

It may seem strange to many but for years my belief system revolved around my eating. I believed that if I could eat I would be okay. Food for me was both the pleasure and escape. I lived to eat. Feelings, good and bad, were surrounded and stuffed down with food. Some people drank to hide, used cocaine to escape — I ate to avoid the problems in my life.

Seeing was deceiving for me because I refused to accept the reality of my eating. I covered myself with clothes, avoided the beach, rarely looked at my body. I saw only what I wanted to see — and I was dying. Now I choose to face reality. This for me is the meaning of spirituality. I choose to show my love for me by loving my food, making choices around what I eat and eating slowly. Today I choose to talk about my problems, rather than eat them.
God, help me to accept my daily bread with gratitude and abstinence.

A DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrecovery

Reflection for the Day

When I’m motivated by pride—by bondage of self—I become partly or even wholly blind to my liabilities and shortcomings. At that point, the last thing I need is comfort. Instead, I need an understanding friend in the Program—one who knows where I’m at—a friend who’ll unhesitatingly chop a hole through the wall my ego has built so that the light of reason can once again shine through. Do I take time to review my progress, to spot-check myself on a daily basis, and to promptly try to remedy my wrongs?

Today I Pray

God I pray that the group—or just one friend—will be honest enough to see my slippery manifestations of pride and brave enough to tell me about them. My self-esteem was starved for so long, that with my first successes in the Program, it may swell to the gross proportions of self-satisfaction. May a view from outside myself give me a true picture of how I am handling the triumph of my sobriety—with humility or with pride.

Today I Will Remember

Self-esteem or self-satisfaction?

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

ONE DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrecovery

Truth

“The truth that makes men free is for the most part
the truth which men prefer not to hear.”

~ Herbert Agar ~

I spent thirty-five years of my adult life running from the truth. It wasn’t until I came to OA and began to work through the Twelve Steps that I had enough emotional support to turn and face the truth. What is my truth? I am a food addict.

Once I was able to face and accept that truth, surrender to my Higher Power was immediate. At long last I was free of cravings, free of bingeing, and free of obsessive food thoughts. That freedom allowed me to work toward the goal of becoming the person I had always wanted to be.

The way I see it, I can be an addict in recovery or I can be an addict in hell. I choose recovery.

One day at a time…

I will seek the truth in my life by working the program of recovery.

~ Cindi L ~

ELDER MEDITATION OF THE DAY #essentialsofrecovery

“My children, you have forgotten the customs and traditions of your forefathers. …You have bought guns, knives, kettles, and blankets from the white man until you can no longer do without them; and what is worse you have drunk the poison firewater, which turns you into fools. Fling all these things away; live as your forefathers did before you.”

~ Pontiac, ODOWA ~

We need to think as our forefathers did. They knew the culture and the customs. The culture taught them how to live in harmony with each other. We need to think like this again. We must because God-reliant. We don’t need the firewater. This liquid is very destructive to our native people. It kills our spirit. Our Indian people are happiest when we are spiritual. When we depend on anyone or anything else, we get off track. We need to talk to the Elders and find out what the old ways were. We need to ask them to teach us the culture, the tradition and the customs. This will help us become whole again.

My Maker, guide my path as you did my ancestors.

Today's Gift #essentialsofrecovery

When a person is concerned only with giving, there is no anxiety.

— Gerald Jampolsky

Whatever we give away returns to us, many-fold. When we show love or understanding, when we are gentle or express genuine concern, usually the same will come right back to us. Perhaps not in kind, maybe not in ways we expected, nevertheless our gifts bear fruit.

Many of us have longed for love and security to come from others with a promise of forever; inevitably, we became anxious that, in time, that love or security would disappear. When we view life from such a narrow perspective, no amount of love can bolster our sense of worth.

How different the world looks when we unselfishly give out love rather than longingly await the love, attention, or understanding of others. We guarantee receiving the good feelings we crave every time we share those feelings with a fellow traveler.

I am in charge of what I receive from others today. I will get back what I willingly give.

From the book:

In God’s Care by Karen Casey

The Eye Opener #essentialsofrecovery

Each and every one of us have what we have only by the Grace of God. Even if we acquired all our possessions through our own industry and intelligence, still you must admit that you gave yourself none of these attributes that made your acquisition possible.

These were not necessarily inherited traits, for geniuses have had morons for children. You have what you have because God so willed it, so use them as God would will it.

Copyright Hazelden Foundation

Daily Tao / 302 – Aging

Mist and snow blot out the world.
Bony trees are thinly fleshed with ice.
A couple laughs below a stone monument,
But behind a bristled hedge,
A cloaked woman sings a dirge.
Old age is lonely.
Dreams of those I’ve buried haunt me.
Was I ever ready to shoulder this mantle?
It smothered a carefree youth.
Now neither parent, lover, nor friends have I,
And great fame is as distant as spring’s leaves.
Dear youth, do you ever think of getting old? If you did, then you might value your time even more. Dear oldster, do you ever think of your past? Of course you do. You wonder if you did the right things.

How ironic this life is! What a tremendous bind we are born into! When young, we do not understand the dreariness of old age. When we are old, we are not permitted to go back in time. When vitality flows freely, we haven’t enough wisdom. When we have gained wisdom, fate has made us too weak to take action.

Oh, I know. The purpose of following Tao is to be well adjusted. The secret of Tao is to know how to pass into old age gracefully. Yes, I know. But may I not still reflect on the poignancy of it all?

To be fully human is to know resignation.

Daily Zen

When we realize that we are forced to change positions because of pain, we should question further to find out if there are other reasons. If the answer is that we change because we want to be comfortable, this is incorrect. It is incorrect because it is a distortion of happiness. The correct answer is that we change in order to "cure" the pain. We do not change to acquire happiness. The wrong answer comes from misunderstanding, and if we do not have the right comprehension when we change positions, defilements can and will spring up.

Changing positions to "cure" pain indicates that we have to remedy the situation at all times. We should not misjudge and think that the reason is to attain happiness, since the curing of pain all the time is the same as having to take medicines constantly. It is like nursing a continuous sickness. Thus, we should not look upon nursing sickness and curing pain as being happiness at all.

Achaan Naeb, in Jack Kornfield's Living Dharma

Monday 29 October 2018

Big Book - Alcoholics Anonymous - 4th Edition - A Vision For You, pg. 164

"God will constantly disclose more to you and to us. Ask Him in your morning meditation what you can do each day for the man who is still sick. The answers will come, if your own house is in order. But obviously you cannot transmit something you haven't got. See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for us."

Big Book - Alcoholics Anonymous - 4th Edition - A Vision For You, pg. 164

Cheeky Charlie From Port Adelaide 55 years Sober - Australia #essentialsofrecovery

Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrecovery

A.A. Thought for the Day

My relationships with my children have greatly improved. Those children who saw me drunk and were ashamed, those children who turned away in fear and even loathing have seen me sober and like me, have turned to me in confidence and trust and have forgotten the past as best they could. They have given me a chance for companionship that I had completely missed. I am their father or their mother now. Not just “that person the Mom or Dad married and God knows why.” I am a part of my home now. Have I found something that I had lost?

Meditation for the Day

Our true measure of success in life is the measure of spiritual progress that we have revealed in our lives. Others should be able to see a demonstration of God’s will in our lives. The measure of His will that those around us have seen worked out in our daily living is the measure of our true success. We can do our best to be a demonstration each day of the power of God in human lives, and example of the working out of the grace of God in the hearts of men and women.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may so live that others will see in me something of the working out of the will of God. I pray that my life may be a demonstration of what the grace of God can do.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

Daily Dose OF Emmet Fox #essentialsofrecovery

DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrecovery

OUR SURVIVAL

Since recovery from alcoholism is life itself to us, it is imperative that we preserve in full strength our means of survival.

~ TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 177 ~

The honesty expressed by the members of A.A. in meetings has the power to open my mind. Nothing can block the flow of energy that honesty carries with it. The only obstacle to this flow of energy is inebriation, but even then, no one will find a closed door if he or she has left and chooses to return. Once he or she has received the gift of sobriety, each A.A. member is challenged on a daily basis to accept a program of honesty.

My Higher Power created me for a purpose in life. I ask him to accept my honest efforts to continue on my journey in the spiritual way of life. I call on Him for strength to know and seek His will.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc.

JUST FOR TODAY #essentialsofrecovery

Living in the Now

“Living just for today relieves the burden of the past and the fear of the future.”

~ Basic Text, pp. 90-91 ~

Thoughts of how bad it was – or could be – can consume our hopes for recovery. Fantasies of how wonderful it was – or could be – can divert us from taking action in the real world. That’s why, in Narcotics Anonymous, we talk about living and recovering “just for today.”

In NA, we know that we can change. We’ve come to believe that our Higher Power can restore the soundness of our minds and hearts. The wreckage of our past can be dealt with through the steps. By maintaining our recovery, just for today, we can avoid creating problems in the future.

Life in recovery is no fantasy. Daydreams of how great using was or how we can use successfully in the future, delusions of how great things could be, overblown expectations that set us up for disappointment and relapse – all are stripped of their power by the program. We seek God’s will, not our own. WE seek to serve others, not ourselves. Our self-centeredness and the importance of how great things could or should be for us disappears. In the light of recovery, we perceive the difference between fantasy and reality.

Just for today: I am grateful for the principles of recovery and the new reality they’ve given me.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc.

AS BILL SEES IT #essentialsofrecovery

~ Page 302 ~

Comradeship in Peril

We A.A.’s are like the passengers of a great liner the moment after rescue from shipwreck when camaraderie, joyousness and democracy pervade the vessel from steerage to captain’s table.

Unlike the feelings of the ship’s passengers, however, our joy in escape from disaster does not subside as we go our individual ways. The feeling of having sharing in a common peril—relapse into alcoholism—continues to be an important element in the powerful cement which binds us of A.A. together.

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

Our first woman alcoholic had been a patient of Dr. Harry Tiebout’s, and he had handed her a prepublication manuscript copy of the Big Book. The first reading made her rebellious, but the second convinced. Presently she came to a meeting held in our living room, and from there she returned to the sanitarium carrying this classic message to a fellow patient: “We aren’t alone anymore.”

~ 1. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 17 ~
~ 2. A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 18 ~
Copyright © 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc.

WALK IN DRY PLACES #essentialsofrecovery

DIMINISHING RETURNS ARE STILL BENEFICIAL

Getting better
There’s a “Cloud nine” effect that some of us had when we first found sobriety. Some call it the honeymoon stage. It includes a feeling of great joy and relief over having found, at last, an answer to drinking.

This gradually fades away, as it should under normal conditions. We then feel as though we’re in stages of diminishing returns, where the benefits don’t seem as miraculous, and other improvements in our lives seem to come slowly.

The experience we have in getting sober is like that of people who recovery from a terrible physical illness. At first, they feel remarkably better for the first time. But then their recovery becomes taken for granted, and “feeling better” isn’t as remarkable as it was when they first recovered.

We should not expect it to be. Instead, we can focus on the contentment and well-being that living sober and steady improvement give us.

I may not have anything today like the excitement that accompanied early recovery. I’ll be satisfied with the normal blessings of good living.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation

KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrecovery

Each morning puts a man on trial and each evening passes judgment.

~ Ray L. Smith ~

In many ways, the Tenth Step is very natural. We continue to take a personal inventory. And when we’re wrong, we promptly admit it.

At the end of each day we ask ourselves, “How did my day go?” As we think about our day, we bring order to our life. The Tenth Step teaches us about order. It also teaches us how to correct mistakes. We do this by admitting our wrongs. This way, we have no backlog of guilt. It’s good to start each day fresh, free from quilt. Admitting our wrongs is a loving thing to do. It’s another way the program teaches us to love ourselves.

Prayer for the Day

Today, I’ll face many choices. Higher Power, be with me as I choose. When the day is done, remind me to think about how I lived today. This will help me learn.

Action for the Day

Tonight, I’ll list three choices I made today. Would I make the same choices again?

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation

Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrecovery

RACISM

“I want to be the white man’s brother not his brother-in-law.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

Addiction is always about separation, ego, isolation and prejudice. The disease makes us feel different, “less than” and we cover those feelings with false humility or we assume an arrogant and bombastic manner. Pride and feelings of inferiority put us on the defensive. It is not unusual for us to seek a scapegoat for our anger. Drinking alcoholics can be vindictive and prejudicial in their attitude towards minorities: Blacks, gays and Jews. It is a strange quirk of circumstance when a minority seeks to victimize another minority — because alcoholics are a minority group!

Sobriety is about a change in attitude and behavior. The spiritual acceptance of self must lead inevitably to the acceptance of others. The false pride and arrogance of our drinking days must give way to the vulnerable strength of sobriety. Now we are able to embrace our brother, regardless of color, class or creed.

Lord, teach me to seek You in my fellow man and greet You in the stranger.

A DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrecovery

Reflection for the Day

Virtually all of us suffered the defect of pride when we sought help through the Program, the Twelve Steps, and the fellowship of those who truly understood what we felt and where we had been. We learned about our shortcomings—and of pride in particular—and began to replace self-satisfaction with gratitude for the miracle of our recovery, gratitude for the privilege of working with others, and gratitude for God’s gift, which enabled us to turn catastrophe into good fortune. Have I begun to realize that “pride is to character as the attic to the house—the highest part, and generally the most empty…”?

Today I Pray

God, please tell me if I am banging my shins on my own pride. Luckily for me, the Program has its own built-in check for flaws like this—the clear-eyed vision of the group, which sees in me what I sometimes cannot see myself. May I know that any kind of success has always gone straight to my head, and be watching for it as I begin to reconstruct my confidence.

Today I Will Remember

“Success” can be a setback.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

ONE DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrecovery

Trial and Error

“Anything worth doing at all is worth doing poorly.”

Joachim de Posada

Imagine my shock the first time I heard this statement, which happened to be in a Twelve Step (OA) meeting. I had been reared in an environment in which anything worth doing at all was worth doing well. In fact, in my world this concept was practiced as if it had religious authority. It was perfectionism given flesh and bones.

Perhaps the idea that “anything worth doing at all is worth doing well” worked for some folks. For me, it was paralyzing. There were many things that I needed to do that I simply could not do well. These included things like trimming the hedge, praying, and making good investment choices. So how did my sick, obsessive-compulsive self-respond? Predictably, of course: I just didn’t do those things I felt I couldn’t do well. I was rarely willing to take the chance of acting and being wrong, so I did not act at all. Soon I was living a very restricted life—a life hemmed in by the fear of messing up. I needed to be perfect or just not be at all.

Then I found the program. There I learned that I am human and that making mistakes is part of being human. I even learned that making mistakes is a good thing, because in doing so I have acted. This is a program of action. I learn by acting and by making mistakes. How liberating! How freeing. I can’t tell you how much my constricted, warped life began to open up. I acted and did things poorly, and people responded warmly and in a helpful manner. I took their advice and I joined the human race. I now consider this simple concept—act, even if it means doing a thing poorly—as one of the greatest gifts of the program. My life is really my life now. Perfectionism occasionally rears its ugly head, but when it does, I simply remember where I came from and then I go ahead and make a mistake and set myself free again.

One day at a time…

Today I will do what I need to do, and I will do it as well as I can. When I make a mistake I will not conclude that I am a mistake. I will accept that I am human and I will ask for help. Perfection has never been a goal of this program and it is not a goal for my life.

~ Pete M

Elder’s Meditation of the Day #essentialsofrecovery

“Mothers must protect the lives they have helped to bring into the world.”

–Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders

Every child is subject to the seeds each adult plants in his/her mind.
If we plant praise and “you can do it”, the child will grow up with certain predictable behavior patterns.
If we plant ideas that there’s something wrong with you or you’re good for nothing, the child will grow up with predictable behavior patterns.
We need to honor and respect the mothers who protect the children and plant positive seeds for their growth.

Great Spirit, bless each mother and give her courage and faith.

Today’s Gift

Resentment

Of all the negative emotions, resentment diminishes us the most. It brings unwarranted anger toward those who have something we want, and self-pity for ourselves. It drains us of the energy we need to change our lives and work toward goals. Resentment keeps us in a rigid judgment of who “should” and who “should not” achieve success; all “should” attitudes are pointless, breeding discontent and wasting time. Above all, resentment is ugly to see and even uglier to feel. When I’m resentful, I feel hatred toward others and myself.

Today, I ask for the humility to accept my limitations, without resenting others who have exceeded them. I ask for the courage to pursue my own goals, not comparing myself to others.

From the book:

Help for Helpers by Anonymous

Daily Tao / 302 – Immortality #essentialsofrecovery

Immortality does not beget wisdom.
Only mortality begets maturity.

There are people in this world who have had enough adventures for several lifetimes. They are the closest conception we can have of immortals. Yet some of these people are hopelessly immature. After all, whenever life became difficult for them, they changed to a new path and by luck the new one was always rich and fruitful. Life came so easily that they took more than one helping.

Unfortunately, maturity only comes from the threat of mortality. Success only comes from the threat of failure. Without pressure, we would not plan, utilize wisdom, or exercise care. We realize that we have only a very short time to make an achievement, to prove that our existence was worthwhile, and so we strive harder. An immortal can never conceive of such effort.

It would be good if our religious traditions provided us with a foolproof way through life. After all, we live somewhat haphazardly : Our lives are a tapestry woven of both mistakes and successes. Religion doesn’t always provide us with a meaningful pattern. We must make our decisions the best that we can, and as we mature, we can see our way better.

We are motivated by death. We are frightened by failure. We have to make our peace with this mysterious, sometimes hostile world. An immortal does not need to cope with any of this. But we mortals must, and we must strive to make a good showing for ourselves.

Daily Zen

Due to having faith one relies on the practices,
Due to having wisdom one truly knows.
Of these two wisdom is the chief,
Faith is the prerequisite.

-Nagarjuna, "Precious Garland 5"

Sunday 28 October 2018

Reynette S. - South Africa

Daily Dose OF Emmet Fox #essentialsofrecovery

“Attention is the key to life. Whatever you really give your attention to, you become. Whatever you really concentrate upon will come into your life. We grow into the thing that fills our thoughts as inevitably as the stream merges into the ocean at last.”

~Emmet Fox

DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrecovery

AN UNBROKEN TRADITION

We conceive the survival and spread of Alcoholics Anonymous to be something of far greater importance than the weight we could collectively throw back of any other cause.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 177

How much it means to me that an unbroken tradition of more than half a century is a thread that connects me to Bill W. and Dr. Bob. How much more grounded I feel to be in a Fellowship whose aims are constant and unflagging. I am grateful that the energies of A.A. have never been scattered, but focused instead on our members and on individual sobriety.

My beliefs are what make me human; I am free to hold any opinion, but A.A.’s purpose—so clearly stated fifty years ago—is for me to keep sober. That purpose has promoted round-the-clock meeting schedules, and the thousands of intergroup and central service offices, with their thousands of volunteers. Like the sun focused through a magnifying glass, A.A.’s single vision has lit a fire of faith in sobriety in millions of hearts, including mine.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc.

Just For Today #essentialsofrecovery

Attitudes

“We can also use the steps to improve our attitudes.” Basic Text, p.53

Ever have a day when everything seems to be working against you? Do you go through periods when you are so busy taking people’s inventories you can barely stand yourself? What about when you find yourself snapping at your co-worker or loved one for no reason? When we find ourselves in this bleak frame of mind, we need to take action.

At any point in the day, we can set aside a few moments and take a “spot inventory.” We examine how we are reacting to outside situations and other people. When we do, we may find that we are suffering from a plain old “bad attitude.” A negative outlook can hurt our relationship with our Higher Power and the people in our lives. When we are honest with ourselves, we frequently find that the problem lies with us and our attitude.

We have no control over the challenges life gives us. What we can control is how we react to those challenges. At any point in time, we can change our attitude. The only thing that really changes in Narcotics Anonymous is us. The Twelve Steps give use the tools to move out of the problem and into the solution.

Just for today: Throughout the day, I will check my attitude. I will apply the steps to improve it.

Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrecovery

A.A. Thought For The Day

What other rewards have come to me as a result of my new way of living? Each one of us can answer this question in many ways. My relationship with my husband or my wife is on an entirely new plane. The total selfishness is gone and more cooperation has taken its place. My home is a home again. Understanding has taken the place of misunderstanding recriminations, bickering, and resentment. A new companionship has developed which bodes well for the future. “There are homes where fires burn and there is bread, lamps are lit and prayers are said. Though people falter through the dark and nations grope, with God Himself back of these little homes, we still can hope.” Have I come home?

Meditation For The Day

We can bow to God’s will in anticipation of the thing happening which will, in the long run, be the best for all concerned. It may not always seem the best thing at the present time, but we cannot see as far ahead as God can. We do not know how His plans are laid, we only need to believe that if we trust Him and accept whatever happens as His will in a spirit of faith, everything will work out for the best in the end.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not ask to see the distant scene. I pray that one step may be enough for me.

As Bill Sees It #essentialsofrecovery

Anonymity and Sobriety, p. 299

As the A.A. groups multiplied, so did anonymity problems. Enthusiastic over the spectacular recovery of a brother alcoholic, we’d sometimes discuss those intimate and harrowing aspects of his case meant for his sponsor’s ear alone. The aggrieved victim would then rightly declare that his trust had been broken.

When such stories got into circulation outside of A.A., the loss of confidence in our anonymity promise was severe. It frequently turned people from us. Clearly, every A.A. member’s name–and story, too–had to be confidential, if he wished.

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

We now fully realize that 100 per cent personal anonymity before the public is just as vital to the life of A.A. as 100 per cent sobriety is to the life of each and every member. This is not counsel of fear; it is the prudent voice of long experience.

1. 12 & 12, p. 185
2. A.A. Comes Of Age, p. 293

TWELVE AND TWELVE, P. 51-52

Copyright © 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc.

WALK IN DRY PLACES #essentialsofrecovery

Walk In Dry Places #essentialsofrecovery

The new problems in sobriety
Fortitude

Sometimes sobriety turns up problems that were never apparent during one’s drinking days. Some people, for example, encounter marriage problems that lead to divorce. It almost appears that some things were better when we were drinking.

But there are good reasons why sobriety brings new problems. One is that we become aware of problems that were there all the time, although not acknowledged. It’s possible, too, that sobriety brings more responsibility, along with risks of failure. At the same time, we might be more sensitive to the real problems of living.

We should never use such problems as an excuse for drinking. It is true, as many people say, that drinking can only make matters worse. Nothing can be improved by a return to drinking.
I must remember today that sobriety means living on a new basis. This includes facing problems and dealing with them… not running from them as I did in the past.

Keep It Simple #essentialsofrecovery

I wish you the courage to be warm when the world would prefer you to be cool.
–Robert A. Ward

Our program and the Steps have warmed us from the inside out. Just as a bonfire warms those who stand around it, the Steps take away the chill we have felt for so long.

At Times, we’ll be tempted to move away from the Steps. At times, we’ll get tired of looking at our behavior and attitudes. We are by nature, controlling people. We’ll want to

“prove our point” about something when our program tells us to let it go. We need to stay close to the Steps and the warmth they hold. Remember the chill of our disease.

Prayer for the Day: I need to member that the Steps and the fellowship of the program keep me sober, not me alone.

Action for the Day: Today, I’ll thank about what the Steps have done for me. I will think of how they have kept me warm.

Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrecovery

ORATORY

“The finest eloquence is that which get things done.”

— David Lloyd George

I know how to talk. I know how to sound good. I know how to convince a person of my good intentions — indeed that was part of my manipulation for years.

Today I try to walk the talk. I try to demonstrate what I say in the behavior I exhibit. The bottom line is action. Talking never stopped me from drinking — my physical refusal of the first drink was the start of my recovery.

God is to be discovered not merely in pious sentiments, as attractive as they may sound, but rather in the small steps of altered behavior.

Am I doing what I am saying? Lord give me the courage to live my words.

A Day At A Time #essentialsofrecovery

Reflection For The Day

“Pride, like a magnet, constantly points to one object, self; unlike the magnet, it has no attractive pole, but at all points repels.”

~ Colton.

When the earliest members of The Program discovered just how spiritually prideful they could be, they admonished one another to avoid “instant sainthood.” That old-time warning could be taken as an alibi to excuse us from doing our best, but it’s really The Program’s way of warning against “pride blindness” and the imaginary perfections we don’t possess. Am I beginning to understand the difference between pride and humility?

Today I Pray

May God, who is His mercy has saved our lives, keep us from setting ourselves up as the saints and prophets of The Program. May we recognize the value of our experiences for others without getting smug about it. May we remember with humility and love the thousands of other “old hands” who are equally well-versed in its principles.

Today I Will Remember

I Will avoid “instant sainthood.”

ONE DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrecovery

Home

“My home is not a place, it is people.”

~ Lois McMaster Bujold ~

I’ve spent most of my adult life feeling very alone in the world. My disease of compulsive overeating separated me from others due to my isolation, embarrassment and shame. I was always the outsider looking in at others.

It wasn’t until I walked into a twelve step meeting that I found a home for myself. Here these people knew me, heck they WERE me. Whatever I thought, whatever I felt, and whatever I had done in my life, so had others in OA. I am accepted in my totality. OA is the only place where I feel truly safe and at home. I am not alone anymore. The entire twelve step fellowship is on my side ~ and what a great feeling that is!

One day at a time…

I will make OA my home.

~ Cindi L ~

Elder’s Meditation of the Day #essentialsofrecovery

“Our religion seems foolish to you, but so does yours to me. The Baptists and Methodists and Presbyterians and the Catholics all have a different God. Why cannot we have one of our own?”

–Sitting Bull, HUNKPAPA LAKOTA

The Creator gave each culture a path to God.

To the Indian people, he revealed that the Creator is in everything. Everything is alive with the Spirit of God.
The water is alive.
The trees are alive.
The woods are alive.
The mountains are alive.
The wind is alive.
The Great Spirit’s breath is in everything and that’s why it’s alive. All of nature is our church, we eat with our families in church, we go to sleep in church.

My Creator, let us leave people to worship You in the way You have taught them.

Today’s Gift #essentialsofrecovery

I often think I’m not doing enough with my life. I paint, I golf, I dabble, but is that enough?

— Abby Warman

Nobody can answer the question posed by Abby but ourselves. The point is, are we content? If we hesitate even a moment before replying, perhaps we need to reconsider how we’re spending our time.

The solution to fulfillment is simple: Express only love to the others in our lives. It’s not what we do, ever, but how we do it. If focusing on giving only love and acceptance to others gives us pleasure, could we want for anything more?

There is nothing anyone can do that’s more important than helping another person feel loved or forgiven, if that’s called for. Whether we are working or merely at play, our opportunities are unending. We’ll know we have done enough if we have welcomed them.

Today I can offer love to someone quite easily. Both of us will be rewarded.

From the book:

Keepers of the Wisdom by Karen Casey

The Eye Opener #essentialsofrecovery

Carrying your own troubles may be likened to a man trying to pick up a board that he is standing on. He has his own weight to contend with as well as the weight of the board.

It is much easier to carry the other man’s burdens for we are standing away from the problem. We can view the problem impersonally and thoughtfully. We can show him where he is standing in his own way, direct him to take hold of his end of the problem and allow us to lift the other end. The weight, distributed between the two of us, will become relatively easy to handle.

Copyright Hazelden Foundation

Daily Tao / 301 – Oneness #essentialsofrecovery

If I break down the walls,
I will be surrounded by the garden.
If I break the levee, water will inundate me.
Meditation is not to be separated from life.

The task of following Tao is to cease all distinctions between the self and the outside world. It is only a matter of convenience that we label things inside and outside, subjective and objective. Indeed, it is only at elementary stages that we should talk of a Tao to follow. For true enlightenment is the realization not that there is a Tao to follow but that we ourselves are Tao.

That understanding comes after a simple breaking down of a wall, a shattering of the mistaken notion that there is something inherent in this life that divides us from Tao. Once the wall is broken, we are inundated by Tao. We are Tao.

Do we continue to meditate once we come to this understanding? We still do, but it is no longer a solitary and isolated activity. It is a part of life, as natural as breathing. When you can bring yourself to the understanding that there is no difference between you and Tao and that there is no difference between meditation and “ordinary” activities, then you are well on your way to being one with Tao.

Daily Zen #essentialsofrecovery

If the eye never falls asleep,
all dreams cease by themselves.
If the spirit retains its unity,
all things are of one essence.
When this essence is seen,
in an instant we are free.
We return to the origin
and remain that which we are.

- Seng-ts’an (d.606)

Saturday 27 October 2018

Ben W. - Recovery Speaker - First African American Member

Daily Dose OF Emmet Fox #essentialsofrecovery

~Emmet Fox

DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrecovery

GLOBAL SHARING

The only thing that matters is that he is an alcoholic who has found a key to sobriety. These legacies of suffering and of recovery are easily passed among alcoholics, one to the other. This is our gift from God, and its bestowal upon others like us is the one aim that today animates A. A.’s all around the globe.

~ TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 151 ~

The strength of Alcoholics Anonymous lies in the desire of each member and of each group around the world to share with other alcoholics their suffering and the steps taken to gain, and maintain, recovery. By keeping a conscious contact with my Higher Power, I make sure that I always nurture my desire to help other alcoholics, thus insuring the continuity of the wonderful fraternity of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc.

JUST FOR TODAY #essentialsofrecovery

Living in The Present

“We want to look our past in the face, see it for what it really was, and release it so we can live today.”

~ Basic Text, p.28 ~

For many of us, the past is like a bad dream. Our lives aren’t the same any more, but we still have fleeting, highly charged emotional memories of a really uncomfortable past. The guilt, fear, and anger that once dominated us may spill into our new life, complicating our efforts to change and grow.

The Twelve Steps are the formula that helps us learn to put the past in its place. Through the Fourth and Fifth Steps, we become aware that our old behavior didn’t work. We ask a Higher Power to relieve us of our shortcomings in the Sixth and Seventh Steps, and we begin to be relieved of the guilt and fear that plagued us for so many years. In the Eighth and Ninth Steps, by making amends, we demonstrate to others that our lives are changing. We are no longer controlled by the past. Once the past loses its control over us, we are free to find new ways to live, ways that reflect who we truly are.

Just for today: I don’t have to be controlled by my past. I will live this new day as the new person I am becoming.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc.

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY #essentialsofrecovery

A.A. Thought for the Day

Seventh, I can help other alcoholics. I am of some use in the world. I have a purpose in life. I am worth something at last. My life has a direction and a meaning. All that feeling of futility is gone. I can do something worthwhile. God has given me a new lease on life so that I can help other alcoholics. He has let me live through all the hazards of my alcoholic life to bring me at last to a place of real usefulness in the world. He has let me live for this. This is my opportunity and my destiny. I am worth something! Will I give as much of my life as I can to A.A.?

Meditation for the Day

All of us have our own battle to win, the battle between the material view of life and the spiritual view. Something must guide our lives. Will it be wealth, pride, selfishness, greed or will it be faith, honesty, purity, unselfishness, love and service? Each one has a choice. We can choose good or evil. We cannot choose both. Are we going to keep striving until we win the battle? If we win the victory, we can believe that even God in His heaven will rejoice.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may choose the good and resist the evil. I pray that I will not be a loser in the battle for righteousness.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation