DAILY REFLECTIONS

STEPPING INTO THE SUNLIGHT

But first of all we shall want sunlight; nothing much can grow in the dark. Meditation is our step out into the sun.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 10 

Sometimes I think I don’t have time for prayer and meditation, forgetting that I always found the time to drink. It is possible to make time for anything I want to do if I want it badly enough. When I start the routine of prayer and meditation, it’s a good idea to plan to devote a small amount of time to it. I read a page from our Fellowship’s books in the morning, and say “Thank You, God,” when I go to bed at night. As prayer becomes a habit, I will in- crease the time spent on it, without even noticing the foray it makes into my busy day. If I have trouble praying, I just repeat the Lord’s Prayer because it really covers everything. Then I think of what I can be grateful for and say a word of thanks.

I don’t need to shut myself in a closet to pray. It can be done even in a room full of people. I just remove myself mentally for an instant. As the practice of prayer continues, I will find I don’t need words, for God can, and does, hear my thoughts through silence.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc 

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DAILY REFLECTIONS

STEPPING INTO THE SUNLIGHT

But first of all we shall want sunlight; nothing much can grow in the dark. Meditation is our step out into the sun.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 10 

Sometimes I think I don’t have time for prayer and meditation, forgetting that I always found the time to drink. It is possible to make time for anything I want to do if I want it badly enough. When I start the routine of prayer and meditation, it’s a good idea to plan to devote a small amount of time to it. I read a page from our Fellowship’s books in the morning, and say “Thank You, God,” when I go to bed at night. As prayer becomes a habit, I will in- crease the time spent on it, without even noticing the foray it makes into my busy day. If I have trouble praying, I just repeat the Lord’s Prayer because it really covers everything. Then I think of what I can be grateful for and say a word of thanks.

I don’t need to shut myself in a closet to pray. It can be done even in a room full of people. I just remove myself mentally for an instant. As the practice of prayer continues, I will find I don’t need words, for God can, and does, hear my thoughts through silence.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc    

JUST FOR TODAY

The Best-Laid Plans

“It is our actions that are important. We leave the results to our Higher Power.”

~ Basic Text p. 88 

There’s an old saying we sometimes hear in our meetings: “If you want to make God laugh, make plans.” When we hear this we usually laugh, too, but there’s a nervous edge to our laughter. We wonder if all of our carefully laid plans are doomed to fail. If we’re planning a big event – a wedding, a return to school, or perhaps a career change – we begin to wonder if our plans are the same as our Higher Power’s plans. We are capable of working ourselves into such a frenzy of worry over this question that we refuse to make any plans at all.

But the simple fact is that we really don’t know whether our Higher Power’s plans for our lives are carved in stone or not. Most of us have opinions about fate and destiny but, whether we believe in such theories or not, we still have a responsibility to live our lives and make plans for the future. If we refuse to accept responsibility for our lives, we’re still making plans – plans for a shallow, boring existence.

What we make in recovery are plans, not results. We’ll never know whether the marriage, the education, or the new job is going to work out until we try it. We simply exercise our best judgment, check with our sponsor, pray, use all the information at hand, and make the most reasonable plans we can. For the rest, we trust in the loving care of the God of our understanding, knowing that we’ve acted responsibly.

Just for today: I will make plans, but I will not plan the result & I will trust in my Higher Power’s loving care.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc   

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY

A.A. Thought for the Day

I have learned to be less negative and more positive. I used to take a negative view of almost everything. Most people, in my estimation, were bluffing. There seemed to be very little good in the world, but lots of hypocrisy and sham. People could not be trusted. They would “take you” if they could. All church-goers were partly hypocrites. It seemed I should take everything “with a grain of salt.” That was my general attitude toward life. Now I am more positive. I believe in people and in their capabilities. There is much love and truth and honesty in the world. I try not to run people down. Life now seems worthwhile and it is good to live. Am I less negative and more positive?

Meditation for the Day

Think of God as a Great Friend and try to realize the wonder of that friendship. When you give God not only worship, obedience, and allegiance, but also close companionship, then He becomes your friend, even as you are His. You can feel that He and you are working together. He can do things for you and you can do things for Him. Your prayers become more real to you when you feel that God counts on your friendship and you count on His.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may think of God as my Friend. I pray that I may feel that I am working for Him and with Him.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation  

AS BILL SEES IT

In the Sunlight at Last

When the thought was expressed that there might be a God personal to me, I didn’t like the idea. So my friend Ebby made what then seemed a novel suggestion. He said, “Why don’t you choose your own conception of God?”

That statement hit me hard. It melted the icy intellectual mountain in whose shadow I had lived and shivered many years. I stood in the sunlight at last.

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

It may be possible to find explanations of spiritual experiences such as ours, but I have often tried to explain my own and have succeeded only in giving the story of it. I know the feeling it gave me and the results it has brought, but I realize I may never fully understand its deeper why and how.

~ 1. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P.12
~ 2. A.A. COMES OF AGE, P.45
© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc 

WALK IN DRY PLACES

COMPLIANCE ISN’T ACCEPTANCE

Honesty

We are sometimes mystified when people come into the AA program, respond to its message for months or years, and then disappear, seemingly without a trace. Later, we may be shocked to learn that they’re drinking again.

While we have no way of knowing the real reason, one possible explanation is that they were practicing compliance without really accepting the program. The danger of compliance is that it may simply be an outward show of working the program while leaving one’s real thoughts and feelings unchanged.

At the same time, we often urge people to practice what is really only a form of compliance. We tell them, for example, to “bring the body” to meetings in the belief that the heart will follow. This does little good if one’s heart does not follow!

The only solution is to continue the difficult but rewarding search for honesty in all things. When we examine ourselves honestly, we will recognize when we are truly accepting and when we are merely complying.

I’ll remember today that the real success of AA is not in the number of people who show up at meetings, but in how we truly accept the program.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation    

KEEP IT SIMPLE

He who can take advice is sometimes superior to he who can give it.

~ Karl von Knebel 

In recovery, we learn that we don’t know everything. We had stopped listening. Most of us had been asked by family, friends, doctors, and employers to stop drinking and using other drugs. But, we didn’t listen. If we had listened, we would’ve been in this program long ago. Addiction did something to how we listen. We heard only what we wanted to hear. Do I still hear only what I want?

In recovery, we learn to listen. We listen to our groups. We listen to our sponsor. We listen as we read. The better we listen, the better our recovery.

Prayer for the Day:

Higher Power, open my ears and eyes to this new way of life. Allow me to hear Your wisdom in the Twelve Steps. Allow me to be someone who takes advice, not just gives it.

Action for the Day:

Today, I’ll try to listen. Today I’ll seek the advice to others. I’ll ask my sponsor how I may better my program.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation 

Father Leo’s

ACCEPTANCE


“Adversity is the trial of principle. Without it a man hardly knows whether he is honest or not.”

— Henry Fielding

The acceptance of my disease has brought me into recovery. If I had not known and confronted the disease of addiction in my life, I would not know the joys of sobriety and serenity. Spirituality involves facing my disease.

Today I believe that had I not seen my dishonesty, I could not fully appreciate honesty. If I had not recognized the lies and games in my life, I could never have appreciated the “openness” and freedom of sobriety. Owning my violence brought me to peace and tolerance. Facing my hell gave me a glimpse of paradise.

The disease was not only my prison but when accepted, became the key to recovery. Spirituality, finding God in our lives, requires a “rigorous honesty” that uses the past pain to experience today’s gratitude.

God, it is through the acceptance of my failings that I can love the world.   

A DAY AT A TIME

Reflection for the Day

As time passes, daily communion with God is becoming as essential to me as breathing in and out. I don’t need a special place to pray, because God always hears my call. I don’t need special words with which to pray, because God already knows my thoughts and my needs. I have only to turn my attention to God, aware that His attention is always turned to me. Do I know that only good can come to me if I trust God completely?

Today I Pray

May my communion with God become a regular part of my life, as natural as a heartbeat. May I find, as I grow accustomed to the attitude of prayer, that it becomes less important to find a corner of a room, a bedside, a church pew, or even a special time of day, for prayer. May my thoughts turn to God automatically and often, whenever there is a lull in my day or a need for direction.

Today I Will Remember

Let prayer become a habit.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation    

ELDER'S MEDITATION

“Language is a vehicle for carrying spirit, life, family. Language, religion, and land base are three things that characterize culture.”

~ Edmund Ladd, ZUNI PUEBLO 

The Elders say we need to know the answers to three questions in order for us to be connected the Earth, the Sky, the East, the West, the South, the North. The three questions are: 1. Why are we? 2. Who are we? 3. Where are we going? If we know the language, if we have our spirituality and if we can pray on sacred spots, then we are able to seek the answer to the questions. We must protect the language, religion and land so our future generations can stay connected.

Great Spirit, help us maintain our language, spirit, family, religion and our Mother Earth.   

Today’s Gift

Love is something if you give away, you end up having more.

—Malvina Reynolds

The other side of giving is taking. Many of us were brought up to believe that it’s not okay to take, so we diminish admiration that people give us. “Oh, this old rag, I got it at a garage sale for next to nothing.” This response to a compliment can take away the joy of giving it from the person who admired the way we looked.

Giving needs taking to complete it. We can keep the cycle of generosity going by taking gracefully. A world without those who take would be unbalanced. When someone gives us love, appreciation, or a gift, we can show our real pleasure with a simple thank you, and stop thinking we don’t deserve it.

Can I accept what’s given to me today in the spirit it’s offered?
 

ONE DAY AT A TIME

HOPE

Hope is the feeling you have that the feeling you have isn’t permanent.

~ Jean Kerr 

I pray for hope today, and I am receiving hope today. Hope is something that comes more and more readily to me as I stay abstinent and continue working my program of recovery.

In the past, many of my feelings of hope were centered around the next diet or the next fix for my bingeing. However, now that I am abstaining and practicing the Twelve Steps, I have been freed to hope for bigger things. There is now space in my head where the food and diet obsession used to be!

One Day at a Time . . .

I will abstain. One day at a time I will direct my attention to the Steps when I am in need of a solution.

~ Christine  

THE EYE OPENER

It is a most comfortable feeling for us alcoholics to know that there is a vast host of friends in AA who are standing by. We pray to God we will never need them for an emergency and, with our new-found faith, we don’t think we ever will, but it helps a lot to know that they are available if needed. It gives you a feeling of security akin to catching the fourth ace.

Copyright Hazelden  

Daily Tao

CHAMELEON


If I don't want to be known, I cannot be known.
The best actor can divide role from self.
The best liar can divide truth from falsity.

People think that they know you. Soon you begin to play the role that they place on you. Why should you act a certain way to please others? You should do things from your inner awareness and from your own feelings. If they do not accord with the herd, then so much the better.

You should change when it pleases you. Your life is flexible. If you let other people shape you, then you will never know independence.

The sages say that all life is illusory, and they usually lament this. The way of Tao is to use this fact and not let it oppress you. If you want to dodge others, then step behind one of the myriad illusions in this world. If you do not volunteer anything and you neither confirm nor deny, the opinions of others can never stick to you. Then you will be left in peace.

True sages never go by appearances. When it comes to introspection, they are not deceived by the appearances their own minds spew out. They know that if they want to get at the truth, then they must pierce to the very core.

So if you would hide from others, avail yourself of the false appearances of life. If you would know yourself, distinguish between the false appearances of life. Above all, do not be put off by the illusory nature of life. Use it. Everything in this life can be an advantage to the wise.

Daily Zen

Eventually we will find (mostly in retrospect, of course) that we can be very grateful to those people who have made life most difficult for us.

- Ayya Khema, "When the Iron Eagle Flies"  

Speaker - Clara S.

Emmet Fox

“There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer: no disease that love will not heal: no door that enough love will not open...It makes no difference how deep set the trouble: how hopeless the outlook: how muddled the tangle: how great the mistake. A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all. If only you could love enough you would be the happiest and most powerful being in the world...” 


― Emmet Fox   

DAILY REFLECTIONS

AN INDIVIDUAL ADVENTURE

Meditation is something which can always be further developed. It has no boundaries, either of width or height. Aided by such instruction and example as we can find, it is essentially an individual adventure, something which each one of us works out in his own way.

~ TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 101 ~

My spiritual growth is with God as I understand Him. With Him I find my true inner self. Daily meditation and prayer strengthen and renew my source of well-being. I receive then the openness to accept all that He has to offer. With God I have the reassurance that my journey will be as He wants for me, and for that I am grateful to have God in my life.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc   

JUST FOR TODAY

Freed From Insanity

Do I believe it would be insane to walk up to someone and say, “May I please have a heart attack or a fatal accident.”

Basic Text p.23 

We’ve heard it said that unless we’re in love, we can’t remember what love feels like. The same could be said of insanity: Once we’re freed of it, we may forget how truly bizarre our insane thinking can be. But to be grateful for the degree of sanity to which we’ve been restored in Narcotics Anonymous, we need to remember just how truly insane we’ve been.

Today, it may be hard to imagine saying something as ridiculous as, “May I please have a heart attack or a fatal accident?” No one in their right mind is going to ask for such things. And that’s the point. In our active addiction, we were not in our right mind. Each day we practiced our addiction, we courted fatal disease, degradation, exploitation, impoverishment, imprisonment, death by violence, even death by sheer stupidity. In that context, the idea of asking for a heart attack or a fatal accident doesn’t sound all that far out. That’s how insane we’ve been.

The program, the fellowship, and our Higher power-together, they’ve worked a miracle. The Second Step is not a vain hope – it is reality. Knowing the degree of the insanity we’ve experienced, we can appreciate all the more the miraculous Power that has restored us thus far to sanity. For that, we are truly grateful.

Just for today: I will take some time to recall how insane I’ve been while practicing my addiction. Then, I will thank my Higher Power for the sanity that’s been restored to my life.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc     

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY

A.A. Thought for the Day

I have lost much of my inferiority complex. I was always trying to escape from life. I did not want to face reality. I was full of self-pity. I was constantly sorry for myself. I tried to avoid all responsibilities. I did not feel that I would handle the responsibilities of my family or my work. Owing to my inferiority complex, I was eager to be free of all responsibilities. I wanted to drift; I wanted to be “on the beach.” A.A. showed me how to get over my feeling of inferiority. It made me want to accept responsibility again. Have I lost my inferiority complex?

Meditation for the Day

“One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things that are before, I press onward toward the goal.” We should forget those things which are behind us and press onward toward something better. We can believe that God has forgiven us for all our past sins, provided we are honestly trying to live today the way we believe He wants us to live. We can wipe clean the slate of the past. We can start today with a clean slate and go forward with confidence toward the goal that has been set before us.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may drop off the load of the past. I pray that I may start today with a light heart and a new confidence.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation   

AS BILL SEES IT

~ Page 312 ~

Tolerance Keeps Us Sober

“Honesty with ourselves and others gets us sober, but it is tolerance that keeps us that way.

“Experience shows that few alcoholics will long stay away from a group because they don’t like the way it is run. Most return and adjust themselves to whatever conditions they must. Some go to a different group, or form a new one.

“In other words, once an alcoholic fully realizes that he cannot get well alone, he will somehow find a way to get well and stay well in the company of others. It has been that way from the beginning of A.A. and probably always will be so.”

~ LETTER, 1943 ~

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc 

WALK IN DRY PLACES

PROVING GOD’S EXISTENCE

Belief

It surprised some of us to learn that the AA Big Book has a chapter about agnosticism. The agnostic is one who believes the existence of God cannot be proved; and indeed, some of us liked to explain this during profound barroom discussions.

Our experience with a Higher Power does not really settle the questions about God or the purpose and meaning of life. We may still wonder why we are on Earth and what the universal system is all about.

We can prove, however, that our lives can become dramatically different as a result of our belief in God. While some people scoff that our belief in a Higher Power is merely psychological, we will know that it is far more than that. This belief seems to be something that we need just as we require physical nourishment.

It’s not necessary to join the debating society that seeks to prove or deny God’s existence. For our purposes, it’s only necessary to believe that God exists in our lives.

I’ll not concern myself with any general question about the existence or nonexistence of God. What’s important is to know that my Higher Power is living and working in my sphere of activities.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation   

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Any man may make a mistake; none but a fool will persist in it.

~ Cicero ~

The way we face life’s challenges is what gives meaning to our lives. If we run from our mistakes, they follow us. If we stand up and work with them, we learn. Facing our mistakes teaches us wisdom and courage. Our self-respect grows. Spiritual growth means asking, “How would my Higher Power want me to deal with this mistake?” Then we listen for the answer and do what is needed. The better we get at facing our mistakes, the better we become at learning from them. Native American culture teaches us that all mistakes in life are gifts. The gift is that we are given a chance to learn.

Prayer for the Day:

Higher Power, help me face the mistakes of life and find the lessons that lie within them.

Action for the Day:

When I make a mistake, I’ll stop and ask, “What does my Higher Power want me to learn from this?”

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation   

Father Leo’s

THOUGHT


“There is no place in active life on which thought is negligible.”

—T. S. Eliot

It is not a crime to think. It is not a sin to have a brain. To think is human.

However, so much of my past thinking was destructive and negative. The disease of addiction permeated every aspect of my life particularly my thoughts. For years my best ideas justified my addiction.

Today I am open to a change of mind. I can choose to change my ideas. I am free to think differently.

God is alive in my willingness to change.
Lord, help my thinking to recover

Today's Gift

Love, and love alone, is capable of giving thee a happier life.
— Ludwig van Beethoven

We are making a response to life’s every waking moment; our attitudes formulate the tenor of our responses. When the sun warms our bodies and the flowers tease our nostrils, it may be easy to love everyone and smile. When we have a negative attitude, we may snarl and all too quickly criticize innocent bystanders, as well as friends and family. All we need is to make a simple decision to look with love as far as our eyes can see.

When our hearts are God-centered and filled with love and laughter, we’ll find no experience too difficult to handle. No problem will evade its solution for long.

An attitude of love promises us gratitude in abundance. We’ll never doubt that all is well when love is at our center.

From the book:

                                         Worthy of Love by Karen Casey  

Daily Tao

312 - BRAVERY

One willing to take his own life into his hands
Will not hesitate to take the lives of others.

There were once two friends hiking in the mountains. One was a poet, the other was a statesman. They came to a deep ravine, and at the bottom were roaring rapids with a narrow plank bridge spanning the gap.

"Let's climb down and write our names on the other side," suggested the statesman. The poet refused. So the statesman went bravely down, crossed the bridge, and wrote their names in beautiful calligraphy. Then he climbed back up.

"Someday you will murder a man," predicted the poet.

"Why do you say that?" exclaimed his companion.

"Those who will take their own lives into their hands will not hesitate to take the lives of others."

Beware the brave man. He may be a hero, willing to risk his very life, but he will also be willing to endanger the lives of others. After all, he is a risk taker and therefore does not see the wisdom in conservation, compassion, and carefulness. Such a person will threaten others, force his will upon others, and even murder others not out of passion but out of something much more deadly -- rationale. He will justify his actions according to ideology, patriotism, religion, and principle.

When attacked, a brave man goes forth with strength, power, and confidence. In that boisterousness, there is little awareness of the subtle. Life is not simple, and it takes a great deal of time to master. Perhaps that is why the brave are youthful while the wise are old.  

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Daily Zen

 Zen is not some fancy, special art of living. Our teaching is just to live, always in reality, in its exact sense. Shunryu Suzuki

Susie P.-Speaker

Restored to Sanity

EMMET FOX

THE KAFFIR DIDN’T KNOW

About the middle of the last century, a traveller was journeying along through what was then a remote part of South Africa. One day while smoking his pipe outside the hut in a native village, he noticed a group of little naked children playing what was evidently a native version of the time honored game of marbles. He watched the game idly for a while, and then something about the rough stones caught his attention. They were quite small pebbles, dull, but—here his pulse began to steeplechase. He spoke to the children’s father, with studied carelessness, and the Kaffir said, “Oh yes, the children like these little stones. They have some more in the hut,” and he brought forth a small basket containing several more.

Repressing his excitement, the traveller took out a large plug of tobacco, worth perhaps twenty or thirty cents in our money, and said, “I would like to take the stones home for my children. I will give you this tobacco for them. Are you willing?” The Kaffir laughed and said, “I am robbing you but if you insist, all right,” and the bargain was sealed—which not only enriched the stranger but led in time to the great discovery of the South African diamond fields.

The fate of the Kaffir is really the fate of most human beings. Man holds a fabulous treasure in his possession—the power of the Spoken Word—and yet, in most cases, he does not know it.

The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure . . . to bless all the work of thine hand . . . (Deuteronomy 28:12). 

© 1931 by Emmet Fox  

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY

A.A. Thought for the Day 

I have lost many of my resentments. I have found that getting even with people doesn’t do any good. When we try to get revenge, instead of making us feel better, it leaves us frustrated and cheated. Instead of punishing our enemies, we’ve only hurt our own peace of mind. It does not pay to nurse a grudge, it hurts us more than anyone else. Hate causes frustration, inner conflict, and neurosis. If we give out hate, we will become hateful. If we are resentful, we will be resented. If we do not like people, we will not be liked by people. Revengefulness is a powerful poison in Our systems. Have I lost my resentments?

Meditation for the Day

It is not so much you, as the grace of God that is in you, that helps those around you. If you would help even those you dislike, you have to see that there is nothing in you to block the way, to keep God’s grace from using you. Your own pride and selfishness are the greatest blocks. Keep those out of the way and God’s grace will flow through you into the lives of others. Then all who come in contact with you can be helped in some way. Keep the channel open, free from those things that make your life futile and ineffective.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that all who come in contact with me will feel better for it. I pray that I may be careful not to harbor those things in my heart that put people off.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation 

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Any man may make a mistake; none but a fool will persist in it.

~ Cicero ~

The way we face life’s challenges is what gives meaning to our lives. If we run from our mistakes, they follow us. If we stand up and work with them, we learn. Facing our mistakes teaches us wisdom and courage. Our self-respect grows. Spiritual growth means asking, “How would my Higher Power want me to deal with this mistake?” Then we listen for the answer and do what is needed. The better we get at facing our mistakes, the better we become at learning from them. Native American culture teaches us that all mistakes in life are gifts. The gift is that we are given a chance to learn.

Prayer for the Day:

Higher Power, help me face the mistakes of life and find the lessons that lie within them.

Action for the Day:

When I make a mistake, I’ll stop and ask, “What does my Higher Power want me to learn from this?”

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation   

AS BILL SEES IT

~ Page 311 ~

Telling the Worst

Though the variations were many, my main theme was always “How god-awful I am!” Just as I often exaggerated my modest attainments by pride, so I exaggerated my defects through guilt. I would race about, confessing all (and a great deal more) to whoever would listen. Believe it or not, I took this widespread exposure of my sins to be great humility on my part, and considered it a great spiritual asset and consolation!

But later on I realized at depth that the great harms I had done others were not truly regretted. These episodes were merely the basis for storytelling and exhibitionism. With this realization came the beginning of a certain amount of humility.

~ GRAPEVINE, JUNE 1961 ~

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc   

Father Leo’s

FEAR


“A good scare is worth more to a man than good advice.”

—Ed Howe

My fear of alcoholism helped me into treatment. My awareness of reality—”I am an alcoholic,”—helped me towards recovery. I was scared into treatment!

I must never forget my frightening yesterdays because that can so easily lead to minimization and tomorrow’s denial. I need to remember my pain if I am to continue to gain. My car accident, my abuse of self and others, my suicidal behavior should be feared, on a daily basis, because it is only one drink away!

God has given me memory—I need to use it. My spiritual courage is in remembering my yesterdays so that I can continue to enjoy the sobriety of today.

May I see that a healthy fear comes from God; it is part of God’s love for me.  

A DAY AT A TIME

Reflection for the Day

There are those in the Program who, at the beginning, shun meditation and prayer as they would avoid a pit filled with rattlesnakes. When they do finally take the first tentative and experimental step, however, and unexpected things begin to take place, they begin to feel different. Invariably, such tentative beginnings lead to true belief, to the extent that those who once belittled prayer and meditation become nothing less than walking advertisements for its rewards. We hear in the Program that “almost the only scoffers at prayer are those who never really tried it.” Is there an obstinate part of me that still scoffs?

Today I Pray

May I learn, however irreverent I have been, that prayer is not to be mocked; I see the power of prayer effecting miracles around me, and I wonder. If I have refused to pray, may I look to see if pride is in my way—that old pride that insists on doing things on its own. Now that I have found a place for prayer in my life, may I reserve that place—religiously.

Today I Will Remember

Whoever learns to pray keeps on praying.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation    

One Day At A Time

FAITH


“Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.”

—Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC)

As a child, I believed in God, but the God of my childhood was a punishing God. I often felt that the reason for all the tragedies and misfortunes that I went through was because I didn’t adhere to all the traditions and rules of my given religion. Perhaps the fact that I wasn't a good enough daughter to my parents, a good enough mother to my children, or a good enough friend was another reason why I was being punished. I would pray to the God of my childhood for what I wanted, but God never answered me or gave it to me, so what was the use of praying? I eventually stopped praying because my prayers were never answered.

I now know, having been led into this beautiful fellowship of the spirit, that God is a loving and forgiving God who always gave me what I needed, even if it didn’t at the time seem to be what I wanted. The trouble had always been that I was filled with fear and found it hard to believe or trust in something or someone that I couldn’t see or hear. I am a logical and rational person so it was really hard for me to have faith and trust that God would take care of me. It’s said that the opposite of fear is faith, and so I am now learning to let go of the fear and put my faith and trust in a Higher Power of my understanding. I realize that He knows what’s best for me, and will always be there for me if I only let Him.

One Day at a Time …
I will trust that my Higher Power knows what’s best for me, and I put my myself in His care. My faith is growing stronger each day, and I am able to release fear.

Faith 

Elder’s Meditation

“See how the boy is with his sister and the other ones of his home lodge and you can know how the man will be with your daughter.”

—LAKOTA Proverb

Very early in our lives we form beliefs, attitudes, expectations, and habits. We will live by these habits when we are older. The Elders say to watch the boy with his sister. If he is respectful and treats her good, then odds are that’s the way he will treat all women when he is older. Also, watch the young girl and how she treats her brother, for that will indicate what kind of woman she will be to her man. We need to teach our children to respect one another while they are young. The best way to teach them is to show respect ourselves.

Great Spirit, let me be a role model for the children. 

Today's Gift

Opportunity may knock only once,
But temptation leans on the doorbell.
— Anonymous

We have an opportunity. We’ve made getting out of debt a priority in our lives. Just having this desire gives us the opportunity. For this, we are grateful.

It’s all too easy, however, to slip into our old ways of thinking and behaving. Our old spending patterns are all too fresh in our mind. We remember to take this opportunity – this juncture in our lives – to learn and to grow. If we’re tempted to return to our old ways, we’re going backward.

Today I will remember that my old thinking and behaviors are a part of my history, not my future.

From the book:

                                    Letting Go of Debt by Karen Casanova  

THE EYE OPENER

Every one of us alcoholics arrived at the point where we felt that all was lost. If we had not felt this way we would never have confessed that our lives were unmanageable. It was a stupendous admission for us and would never have happened except for the desperation that engulfed us.

Our lives had been totally wrecked, it is true, yet God has never yet failed to give man a second chance. Don’t muff it.

Copyright Hazelden 

Daily Tao /

 311 - SMALLNESS

You may be capable of great things,
But life consists of small things.
Big things seldom come along. One should know the small as well as the big. We may all yearn to make lasting achievements and to be heroes, but life seldom affords us the opportunities to do so. Most of our days consist of small things -- the uneventful meditations, the ordinary cooking of meals, the banal trips to work, the quiet scratching in the garden -- and it is from these small things that the larger events of life are composed.

We rarely have the occasion to make grand gestures. The champion gymnast's greatest moment is but an hour out of an entire lifetime. The works of great artists are view for very short times. The master musician's best composition is but one work in a sea of musical tones. If we want to be successful, it is the small things that we should pay attention to.

We must not fall into the trap of waiting so long for the big things that we let numerous small chances slip right by us. People who do this are always waiting for life to be perfect. They complain that fate is against them, that the world does not recognize their greatness. If they would lower their sights, they would see all the beautiful opportunities swirling at their feet. If they would humble themselves enough to bend down, they could scoop untold treasures up into their hands.

Daily Zen

The worthies of past ages all sought the truth and did not deceive themselves. They were not like moths throwing themselves into flames, destroying themselves in the process.

-Ta-sui  

The Alcoholism Field and A.A.

DAILY REFLECTIONS

LET GO AND LET GOD

. . . praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out

 TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 96 

When I “Let Go and Let God,” I think more clearly and wisely. Without having to think about it, I quickly let go of things that cause me immediate pain and discomfort. Because I find it hard to let go of the kind of worrisome thoughts and attitudes that cause me immense anguish, all I need do during those times is allow God, as I understand Him, to release them for me, and then and there, I let go of the thoughts, memories and attitudes that are troubling me.

When I receive help from God, as I understand Him, I can live my life one day at a time and handle whatever challenges that come my way. Only then can I live a life of victory over alcohol, in comfortable sobriety.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc   

Emmet Fox

But it is in its prayers and treatments that the Bible is transcendent. It contains a large number of the greatest prayers ever written—beginning, of course, with what we call the "Lord's Prayer"—prayers the like of which have never been found elsewhere, for they go right down to the depths of the human soul, meeting every need that can arise, and providing for every possible temperament and any conceivable contingency —in fact they cater to "all sorts and conditions of men."
Among all the beautiful and heart searching prayers of the Bible there is none that surpasses the wonderful poem that we call the Forty-Sixth Psalm. This is an inspired treatment that will enable you to overcome any kind of difficulty; if you can tune yourself in to the level of consciousness to which it attains. It is the supreme Bible treatment, against fear.  

~Emmet Fox   

DAILY REFLECTIONS

GOING WITH THE FLOW

Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him. . . .

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 96

The first words I speak when arising in the morning are, “I arise, O God, to do Thy will.” This is the shortest prayer I know and it is deeply ingrained in me. Prayer doesn’t change God’s attitude toward me; it changes my attitude toward God. As distinguished from prayer, meditation is a quiet time, without words. To be centered is to be physically relaxed, emotionally calm, mentally focused and spiritually aware.

One way to keep the channel open and to improve my conscious contact with God is to maintain a grateful attitude. On the days when I am grateful, good things seem to happen in my life. The instant I start cursing things in my life, however, the flow of good stops. God did not interrupt the flow; my own negativity did.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc   

Just For Today

Understanding humility "Humility is a result of getting honest with ourselves." Basic Text p. 35 Humility was an idea so foreign to most of us that we ignored it as long as we could. When we first saw the word "humbly" ahead in Step Seven, we may have figured it meant we had quite a bit of humiliation in store. Perhaps we chose to look it up in the dictionary, only to become even more confused by the definition. We didn't understand how "lowliness and subservience" applied to recovery. To be humble does not mean we are the lowest form of life. On the contrary, becoming humble means we attain a realistic view of ourselves and where we fit in the world. We grow into a state of awareness founded on our acceptance of all aspects of ourselves. We neither deny our good qualities nor overemphasize our defects. We honestly accept who we are. No one of us will ever attain a state of perfect humility. But we can certainly strive to honestly admit our faults, accept our assets, and rely on our Higher Power as a source of strength. Humility doesn't mean we have to crawl life's path on our hands and knees; it just means we must admit we cannot recover on our own. We need each other and, above all, we need the power of a loving God. Just for today: To be humble, I will honestly accept all facets of myself, seeing my true place in the world. For the strength I need to fill that place, I will rely on the God of my understanding.

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY

A.A. Thought for the Day

Fear and worry had me down. They were increased by my drinking. I worried about what I had done when I was drunk. I was afraid of what the consequences might be. I was afraid to face people because of the fear of being found out. Fear kept me in hot water all the time. I was a nervous wreck from fear and worry. I was a tied-up bundle of nerves. I had a fear of failure, of the future, of growing old, of sickness, of hangovers, of suicide. I had a wrong set of ideas and attitudes. When A.A. told me to surrender these fears and worries to a Higher Power, I did so. I now try to think faith instead of fear. Have I put faith in place of fear?

Meditation for the Day

Spiritual power is God in action. God can only act through human beings. Whenever you, however weak you may be, allow God to act through you, then all you think and say and do is spiritually powerful. It is not you alone who produces a change in the lives of others! It is also the Divine Spirit in you and working through you. Power is God in action. God can use you as a tool to accomplish miracles in people’s lives

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may try to let God’s power act through me today. I pray that I may get rid of those blocks that keep His power from me.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation  

AS BILL SEES IT

~ Page 310 ~

Learning Trust

Our entire A.A. program rests upon the principle of mutual trust. We trust God, we trust A.A., and we trust each other. Therefore, we trust our leaders in world service. The “Right of Decision” that we offer them is not only the practical means by which they may act and lead effectively, but it is also the symbol of our implicit confidence.

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

If you arrive at A.A. with no religious convictions, you can, if you wish, make A.A. itself or even your A.A. group your “Higher Power”. Here’s a large group of people who have solved their alcohol problem. In this respect they are certainly a power greater than you. Even this minimum of faith will be enough.

Many members who have crossed the threshold just this way will tell you that, once across, their faith broadened and deepened. Relieved of the alcohol obsession, their lives unaccountably transformed, they came to believe in a Higher Power, and most of them began to talk of God.

~ 1. TWELVE CONCEPTS, P. 19 ~
~ 2. TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 27-28 ~
© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc    

WALK IN DRY PLACES

DEALING WITH WORRY

Dealing with Feelings

There’s nothing like a siege of worry to spoil our day. It matters little whether the worry is about a real problem or something we’re imagining. In either case, worry makes us unhappy, depressed, and even fatigued.

It doesn’t help to be urged not to worry. We may even know worry is harmful, yet be unable to stop it. In fact, one of the things we may have sought in the bottle was an easing of worry.

The best answer to worry is in the Twelve Step program. If we have turned our will and lives over to our Higher Power, the real direction of our lives is out of our hands. We must think of ourselves as passengers in a divinely guided vehicle.

Some will think this philosophy is preposterous and irresponsible, but in reality we are taking right actions in an orderly way, as our guidance continues. We need only prove to ourselves that our program works. Worry is merely a signal that we need to work our program.

If I catch myself worrying, I’ll remind myself that my Higher Power is in charge of all outcomes. I’ll do my best and expect the best.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation  

KEEP IT SIMPLE

That suit is best that best suits me.

~ John Clark 
How much time do we spend trying to “fit in”? Many of us used to care to much what other people thought about us—our clothes, our ideas, our work. Did we drink the right brand, drive the right car, listen to the right music?

In our program, we still have to watch out for fads and peer pressure. We have to ask ourselves if we’re really in touch with our Higher Power. Are we searching for a sponsor who has inner peace and direction? Or do we look for people who are like our old using friends? As we learn to find our own way of following our Higher Power, we need to be okay with being different.

Prayer for the Day:

Higher Power, help me be the best me I can be today.

Action for the Day:

Today, I’ll work to be me—honestly me—to everyone I meet.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation   

Father Leo’s

BELIEF


“An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support.”

— John Buchanan

The common cry of those who suffer from addiction is that they feel isolated. Not only isolated from self, family and friends but also from God. One reason for this feeling of isolation is teachings and attitudes that produced guilt, shame and fear. God was seen as a hammer with which society beat the addict.

Today, in an atmosphere of love and fellowship, we begin to look at these old attitudes and, hopefully, begin to change them. God can be seen in the hug as well as the sacrament; in the doubt as well as the dogma. In the honest sharing of fellow addicts, God is made known. God needs to be given a human face.

Teach me to grow in the virtues of tolerance and understanding.   

A DAY AT A TIME

Reflection for the Day

There are no boundaries to meditation. It has neither width, depth, nor height, which means that it can always be further developed without limitation of any sort. Meditation is an individual matter; few of us meditate in the same way, and in that sense, it is truly a personal adventure. For all of us who practice meditation seriously, however, the purpose is the same: to improve our conscious contact with God. Despite its lack of specific dimensions and despite its intangibility, meditation is, in reality, the most intensely practical thing that we can do. One of its first rewards, for example, is emotional balance. What could be more practical than that? Am I broadening and deepening the channel between myself and God?

Today I Pray

As I seek God through daily prayer and meditation, may I find the peace that passes understanding, that balance that gives perspective to the whole of life. May I center myself in God.

Today I Will Remember

My balance comes from God.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation    

ONE DAY AT A TIME

FREEDOM

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

~ The Bible, Book of John ~

In the past, when I was threatened by another person’s thoughts, beliefs, actions, or desires, I simply deemed them completely unacceptable and worked hard to convince the other person just how wrong they were. I cited all kinds of religious doctrine and politically correct ideas to try to convince the other person why their ideas were unacceptable.

This “convincing” was nothing more than an attempt to control another so I wouldn’t have to face myself or any of the things that caused me anxiety and fear. All I succeeded in doing was forcing others to help me lie to myself. Of course, this also created its own anxiety and fear, so I had to do something to cover it up. What did I do? I compulsively overate, I binged, I purged, I exercised, I starved myself, I abused laxatives, and on and on.

Today, because of my Higher Power and the gifts of this program, I can look at why some thoughts, feelings, beliefs and desires threaten me. I can be gentle with myself as I look at which of my “boo-boo buttons” have been pushed. I can ask myself how I’ve been hurt by these ideas in the past and learn how those “boo-boo buttons” were produced in the first place.

Just like a wound, exposing my hurts to the sunlight helps them heal. Bringing them out into the light helps me see all the truth about them–not just the distorted parts I felt in the darkness. I can see what my part was and I can see what the part of others may have been. Through working the Twelve Steps, I can find peace with these hurts and experience the promise of not regretting or wanting to close the door on the past.

One Day at a Time . . .

I can set myself free from the darkness by looking at past hurts in the light of truth.

~ Sandee S. ~  

Today’s Gift

The natural flights of the human mind are not from pleasure to pleasure, but from hope to hope.

— Samuel Johnson

A truly powerful force in the universe is that of optimism. Optimism lies at the root of our mental and physical health. Feelings of hope can stimulate the body’s immune system and inspire recovery from a critical illness.

Optimism expresses itself in the persistence and resilience of living things. A child learning to walk repeatedly falls down and picks himself up until he stands erect. A decade after the eruption of Mount St. Helens destroyed the local ecology, life had reestablished itself on this volcano with amazing abundance and rapidity. And despite its hostile environment, a sole dandelion miraculously pushed itself up through a crack in the concrete. That dandelion was optimistic that it could and would survive.

In the long run, the forces of love and life always triumph over those of fear and death. No matter how challenging the obstacles or difficult the tests, there is always cause for optimism.  

The Eye Opener

According to St. John, God is Love. That appears to be the only description given and leads us to assume that it is His chief attribute. The fact that things are not always as we think they should be does not contradict it. Practically all our griefs we brought upon ourselves, many of them were essential in order to fully develop our characters, and many may be the result of God’s long-range planning that we with our limited perception, cannot conceive.

If God had not loved the world, He would have given up on it a long time ago.

Copyright Hazelden Foundation  

Daily Tao

310 - FRIENDSHIP

Those truly linked don't need correspondence.
When they meet again after many years apart,
Their friendship is as true as ever.

In the distant past, there was once a young and wealthy statesman who was on a diplomatic mission. Pausing by a river at night, he heard the haunting sounds of a lute. A passionate musician himself, he took up his own lute and eventually found a goatherd sitting on an old ruin. In those days, an aristocrat would not associate with a commoner, but the two men struck up a friendship through their music. Their playing was as smooth and natural as flowing water.

Once a year, the ambassador and the goatherd would renew their friendship. Though they had the chance to play their music with others during the rest of the year, each man declared that he had found his true counterpart.

The ambassador tried for many years to lift the goatherd out of his poverty, but his friend steadfastly refused. He did not want to pollute their friendship with money.

Years later, when the ambassador was gray haired, he went to the appointed spot, but his friend was not there. He tried to play alone, but his melody was forlorn. Finally someone came to tell him that his friend had starved to death during a recent famine. This news made the ambassador despondent. He was caught in the irony of knowing that he had the money to save his friend, and yet he understood the man's values as well. In sorrow, the ambassador broke his lute. "With my friend gone from the world, who will I play my music for?"

True friendship is a rare harmony.  

Daily Zen

Not thinking about anything is zen. Once you know this, walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, everything you do is zen. To know that the mind is empty is to see the Buddha...Using the mind to look for reality is delusion. Not using the mind to look for reality is awareness. Freeing oneself from words is liberation.

-Bodhidharma    

Hungry, Angry,Lonely, Tired ---

Emmet Fox

THE Bible teaches spiritual Truth in many different ways. It gives direct teaching about God, as clear and precise as any book on philosophy that ever was written. It expounds the Great Message indirectly through historical narrative and by means of biographical studies, for the Bible includes the most wonderful and interesting set of human biographies that ever was written. It contains an unmatched collection of essays and treatises on the nature of God, and the nature of man, the powers of the soul, and the meaning of life. Consider St. John's opening section in the Gospel, for instance, or the 11th chapter of Hebrews, or the 12th and 13th of Corinthians I, or the 5th, 6th, and 7th of Matthew, to name only a few. Each of these chapters in a different way gives direct and simple teaching of the Truth, unsurpassed in any work outside of the Bible. ~ Emmet Fox

JUST FOR TODAY

God’s Guidance

“Our Higher power is accessible to us at all times. We receive guidance when we ask for knowledge of God’s will for us.”

~ Basic Text p. 92 ~

It’s not always easy to make the right decision. This is especially true for addicts learning to live by spiritual principles for the first time. In addiction, we developed self-destructive, anti-social impulses. When conflict arose, we took our cues from those negative impulses. Our disease didn’t prepare us to make sound decisions.

Today, to find the direction we need, we ask our Higher Power. We stop; we pray; and, quietly, we listen within for guidance. We’ve come to believe that we can rely on a Power greater than ourselves. That Power is accessible to us whenever we need it. All we need do is pray for knowledge of our God’s will for u and the power to carry it out.

Each time we do this, each time we find direction amidst our confusion, our faith grows. The more we rely on our Higher Power, the easier it becomes to ask for direction: We’ve found the Power we were lacking in our addiction, a Power that available to us at all times. To find the direction we need to live fully and grow spiritually, all we have to do is maintain contact with the God of our understanding.

Just for today: My Higher Power is a source of spiritual guidance within me that I can always draw upon. When I lad direction today. I will ask for knowledge of my Higher Power will.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc   

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

During our thoughts about the rewards that have come to us as a result of our new way of living, we find that we have new kinds of homes, new relationships with our spouses and with our children. Also, peace, contentment, hope, faith, charity, and new ambition. What are some of the things we have lost? Each one of us can answer this question in many ways. I have lost much of my fear. It used to control me; it was my master. It paralyzed my efforts. Fear always got me down. It made me an introvert, an ingrown person. When fear was replaced by faith, I got well. Have I lost some of my fears?

Meditation For The Day

The world would sooner be brought close to God. His will would sooner be done on earth, if all who acknowledge Him gave themselves unreservedly to being used by Him. God can use every human being as a channel for divine love and power. What delays the bringing of the world closer to God is the backwardness of His followers. If each one lived each day for God and allowed God to work through him, then the world would soon be drawn much closer to God, its Founder and Preserver.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be used as a channel to express the Divine Love. I pray that I may so live as to bring God’s spirit closer to the world.  

AS BILL SEES IT

Spiritual Axiom

It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us. If somebody hurts us and we are sore, we are in the wrong.

But are there no exceptions to this rule? What about “justifiable” anger? If somebody cheats us, aren’t we entitled to be mad? And shouldn’t we be properly angry with self-righteous folks?

For us of A.A. these adventures in anger are sometimes very dangerous. We have found that even justified anger ought to be left to those better qualified to handle it.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, P. 90 

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc

WALK IN DRY PLACES

NO APOLOGIES FOR SOBRIETY

Attitude Now that we are sober, some of us are invited to social events where there is drinking. Now and then, we see raised eyebrows when others learn that we’re having only soft drinks.

Some of us may respond by explaining that we’re alcoholics and cannot take even one drink. A few recovering alcoholics handle the situation by pretending that they’re holding an alcoholic drink—perhaps enlisting the bartender’s aid in making the drink appear to contain liquor.

While it may be useful to tell others about our alcoholism, we are under no obligation to do so, particularly in a drinking environment. At the same time, there’s something wrong with pretending that one is still taking alcoholic drinks.

Our best course is to remember that we never have to apologize for not drinking. In a world that makes so much fuss about the right to drink, we surely have a right not to drink, and we do not have to explain why we are not drinking.

If I find myself in a drinking environment today, I’ll handle it with dignity and cheerfulness, but I will not feel that I must defend my sobriety to others.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation   

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Acceptance and faith are capable of producing 100% sobriety.

~ Grapevine ~

Acceptance and faith are the most important parts of our recovery. If we boil down Steps One

And Two, we’ll find acceptance and faith. Acceptance means we see the world as it is, not as we want it to be. We start to see ourselves as humans, not as gods. We are good, and we are bad. We need to fit in the world, not run it.

Acceptance also guides us toward faith. Faith is believing. We start to believe that someone or something will take care of us. Faith is about giving up control of outcomes. We learn to say to our Higher Power, “Thy will be done.”

Prayer for the Day:

Higher Power help me accept my illness. Give me the faith to know that You and I, together, will keep me sober.

Action for the Day:

Throughout the day, I’ll think of the 11th step. I’ll pray to my Higher Power, “Thy Will be done, not mine.” Amen.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation   

Father Leo’s

FEAR


“The spirit of liberty . . . is the spirit which is not too sure it is always right.”

— Judge Learned Hand

I am free to make mistakes. It is okay for me to be wrong. I can say or do something that proves to be incorrect. I am not perfect. Part of the liberty of being a human being is not being perfect; I am not God. In a sense this is a relief. I do not have to take responsibility for the lives of others or the crises in the world. It is okay not to have all the answers. Indeed, sometimes the spiritual life is discovered in “not knowing” and the answer will forever remain in the question. It is human to ask “why are we like we are?” But the answer rests in God.

God of Reason, let me be satisfied with discovering You in the questions.   

A DAY AT A TIME

Reflection for the Day

For many months after I came to the Program, I paid little attention to the practice of serious meditation and prayer. I felt that it might help me meet an emergency—such as a sudden craving to return to my old ways—but it remained among the lowest levels on my list of priorities. In those early days, I equated prayer and meditation with mystery and even hypocrisy. I’ve since found that prayer and meditation are more rewarding in their results than I could have ever imagined. For me today, the harvest is increasingly bountiful, and I continue to gain peace of mind and strength far beyond my human limitations. Is my former pain being replaced by tranquility?

Today I Pray

May I discover that prayer and meditation make up the central hall of my life’s structure—the place where my thoughts collect and form into order. May I feel God’s mystery there, and an overwhelming resource of energy.

Today I Will Remember

Fantasy is mine. Mystery is God’s. 

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation    

ONE DAY AT A TIME

 FOCUS ON OTHERS

I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street I met a man who had no feet.

Denis Waitely 
I find that when I am stuck or feeling sorry for myself I just need to reach out and help someone who is worse off than me. When I pray for someone to help, someone always shows up. This past weekend I was feeling sorry for myself. I went to church and prayed for God to bring someone for me to help. Alas, as I walked in to school this morning I was greeted by a tearful friend whose husband was just diagnosed with lung cancer. I hugged her and told her I was there for her. It took the focus off of ME and I was able to help someone else feel better.

One day at a time . . .

Allow me to be of service to others. I need them as much as they need me.

~ Sue ~   

Elder’s Meditation

“You could study the ancestors, but without a deep feeling of communication with them it would be surface learning and surface talking. Once you have gone into yourself and have learned very deeply, appreciate it, and relate to it very well, everything will come very easily.”

–Ellen White, NANAIMO

Inside of every human being are our ancestors, and these ancestors still live. Today, the white man calls this DNA, but there is more than DNA. We have the ability to go inside of ourselves and learn from the ancestors. The ancestor teachings reside in the place of the center. The ancestors are waiting for us to come there so they can share the ancient teachings. It is said, “Be still and know”.

Great Spirit, let me walk in the stillness.   

Today’s Gift

A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.

— D. Elton Trueblood

Our lives are enriched by the contributions of those who lived before us. Many men and women gave more than they ever took from society, and now we enjoy the rewards. Some people were fired with a spirit to beautify the world and planted trees that will live for 200 years. Others wrote music that speaks to us from another generation, and others established a government that guides our principles of justice. They gave so much because they knew they were a part of their community and the world.

Most of us cannot make the great contributions that will make us famous, but we enrich our lives when we contribute freely to improving our community and the world. We do that when we simply say hello to our neighbor, when we serve on a volunteer cleanup committee for a local park, and when we do Twelfth Step work in the program. We too have beautified and contributed to the world, and that gives us a feeling of peace and self respect.

Today, I will appreciate all that comes freely to me from others, and I will give what I can to make the world a better place.

From the book:

                                                  Touchstones by Anonymous   

THE EYE OPENER

One of the first things we should endeavor to do is to kill the lawyer instinct in ourselves. In our effort to get the new guy straightened out, we try to cure all his troubles by giving advice on subjects on which we possess neither the training nor ability to talk constructively.

Let us confine our efforts as far as possible to those things of which we have real knowledge – his sobriety and the AA Program.

Copyright Hazelden Foundation   

Daily Tao

/ 309 – Contemporary   

Why do yogis die today?
Why are there no immortals any more?
What has happened to all the sorcerers?
Why don’t angels come to earth?


A book written by a contemporary yogi stated that the author passed away on a certain date. What a contrast to the scriptures that indicate that a holy person’s death was unknown, or that the person has been seen by successive generations, or that the person was even resurrected!

Today, all holy people die. No one is recognized as a saint, and the supernatural is no longer a consideration. Why? Because people no longer believe these things to be true.

If we accept that the present age is one where the mystical no longer holds sway, can we still be spiritual? It is possible for us to be even more spiritual than ever. Freed of the thought that spirituality is something extraordinary, something possible only for spectacular yogis and immortals, we can finally consider that we ourselves can reach out and be just as spiritual. The ultimate levels of understanding are not inherently barred from any human being. If we are seekers, then we shall find. We may not live forever, we may not escape death, but we will be able to understand what holy people in the past did. 

Daily Zen

If we single-pointedly practice great compassion, then, with little effort, we will be able to gain all other virtues.

-Geshe Namgyal Wangchen, "Awakening the Mind"    

Australian Steve - Speaker on Unity

Emmet Fox

THE Bible teaches spiritual Truth in many different ways. It gives direct teaching about God, as clear and precise as any book on philosophy that ever was written. It expounds the Great Message indirectly through historical narrative and by means of biographical studies, for the Bible includes the most wonderful and interesting set of human biographies that ever was written. It contains an unmatched collection of essays and treatises on the nature of God, and the nature of man, the powers of the soul, and the meaning of life. Consider St. John's opening section in the Gospel, for instance, or the 11th chapter of Hebrews, or the 12th and 13th of Corinthians I, or the 5th, 6th, and 7th of Matthew, to name only a few. Each of these chapters in a different way gives direct and simple teaching of the Truth, unsurpassed in any work outside of the Bible.

~ Emmet Fox   

Daily Reflections

A DAILY DISCIPLINE


” … when they [self-examination, meditation, and prayer] are logically related and interwoven, the result is an unshakable foundation for life.”

-TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 98

The last three Steps of the program invoke God’s loving discipline upon my willful nature. If I devote just a few moments every night to a review of the highlights of my day, along with an acknowledgment of those aspects that didn’t please me so much, I gain a personal history of myself, one that is essential to my growth, or lack of it, and to ask in prayerful meditation to be relieved of those continuing shortcomings that cause me pain. Meditation and prayer also teach me the art of focusing and listening. I find that the turmoil of the day gets tuned out as I pray for His will and guidance. The practice of asking Him to help me in my strivings for perfection puts a new slant on the tedium of any day, because I know there is honor in any job done well. The daily discipline of prayer and meditation will keep me in fit spiritual condition, able to face whatever the day brings – without the thought of a drink.  

DAILY REFLECTIONS

“THE QUALITY OF FAITH”

This . . . has to do with the quality of faith. . . . In no deep or meaningful sense had we ever taken stock of ourselves. .

. . . We had not even prayed rightly. We had always said, “Grant me my wishes” instead of “Thy will be done.”

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 32 

God does not grant me material possessions, take away my suffering, or spare me from disasters, but He does give me a good life, the ability to cope, and peace of mind. My prayers are simple: first, they express my gratitude for the good things in my life, regardless of how hard I have to search for them; and second, I ask only for the strength and the wisdom to do His will. He answers with solutions to my problems, sustaining my ability to live through daily frustrations with a serenity I did not believe existed, and with the strength to practice the principles of A.A. in all of my everyday affairs.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc    

AS BILL SEES IT

~ Page 308 ~

A Way Out of Depression

“During acute depression, avoid trying to set your whole life in order all at once. If you take on assignments so heavy that you are sure to fail in them at the moment, then you are allowing yourself to be tricked by your unconscious. Thus you will continue to make sure of your failure, and when it comes you will have another alibi for still more retreat into depression.

“In short, the `all or nothing’ attitude is a most destructive one. It is best to begin with whatever the irreducible minimums of activity are. Then work for an enlargement of these — day by day. Don’t be disconcerted by setbacks — just start over.”

~ LETTER, P. 1960 ~
© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc  

WALK IN DRY PLACEs

THE GIFT OF SENSITIVITY

Facing Reality

Some of us complain about being too sensitive, or others may tell us so. This sets us up for all kinds of hurts, both real and imaginary.

In drinking, we actually dulled our sensitivity, though we thought we were expressing more feelings. This dulling of our sensitive nature blinded us to the damage we were doing.

In sobriety, we are learning that sensitivity is a gift that we can channel wisely. It can make us more aware of the feelings and needs of others. It can help us become a part of the group.

Like all gifts, sensitivity has its downside. It can make us vulnerable to problems that do not belong to us, and it can lead us into the trap of worrying about things we can do nothing about. But sensitivity is generally good, and in sobriety we can become better people because of it.

I’ll take great satisfaction today in the full use of my senses, including that part of me that perceives and expresses deep feelings.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation