Father Leo’s

LISTENING


“If other people are going to talk, conversation becomes impossible.”

— James McNeill Whistler

Part of my addiction was never listening to what people were saying. This was part arrogance, part denial, part fear, part control, part ego — the bottom line was that I did not listen. I was bored and unhappy with my life because I was a prisoner of my own thoughts.

My spiritual awakening — which I consider a process rather than an event, a process that is still going on in my life on a daily basis — was in allowing some new information into my life that led to admittance and acceptance. The day that I was able to admit that I was an alcoholic was the day I took a step towards acceptance.
Today I receive immense help and comfort from other people, especially recovering alcoholics. Two people experiencing an honest conversation are part of God’s promised love for His world.  

Keep It Simple - May 3 2026

When I have listened to my mistakes, I have grown.

—Hugh Prather

Everyone makes mistakes. We all know that. So why is it so hard to admit our own? We seem to think we have to be prefect. We have a hard time looking at our mistakes. But our mistakes can be very good teachers. Our Twelve Step program helps us learn and grow from our mistakes. In Step Four, half of our work is to think of our mistakes. In step Five, we admit our mistakes to God, ourselves, and another person. We learn, we grow and become whole. All by coming to know our mistakes The gift of recovery is not being free from mistakes. Instead, we do the Steps to claim our mistakes and talk about them. We find the gift of recovery when we learn from our mistakes.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to see my mistakes as changes to get to know myself better.

Action for the Day: Today Ill talk to a friend about what my mistakes taught me. Today I’ll feel less shame.

Keep It Simple - April 23 2026

When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen. 

— Ernest Hemingway

It’s hard to listen in a complete way. Often we listen, but we’re still thinking about ourselves. We wonder, “How do their words relate to me? Do I have anything to add?” Often, fear is behind these questions. We fear saying the wrong thing. We fear looking stupid. Good listeners know how to let go of their fears. To listen completely, we step outside ourselves, and we’re totally there for someone else. Sometimes we listen for only a few moments. Sometimes we don’t even agree with the people we’re listening to. But we let them know that they count. What a gift we give when we listen in a complete way!

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, teach me to listen in a complete way. Teach me to step outside myself and be their for others.


Action for the Day: Today, I’ll listen to what the person says.

ELDER'S MEDITATION - 17th March 2026

“By listening to the inner self and following one’s instincts and intuitions, a person may be guided to safety.”

~ Dr. A.C. Ross (Ehanamani), LAKOTA ~

Be still and know. The Medicine Wheel teaches the four directions of inner power — not personal power, but the power of God. These four directions are emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual. As our emotions get too far out of control, we simultaneously create an equivalent mental picture, our physical body fills with stress and tension, and we become spiritually confused. When we experience these uptight feelings, the best thing to do is mentally pause, slow down our thinking, breathe slowly, or pray and ask the spirits to help. Only when we approach the stillness of the mind do we get access to our spiritual guidance system. To be guided, let your mind be still.

Creator, today, let me reside in Your stillness. 

Father Leo’s - 30th August 2025

LISTENING


“If other people are going to talk, conversation becomes impossible.”

— James McNeill Whistler

Part of my addiction was never listening to what people were saying. This was part arrogance, part denial, part fear, part control, part ego — the bottom line was that I did not listen. I was bored and unhappy with my life because I was a prisoner of my own thoughts.

My spiritual awakening — which I consider a process rather than an event, a process that is still going on in my life on a daily basis — was in allowing some new information into my life that led to admittance and acceptance. The day that I was able to admit that I was an alcoholic was the day I took a step towards acceptance.
Today I receive immense help and comfort from other people, especially recovering alcoholics. Two people experiencing an honest conversation are part of God’s promised love for His world. 

ELDER'S MEDITATION OF THE DAY #essentialsofrecovery

“By listening to the inner self and following one’s instincts and intuitions, a person may be guided to safety.”

~ Dr. A.C. Ross (Ehanamani), LAKOTA ~

Be still and know. The Medicine Wheel teaches the four directions of inner power — not personal power, but the power of God. These four directions are emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual. As our emotions get too far out of control, we simultaneously create an equivalent mental picture, our physical body fills with stress and tension, and we become spiritually confused. When we experience these uptight feelings, the best thing to do is mentally pause, slow down our thinking, breathe slowly, or pray and ask the spirits to help. Only when we approach the stillness of the mind do we get access to our spiritual guidance system. To be guided, let your mind be still.

Creator, today, let me reside in Your stillness. 

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A WOMAN’S SPIRIT #essentialsofrecovery

Learning to listen to one’s own inner voice is the last crucial step to wholeness.

~ Paula Sunray 

How does our inner voice develop? Those of us who grew up in violent families most often heard abusive voices. Or perhaps we grew up in near- empty homes where the absence of attention Injured our well-being. Almost certainly, the voices most of us heard didn’t affirm us. But the voices we can now cultivate, with the help of this program, will change us and make us whole and healthy.

Developing the inner voice we want and deserve may seem difficult at first. Luckily, sponsors get us on the right track, modeling habits that will help us change our lives, just as soon as we express our willingness. Becoming whole is our decision, and developing a healthy inner voice is our responsibility. Utilizing the program tools assures it.

I can listen to a loving inner voice if I practice loving myself and others today.

© 1994 by Hazelden Foundation 

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Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrecovery

LISTENING


“If other people are going to talk, conversation becomes impossible.”

— James McNeill Whistler

Part of my addiction was never listening to what people were saying. This was part arrogance, part denial, part fear, part control, part ego — the bottom line was that I did not listen. I was bored and unhappy with my life because I was a prisoner of my own thoughts.

My spiritual awakening — which I consider a process rather than an event, a process that is still going on in my life on a daily basis — was in allowing some new information into my life that led to admittance and acceptance. The day that I was able to admit that I was an alcoholic was the day I took a step towards acceptance.
Today I receive immense help and comfort from other people, especially recovering alcoholics. Two people experiencing an honest conversation are part of God’s promised love for His world.     

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Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

ELDER'S MEDITATION OF THE DAY #LAKOTA #Essentialsofrec #Native ~Recovery

“By listening to the inner self and following one’s instincts and intuitions, a person may be guided to safety.”

~ Dr. A.C. Ross (Ehanamani), LAKOTA ~

Be still and know. The Medicine Wheel teaches the four directions of inner power — not personal power, but the power of God. These four directions are emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual. As our emotions get too far out of control, we simultaneously create an equivalent mental picture, our physical body fills with stress and tension, and we become spiritually confused. When we experience these uptight feelings, the best thing to do is mentally pause, slow down our thinking, breathe slowly, or pray and ask the spirits to help. Only when we approach the stillness of the mind do we get access to our spiritual guidance system. To be guided, let your mind be still.

Creator, today, let me reside in Your stillness.

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EASY DOES IT #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Listening

THE READY PUPIL

God gave us two ears, but only one mouth. Some say that’s because our Higher Power wanted us to spend twice as much time listening as we did talking.
~ Anonymous ~

One of the most valuable things we can do is to become a good listener. When we concentrate on absorbing what wiser and more experienced members say rather than thinking about what we imagine others want to hear from us, we will grow in our Program. We are aware that “when the pupil is ready, the teacher will appear.”

Often, the teacher is an unlikely source. Some of the things we most need to hear may come from someone new to the Program. If we are highly educated, it may come from someone with no education at all. If we are materially successful, it may come from someone who has nothing. We are all teachers and all students in the Program. We constantly learn from each other, wherever or whoever we are.

I shall never stop learning as I will always be a pupil in my Program. Thankfully, I will never graduate. There are no diplomas, only revelations. I will be a good listener.

©1990 by Anonymous. All rights reserved. Published by Hazelden.

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DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrec #Recovery #BillW ##Success

NO ORDINARY SUCCESS STORY

A.A. is no success story in the ordinary sense of the word. It is a story of suffering transmuted, under grace, into spiritual progress.

~ AS BILL SEES IT, p. 35 ~

Upon entering A.A. I listened to others talk about the reality of their drinking: loneliness, terror and pain. As I listened further, I soon heard a description of a very different kind—the reality of sobriety. It is a reality of freedom and happiness, of purpose and direction, and of serenity and peace with God, ourselves and others. By attending meetings I am reintroduced to that reality, over and over. I see it in the eyes and hear it in the voices of those around me. By working the program I find the direction and strength with which to make it mine. The joy of A.A. is that this new reality is available to me.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc

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Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrecovery

LISTENING


“If other people are going to talk, conversation becomes impossible.”

— James McNeill Whistler

Part of my addiction was never listening to what people were saying. This was part arrogance, part denial, part fear, part control, part ego — the bottom line was that I did not listen. I was bored and unhappy with my life because I was a prisoner of my own thoughts.

My spiritual awakening — which I consider a process rather than an event, a process that is still going on in my life on a daily basis — was in allowing some new information into my life that led to admittance and acceptance. The day that I was able to admit that I was an alcoholic was the day I took a step towards acceptance.
Today I receive immense help and comfort from other people, especially recovering alcoholics. Two people experiencing an honest conversation are part of God’s promised love for His world.    

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrecovery

LISTENING


“If other people are going to talk, conversation becomes impossible.”

— James McNeill Whistler

Part of my addiction was never listening to what people were saying. This was part arrogance, part denial, part fear, part control, part ego — the bottom line was that I did not listen. I was bored and unhappy with my life because I was a prisoner of my own thoughts.

My spiritual awakening — which I consider a process rather than an event, a process that is still going on in my life on a daily basis — was in allowing some new information into my life that led to admittance and acceptance. The day that I was able to admit that I was an alcoholic was the day I took a step towards acceptance.
Today I receive immense help and comfort from other people, especially recovering alcoholics. Two people experiencing an honest conversation are part of God’s promised love for His world.   

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Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

Elder’s Meditation of the Day #essentialsofrecovery

“If you listen close at night, you will hear the creatures of the dark, all of them sacred – the owls, the crickets, the frogs, the night birds – and you will hear beautiful songs, songs you have never heard before. Listen with your heart. Never stop listening.”

–Henery Quick Bear, LAKOTA

The night time is full of life, full of song, and full of beauty. Have you ever gone outside at night and listened? One has access to serenity and peace. At night all our senses change their roles. Because we can’t see, our hearing is much stronger, our smell is even more enhanced, our sight is different. We are able to join nature through sounds and smells, through the songs of the night birds, and through the night winds. We can close our eyes and experience interconnectedness in a different way. Try it tonight and experience oneness with the Creator.

Great Spirit, allow me to listen to the teachers of the night. 

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A Day At A Time #essentialsofrecovery

Reflection For The Day

When I first listened to people in The Program talking freely and honestly about themselves, I was stunned. Their stories of their own addictive escapades, of their own secret fears, and of their own gnawing loneliness were literally mind-blowing for me. I discovered — and hardly dared believe it at first — that I’m not alone. I’m not all that different from everybody else and, in fact, we’re all very much the same. I began to sense that I do belong somewhere, and my loneliness began to leave me. Do I try to give to others what has been given freely to me?

Today I Pray

May I begin to see, as the life stories of my friends in The Program unfold for me, that our similarities are far more startling than our differences. As I listen to their accounts of addition and recovery, may I experience often that small shock of recognition, a “hey-that’s-me!” feeling that is quick to chase away my separateness. May I become a wholehearted member of the group, giving and taking in equal parts.

Today I Will Remember

Sameness, not Differences. 

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Keep It Simple #essentialsofrecovery

When I have listened to my mistakes, I have grown.

—Hugh Prather

Everyone makes mistakes. We all know that. So why is it so hard to admit our own? We seem to think we have to be prefect. We have a hard time looking at our mistakes. But our mistakes can be very good teachers. Our Twelve Step program helps us learn and grow from our mistakes. In Step Four, half of our work is to think of our mistakes. In step Five, we admit our mistakes to God, ourselves, and another person. We learn, we grow and become whole. All by coming to know our mistakes The gift of recovery is not being free from mistakes. Instead, we do the Steps to claim our mistakes and talk about them. We find the gift of recovery when we learn from our mistakes.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to see my mistakes as changes to get to know myself better.

Action for the Day: Today Ill talk to a friend about what my mistakes taught me. Today I’ll feel less shame. 

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Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrecovery

LISTENING


“If other people are going to talk, conversation becomes impossible.”

— James McNeill Whistler

Part of my addiction was never listening to what people were saying. This was part arrogance, part denial, part fear, part control, part ego — the bottom line was that I did not listen. I was bored and unhappy with my life because I was a prisoner of my own thoughts.

My spiritual awakening — which I consider a process rather than an event, a process that is still going on in my life on a daily basis — was in allowing some new information into my life that led to admittance and acceptance. The day that I was able to admit that I was an alcoholic was the day I took a step towards acceptance.
Today I receive immense help and comfort from other people, especially recovering alcoholics. Two people experiencing an honest conversation are part of God’s promised love for His world.

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

JUST FOR TODAY #Essentialsofrecovery

Listening

“This ability to listen is a gift and grows as we grow spiritually. Life takes on a new meaning when we open ourselves to this gift.”

~ Basic Text, p. 102 

Have you ever watched two small children carry on a conversation? One will be talking about purple dragons while the other carries on about the discomfort caused by having sand in one’s shoes. We sometimes encounter the same communication problems as we learn to listen to others. We may struggle through meetings, trying desperately to hear the person sharing while our minds are busy planning what we will say when it’s our turn to speak. In conversation, we may suddenly realize that our answers have nothing to do with the questions we’re being asked. They are, instead, speeches prepared while in the grip of our self-obsession.

Learning how to listen—really listen—is a difficult task, but one that’s not beyond our reach. We might begin by acknowledging in our replies what our conversational partner is saying. We might ask if there is anything we can do to help when someone expresses a problem. With a little practice, we can find greater freedom from self-obsession and closer contact with the people in our lives.

Just for today: I will quiet my own thoughts and listen to what someone else is saying.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc

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DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrecovery

FOCUSING AND LISTENING

There is a direct linkage among self-examination, meditation, and prayer. Taken separately, these practices can bring much relief and benefit.

~ TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 98 ~

If I do my self-examination first, then surely, I’ll have enough humility to pray and meditate—because I’ll see and feel my need for them. Some wish to begin and end with prayer, leaving the self-examination and meditation to take place in between, whereas others start with meditation, listening for advice from God about their still hidden or unacknowledged defects. Still others engage in written and verbal work on their defects, ending with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. These three-self-examination, meditation and prayer—form a circle, without a beginning or an end. No matter where, or how, I start, I eventually arrive at my destination: a better life.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc 

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Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrecovery

LISTENING


“If other people are going to talk, conversation becomes impossible.”

— James McNeill Whistler

Part of my addiction was never listening to what people were saying. This was part arrogance, part denial, part fear, part control, part ego — the bottom line was that I did not listen. I was bored and unhappy with my life because I was a prisoner of my own thoughts.

My spiritual awakening — which I consider a process rather than an event, a process that is still going on in my life on a daily basis — was in allowing some new information into my life that led to admittance and acceptance. The day that I was able to admit that I was an alcoholic was the day I took a step towards acceptance.
Today I receive immense help and comfort from other people, especially recovering alcoholics. Two people experiencing an honest conversation are part of God’s promised love for His world.

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery