OPEN-MINDEDNESS
We have found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the realm of spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive, never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, to all men.
-AS BILL SEES IT, p. 7
Open-mindedness to concepts of a Higher Power can open doors to the spirit. Often I find the human spirit in various dogmas and faiths. I can be spiritual in the sharing of myself. The sharing of self joins me to the human race and brings me closer to God, as I understand Him.
A.A.–the Lodestar, p. 147We can be grateful for every agency or method that tries to solve the problem of alcoholism–whether of medicine, religion, education, or research. We can be open-minded toward all such efforts and we can be sympathetic when the ill-advised ones fail. We can remember that A.A. itself ran for years on “trial and error.”As individuals, we can and should work with those that promise success–even a little success.Every one of the pioneers in the total field of alcoholism will generously say that had it not been for the living proof of recovery in A.A., they could not have gone on. A.A. was the lodestar of hope and help that kept them at it.
Grapevine, March 1958
A Closed Mind
A new idea cannot be grafted onto a closed mind… Open-mindedness leads us to the very insights that have eluded us during our lives.
~ Basic Text p. 93 ~
We arrived in NA at the lowest point in our lives. We’d just about run out of ideas. What we needed most when we got here were new ideas, new ways of living, shared from the experience of people who’d seen those ideas work. Yet our closed minds prevented us from taking in the very ideas we needed to live.
Denial keeps us from appreciating just how badly we really need new ideas and new direction. By admitting our powerlessness and recognizing how truly unmanageable our lives have become, we allow ourselves to see how much we need what NA has to offer.
Self-dependence and self-will can keep us from admitting even the possibility of the existence of a Power greater than ourselves. However, when we admit the sorry state self-will has gotten us into, we open our eyes and our minds to new possibilities. When others tell us of a Power that has brought sanity to their lives, we begin to believe that such a Power may do the same for us.
A tree stripped of its branches will die unless new branches can be grafted onto its trunk. In the same way, addiction stripped us’ of whatever direction we had. To grow or even to survive, we must open our minds and allow new ideas to be grafted onto our lives.
Just for today: I will ask my Higher Power to open my mind to the new ideas of recovery.
© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc
Have You Experimented?, p.247
“Since open-mindedness and experimentation are supposed to be the indispensable attributes of our ‘scientific’ civilization, it seems strange that so many scientists are reluctant to try out personally the hypothesis that God came first and man afterwards. They prefer to believe that man is the chance product of evolution; that God, the Creator, does not exist.
“I can only report that I have experimented with both concepts and that, in my case, the God concept has proved to be a better basis for living than the man-centred one.
“Nevertheless, I would be the first to defend your right to think as you will. I simply ask this question: ‘In your own life, have you ever really tried to think and act as though there might be a God? Have you experimented?’”
Letter, 1950
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OPEN MINDS
Minds are like parachutes. They won’t work unless they are open.
~ Anonymous ~
Unless we maintain open minds, e cannot hope to make attitude changes for the better. Open-mindedness will prevent selfishness and reduce the possibility of painful resentments by not allowing intolerance and prejudice.
It is fortunate that we are individuals with personal opinions and that we can express different views without causing problems. We can disagree without being disagreeable. Besides, variety in viewpoints keeps recovery from being dull or boring.
In our Program, open minds remind us that common welfare comes before personal wishes.
When I lock the doors of my mind, I am keeping more of value out of my heart than can ever be harboured in a tightly closed mind.
©1990 by Anonymous. All rights reserved. Published by Hazelden.
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OPEN YOUR MIND
Have you an open mind? Is the window of your soul open for fresh air and the sunshine of Truth to come in, or is it closed and shuttered by mental laziness or the emotional congestion that we call prejudice?
None of us knows how many fine things we have missed through being self-satisfied and cocksure. No one can be considered really intelligent who does not have a readiness to examine new ideas with an open mind.
The history of scientific discovery shows that almost every new step was opposed by the very people who should have welcomed it.
Harvey was denounced for claiming that the blood circulated through the body; Galileo was persecuted for saying that the earth went round the sun; Pasteur was branded a quack for advancing the germ theory of disease; Jenner was threatened with the police for pioneering vaccination. The finality of the atom, which was a scientific dogma in the childhood of most of us, has been completely discarded.
Probably the only incorrigible fool is the man who says that anything is impossible, or that there is any limit to the conquests that divine Intelligence working in mankind can achieve.
The Lord is able to give thee much more than this (2 Chronicles 25:9).
© 1931 by Emmet Fox
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Have You Experimented?, p.247
“Since open-mindedness and experimentation are supposed to be the indispensable attributes of our ‘scientific’ civilization, it seems strange that so many scientists are reluctant to try out personally the hypothesis that God came first and man afterwards. They prefer to believe that man is the chance product of evolution; that God, the Creator, does not exist.
“I can only report that I have experimented with both concepts and that, in my case, the God concept has proved to be a better basis for living than the man-centred one.
“Nevertheless, I would be the first to defend your right to think as you will. I simply ask this question: ‘In your own life, have you ever really tried to think and act as though there might be a God? Have you experimented?’”
Letter, 1950
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Reflection For The Day
Now that I avail myself of the letters H-O-W suggested by friends in The Program – Honesty, Open-Mindedness, Willingness – I see things differently. In ways that I couldn’t have predicted and surely never expected, I’ve come to see things quite differently from the person I was before coming to The Program. I feel good most days. I seldom feel bad, and never for long. Certainly never as bad as I used to feel all of the time. Is my worst day now infinitely better than my best day previously?
Today I Pray
May I remember today to say “thank you” to my Higher Power, to my friends in the group and to the whole, vast fellowship of recovering chemically dependent persons for making me know that things do get better. I give thanks, too, for those verbal boosters, the tags and slogans which have so often burst into my brain at exactly the moments when they were needed, redefining my purp0ose, restoring my patience, reminding me of my God.
Today I Will Remember
How it was.
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Reflection For The Day
For my own good, I’ll go to meetings and participate in discussions with an open mind that’s ready to receive and accept new ideas. For my own peace and comfort, I’ll determinedly try to apply those new ideas to my own life. I’ll remember that The Program offers me the instruction and support I can’t find elsewhere. I’ll seek out others who understand my problems, and I’ll accept their guidance in matters which cause me discomfort and confusion. Will I try to be willing to listen — and to share?
Today I Pray
Thank you, God, for bringing The Program into my life, and with it a better understanding of Divine Power. Help me to remember that attendance and attentiveness at meetings are all-important to continuing in this happily-discovered way of life. May I listen and share with honesty, open-mindedness and willingness.
Today I Will Remember
Her’s HOW; honesty, open-mindedness, willingness.
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THE HEART OF TRUE SOBRIETY
We find that no one need have difficulty with the spirituality of the program. Willingness, honesty and open-mindedness are the essentials of recovery. But these are indispensable.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 570
Am I honest enough to accept myself as I am and let this be the “me” that I let others see? Do I have the willingness to go to any length, to do whatever is necessary to stay sober? Do I have the open-mindedness to hear what I have to hear, to think what I have to think, and to feel what I have to feel?
If my answer to these questions is “Yes,” I know enough about the spirituality of the program to stay sober. As I continue to work the Twelve Steps, I move on to the heart of true sobriety: serenity with myself, with others, and with God as I understand Him.
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~ Page 87 ~
Keystone of the ArchFaced with alcoholic destruction, we soon became as open-minded on spiritual matters. In this respect alcohol was a great persuader. It finally beat us into a state of reasonableness.<< << << >> >> >>We had to quit playing God. It didn’t work. We decided that hereafter, in this drama of life, God was going to be our Director. He would be the Principal; we, His agents.Most good ideas are simple, and this concept was the keystone of the new and triumphal arch through which we passed to freedom.~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS ~
1. P. 48
2. P. 62
© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc
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OPEN MINDS
Minds are like parachutes. They won’t work unless they are open.~ Anonymous ~Unless we maintain open minds, e cannot hope to make attitude changes for the better. Open-mindedness will prevent selfishness and reduce the possibility of painful resentments by not allowing intolerance and prejudice.It is fortunate that we are individuals with personal opinions and that we can express different views without causing problems. We can disagree without being disagreeable. Besides, variety in viewpoints keeps recovery from being dull or boring.In our Program, open minds remind us that common welfare comes before personal wishes.When I lock the doors of my mind, I am keeping more of value out of my heart than can ever be harboured in a tightly closed mind.
©1990 by Anonymous. All rights reserved. Published by Hazelden.
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Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrec
OPEN YOUR MIND
Have you an open mind? Is the window of your soul open for fresh air and the sunshine of Truth to come in, or is it closed and shuttered by mental laziness or the emotional congestion that we call prejudice?
None of us knows how many fine things we have missed through being self-satisfied and cocksure. No one can be considered really intelligent who does not have a readiness to examine new ideas with an open mind.
The history of scientific discovery shows that almost every new step was opposed by the very people who should have welcomed it.
Harvey was denounced for claiming that the blood circulated through the body; Galileo was persecuted for saying that the earth went round the sun; Pasture was branded a quack for advancing the germ theory of disease; Jenner was threatened with the police for pioneering vaccination. The finality of the atom, which was a scientific dogma in the childhood of most of us, has been completely discarded.
Probably the only incorrigible fool is the man who says that anything is impossible, or that there is any limit to the conquests that divine Intelligence working in mankind can achieve.
The Lord is able to give thee much more than this (2 Chronicles 25:9).
© 1931 by Emmet Fox
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Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrec
Have You Experimented?, p.247
“Since open-mindedness and experimentation are supposed to be the indispensable attributes of our ‘scientific’ civilization, it seems strange that so many scientists are reluctant to try out personally the hypothesis that God came first and man afterwards. They prefer to believe that man is the chance product of evolution; that God, the Creator, does not exist.
“I can only report that I have experimented with both concepts and that, in my case, the God concept has proved to be a better basis for living than the man-centred one.
“Nevertheless, I would be the first to defend your right to think as you will. I simply ask this question: ‘In your own life, have you ever really tried to think and act as though there might be a God? Have you experimented?’”
Letter, 1950
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Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
Have You Experimented?, p.247
“Since open-mindedness and experimentation are supposed to be the indispensable attributes of our ‘scientific’ civilization, it seems strange that so many scientists are reluctant to try out personally the hypothesis that God came first and man afterwards. They prefer to believe that man is the chance product of evolution; that God, the Creator, does not exist.
“I can only report that I have experimented with both concepts and that, in my case, the God concept has proved to be a better basis for living than the man-centred one.
“Nevertheless, I would be the first to defend your right to think as you will. I simply ask this question: ‘In your own life, have you ever really tried to think and act as though there might be a God? Have you experimented?’”
Letter, 1950
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Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
OPEN-MINDEDNESS
We have found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the realm of spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive, never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, to all men.
-AS BILL SEES IT, p. 7
Open-mindedness to concepts of a Higher Power can open doors to the spirit. Often I find the human spirit in various dogmas and faiths. I can be spiritual in the sharing of myself. The sharing of self joins me to the human race and brings me closer to God, as I understand Him.
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Or Follow Us On Twitter @EssentialsOfRec
OPEN MINDEDNESS
Let go of your attachment to being right, and suddenly your mind is more open. You’re able to benefit from the unique viewpoints of others, without being crippled by your own judgment.
–Ralph Marston
Before joining this program much of my life was taken up with defending myself against those who would hurl abuse. I kept everything and everybody at arm’s length in a bid to protect my increasingly fragile and sensitive self-assurance. As time marched on, and my disease became parasitical, the walls around me grew higher and isolation drew me inwards.
Ironically, the fortress I was building didn’t protect me from myself and I soon became my own worst enemy. My self-loathing and my unceasing search for perfection led me deeper into a self-induced state of depression. Keeping everybody out and locking myself in became an exhausting exercise.
On entering the 12 Step program I soon realized that the fortress I had so carefully built to protect myself against the outside world was also preventing any kind of light, warmth and love from entering in.
As my journey of recovery progressed, brick by brick the walls came down and afforded me the nourishment I needed to blossom and grow. In learning to accept myself, I found that what others thought of me paled into insignificance. I learned that there was a wealth of experience, strength and hope which would help me along the journey. I learned that I could take what I needed and put down the remainder, without the resentment, anger, fear or pain, which previously would have sent me running for cover.
One Day at a Time . . .
I aim to be willing to keep my mind open, to accept what I need to continue my journey, and to leave the rest.
~ Sue G ~
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Have You Experimented?, p.247
“Since open-mindedness and experimentation are supposed to be the indispensable attributes of our ‘scientific’ civilization, it seems strange that so many scientists are reluctant to try out personally the hypothesis that God came first and man afterwards. They prefer to believe that man is the chance product of evolution; that God, the Creator, does not exist.
“I can only report that I have experimented with both concepts and that, in my case, the God concept has proved to be a better basis for living than the man-centred one.
“Nevertheless, I would be the first to defend your right to think as you will. I simply ask this question: ‘In your own life, have you ever really tried to think and act as though there might be a God? Have you experimented?’”
Letter, 1950
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Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
Have You Experimented?, p.247
“Since open-mindedness and experimentation are supposed to be the indispensable attributes of our ‘scientific’ civilization, it seems strange that so many scientists are reluctant to try out personally the hypothesis that God came first and man afterwards. They prefer to believe that man is the chance product of evolution; that God, the Creator, does not exist.
“I can only report that I have experimented with both concepts and that, in my case, the God concept has proved to be a better basis for living than the man-centred one.
“Nevertheless, I would be the first to defend your right to think as you will. I simply ask this question: ‘In your own life, have you ever really tried to think and act as though there might be a God? Have you experimented?’”
Letter, 1950
Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
OPEN-MINDEDNESS
We have found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the realm of spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive, never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, to all men.
-AS BILL SEES IT, p. 7
Open-mindedness to concepts of a Higher Power can open doors to the spirit. Often I find the human spirit in various dogmas and faiths. I can be spiritual in the sharing of myself. The sharing of self joins me to the human race and brings me closer to God, as I understand Him.
Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter @EssentialsOfRec
