AS BILL SEES IT #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Humility

Page 36

Humility First

We found many in A.A. who once thought, as we did, that humility was another name for weakness. They helped us to get down to our right size. By their example they showed us that humility and intellect could be compatible, provided we placed humility first. When we began to do that, we received the gift of faith, a faith which works. This faith is for you, too.

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

Where humility formerly stood for a forced feeding on humble pie, it now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient that can give us serenity.

~ TWELVE AND TWELVE ~
1. P. 30
2. P. 74

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrec #Weakness

A.A. Thought For The Day

We must know the nature of our weakness before we can determine how to deal with it. When we are honest about its presence, we may discover that it is imaginary and can be overcome by a change of thinking. We admit that we are alcoholics and we would be foolish if we refused to accept our handicap and do something about it. So by honestly facing our weakness and keeping ever present the knowledge that for us alcoholism is a disease with which we are afflicted, we can take the necessary steps to arrest it. Have I fully accepted my handicap?

Meditation For The Day

There is a proper time for everything. I must learn not to do things at the wrong time, that is, before I am ready or before conditions are right. It is always a temptation to do something at once, instead of waiting until the proper time. Timing is important. I must learn, in the little daily situations of life, to delay action until I am sure that I am doing the right thing at the right time. So many lives lack balance and timing. In the momentous decisions and crises of life, they may ask God’s guidance, but into the small situations of life, they rush alone.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may delay action until I feel that I am doing the right thing. I pray that I may not rush in alone. 

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THE EYE OPENER #essentialsofrec #Program #Weakness

One day we were practicing alcoholics, then in twenty-four hours we were on the Program – arrested cases.

Was it because one day we were weak and spineless and the next day we had completely reversed our character?

No, the Power had been there all the time but we had never before tapped it. Our best-intentioned friends had advised us to use our Will Power, not realizing that it was the stubbornness of our Will Power that made us persist in our drinking.

It takes a person of great will to continuously defy the pleas and threats of our combined words. No, it wasn’t Will Power we lacked, it was Won’t Power. We Won’t take that first drink.

Published by Hazelden

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AS BILL SEES IT #essentialsofrecovery

~ Page 36 ~

Humility First

We found many in A.A. who once thought, as we did, that humility was another name for weakness. They helped us to get down to our right size. By their example they showed us that humility and intellect could be compatible, provided we placed humility first. When we began to do that, we received the gift of faith, a faith which works. This faith is for you, too.

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

Where humility formerly stood for a forced feeding on humble pie, it now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient that can give us serenity.

~ TWELVE AND TWELVE ~
1. P. 30
2. P. 74

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc 

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrecovery

A.A. Thought For The Day

We must know the nature of our weakness before we can determine how to deal with it. When we are honest about its presence, we may discover that it is imaginary and can be overcome by a change of thinking. We admit that we are alcoholics and we would be foolish if we refused to accept our handicap and do something about it. So by honestly facing our weakness and keeping ever present the knowledge that for us alcoholism is a disease with which we are afflicted, we can take the necessary steps to arrest it. Have I fully accepted my handicap?

Meditation For The Day

There is a proper time for everything. I must learn not to do things at the wrong time, that is, before I am ready or before conditions are right. It is always a temptation to do something at once, instead of waiting until the proper time. Timing is important. I must learn, in the little daily situations of life, to delay action until I am sure that I am doing the right thing at the right time. So many lives lack balance and timing. In the momentous decisions and crises of life, they may ask God’s guidance, but into the small situations of life, they rush alone.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may delay action until I feel that I am doing the right thing. I pray that I may not rush in alone.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrecovery

A.A. Thought For The Day

One of the most encouraging facts of life is that your weakness can become your greatest asset. Kites and airplanes rise against the wind. In climbing up a high mountain, we need the stony crags and rough places to aid us in our climb. So your weakness can become an asset if you will face it, examine it, and trace it to its origin. Set it in the very center of your mind. No weakness, such as drinking, ever turned into an asset until it was first fairly faced. Am I making my weakness my greatest asset?

Meditation For The Day

Whenever we seek to worship God, we think of the great universe that God rules over, of creation, of mighty law and order throughout the universe. Then we feel the awe that precedes worship. I too must feel awe, feel the desire to worship God in wondering amazement. My mind is in a box of space and time and it is so made that I cannot conceive of what is beyond space or time, the limitless and the eternal. But I know that there must be something beyond space and time, and that something must be the limitless and eternal Power behind the universe. I also know that I can experience that Power in my life.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may accept the limitless and eternal Spirit. I pray that It may express Itself in my life.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrec #Alcohol #Weakness

A.A. Thought For The Day

Alcohol is our weakness. We suffer from mental conflicts from which we look for escape by drowning our problems in drink. We try through drink to push away from the realities of life. But alcohol does not feed, alcohol does not build, it only borrows from the future and it ultimately destroys. We try to drown our feelings in order to escape life’s realities, little realizing or caring that in continued drinking we are only multiplying our problems. Have I got control over my unstable emotions?

Meditation For The Day

When I let personal piques and resentments interfere with what I know to be my proper conduct, I am on the wrong track and I am undoing all I have built up by doing the right thing. I must never let personal piques interfere with living the way I know God wants me to live. When I have no clear guidance from God, I must go forward quietly along the path of duty. The attitude of quiet faith will receive its reward as surely as acting upon God’s direct guidance. I must not weaken my spiritual power by letting personal piques upset me.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not let myself become too upset. I pray that I may go quietly along the path I have chosen. 

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Elder’s Meditation of the Day #essentialsofrec #Elders #Lakota #Native

“If there is a shadow of a doubt some place, that will cause a weakness.”

–Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA

In the Spiritual World there is a spiritual Law. The Law says; like attracts like. This means whatever mental picture we hold inside our minds we will attract from the Universe. To make this Law work we must maintain a constant picture. If we picture or vision something, and along with this picture we have doubting thoughts, our vision will not happen and we will get EXACTLY what we picture or vision. The Law always works. A doubting vision will not materialize what we want. A vision without doubt will always happen. This is a spiritual Law.

My Maker, today, let my vision become strong.

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A DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrec #Strength #Weakness #Freedom

Reflection for the Day

Have I gained freedom simply because one day I was weak and the next day I became suddenly strong? Have I changed from the helpless and hopeless person I once seemed to be simply by resolving, “from now on, things will be different…”? Is the fact that I am more comfortable today than ever before the result of my own will power? Can I take credit for pulling myself up by my own bootstraps? I know better, for I sought refuge in a Power greater than myself—a Power which is still beyond my ability to visualize. Do I consider the change in my life a miracle far beyond the working of any human power?

Today I Pray

As the days of sobriety lengthen, and the moment of decision becomes farther behind me, may I never lose sight of the Power that changed my life. May I remember that my sobriety is an ongoing miracle, not just a once-in-a-lifetime transformation.

Today I Will Remember

Life is an ongoing miracle.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

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THE EYE OPENER #essentialsofrec #Devive #Strength

 11
December

Every man is both human and divine, both good and evil, strong and weak, wise and foolish. The body, soul and mind are the battleground of our conflicting natures, and while these conflicts rage, we can have no peace.

It is only when we bring our conflicting emotions under control that victory over self is possible. We alcoholics have learned that we are unable to accomplish this without outside help. With that help, real peace is obtainable. No other way has worked for us.

Copyright  Hazelden Foundation

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FR.LEO'S DAILY MEDITATION #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Weakness

18

November

STRENGTH

“All cruelty springs from weakness.”

~ A Seneca Saying 

Spiritual recovery means I must confront my disease and remember the sick attitudes and behavior patterns. Sometimes, I would rather not talk about my disease for it can be embarrassing and shameful, particularly the cruelty I demonstrated. Alcoholism made me lash out at the weak. My own weakness inflicted pain and cruelty on others.

Today I remember this only to rejoice in the strength that allows me vulnerability. My past weaknesses made me act as if I were strong. Now my strength allows me to be weak in a way that is healthy.

I get my ego out of the way and open my heart to love. I know my strength is God ordained and shows up in myriad ways.

God, the recognition of my past cruelties enables me to forgive and understand others. 

© 2008 Leo Booth

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The Eye Opener #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Weakness

 1
July

A sinner is usually a sinner because he is thinking wrong, whereas a mean person has a warped and deformed personality.

A sinner’s faults usually lie in his thoughtlessness, but the mean person is nearly always a person of strong will and determination.

Sinning stems from weakness, meanness from strength.

A dog will love a sinner but seldom a mean person.

Copyright Hazelden Foundation

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrec #Weakness #Honesty

26
June

A.A. Thought For The Day
We must know the nature of our weakness before we can determine how to deal with it. When we are honest about its presence, we may discover that it is imaginary and can be overcome by a change of thinking. We admit that we are alcoholics and we would be foolish if we refused to accept our handicap and do something about it. So by honestly facing our weakness and keeping ever present the knowledge that for us alcoholism is a disease with which we are afflicted, we can take the necessary steps to arrest it. Have I fully accepted my handicap?

Meditation For The Day

There is a proper time for everything. I must learn not to do things at the wrong time, that is, before I am ready or before conditions are right. It is always a temptation to do something at once, instead of waiting until the proper time. Timing is important. I must learn, in the little daily situations of life, to delay action until I am sure that I am doing the right thing at the right time. So many lives lack balance and timing. In the momentous decisions and crises of life, they may ask God’s guidance, but into the small situations of life, they rush alone.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may delay action until I feel that I am doing the right thing. I pray that I may not rush in alone.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Weakness

25
June
A.A. Thought For The Day

One of the most encouraging facts of life is that your weakness can become your greatest asset. Kites and airplanes rise against the wind. In climbing up a high mountain, we need the stony crags and rough places to aid us in our climb. So your weakness can become an asset if you will face it, examine it, and trace it to its origin. Set it in the very center of your mind. No weakness, such as drinking, ever turned into an asset until it was first fairly faced. Am I making my weakness my greatest asset?

Meditation For The Day

Whenever we seek to worship God, we think of the great universe that God rules over, of creation, of mighty law and order throughout the universe. Then we feel the awe that precedes worship. I too must feel awe, feel the desire to worship God in wondering amazement. My mind is in a box of space and time and it is so made that I cannot conceive of what is beyond space or time, the limitless and the eternal. But I know that there must be something beyond space and time, and that something must be the limitless and eternal Power behind the universe. I also know that I can experience that Power in my life.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may accept the limitless and eternal Spirit. I pray that It may express Itself in my life.

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Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrec

Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Weakness

24
June 

A.A. Thought For The Day

Alcohol is our weakness. We suffer from mental conflicts from which we look for escape by drowning our problems in drink. We try through drink to push away from the realities of life. But alcohol does not feed, alcohol does not build, it only borrows from the future and it ultimately destroys. We try to drown our feelings in order to escape life’s realities, little realizing or caring that in continued drinking we are only multiplying our problems. Have I got control over my unstable emotions?

Meditation For The Day

When I let personal piques and resentments interfere with what I know to be my proper conduct, I am on the wrong track and I am undoing all I have built up by doing the right thing. I must never let personal piques interfere with living the way I know God wants me to live. When I have no clear guidance from God, I must go forward quietly along the path of duty. The attitude of quiet faith will receive its reward as surely as acting upon God’s direct guidance. I must not weaken my spiritual power by letting personal piques upset me.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not let myself become too upset. I pray that I may go quietly along the path I have chosen.

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Keep It Simple #essentialsofrec #Power #Recovery

12
June
The lust for power is not rooted in strength, but to weakness.

We believed Alcohol or other drugs could help us control our happiness. But now we’re learning to rely on faith for our happiness. Faith is about leaving things to our Higher Power’s control. Instead of wanting the control ourselves, we trust our Higher Power will help us handle things that come along.

In recovery, we work at having more faith. Faith in a Higher Power. Faith in the Steps. Faith in our groups. Faith that our lives will get better, if we don’t use chemicals and we work an honest recovery program. Faith makes life a lot easier.

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Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Weakness

 7
June 

GREED


“One of the weakness of our age is our apparent inability to distinguish our needs from our greeds.”

–Don Robinson

I was a greedy drunk. A greedy man. Spoiled, selfish and demanding. I felt that the world owed me a living and if I did not get my way, I sulked, cried or tried to hurt people. And this greedy attitude to life only made me sad, dull and boring. Greed, in this sense, could not work because what I was craving would never satisfy me.

Then I learned how to “let go”. Instead of demanding, I learned how to wait. Instead of consuming large amounts of alcohol, I practiced abstinence. Instead of expecting life on my terms, I went with the natural flow of life. I became happy, joyous and free. A miracle? Yes. I accepted my “needs” and with the acceptance came the satisfaction.

Lord, only when I accept my hunger for You am I truly satisfied.

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