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

As Bill Sees It

Everyday Living, p. 233

The A.A. emphasis on personal inventory is heavy because a great
many of us have never really acquired the habit of accurate
self-appraisal.

Once this heavy practice has become a habit, it will prove so
interesting and profitable that the time it takes won't be missed. For
these minutes and often hours spent in self-examination are bound to
make all the other hours of our day better and happier. At length, our
inventories become a necessity of everyday living, rather than
something unusual or set apart.

12 & 12, pp. 89-90

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

Walk In Dry Places
 
Whose experience is important? 
Sharing.
In the Twelve Step movement, we often feature outstanding speakers at large anniversary meetings.  In some ways, this makes celebrities of them..... their personal stories seem to be deemed more important that those of others. We should accept such large meetings for what they are: Part entertainment, part socialization, and part celebration. The real work of our fellowship, however, lies in ordinary, continuous activity in the groups.
The most important experience to be shared is not the dramatic or
humorous account heard at the large meeting. What really works to
keep us sober is the experience we share with each other. This can
survive long after the powerful speech is forgotten.
I'll remember today that I can find help and growth in talking
with different people I meet at regular meetings.

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

Keep It Simple
 
It’s a rare person who wants to hear what we doesn’t want to hear.---Dick Cavett
We want only to hear good thins. That we’re nice people. That our loved ones are healthy.
That we did a good job. We don’t want to hear that anyone is angry with us, or that we made a mistake. We don’t want to hear about illness or troubles.
But life isn’t just happy news. Bad things happen. We can’t change that. As we live our recovery program, we learn to handle the addiction. We choose the path of life. We need to know all the news, good, and bad. Then we can deal with life as it really is.
Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, help me listen---even when I don't want to. Gently help me deal with both the good and bad. All the help I need is mine for the asking.
Action for the Day:  I will ask my sponsor and three friends to tell me about my blind spots.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

We're only as sick as the secrets we keep.  --Sue Atchley Ebaugh
Harboring parts of our inner selves, fearing what others would think if they knew, creates the barriers that keep us separate, feeling different, certain of our inadequacies.
Secrets are burdens, and they weigh heavily on us, so heavily. Carrying secrets makes impossible the attainment of serenity--that which we strive for daily. Abstinence alone is not enough. It must come first, but it's not enough by itself. It can't guarantee that we'll find the serenity we seek.
This program of recovery offers self-assurance, happiness, spiritual well-being, but there's work to be done. Many steps to be taken. And one of these is total self-disclosure. It's risky, it's humbling, and it's necessary.
When we tell others who we really are, it opens the door for them to share likewise. And when they do, we become bonded. We accept their imperfections and love them for them. And they love us for ours. Our struggles to be perfect, our self-denigration because we aren't, only exaggerates even more the secrets that keep us sick.
Our tarnished selves are lovable; secrets are great equalizers when shared. We need to feel our oneness, our sameness with other women.
Opportunities to share my secrets will present themselves today. I will be courageous.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 7 - WORKING WITH OTHERS

Your job now is to be at the place where you may be of maximum helpfulness to others, so never hesitate to go anywhere if you can be helpful. You should not hesitate to visit the most sordid spot on earth on such an errand. Keep on the firing line of life with these motives and God will keep you unharmed.

p. 102

Like many alcoholics, I had spent much of my life feeling different, as though I just didn't quite fit in.  I covered those feelings and my low self-esteem by being one of the smartest people in any group, if not the smartest.  Additionally, I became a performer in crowds, always ready with a quick joke to point out the humor in any situation.  I managed to bring a great deal of laughter into my life.

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Six - "An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose."

Whereupon we tried A.A. hospitals - they all bogged down because you cannot put an A.A. group into business; too many busybody cooks spoil the broth. A.A. groups had their fling at education, and when they began to publicly whoop up the merits of this or that brand, people became confused. Did A.A. fix drunks or was it an educational project? Was A.A. spiritual or was it medical? Was it a reform movement? In consternation, we saw ourselves getting married to all kinds of enterprises, some good and some not so good. Watching alcoholics committed willy-nilly to prisons or asylums, we began to cry, "There oughtta be a law!" A.A.'s commenced to thump tables in legislative committee rooms and agitated for legal reform. That made good newspaper copy, but little else. We saw we'd soon be mired in politics. Even inside A.A. we found it imperative to remove the A.A. name from clubs and Twelfth Step houses.

pp. 156-157

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

"Holding resentment is like eating poison and then waiting for the
other person to keel over." --Unknown
"Would you rather be right, or happy?"
--A Course in Miracles

"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden,
where the flowers are all dead. The consciousness of loving and being
loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring."
--Oscar Wilde

Ask a question and you're a fool for three minutes; do not ask a
question and you're a fool for the rest of your life.
--Chinese Proverb

Giving is the highest expression of our power.
--Vivian Greene

What lies before us and what lies behind us are tiny matters compared
to what lies within us.
--Oliver Wendell Holmes

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

INDIFFERENCE

"The worst sin towards our
fellow creatures in not to hate
them, but to be indifferent to
them. That's the essence of
inhumanity."
-- George Bernard Shaw

For years I was indifferent to family and friends. And the tragedy
was that because of my alcoholism I did not know it! For too long I
was unaware of my disease and its multiple implications.

Today I am not indifferent. Spirituality teaches me that I am not a
spectator but a participant. I am involved in my life and, ultimately,
in the lives of others. Today I seek to practice the principles of
sobriety in every area of my life. I not only seek to be sober on a
daily basis, but I also seek to be honest, open and tolerant with
other people.

The spiritual goal of sobriety and abstinence has placed me at the
center of the universe and I know today that I make a difference
to my fellow man.

Remove from me all attitudes of indifference and apathy. Make me
a worthy steward in Your vineyard.

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

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have
not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender
my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is
patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not
proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it
keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices
with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes,
always perseveres. Love never fails. And now these three remain:
faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13

"As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you."
Isaiah 66:13

"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds
and praise your Father in heaven."
Matthew 5:16

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

Daily Inspiration

Each day offers many opportunities to smile when others don't and be more patient when others aren't. Lord, may I be an example of Your presence within me and a reminder to others that You are there for them too.

Each day there are lessons to learn and lives to touch. Lord, You have done so much for me. Help me to repay You.

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

NA Just For Today

Contribution

"We recognize our spiritual growth when we are able to reach out and help others."
Basic Text p. 56

To make a difference in the world, to contribute something special, is perhaps the highest aspiration of the human heart, Each one of us, no matter what our personal makeup, has a unique quality to offer.

Chances are that at some time in our recovery we met someone who reached us when no one else could. Whether it was someone who made us laugh at our first meeting, a warm and compassionate sponsor, or an understanding friend who supported us through an emotional storm, that person made all the difference in the world.

All of us have had the gift of recovery shared with us by another recovering addict. For that, we are grateful. We express our gratitude by sharing freely with others what was given to us. The individual message we carry may help a newcomer only we can reach.

There are many ways to serve our fellowship. Each of us will find that we do some things better than others, but all service work is equally important. If we are willing to serve, we're sure to find that particular way to contribute that's right for us.

Just for today: My contribution makes a difference. I will offer a helping hand today.
pg. 244

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

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
... sparrow, your message is clear: it is not too late for my singing. --Tess Gallagher
There was once a mother who loved to hang the laundry out on the clothesline in the backyard. Her baby crawled through the sheets and towels that almost touched the grass. The baby didn't talk yet, so nobody knew what she was thinking.
Ten years later, the baby, twelve years old, told her that her happiest memory of childhood was playing in her "playhouse" of laundry on the line. She remembered thinking that her mother hung the sheets out there just so she could play in the grass and wind and sun!
How wonderful to be living in a world where we can accidentally make people happy! This knowledge is a miraculous gift, and can give us reason to do every task well and with love, because it may be remembered for a lifetime by someone near to us.
What happy memory do I have of childhood?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
The irony of your present eating habits is that while you fear missing a meal, you aren't fully aware of the meals you do eat.
--Dan Millman
Many of us have had problems with eating. Some of us eat compulsively. We may have become overly focused on diet or abused ourselves by mindlessly indulging in unhealthy eating. We all grow by becoming more aware of our relationship to food. Our spiritual life is nourished by fully experiencing all our sensations concerning food.
We can begin with awareness of our empty stomachs and take pleasure in feeling hungry. We can give time to eating and use a meal as a time for relationships. Taking pleasure in the preparation of healthy food, making it look attractive, smelling the aromas, tasting the flavors, and enjoying the fullness and renewed energy after eating are all ways of growing spiritually as we become healthier in our use of food.
Today, I will take pleasure as I eat. I will make room in my life for healthy nourishment of body and spirit.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
We're only as sick as the secrets we keep. --Sue Atchley Ebaugh
Harboring parts of our inner selves, fearing what others would think if they knew, creates the barriers that keep us separate, feeling different, certain of our inadequacies.
Secrets are burdens, and they weigh heavily on us, so heavily. Carrying secrets makes impossible the attainment of serenity--that which we strive for daily. Abstinence alone is not enough. It must come first, but it's not enough by itself. It can't guarantee that we'll find the serenity we seek.
This program of recovery offers self-assurance, happiness, spiritual well-being, but there's work to be done. Many steps to be taken. And one of these is total self-disclosure. It's risky, it's humbling, and it's necessary.
When we tell others who we really are, it opens the door for them to share likewise. And when they do, we become bonded. We accept their imperfections and love them for them. And they love us for ours. Our struggles to be perfect, our self-denigration because we aren't, only exaggerates even more the secrets that keep us sick.
Our tarnished selves are lovable; secrets are great equalizers when shared. We need to feel our oneness, our sameness with other women.
Opportunities to share my secrets will present themselves today. I will be courageous.



You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Responsibility for Family Members
I can still remember my mother clutching her heart, threatening to have a heart attack and die, and blaming it on me. -Anonymous
For some of us, the idea that we were responsible for other people's feelings had its roots in childhood and was established by members of our nuclear family. We may have been told that we made our mother or father miserable, leading directly to the idea that we were also responsible for making them happy. The idea that we are responsible for our parents' happiness or misery can instill exaggerated feelings of power and guilt in us.
We do not have this kind of power over our parents - over their feelings, or over the course of their lives. We do not have to allow them to have this kind of power over us.
Our parents did the best they could. But we still do not have to accept one belief from them that is not a healthy belief. They may be our parents, but they are not always right. They may be our parents, but their beliefs and behaviors are not always healthy and in our best interest.
We are free to examine and choose our beliefs.
Let go of guilt. Let go of excessive and inappropriate feelings of responsibility toward parents and other family members. We do not have to allow their destructive beliefs to control our feelings, our behaviors, our life, or us.
Today, I will begin the process of setting myself free from any self-defeating beliefs my parents passed on to me. I will strive for appropriate ideas and boundaries concerning how much power and how much responsibility I can actually have in my relationship with my parents.


Today I accept all responsibilities of my life. It feels good to know that I am in charge of my life and can accept the outcome of my decisions. --Ruth Fishel

*****

Journey to the Heart
Heal Your Resentments

How fast resentments creep in during the course of an ordinary year. How much faster they can creep in during intense times, times of change, times of evolution-- the kind of times we've been experiencing on our journey.

Things shift. Things change. We let go of the old and stumble toward the new. And resentments crop up along the way. People become angry with us for changing, we become angry with them because we believe their experiences have unjustly impacted us.

Resentments are tricky little things, devious little devils of energy that block and damage our souls and hearts. They tell us they're justified. They tell us we need them to protect ourselves. They tell us we should have adopted them a long time ago. They tell us we're not safe if we release them, if we send them packing.

Those are lies, illusions that keep us blocked, stuck, and often quite uncomfortable.

Go deeper into yourself. What do you feel underneath the resentment? Betrayed? Hurt? Ashamed? Embarrassed? Left out? Forgotten? Misunderstood? You're safe now. Go ahead and feel whatever you need to feel. Honor and recognize your gentler, softer side-- those other feelings that make you feel vulnerable, those more tender feelings hiding behind, underneath, or to the side of the resentment.


Feel and release your resentment. Feel the feelings underneath it,too. You'll become clear. The resentment will dissolve. And you'll return to love.

*****

more language of letting go
Be grateful for your families

I walked into the kitchen at the Blue Sky Lodge one afternoon. I looked around at my group of friends. "I feel really blessed," I said. "You know we're more like family than friends."

They agreed.

My house is full of friendship, and at the risk of sounding mushy, it's full of love. There's almost always someone home to take care of the place, though we do forget to take the trash out from time to time.

I've learned and laughed with my housemates, and I hope that they have learned from me as well. Are you grateful for the people you live with? Or if you live alone, are you grateful for your friends? Someone once told me that the great thing about being independent is that we get to choose our families. Be thankful for your family today, whether it's the one that you were born with or the one that you've chosen.

Our families are a gift.


God, thank you for my families.

*****

Traveling Companions
Birds Fly in a V by Madisyn Taylor

Like birds flying in a V, when we feel the presence of others moving along side of us, there is little we cannot accomplish.

As they swoop, drift, and glide, inscribing magnificent patterns across the sky, birds are serene displays of grace and beauty. Long a source of inspiration, birds can be messengers from the spirit realm, or a symbol of the human soul, as they cast off their earthly mooring and soar heavenward. An upturned wing, a graceful flutter, all so effortless and free... More magnificent still is the inspiring sight of birds migrating, progressing steadily across the horizon in a solid V formation that is a singular pattern too unique to be mere chance.

Pushing steadily forward, this aerodynamic V reduces air resistance for the whole flock. With wings moving in harmony, the feathered group continues its course across the sky, covering more ground together in community than as individuals. When the bird at the front gets tired, she will move to the rear of the formation where the wind drag is lowest, and a more rested bird can take her place.

By learning from the example of our winged guides, all of us can feel empowered to take on daring challenges as we chart adventurous courses. Feel the strength of others moving alongside you, as their presence lends power to your wings during this journey across the sky of life. When buffeted by unexpected gusts, we can choose to find refuge in the loving shelter of friends and family. We may even marvel as an otherwise difficult day passes by like a swift wind, as a kindred spirit charts a way for us through the clouds and rain ahead. If your wings begin to ache on your journey, look around for somebody else to fly at the front for a while. All of us move faster when we move together. Let your ego drop earthwards as we all soar ever higher. Published with permission from Daily OM

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

A Day at a Time

Reflection for the Day
So often, in the past, we prayed for "things," or favoring circumstances, or a thousand requests that were really selfish in nature. I've learned in The Program that real prayer begins - not ends - in asking God to change me. In fact, that's exactly what the Seventh Step suggests: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. We ask God for help through His grace, and the amazing thing is that such a prayer is answered if we truly want it to be. Our own wills are so much a required part of the result that it seems almost as if we had done it. But the help from God is even more necessary; without Him, we couldn't possibly have done it alone.

Have I asked God to help me change myself?

Today I Pray
May I learn to pray broadly - that God's will be done, that God remove my shortcomings. No need to specify what these shortcomings are; God who knows all, knows. May I learn that details are not necessary in my praying. All that matters is my humility and my faith that God, does indeed, have the Power to change my life.

Today I Will Remember
I ask God to change me.

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

Food For Thought

Emotional Abstinence

When our eating was out of control, our emotions were also out of control. Even after we accept physical abstinence from compulsive overeating, we may still go on emotional binges. This indulgence leaves us depleted and hung over and wreaks havoc in our relationships with those we love.

The Twelve Steps are our guide to emotional abstinence. They are the means by which we can live without being destroyed by anger, envy, fear, and all of the other negative emotions. Working the Steps frees us from our slavery to self-centered, irrational reactions, which harm ourselves and others.

Realizing the damage, which comes from hanging on to anger and resentment, we gradually become able to turn these feelings over to our Higher Power before they get out of hand. Accepting ourselves means that we can accept others for what they are without trying to manipulate them or expect them to be perfect. Controlled by our Higher Power, we learn to avoid emotional binges.

May I remember the importance of emotional abstinence today.

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

One Day At A Time

PREPARING
"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail."
John Wooden

Every morning I make a decision. I decide to prepare for a day of recovery, or I decide to not prepare for a day of recovery. It comes as no surprise that on the days I prepare I do better.

I have to take responsibility for my decisions, even my indecision. If I do nothing to help myself today, I have no one to blame but myself. If nothing else, I can take five minutes in the morning to invite my Higher Power into my life.

One day at a time...
I will prepare for a good day today. I will take responsibility for my recovery.
~ Q

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

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

They said to me, "Do you want to quit drinking? It's none of our business about your drinking. We're not up here trying to take any of your rights or privileges away from you, but we have a program whereby we think we can stay sober. Part of the program is that we take it to someone else who needs it and wants it. Now is you don't want it, we'll not take up your time, and we'll be going and looking for someone else." - Pg. 186 - Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Right now you are safe. Whatever is troubling you is not so bad that your sponsor or another group member cannot help. Call them as soon as you find a phone.

Grant me the humbleness to call for help whenever I feel threatened, lonely, angry, or in any way separated from my spiritual health.

Arrogance and Grandiosity

I will not get lost in the arrogance and grandiosity that dog this disease 's trail. These are compensations for pain and fear. I won 't buy myself off with grandiose fantasies as a way of feeling big inside. I will go to meetings and experience my smallness, face it with courage and let myself slowly become right sized. Grandiosity and arrogance are part and parcel of this disease, defenses against feelings of helplessness. Today I can tolerate my own inner world.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Embrace all of your emotions for they are what make you, you. 'Hold them in an embrace of total acceptance and in that embrace you will not be agonized any more. Do you think the Christ never cried? Do you think the Buddha never ached? You are not going to be less human, you are going to be wholly human.' ~Bartholomew, I Come as a Brother

I become one with myself by embracing all of me, because I am all of me and I won't be less!

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Life is fragile; handle with prayer.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I accept all responsibilities of my life.

It feels good to know that I am in charge of my life and can accept the outcome of my decisions.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I'm not much, but I'm all I think about. - Anon.

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

AA Thought for the Day

August 22

Demands
The chief activator of our defects has been self-centered fear
-- primarily fear that we would lose something we already possessed
or would fail to get something we demanded.
Living upon a basis of unsatisfied demands, we were in a state of continual disturbance and frustration.
Therefore, no peace was to be had unless we could find a means of reducing these demands.
The difference between a demand and a simple request is plain to anyone.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 76

Thought to Ponder . . .
All I have feared to lose I have gained and all I feared to gain I have lost.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
F E A R = False Events Appearing Real.

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~

Guidance
"I am a firm believer in both guidance and prayer.
But I am fully aware, and humble enough, I hope,
to see there may be nothing infallible
about my guidance.
The minute I figure I have got a perfectly clear
pipeline to God, I have become egotistical enough
to get into real trouble.
Nobody can cause more needless grief than a power-driver
who thinks he's got it straight from God."
Bill W., Letter, 1950
1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 38

Thought to Consider . . .
It's not making a mistake that will kill me.
It's defending it that does the damage.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A S A P = Always Say A Prayer

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

Only One Tool
From: "Availing yourself of a sponsor"
An AA sponsor is not a professional caseworker or counselor of any sort. A sponsor is not someone to borrow money from, nor get clothes, jobs, or food from. A sponsor is not a medical expert, nor qualified to give religious, legal, domestic or psychiatric advice, although a good sponsor is usually willing to discuss such matters confidentially, and often can suggest where the appropriate professional assistance can be obtained.
A sponsor is simply a sober alcoholic who can help solve only one problem: how to stay sober. And the sponsor has only one tool to use - personal experience, not scientific wisdom.
Sponsors have been there, and often have more concern, hope, compassion, and confidence for us than we have for ourselves. They certainly have had more experience. Remembering their own condition, they reach out to help, not down.
1998, AAWS, Inc., Living Sober, page 27

*~*~*~*~*^Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"When I effectively practice my program, I am only a cheap dime-store garden hose carrying God's message of hope, recovery, and forgiveness."
El Paso, Texas, October 2006
"Garden Hose Sobriety,"
Spiritual Awakenings II

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*

"Let no alcoholic say he cannot recover unless he has his family
back. This just isn't so. In some cases the wife will never come
back for one reason or another. Remind the prospect that his
recovery is not dependent upon people. It is dependent upon his
relationship with God. We have seen men get well whose families have
not returned at all. We have seen others slip when the family came
back too soon."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 99~

"Here are thousands of men and women, worldly
indeed. They flatly declare that since they have come
to believe in a Power greater than themselves, to take
a certain attitude toward that Power, and to do certain
simple things. There has been a revolutionary change
in their way of living and thinking. In the face of
collapse and despair, in the face of the total failure
of their human resources, they found that a new
power, peace, happiness, and sense of direction
flowed into them."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 50~

“We found ourselves accepting many things which then seemed entirely out of reach. That was growth, but if we wished to grow we had to begin somewhere.”
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 47

“You are and A.A. member if you say so. You can declare yourself in; nobody can keep you out. No matter who you are, no matter how low you’ve gone, no matter how grave your emotional complications – even your crimes – we still can’t deny you A.A. We don’t want to keep you out. We aren’t a bit afraid you’ll harm us, never mind how twisted or violent you may be. We just want to be sure that you get the same great chance for sobriety that we’ve had. So you’re an A.A. member the minute you declare yourself.”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 139

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Letter to a prison group:
'Every A.A. has been, in a sense, a prisoner. Each of us has walled himself out of society; each has known social stigma. The lot of you folks has been even more difficult: In your case, society has also built a wall around you. But there isn't any really essential difference, a fact that practically all A.A.'s now know.
'Therefore, when you members come into the world of A.A. on the outside, you can be sure that no one will care a fig that you have done time. What you are trying to be - not what you were - is all that counts with us.'

'Mental and emotional difficulties are sometimes very hard to take while we are trying to maintain sobriety. Yet we do see, in the long run, that transcendence over such problems is the real test of the A.A. way of living. Adversity gives us more opportunity to grow than does comfort or success.

Prayer for the Day: God give me the strength and direction to do the right thing no matter what the consequences may be. Help me to consider others and not harm them in any way. Help me to consult with others before I take any actions that would cause me to be sorry. Help me to not repeat such behaviors. Show me the way of Patience, Tolerance, Kindliness, and Love and help me live the spiritual life. Amen