Recovery Thoughts & Quotes 9/25

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



Defects

"What we must recognize now is that we exult
in some of our defects.
We really love them.
Who, for example, doesn't like to feel just a little superior
to the next fellow, or even quite a lot superior?
Isn't it true that we like to let greed
masquerade as ambition?
To think of liking lust seems impossible.
But how many men and women speak love with their lips,
and believe what they say,
so that they can hide lust in a dark corner of their minds?
And even while staying within conventional bounds,
many people admit that their imaginary sex excursions
are apt to be all dressed up as dreams of romance."
c. 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pp. 66-7
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Thought to Consider . . .

If I want God to remove my character defects,
I'll have to stop doing them.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
T I M E = Things I Must Earn

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



Common Denominators
From: "On the bridge back to life"�
As Bill read on [in: The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James], his own powers of reasoning helped him extract some important ideas from the weighty and intricate text. He saw that all the cases described by James had certain common denominators, despite the diverse ways in which they manifested themselves. These insights became important to Bill in his thinking about the plight of the alcoholic and his need for spiritual help. (He would later say that James, though long in his grave, had been a founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.) Of the three common denominators in the case histories, the first was calamity; each person James described had met utter defeat in some vital area of his life. All human resources had failed to solve his problems. Each person had been utterly desperate.

The next common point was admission of defeat; each of the individuals acknowledged his own defeat as utter and absolute.

The third common denominator was an appeal to a Higher Power. This cry for help could take many forms, and it might or might not be in religious terms.

1984, AAWS, Inc., 'PASS IT ON' - The story of Bill Wilson and how the AA message reached the world, pages 124-125

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*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"...with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a
spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely
grave. We found that it is fatal. For when harboring such feelings
we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity
of alcohol returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to
die."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 66~

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Misc. AA Literature - Quote




'You must remember that every A.A. group starts, as it should, through the efforts of a single man and his friends - a founder and his hierarchy. There is no other way.
'But when infancy is over, the original leaders always have to make way for that democracy which springs up through the grass roots and will eventually sweep aside the self-chosen leadership of the past.'

Letter to Dr. Bob:
'Everywhere the A.A. groups have taken their service affairs into their own hands. Local founders and their friends are now on the side lines. Why so many people forget that, when thinking of the future of our world services, I shall never understand.
'The groups will eventually take over, and maybe they will squander their inheritance when they get it. It is probable, however, that they won't. Anyhow, they really have grown up; A.A. is theirs; let's give it to them.

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Member Submitted Quote



What you hear in an AA meeting may or may not be the program of Alcoholics Anonymous... read the Big Book... it helps. ( Paul D. Day )

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12 x 12 Quote

"This practice of admitting one's defects to another person is, of
course, very ancient. It has been validated in every century, and it
characterizes the lives of all spiritually centered and truly religious
people. But today religion is by no means the sole advocate of this
saving principle. Psychiatrists and psychologists point out the deep
need every human being has for practical insight and knowledge of his
own personality flaws and for a discussion of them with an
understanding and trustworthy person. So far as alcoholics are
concerned, AA would go even further. Most of us would declare that
without a fearless admission of our defects to another human being we
could not stay sober. It seems plain that the grace of God will not
enter to expel our destructive obsessions until we are willing to try
this." (Twelve and Twelve, Step Five, pg. 56)