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08-25-2006, 01:56 PM
Daily Reflections
GIVING IT AWAY
Though they knew they must help other alcoholics if they would
remain sober, that motive became secondary. It was transcended
by the happiness they found in giving themselves to others.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p.159
Those words, for me, refer to a transference of power, through which
God, as I understand Him, enters my life. Through prayer and
meditation, I open channels, then I establish and improve my
conscious contact with God. Through action I then receive the power
I need to maintain my sobriety each day. By maintaining my spiritual
condition, by giving away what has been freely given to me, I am
granted a daily reprieve.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
"If we are still clinging to something that we will not let go, we
must sincerely ask God to help us to be willing to let even that go,
too. We cannot divide our lives into compartments and keep some
for ourselves. We must give all the compartments to God. We
must say: ‘My creator, I am now willing that you should have all of
me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every
single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness
to you and my friends.'" Am I still clinging to something that I will
not let go?
Meditation For The Day
The laws of nature cannot be changed and must be obeyed if you
are to stay healthy. No exceptions will be made in your case. Submit
to the laws of nature or they will finally break you. And in the
realm of the spirit, in all human relationships, submit to the moral
laws and to the will of God. If you continue to break the laws of
honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love, you will be broken to some
extent yourself. The moral and spiritual laws of God, like the laws
of nature, are unbreakable without some disaster. If you are
dishonest, impure, selfish, and unloving, you will not be living
according to the laws of the spirit and you will suffer the
consequences.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may submit to the laws of nature and to the laws of God.
I pray that I may live in harmony with all the laws of life.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Two Kinds Of Pride, p. 107
The prideful righteousness of "good people" may often be just as
destructive as the glaring sins of those who are supposedly not so
good.
<< << << >> >> >>
We loved to shout the damaging fact that millions of the "good men
of religion" were still killing one another off in the name of God.
This all meant, of course, that we had substituted negative for
positive thinking.
After we came to A.A., we had to recognize that this trait had been
an ego-feeding proposition. In belaboring the sins of some religious
people, we could feel superior to all of them. Moreover, we could
avoid looking at some of our own shortcomings.
Self-righteousness, the very thing that we had contemptuously
condemned in others, was our own besetting evil. This phony form of
respectability was our undoing, so far as faith was concerned. But
finally, driven to A.A., we learned better.
1. Grapevine, August 1961
2. 12 & 12, p. 30
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
THINK ---Alcoholics Anonymous slogan
Now that we’re recovering, our minds are free. We can think. When we are faced with problems or choices, we can do this:
Ask, “What is the problem?”
Make a list of what we can do to work on the problem.
Decide which of the actions on our list might work.
Pick the action that seems the best so far.
Ask ourselves, “Can I do it? Will I do it? If not, it’s not a good plan.
Talk to our sponsor if we need help thinking it out.
Do it.
Look back on it. Did it work? If not, go back and try something else.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to think well. Help me to see things clearly.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll use the points listed above to help me think about a choice I have to make.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Student Of Life
Living at home with her parents, she tried using willpower to beat the obsession to drink. But it wasn't until she met another alcoholic and went to an A.A. meeting that sobriety took hold.
I can't blame one ounce of my drinking on my upbringing. My parents were loving and supportive and have been married thirty-five years. No one else in my family exhibits alcoholic drinking or alcoholic behavior. For some reason, despite the resources available to me growing up, I developed into an adult woman terrified of the world around me. I was extremely insecure, though I was careful to hide this fact. I was unable to handle and understand my emotions; I always felt as if everyone else knew what was going on and what they were supposed to be doing, and my life was the only one that was delivered without an instruction book.
pp. 319-320
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
"Then I woke up. I who had boasted my generosity that morning was treating my own club worse than the distant alcoholics who had forgotten to send the Foundation their dollars. I realized that my five-dollar gift to the slippee was an ego-feeding proposition, bad for him and bad for me. There was a place in A.A. where spirituality and money would mix, and that was in the hat!"
p. 163
************************************************** *********
Real happiness in life starts when you begin to cherish others.
--Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Continuing to cling to the patterns you know inhibits your ability to
discover what you don't know.
--Eric Allenbaugh
When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks
grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under
pressure.
--Peter Marshall
“Everything I need shall be provided today. Everything.” Say it, until
you believe it. Say it at the beginning of the day. Say it throughout the
day.
--unknown
God is at home, We are in the far country.
--Meister Eckhart
The Way isn't something that can be put into words.
You have to practice before you can understand.
You can't force things, including practice.
Understanding is something that happens naturally.
It's different for everyone.
The main thing is to reduce your desires and quiet your mind.
-- Master Hsueh
All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.
--Ellen Glasgow
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
SECURITY
"Nobody in this world is more
secure than a man in a
penitentiary."
-- Harvey S. Firestone, Jr.
In one sense it is safe to live in a prison --- but at what price? To live is
to be free and have the responsibility of choice. Addiction removes
this freedom of choice; addiction takes away our freedom.
In sobriety I am involved in the joys of risk. I experience the pleasure
and pain that comes with the responsibility of choice. Today I know I
am living --- yesterday I had to read about it!
God, I thank You for the confusing gift of freedom.
************************************************** *********
The Lord will keep you from all harm...... He will watch over your life.
Psalm 121:7
"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him,
and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in
song."
Psalm 28:7
"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine
upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace."'
Numbers 6:24-26
"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of
doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see
the Day approaching."
Hebrews 10:25
"For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:30
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
God is the best friend you will ever have and prayer is merely the technical term for having a chat with Him. Lord, let me tell You about some things that are on my mind and then I'll listen while You tell me what You think.
In your search for peace, look within. If you are looking elsewhere, you are looking in the wrong place. Lord, help me to open my heart to Your gift of peace and refuse to let anything in that disturbs it.
GIVING IT AWAY
Though they knew they must help other alcoholics if they would
remain sober, that motive became secondary. It was transcended
by the happiness they found in giving themselves to others.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p.159
Those words, for me, refer to a transference of power, through which
God, as I understand Him, enters my life. Through prayer and
meditation, I open channels, then I establish and improve my
conscious contact with God. Through action I then receive the power
I need to maintain my sobriety each day. By maintaining my spiritual
condition, by giving away what has been freely given to me, I am
granted a daily reprieve.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
"If we are still clinging to something that we will not let go, we
must sincerely ask God to help us to be willing to let even that go,
too. We cannot divide our lives into compartments and keep some
for ourselves. We must give all the compartments to God. We
must say: ‘My creator, I am now willing that you should have all of
me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every
single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness
to you and my friends.'" Am I still clinging to something that I will
not let go?
Meditation For The Day
The laws of nature cannot be changed and must be obeyed if you
are to stay healthy. No exceptions will be made in your case. Submit
to the laws of nature or they will finally break you. And in the
realm of the spirit, in all human relationships, submit to the moral
laws and to the will of God. If you continue to break the laws of
honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love, you will be broken to some
extent yourself. The moral and spiritual laws of God, like the laws
of nature, are unbreakable without some disaster. If you are
dishonest, impure, selfish, and unloving, you will not be living
according to the laws of the spirit and you will suffer the
consequences.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may submit to the laws of nature and to the laws of God.
I pray that I may live in harmony with all the laws of life.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Two Kinds Of Pride, p. 107
The prideful righteousness of "good people" may often be just as
destructive as the glaring sins of those who are supposedly not so
good.
<< << << >> >> >>
We loved to shout the damaging fact that millions of the "good men
of religion" were still killing one another off in the name of God.
This all meant, of course, that we had substituted negative for
positive thinking.
After we came to A.A., we had to recognize that this trait had been
an ego-feeding proposition. In belaboring the sins of some religious
people, we could feel superior to all of them. Moreover, we could
avoid looking at some of our own shortcomings.
Self-righteousness, the very thing that we had contemptuously
condemned in others, was our own besetting evil. This phony form of
respectability was our undoing, so far as faith was concerned. But
finally, driven to A.A., we learned better.
1. Grapevine, August 1961
2. 12 & 12, p. 30
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
THINK ---Alcoholics Anonymous slogan
Now that we’re recovering, our minds are free. We can think. When we are faced with problems or choices, we can do this:
Ask, “What is the problem?”
Make a list of what we can do to work on the problem.
Decide which of the actions on our list might work.
Pick the action that seems the best so far.
Ask ourselves, “Can I do it? Will I do it? If not, it’s not a good plan.
Talk to our sponsor if we need help thinking it out.
Do it.
Look back on it. Did it work? If not, go back and try something else.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to think well. Help me to see things clearly.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll use the points listed above to help me think about a choice I have to make.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Student Of Life
Living at home with her parents, she tried using willpower to beat the obsession to drink. But it wasn't until she met another alcoholic and went to an A.A. meeting that sobriety took hold.
I can't blame one ounce of my drinking on my upbringing. My parents were loving and supportive and have been married thirty-five years. No one else in my family exhibits alcoholic drinking or alcoholic behavior. For some reason, despite the resources available to me growing up, I developed into an adult woman terrified of the world around me. I was extremely insecure, though I was careful to hide this fact. I was unable to handle and understand my emotions; I always felt as if everyone else knew what was going on and what they were supposed to be doing, and my life was the only one that was delivered without an instruction book.
pp. 319-320
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
"Then I woke up. I who had boasted my generosity that morning was treating my own club worse than the distant alcoholics who had forgotten to send the Foundation their dollars. I realized that my five-dollar gift to the slippee was an ego-feeding proposition, bad for him and bad for me. There was a place in A.A. where spirituality and money would mix, and that was in the hat!"
p. 163
************************************************** *********
Real happiness in life starts when you begin to cherish others.
--Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Continuing to cling to the patterns you know inhibits your ability to
discover what you don't know.
--Eric Allenbaugh
When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks
grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under
pressure.
--Peter Marshall
“Everything I need shall be provided today. Everything.” Say it, until
you believe it. Say it at the beginning of the day. Say it throughout the
day.
--unknown
God is at home, We are in the far country.
--Meister Eckhart
The Way isn't something that can be put into words.
You have to practice before you can understand.
You can't force things, including practice.
Understanding is something that happens naturally.
It's different for everyone.
The main thing is to reduce your desires and quiet your mind.
-- Master Hsueh
All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.
--Ellen Glasgow
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
SECURITY
"Nobody in this world is more
secure than a man in a
penitentiary."
-- Harvey S. Firestone, Jr.
In one sense it is safe to live in a prison --- but at what price? To live is
to be free and have the responsibility of choice. Addiction removes
this freedom of choice; addiction takes away our freedom.
In sobriety I am involved in the joys of risk. I experience the pleasure
and pain that comes with the responsibility of choice. Today I know I
am living --- yesterday I had to read about it!
God, I thank You for the confusing gift of freedom.
************************************************** *********
The Lord will keep you from all harm...... He will watch over your life.
Psalm 121:7
"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him,
and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in
song."
Psalm 28:7
"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine
upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace."'
Numbers 6:24-26
"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of
doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see
the Day approaching."
Hebrews 10:25
"For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:30
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
God is the best friend you will ever have and prayer is merely the technical term for having a chat with Him. Lord, let me tell You about some things that are on my mind and then I'll listen while You tell me what You think.
In your search for peace, look within. If you are looking elsewhere, you are looking in the wrong place. Lord, help me to open my heart to Your gift of peace and refuse to let anything in that disturbs it.