A GLORIOUS RELEASE

"The minute I stopped arguing, I could begin to see and feel.  Right there, Step Two gently and very gradually began to infiltrate my life.  I can't say upon what occasion or upon what day I came to believe in a Power Greater than myself, but I certainly have that belief now.  To acquire it, I had only to stop fighting and practice the rest of A.A.'s program as enthusiastically as I could."

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 27

After years of indulging in a "self-will run riot," Step Two became for me a glorious release from being all alone.  Nothing is so painful or insurmountable in my journey now.  Someone is always there to share life's burdens with me.  Step Two became a reinforcement with God, and now I realize that my insanity and ego were curiously linked.  To rid myself of the former, I must give up the latter to one with far broader shoulders than my own. 

Come share your story and your suggested solutions at Friendship House

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

One thing we learn in A.A. is to take a long view of drinking instead of a short view.  When we were drinking we thought more about the pleasure or release that a drink would give us than we did about the consequences that would result from our taking that drink.  Liquor looks good from the short view.  When we look in a package store window, we see liquor dressed up in its best wrappings, with fancy labels and decorations.  They look swell.  But have I learned that what's inside those beautiful bottles is just plain poison to me?

Meditation for the Day

I believe that life is a school in which I must learn spiritual things.  I must trust in God and He will teach me. I must listen to God and He will speak through my mind.  I must commune with Him in spite of all opposition and every obstacle.  There will be days when I will hear no voice in my mind and when there will come no intimate heart-to-heart communion.  But if I persist, and make a life habit of schooling myself in spiritual things, God will reveal Himself to me in many ways.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may regularly go to school in things of the spirit.  I pray that I may grow spiritually by making a practice of these things.
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Thought for Today

"Every day is a new beginning. Treat it that way.
Stay away from what might have been, and look
at what can be."

--Marsha Petrie Sue (The CEO of You)

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Buddha/Zen Thoughts

Anger or hatred is like a fisherman's hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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Native American

"Let the person I serve express his thanks according to his own bringing up and his sense of humor."

--Charles A. Eastman (Ohiyesa), SANTEE SIOUX

"It is better to give than receive." But it doesn't really matter if we are giving or receiving. There is an identical feeling associated with both. We get this feeling every time we receive. We can't control when we receive gifts but we can control when we give gifts. Therefore, the more we give, the better we feel. When we are given gifts, or someone does something for us, it is the Indian way to honor this person.

Great Spirit, let me honor and be respectful to those who are good to me today.

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Keep It Simple

 Don't bite at the bait of pleasure till you know there is no hook beneath it.  ---  Thomas Jefferson

Pleasure is important in recovery. But at times we think pleasure is the answer to life's pains. Alcohol and other drugs were what we liked best. We need to watch out so we don't switch to another addiction--such as gambling, food, sex, or work. The real answer to life's pains is in having a strong spiritual center. It is also our best way to avoid another addiction. Recovery lets us turn our pain over to the care of our Higher Power. Our Higher Power can handle any problem we may have. Our program can help us with our problems too. Recovery is a three-way deal. Higher Power, program, and us.

Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, help me avoid another addiction. When I have problems, have me come to You and to my program before anything else.

Action for the Day:  Today, I'll set aside time and ask the question, "Am I headed for another addiction/" I'll also ask my sponsor what he or she thinks.

Inner Peace

FAMILY OBLIGATIONS
....a spiritual life which does not include .....family obligations may not be so perfect after all.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 129
I can be doing great in the program--applying it at meetings, at work, and in service activities--and find that things have gone to pieces at home. I expect my loved ones to understand, but they cannot. I expect them to see and value my progress, but they don’t--unless I show them. Do I neglect their needs and desires for my attention and concern? When I'm around them, am I irritable or boring? Are my "amends" a mumbled "Sorry," or do they take the form of patience and tolerance? Do I preach to them, trying to reform or "fix" them? Have I ever really cleaned house with them? The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it." (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 83)





Come live it at Friendship House
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day
We alcoholics have to believe in some Power greater than ourselves. Yes, we have to believe in God. Not to believe in Higher Power drives us to atheism. Atheism, it has been said before, is blind faith in the strange proposition that this universe originated in a cipher and aimlessly rushes nowhere. That's practically impossible to believe. So we turn to that Divine Principle in the universe that we call God. Have I stopped trying to run my own life?

Meditation for the Day
"Lord, we thank Thee for the great gift of peace, that peace which passeth all understanding, that peace which the world can neither give nor take away." That is the peace that only God can give in the midst of a restless world and surrounded by trouble and difficulty. To know that peace is to have received the stamp of the kingdom of God. When you have earned that peace, you are fit to judge between true and false values, between the values of the kingdom of God and the values of all that the world has to offer.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that today I may have inner peace. I pray that today I may be at peace with myself.
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Thought For Today

SOLITUDE
        Greta Garbo was reported to have said, "I want to be alone." Life
        brings its pressures, but we all need to find a place where we can be
        "alone".  Alone - not to "think" or "do" - simply to be. We need time to simply
        rest in our lives. A time in the day which we can call our own, to have a
        visit with the most important person we have got in our lives -
        ourselves.
        To rest in self is to experience "spiritual selfishness" - the joy of
        self-love.
         And how much we look forward to setting aside a time just for heart
        and mind to center on the pathway to listening to God.

Loneliness - the pain of being alone.

Solitude - the joy of being alone.
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Buddha/Zen Thoughts
 The most dangerous thing in the world is to think you understand something.

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Native American
"When you go inside that power, there's no fear. It's so beautiful!! There's no fear there. There's no pain."
---- Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA

Imagine you are standing on the edge of a stage. In the center of the stage is a spotlight shining from above. If you stand anyplace outside the spotlight, in the darkness, you will experience fear. But as soon as you step into the light in the center of the stage, all fear and pain go away. When we stand in the power, fear cannot exist. How do we find this place of power? We pray our way into it. We ask the Creator to take our hand and help us. When we get to that place, we will feel the fear go away.
Great Spirit, hold my hand and guide me today.

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Keep It Simple
 Who is the bravest hero? He who turns his enemy into a friend.  ---  Hebrew Proverb
In recovery we take our worst enemy, addiction, and turn it around. We were ashamed of our addiction. Over time we become proud of our recovery. We were our own worst enemy. Now we're our own best friend. We are brave people.

Being brave is about facing our fears. Often we think brave people don't get afraid, but this isn't true. Brave people learn to stay put, even when their knees are shaking. Many times in recovery, we will want to run when we should stay put. We may even think about using chemicals again.
We need to remember our bravery and how we turned our worst enemy into a friend.
Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, teach me when to run and when to stay put. Help me be brave.
Action for the Day:  I will claim bravery today. I'll hold my head up high and be proud of how far I've come. I now have nothing to be ashamed of.

 

Acceptance Is The Answer To.......

ACCEPTING OUR PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES

Our very first problem is to accept our present circumstances as they are, ourselves as we are, and the people about us as they are. This is to adopt a realistic humility without which no genuine advance can even begin. Again and again, we shall need to return to that unflattering point of departure. This is an exercise in acceptance that we can profitably practice every day of our lives. Provided we strenuously avoid turning these realistic surveys of the facts of life into unrealistic alibis for apathy of defeatism, they can be the sure foundation upon which increased emotional health and therefore spiritual progress can be built.
                                                                                                                          AS BILL SEES IT p. 44

When I am having a difficult time accepting people, places or events, I turn to this passage and it relieves me of many an underlying fear regarding others, or situations life presents me. The thought allows me to be human and not perfect, and to regain my peace of mind.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day
The longer we're in A.A., the more natural this way of life seems. Our old drinking lives were a very unnatural way of living. Our present sober lives are the most natural way we could possibly live. During the early years of our drinking, our lives weren't so different from the lives of a lot of other people. But as we gradually became problem drinkers, our lives became more and more unnatural. Do I realize now that the things I did were far from natural?

Meditation for the Day
I will say thank you to God for everything, even the seeming trials and worries. I will strive to be grateful and humble. My whole attitude toward the Higher Power will be one of gratitude. I will be glad for the things I have received. I will pass on what God reveals to me. I believe that more truths will flow in, as I go along in the new way of life.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be grateful for the things I have received and do not deserve. I pray that this gratitude will make me truly humble.
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Thought for Today

"It's not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it."

--Hans Selye

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Buddha/Zen Thoughts

Someone who is about to admonish another must realize within himself five qualities before doing so [that he may be able to say], thus:

"In due season will I speak, not out of season. In truth I will speak, not in falsehood. Gently will I speak, not harshly. To his profit will I speak, not to his loss. With kindly intent will I speak, not in anger."

-"Vinaya Pitaka," translated by F.S. Woodward

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Native American

"From Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, there came a great unifying life force that flowed in and through all things-the flowers of the plains, blowing winds, rocks, trees, birds, animals-and was the same force that had been breathed into the first man. Thus all things were kindred, and were brought together by the same Great Mystery."

Chief Luther Standing Bear, SIOUX

The Great Spirit has six things that make up this life force. They are life, love, intelligence, soul, principle, and truth. These are the reasons the life cycle continues. None of this can be altered by man, but we can have access to these powers any time we wish. Just think about it-anytime I have a need I can access one or more of these powers."

Oh Great Mystery, let me know how to use these powers. Today, let me love life, let me know truth, let me live by principle, and let me follow Your intelligence.

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Keep It Simple

Remember always that you have not only the right to be individual, you have an obligation to be one.
Eleanor Roosevelt

When we were using alcohol and other drugs, we often thought that we were different from others. We secretly thought that no one could understand us. Maybe we tried to be one of the group, but we were lonely. Now we know for sure--we are different from others. Everyone's  unique. We all have this in common. Being like others helps us feel safe and normal. But we need to feel good about the ways we're different from others too. We think a little different, act a little different, and look a little different from anyone else. We each have our own way to make life better for others.

Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, help me be an individual. Help me use my special gifts, not hide them.

Action for the Day:  Today, I'll make a list of the things I'm good at. I'll think about how I can use these gifts.

Come visit us at Friendship House

Many of us Believed Surrender was a Sign of Weakness

WEEDING THE GARDEN

The essence of all growth is a willingness to make a change for the better and then an unremitting willingness to shoulder whatever responsibility this entails.

AS BILL SEES IT,  p. 115

By the time I had reached Step Three I had been freed of my dependence on alcohol, but bitter experience has shown me that continuous sobriety requires continuous effort. Every now and then I pause to take a good look at my progress.  More and more of my garden is weeded each time I look, but each time I also find new weeds sprouting where I had thought I had made my final pass with the blade.  As I head back to get the newly sprouted weed (it's easier when they are young), I take a moment to admire how lush the growing vegetables and flowers are, and my labors are rewarded.  My sobriety grows and bears fruit.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

Having surrendered our lives to God and put our drink problem in His hands doesn't mean that we'll never be tempted to drink.  So we must build up strength for the time when temptation will come.  In this quiet time, we read and pray and get our minds in the right mood for the day. Starting the day right is a great help in keeping sober.  As the days go by and we get used to the sober life, it gets easier and easier.  We begin to develop a deep gratitude to God for saving us from that old life.  And we begin to enjoy peace and serenity and quiet happiness.  Am I trying to live the way God wants me to live?

Meditation for the Day

The elimination of selfishness is the key to happiness and can only be accomplished with God's help.  We start out with a spark of the Divine Spirit but a large amount of selfishness.  As we grow and come in contact with other people, we can take one of two paths.  We can become more and more selfish and practically extinguish the Divine Spark within us, or we can become more unselfish and develop our spirituality until it becomes the most important thing in our lives.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may grow more and more unselfish, honest, pure, and loving.  I pray that I may take the right path every day.

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Thought for Today

"Set up as an ideal the facing of reality as honestly and as cheerfully as possible."

--Dr. Karl Menninger
 

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Buddha/Zen Thoughts

A person of wisdom should be truthful, without arrogance, without deceit, not slanderous and not hateful. The wise person should go beyond the evil of greed and miserliness.

Do not get excited by what is old, do not be contented with what is new. Do not grieve for what is lost or be controlled by desire.

-Sutta-nipata, translated by H. Saddhatissa

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Native American

"My father told me that Hopi earth does contain my roots and I am, indeed, from that land. Because my roots are there, I will find them."

--Wendy Rose, HOPI/MIWOK

Everything that comes from the earth will return to the earth. We should be able to realize the connectedness to the earth. We should be able to feel toward Her just like She is our real Mother. We can easily feel this connectedness if we can answer these three questions: why am I?, who am I?, and where am I going? If we cannot answer these questions, then perhaps we need to talk to the Elders. go to the Elders and ask, "Grandfather, why am I?; Grandmother, who am I?; Oh Great One, where am I supposed to go?" The Elders will help us with these three questions.

Grandfather, help me to stay centered today.

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Keep It Simple

 Better bend than break.  ---  Scottish proverb

Our program is based on bending. We call it "surrender." We surrender our self-will to the care of God. We do what we believe our Higher Power want us to do. We learn this as an act of love.
Many of us believed surrender was a sign of weakness. We tried to control everything. But we change as we're in the program longer and longer. We learn to bend. We start to see that what is important is learning. We learn to do what's best for us and others. To learn, we need an open mind. To bend, we must stay open. Love and care become the center of our lives.

Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, teach me that strength comes from knowing how and when to bend.

Action for the Day:  Today, I'll check myself. How open am I? Do I bend when I need to?

BROTHERS IN OUR DEFECTS

We recovered alcoholics are not so much brothers in virtue as we are brothers in our defects, and in our common strivings to overcome them.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 167

The identification that one alcoholic has with another is mysterious, spiritual---almost incomprehensible.  But it is there.  I "feel" it.  Today I feel that I can help people and that they can help me.
   
It is a new and exciting feeling for me to care for someone; to care what they are feeling, hoping for, praying for; to know their sadness, joy, horror, sorrow, grief; to want to share those feelings so that someone can have relief.  I never knew how to do this---or how to try.  I never even cared.  The Fellowship of A.A., and God are teaching me how to care about others.

We Forgive

Often it was while working on this Step with our sponsors or spiritual advisers that we first felt truly able to forgive others, no matter how deeply we felt they had wronged us.  Our moral inventory had persuaded us that all-round forgiveness was desirable, but it was only when we resolutely tackled Step Five that we inwardly knew we'd be able to receive forgiveness and give it, too.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 58

What a great feeling forgiveness is!  What a revelation about my emotional, psychological and spiritual nature.  All it takes is willingness to forgive; God will do the rest.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

In the story of the Good Samaritan, the wayfarer fell among robbers and was left lying in the gutter, half dead. And a priest and a Levite both passed by on the other side of the road. But the Good Samaritan was moved with compassion and came to him and bound up his wounds and brought him to an inn and took care of him. Do I treat another alcoholic like the priest and the Levite or like the Good Samaritan?

Meditation for the Day

Never weary in prayer. When one day you see how unexpectedly your prayer has been answered, then you will deeply regret that you have prayed so little. Prayer changes things for you. Practice praying until your trust in God has become strong. And then pray on, because it has become so much a habit that you need it daily. Keep praying until prayer seems to become communion with God. That is the note on which true times of prayer should end.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may form the habit of daily prayer. I pray that I may find the strength I need, as a result of this communion.

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Thought for Today

"After you ask for guidance--Listen!"

--Barbara Ann Kipfer
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Buddha/Zen Thoughts

Patience is the sprouting of religion, firmness its root, good conduct is the flower, the enlightened heart the boughs and branches, wisdom supreme the entire tree, the "transcendent law" the fruit, its shade protects all living things. Say then! Why would you cut it down?

-Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king

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Native American

"It's time. If you are to walk the path of heart, then it is time..."
--Nippawanock, ARAPAHOE
If not now, when? If not me, who? To walk the path of the heart is a great honor. Every human has the choice to walk this path, but very few will decide to make it. Why? Well, because you can't act and behave like everyone else behaves. You must be the person who will learn to look within. You must be the person who will be fully accountable for yourself. You must be the person who prays and meditates. You must be the person who will sacrifice. You must decide to be a Peaceful Warrior. What will you decide today?
Oh, Great Mystery, lead me on the path of the heart.



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Keep It Simple

 The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.---Sydney J. Harris
Come relax at Friendship House

Relaxing is one of the little joys of life. We can learn to take time from our busy day to chat with a friend, take a hot bath, or spend a few moments sitting alone under a tree. The busier we are, the more we need to take time to relax.
When we rest, we stop fussing about the outside world. We find out how we're doing inside. While relaxing, we can best listen to our Higher Power. Our minds calm down. We put busy thoughts aside. Sometimes, we can almost hear our Higher Power say, "Stay quiet and listen! I have something to tell you!"
 

What Does God Think Of Me?

One of the assignments that we get quite often in this program is to write down the words that best describe our understanding of God. The ones we choose can tell us a great deal about our current spirituality. For many of us, however, the issue is not just what we think of God, but what we imagine God thinks of us.

In other words, if someone asked God for the five words that describe you, what do you think those words would be? Would they be positive? Or do you imagine that God thinks of you in a negative way? If that is what you believe, then your ability to pray will be adversely affected. The problem is that many of us were told that God judges and disdains us because of the kinds of things we’ve done. That belief will keep us from getting the benefits of this program. Our ability to pray and work the Steps improves when we believe that God always regards our persons in very positive and caring ways despite the worst things we’ve done.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I will come to believe that God sees me in positive ways and regards my person with genuine care. I ask my Higher Power to relieve me of negative beliefs that would keep me from having positive experiences in my daily prayer.

Come by Friendship House in Nashville, Tennessee and share your experience, strength and hope.

From our friend Jayne C

HONESTY WITH THE NEWCOMER

Friendship House is the place for new comers, old timers and all those in between.

Tell him exactly what happened to you. Stress the spiritual feature freely.                                 

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pg. 93

The marvel of A.A. is that I tell only what happened to me. I don't waste time offering advice to potential newcomers, for if advice worked, nobody would get to A.A. All I have to do is show what has brought me sobriety and what has changed my life. If I fail to stress the spiritual feature of A.A.'s program, I am, being dishonest. The newcomer should not be given a false impression of sobriety. I am sober only thought the grace of my Higher Power, and that makes it possible for me to share with others.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day
Unless we have the key of faith to unlock the meaning of life, we are lost. We do not choose faith because it is one way for us, but because it is the only way. Many have failed and will fail. For we cannot live victoriously without faith; we are at sea without a rudder or an anchor, drifting on the sea of life. Wayfarers without a home. Our souls are restless until they find rest in God. Without faith, our lives are a meaningless succession of unrelated happenings, without rhyme or reason. Have I come to rest in faith?

Meditation for the Day
This vast universe around us, including this wonderful earth on which we live, was once perhaps only a thought in the mind of God. The nearer the astronomers and the physicists get to the ultimate composition of all things, the nearer the universe approaches a mathematical formula, which is thought. The universe may be the thought of the Great Thinker. We must try to think God's thoughts after Him. We must try to get guidance from the Divine Mind as to what His intention is for the world and what part we can have in carrying out that intention.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may not worry over the limitations of my human mind. I pray that I may live as though my mind were a reflection of the Divine Mind.

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Thought for Today

"While troubles will come, they are always temporary --
nothing lasts forever. Thus, there is the famous legend
that King Solomon, the wisest man of all times, had a
ring inscribed with the words, "This too shall pass".

--Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan


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Buddha/Zen Thoughts

The one whose mind knows the clarity of perfect wisdom is never afraid or even anxious. Why? Because when being at one with the living power of wisdom, the mother of all the buddhas, that person has the strength to remain in a state of undivided contemplation even while ceaselessly and skillfully engaging in compassionate action. The wise one is enabled to act because of concentration on a single prayer: "May all beings never leave the path of enlightenment, which is their own true nature and is empty of separate self-existence."

-Prajnaparamita

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Native American

"Parents have to demonstrate the value of trust, respect and honor."
--Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders
Children learn more by watching than by listening. If we want our children to understand and value trust, they know it by watching how adults live their lives! If we want the children to be respectful, they will observe what the adults do and say to each other. We need to walk our talk. We need to remember the children are watching.
Grandfather, help me learn these important values: Trust, Respect and Honor.
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Walk In Dry Places

Deadlines

Facing delays

The procrastination of our drinking years caused some of us to become compulsive and fearful about meeting deadlines. We fret and stew if we're unable to get things done when we think they should be completed.

Without being careless or irresponsible, we should remember that we're really living in a spiritual world on a spiritual basis. There are times when a delay even turns out to be beneficial because additional information or assistance turns up later on to ensure the success of a project.

It is part of mature living to keep promises and to meet the proper deadlines. Let's be sure, however, that we're not simply meeting unrealistic deadlines of our own making. We don't have to do this to atone for any failures of the past.

I'll look over my plans today to make sure that I haven't set any unrealistic deadlines for myself. I may be trying too much, too soon.

The Third Tradition

 

THE ONLY REQUIREMENT

Visit us at Friendship House

"At one time  .  .  .  every A.A. group had many membership rules.  Everybody was scared witless that something or somebody would capsize the boat.  .  .  The total list was a mile long.  If all those rules had been in effect everywhere, nobody could have possibly joined A.A. at all,  .  .  ."

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 139-40

I'm grateful that the Third Tradition only requires of me a desire to stop drinking.  I had been breaking promises for years.  In the Fellowship I didn't have to make promises, I didn't have to concentrate.  It only required my attending one meeting, in a foggy condition, to know I was home.

I didn't have to pledge undying love.  Here, strangers hugged me.  "It gets better," they said, and "one day at a time, you can do it."  They were no longer strangers, but caring friends.  I ask God to help me reach out to people desiring sobriety, and to, please, keep me grateful!

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure

immunity from drinking as extensive work with other alcoholics.

Carry the message to other alcoholics. You can help when no one

else can. You can secure their confidence when others fail. Life

will take on new meaning for you. To watch people recover, to see

them help others in turn, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a

fellowship grow about you, to have a host of friends, this is an

experience you must not miss." Am I always ready and willing to help

other alcoholics?

Meditation For The Day

One secret of abundant living is the art of giving. The paradox of

life is that the more you give, the more you have. If you loose your

life in the service of others, you will save it. You can give

abundantly and still live abundantly. You are rich in one respect – you

have a spirit that is inexhaustible. Let no mean or selfish thought

keep you from sharing this spirit. Of love, of help, of

understanding, and of sympathy, give and keep giving. Give your

personal ease and comfort, your time, your money, and most of all,

yourself. And you will be living abundantly.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may live to give. I pray that I may learn this secret of

abundant living.

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Thought for Today

"Of course there is no formula for success except perhaps an unconditional

acceptance of life and what it brings."

--Arthur Rubinstein

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Buddha/Zen Thoughts

We have a saying in Tibet. "If you lose your temper and get angry, bite your knuckles." This means that if you lose your temper, do not show it to others. Rather, say to yourself, "Leave it."

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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Native American

"I started drinking more seriously, seeking refuge, seeking death actually, from a world that was feeling more and more unnatural to me. Following a painful accident related to drinking, I finally realized that I must decide whether I want to follow my grandparents or truly take up this life. Circumstances that followed led me to choose life."

--Barney Bush, SHAWNEE

My life is run by choices and decisions. Every choice I make today will carry with it the consequences of that choice. Every decision I make today will carry with it the consequences of that decision. The question I will ask myself today is, "Do I want to be happy or do I want to be right?" Which ever one I choose will have a lot to do with the consequences I will experience today. If today was the last day of my life, what choices and what decisions would I make?

Oh Great Spirit, guide my path today and help me see the value of choosing the Red Road.

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Keep It Simple

 Love is something if you give away, you end up having more.  ---  Malvina Reynolds

Service is how we give love away. It’s the “self” of self-help. Service is not a duty; a gift that’s been given to us. We help ourselves by helping others. It’s how we make sure the program will be here tomorrow. We “carry the message.” It’s just one way we see how important we are to others. The world needs us. The world needs our love.

Prayer for the Day:  I pray for help in making service a big part of my program. Higher Power, help me to “carry the message.”

Action for the Day:  Which people could use a kind word and a little love? I will go visit them or give them a call.

Having Fun Yet?

Come Join Us For Some Fun At Friendship House

.  .  .  we aren't a glum lot.  If newcomers could see no joy or fun in our existence, they wouldn't want it.  We absolutely insist on enjoying life.  We try not to indulge in cynicism over the state of the nations, nor do we carry the world's troubles on our shoulders.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 132

When my own house is in order, I find the different parts of my life are more manageable.  Stripped of the guilt and remorse that cloaked my drinking years, I am free to assume my proper role in the universe, but this condition requires maintenance.  I should stop and ask myself, Am I having fun yet?  If I find answering that question difficult or painful, perhaps I am taking myself too seriously --- and finding it difficult to admit that I've strayed from my practice of working the program to keep my house in order.  I think the pain I experience is one way my Higher Power has to get my attention, coaxing me to take stock of my performance.  The slight time and effort it takes to work the program --- a spot-check inventory, for example, or the making of amends, whatever is appropriate --- are well worth the effort.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day Alcoholics are people whose drinking got them into a "blind alley." They haven't been able to learn anything from their drinking experiences. They are always making the same mistakes and suffering the same consequences over and over again. They refuse to admit they're alcoholic. They still think they can handle the stuff. They won't swallow their pride and admit that they're different from ordinary drinkers. They won't face the fact that they must spend the rest of their lives without liquor. They can't visualize life without ever taking a drink. Am I out of this blind alley? Meditation for the Day I believe that God has all power. It is His to give and His to withhold. But lie will not withhold it from the person who dwells near Him, because then it passes insensibly from God to that person. It is breathed in by the person who lives in God's presence. I will learn to live in God's presence and then I will have those things which I desire of Him: strength, power, and joy. God's power is available to all who need it and are willing to accept it. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may get myself out of the way, so that God's power may flow in. I pray that I may surrender myself to that power. *********************************

Thought for Today

"Aim at the sun and you may not reach it;
but your arrow will fly far higher than if aimed
at an object on a level with yourself."

--I. Hawks

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Buddha/Zen Thoughts

Let us live in joy, not hating those who hate us.

Among those who hate us, we live free of hate.

Let us live in joy, free from disease among those who are diseased.

Among those who are diseased, let us live free of disease.

Let us live in joy, free from greed among the greedy.

Among those who are greedy, we live free of greed.

Let us live in joy, though we possess nothing.

Let us live feeding on joy, like the bright gods.

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Native American

"Our true enemies, as well as our true sources of strength, lie within."

--Willaru Huayta, QUECHUA NATION, PERU

A long time ago, the Creator put inside the human being the secrets to the laws of life. We usually know this is true even though we may not know what these laws are. If something goes wrong with our lives, we usually fix the blame on something outside of ourselves. We tend to give up accountability. One way or another we say, "It's not my fault." We need to realize that all permanent and lasting change starts on the inside and works its way out. If it's meant to be, it is up to me.

Oh Great Spirit, let me realize fully that my problems are of my own making. Therefore, so are the solutions.

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Keep It Simple

Sex, like all else between human beings, is never prefect.  ---  Theodore Isaac Rubin

Addiction made our sex lives a mess. Maybe we wanted prefect sex or we wanted no sex.
We were afraid. Maybe we wanted a high from sex we just couldn't seem to get it. Some of us had lots of sex partners; some of us had none. What now?
We're doing what we need to do by being in recovery. We're getting to know ourselves. We're living by our real values. We’re being honest with ourselves and others. We're learning to love and care about others. It's open, honest caring we express with our bodies. Thus, sex can be trusting and safe.

Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, I turn over my sex life and my will to You---Just for today. I know You want me to be happy.

Action for the Day:  What do I believe about sex? How does it match with what's said in the third paragraph above?

The Forest And The Trees

Visit Us At 202

.  .  .  what comes to us alone may be garbled by our own rationalization and wishful thinking.  The benefits of talking to another person is that we can get his direct comment and counsel on our situation.  .  .  .

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 60

I cannot count the times when I have been angry and frustrated and said to myself, "I can't see the forest for the trees!"  I finally realized that what I needed when I was in such pain was someone who could guide me in separating the forest and the trees; who could suggest a better path to follow; who could assist me in putting out fires; and help me avoid the rocks and pitfalls.

   I ask God, when I'm in the forest, to give me the courage to call upon a member of A.A.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

 

A.A. Thought for the Day

I had to show off and boast so that people would think I amounted to something, when, of course, both they and I knew that I really didn't amount to anything. I didn't fool anybody. Although I've been sober for quite a while, the old habit of building myself up is still with me. I still have a tendency to think too well of myself and to pretend to be more than I really am. Am I always in danger of becoming conceited just because I'm sober?

Meditation for the Day

I cannot ascertain the spiritual with my intellect. I can only do it by my own faith and spiritual faculties. I must think of God more with my heart than with my head. I can breathe in God's very spirit in the life around me. I can keep my eyes turned toward the good things in the world. I am shut up in a box of space and time, but I can open a window in that box by faith. I can empty my mind of all the limitations of material things. I can sense the Eternal.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that whatever is good I may have. I pray that I may leave to God the choice of what good will come to me.

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Thought for Today

 "Gratitude is the heart's memory."

--French Proverb

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Buddha/Zen Thoughts

There are six root delusions

Anger - highly disturbed aspect of mind that arises when we see something unpleasant - enemies, and so forth
Attachment - attachment to ego / self / others / things causes suffering (see attachment page)
Pride - is your inflated opinion of yourself and can manifest in relation to some good or bad object: your power, wealth, good qualities, family, wisdom, pure ethics - even your pleasant voice or physical prowess
Ignorance - not knowing, not seeing, not understanding, being unclear, and so forth. Ignorance is like blindness - not seeing the nature or mode of existence of something. Ignorance is the root of all delusions.
Doubt - directed towards the four truths, the Three Jewels, cause and effect

Deluded Views - there are 5

• The view that equates the self with the perishable
• Extreme Views - views such as the continuity of the 'I' as being discontinued at death
• The view of holding aggregates to be supreme
• Holding an ethic or mode of behaviour to be supreme
• Wrong views - such as Three Jewels do not exist, cause and effect do not exist

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Native American

"There are many things to be shared with the four colors of man in our common destiny as one family upon our Mother the Earth."

---- Traditional Circle of Elders, NORTHERN CHEYENNE

The Elders tell us the time will come when the four colors of Man will unite into one family. According to prophecies, we were told this would happen when the Sun was blocked in the Seventh Moon. There was an eclipse of the Sun in July, 1991. We are now in a new Springtime called the Coming Together Time. Each of the four colors of man has knowledge that the other colors need to heal their families. Let us all be willing to sit in a circle and respect our differences.

Creator, let me be willing to have an open mind.

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Keep It Simple

 Forgiveness is all-powerful. Forgiveness heals all ills.  ---  Catherine Ponder

We need to forgive so we can heal. Forgiveness means  not wanting to get even. Forgiveness  means letting go of self-will. Anger and hate are forms of self-will take up room in our heart. Yet, a still, small voice inside of us wants to forgive. Just as others have forgiven us, we need to forgive them. When we forgive, we give our will to our Higher Power. When we forgive, we make room in our heart for our Higher Power. By giving up our anger and our hate, we let that still, small voice come through a little louder. This is how we heal. This is why forgiving is so powerful for us.

Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, help me let go of self-will. Help me forgive people.

Action for the Day:  I will list any anger or hate I have. I will think about how this gets in my way, and I'll pray to have this removed.

Bringing The Message Home

Can we bring the same spirit of love and tolerance into our sometimes deranged family lives that we bring to our A.A. group at Friendship House.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 111-12

My family members suffer from the effects of my disease.  Loving and accepting them as they are---just as I love and accept A.A. members---fosters a return of love, tolerance and harmony to my life.  Using common courtesy and respecting others' personal boundaries are necessary practices for all areas of my life.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

"We who have accepted the A.A. principles have been faced with the necessity for a thorough personal housecleaning. We must face and be rid of the things in ourselves which have been blocking us. We therefore take a personal inventory. We take stock honestly. We search out the flaws in our make-up which caused our failure. Resentment is the number one offender. Life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. If we are to live, we must be free of anger." Am I free of resentment and anger?

Meditation for the Day

Keep in mind the goal you are striving for, the good life you are trying to attain. Do not let little things divert you from the path. Do not be overcome by the small trials and vexations of each day. Try to see the purpose and plan to which all is leading. If, when climbing a mountain, you keep your eyes on each stony or difficult place, how weary is your climb. But if you think of each step as leading to the summit of achievement from which a glorious landscape will open out before you, then your climb will be endurable and you will achieve your goal.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may realize that life without a goal is futile. I pray that I may find the good life worth striving for.

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Thought for Today

It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he already know

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Buddha/Zen Thoughts

"Everyone is looking for happiness and avoiding suffering. This is the purpose of philosophy, the basis of all religion and the drive to create indoor plumbing.

Domo Geshe Rinpoche

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Native American

"They also learned, and perhaps this was the most important thing, how to look at things through the eyes of the Higher Powers."

--Fools Crow, LAKOTA

Our eyes can only see our beliefs. Our beliefs cause us to make assumptions, draw conclusions and cause confusion. Our five senses are very limiting. The Creator has a way of allowing us to see or know in the spiritual world. This is called the Sixth Sense. The Sixth Sense is like a radar system; our personal radar system. It will help us "see" opportunities and help us avoid disaster. This Sixth Sense is controlled by God. We must learn to listen to it. We must learn to trust it. We must learn to act on it even if our head says differently. We must learn to look at things through the eyes of God.

My Creator, guide me today. If my eyes cause confusion, let me close them and see through Your eyes. If my ears hear confusion, let me listen to my heart. Let me let You guide me.

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Keep It Simple

 Where there is no vision, a people perish.  ---  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Working our program teaches us to see things more clearly. We learn to look at who we really are. At first, we’re scared to see ourselves. But it turns out okay, even though were not perfect.

We also begin to see others more clearly. We see good in people we don’t like. And we see faults in people we thought we’re prefect. But we don’t judge people anymore. Nobody is perfect. Just as our program friends accept us as we are, we learn to accept others.

Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, sometimes I don’t like what I see. Help me to believe Your way will for me. Help me have a vision.

Action for the Day:  I will use my new way of seeing thing to avoid trouble today.