AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

May 7, 2023
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Prayer and Meditation
Step Eleven suggests prayer and meditation. We
shouldn’t be shy on this matter of prayer. Better men
than we are using it constantly. It works, if we have
the proper attitude and work at it.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) pp. 85 - 86

Thought to Ponder
Prayer asks the question. Meditation listens for the answer.

AA-related 'Alconym'
P A U S E  =  Pay Attention, Use Step Eleven.

A Member Shares:
Good morning. My name is Dale and I am an alcoholic. To back up for a minute... or a few steps... one of the reasons I had problems early in my sobriety about God was because I arrived here with two completely versions of a Higher Power. One that I grew up with, and pretty much rejected and one that was recently discovered, but still unproven. On top of that I could not quiet my mind more that a second or two for any kind of meditation. Something I learned to help my meditation, to quiet the noises in my head, was self hypnosis. I was taught that process by an expert, and for me, it really helped. But what about prayer? Which of the Gods in my life would I choose? In fact, I choose both, taking the qualities of each. Qualities of acceptance, love, tolerance, living life. These days I have gravitated to one more than the other, but my conception of God is much broader today, more inclusive. The shall nots are gone. I think God wants me to be happy, not cowering in fear. Most of all, for me, it's not about what I believe, but how I believe and how I live with respect to those beliefs. Prayer and meditation are much easier to understand today and much easier and more fruitful to implement. Thank you.

To respond to the sharer, please email dtshare@aa-alive.org and it will be forwarded to them.
(All shares are reproduced with the kind permission of the person sharing)
 

Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Grateful to serve,
peyton