AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 17, 2021 Improve Contact We discover that we do receive guidance for our lives to just about the extent that we stop making demands upon God to give it to us on order and on our terms. Almost any experienced A.A. will tell how his affairs have taken remarkable and unexpected turns for the better as he tried to improve his conscious contact with God. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eleven) pp. 104 - 105 Thought to Ponder The Three "P's" -- Paus ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 16, 2021 A Subtle Foe It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God’s will into all of our activities. "How can I best serve Thee—Thy will (not mine) be done." - Alcoholics A ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 15, 2021 Actual Experience He gave me information about the subject of alcoholism which was undoubtedly helpful. Of far more importance was the fact that he was the first living human with whom I had ever talked, who knew what he was talking about in regard to alcoholism from actual experience. In other words, he talked my language. He knew all the answers, and certainly not because he had picked them up in his reading. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Doctor Bob's Nightmar ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 14, 2021 Powerless to Purposeful Lives But upon entering AA we soon take quite another view of this absolute humiliation. We perceive that only through utter defeat are we able to take our first steps toward liberation and strength. Our admissions of personal powerlessness finally turn out to be firm bedrock upon which happy and purposeful lives may be built. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Step One) p. 21 Thought to Ponder The Twelve Steps -- a manuscript for rational li ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 13, 2021 To Grow This thought brings us to Step Ten, which suggests we continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along. We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 84 Thought to Po ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 12, 2021 Faith We finally saw that faith in some kind of God was a part of our make-up, just as much as the feeling we have for a friend. Sometimes we had to search fearlessly, but He was there. He was as much a fact as we were. We found the Great Reality deep down within us. In the last analysis it is only there that He may be found. It was so with us. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics) p. 55 Thought to Ponder I saw, I felt, I believed. AA-related 'Alconym' F ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 11, 2021 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Anger In dealing with resentments, we set them on paper. We listed people, institutions or principles with whom we were angry. We asked ourselves why we were angry. In most cases it was found that our self-esteem, our pocketbooks, our ambitions, our personal relationships (including sex) were hurt or threatened. So we were sore. We were "burned up."  - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) pp. 64 - 65  Thought t ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 10, 2021 Alternatives If you are as seriously alcoholic as we were, we believe there is no middle-of-the-road solution. We were in a position where life was becoming impossible, and if we had passed into the region from which there is no return through human aid, we had but two alternatives: One was to go on to the bitter end, blotting out the consciousness of our intolerable situation as best we could; and the other, to accept spiritual help. - Alcoholics Anonymous ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 9, 2021 Ageless Truth And when we turn away from meditation and prayer, we likewise deprive our minds, our emotions, and our intuitions of vitally needed support. As the body can fail its purpose for lack of nourishment, so can the soul. We all need the light of God's reality, the nourishment of His strength, and the atmosphere of His grace. To an amazing extent the facts of A.A. Life confirm this ageless truth. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eleven) pp ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 8, 2021 Priceless Gift We enjoy moments in which there is something like real peace of mind. To those of us who have hitherto known only excitement, depression, or anxiety—in other words, to all of us—this newfound peace is a priceless gift. Something new indeed has been added. Where humility had formerly stood for a forced feeding on humble pie, it now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient which can give us serenity. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step S ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 7, 2021 Our Outlook No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 84 Thought to Ponder Life will take on new meaning. AA-related 'Alconym' B E S T  =   ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 6, 2021 New Freedom Upon therapy for the alcoholic himself, we surely have no monopoly. Yet it is our great hope that all those who have as yet found no answer may begin to find one in the pages of this book and will presently join us on the high road to a new freedom. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Foreward to the Second Edition) p. xxi Thought to Ponder Within our wonderful new world, we have found freedom from our fatal obsession. AA-related 'Alconym' A A  = &nb ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 5, 2021 I Am Responsible . . . When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of A.A. always to be there. And for that: I am responsible. Declaration of 30th Anniversary A. A. International Convention, 1965 - As Bill Sees It, (I Am Responsible) No. 332 Thought to Ponder I may be the only "Big Book" another alcoholic has seen. AA-related 'Alconym' P R O G R A M  =   People Relying On God Relaying A Message. Thanks to all of you fo ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 4, 2021 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ A Solution There is a solution. Almost none of us liked the self-searching, the leveling of our pride, the confession of shortcomings which the process requires for its successful consummation. But we saw that it really worked in others, and we had come to believe in the hopelessness and futility of life as we had been living it. When, therefore, we were approached by those in whom the problem had been solved, there was nothing lef ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 3, 2021 Causes and Conditions Next we launched out on a course of vigorous action, the first step of which is a personal housecleaning, which many of us had never attempted. Though our decision was a vital and crucial step, it could have little permanent effect unless at once followed by a strenuous effort to face, and to be rid of, the things in ourselves which had been blocking us. Our liquor was but a symptom. So we had to get down to causes and conditions. - Alc ...Continue Reading