*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 21, 2016* *Foundation* *In my own case, the foundation stone of freedom from fear is that of faith: a faith that, despite all worldly appearances to the contrary, causes me to believe that I can live in a universe that makes sense.* /- As Bill Sees It,/ p. 51 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Breathe in faith, breathe out fear.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *F A I T H* = **F**acing **A**n **I**nner **T**ruth **H**eals. Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 20, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Drinking Occasions Many of us have had the guts, if pressure to drink really got unpleasantly strong, simply to make an excuse and leave, no matter what other people may think. After all, our life is at stake. We simply have to take whatever steps are necessary to preserve our own health. Other people's reactions are /their/ problem, not ours.* /- Living Sober,/ p. 70 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Keep your sobriety first to ma ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 19, 2016* *Meditation* *Meditation belongs and grows with daily life and daily growth, for it is in daily life that analytical thought binds us into the dilemma of opposites and consequently into sorrow, pleasure-seeking and loss of freedom. In a life that may often seem onerous, boring and senseless, meditation can free us to its beauty, its joy beyond pleasure, its passion beyond sorrow.* /- The Best of the Grapevine/ [Vol. 1], p. 172 *Thought to Ponder . . ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 18, 2016* *Think* *AA has changed my thinking entirely, about everything I do. I can't afford resentments against anyone, because they are the build-up of another drunk. I must live and let live. And "think" -- that one important word means so much to me.  My life was always act and react. I never stopped to think.  I just didn't give a whoop about myself or anyone else.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 293 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *The Seven ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 17, 2016* *Fellowship* *The fellowship in AA is unique.  Ties are made overnight that it would take years to develop elsewhere. No one needs a false front.  All barriers are down. Some who have felt outcasts all their lives now know they really belong. From feeling as if they were dragging anchor through life, they suddenly sail free before the wind. For now they can be of tremendous and peculiar use to others having a dire need like their own.* /- Th ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 16, 2016* *Contrast* *The simple contrast between active alcoholism and active sobriety has helped me to seek, listen and to apply the good principles of living, and I am rewarded with much more excitement and joy than was mine before AA sobriety.* /- Came To Believe . . .,/ p. 4 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *I saw, I felt, I believed.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A B C* = **A**cceptance, **B**elief, **C**hange. Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 15, 2016* *Let Go* *If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it -- then you are ready to take certain steps. At some of these we balked.  We thought we could find an easier, softer way.  But we could not. With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely.* ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 14, 2016* *The Language of the Heart* *From the beginning, communication in AA has been no ordinary transmission of helpful ideas and attitudes. It has been unusual and sometimes unique.  Because of our suffering, and because our common means of deliverance are effective for ourselves only when constantly carried to others, our channels of contact have always been charged with /the language of the heart./* /- The Language of the Heart,/ p. 243 *Thought to ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 13, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Self-pity "Self-pity is one of the most unhappy and consuming defects that we know. It is a bar to all spiritual progress and can cut off all effective communication with our fellows because of its inordinate demands for attention and sympathy. It is a maudlin form of martyrdom, which we can ill afford."* /- As Bill Sees It,/ p. 238 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Self-pity is followed by isolation is followed by a drin ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 12, 2016* *Listening* *Sometimes, the body can speak an eloquent language all its own.  I see that in meetings. So coming to regular meetings of AA is a priceless experience for me on a great many levels -- mental, spiritual, social, emotional, and now possibly physical. Listening quietly is already a joy to me, and if it calms me down and lowers my blood pressure in the process, that's just another great reason to keep coming back.* /- Thank You For Shari ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 11, 2016* *A New Perspective* *For some of us, it is easier to slow ourselves down if we have the help of another person. We may be unable to generate our own peace, but sometimes we can make ourselves sit quietly and listen to a friend who has achieved a measure of serenity. Full attention to someone else helps restore our equilibrium and gives us a new perspective on our own lives, so that we may see that they don't /have/ to be a rat race.* /- Living Sober,/ ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 10, 2016* *Progress* *As I peel away the layers of day-to-day expediency, I realize that my zigzag, erratic and inconsistent course was in the general direction of progress all the time.  That's good. What right do I have to expect perfection and efficiency in my spiritual growth when the rest of my life is so full of ups and downs, ins and outs, and backs and forths?  Throughout this whole adventure, the only consistency I have maintained is an absol ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 9, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Belief Belief in the power of God, plus enough willingness, honesty and humility to establish and maintain the new order of things, were the essential requirements. Simple, but not easy; a price had to be paid.  It meant the destruction of self-centeredness. I must turn in all things to the Father of Light who presides over us all.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ pp. 13-14 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Reliance on God enables me ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 8, 2016* *Purpose* *This latest part of my life has had a purpose, not in great things accomplished, but in daily living. Courage to face each day has replaced the fears and uncertainties of earlier years. Acceptance of things as they are has replaced the old impatient chomping at the bit to conquer the world. I have stopped tilting at windmills and, instead, have tried to accomplish the little daily tasks, unimportant in themselves, but tasks that are an integ ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 7, 2016* *Resentments* *Selfishness -- self-centeredness!  That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that in some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt. So our troubles, we think, ar ...Continue Reading