*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 24, 2014* *A Spiritual Program* *I finally began to separate the religious aspects of my life from AA's spiritual program. Now the big difference to me is that religion is the ritual, and we all differ there, and spirituality is the way we feel about what we do. It's about my personal contact with my personal Higher Power as I understand Him.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 406 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *True religion is the life we lead, not the creed we pro ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 23, 2014 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Gratitude Gratitude should go forward, rather than backward. In other words, if you carry the message to still others, you will be making the best possible repayment for the help given to you.* /- As Bill Sees It,/ p. 29 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Grateful is a feeling.  Gratitude is an action.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* **A A** = **A**lways **A**wesome. ** *A Member Shares: Hi all, l am Kevin, an alcoholic and ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 22, 2014* *Laughter* *When my AA sponsor began to laugh and point out my self-pity and ego-feeding deceptions, I was annoyed and hurt, but it taught me to lighten up and focus on my recovery. I soon learned to laugh at myself and eventually I taught those I sponsor to laugh also. Every day I ask God to help me stop taking myself too seriously.* /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 59 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Take time to laugh -- it is the music of the soul.* *AA-r ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 21, 2014* *Selfishness* *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 at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later put us in a position to be hurt.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 20, 2014* *Action* *I heard someone say that AA works for those who work for it, those who put /action/ into the program. . . I heard that I should forget about yesterday and instead concentrate on today and staying away from the first drink today -- now. I tried it and it worked.* /- Came To Believe . . .,/ p. 42 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Learn to listen; listen to learn.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A R T* = **A**lways **R**emain **T**eachable. Thank ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 19, 2014 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Coming Home I returned to AA, but I was reluctant for a long time to tell of my experience. I was afraid that no one would believe me and that they would laugh. Later, I learned that others had had the same experiences.* /- Came To Believe . . .,/ p. 17 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Recovery is discovery.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* **N E W** = **N**othing **E**lse **W**orked. ** *A Member Shares: Hi, I'm Dave, an alcoho ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 18, 2014* *Obsession* *It is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 30 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *When we try to c ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 17, 2014* *Power* *Power is a key word in this program, and its importance is underlined repeatedly in the Twelve Steps.  We admitted in the beginning that "we were /powerless/ over alcohol -- that our lives had become unmanageable." Then we "came to believe that a /Power/ greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." And in the Eleventh Step, we pray "for the knowledge of His will for us and the /power/ to carry that out. ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 16, 2014 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Easy Does It We find it hard to relax and savor life. When one of us is in a dither to get something done or get somewhere in a hurry, a friend may gently remonstrate, "'Easy Does It,' remember?" Then there's often a flash of annoyance at the adviser. And that indicates the advice must have hit home, wouldn't you say?* /- Living Sober,/ p. 44 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *While it isn't always easy, if I keep it s ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 15, 2014* *Change* *It never occurred to us that we needed to change ourselves to meet conditions, whatever they were. In AA, we slowly learned that something had to be done about our vengeful resentments, self-pity, and unwarranted pride. . . We learned that if we were seriously disturbed, our /first/ need was to quiet that disturbance, regardless of who or what we thought caused it.* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 47 *Thought to Ponder . . .* ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 14, 2014* *Love* *Love is always positive and constructive.  It does not tolerate negativism. It must be given and received unconditionally, without reservations, with no strings attached. When we love, we will see in others what we wish to have in ourselves. We will know that love is a privilege given to us by God. When we love, we will never be bored with life or our program. . . It shows us that the things that count are never held in the hand but al ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 13, 2014* *An Open Mind* *First, AA does not demand that you believe anything. All of its Twelve Steps are but suggestions.  Second, to get sober and stay sober, you don't have to swallow all of Step Two right now. . . . Third, all you need is a truly open mind. Just resign from the debating society and quit bothering yourself with such deep questions as whether it was the chicken or the egg that came first. Again I say, all you need is the open mind.* ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 12, 2014 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Helping Others When trying to help a fellow alcoholic, I've given in to an impulse to give advice, and perhaps that's inevitable. But allowing others the right to be wrong reaps its own benefits. The best I can do -- and it sounds easier than it is to put into practice -- is to listen, share personal experience, and pray for others.* /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 364 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Learn to listen; listen to lear ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 11, 2014* *Discovery* *I learned that when I stopped trying to analyze AA or God I found both sobriety and a Higher Power. I also realized that I could easily have found sobriety and God by honestly saying, "God, I am so confused -- please help me."* /- Thank You For Sharing,/ p. 41 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Recovery is discovery.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A A* = **A**lways **A**ware. Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 10, 2014* *The Ladder* *No one who drank as I did wakes up on the edge of the abyss one morning and says: Things look pretty scary; I think I'd better stop drinking before I fall in. I was convinced I could go as far as I wanted, and then climb back out when it wasn't fun anymore.  What happened was, I found myself at the bottom of the canyon thinking I'd never see the sun again. AA didn't pull me out of that hole. It did give me the tools to construct ...Continue Reading