AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)July 25, 2023Magnificent RealityNow, what about the rest of the Twelfth Step? The wonderful energy it releases and the eager action by which it carries our message to the next suffering alcoholic and which finally translates the Twelve Steps into action upon all our affairs is the payoff, the magnificent reality, of Alcoholics Anonymous.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) p. 109Thought to Ponder . . .Sobriety is not a destination, but an everlasting journey.AA ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)July 24, 2023Working FaithThis lack of anchorage to any permanent values, this blindness to the true purpose of our lives, produced another bad result. For just so long as we were convinced that we could live exclusively by our own individual strength and intelligence, for just that long was a working faith in a Higher Power impossible. This was true even when we believed that God existed.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Seven) p. 72Thought to Ponder . . .I ca ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy AA-Alive.net)July 23, 2023~ Scroll Down for Share ~ForgivenessWe've repeatedly strained the patience of our best friends to a snapping point, and have brought out the very worst in those who didn't think much of us to begin with. In many instances we are really dealing with fellow sufferers, people whose woes we have increased. If we are now about to ask forgiveness for ourselves, why shouldn't we start out by forgiving them, one and all?- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eight) ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)July 22, 2023Ghosts of YesterdayIf we have swept the searchlight of Step Four back and forth over our careers, and it has revealed in stark relief those experiences we'd rather not remember, if we have come to know how wrong thinking and action have hurt us and others, then the need to quit living by ourselves with those tormenting ghosts of yesterday gets more urgent than ever. We have to talk to somebody about them.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Five) p. 55 &nb ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)July 21, 2023Entire Psychic ChangeAfter they have succumbed to the desire again, as so many do, and the phenomenon of craving develops, they pass through the well-known stages of a spree, emerging remorseful, with a firm resolution not to drink again. This is repeated over and over, and unless this person can experience an entire psychic change there is very little hope of his recovery.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (The Doctors Opinion,) p. xxixThought to Ponder . . .Insanity - Doi ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)July 20, 2023Looking BackWhen we look back, we realize that the things which came to us when we put ourselves in God’s hands were better than anything we could have planned. Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances!- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) p. 100Thought to Ponder . . .Perhaps stop trying so hard to understand God and just accept that God is.AA-related 'Alconym ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)July 19, 2023Carry This MessagePractical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other activities fail. This is our twelfth suggestion: Carry this message to other alcoholics! You can help when no one else can. You can secure their confidence when others fail.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) p. 89Thought to Ponder . . .All of AA's suggestions are free. The ones I don't take ar ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)July 18, 2023No DefenseOnce more: The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental defense against the first drink. Except in a few cases, neither he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense must come from a Higher Power.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) p. 43Thought to Ponder . . .The ultimate defense against the first drink is a spiritual one.AA-related 'Alconym'G I F T  =   God Is Forever There.Thank you for shari ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)July 17, 2023HarmonyCourtesy, kindness, justice, and love are the keynotes by which we may come into harmony with practically anybody. When in doubt we can always pause, saying, "Not my will, but Thine, be done." And we can often ask ourselves, "Am I doing to others as I would have them do to me—today?"- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 93Thought to Ponder . . .I’m not what I think or feel, I am what I do.AA-related 'Alconym'L O V E   ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy AA-Alive.net)July 16, 2023~ Scroll Down for Share ~Willingness to BelieveLet us make haste to reassure you. We found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and express even a willingness to believe in a Power greater than ourselves, we commenced to get results, even though it was impossible for any of us to fully define or comprehend that Power, which is God.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics) p. 46Thought to PonderI came, I came to, I came to believe.AA-related 'Alconym'W ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)July 15, 2023Four HorsemenSome of us sought out sordid places, hoping to find understanding companionship and approval. Momentarily we did—then would come oblivion and the awful awakening to face the hideous Four Horsemen—Terror, Bewilderment, Frustration, Despair.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (A Vision For You) p. 151Thought to Ponder . . .When I share my story and remember the last days of my drinking, I remember the desperation of selling the last pieces of my soul.AA-related 'A ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)July 14, 2023Step EightA quiet, objective view will be our steadfast aim. Whenever our pencil falters, we can fortify and cheer ourselves by remembering what A.A. experience in this Step has meant to others. It is the beginning of the end of isolation from our fellows and from God.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eight) p. 82Thought to Ponder . . .Life begins at the end of our comfort zone.AA-related 'Alconym'A A  =   Accountable Actions.Thank you fo ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)July 13, 2023Lost Faith"The here and now was good enough for us. The will to win would carry us through. But then alcohol began to have its way with us. Finally, when all our score cards read 'zero,' and we saw that one more strike would put us out of the game forever, we had to look for our lost faith. It was in A.A, that we rediscovered it. And so can you."- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Two) p. 29Thought to Ponder . . .Take the first step in faith. Yo ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)July 12, 2023Singlehanded CombatThe tyrant alcohol wielded a double-edged sword over us: first we were smitten by an insane urge that condemned us to go on drinking, and then by an allergy of the body that insured we would ultimately destroy ourselves in the process. Few indeed were those who, so assailed, had ever won through in singlehanded combat.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step One) p. 22Thought to Ponder . . .I can't. God can. I'll ask Him to.AA-related 'Alcon ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)July 11, 2023Humility and ResponsibilityAll A.A. progress can be reckoned in terms of just two words: humility and responsibility. Our whole spiritual development can be accurately measured by our degree of adherence to these magnificent standards. Ever deepening humility, accompanied by an ever greater willingness to accept and to act upon clear cut obligations—these are truly our touchstones for all growth in the life of the spirit. They hold up to us the very essence of ri ...Continue Reading