AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 23, 2022  Carry A.A.'s MessageTo watch the eyes of men and women open with wonder as they move from darkness into light, to see their lives quickly fill with new purpose and meaning, to see whole families reassembled, to see the alcoholic outcast received back into his community in full citizenship, and above all to watch these people awaken to the presence of a loving God in their lives—these things are the substance of what we receive as we carry A.A.'s messag ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 22, 2022A New LifeIs sobriety all that we are to expect of a spiritual awakening? No, sobriety is only a bare beginning; it is only the first gift of the first awakening. If more gifts are to be received, our awakening has to go on. As it does go on, we find that bit by bit we can discard the old life—the one that did not work—for a new life that can and does work under any conditions whatever.- As Bill Sees It, No. 8Thought to Ponder . . .The greatest gift that can ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 21, 2022Deny An OpportunityWe find it a waste of time to keep chasing a man who cannot or will not work with you. If you leave such a person alone, he may soon become convinced that he cannot recover by himself. To spend too much time on any one situation is to deny some other alcoholic an opportunity to live and be happy.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) p. 96Thought to Ponder . . .A.A. is not for people who need it, it's for people who work it.AA-relate ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 20, 2022Unity - The Heart of A.A."Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity." The unity of Alcoholics Anonymous is the most cherished quality our Society has. Our lives, the lives of all to come, depend squarely upon it. We stay whole, or A.A. dies. Without unity, the heart of A.A. would cease to beat; our world arteries would no longer carry the life-giving grace of God; His gift to us would be spent aimlessly.- Twelve ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 19, 2022Profound Personality Change"It has often been said of A.A. that we are interested only in alcoholism. That is not true. We have to get over drinking in order to stay alive. But anyone who knows the alcoholic personality by firsthand contact knows that no true alky ever stops drinking permanently without undergoing a profound personality change."- As Bill Sees It, (Letter, 1940) No. 1Thought to Ponder . . .If I don't change, my sobriety date will.AA- ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 18, 2022SolitudeWe realize a little solitude is necessary to think and to try to work some of the Steps. In solitude, we take our inventories. In solitude, we admit to ourselves the exact nature of our wrongs. In solitude, our spirits seek that Power greater than we are;  in solitude, we seek through prayer and meditation to be aware of God’s will for us.- Came to Believe . . ., p. 109Thought to Ponder . . .We can't grow without giv ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 17, 2022A Useful ProgramMany could recover if they had the opportunity we have enjoyed. How then shall we present that which has been so freely given us? We have concluded to publish an anonymous volume setting forth the problem as we see it. We shall bring to the task our combined experience and knowledge. This should suggest a useful program for anyone concerned with a drinking problem.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 19Thought to Ponder . . .When a ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 16, 2022MotivesIn most cases our motives won't be hard to see and understand. When prideful, angry, jealous, anxious, or fearful, we acted accordingly, and that was that. Here we need only recognize that we did act or think badly, try to visualize how we might have done better, and resolve with God's help to carry these lessons over into tomorrow, making, of course, any amends still neglected.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 94Thought to Ponder . . ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 15, 2022ForgivenessWe'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) p. 78Thought to Ponde ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 14, 2022You Are ReadyIf 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.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 58Thought to Ponder . . .What have I been given today? Am I willing to reach out ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 13, 2022Our MistakesPutting out of our minds the wrongs others had done, we resolutely looked for our own mistakes. Where had we been selfish, dishonest, self-seeking and frightened? Though a situation had not been entirely our fault, we tried to disregard the other person involved entirely. Where were we to blame? The inventory was ours, not the other man’s.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 67Thought to Ponder . . .The first step in overcoming mistakes is to ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 12, 2022Ups and DownsThe quick inventory is aimed at our daily ups and downs, especially those where people or new events throw us off balance and tempt us to make mistakes. In all these situations we need self-restraint, honest analysis of what is involved, a willingness to admit when the fault is ours, and an equal willingness to forgive when the fault is elsewhere.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 91Thought to Ponder . . .Nothing pays off like re ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 11, 2022Faith and ActionBut he will be curious to learn why his own convictions have not worked and why yours seem to work so well. He may be an example of the truth that faith alone is insufficient. To be vital, faith must be accompanied by self sacrifice and unselfish, constructive action.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) p. 93Thought to Ponder . . .If faith without works is dead; then willingness without action is fantasy.AA-related 'Alconym'A C T &nbs ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 10, 2022Foolish IdeaHe had much knowledge about himself as an alcoholic. Yet all reasons for not drinking were easily pushed aside in favor of the foolish idea that he could take whiskey if only he mixed it with milk! Whatever the precise definition of the word may be, we call this plain insanity. How can such a lack of proportion, of the ability to think straight, be called anything else?- Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) pp. 36 - 37Thought to Ponder . ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 9, 2022Consider CarefullyThe most common symptoms of emotional insecurity are worry, anger self-pity, and depression. These stem from causes which sometimes seem to be within us, and at other times to come from without. To take inventory in this respect we ought to consider carefully all personal relationships which bring continuous or recurring trouble. It should be remembered that this kind of insecurity may arise in any area where instincts are threatened.- Twelve ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 8, 2022The Alcoholic IllnessBut not so with the alcoholic illness, for with it there goes annihilation of all the things worth while in life. It engulfs all whose lives touch the sufferer's. It brings misunderstanding, fierce resentment, financial insecurity, disgusted friends and employers, warped lives of blameless children, sad wives and parents—anyone can increase the list.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 18Thought to Ponder . . .Right actions for ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 7, 2022Stormy EmotionsAnger, that occasional luxury of more balanced people, could keep us on an emotional jag indefinitely. These emotional "dry benders" often led straight to the bottle. Other kinds of disturbances—jealousy, envy, self-pity, or hurt pride—did the same thing. A spot-check inventory taken in the midst of such disturbances can be of very great help in quieting stormy emotions.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 90Thought to P ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 6, 2022New AttitudesIf we really depended upon God, we couldn't very well play God to our fellows nor would we feel the urge wholly to rely on human protection and care. These were the new attitudes that finally brought many of us an inner strength and peace that could not be deeply shaken by the shortcomings of others or by any calamity not of our own making.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) p. 116Thought to Ponder . . .I never imagined that the gr ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 5, 2022A Double LifeMore than most people, the alcoholic leads a double life. He is very much the actor. To the outer world he presents his stage character. This is the one he likes his fellows to see. He wants to enjoy a certain reputation, but knows in his heart he doesn't deserve it.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 73Thought to Ponder . . .Character is what I am; reputation is what people think I am.AA-related 'Alconym'F E A R  =   Frantic Effort ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy AA-Alive.net)December 4, 2022~ Scroll Down for Share ~An AllergyAll these, and many others, have one symptom in common: they cannot start drinking without developing the phenomenon of craving. This phenomenon, as we have suggested, may be the manifestation of an allergy which differentiates these people, and sets them apart as a distinct entity. It has never been, by any treatment with which we are familiar, permanently eradicated. The only relief we have to suggest is entire abstinence.- ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 3, 2022Conceptions and Motives"Here and there, once in a while, alcoholics have had what are called vital spiritual experiences. To me these occurrences are phenomena. They appear to be in the nature of huge emotional displacements and rearrangements. Ideas, emotions, and attitudes which were once the guiding forces of the lives of these men are suddenly cast to one side, and a completely new set of conceptions and motives begin to dominate them."- Alcoholi ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 2, 2022We Carry A.A.'s MessageTo watch the eyes of men and women open with wonder as they move from darkness into light, to see their lives quickly fill with new purpose and meaning, to see whole families reassembled, to see the alcoholic outcast received back into his community in full citizenship, and above all to watch these people awaken to the presence of a loving God in their lives—these things are the substance of what we receive as we carry A.A.'s message to ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)December 1, 2022Hideous Four HorsemenAs we became subjects of King Alcohol, shivering denizens of his mad realm, the chilling vapor that is loneliness settled down. It thickened, ever becoming blacker. Some 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. Unhappy drinkers who read this page wi ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)November 30, 2022Our Blind SpotTo clergymen, doctors, friends, and families, the alcoholic who means well and tries hard is a heartbreaking riddle. To most A.A.'s, he is not. There are too many of us who have been just like him, and have found the riddle's answer. This answer has to do with the quality of faith rather than its quantity. This has been our blind spot.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Two) p. 32Thought to Ponder . . .Faith is mighty. Action with faith ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)November 29, 2022The Fear ProblemSelf-reliance was good as far as it went, but it didn’t go far enough. Some of us once had great self-confidence, but it didn’t fully solve the fear problem, or any other. When it made us cocky, it was worse. Perhaps there is a better way—we think so. For we are now on a different basis; the basis of trusting and relying upon God. We trust infinite God rather than our finite selves.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 68Thought to Ponder ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)November 28, 2022An IllnessIf, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit entirely, or if when drinking, you have little control over the amount you take, you are probably alcoholic. If that be the case, you may be suffering from an illness which only a spiritual experience will conquer.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics) p. 44Thought to Ponder . . .The ultimate defense against the first drink is a spiritual one.AA-related 'Alconym'A A  =   Amazing Awake ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy AA-Alive.net)November 27, 2022~ Scroll Down for Share ~IndispensableMost emphatically we wish to say that any alcoholic capable of honestly facing his problems in the light of our experience can recover, provided he does not close his mind to all spiritual concepts. He can only be defeated by an attitude of intolerance or belligerent denial. We find that no one need have difficulty with the spirituality of the program.Willingness, honesty and open mindedness are the essentials of recovery ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)November 26, 2022A.A.'s Twelve StepsA.A.’s Twelve Steps are a group of principles, spiritual in their nature, which, if practiced as a way of life, can expel the obsession to drink and enable the sufferer to become happily and usefully whole.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Foreward) p. 15Thought to Ponder . . .The Twelve Steps -- a manuscript for rational living.AA-related 'Alconym'A A W O L  =   A A Way Of Life.Thank you for sharing so generously of you ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)November 25, 2022Bright Promise and MeaningThe notion that we would still live our own lives, God helping a little now and then, began to evaporate. Many of us who had thought ourselves religious awoke to the limitations of this attitude. Refusing to place God first, we had deprived ourselves of His help. But now the words “Of myself I am nothing, the Father doeth the works” began to carry bright promise and meaning.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Seven) p. 75Thou ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)November 24, 2022Humility and Great BlessingsAnd finally, we of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the principle of anonymity has an immense spiritual significance. It reminds us that we are to place principles before personalities; that we are actually to practice a genuine humility. This to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us; that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him who presides over us all.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (12 Traditions; Long Form ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)November 23, 2022FaithActually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man, woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form or other it is there. For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as old as man himself.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics) p. 55Thought to Ponder . . .Faith is like a muscle, the more ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)November 22, 2022ResentmentsIn 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 - 65Thought to Ponder . . .Anger is the wind that b ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)November 21, 2022MeditationBut its object is always the same: to improve our conscious contact with God, with His grace, wisdom, and love. And let's always remember that meditation is in reality intensely practical. One of its first fruits is emotional balance. With it we can broaden and deepen the channel between ourselves and God as we understand Him.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eleven) pp. 101 - 102Thought to Ponder . . .Prayer asks the question. Meditation ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy AA-Alive.net)November 20, 2022~ Scroll Down for Share ~Step ElevenSought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 59 Thought to PonderRelationships are built with communication; so we pray. AA-related 'Alconym'P A U S E  =  Pay Attention, Use Step Eleven.A Member Shares:I am Eddy and scared to share ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)November 19, 2022AmendsThe question of how to approach the man we hated will arise. It may be he has done us more harm than we have done him and, though we may have acquired a better attitude toward him, we are still not too keen about admitting our faults. Nevertheless, with a person we dislike, we take the bit in our teeth. It is harder to go to an enemy than to a friend, but we find it much more beneficial to us.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 77Thought to Ponder ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)November 18, 2022The Only ConditionBurn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can get well regardless of anyone. The only condition is that he trust in God and clean house.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) p. 98Thought to PonderWhen all else fails, try following directions.AA-related 'Alconym'T R U S T  =   Try Relying Upon Steps and Traditions.Thank you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the A ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)November 17, 2022Carry 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 PonderGet it - Give it - Grow in it.AA-related 'Alconym'S P O N S ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)November 16, 2022Deep ResentmentIt is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit these, do we squander the hours that might have been worth while. But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave. We found that it is fatal.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 66Thought to PonderResentment is like tak ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)November 15, 2022Emphasize and Re-emphasizeBut the actual or potential alcoholic, with hardly an exception, will beabsolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of self-knowledge. This is a point we wish to emphasize and re-emphasize, to smash home upon our alcoholic readers as it has been revealed to us out of bitter experience.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) p. 39Thought to PonderPride in my intelligence blinded me to how much I did not know.AA-related 'Al ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)November 14, 2022Abandoned ThinkingBesides a seeming inability to accept much on faith, we often found ourselves handicapped by obstinacy, sensitiveness, and unreasoning prejudice. Many of us have been so touchy that even casual reference to spiritual things made us bristle with antagonism. This sort of thinking had to be abandoned. Though some of us resisted, we found no great difficulty in casting aside such feelings.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics) pp. 47 - 48Thought ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) Hello Everyone.  I'm not sure what happened with the sending of today's Daily Thought. I've contacted the developer of the program we use to send it and will get him to see if we have a glitch from our move to the new server host.  This has happened once quite a few years ago. So I'm sending it again.  My apologies for the lateness. November 13, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Amends Simply we tell him that we will never get over drinking until w ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) November 12, 2022 Entire Confidence But the ex-problem drinker who has found this solution, who is properly armed with facts about himself, can generally win the entire confidence of another alcoholic in a few hours. Until such an understanding is reached, little or nothing can be accomplished. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 18 Thought to Ponder Together we can do what we could never do alone. AA-related 'Alconym' E S H  =   Experience, Stre ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) November 11, 2022 Willpower All of the Twelve Steps require sustained and personal exertion to conform to their principles and so, we trust, to God's will. It is when we try to make our will conform with God's that we begin to use it rightly. To all of us, this was a most wonderful revelation. Our whole trouble had been the misuse of willpower. We had tried to bombard our problems with it instead of attempting to bring it into agreement with God's intention for us. - Twe ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) November 10, 2022 Became Willing “Sure, I was beaten, absolutely licked. My own willpower just wouldn’t work on alcohol. Change of scene, the best efforts of family, friends, doctors, and clergymen got no place with my alcoholism. I simply couldn’t stop drinking, and no human being could seem to do the job for me. But when I became willing to clean house and then asked a Higher Power, God as I understood Him, to give me release, my obsession to drink vanished. It was lif ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) November 9, 2022 No Defense Once more: The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental defense against the first drink. Except in a few rare 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. 43 Thought to Ponder I can't, He can, I'll ask Him to. AA-related 'Alconym' F R O G  =   Fully Rely On God. Thank you for sharing so generously ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) November 8, 2022 Step Eleven Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 59 Thought to Ponder If you want to stay protected, you have to be connected. AA-related 'Alconym' A S A P  =   Always Say A Prayer. Thank you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) November 8, 2022 Step Eleven Sought through prayer and meditation to improve ourconscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 59 Thought to Ponder If you want to stay protected, you have to be connected. AA-related 'Alconym' A S A P  =   Always Say A Prayer. Thank you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) November 7, 2022 Our Fellowship We are people who normally would not mix. But there exists among us a fellowship, a friendliness, and an understanding which is indescribably wonderful. We are like the passengers of a great liner the moment after rescue from shipwreck when camaraderie, joyousness and democracy pervade the vessel from steerage to Captain’s table. Unlike the feelings of the ship’s passengers, however, our joy in escape from disaster does not subside as we g ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) November 6, 2022 Truth About Ourselves We'd have to have outside help if we were surely to know and admit the truth about ourselves—the help of God and another human being. Only by discussing ourselves, holding back nothing, only by being willing to take advice and accept direction could we set foot on the road to straight thinking, solid honesty, and genuine humility. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Five) p. 59 Thought to Ponder We need to share our problem ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) November 5, 2022 Tradition Eleven Our relations with the general public should be characterized by personal anonymity. We think A.A. ought to avoid sensational advertising. Our names and pictures as A.A. members ought not be broadcast, filmed, or publicly printed. Our public relations should be guided by the principle of attraction rather than promotion. There is never need to praise ourselves. We feel it better to let our friends recommend us. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (A ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) November 4, 2022 Enjoying Life We have been speaking to you of serious, sometimes tragic things. We have been dealing with alcohol in its worst aspect. But we aren't a glum lot. If newcomers could see no joy or fun in our existence, they wouldn't want it. We absolutely insist on enjoying life. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (The Family Afterward) p. 132 Thought to Ponder Laughter is the sound of recovery. AA-related 'Alconym' H J F  =   Happy, Joyous, Free. Thank&n ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) November 3, 2022 A Prospect When you discover a prospect for Alcoholics Anonymous, find out all you can about him. If he does not want to stop drinking, don’t waste time trying to persuade him. You may spoil a later opportunity. This advice is given for his family also. They should be patient, realizing they are dealing with a sick person. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) p. 90 Thought to Ponder AA is not for people who need it, it's for people who want it ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) November 2, 2022 Sanity Returned And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone—even alcohol. For by this time sanity will have returned. We will seldom be interested in liquor. If tempted, we recoil from it as from a hot flame. We react sanely and normally, and we will find that this has happened automatically. We will see that our new attitude toward liquor has been given us without any thought or effort on our part. It just comes! That is the miracle of it. - Alcoholi ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) November 1, 2022 Attitudes and Actions Why all this insistence that every A.A. must hit bottom first? The answer is that few people will sincerely try to practice the A.A. program unless they have hit bottom. For practicing A.A.'s remaining eleven Steps means the adoption of attitudes and actions that almost no alcoholic who is still drinking can dream of taking. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step One) p. 24 Thought to Ponder You know you have hit bottom when y ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) October 31, 2022 Meditation and Prayer Perhaps one of the greatest rewards of meditation and prayer is the sense of belonging that comes to us. We no longer live in a completely hostile world. We are no longer lost and frightened and purposeless. The moment we catch even a glimpse of God's will, the moment we begin to see truth, justice, and love as the real and eternal things in life, we are no longer deeply disturbed by all the seeming evidence to the contrary that sur ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 30, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Sanity One night after a Step Two meeting, I decided to find out what those courageous early members who put our Twelve Steps together really meant by sanity. I was a little surprised to find that my dictionary defined it as the quality of being sound of mind, sound of judgment, reasonable and rational in one's thoughts ... As I sat there mulling over the definition, an idea occurred to me: "This is what I’m to be restored ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) October 29, 2022 A Real Chance We have learned that the satisfaction of instincts cannot be the sole end and aim of our lives. If we place instincts first, we have got the cart before the horse; we shall be pulled backward into disillusionment. But when we are willing to place spiritual growth first—then and only then do we have a real chance. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) p. 114 Thought to Ponder Get it - Give it - Grow in it. AA-related 'Alconym ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) October 28, 2022 Divine Paradox Even the newest of newcomers finds undreamed rewards as he tries to help his brother alcoholic, the one who is even blinder than he. This is indeed the kind of giving that actually demands nothing. He does not expect his brother sufferer to pay him, or even to love him. And then he discovers that by the divine paradox of this kind of giving he has found his own reward, whether his brother has yet received anything or not. - Twelve Steps an ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) October 27, 2022 Nightly Review When we retire at night, we constructively review our day. Were we resentful, selfish, dishonest or afraid? Do we owe an apology? Have we kept something to ourselves which should be discussed with another person at once? Were we kind and loving toward all? What could we have done better?. . .  After making our review we ask God’s forgiveness and inquire what corrective measures should be taken. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) October 26, 2022 Meditation There's nothing the matter with constructive imagination; all sound achievement rests upon it. After all, no man can build a house until he first envisions a plan for it. Well, meditation is like that, too; it helps to envision our spiritual objective before we try to move toward it. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eleven) p. 100 Thought to Ponder Meditation is our step out into the sun. AA-related 'Alconym' K I S S  =   ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) October 25, 2022 Practice These Principles The A.A. answer to these questions about living is “Yes, all of these things are possible.” We know this because we see monotony, pain, and even calamity turned to good use by those who keep on trying to practice A.A.'s Twelve Steps. And if these are facts of life for the many alcoholics who have recovered in A.A., they can become the facts of life for many more. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) p. 112 Though ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) October 24, 2022 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. - ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) October 23, 2022 More Urgent If 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 ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) October 22, 2022 Results of Prayer In A.A. we have found that the actual good results of prayer are beyond question. They are matters of knowledge and experience. All those who have persisted have found strength not ordinarily their own. They have found wisdom beyond their usual capability. And they have increasingly found a peace of mind which can stand firm in the face of difficult circumstances. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eleven) p. 104 Thought to Po ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 21, 2022 Our First Need We had to see that when we harbored grudges and planned revenge for such defeats, we were really beating ourselves with the club of anger we had intended to use on others. 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, (Step Four) p. 47 Thought to Ponder The road to resentment is paved with expectations. AA ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 20, 2022 Spiritual Experience Most of our experiences are what the psychologist William James calls the "educational variety" because they develop slowly over a period of time. Quite often friends of the newcomer are aware of the difference long before he is himself. He finally realizes that he has undergone a profound alteration in his reaction to life; that such a change could hardly have been brought about by himself alone. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (A ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 19, 2022 We Searched If the owner of the business is to be successful, he cannot fool himself about values. We did exactly the same thing with our lives. We took stock honestly. First, we searched out the flaws in our make-up which caused our failure. Being convinced that self, manifested in various ways, was what had defeated us, we considered its common manifestations. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 64 Thought to Ponder Each day, I can ask God to re ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 18, 2022 Blessings Having so considered our day, not omitting to take due note of things well done, and having searched our hearts with neither fear nor favor, we can truly thank God for the blessings we have received and sleep in good conscience. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 95 Thought to Ponder Gratitude is a most effective painkiller for the alcoholic. AA-related 'Alconym' B E S T  =   Been Enjoying Sobriety Today? Thank&nbs ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) I am delighted to tell you were are now on a new server with a new hosting company. I will put an update on the website also. (See link below) My deepest apologies for the frustration and mess this has been and that I made the wrong decision on the timing of moving to a new hosting company.  I'm sending out the October 17 Daily Thought again as the old server did not complete the sending to you.  I will be sending out the Daily Thought for Oc ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 16, 2022 Human Failings Let's take a universally recognized list of major human failings—the Seven Deadly Sins of pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth. It is not by accident that pride heads the procession. For pride, leading to self-justification, and always spurred by conscious or unconscious fears, is the basic breeder of most human difficulties, the chief block to true progress. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Four) p. 48 Thought ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 15, 2022 Humility Indeed, the attainment of greater humility is the foundation principle of each of A.A.'s Twelve Steps. For without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all. Nearly all A.A.'s have found, too, that unless they develop much more of this precious quality than may be required just for sobriety, they still haven't much chance of becoming truly happy. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Seven) p. 70 Thought to Ponder Learni ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 14, 2022 Inventory But all who are in the least reasonable will agree upon one point: that there is plenty wrong with us alcoholics about which plenty will have to be done if we are to expect sobriety, progress, and any real ability to cope with life. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Four) p. 48 Thought to Ponder Without change I am just a non-drinking drunk. AA-related 'Alconym' H O W  =   Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness. Thank  ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 13, 2022 Insanely Trivial Excuse But there was always the curious mental phenomenon that parallel with our sound reasoning there inevitably ran some insanely trivial excuse for taking the first drink. Our sound reasoning failed to hold us in check. The insane idea won out. Next day we would ask ourselves, in all earnestness and sincerity, how it could have happened. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) p. 37 Thought to Ponder The first drink has the l ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 12, 2022 Emotional Hangover When a drunk has a terrific hangover because he drank heavily yesterday, he cannot live well today. But there is another kind of hangover which we all experience whether we are drinking or not. That is the emotional hangover, the direct result of yesterday's and sometimes today's excesses of negative emotion—anger, fear, jealousy, and the like. If we would live serenely today and tomorrow, we certainly need to eliminate these hangovers ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 10, 2022 Due to this massive problem with the host of our server, over half of our 15K Daily Thoughts are not able to be delivered. They had it fairly well restored and repaired last night however this morning it is totally messed up again. So I'm not able to attempt the sending of the Daily Thought out to our lovely Subscribers again or it will make part of the problem worse. This problem is affecting Yahoo! and aol email addresses the most. Also this makes it so ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 9, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Grant Me Strength "My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen." We have then completed Step Seven. Now we need more action, without which we find that "Faith without works is dead." ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 8, 2022 /Dearest Reader, I am aware that you are not receiving your Daily Thoughts as you should. My deepest apologies. I am working on a fix, along with our servver provider, with completeing a move to a new server to send your Daily Thought from.  Hopefully this will completely resolve the problems of the past week.  Thank you for your patience and understanding./ A.A.'s Simple Prayer With each passing day of our lives, may every one of us sense more ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 8, 2022 A.A.'s Simple Prayer With each passing day of our lives, may every one of us sense more deeply the inner meaning of A.A.'s simple prayer: God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, Courage to change the things we can. And wisdom to know the difference. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) p. 125 Thought to Ponder Serenity isn't freedom from the storm; it is peace within the storm. AA-related 'Alconym' H O P E   ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 7, 2022 Progress "Day by day, we try to move a little toward God's perfection. So we need not be consumed by maudlin guilt for failure to achieve His likeness and image by Thursday next. Progress is our aim, and His perfection is the beacon, light-years away, that draws us on." - As Bill Sees It, No. 15 Thought to Ponder Sobriety is not a destination, but an everlasting journey. AA-related 'Alconym' S H A M E  =   Should Have Already Mastere ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 6, 2022 Twisted Relations But it is from our twisted relations with family, friends, and society at large that many of us have suffered the most. We have been especially stupid and stubborn about them. The primary fact that we fail to recognize is our total inability to form a true partnership with another human being. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Four) p. 53 Thought to Ponder Ask yourself, "What would an adult do in this situation?" AA ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 5, 2022 Humility All of us saw, for example, that we lacked honesty and tolerance, that we were beset at times by attacks of self-pity or delusions of personal grandeur. But while this was a humiliating experience, it didn't necessarily mean that we had yet acquired much actual humility. Though now recognized, our defects were still there. Something had to be done about them. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Five) p. 58 Thought to Ponder Humility is t ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 4, 2022 Turning Point Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely. Remember that we deal with alcohol—cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power—that One is God. May you find Him now! Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) pp. 58 - 5 ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 3, 2022 Firm Bedrock 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. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step One) p. 21 Thought to Ponder We surrender to win. AA-related 'Alconym' S W A ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 2, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Revolutionary Change They flatly declare that since they have come to believe in a Power greater than themselves, to take a certain attitude toward that Power, and to do certain simple things, there has been a revolutionary change in their way of living and thinking. In the face of collapse and despair, in the face of the total failure of their human resources, they found that a new power, peace, happiness, and sense of direction ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) October 1, 2022 A Regular Habit More experienced people, of course, in all times and places have practiced unsparing self-survey and criticism. For the wise have always known that no one can make much of his life until self-searching becomes a regular habit, until he is able to admit and accept what he finds, and until he patiently and persistently tries to correct what is wrong. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 88 Thought to Ponder It's not making a ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 30, 2022 Useful to Others Most of us sense that real tolerance of other people’s shortcomings and viewpoints and a respect for their opinions are attitudes which make us more useful to others. Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) pp. 19 - 20 Thought to Ponder Love and tolerance of others is our code. AA-related 'Alconym' P U T &nbs ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 29, 2022 Affirmative Action Like all the remaining Steps, Step Three calls for affirmative action, for it is only by action that we can cut away the self-will which has always blocked the entry of God—or, if you like, a Higher Power—into our lives. Faith, to be sure, is necessary, but faith alone can avail nothing. We can have faith, yet keep God out of our lives. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Three) p. 34 Thought to Ponder Willpower ... our will ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 28, 2022 Old Threadbare Idea The almost certain consequences that follow taking even a glass of beer do not crowd into the mind to deter us. If these thoughts occur, they are hazy and readily supplanted with the old threadbare idea that this time we shall handle ourselves like other people. There is a complete failure of the kind of defense that keeps one from putting his hand on a hot stove. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 24 Thought to Ponde ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 27, 2022 Individual Strength This 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. 72 Thought to ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 26, 2022 Abnormally Fearful At heart we had all been abnormally fearful. It mattered little whether we had sat on the shore of life drinking ourselves into forgetfulness or had plunged in recklessly and willfully beyond our depth and ability. The result was the same—all of us had nearly perished in a sea of alcohol. But today, in well-matured A.A.'s, these distorted drives have been restored to something like their true purpose and direction. - Twelve Steps and ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 25, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Within Us 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 The power ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 24, 2022 The Great Fact Ask Him in your morning meditation what you can do each day for the man who is still sick. The answers will come, if your own house is in order. But obviously you cannot transmit something you haven’t got. See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for us. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (A Vision For You) p. 164 Thought to Ponder Trust God. Clean h ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 23, 2022 Resentments Few people have been more victimized by resentments than have we alcoholics. It mattered little whether our resentments were justified or not. A burst of temper could spoil a day, and a well-nursed grudge could make us miserably ineffective. Nor were we ever skillful in separating justified from unjustified anger. As we saw it, our wrath was always justified. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 90 Thought to Ponder Resentme ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 22, 2022 One Good Look We are certain that our intelligence, backed by willpower, can rightly control our inner lives and guarantee us success in the world we live in. This brave philosophy, wherein each man plays God, sounds good in the speaking, but it still has to meet the acid test: how well does it actually work? One good look in the mirror ought to be answer enough for any alcoholic. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Three) p. 37 Thought to Pon ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 21, 2022 God’s Help Many of us had moral and philosophical convictions galore, but we could not live up to them even though we would have liked to. Neither could we reduce our self-centeredness much by wishing or trying on our own power. We had to have God’s help. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 62 Thought to Ponder I can't; God can; I'll ask Him to. AA-related 'Alconym' F R O G  =   Fully Rely On God. Thanks to all of you for sharing so ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 20, 2022 Faith Means Courage The verdict of the ages is that faith means courage. All men of faith have courage. They trust their God. We never apologize for God. Instead we let Him demonstrate, through us, what He can do. We ask Him to remove our fear and direct our attention to what He would have us be. At once, we commence to outgrow fear. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 68 Thought to Ponder Courage is not the absence of fear, but taking action in ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 19, 2022 Forgiveness This vital Step was also the means by which we began to get the feeling that we could be forgiven, no matter what we had thought or done. Often it was while working on this Step with our sponsors or spiritual advisers that we first felt truly able to forgive others, no matter how deeply we felt they had wronged us. Our moral inventory had persuaded us that all-round forgiveness was desirable, but it was only when we resolutely tackled Step ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 18, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Faith A.A. is more than a set of principles; it is a society of alcoholics in action. We must carry the message, else we ourselves can wither and those who haven't been given the truth may die. Faith is more than our greatest gift; its sharing with others is our greatest responsibility. - As Bill Sees It, No. 13  Thought to Ponder Hope leads to faith if you let it.  AA-related 'Alconym' F A I T H  =  Forw ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 17, 2022 Misery Transformed Until now, our lives have been largely devoted to running from pain and problems. We fled from them as from a plague. We never wanted to deal with the fact of suffering. Escape via the bottle was always our solution. Character-building through suffering might be all right for saints, but it certainly didn't appeal to us. Then, in A.A., we looked and listened. Everywhere we saw failure and misery transformed by humility into priceless ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 16, 2022 Inspired Being still inexperienced and having just made conscious contact with God, it is not probable that we are going to be inspired at all times. We might pay for this presumption in all sorts of absurd actions and ideas. Nevertheless, we find that our thinking will, as time passes, be more and more on the plane of inspiration. We come to rely upon it. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 87 Thought to Ponder Action without prayer is self-relia ...Continue Reading