~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Freedom
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"Through AA, we can experience freedom from self. After all, it was self ( you, me ) that stood in our own way,
that ran the show and ran ourselves into bankruptcy, that hurt the ones we loved. All Twelve Steps of AA are designed to kill the old self ( deflate the old ego ) and build a new, free self."
©1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 459
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Thought to Consider . . .

Within our wonderful new world,
we have found freedom from our fatal obsession.

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

Presence

From "The Three Legacies of A.A.:"

"My depression deepened unbearably and finally it seemed to me [in December 1934] as though I [Bill W.] were at the very bottom of the pit.  I still gagged badly on the notion of a Power greater than myself, but finally, just for the moment, the last vestige of my proud obstinacy was crushed.  All at once I found myself crying out, 'If there is a God, let Him show Himself!  I am ready to do anything, anything!'

"Suddenly the room lit up with a great white light. I was caught up into an ecstasy which there are no words to describe. It seemed to me, in the mind's eye, that I was on a mountain and that a wind not of air but of spirit was blowing.  And then it burst upon me that I was a free man.  Slowly the ecstasy subsided.  I lay on the bed, but now for a time I was in another world, a new world of consciousness. All about me and through me there was a wonderful feeling of Presence."

c. 1957, Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, page 63

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
LISTEN, SHARE AND PRAY

When working with a man and his family, you should take care not to participate in their quarrels.

You may spoil your chance of being helpful if you do.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 100

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.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
When and How to Give

Men who cry for money and shelter as a condition of their sobriety are on the wrong track. Yet we

sometimes do provide a new prospect with these very things - when it becomes clear that he is willing

to place his recovery first. It is not whether we shall give that is the question, but when and how to give. Whenever we put our work on a material plane, the alcoholic commences to rely upon alms rather than

upon a Higher Power and the A.A. group. He continues to insist that he cannot master alcohol until his

material needs are cared for. Nonsense! Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: that,

job or no job, wife or no wife, we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place material dependence

upon other people ahead of dependence on God.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 98
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"Most of us have been unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics. No
person likes to think he is bodily and mentally different from his
fellows. Therefore, 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, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, Page 30~

*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Have I ceased being inwardly defeated, at war with myself Have I given myself freely to A.A. and to the Higher Power? Have I gotten over being sick inside? Am I still wandering mentally or am I "on the beam"? I can face anything if I am sure I am on the way. When I am sure, I should bet my life on A.A. I have learned how the program works. Now will I follow it with all I have, with all I can give, with all my might, with all my life? Am I going to let A.A. principles guide the rest of my life?

Meditation for the Day

In this time of quiet meditation, follow the pressure of the Lord's leading. in all decisions to be made today, yield to the gentle pressure of your conscience. Stay or go as that pressure indicates. Take the events of today as part of God's planning and ordering. He may lead you to a right decision. Wait quietly until you have an inner urge, a leading, a feeling that a thing is right, a pressure on your will by the spirit of God.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that today I may try to follow the inner pressure of God's leading.

I pray that I may try to follow my conscience and do what seems right today.