Alcoholics Anonymous | Step 3 | March 26

Alcoholics Anonymous | Step 3 | March 26 |

Fellowship.. similarities in experience, strength and hope develop unity and recovery ~ Voltaire "Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others?" -/- Learning by living our lives we experience what we can and cannot do and share wisdom to know the difference ...

"We win half the battle when we make up our minds to take the world as we find it, including the thorns."- Orison Swett Marden

I woke up, said the serenity prayer, can do, cannot do, tripped over my wisdom to know the difference and said it again! ~ Louis L'Amour "A body shouldn't heed what might be. He's got to do with what is" -/- Step one.. step two.. step three and serenity, let go and let good, now I smile gently ...

Daily Reflections ~ THE TEACHING IS NEVER OVER Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny. May God bless you and keep you — until then. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 164

These words put a lump in my throat each time I read them. In the beginning it was because I felt, “Oh no! The teaching is over. Now I’m on my own. It will never be this new again.” Today I feel deep affection for the A.A. pioneers when I read this passage, realizing that it sums up all of what I believe in, and strive for, and that — with God’s blessing — the teaching is never over, I’m never on my own, and every day is brand new.

As Bill Sees It ~ True Independence of the Spirit The more we become willing to depend upon a Higher Power, the more independent we actually are. Therefore, dependence as A.A. practices it is really a means of gaining true independence of the spirit. At the level of everyday living, it is startling to discover how dependent we really are, and how unconscious of that dependence.

Every modern house has electric wiring carrying power and light to its interior. By accepting with delight our dependence upon this marvel of science, we find ourselves personally more independent, more comfortable and secure. Power flows just where it is needed. Silently and surely, electricity, that strange energy so few people understand, meets our somplest daily needs. Though we readily accept this principle of healthy dependence in many of our temporal affairs, we often fiercely resist the identical principle when asked to apply it as means of growth in the life of the spirit. Clearly, we shall never know freedom under God until we try to seek His will for us. The choice is ours. TWELVE AND TWELVE, P. 36

Into the fabric of recovery from alcoholism are woven the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions, steps to be open honest and willing to learn, traditions to live unity service and recovery.

spiritual principles ~ acceptance surrender faith open-mindedness honesty willingness moral-inventory amends humility persistence spiritual-growth service

Step 3 "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him" Practicing Step Three is like the opening of a door which to all appearances is still closed and locked. All we need is a key, and the decision to swing the door open. There is only one key, and it is called willingness. Once unlocked by willingness, the door opens almost of itself, and looking through it, we shall see a pathway beside which is an inscription. It reads: "This is the way to a faith that works." We find faith in doing the next right action, based on truth, love and wisdom we learn as life unfolds.

Open To Truth, Love And Wisdom of Others [we let go having to be right, self obsessed and self medicating our lives away into oblivion and harms way]

We find it amazing that the newcomer can start the A.A. program without any specific beliefs or, for that matter, without any beliefs whatsoever. All a person needs is the open-mindedness and the willingness to believe that WE BELIEVE this program works...

"God [it is what I understand to be God or a "Higher Power," always a personal understanding we have for ourselves, there is no AA or common understanding, simply what you believe] God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference" God is often understood to be: Truth, Love and Wisdom in the moment of now... your faith, your understanding.

Alcoholics Anonymous, DonInLondon, Life Works In Recovery, Addiction And Recovery, Alcoholic, Alcoholism

Alcoholics Anonymous | DonInLondon | Life Works In Recovery |