June 25 To 30 Steps In Action | Alcoholics Anonymous

June 30 2011 Steps In Action Alcoholics Anonymous



AA Daily Reflections ~ "Sacrifice Unity Survival: June 30 ~ the unity, the effectiveness, and even the survival of A. A. will always depend upon our continued willingness to give up some of our personal ambitions and desires for the common safety and welfare. Just as sacrifice means survival for the individual alcoholic, so does sacrifice means unity and survival for the group and for A. A.'s entire Fellowship. [As Bill sees it]

I have learned that I must sacrifice some of my personality traits for the good of A. A. and, as a result, I have been rewarded with many gifts. False pride can be inflated through prestige but, by living Tradition Six, I receive the gift of humility instead. Cooperation without affiliation is often deceiving. If I remain unrelated to outside interest, I am free to keep A. A. autonomous. Then the Fellowship will be here, healthy and strong for generations to come.


DonInLondon

AA is all about inclusion to help those with a desire to stop drinking find a path to sober living. The more we can include everyone, the more we are enriched with experience, strength and hope. Humans are unique and authentic; in AA one similarity holds us together always respecting diversity…
I took a trip down memory lane to a meeting I attended about eight years ago. Some new faces and some old faces still sober today. Respect for newcomers and smiles with old timers, we are all sober one day at a time. It is good to be a “Day-Timer”, equal in the moment of now…

Keeping our side of the street clean... Part of the promises is we clean house every day with step ten. Step eight and nine is letting go old behaviour and the insanity of keeping secrets and telling lies, nurturing anger and resentments. Open, honest and willing we make progress today?

Life and coping strategies... In recovery our life plan can be what we choose. Step ten, daily inventory of what worked and blocks. Step 11 daily meditation as simple as the serenity prayer, Step 12, all the steps in practice daily and sharing the message. Less coping and more living, NOW!

We all need our outside interests or life would have no meaning. Our self-opinion and self-belief, faith, all unique to each of us need be honoured. Twelve steps to work, twelve traditions offer sanctuary and spiritual living. Fellowship prevails in unity and service, our primary purpose is sobriety.


Step 6 is a step of preparation and reflection. I have been preparing for a significant change in my life and now I need to make sure that I am ready. I need to make sure in my own heart and mind that I am truly willing for God to remove these defects of character that have enabled my addictive behaviour’s. It might mean letting go of other things in my life in order to allow God to do the work that needs to be done. I need to determine if I am truly ready.

"The A.A. Steps & Traditions are neither rules, regulations, nor laws. Perhaps the secret of their power lies in the fact that these life-giving communications spring out of living experience and are rooted in love." 1. A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 105." "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..."

Spiritual principles to live life "real" ~ "Forgiveness" "Acceptance" "Surrender" "Faith" "Open-mindedness" "Honesty" "Willingness" "Moral-inventory" "Amends" "Humility" "Persistence" "Spiritual-growth" "Service"

Step 6 "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character"
June 29 2011 Steps In Action Alcoholics Anonymous

AA Daily Reflections ~ "A rippling effect: June 29 ~ Having learned to live so happily, we'd show everyone else how. . .Yes, we of A.A. did dream those dreams. How natural that was, since most alcoholics are bankrupt idealists … So why shouldn't we share our way of life with everyone? [12&12]

The great discovery of sobriety led me to feel the need to spread the "good news" to the world around me. The grandiose thoughts of my drinking days returned. Later, I learned that concentrating on my own recovery was a full-time process. As I became a sober citizen in this world, I observed a rippling effect which, without any conscious effort on my part, reached any "related facility or outside enterprise," without diverting me from my primary purpose of staying sober and helping other alcoholics to achieve sobriety."

DonInLondon

Choices in Recovery: To be open honest and willing, or to be closed dishonest and unwilling? Progress as we let go our addictions to control, fear, our brave face and unhelpful ego. Shared truth illuminates our choices, the choices of those we love. Responsibly we live our consequences...

Removing our blocks, step 6... A daily meditation to have the courage to tell the truth to those we love and those who love us. When we choose silence, feel anger and resentment, denial blocks us, deprives those around us of choice. Have faith in truth setting everyone we love free today...

What will happen to me if I tell the truth, try to be open and honest. As I may fear my consequences, so too those who know me might fear my attempt to be truthful. If I ask them what they know and ask them for the truth as they see it, how will I cope with their knowledge of me and my past?

I feel we can love people who have been in our lives and hate the way they behaved at the time. Knowing that people do their best, even when it feels like the worst for us, we need forgive and share our outlook, or how else will we make progress toward truth, love and wisdom today. If I choose not to tell you the truth, I will never know the truth in you…
June 28 Steps In Action Alcoholics Anonymous



AA Daily Reflections ~ "The determination of our founders: June 28 ~ A year and six months later these three had succeeded with seven more. [big blue book]

If it had not been for the fierce determination of our founders, A.A. would have quickly faded like so many other so-called good causes. I look at the hundreds of meetings weekly in the city where I live and I know A.A. is available twenty-four hours a day. If I had had to hang on with nothing but hope and a desire not to drink, experiencing rejection wherever I went, I would have sought the easier, softer way and returned to my previous way of life.

DonInLondon

Ninety meetings in ninety days seemed like a tall order. It was never an order, it was a suggestion. And I wanted to belong somewhere instead of sitting in a bar, on a park bench, unable to reach out and wishing for my last breath. I went to as many meetings as I could and started to belong again…

Recovery has been a combination of listening to wisdom in the fellowship of AA, support from family, friends, community and professionals, and especially medical professionals who helped me understand the true nature of three clinical and chronic conditions…

This afternoons challenge, life is difficult, I need trust to good conscience, my own, keep learning and know I am powerless over anyone else and their conscience, accept clarity when it happens, let go and move on... knowing can be dark...

Meditation, spiritual and acceptance... to engage in mental exercise [as concentration on one's breathing or repetition of a feeling or thought] for the purpose of reaching spiritual awareness; spiritual the reality of now. Acceptance, what we can do and cannot do today...

We cannot keep anything we would take away from others... Freedom to develop our understanding of living: spiritual, emotional and physical, in fellowship we offer a path to life on life's terms. We do not control, we support and challenge, then, courage, faith and confidence may flourish…


Step 6 is a step of preparation and reflection. I have been preparing for a significant change in my life and now I need to make sure that I am ready. I need to make sure in my own heart and mind that I am truly willing for God to remove these defects of character that have enabled my addictive behaviors. It might mean letting go of other things in my life in order to allow God to do the work that needs to be done. I need to determine if I am truly ready.

"The A.A. Steps & Traditions are neither rules, regulations, nor laws. Perhaps the secret of their power lies in the fact that these life-giving communications spring out of living experience and are rooted in love." 1. A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 105." "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..."

June 27 Steps In Action Alcoholics Anonymous



AA Daily Reflections ~ "Conforming to the A.A. way... June 27, we obey A.A.'s Steps and Traditions because we really want them for ourselves. It is no longer a question of good or evil; we conform because we genuinely want to conform. Such is our process of growth in unity and function. Such is the evidence of God's grace and love among us. [A.A. comes of age]

It is fun to watch myself grow in A.A. I fought conformity to A.A. principles from the moment I entered, but I learned from the pain of my belligerence that, in choosing to live the A.A. way of life, I opened myself to God's grace and love. Then I began to know the full meaning of being a member of Alcoholics Anonymous.


DonInLondon

Last night a meeting where I could hear what happened to many who used alcohol to suppress old nightmares. We learn in sober days how to deal with the wreckage of the past, just one day at a time. And in time we find we live in the moment, less haunted, and sometimes the ghosts are gone…

Conforming to the AA way? We learn to live to good principles, to face reality. Some say this is obedience, I suggest it is freedom to live life, do good works, learn how to learn again and be more comfortable in our own skin. Fellowship taught me in recovery how to be me for a day…

Our anarchic democracy, hammered out on the "anvils of experience..." Learning to live to the good: with courage, faith and esteem. From powerless and unmanageable, slowly being restored to sanity, included in the world anew. Clearing the wreckage of the past, sharing our truth, we start to feel and think differently as reality impacts us... We are real today...

Conforming to the A.A. way... letting go extremes of fear, brave facing and ego, developing balance with courage faith and confidence. Steps and traditions: principles to unravel our anger, resentment and belligerence. The A.A. way, to be unique and authentic individuals with personal choices, unity in service and recovery, always just for today...

Step 6 is a step of preparation and reflection. I have been preparing for a significant change in my life and now I need to make sure that I am ready. I need to make sure in my own heart and mind that I am truly willing for God to remove these defects of character that have enabled my addictive behaviors. It might mean letting go of other things in my life in order to allow God to do the work that needs to be done. I need to determine if I am truly ready.

"The A.A. Steps & Traditions are neither rules, regulations, nor laws. Perhaps the secret of their power lies in the fact that these life-giving communications spring out of living experience and are rooted in love." 1. A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 105." "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..."
June 26 Steps In Action Alcoholics Anonymous



AA Daily Reflections ~ "A gift that grows with time: For most normal folks, drinking means conviviality, companionship and colourful imagination. It means release from care, boredom and worry. It is joyous intimacy with friends and a feeling that life is good. [AA Big Book]
The longer I chased these elusive feelings with alcohol, the more out of reach they were. However, by applying this passage to my sobriety, I found that it described the magnificent new life made available to me by the A.A. program. It “truly does get better” one day at a time. The warmth, the love and the joy so simply expressed in these words grow in breadth and depth each time I read it. Sobriety is a gift that grows with time."

DonInLondon

On many occasions I saw the impact of alcohol on my father. Explosive anger, and rage, and verbally abusive, on a rampage until he was exhausted and slipped into a dreamless sleep. Fearful, of what might happen next, home was never a sanctuary…

How am I feeling, why and what can I do today? Part of an assertiveness programme I attended many years ago. It opened up the door to exploring my true feelings and it hurt a great deal. I had denied my feelings for a long time and it was overwhelming…

How are we feeling, why and what can we do, part of an assertiveness training programme from the past. It opened up floodgates for many people I encountered and it was overwhelming and hurt for many. For some people it was their daily focus unlike me back then…

Grief, loss and sobriety... To love, be loved and useful is elemental. People, places and things change as we do, it is inevitable and we will feel grief and loss. Being human we need not forget, we learn to cherish the good of life, our history and present day. We can love and cherish always...

For most normal folks, drinking means conviviality, companionship and colourful imagination? When we are sober a while, we might wonder if this is true. Most "normal folks in normal life" do not drink as we did. For us, our sober life becomes "extraordinarily ordinary," real feelings happy or sad, today...


Step 6 is a step of preparation and reflection. I have been preparing for a significant change in my life and now I need to make sure that I am ready. I need to make sure in my own heart and mind that I am truly willing for God to remove these defects of character that have enabled my addictive behaviors. It might mean letting go of other things in my life in order to allow God to do the work that needs to be done. I need to determine if I am truly ready.

"The A.A. Steps & Traditions are neither rules, regulations, nor laws. Perhaps the secret of their power lies in the fact that these life-giving communications spring out of living experience and are rooted in love." 1. A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 105." "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..."
June 25 Steps In Action Alcoholics Anonymous



AA Daily Reflections ~ "A TWO-WAY STREET... If we ask, God will certainly forgive our derelictions. But in no case does He render us white as snow and keep us that way without our cooperation. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 65

When I prayed, I used to omit a lot of things for which I needed to be forgiven. I thought that if I didn’t mention those things to God, He would never know about them. I did not know that if I had just forgiven myself for some of my past deeds, God would forgive me also. I was always taught to prepare for the journey through life, never realizing until I came to A.A. when I honestly became willing to be taught forgiveness and forgiving that life itself is the journey. The journey of life is a very happy one, as long as I am willing to accept change and responsibility."

DonInLondon

We are not do gooders... we do good deeds without expectation. Recovery is all about action, making good happen. Selfish meditations based on fear, unfairness at our situation in life keep us in poverty, trapped in anger and resentment.. We cannot keep anything we would take away from others...

Sins & Virtues... In recovery we see the difference from past life experiences to new life choices. Choices to next right steps, consequences from the past will impact on us, making restitution where possible, living to good conscience, it's not about what "they" do, it is what I choose to do today...

Don, you started me on this concept of now living and I began to listen to Eckhart Tolle and discovered that the thoughts mostly negative that come into my mind are part of the human condition and that some religions have known about this condition for years. I am learning that living in the now moment is the answer, and now though slowly I am becoming aware when my ego starts the negative talk that at least I am becoming more aware of it.

Hi, Tolle certainly has an influence on many in understanding their own spiritual condition. My mother taught Yoga and studied many philosophies over the years from the 1960's. Living in the moment was key in my upbringing. The key in positive responses to living is knowing our negative responses are always an option too. Depending on what is happening to us in the moment, we can attach old memories to what we are experiencing. In the steps it seems we can react with our step six defects, usually starting with fear, and putting on a brave face. Or we can react with courage and confidence, to explore what is going on. Under the influence of addiction, I was "short" on courage and confidence, indeed courage and confidence were my prime shortcomings in those final years of alcohol addiction.


Today I understand that I can have a step six reaction to my situation, where defects run amok and fear rules, or I can have courage and confidence to see a situation as it really is, working through my shortcomings, a step seven response to the situation where courage helps me find out what is really going on and I ask for help if needed. And on any given day, defects may come to the fore or shortcomings may diminish my ability to cope. I often suggest we can have step six days where fear rules or step seven days where courage helps us see our way through. And we can have a mixture of sixes and sevens in any given day. Which is why it feels important to do step tens and a gratitude list to see the balance of how a day has turned out...

Step 6 is a step of preparation and reflection. I have been preparing for a significant change in my life and now I need to make sure that I am ready. I need to make sure in my own heart and mind that I am truly willing for God to remove these defects of character that have enabled my addictive behaviors. It might mean letting go of other things in my life in order to allow God to do the work that needs to be done. I need to determine if I am truly ready.

"The A.A. Steps & Traditions are neither rules, regulations, nor laws. Perhaps the secret of their power lies in the fact that these life-giving communications spring out of living experience and are rooted in love." 1. A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 105." "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..."