June 4 2012 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 6 Spiritual Willingness Alcoholics Anonymous Today's AA daily reflection: "letting go old ways and attitudes…" Let go the way we used to be? With step one, 100% step we stop drinking alcohol. Simply one day at a time and the same applies when it comes to dealing with our old attitudes and behaviour. Old ways just don't disappear, it is a daily reckoning one way or another how we behave today…
Contingent on the day I ask the help: that is part of my morning daily meditations. I can then watch the news on TV, listen to the radio and hear all the old actions and activities of the great and the good, and the bad and the ugly. I may get churned up by what is happening in the world, and have great opinions about what I would do if I were in charge. And then find serenity understanding the possible and impossible today… Sober, asking for help and included I can play my part in society in the moment of now…
I need to be aware when life feels fearful and there is little evidence. A sense of fear is good, watching out for real events where I am involved in and something may go wrong. That is entirely natural. But when I feel fear and there is no evidence, all those horrible scenarios of the past may grab hold of me. What to do? Ask the help, phone a friend, meditate and pray, find a meeting. Two heads and many heads in fellowship will help me find the truth, just for today…
When I feel wonderful when I wake up and yes this can happen! I might ask why, or I might just go with the feeling. I do consider though, because there can be a rush to judgement, how this feeling may continue. Some gratitude, some caution and checking and I still feel okay, even wonderful. A reminder of steps 1 to 3, the pledge of responsibility and serenity prayer! And still feeling happy in the moment of now…
Step six and step seven, at sixes and sevens with life… There is always a balance in life where I need a little bit of step six personality traits to keep me on my mettle and step seven personality traits which give me reasonable hope today. I can experience some amount of fear, putting on a brave face and ego and at the same time a dollop of courage, faith and confidence which keeps me happy and motivated and mostly content for a day…
DonInLondon 2005-2011
Hurt People, Hurt People.. If we are hurting how likely is it that that we will consciously or unconsciously hurt others? Withdrawn, isolated our thinking and feelings may remain dark.. Make contact, a phone call, a meeting, let out and express. If we hurt less, we hurt less people...
Letting go of our old selves... The daily reprieve from old attitudes and behaviour, our daily reflections, we live the steps today. At any time we can return to old feelings and thinking. Keeping our living in the day, “day sized,” we treat ourselves and others more “right sized” and choices manageable...
AA Daily Reflections LETTING GO OF OUR OLD SELVES Carefully reading the first five proposals we ask if we have omitted anything, for we are building an arch through which we shall walk a free man at last. . . . Are we now ready to let God remove from us all the things which we have admitted are objectionable? ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 75, 76
The Sixth Step is the last “preparation” Step. Although I have already used prayer extensively, I have made no formal request of my Higher Power in the first Six Steps. I have identified my problem, come to believe that there is a solution, made a decision to seek this solution, and have “cleaned house.” I now ask: Am I willing to live a life of sobriety, of change, to let go of my old self? I must determine if I am truly ready to change. I review what I have done and become willing for God to remove all my defects of character; for in the next Step, I will tell my Creator I am willing and will ask for help. If I have been thorough in the preparation of my foundation and feel that I am willing to change, I am then ready to continue with the next Step. “If we still cling to something we will not let go, we ask God to help us be willing.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 76)
May 4 2007
Courage To Change - DonInLondon ‘Day In The Life’
Why change, if we have a successful pattern of living which works why change it? My answer is ask yourself how successful you are and make your choices. As for me, my life went out of whack for a long time, and really I did need to find some courage to change.
Friday Nights and the Bolton’s "glam hour". Well it is a bit glamorous, people do dress well and behave as well as they can! Of course we are a bunch of recovering alcoholics, so what we may consider normal may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
Courage to change is the theme and in truth we all needed courage to change back to a recovering way of living and being. Some of us are learning new skills and ways to live as others return to their best way of living for they had a successful pattern before drink got them pretty well messed up.
Disease we have one at least, for most that’s plenty, yet plenty of us have others as well, so being in recovery is essential to deal with other living scenario’s before we ever head to near normal and cross the bridge back to living sober, happy, joyous and free.
Truth
Truth is as hard to find as anything we cannot touch and hold tight. it’s the truth of life, where we are, what we need do, taking responsibility and accepting that in the big scheme of things, life is inevitably as it may be. As we develop our understanding of now, then we get choices back and how to live is the real issue, just live simply in the day, and that’s a complicated thing to do when reality has been lost along the way and living has been so distorted.
If we had hindsight which we could apply, then maybe we would never have become addicts, if we did this, if we did that. Well the list is infinite. Life is just the way we live. And when we get to understand the possible, the opportunities get a little more obvious.
Nothing is ever a given in this world.
Change
Change happens all around us, change makes us develop differently or get left behind believing something which just may not be so. As we hold to beliefs and sometimes we promise things for a lifetime, we get dreadfully upset when we have to let go our promises and start living another way.
We change, others change and we learn where others need to be a part of our living and where they are best on their own path.
Loyalty to an Ideal
So often we are held to principles and outlooks which are eroded and lost in time. What we feel ought, could or should, well time changes how we feel and we can have inner conflicts as we realise the promises and principles, well they change too.
Let Go
We do need understand that blind loyalties and beliefs, well if they are not shared or understood, the outcome can be less than helpful.
Let Go
Yes we do have to sometimes. Let go what we thought or felt, or even we understand that we were right in our outlook and still we wished it different somehow. The letting go is so necessary in recovery or we kill our chance for happy, joyous and free living. We can be loyal where loyal is important. We can be principled and follow a path of truth and integrity. And we are very well served when we check out the rest of our living connections are doing the same. Or we find that denials and lies and deceits send us careering backwards again.
Other People and their Principles
Other people may feel they are exactly right the way they are. Yet in many instances they will fall short of our own measures and principles, being human as we are, they too can be changed by time and circumstances.
Some elements of how we behave are often inconsistent without intent, we do well when we realise everyone is in this every changing moment of now, where we understand more as we live more.
Forgive
Forgive and let go. We need forgive ourselves as well as we forgive others for their humanity. Forgiveness of ourselves is simply the only way we get to forgive others, as they are making progress same as we do.
Intellect
Thinking and Intellect trip us up more than anything as we learn our feelings. Comparing is even worse. And worse still is living in denial most of the time. it’s a hard lesson learned over and over through life.
Change makes it so, love makes it inevitable.
Love
Love, so abundant and so misunderstood: Love is unconditional. For anyone who loves with condition, love will be lost somewhere along life’s highway. Before we go to bed, we do well to forgive everyone everything. And in the morning when we wake to do the same again. One day we may forgive ourselves for our human frailty as much as we can forgive others.
Progress is perfection, and change is another key, a day at a time…
Step 6 "Spiritual Willingness" Reading Video Link:
wrongs. Chapter 6, Into Action, Big Book From: Page 72 Thru: Page 75, the bottom of the page. 12 And 12 Step 5."
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June ~ Video Reading Chapter Six Into Action Link:
I do not speak for Alcoholics Anonymous I speak for myself. Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of unique and authentic people who speak for themselves where they will to share experience, strength and hope about recovery on a daily basis. Anonymity affords
sanctuary to find how to live sober and be open, honest and willing to learn life day by day. For me "truth," "love" and "wisdom" offer the best spiritual experience by living reality today. 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.
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Spiritual principles ~ Forgiveness Acceptance Surrender Faith Open-mindedness Honesty Willingness Moral-inventory Amends Humility Persistence Spiritual-growth Service
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