Alcoholics Anonymous Videos | DonInLondon

Alcoholics Anonymous | March 11 2013 | Steps In Action | Step 3 "Your Higher Power" "you are part of my higher power…" Sometimes you simply reinforce my own point of view, and what I intend to do today. Sometimes you challenge me and make me look again at what I might do today. Sometimes you disagree with me and what I might do today. Sometimes we agree to disagree. And then I seek advice elsewhere, and sometimes the advice will agree with you, and sometimes the advice will agree with me. I am no longer alone trying to make all the decisions myself, you are always part of my higher power today…

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"Part Of The Higher Power"

The first six steps of the twelve step principles, continually encourage me out of isolation and into inclusion in life, the last six steps of the twelve step principles help me continually improve my inclusion in the world and be open to what the world offers one day at a time. And what does the world offer? The world offers greater and universal "truth" "love" and "wisdom." And although this may seem like a secular definition of how God works through people, if God does work through people, it is certainly in the moment of now through the truth, love and wisdom shared by many helping one person today… Me and you!

Acceptance: step one, powerless over alcohol and a drink will not help me manage anything. Step two, restored to sanity with the help of you, and many others. Step three, letting go self will and asking for help. Step four, an inventory of my personality traits, good bad and ugly. Step five, sharing the truth of who I am and what I did. Step six, acknowledging that pride, ego and fear can return and pull me back into isolation and self will. Step seven, shortcomings can be improved, by courage to change, developing faith and self-esteem by asking for help and seeking counsel. Step eight, a list of amends and willingness to make them. Step nine, making amends without doing further harm. Step ten, prayer, meditation and seeking the best answers. Step twelve, learning to live in the moment and share the message and practice these principles in all my affairs… Contingent on my awareness and asking for help, these principles work one day at a time…

In the last days of active addiction to alcohol, I had become isolated and alone and still trying to put on a brave face to cover up my fear and ego was trying to cover up my shame and guilt about not being able to conquer my problem. I thought the answer lay in willpower and fighting a battle. When I surrendered and accepted I could not do this on my own, the door opened to many people willing to help. And the many people willing to help were in fellowship, in the medical professions and counsellors trained in rehabilitation. Continuous support as always comes from fellowship in sobriety. With sobriety our priority, everything else happens as it may today. I understand emotional and spiritual to mean my feelings fit with reality and I can cope usually and when I am uncertain I ask for help from the right people in the right place at the right time…

Sounds very simple to someone who is not addicted, to ask for help. And yet society is still uncertain about what to do with an addict. And society sends mixed messages about the status of the addict, and still does today. We can be written off as useless and unworthy of help. Even though we have a disease, there is still prejudice. Which is why the fellowship of AA, it provides sanctuary to find out what to do about our killer malady. And then each individual makes a choice about who knows what, and whether it is better to remain anonymous, even to family and friends. In my case, family and friends were greatly relieved that I asked them whether I should get medical help and be part of AA, and there was a resounding affirmative, a loud yes from everyone who knew me…

From complete ruin bankrupt and useless, to a reformation and a renaissance on a personal level. Learning life all over again, what love is, how to love people, how to be loved back and find useful endeavours once again. Professional help, medical help, and the fellowship taught me to open up and share the truth of where I got to in addiction and the truth of where I am in recovery. There is no room for guilt and shame to cover up the horror that life had become. I needed to let everything out, everything and acknowledge all that had happened over the years. Freedom in doing this, and then there were consequences of course, and amends to make, and still some amends to make as time offers opportunity. And the most important part of recovery is being open, honest and willing to share appropriately with those who can help and help us find our way today…

When I was a newcomer, I was frightened to tell the truth in so many ways. Sometimes I feared telling the truth because my story seemed mundane and ordinary and there seemed no reason why I should be an alcoholic. And then there were times when I looked back at the success I had achieved, which seemed far more than others. And I feared sharing the successes, as me bragging and my ego and pride. And then I stopped worrying. Either way, success or failure in the past did not matter, because how I got to be an alcoholic, only confirmed I was an alcoholic. And then what to do about it? Simply come out of hiding into a fellowship where it was okay to tell the truth again, share my experience, strength and hope as it developed. One day at a time… Without the help of countless hundreds of people I have come to know and even thousands of people over the years, without you, I would not be here today…

How do I feel this morning? I sometimes wonder if I will ever have a thorough sleep. And actually I don't mind. I woke up at three this morning, watching the news and so many things going on abroad and at home. Being able to see the global picture, Japan two years after the tsunami, Tunisia after the revolution try to stave off Civil War, Syria in collapse and brutality, the Church of England challenging the British government creating poverty for millions in the UK, drug companies unwilling to invest in new treatments, and so on and so on. I am powerless over all these issues as an individual and yet I am fascinated. Yesterday, a self-inflicted illness, eating food left in the fridge too long and suffering as a consequence. Blood sugars erratic and insulin calculations difficult. And now, the blood sugars are average and my system is improving. There are things I can do to be helpful to family and friends around me today. And although my personal issues were unfortunate, patience, a little bit of courage, faith and injecting the right amount of insulin and confidence that life will improve and emotional and spiritual sanity is restored once again…

Alcoholics Anonymous | March 11 2012 | Steps In Action | Step 3 "Your Higher Power" Today's AA daily reflection: "good orderly direction." "Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul." ~ Desiderata. Alcoholics Anonymous, an emotional and spiritual journey one day at a time…

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2009 - 2012

Over the years in recovery, letting go and letting good happen has been key in opening the door to new living. I can be a scholar about the past, and learn at the same time it is always living in the moment where we make change and can either be stuck in a problem or living in the solution. The AA twelve steps enable me to improve my emotional and spiritual condition, letting go old thinking and letting in new thinking. The past can illuminate or darken how we live today, truth of now resides in the moment of now and I can learn it just for today…

Tradition three, "the only requirement is a desire to stop drinking," opens the door to everyone regardless of background. It can also open the door of prejudice if we're not careful. I try never to judge the newcomer or the person returning because it could be me coming back. And "judge not lest you be judged," keeps me level in my feelings and thinking about anyone anywhere reaching out the help…

Yesterday, two meetings. One at the "spiritual hut." One called "after nines." So many people I know and have not seen for such a long time in both meetings. Still trudging the road, and living in the moment where we live emotionally and spiritually. New sharing of experience strength and hope. And we welcomed so many new people and so many people returning as well. Overflowing in numbers, maybe spring has sprung and many seeking a new start and a new way of living…

The twelve steps and twelve traditions, carved on the anvils of experience offer timeless principles or almost timeless principles. There are new anvils of experience, and the world has changed greatly. And yet behind the twelve steps and twelve traditions is the pursuit of "truth, love and wisdom." Truth, love and wisdom are timeless and can only be found in the moment of now, past, present and future…

DonInLondon 2005-2011

"After Eights" last night. Lovely chair and sharing about issues of later sobriety. Several AA birthdays and newcomers too. All about sharing honestly, be it women’s issues or men’s issues... We all have hormones or we would have no feelings at all! Truth is best as each person sees it, how else can we relate or not to the similarities even when there may be differences?

Fellowship, we are included and united by a simple desire to be to be sober today ~ Arthur Schopenhauer "Will power is to the mind like a strong blind man who carries on his shoulders a lame man who can see." -/- Sharing experience strength and hope, our spiritual journey is informed with new choices, wisdom and acceptance of now..

Interdependent, needs met, choices open, striving to the good of living, balance found in the moment ~ George A. Sheehan "We may think there is willpower involved, but more likely... change is due to want power. Wanting the new addiction more than the old one. Wanting the new me in preference to the person I am now." -/- Change is good, progress as life affords, no fixing required as wants and wanting are forgotten..

We have the potential to live the life we have, the key is inside us ~ Dan Millman "Everything you'll ever need to know is within you; the secrets of the universe are imprinted on the cells of your body." -/- With help, support and good orderly direction, action makes for wisdom, acceptance of change and serenity in endeavour, just for today..

-/-

AA Daily Reflection: GOOD ORDERLY DIRECTION ~ MARCH 11, 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. To make this increasingly possible is the purpose of A.A.’s Twelve Steps, and Step Three opens the door. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 40

All I have to do is look back at my past to see where self-will has led me. I just don’t know what’s best for me and I believe my Higher Power does. G.O.D., which I define as “Good Orderly Direction,” has never let me down, but I have let myself down quite often. Using my self-will in a situation usually has the same result as forcing the wrong piece into a jigsaw puzzle-exhaustion and frustration. Step Three opens the door to the rest of the program. When I ask God for guidance I know that whatever happens is the best possible situation, things are exactly as they are supposed to be, even if they aren’t what I want or expect. God does for me what I cannot do for myself, if I let Him.

-/-

Just For Today, and every day cherish always...

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AA Official Online Site: Daily Reflections

http://www.aa.org/lang/en/aareflections.cfm