03/01

DAILY PONDERABLES

Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny

Daily Reflections

IT WORKS

It works -- it really does.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 88

When I got sober I initially had faith only in the program of Alcoholics

Anonymous. Desperation and fear kept me sober (and maybe a caring

and/or tough sponsor helped!). Faith in a Higher Power came much

later. This faith came slowly at first, after I began listening to

others share at meetings about their experiences -- experiences that

I had never faced sober, but that they were facing with strength from

a Higher Power. Out of their sharing came hope that I too would --

and could -- "get" a Higher Power. In time, I learned that a Higher

Power -- a faith that works under all conditions -- is possible. Today

this faith, plus the honesty, openmindedness and willingness to work

the Steps of the program, gives me the serenity that I seek. It works

-- it really does.

From the book Daily Reflections

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

When I find myself thinking about taking a drink, I say to myself. "Don't reach out and take that problem back. You've given it to God and there's nothing you can do about it." So I forget about the drink. One of the most important parts of the A.A. program is to give our drink problem to God honestly and fully and never to reach out and take the problem back to ourselves. If we let God have it and keep it for good and then cooperate with Him, we'll stay sober. Have I determined not to take the drink problem back to myself?

Meditation for the Day

Constant effort is necessary if I am to grow spiritually and develop my spiritual life. I must keep the spiritual rules persistently, perseveringly, lovingly, patiently, and hopefully. By keeping them, every mountain of difficulty shall be laid low, the rough places of poverty of spirit shall be made smooth, and all who know me shall know that God is the Lord of all my ways. To get close to the spirit of God is to find life and healing and strength.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that God's spirit may be everything to my soul. I pray that God's spirit may grow within me.

From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day

NA - Just for Today

Anxiety attack?

Page 63

"[The] Power that brought us to this program is still with us and will continue to guide us if we allow it."

Basic Text, p. 27

Ever had a panic attack? Everywhere we turn, life's demands overwhelm us. We're paralyzed, and we don't know what to do about it. How do we break an anxiety attack?

First, we stop. We can't deal with everything at once, so we stop for a moment to let things settle. Then we take a "spot inventory" of the things that are bothering us. We examine each item, asking ourselves this question: "How important is it, really?" In most cases, we'll find that most of our fears and concerns don't need our immediate attention. We can put those aside, and focus on the issues that really need to be resolved right away. Then we stop again and ask ourselves, "Who's in control here, anyway?" This helps remind us that our Higher Power is in control. We seek our Higher Power's will for the situation, whatever it is. We can do this in any number of ways: through prayer, talks with our sponsor or NA friends, or by attending a meeting and asking others to share their experience. When our Higher Power's will becomes clear to us, we pray for the ability to carry it out. Finally, we take action.

Anxiety attacks need not paralyze us. We can utilize the resources of the NA program to deal with anything that comes our way.

Just for Today: My Higher Power has not brought me all this way in recovery only to abandon me! When anxiety strikes, I will take specific steps to seek God's continuing care and guidance.

From the book Just for Today

Thought for Today

"If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a

nail."

--Abraham Maslow

"Not everything needs to be shared with everyone, but there is no one thing that cannot be shared with any one person." (thanks Skip N.)

"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions."

~Leonardo da Vinci (thanks Stu C. RIP)

Buddha/Zen Thoughts

As soon as you get some sense of contact, you want to be teachers of others. This is a big mistake.

-Ta-sui

Native American

"The beginning is purification, that's the first step..And purification means purification of body and mind. You don't purify the body without cleansing the mind; that's the way it works."

--Rolling Thunder, CHEROKEE

If we have bad thoughts or poison in our minds, they will eventually show up in our bodies in the form of headaches, pains, and stomach problems. It works this way because we are interconnected. Our minds and our bodies are one system. So when we start to grow, or commit to the Red Road, we need to start cleaning up our thoughts and start showing respect for our bodies. We start purifying our minds by prayer and meditation, and we start cleansing our bodies by getting the right amount of sleep and developing good eating habits. Today, I'm going to observe my thoughts. Will my thoughts be clean today?

Great Spirit, let me focus on Your love today so my mind will be pure.

Keep It Simple

Made the decision to turn our will and lives over to God as we understand Him.

--- Step Three

Care. This is what turn our will and lives over to care of our Higher Power. What peace follows! We see our God as caring, as loving. We turn everything over to this Higher Power, who can take better care of us than we can by ourselves. Care can guide us. If we want to do something, we can ask ourselves, "Would my Higher Power see this as an act of care?" If the answer is yes, then we go ahead. If the answer is no, we don't it. If we can't be sure, we wait and talk it over with our friends and sponsor. We wait until we know whether it would be an act of care or not. What wonderful guidance!

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I give to You my will. I give to you my life. I gladly jump into Your loving arms.

Action for the Day: Today, I'll care about others. I'll find as many as I can to care for others.

Big Book - Quotes

"We agnostically inclined would not feel satisfied with a proposal

which does not lend itself to reasonable approach and interpretation.

Hence we are at pains to tell why we think our present faith is

reasonable, why we think it more sane and logical to believe than not

to believe, why we say our former thinking was soft and mushy when we

threw up our hands in doubt and said, 'We don't know.'"

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 53~

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Chuck Chamberlain, Memorial.

This recording is a memorial service for the much-loved, early Alcoholics Anonymous member, Chuck Chamberlain. Chuck died on December 14th, 1984 in Laguna Beach, California at the age of 82.

This recording was made within the two weeks after his death. The chairman of this meeting was well-known AA speaker, Johnny Harris. Johnny introduces about seven or eight different speakers who take their turns at the podium eulogizing Chuck. The speakers include Chuck’s wife Elsa, his son Bill Chamberlain, Sybil Corwin, Cecil Corrigal, and Clancy Imislund.

There are a lot of heart-felt memories of Chuck C shared by these speakers on this recording. Several times, various speakers hint at the fact that the final speaker is definitely the best. The final speaker ends up being Chuck C himself; a short recording of a Chuck AA talk is played and provides a very emotional ending to this memorial.