“HAPPY, JOYOUS AND FREE”We are sure God wants us to be happy, joyous, and free. We cannot subscribe to the belief that this life is a vale of tears, though it once was just that… Read More
Risking Vulnerability“As we grow, we learn to overcome the tendency to run and hide from ourselves and our feelings.” Basic Text, p. 81Rather than risk vulnerability, many… Read More
PROGRESSIVE GRATITUDEGratitude should go forward, rather than backward.AS BILL SEES IT, p. 29I am very grateful that my Higher Power has given me a second chance to live a worthwhile life. T… Read More
“Good” And “Bad” Feelings“A lot happens in one day, both negative and positive. If we do not take time to appreciate both, perhaps we will miss something that w… Read More
A.A. Thought For The DayIn twelfth-step work, the third thing is conviction. Prospects must be convinced that they honestly want to stop drinking. They must see and admit that their life is… Read More
The Individual’s Rights, p. 134We believe that there isn’t a fellowship on earth which devotes more care to its individual members; surely there is none which more jealously guar… Read More
Forgetting past failuresLiving today.“You never do anything right!” Some of us carry this accusation deep in our minds, perhaps from childhood. We remember past mistakes and fail… Read More
In all the world, there is no one else exactly like me.—Virginia SatirLet’s keep this in mind: each of us is special in our own way. Often, we’re hard on ourselves because… Read More
VARIETY“The growth of the human mind is still high adventure, in many ways the highest adventure on earth.”–Norman CousinsToday my life is an adventure. I am prepared for t… Read More
Reflection For The DayWhen we’re new in The Program, we’re novices at reaching out for friendship — or even accepting it when it’s offered. Sometimes we’re not… Read More
SHARING”What most of us want is to be heard, to communicate.”Dory PrevinWhen I am privileged to be involved in a meeting, hear sharing and have the opportunity to share, magic ha… Read More
“If you listen close at night, you will hear the creatures of the dark, all of them sacred – the owls, the crickets, the frogs, the night birds – and you will hear beautifu… Read More
Do we really know anybody? Who does not wear one face to hide another?—Francis MarionA woman in her fifties watched her mother in her eighties struggle against the wrinkles in her face… Read More
“The remorse, horror and hopelessness of the next morning are unforgettable. The courage to do battle was not there. (The) brain raced uncontrollably and there was a terrible sense of… Read More
Our cute little darling and that spoiled brat across the street do exactly the same tricks.Man is so constructed that he cannot be absolutely impartial. It is contrary to human nature.We can… Read More
Red sea through pine lattice.Islands kneel like vassals before headlands.Rain clouds snag on coastal ridges.Yarrow stands spectral in the lighthouse beam.It is difficult to take in the detai… Read More
TURNING NEGATIVE TO POSITIVEOur spiritual and emotional growth in A.A. does not depend so deeply upon success as it does upon our failures and setbacks. If you will bear this in mind. I thin… Read More
The Power In The Group“Our understanding of a Higher Power is up to us…. We can call it the group, the program, or we can call it God.” Basic Text, p. 24Many of us ha… Read More
A.A. Thought For The DayIn twelfth-step work, the fourth thing is conversion. Conversion means change. Prospects must learn to change their way of thinking. Until now, everything they&rsquo… Read More
“Privileged People”, p. 133I saw that I had been living too much alone, too much aloof from my fellows, and too deaf to that voice within. Instead of seeing myself as a simple ag… Read More
Today’s problemOrderly livingFacing a vexing or even threatening problem, we sometimes feel a sense of hopefulness or futility. “How will I ever get through this situation?&rdquo… Read More
When I look at the future, it’s so bright, it burns my eyes.—Oprah WinfreyDuring our illness, it was as if our spirit lived in a deep, dark cave. Our spirit became gloomy, cold… Read More
SPACE“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”–Neil A. ArmstrongMan is able to do such wonderful things in this world. There is no end to what man… Read More
Spasms of molten rockPiled a cone three miles high.Rain and wind split a hundred towering fingers.In time, trees strove for leverage in the fissures.After a million years, condors and snakes… Read More
Do not look for innate knowledgeIn the mind that has already gone astray. Look for it in the mindBefore it has gone astray. The essence of mind is our trueNature. We cannot departFrom our tr… Read More
Balance“I’ve learned that you can’t have everything … and do everything … at the same time.”–Oprah WinfreyLearning about balance has been a strugg… Read More
“One of the things the old people taught me about the spirits was to never have a doubt.”–Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTAThe spirit world is sometimes hard to believe in because… Read More
If your life is ever going to get better, you’ll have to take risks. There is simply no way you can grow without taking chances.—David ViscottOne sunny day a caterpillar who was… Read More
Today, I have to give overdue appreciation to the spouse, companion, brothers and sisters, parents, children and friends who wanted to help me as I spiralled out of control but who… Read More
To follow the letter of the law is not enough. You can be moral without difficulty in “solitary.”Do not let your morality be simply restraining and abstaining. Be constructive in… Read More
Out-of-season rainDashes crowns of princely trees.Perplexed travelers ask for reasons,Huddling under worn eaves.Those who follow Tao make much of knowing and acting in conformity to the cycl… Read More
The fundamental teaching of Buddhism is nothing but the doctrine of One Mind. This Mind is originally perfect and vastly illuminating. It is clear and pure, containing nothing, not even a fi… Read More
A NEW DIRECTIONOur human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly. . . Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God’s will into all our… Read More
Reflection for the DayI am free to be, to do, to accept, to reject. I am free to be the wise, loving, kind and patient person I want to be. I’m free to do that which I consider wise &n… Read More
OVERCOMING RELAPSE“Come, whoever you are! Wanderer, worshiper, Lover of Leaving. Come, this is not a caravan of despair. It doesn’t matter if you’ve broken your vow a… Read More
“”It helped me a great deal to become convinced that alcoholism was a disease, not a moral issue; that I had been drinking as a result of a compulsion, even though I had not been… Read More
It is often the case that great scholars make the acquiring of knowledge a goal instead of a means to a goal.If you thoroughly learned all the lessons in AA by heart and made no use of it, y… Read More
You have your own values, and you always look through those values. An enlightened person is totally in a different dimension, where he lives without values, where he lives without any crite… Read More
IDENTIFYING FEAR . . . .The chief activator of our defects has been self – centered fear. . . . .TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 76When I feel uncomfortable, irritated, or depre… Read More
Talk or Action?, p. 187In making amends, it is seldom wise to approach an individual who still smarts from our injustice to him, and announce that we have gone religious. This might be calle… Read More
Should we Intervene?RecoveryThe method of conducting interventions is considered an effective way of confronting alcoholics and drug addicts. Interventions are done with the hope that this c… Read More
When fate hands us a lemon, let’s try to make lemonade.—Dale CarnegieOur illness is one big lemon, but our recovery is lemonade. None of us signed up to be drunks or druggies, bu… Read More
POWER“The measure of man is what he does with power.”–PittacusWith my recovery has come a certain success, and with the success comes power. Power comes with the spiritual… Read More
Reflection For The DaySome people in The Program don’t feel that they can do the things they want to do. They doubt their own ability. But actually, every person has untapped ability… Read More
SUFFERING“The desire to stop suffering is not the same thing as the desire to stop the behavior we are doing which causes us to suffer.”–Dr. James GoldenOur disease of addi… Read More
“Silence is the cornerstone of character.”–Charles Alexander Eastman, OHIYESA SANTEE SIOUXBe still and know. Anyone can verbally attack another. Anyone can be a smart aleck… Read More
Facing blank paperIs an artist’s terror.When an artist creates, he or she is like a shaman. Inspiration comes as a gift. Those who follow Tao are the same. Their awareness of Tao is no… Read More
"Zen says the ordinary mind is the enlightened mind. You don't go anywhere; the ordinary world is paradise. Here and now, everything is there! you need not go anywhere.For the first time you… Read More
The Man Who Mastered FearHe spent eighteen years in running away, and then found he didn’t have to run. So he started A.A. in Detroit.The moment we say, “No, never!” our mi… Read More
What should I have said or done?Second thoughtsAfter an intense discussion, we might rehash what we said and wish we’d said something else. Perhaps some brilliant remark occurs to us l… Read More
Be brave enough to accept the help of othersOften is the past, we acted like we didn’t need anyone. It takes courage to let others help us.As we get better, our courage grows. We invit… Read More
RELIGION“Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.”–Paul TillichThat part of me that does not know is vibrant in spirituality. Problems are… Read More
“I believe much trouble and blood would be saved if we opened our hearts more.”–Chief Joseph, NEZ PERCEWe are as sick as our secrets. Our ego takes over control of our live… Read More
I found words to every thought I ever had, but one. . . .—Emily DickinsonWhat kinds of thoughts can’t be put into words? We feel lost in space, mind-boggled by how small and big… Read More
Don’t go out looking for good deeds to do,But if one comes your way, do not refuse.If you meet someone who is suffering,You must help them.What good is self-cultivation and wisdom if y… Read More
The Bible says: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. John 1:1Always antecedent to the word is the thought; and so here the Bible tells us that in the beginning was the t… Read More