12 Step Readings
| 12 Step Readings or quotes |
| Feel free to post any of this months readings or spiritual quotes you connect with in the comment section. Tuesday 19th January through to Sunday 31st January. |
| 12 Step Readings or quotes |
| Feel free to post any of this months readings or spiritual quotes you connect with in the comment section. Tuesday 19th January through to Sunday 31st January. |
Kath
January 19
Daily Reflections
ROUND-THE-CLOCK FAITH
Faith has to work twenty-four hours a day in and through
us, or we perish.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.16
The essence of my spiritually, and my sobriety, rests
on a round-the-clock faith in a Higher Power. I need to
remember and rely on the God of my understanding as I
pursue all of my daily activities. How comforting for
me is the concept that God works in and through people.
As I pause in my day, do I recall specific concrete
examples of God’s presence? Am I amazed and uplifted by
the number of times this power is evident? I am
overwhelmed with gratitude for my God’s presence in my
life of recovery. Without this omnipotent force in my
every activity, I would again fall into the depths of
my disease – and death.
Carly (New York)
NA Just For Today
Making Mountains Into Molehills
” When we stop living in the here and now, our problems become magnified unreasonably.”
Basic Text, p. 96
Some of us seem to make mountains out of molehills with our problems. Even those of us who’ve found some measure of serenity have probably blown a problem far out of proportion at some time in our recovery-and if we haven’t done so yet, we probably will before long!
When we find ourselves obsessed with a complication in our lives, we will do well to sharply remind ourselves of all that is going right. Perhaps we’re afraid we won’t be able to pay our bills for the month. Instead of sitting at the calculator, adding our financial liabilities over and over, we can take stock of our efforts to reduce expenses. Following this mini-inventory, we continue with the task at hand and remind ourselves that as long as we are doing the footwork, a loving Higher Power will care for our lives.
Mountain-sized problems happen sometimes, but we don’t need to create them. Trust in a loving God of our understanding will put most of our problems in their proper perspective. We no longer need to create chaos to feel excited about our lives. Our recovery gives us countless real-life opportunities for excitement and drama.
Just for today: I will take a realistic look at my problems and see that most of them are minor. I will leave them that way and enjoy my recovery. pg. 19
Sheila
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
In A.A., we’re all through with lying, hangovers, remorse
and wasted money. When we were drinking, we were only
half alive. Now that we’re trying to live decent, honest,
unselfish lives, we’re really alive. Life has a new
meaning for us, so that we can really enjoy it. We feel
that we’re some use in the world. We’re on the right
side of the fence, instead of on the wrong side. We can
look the world in the face instead of hiding in alleys.
We come into A.A. to get sober and if we stay long
enough, we learn a new way of living. Am I convinced
that no matter how much fun I got out of drinking, that
life was never as good as the life I can build in A.A.?
Meditation For The Day
I want to be at one with the Divine Spirit of the
universe. I will set my deepest affections on things
spiritual, not on things material. As we think,
so we are. So I will think of and desire that which will
help, not hinder, my spiritual growth. I will try to be
at one with God. No human aspiration can reach higher
than this.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may think love, and love will surround me. I
pray that I may think health, and health will come to me.
Suzy :) Just for today
NA Just For Today
Unity And Uniformity
” Unity is a must in Narcotics Anonymous.”
Basic Text p. 60
Unity is not uniformity. Unity springs from the fact that we have unity of purpose-to recover, and to help others stay clean. Even so, we often find that while we strive to fulfill the same purpose, our means and methods may be radically different.
We can’t impose our ideas of unity on others or confuse unity with uniformity. In fact, a big attraction of the NA program is the absence of uniformity. Unity springs from our common purpose, not from standards imposed on the group by a few well-meaning members. A group that has the unity which springs from the loving hearts of its members allows each addict to carry the message in his or her own unique way.
In our dealings with each other in NA, we sometimes disagree rather vocally. We must remember that the details of how we get things done isn’t always important, so long as we keep our focus on the group’s primary purpose. We can watch members who vehemently disagree over trivial things pull together when a newcomer reaches out for help. Someone was there for us when we got to the rooms of NA. Now it is our turn to be there for others. We need unity to help show the newcomer that this way of life works.
Just for today: I will strive to be a part of unity. I know that unity does not equal uniformity.
Babs
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
We used to depend on drinking for a lot of things. We
depended on drinking to help us enjoy things. It gave us
a “kick.” It broke down our shyness and helped us to have
a “good time.” We depended on drinking to help us when we
felt low physically. If we had a toothache or just a
hangover, we felt better after a few drinks. We depended
on drinking to help us when we felt low mentally. If we
had a tough day at the office or if we’d had a fight with
our wives, or if things just seemed against us, we felt
better under the influence of alcohol. For us alcoholics,
it got so that we depended on drinking for almost
everything. Have I gotten over that dependence on drinking?
Meditation For The Day
I believe that complete surrender of my life to God is
the foundation of serenity. God has prepared for us many
mansions. I do not look upon that promise as referring
only to the after-life. I do not look upon this life as
something to be struggled through, in order to get the
rewards of the next life. I believe that the Kingdom of
God is within us and we can enjoy “eternal life” here
and now.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may try to do God’s will. I pray that such
understanding, insight and vision shall be mine, and
shall make my life eternal, here and now.
Carly (New York)
NA Just For Today
An Added Gift
” We see it happening among us every day This miraculous turnabout is evidence of a spiritual awakening.”
Basic Text p. 49
We watch them walk in to their first meeting defeated, their spirits broken. Their suffering is obvious, and their desire for help even more apparent. They collect a welcome chip and go back to their seats, shaken by the effort.
We see them again, and they seem a little more comfortable. They’ve found a sponsor and are attending meetings every night. They still won’t meet our glance, but they nod their heads in recognition as we share. We notice a spark of hope in their eyes, and they smile uncertainly when we encourage them to keep coming back.
A few months later, they are standing straight. They’ve learned how to make eye contact. They’re working the steps with their sponsor and are healing as a result. We listen to them sharing at meetings. We stack chairs with them afterward.
A few years later, they are speaking at a convention workshop, They’ve got a wonderful, humorous personality. They smile when they see us, they hug us, and they tell us they could never have done it without us. And they understand when we say, “nor could we, without you.”
Just for today: I will find joy in witnessing the recovery of another.
Tracey
January 26
Daily Reflections
RIGOROUS HONESTY
Who wishes to be rigorously honest and tolerant?
Who wants to confess his faults to another and make
restitution for harm done? Who cares anything about
a Higher Power, let alone meditation and prayer?
Who wants to sacrifice time and energy in trying to
carry A.A.’s message to the next sufferer? No, the
average alcoholic, self-centered in the extreme,
doesn’t care for this prospect – unless he has to
do these things in order to stay alive himself.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 24
I am an alcoholic. If I drink I will die. My, what
power, energy, and emotion this simple statement
generates in me! But it’s really all I need to know
for today. Am I willing to stay alive today? Am I
willing to stay sober today? Am I willing to ask for
help and am I willing to be a help to another suffering
alcoholic today? Have I discovered the fatal nature of
my situation? What must I do, today, to stay sober?
Sean UK :)
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
What a load hangovers put on your shoulders! What terrible physical punishment we’ve
all been through. The pounding headaches and jumpy nerves, the shakes and the jitters,
the hot and cold sweats! When you come into A.A. and stop drinking, that terrible
load of hangovers falls off your shoulders. What a load remorse puts on your shoulders!
That terrible mental punishment we’ve all been through. Ashamed of the things
you’ve said and done. Afraid to face people because of what they might think of you.
Afraid of the consequences of what you did when you were drunk. What an awful beating
the mind takes! When you come into A.A., that terrible load of remorse falls off your
shoulders. Have I gotten rid of these loads of hangovers and remorse?
Meditation For The Day
When you seek to follow the way of the spirit, it frequently means a complete reversal of
the way of the world that you had previously followed. But it is a reversal that leads to
happiness and peace. Do the aims and ambitions that a person usually strives for bring
peace? Do the world’s awards bring heart rest and happiness? Or do they turn to ashes in
the mouth?
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may not be weary, disillusioned, or disappointed. I pray that I may not put
my trust in the ways of the world, but in the way of the spirit.
Jaquie xx
NA Just For Today
Giving It Away
” We must give freely and gratefully that which has been freely and gratefully given to us.”
Basic Text p. 47
In recovery, we receive many gifts. Perhaps one of the greatest of these gifts is the spiritual awakening that begins when we stop using, growing stronger each day we apply the steps in our lives. The new spark of life within is a direct result of our new relationship with a Higher Power, a relationship initiated and developed by living the Twelve Steps. Slowly, as we pursue our program, the radiance of recovery dispels the darkness of our disease.
One of the ways we express our gratitude for the gifts of recovery is to help others find what we’ve found. We can do this in any number of ways: by sharing in meetings, making Twelfth Step calls, accepting a commitment to sponsorship, or volunteering for H&I or phoneline duty. The spiritual life given to us in recovery asks for expression, for ” we can only keep what we have by giving it away.”
Just for today: The gift of recovery grows when I share it. I will find someone with whom to share it.
Victoria
As Bill Sees It
The Wine Of Success, p. 19
Disagreeable or unexpected problems are not the only ones that call for
self-control. We must be quite as careful when we begin to achieve
some measure of importance and material success. For no people have
ever loved personal triumphs more than we have loved them; we drank
of success as of a wine which could never fail to make us feel elated.
Blinded by prideful self-confidence, we were apt to play the big shot.
Now that we’re in A.A. and sober, winning back the esteem of our
friends and business associates, we find that we still need to exercise
special vigilance. As an insurance against the dangers of big-shot-ism,
we can often check ourselves by remembering that we are today sober
only by the grace of God and that any success we may be having is far
more His success than ours.
12 & 12, pp. 91-92