Daily Recovery Readings
November 10, 2021
Daily Reflection
A SENSE OF BELONGING
Perhaps one of the greatest rewards of meditation and prayer is the sense of belonging that comes to us.
— TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 105
That’s what it is — belonging! After a session of meditation I knew that the feeling I was experiencing was a sense of belonging because I was so relaxed. I felt quieter inside, more willing to discard little irritations. I appreciated my sense of humor. What I also experience in my daily practice is the sheer pleasure of belonging to the creative flow of God’s world. How propitious for us that prayer and meditation are written right into our A.A. way of life.
Big Book Quote
We do not like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, but you can quickly diagnose yourself, Step over to the nearest barroom and try some controlled drinking. Try to drink and stop abruptly. Try it more than once. It will not take long for you to decide, if you are honest with yourself about it. It may be worth a bad case of jitters if you get a full knowledge of your condition.
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 31~
24 Hours a Day – The Little Black Book
Thought for the Day
I am less self-centered. The world used to revolve around me at the center. I cared more about my own needs, desires and my own pleasure, my own way,, myself than I did about the whole rest of the world. What happened to me was more important than anything else I could think of. I was selfishly trying to be happy and therefore I was unhappy most of the time. I have found that selfishly seeking pleasure does not bring true happiness. Thinking of myself all the time cut me off from the best in life. A.A. taught me to care less about myself and more about the other person. Am I less self-centered?
Meditation for the Day
When something happens to upset you and you are discouraged, try to feel that life’s difficulties and troubles are not intended to arrest your progress in the spiritual life, but to test your strength and to increase your determination to keep going. Whatever it is that must be met, you are to either overcome it or use it. Nothing should daunt you for long, nor should any difficulty entirely overcome or conquer you. God’s strength will always be there, waiting for you to use it. Nothing can be too great to be overcome, or if not overcome, then used.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may know that there can be no failure with God. I pray that with His help I may live a more victorious life.
The Language of Letting Go – Codependency
Beliefs about Money
I was starting a new job for a corporation. I was good at what I did for a living. The personnel manager and I were down to the details of employment, and he asked me how much money I believed I deserved. I thought about it and came up with a figure of $400 a month. This was back in the sixties. I didn’t want to ask for too much, so I decided to ask for the smallest amount I could live with. He hired me and gave me what I asked for. Later on, when I left that job, the personnel manager told me he had been willing to pay me whatever I wanted. Had I asked for $600 or even $700 a month, which was a tremendous salary at that time, I would have gotten it. I had limited myself by what I believed I deserved.
—Anonymous
What are our beliefs about money?
Do we believe that money is evil and wrong? Money is neither. It is a commodity on earth, a necessity. It is what people need to purchase many of their basic needs, as well as luxuries and treats; it is one way they are rewarded for their work. Loving money, however, can be as self-defeating as loving any other commodity. We can become obsessed with money; we can use it as an escape from relationships and feelings; we can use it compulsively to gain a temporary sense of power. Money is simply money.
Do we believe there’s a scarcity of money? Many of grew up with deprived thinking concerning money: There’s not enough. There will never be enough. If we get a little, we may guard it and hoard it because there’s no more.
Money is not in short supply. We do not have to waste our energy resenting those who have enough. There is plenty of money here on earth.
How much do we believe we deserve? Many of us are limiting ourselves by what we believe we deserve.
Money is not evil. There is no scarcity, except in our mind and attitudes. And what we believe we deserve will be about what we shall receive.
We can change our beliefs through affirmations, by setting goals, by starting where we are, and working slowly forward to where we want to be
Today, I will examine my beliefs about money. I will begin the process of letting go of any self-defeating beliefs that may be limiting or blocking the financial part of my life.
Touchstone – Men’s Meditation
Humility is just as much the opposite of self-abasement as it is of self-exaltation.
—Dag Hammarskjold
In our struggles with self-hate and guilt, we may have thought we were humble – or perhaps even too humble. But self-abasement, which often alternates with feelings of superiority, is not the spiritual quality of humility that we strive for in our program.
With humility, we respect ourselves and our place in the universe. Humility is having ourselves in perspective, knowing we are connected to the whole world, accepting how small and powerless we are, and accepting the power and responsibility we have. With this spiritual feeling comes a sense of awe for the world we live in and a feeling of gratitude for the life we’ve been given.
The humility I feel today goes hand in hand with my self-respect and gratefulness for being part of life.
Elder’s Meditation
“The battle for Indian children will be won in the classroom, not on the streets or on horses. The students of today are our warriors of tomorrow.”
–Wilma P. Mankiller, CHEROKEE
The world is constantly changing. One of the strengths of Indian people has been our adaptability. In today’s world, education is what we need to survive. We need doctors, lawyers, teachers, scientists. We can become these things and still live in a cultural way. We need to live in two worlds; the educated world and the Indian cultural world. Education will help protect our land, our people’s health, and provide knowledge for our people. We must teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. Also, we must teach the language, the culture, the ceremony, and the tradition of our people.
Creator, let me remember You are my teacher.
Daily Horoscope – Cancer
There’s no reason to be jealous of another person’s skill level, especially when they’ve been at it much longer than you. If you apply yourself starting now, hard work can get you on that same road to greatness! Once you embark on a new learning process, don’t quit until you’ve reached your goal. Instead of feeling resentment toward someone who has the skills you desire, think about reaching out to them for a collaboration. You each have unique talents that have been honed over time, and you could produce amazing work together.
The Wandering Enigma 