Daily Recovery Readings
June 15, 2018

Daily Reflection

“. . .You can . . . make A.A. itself your ‘higher power.’ Here’s a very large group of people who have solved their alcohol problem. . . . many members . . . have crossed the threshold just this way. . . . their faith broadened and deepened. . . . transformed, they came to believe in a Higher Power. . . .”

— TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 27-28

No one was greater than I, at least in my eyes, when I was drinking. Nevertheless, I couldn’t smile at myself in the mirror, so I came to A.A. where, with others, I heard talk of a Higher Power. I couldn’t accept the concept of a Higher Power because I believed God was cruel and unloving. In desperation I chose a table, a tree, then my A.A. group, as my Higher Power. Time passed, my life improved, and I began to wonder about this Higher Power. Gradually, with patience, humility and a lot of questions, I came to believe in God. Now my relationship with my Higher Power gives me the strength to live a happy, sober life.

From the book Daily Reflections
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Big Book Quote

“Everybody knows that those in bad health, and those who seldom play, do not laugh much. So let each family play together or separately as much as their circumstances warrant. We are sure God wants us to be happy, joyous, and free.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 132~

Keep It Simple

He who laughs, last.—Mary Pettibone Poole

It feels good to laugh again! Our disease took away our sense of humor. Recovery gives it back.

That’s why there’s so much laughter at our meetings. By seeing the funny side of things, we ease up.

A person in treatment was talking about the Higher Power he had come to believe in. The counselor asked, “Does God have a sense of humor?” The group had fun talking about this idea for a while. The next day, the counselor came to work and found a note on her door. It read: “Of course God has a sense of humor. He made you, didn’t He? Laughter helps us heal.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, help me ease up today. Let me see the funny side of things.

Action for the Day:
I’ll let myself laugh today.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

You can express volumes with your eyes and body language without any verbal explanation. In fact, you often rely on the subtler aspects of communication, expecting others to read between the lines. But don’t assume everyone else possesses the same intuitive skills of observation as you. Interactive Mercury’s opposition to pragmatic Saturn requires you to take extra steps to make your feelings known. If you have something important on your mind, give it voice. Miguel Ruiz wrote, “Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean.”

Daily Recovery Readings
April 23, 2018

Daily Reflection

A.A. IS NOT A CURE-ALL

It would be a product of false pride to claim that A.A. is a cure-all, even for alcoholism.

— AS BILL SEES IT, p. 285

In my early years of sobriety I was full of pride, thinking that A.A. was the only source of treatment for a good and happy life. It certainly was the basic ingredient for my sobriety and even today, with over twelve years in the program, I am very involved in meetings, sponsorship and service. During the first four years of my recovery, I found it necessary to seek professional help, since my emotional health was extremely poor. There are those folks too, who have found sobriety and happiness in other organizations. A.A. taught me that I had a choice: to go to any lengths to enhance my sobriety. A.A. may not be a cure-all for everything, but it is the center of my sober living.

From the book Daily Reflections
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Big Book Quote

“Although financial recovery is on the way for many of us, we found we could not place money first. For us, material well being always followed spiritual progress; it never preceded.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 127~

Keep It Simple

When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen. — Ernest Hemingway

It’s hard to listen in a complete way. Often we listen, but we’re still thinking about ourselves. We wonder, “How do their words relate to me? Do I have anything to add?” Often, fear is behind these questions. We fear saying the wrong thing. We fear looking stupid. Good listeners know how to let go of their fears. To listen completely, we step outside ourselves, and we’re totally there for someone else. Sometimes we listen for only a few moments. Sometimes we don’t even agree with the people we’re listening to. But we let them know that they count. What a gift we give when we listen in a complete way!

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, teach me to listen in a complete way. Teach me to step outside myself and be their for others.

Action for the Day:
Today, I’ll listen to what the person says.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

You have trouble explaining why you feel so excited today, but secretly you are hopeful that there will be profound solutions to big problems. Unfortunately, you don’t necessarily see any specific clues that point the way toward the possibility of a significant dialogue. In fact, it seems as if all the important decisions have already been made and you are simply left waiting to hear the results of the judgment. But in your heart of hearts you know you can still make a difference. Novelist Amy Tan wrote, “If you can’t change your fate, change your attitude.”

Daily Recovery Readings
April 22, 2018

Daily Reflection

NEW SOIL . . . NEW ROOTS

Moments of perception can build into a lifetime of spiritual serenity, as I have excellent reason to know. Roots of reality, supplanting the neurotic underbrush, will hold fast despite the high winds of the forces which would destroy us, or which we would use to destroy ourselves.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 173

I came to A.A. green–a seedling quivering with exposed taproots. It was for survival but it was a beginning. I stretched, developed, twisted, but with the help of others, my spirit eventually burst up from the roots. I was free. I acted, withered, went inside, prayed, acted again, understood anew, as one moment of perception struck. Up from my roots, spirit-arms lengthened into strong, green shoots: high-springing servants stepping skyward. Here on earth God unconditionally continues the legacy of higher love. My A.A. life put me “on a different footing . . . [my] roots grasped a new soil.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 12).

Big Book Quote

3rd Step Prayer:

“God, I offer myself to Thee —to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of life. May I do Thy will always!”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 63~

Keep It Simple

One meets his destiny often on the road one takes to avoid it.—French proverb

None of us, perhaps, ever thought we’d end up in recovery. But we were working at joining recovery years before we got here! Maybe recovery was our fate from the day we first took a drink or a pill. Others around us could see the writing on the wall, but we couldn’t. We were to busy trying to avoid the pain. Alcoholism and other drug abuse have to do with us trying to find spiritual wholeness— the kind of spiritual wholeness we’re finding now. . .in recovery. So, let’s welcome recovery into our lives. We have found our spiritual home.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, I got lost because I acted like I knew the way to a good life. You lead the way. Thank-you for putting me on the right track.

Action for the Day:
Today, I’ll think about why it’s my fate to be in recovery. I will list ways that I try to avoid my fate.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

Although you want to take more time off today to spend in contemplation, responsibilities are waiting for your return. You may be clinging to a recent emotional interaction, unwilling to let it go just yet. Knowing that your behavior reveals more than you intend, you might resign yourself to fulfilling your obligations and meeting everyone’s expectations at work. Thankfully, you become a little less attached to your feelings once the reflective Moon leaves your sign for the bright sunlit fields of Leo. Forget it enough to get over it, remember it enough so it doesn’t happen again.

Daily Recovery Readings
April 21, 2018

Daily Reflection

CULTIVATING FAITH

“I don’t think we can do anything very well in this world unless we practice it. And I don’t believe we do A.A. too well unless we practice it. . . . We should practice . . . acquiring the spirit of service. We should attempt to acquire some faith, which isn’t easily done, specially for the person who has always been very materialistic, following the standards of society today. But I think faith can be acquired; it can be acquired slowly; it has to be cultivated. That was not easy for me, and I assume that it is difficult for everyone else . . . . “

DR. BOB AND THE GOOD OLDTIMERS, pp. 307-08

Fear is often the force that prevents me from acquiring and cultivating the power of faith. Fear blocks my appreciation of beauty, tolerance, forgiveness, service, and serenity.

From the book Daily Reflections
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Big Book Quote

“We have found much of heaven and we have been rocketed into a fourth
dimension of existence of which we had not even dreamed.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 25~

Keep It Simple

One of the most important parts of the AA program is to give our drinking problem to God honestly and fully…    ~Twenty-Four Hour a Day, March 1

We don’t handle our drinking or other drug problem. We don’t take care of this problem by ourselves. We turn our problem over to God as we understand Him. We need to be very clear about this. We can’t handle our drinking or other drug problem! Our Higher Power keeps us sober through the Steps and the fellowship of the program.

Our job is to hand over our problem to our Higher Power. We do this daily by acting like sober people.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, I know I can’t handle drinking and using other drugs. I turn my problem over to you. Please take from me the urge to drink or use.

Action for the Day:
Today, I’ll remember why I can’t handle or take care of my problem with alcohol or other drugs. And I’ll remember why my Higher Power can.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

You need time to nurture yourself today, and that might mean you need to say no to a social invitation. The self-protective Cancer Moon urges you to honor your own feelings but her opposition to three planets in responsible Capricorn makes it difficult to walk out on previous obligations. Although it may require some juggling of your schedule, you can successfully divide your attention between meeting your commitments and following your dreams. Former First Lady Michelle Obama said, “We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own to-do list.”

Daily Recovery Readings
April 20, 2018

Daily Reflection

SELF-EXAMINATION

. . . we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.

— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 86

When said sincerely, this prayer teaches me to be truly unselfish and humble, for even in doing good deeds I often used to seek approval and glory for myself. By examining my motives in all that I do, I can be of service to God and others, helping them do what they want to do. When I put God in charge of my thinking, much needless worry is eliminated and I believe He guides me throughout the day. When I eliminate thoughts of self-pity, dishonesty and self-centeredness as soon as they enter my mind, I find peace with God, my neighbor and myself.

From the book Daily Reflections
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Big Book Quote

“The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 83~

Keep It Simple

A great obstacle to happiness is to expect too much happiness.—Fontenelle

Our disease is sometimes call the disease of “always wanting more.”
We push ourselves to get as much pleasure as we could. If one was good , two was better.
We didn’t see that what we were lacking was faith.
At times in recovery, we still crave “more.”

We must pay attention to these cravings. When we have a craving, maybe we’re scared, and our Higher Power is trying to tell us that, if we have faith, we’ll be taken care of. Perhaps our Higher Power just has a message of love for us. All we need to do is listen. It may be that this is only “more” we really need.

Prayer for the Day:
I pray to see my as spiritual needs. I pray to turn to my Higher Power instead of to alcohol or other drugs.

Action for the Day:
Today, I’ll think about how much recovery has given me. I will share this with a friend and with my Higher Power.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

It’s as if the universe has finally given you permission to be quiet and you’re luxuriating in the silence. Nevertheless, a lack of conversation with others doesn’t necessarily prevent you from participating in an ongoing dialogue with yourself. In fact, the Moon’s return to your sign redirects your thoughts inward without stopping the actual flow of ideas and emotions. Observe your inner process closely, for it holds precious clues about your unexpressed desires. Fashion designer Donna Karan wrote, “It’s all about finding the calm in the chaos.”

Daily Recovery Readings
April 18, 2018

Daily Reflection

SELF-HONESTY

The deception of others is nearly always rooted in the deception of ourselves. . . . When we are honest with another person, it confirms that we have been honest with ourselves and with God.

— AS BILL SEES IT, p. 17

When I was drinking, I deceived myself about reality, rewriting it to what I wanted it to be. Deceiving others is a character defect—even if it is just stretching the truth a bit or cleaning up my motives so others would think well of me. My Higher Power can remove this character defect, but first I have to help myself become willing to receive that help by not practicing deception. I need to remember each day that deceiving myself about myself is setting myself up for failure or disappointment in life and in Alcoholics Anonymous. A close, honest relationship with a Higher Power is the only solid foundation I’ve found for honesty with self and with others.

From the book Daily Reflections
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Big Book Quote

“Simple, but not easy, a price had to be paid. It meant destruction of self centeredness. I must turn in all things to the Father of Light who presides over us all.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill’s Story, pg. 14~

Keep It Simple

Patience is needed with everyone, but first of all with ourselves. —St. Francis de Sales

How do you treat yourself? Do you talk to yourself in a kind and loving voice? We can’t be kind and loving to others until we learn to be kind and loving with ourselves. To live this way, we must give ourselves the gift of patience.

Let’s practice patience with ourselves daily. Practice talking to yourself in a kind, loving voice.
Your voice will be that of a loving parent who helps a child with a new task. Your Higher Power
Is willing to be patient with you. Give yourself the same gift.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, I pray that I’ll treat myself and others with the same loving patience You’ve shown me.

Action for the Day:
I will listen to how I talk to myself. I will practice talking to myself with a kind, loving, and patient voice.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

You are strongly tempted to rebel against existing authority and to avoid your obligations at work. Your patience may be at an all-time low as you catch glimpses of a more exciting future just out of reach. Thankfully, setting new goals is easy because nothing needs to occur in the outer world now. Nevertheless, significant changes require more time than you think and more work than you ever imagined. Author Germaine de Staël wrote, “The greatest happiness is to transform one’s feelings into action.”