Daily Reflections
November 5
“THE QUALITY OF FAITH”
This has to do with the quality of faith. In no deep or meaningful sense had we ever taken stock of ourselves. We had not even prayed rightly. We had always said, “Grant me my wishes” instead of “Thy will be done.”
-TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.32
God does not grant me material possessions, take away my suffering, or spare me from disasters, but He does give me a good life, the ability to cope, and peace of mind. My prayers are simple: first, they express my gratitude for the good things in my life, regardless of how hard I have to search for them; and second, I ask only for the strength and the wisdom to do His will. He answers with solutions to my problems, sustaining my ability to live through daily frustrations with a serenity I did not believe existed, and with the strength to practice the principles of A.A. in all of my everyday affairs.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
November 5
A.A. Thought For The Day
During our thoughts about the rewards that have come to us as a result of our new way of living, we find that we have new kinds of homes, new relationships with our spouses and with our children. Also, peace, contentment, hope, faith, charity, and new ambition. What are some of the things we have lost? Each one of us can answer this question in many ways. I have lost much of my fear. It used to control me; it was my master. It paralyzed my efforts. Fear always got me down. It made me an introvert, an ingrown person. When fear was replaced by faith, I got well. Have I lost some of my fears?
Meditation For The Day
The world would sooner be brought close to God. His will would sooner be done on earth, if all who acknowledge Him gave themselves unreservedly to being used by Him. God can use every human being as a channel for divine love and power. What delays the bringing of the world closer to God is the backwardness of His followers. If each one lived each day for God and allowed God to work through him, then the world would soon be drawn much closer to God, its Founder and Preserver.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be used as a channel to express the Divine Love. I pray that I may so live as to bring God’s spirit closer to the world.
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As Bill Sees It
November 5
Circle and Triangle, p. 307
Above us, at the International Convention at St. Louis in 1955, floated a banner on which was inscribed the then new symbol for A.A., a circle enclosing a triangle. The circle stands for the whole world of A.A., and the triangle stands for A.A.’s Three Legacies: Recovery, Unity, and Service.
It is perhaps no accident that priests and seers of antiquity regarded this symbol as a means of warding off spirits of evil.
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When, in 1955, we old-timers turned over our Three Legacies to the whole movement, nostalgia for the old days blended with gratitude for the great day in which I was now living. No more would it be necessary for me to act for, decide for, or protect A.A.
For a moment, I dreaded the coming change. But this mood quickly passed. The conscience of A.A. as moved by the guidance of God could be depended upon to insure A.A.’s future. Clearly my job henceforth was to let go and let God.
A.A. Comes of Age
1. p. 39
2. pp. 46.48
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Walk In Dry Places
November 5
No apologies for sobriety
Attitude
Now that we are sober, some of us are invited to social events where there is drinking. Now and then, we see raised eyebrows when others learn that we’re having only soft drinks.
Some of us may respond by explaining that we’re alcoholics and cannot take even one drink. A few recovering alcoholics handle the situation by pretending that they’re holding an alcoholic drink—- perhaps enlisting the bartender’s aid in making the drink appear to contain liquor.
While it may be useful to tell others about our alcoholism, we are under no obligation to do so, particularly in a drinking environment. At the same time, there’s something wrong with pretending that one is still taking alcoholic drinks.
Our best course is to remember that we never have to apologize for not drinking. In a world that makes so much fuss about the right to drink, we surely have a right not to drink, and we do not have to explain why we are not drinking.
If I find myself in a drinking environment today, I’ll handle it with dignity and cheerfulness, but I will not feel I must defend my sobriety to others.
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Keep It Simple
November 5
Acceptance and faith are capable of producing 100% sobriety.
-Grapevine
Acceptance and faith are the most important parts of our recovery. If we boil down Steps One
And Two, we’ll find acceptance and faith. Acceptance means we see the world as it is, not as we want it to be. We start to see ourselves as humans, not as gods. We are good, and we are bad. We need to fit in the world, not run it.
Acceptance also guides us toward faith. Faith is believing. We start to believe that someone or something will take care of us. Faith is about giving up control of outcomes. We learn to say to our Higher Power, “Thy will be done.”
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power help me accept my illness. Give me the faith to know that You and I, together, will keep me sober.
Action for the Day: Throughout the day, I’ll think of the 11th step. I’ll pray to my Higher Power, “Thy Will be done, not mine.” Amen.
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Each Day a New Beginning
November 5
The future is made of the same stuff as the present.
-Simone Weil
The only lessons that matter for our lives at this time will come to us today. Just as what we needed and were ready for yesterday came yesterday, tomorrow insures more of the same. Concerning ourselves with any other moment but the present prevents us from responding when “the teacher appears.”
In years gone by, we perhaps hung onto yesterday’s problems. We may still struggle to hang onto them. Or perhaps we try to see too far ahead. But we are learning that there is a right time for all growth. A right time for all experiences. And the right time may not fit our timetable. What doesn’t come our way today, will come when the time is right. Each day we are granted just what is needed. We need not worry about the future. It will offer us whatever rightly comes next, but it can’t do so until we have experienced these 24 hours before us.
There is wonder and joy awaiting me, each day. The growth I experience is just what is needed at this time. I am a student, and the teacher will appear.
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Alcoholics Anonymous
November 5
THE PERPETUAL QUEST
– This lawyer tried psychiatrists. biofeedback, relaxation exercises, and a host of other techniques to control her drinking. She finally found a solution, uniquely tailored, in the Twelve Steps.
When I was five years sober, I met a man in A.A. who was also five years sober. He said that the rocks in my head fit the holes in his. Today we have a daughter who has never seen her parents drink and who sees them try to help others in Alcoholics Anonymous. We have a nice home and sober family life in a community with lots of A.A. friends and meetings. It’s a long, long way from that first A.A. meeting, and it couldn’t get much better.
p. 397
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
November 5
Tradition Four – “Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole.”
AUTONOMY is a ten-dollar word. But in relation to us, it means very simply that every A.A. group can manage its affairs exactly as it pleases, except when A.A. as a whole is threatened. Comes now the same question raised in Tradition One. Isn’t such liberty foolishly dangerous?
Over the years, every conceivable deviation from our Twelve Steps and Traditions has been tried. That was sure to be, since we are so largely a band of ego-driven individualists. Children of chaos, we have defiantly played with every brand of fire, only to emerge unharmed and, we think, wiser. These very deviations created a vast process of trial and error which, under the grace of God, has brought us to where we stand today.
p. 146
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Xtra Thoughts
November 5
When looking in the mirror you see the most important person in the world to you. If you can’t look that person in the eye and say “I love you,” change something. Your life depends on it.
-NoMoGin
I must empty myself, so God can fill me up.
-Shelley
God can make all things new – even you.
-unknown
Tart words make no friends; a spoonful of honey will catch more flies than a gallon of vinegar.
-unknown
The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it.
-unknown
I never imagined that the greatest achievement of my life would be peace of mind.
-unknown
Service is spirituality in action.
-unknown
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Father Leo’s Daily Meditation
November 5
FEAR
“The spirit of liberty … is the spirit which is not too sure it is always right.”
-Judge Learned Hand
I am free to make mistakes. It is okay for me to be wrong. I can say or do something that proves to be incorrect. I am not perfect. Part of the liberty of being a human being is not being perfect; I am not God. In a sense this is a relief. I do not have to take responsibility for the lives of others or the crises in the world. It is okay not to have all the answers. Indeed, sometimes the spiritual life is discovered in “not knowing” and the answer will forever remain in the question. It is human to ask “why are we like we are?” But the answer rests in God.
God of Reason, let me be satisfied with discovering You in the questions.
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Bible Scriptures
November 5
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
-Isaiah 41:10
“Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”
-Psalm 107:8-9
For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
-1 Corinthians 3:9
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Daily Inspiration
November 5
When your energy levels are low and your spirit needs a boost, take a short walk or quiet break and use the time for a talk with God and a little healing meditation. Lord, help me to brighten my day, keep my spirit strong, and bring more laughter to my life.
If you think success and really believe it will happen, you will perform in a manner that leads to success. Lord, may I always avoid negative thoughts and visualize myself in the manner that You intended for me.
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A Day At A Time
November 5
Reflection For The Day
For many months after I came to The Program, I paid little attention to the practice of serious meditation and prayer. I felt that it might help me meet an emergency — such as a sudden craving to return to my old ways — but it remained among the lowest levels on my list of priorities. In those early days, I equated prayer and meditation with mystery and even hypocrisy. I’ve since found that prayer and meditation are more rewarding in their results than I could ever have imagined. For me today, the harvest is increasingly bountiful, and I continue to gain peace of mind and strength far beyond my human limitations. Is my former pain being replaced by tranquility?
Today I Pray
May I discover that prayer and meditation make up the central hall of my life’s structure — the place where my thoughts collect and form into order. May I feel God’s mystery there, and an overwhelming resource of energy.
Today I Will Remember
Fantasy is mine. Mystery is God’s.
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One More Day
November 5
I remember those happy days and often wish I could peak into the ears of the dead the gratitude which was due to them in life and so ill-returned.
-Gwyn Thomas
We respond to loss in predictable ways. One common response to loss — whether of a loved one or of good health — is regret. “I should have told him how much he was loved,” or “I wish I’d told her I was sorry for what I said.” These statements of regret are much like the regrets accompanying chronic illness. “I wish I’d pursued my dreams when I was healthy.” We move out of our sadness only when we are able to remember that our only mistake was a human one — always believing there would be more time to say and do the things we wanted. Our healing is complete when we bring this awareness to the present, when we say and do positive things today.
Letting go of past regrets frees me to be a more loving person today.
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One Day At A Time
November 5
FOCUS ON OTHERS
I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street I met a man who had no feet.
-Denis Waitely
I find that when I am stuck or feeling sorry for myself I just need to reach out and help someone who is worse off than me. When I pray for someone to help, someone always shows up. This past weekend I was feeling sorry for myself. I went to church and prayed for God to bring someone for me to help. Alas, as I walked in to school this morning I was greeted by a tearful friend whose husband was just diagnosed with lung cancer. I hugged her and told her I was there for her. It took the focus off of ME and I was able to help someone else feel better.
One day at a time …
Allow me to be of service to others. I need them as much as they need me.
~ Sue
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Elder’s Meditation of the Day
November 5
“You could study the ancestors, but without a deep feeling of communication with them it would be surface learning and surface talking. Once you have gone into yourself and have learned very deeply, appreciate it, and relate to it very well, everything will come very easily.”
-Ellen White, NANAIMO
Inside of every human being are our ancestors, and these ancestors still live. Today, the white man calls this DNA, but there is more than DNA. We have the ability to go inside of ourselves and learn from the ancestors. The ancestor teachings reside in the place of the center. The ancestors are waiting for us to come there so they can share the ancient teachings. It is said, “Be still and know”.
Great Spirit, let me walk in the stillness.
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Journey to the Heart
November 5
Create Your Destiny from Your Heart
Be aware of life’s energy moving, pushing, pulling, guiding you forward each moment of the day
And know each moment is your destiny.
You’re connected to and part of a mysterious, invisible life force. Let it guide you forward. Let it move you along. Clear yourself of all that blocks your connection to that life force– old emotions, old beliefs, remnants of the past.
Listen to your heart. It will take you, move you to where you need to go. No, you cannot see as far ahead as you would like, as far ahead as you used to think you could. That is because you have undertaken the journey to your heart. Seeing would prevent you from listening, trusting, opening to the magical guidance that comes from within. You would confuse things, think you had to control, manage, make things happen. You would confound yourself with the illusions of the past. You would become afraid.
Stay in the present moment. Listen to your inner guidance. Trust the wisdom of your heart. Feel the life force, guiding you, moving you forward. Go where it leads.
Embrace your destiny. Know you help create it by what you choose each step of the way.
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Today’s Gift
November 5
Nature, the Gentlest Mother, is Impatient of no Child …
—Emily Dickinson
When a girl sits on the seashore, the waves do not try to slap her around. When a boy wanders alone in a field, the sky does not accuse him of talking back. When a man is alone in the woods, does the earth nag him for failing once more? And when a woman is alone in the park, does the wind whisper behind her back? Nature never blames or condemns: she gives us freedom of thought and plenty of space. Nature’s ways are proven and true; she lets us grow at our own rate. Nature brings us sleep, dawn, new days; she is full of new life.
We are a part of nature, and everything we do is part of it. We can find comfort in this knowledge, if we take the time to remember it when we are feeling bad. Nature is always willing to share its serenity.
When we escape to nature, what feelings do we have that we want to take back home with us?
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The Language of Letting Go
November 5
Let’s Make a Deal
The relationship just wasn’t working out, and I wanted it to so badly. I kept thinking if I just made myself look prettier, if I just tried to be a more loving, kind person, then he would love me. I turned myself inside out to be something better, when all along, who I was was okay. I just couldn’t see what I was doing, though, until I moved forward and accepted reality.
-Anonymous
One of the most frustrating stages of acceptance is the bargaining stage. In denial, there is bliss. In anger, there is some sense of power. In barraging, we vacillate between believing there is something we can do to change things and realizing there isn’t.
We may get our hopes up again and again, only to have them dashed.
Many of us have turned ourselves inside out to try to negotiate with reality. Some of us have done things that appear absurd, in retrospect, once we’ve achieved acceptance.
“If I try to be a better person, then this won’t happen…If I look prettier, keep a cleaner house, lose weight, smile more, let go, hang on more tightly, close my eyes and count to ten, holler, then I won’t have to face this loss, this change.”
There are stories from members of Al Anon about attempts to bargain with the alcoholic’s drinking: “If I keep the house cleaner, he won’t drink…. If I make her happy by buying her a new dress, she won’t drink… If I buy my son a new car, he’ll stop using drugs.”
Adult children have bargained with their losses too: “Maybe if I’m the perfect child, then Mom or Dad will love and approve of me, stop drinking, and be there for me the way I want them to be.” We do big, small, and in between things, sometimes-crazy things, to ward off, stop, or stall the pain involved with accepting reality.
There is no substitute for accepting reality. That’s our goal. But along the way, we may try to strike a deal. Recognizing our attempts at bargaining for what they are – part of the grief process – helps our lives become manageable.
Today, I will give others and myself the freedom to fully grieve losses. I will hold myself accountable, but I will give myself permission to be human.
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More Language Of Letting Go
November 5
A miracle is taking place
One evening, I was sitting with my children around the dinner table. Shane was talking about his plans for the next day. Nichole was planning a pajama party. I was working on some project at that time. I was partly thinking about it but still enjoying listening to the children talk.
It was a friendly, relaxed supper. Later, I put the children to bed and quietly went to my room, peacefully getting ready to retire for the night.
That’s when it hit me. Like the proverbial bolt of lightenin, it struck out of the blue.
I was so terrified when I had begun the journey of being a single parent. After ten years of being married, I was scared of little things like sleeping alone in bed at night and falling asleep without a man in the house.
Sometimes I went to bed with the phone in my hand, ready to dial 911. Everything about this new life as a single parent had overwhelmed me. I didn’t feel up to the task. But somewhere along the line, I had come to believe I could. I didn’t know when it had happened. It wasn’t an instant transformation. It had happened slowly, bit by bit.
“Woohoo!” I said, doing a victory dance in the room.
“I didn’t think I could do this. But I can and I am.”
Celebrate the miracle of transformation in your life– whatever you’re trying to become, do, or learn. Let it happen as quickly, or as slowly, as it needs.
Day by day, month by month, then year after year, the feeling of quiet confidence will slowly replace the overwhelming fear. That task or job that first seemed as overwhelming will begin to feel natural and right. You’ll gradually become so comfortable you may not even know when that miraculous transformation took place.
Enjoy where you are today in your process of growth. You might not see it or know it yet, but an ordinary miracle is taking place.
God, thank you for where I am in my learning curve and growth process today. Help me know that whether I see it or not, a miracle is taking place.
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Touchstones Meditations For Men
November 5
The struggle of the male to learn to listen to and respect his own intuitive, inner promptings is the greatest challenge of all. His … conditioning has been so powerful that it has all but destroyed his ability to be self-aware.
—Herb Goldberg
Men strive to be successful with mechanical, physical, and powerful things. Some of us have succeeded in those supposedly “male” ways and others haven’t. But whether we have or not, most of us have poured our energies into those directions and neglected the other way of being strong men. We may not have learned how to be gentle and helpful fathers, sensitive lovers, or men in tune with our own spirits and feelings. Many of us never learned to recognize what we feel.
Perhaps we were taught to stand up for ourselves. But have we learned to stand up for our right to have feelings? Do we stand up for our right to be learners and to make mistakes? Do we stand up for our right to be aware and to be the men we find ourselves to be, rather than what others tell us we should be?
I will become more aware of my inner-self as a growing man on this uncharted journey.
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Daily TAO
November 5
CONTEMPORARY
Why do yogis die today?
Why are there no immortals any more?
What has happened to all the sorcerers?
Why don’t angels come to earth?
A book written by a contemporary yogi stated that the author passed away on a certain date. What a contrast to the scriptures that indicate that a holy person’s death was unknown, or that the person has been seen by successive generations, or that the person was even resurrected!
Today, all holy people die. No one is recognized as a saint, and the supernatural is no longer a consideration. Why? Because people no longer believe these things to be true.
If we accept that the present age is one where the mystical no longer holds sway, can we still be spiritual? It is possible for us to be even more spiritual than ever. Freed of the thought that spirituality is something extraordinary, something possible only for spectacular yogis and immortals, we can finally consider that we ourselves can reach out and be just as spiritual. The ultimate levels of understanding are not inherently barred from any human being. If we are seekers, then we shall find. We may not live forever, we may not escape death, but we will be able to understand what holy people in the past did.