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Daily Reflections ~ Real Independence & 24hrs a Day
(Preview)
The more we become willing to depend upon a Higher Power, the more independent we actually are. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 36 I start with a little willingness to trust God and He causes that willingness to grow. The more willingness I have, the more trust I gain, and the more trust I gain, th...
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Sobrietyspell
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2
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738
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Daily Reflections ~ Active, Not Passive & 24hrs a Day
(Preview)
Man is supposed to think, and act. He wasn't made to God's image to be an automation. As Bill Sees It, p. 55 Before I joined A.A., I often did not think, and reacted to people and situations. When not reacting I acted in a mechanical fashion. After joining A.A., I started seeking daily guidance from a Powe...
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Sobrietyspell
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1
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597
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Daily Reflections ~ A Full & Thankful Heart + 24hrs a Day
(Preview)
I try hard to hold fast to the truth that a full and thankful heart cannot entertain certain conceits. When brimming with gratitude, one's heartbeat must surely result in outgoing love, the finest emotion that we can ever know. AS BILL SEES IT, p. 37 I believe that we in Alcoholics Anonymous are fortun...
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Sobrietyspell
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4
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857
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If program not easy you are not doing it right. True or False
(Preview)
I went to home group meeting last night. The topic was "a softer gentler way" It was said several times that if the AA program and maintaining sobriety is not easy then you are not working your program correctly. Some say this is a simple program but not an easy one. Also have heard it is a s...
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allie
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8
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1065
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that filmsy reed...
(Preview)
In my worst days when I could not manage my life drunk or sober I held on to that filmsy reed. I know today it was definitely the hand of God. But I had to be still & know that it was God. What an ask from a restless, irritable alcoholic. Despite myself HE still got me well, if I was only willing to let HIM. --...
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gonee
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2
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964
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"Do not be discouraged" BB.
(Preview)
Why are we discouraged? None of us have been able to do these steps perfectly. We are striving for the ideal. That's all that is important. Setbacks are there to give us strength. The paradox: when I am weak, then I am strong. God is interested in weak people, so that He may help us with our infirmities. I f...
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gonee
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1
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863
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I'm Looking 4 A SPONSOR
(Preview)
Hi Guys & Gals Been in the program for a couple of decades and I'm looking for a sponsor. My sponsor died a couple of months ago. Need your help in getting thru the middle of my 4th step. I'll be waiting for one of you ?
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schooner
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3
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1079
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to an old sweetheart
(Preview)
ok sentimental old fool that I am, having moved on from snatches of song lyrics to full blooded poems I find this from Burns who surely was one of us in training. But only one verse eh? Permit me. Once fondly lov'd and still remember'd dear, sweet early object of my youthful vows, accept this mark of frien...
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bikerbill
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3
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1018
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Can you all remind me why I can't have a glass of wine?
(Preview)
It's been nine days without running to the glass of wine to numb myself. I could use some encouragement please. I'm very happy I haven't drank, but I'm feeling a little depressed.
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Kate11
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17
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1367
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Thank you God
(Preview)
Thank you God for helping me stay sober today. For not giving me more than I can handle in a day. For putting the people in my life who can help. For carrying me thru the pains of the past month. For not letting me have enough money to afford a bottle when I got to the offy on Good Friday. God bless my posse, you k...
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bikerbill
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5
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1207
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Sometimes forgiveness seems impossible
(Preview)
Today's thought from Hazelden is: When people don't forgive, they probably shorten their lives. --Doris Donnelly Sometimes forgiveness seems impossible and we feel stuck in the quicksand of our own resentment. When everything else fails, we can try the "First Five People Forgiveness Plan...
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Larry_H
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1
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983
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Daily Reflections ~ A List of Blessings & 24hrs a Day
(Preview)
One exercise that I practice is to try for a full inventory of my blessings. . . . AS BILL SEES IT, p. 37 What did I have to be grateful for? I shut myself up and started listing the blessings for which I was in no way responsible, beginning with having been born of sound mind and body. I went through seventy-f...
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Sobrietyspell
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1
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1171
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Please help...I don't know what's wrong with me....
(Preview)
It seems that no matter what great situtaion I'm in I sabotage it and go to great lengths to harm myself and do damge to my life. Why do I do this? Please, somebody, give me an answer :(
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TipsyMcstagger
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22
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1344
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First AA meeting
(Preview)
I attended my first meeting last night and the stories told there were both sad and moving. One in particular stuck home with me was a lady there as she called herself a codependent with her husband in a rehab clinic for the first time and her struggles. This meant something to me about what Im doing to my w...
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Chad H
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10
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1946
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Growth from RAF to ALF
(Preview)
The triangle of Obsession, learning to shift from resentment ,anger and fear to acceptance ,love and faith! The Resentment kept me stuck in the past, the Acceptance helped me moved forward a day at a time. In the present the Anger blinded me, the Love helped me free myself. Without projection,becau...
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mikef
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2
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1015
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Help on cravings and finding faith
(Preview)
I am new to this and a bit nerves. I would appreciate some ideas for dealing with cravings. I hope if I learn to deal with them I can beat this. I have recently started attending church and truly want to believe. I frequently read and read my first book on religion called The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel....
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Chad H
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10
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1129
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~ Three Meetings...Ten Days
(Preview)
This nasty cold/infection is finally letting up and I am back to work today. I made it to the noon meeting yesterday and will hit the one today as well. It feels like a good place to be and I listened a lot yesterday as people talked about resentments and forgiveness. I have a long way to go on that front but a...
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vixen
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6
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1035
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What Does Alcohol Do For Me?
(Preview)
I related my experience with taking pain pills after my surgery a couple months ago, and my overly analytical brain is still processing the experience and trying to make some sense of it. The most important thing of course is that I stopped taking them when I no longer needed them, and I got rid of the lef...
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barisax
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5
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1347
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crazy today
(Preview)
A bit of a wreck at the moment. not drinking but very stressed out a decision ive put off and off and off getting to the point it is driving me INSANE do i or dont I......do this thing all the rights and wrongs and crazy in my head CRAZY making. when would be best to do it, can i handle this situation i will put my...
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slugcat
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9
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1102
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on a lighter note..
(Preview)
In the event of a fire, do not use the lift or the stairs. Why? said the newcomer. His sponsor replied: "Because you must put the fire out."
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gonee
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1
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1329
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it's a we programme
(Preview)
so why is the serenity prayer an I prayer?
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bikerbill
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3
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1312
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Liturature - It's OK. Really.
(Preview)
Official statement from the New York GSO service material: "The term 'Conference-approved' describes written or audiovisual material approved by the Conference for publication by GSO. This process assures that everything in such literature is in accord with AA principles. Conference-...
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Rainspa
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1
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1042
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No doubt in my military mind!!!!
(Preview)
There is no way that I get this twisted"I cannot drink and live" The obsession and compulsion has been arrested but I know that I will not refund my insanity as long as I understand I recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of body and mind, based on my "fit" spiritual conditio...
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mikef
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2
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1268
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Something more than this!
(Preview)
2 kids in their mothers womb,a brother and a sister.Sister says,don't you think there is something more than this darkness and all squished up feeling in here. Brother says,whats problem sis,,its warm,we got stuff to eat,what else could there possibly be?Sister says" didnt you ever feel tha...
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mikef
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4
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1041
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back at work
(Preview)
So i started back at work at 10 this morning. Already teh return to work plan has gone out the window - can I just nip out to a site next Tuesday for a Pre Start meeting! well it's only a few miles from me, but the 10am start that day will have to be a 9 am start. The business hasn't fallen over with me not being ava...
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bikerbill
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1
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1042
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Daily Reflections ~ One Day at a Time & 24hrs a Day
(Preview)
Above all, take it one day at a time. AS BILL SEES IT, p.11 Why do I kid myself that I must stay away from a drink for only one day, when I know perfectly well I must never drink again as long as I live? I am not kidding myself because one day at a time is probably the only way I can reach the long-range objective of...
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Sobrietyspell
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1
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2733
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I'm new here...
(Preview)
Hi Everyone, I am hoping not to drink tonight...I have around three glasses of wine every night (sometimes more) and have done this for years. I want to quit. It's getting worse. I feel like I need more and more. I have no energy. I am depressed and have pulled away from people I love in order to drink. I wan...
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Kate11
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13
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977
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Today is just fine so far.
(Preview)
So i've had my return to work meeting with my boss and have a phased return to work over 4 weeks with a defined workload. Back in the saddle on Friday at last and see how it goes. the Annual Performance review wasn't so good. Marked as Achieves standards. This after 3 quarterly reviews of consistently Ver...
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bikerbill
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4
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1188
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BB in time.
(Preview)
AA saved my life & altered my perceptions. The remnant is scary. The first 100 people knew exactly what was wrong & thank God they recorded it in the AA book in 1935. But despite the science tabulated in easy style many are still dying not of ignorance anymore, but denial. The co dependents are s...
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gonee
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2
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1028
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Daily Reflections ~ ... and Forgive & 24hrs a Day
(Preview)
Under very trying conditions I have had, again and again, to forgive othersalso myself. AS BILL SEE IT p. 268 Forgiveness of self and forgiveness of others are just two currents in the same river, both hindered or shut off completely by the dam of resentment. Once that dam is lifted, both currents can f...
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Sobrietyspell
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1
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878
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I need help please let me know what I should do?
(Preview)
My girlfriend is an alcoholic and has been sober for a couple years now. I love her very, very much. Right now we're in a rocky place and she's going thru some stuff she won't even try explaining to me because it has to do with being an alcoholic. I don't know what's going on inside her head. Anyway, last nig...
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tendo
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3
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9298
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AA fellowship nice.
(Preview)
Our meeting tonight started 25 mins late. Everyone just stood around & chirped away like nothing was wrong. I was called to chair & navigated it & finished 5min after ETA. Had good supper @ the thanksgiving & lotsa fellowship. This is AA.
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gonee
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2
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988
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Is there an herb that will make me sick if I drink?
(Preview)
I know there is a prescribed medication that will make you sick if you drink but I don't want to go to my doctor since I don't want it on my insurance that I have a problem with alcohol. I desperately want to quit because now my drinking is a "habit". I need to break the habit and I know I can with s...
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Dublin
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11
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12785
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alcohol depression and panic attacks
(Preview)
hello, i am new to this website, i just wonder if someone cud help me. i hav been drinking now for nearly 20 yrs,never had any problem with it. about 4 yra s ago a big trauma happened in my life.since then every time i binge drink i get heavily depressed, crying all day non stop, with anxiety attacks and i don...
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aaman55
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9
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2179
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Conference Approved Literature and tradition breaking
(Preview)
Hi everyone! I am a new forum user and usually my rule of thumb is to wait a while before ever posting (listen instead) but I have a question that I desperately seek answers/feedback to, if you will please be willing to give me your thoughts :) About 2 years ago, 2 friends and I started an 11th Step meditati...
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carpetslippers
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20
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7683
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A hard day today
(Preview)
So today I took my Mum up to Scotland for her sister's funeral. Georgina (Ina) was nearing 91 years old when she departed this life and Mum (Jean 85) and her sister Nettie (Elizabeth 81) are the lst of their family. My sister and her husband took their car and we all piled in. A total of 8 hours round trip dri...
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bikerbill
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5
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1097
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I'm new. I'm not sure how to start here so I'll say why I joined.
(Preview)
Hi.It feels weird to do this but I think that Ive got some issues and need to get rid of them. I am a stay-at-home mom of two kids who are 14 months apart.My daughter just turned two in March and my little guy will be one next week. I was very depressed during my pregnancy with my son and also had post-partum...
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storm
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5
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5483
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Going to College
(Preview)
Recently i have been faced with having to alter my meeting schedule to attend graduate school. Two members of my home group, have confronted me about the fact that i have gone to a different meeting to accomadate my school schedule. I feel these individuals are attempting to manipulate me by attem...
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Junior
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5
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465
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Now. It's all there is.
(Preview)
All we have is now, the past is an illusion just chemicals in our brain and the future is yet to happen, more chemicals in our brain. Everything happens now, now is all there is. How crazy it is to regret something that doesn't exist. Life comes into our now and then it's gone. It doesn't hang around somewh...
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windowview
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5
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435
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Powerlessness and the loss of a Friend
(Preview)
Friday May 13th at 10pm Samantha my 16 year old Maine Coon Cat died in my arms in the pet hospital after discovering that she had a belly full of cancer. Samantha ha...
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cooncatbob
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9
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1069
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Daily Reflections ~ We Forgive & 24hrs a Day
(Preview)
Often it was while working on this Step with our sponsors or spiritual advisers that we first felt truly able to forgive others, no matter how deeply we felt they had wronged us. Our moral inventory had persuaded us that all-round forgiveness was desirable, but it was only when we resolutely tackled S...
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Sobrietyspell
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1
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878
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Missing Someone
(Preview)
I gotta say I miss the contact with my wife. Although the relationship was sick for so long, wasn't going anywhere and was overdue to end, I still miss the contact. Which is very different from actually missing someone. I barely give her a passing thought these days. There is someone else who I miss desp...
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bikerbill
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6
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622
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Step3
(Preview)
The BB tells me that God could, if He were sought. That He is a Father and we are His children. Do I really believe in this? I was once asked this question by my sponsor. I very casually said yes to it. That's when he really took off with me. Then why are you afraid and morose Gonee. I had no answer for him. But i...
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gonee
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4
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722
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Stunning, Powerful meeting tonight
(Preview)
The main sharer was so powerful, lot's of food for thought. I've never felt so uncomfortable in my life in a meeting. I guess I shoulda known what was coming when he started by producing his own well worn copy of the BB and started quoting not just chapter and verse but page number too. This guy holds fast t...
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bikerbill
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2
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610
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Clean house, trust God, help others
(Preview)
It really feels like the wreckage of the past is finally being swept away. A few days ago I revisited sep five with my sponsor and yes the original step five had left some detail out. The pure relief of getting thqt last bit out and not being judged was unreal and it's only taken four years and a lot of recent...
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bikerbill
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1
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1459
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Living in the day, regrets and projection
(Preview)
Just posted this on facebook, might be useful to people here. So I read a bit of Robbie Burns this morning, To a Mouse, the one that almost everyone knows, wee sleekit cowrin' timourous beastie etc. certainly many people know the 3rd line of the 7th verse, the best laid schemes of man...... So this is an o...
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bikerbill
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2
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886
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God Calling - Pray and Praise
(Preview)
Never weary in prayer. When one day man sees how marvelously his prayer has been answered, then he will deeply regret that he prayed so little. Pray until you almost cease to pray, because trust has become so rocklike, and then pray on because it has become so much a habit that you cannot resist it. And a...
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gladlee
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1
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409
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Hey Aquaman
(Preview)
so where are you, wot you up to. Not seen you on the forum since adam was a lad.
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bikerbill
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2
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484
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The strength of one drunk talking to another
(Preview)
As I grow in the Fellowship, I never cease to be amazed. I've heard the saying countless times "don't be afraid to talk to your sponsor, etc. -- they might need it as much as you." Got a bit of insight to just how true, how incredily true that is. I don't sponsor at the moment, but I've been talkin...
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SteveP
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2
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713
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Relapse after 22 years
(Preview)
Hi all. I'm new to the board. With humility I ask for your thoughts and feedback. I relapse after 22 years of sobriety this week. I always thought that if I ever took a drink or drug again, it would be when life got bad. I have survived a divorce, financial woes, loss of a job, and the death of both my par...
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LisaV
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25
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6632
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