|
|
Daily Reflections ~ Keeping Optimism Afloat
(Preview)
The other Steps can keep most of us sober and somehow functioning. But Step Eleven can keep us growing. . . . THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 240 A sober alcoholic finds it much easier to be optimistic about life. Optimism is the natural result of my finding myself gradually able to make the best, rather tha...
|
Sobrietyspell
|
0
|
744
|
|
|
|
|
|
24 Hrs a Day ~ 2nd Nov 08
(Preview)
A.A. Thought for the Day I have faith. That thing that makes the world seem right. That thing that makes sense at last. That awareness of the Divine Principle in the universe, which holds it all together and gives it unity and purpose and goodness and meaning. Life is no longer ashes in my mouth or bitter...
|
Sobrietyspell
|
0
|
363
|
|
|
|
|
|
Migraines
(Preview)
15 Days since my last drink and now like usual my migraines are starting. the first time i quit it took a month. the second 3 weeks. now 2 weeks. does this happen normally with quitting drinking? at first I thought it was a type of withdrawal symptom. which is possible bec I don't take in any type of caffein...
|
CriscoJones
|
10
|
384
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Grief Process
(Preview)
To let ourselves wholly grieve our losses is how we surrender to the process of life and recovery. Some experts, like Patrick Carnes, call the Twelve Steps "a program for dealing with our losses, a program for dealing with our grief."
How do we grieve?
Awkwardly. Imperfectly. Usuall...
|
Quetzal
|
0
|
677
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wow!
(Preview)
I got asked to sponsor someone today! I know I am not ready, graciously declined, made sure she had my number to call if she needs me. But it felt good! Is being flattered egotistical? tlc -- Edited by tlcate at 10:39, 2008-10-30
|
tlcate
|
6
|
318
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cravings
(Preview)
I i'm new here but have been around AA for a year or so. Would be grateful for a bit of advice. I recently came home from my 2nd detox and have been sober for 14 days. I am still having really bad cravings - I have tried to think about how that 1st drink will ruin my life and have seen what this terrible illnes...
|
Paisley
|
5
|
359
|
|
|
|
|
|
Just a quick question
(Preview)
I have been searching for an AA close in my town and I keep seeing abbreviations for the type of meeting. I was just curious what they meant. As Bill Sees it Big Book Meeting Closed Meeting Discussion Meeting Open Meeting Step Meeting Tradition Meeting Twelve Steps and Tradition Meeting. Thanks!
|
CriscoJones
|
5
|
529
|
|
|
|
|
|
First Meeting
(Preview)
I went to my first meeting tonight. I got cold feet yesterday but I did it today! I attended church this morning which loosened me up for tonight. I'm so happy i did. I met a wonderful lady and exchanged numbers. I was definitely the youngest by 10 years. everyone was so nice. so generous with their thoug...
|
CriscoJones
|
7
|
451
|
|
|
|
|
|
hi guys
(Preview)
well its 88 days today. Started new job yesterday and like it (so far) Lately, I've been justifying in my head why I can handle one drink because I've 'changed'. I know that's b.s. and I know I won't, especially after seeing a friend I haven't seen in a while on my lunch break (lives 1 block away) and gav...
|
TysonMike
|
6
|
409
|
|
|
|
|
|
Transformation through Grief
(Preview)
We're striving for acceptance in recovery - acceptance of our past, other people, our present circumstances, and ourselves. Acceptance brings peace, healing, and freedom - the freedom to take care of ourselves.
Acceptance is not a one step process. Before we achieve acceptance, we go toward it...
|
Quetzal
|
1
|
850
|
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Reflections ~ Avoiding Controversy
(Preview)
All history affords us the spectacle of striving nations and groups finally torn asunder because they were designed for, or tempted into, controversy. Others fell apart because of sheer self-righteousness while trying to enforce upon the rest of mankind some millennium of their own specificati...
|
Sobrietyspell
|
2
|
418
|
|
|
|
|
|
My Resignation
(Preview)
I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult. I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of a 5 year old again. I want to go to McDonald's and think that it is a four star restaurant. I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make ripples in a pond with rocks. I want to...
|
jonijoni1
|
4
|
674
|
|
|
|
|
|
HAPPY HALLOWEEN
(Preview)
Hope everyone has a sweet and spooky night!!!! This will scare you!
|
lani
|
9
|
284
|
|
|
|
|
|
HeY eVeRyOnE
(Preview)
Well I'm edging on 50 days. It's weird, the rest of my life still feels like a wreck, but I am pretty confident about staying sober. I have only had two urges to drink lately. One was the start of my vaction (this Monday). Typically I would have woke up at 7:30 a.m. and went straight to the liquor store....
|
cramcj01
|
5
|
356
|
|
|
|
|
|
depressed...
(Preview)
I'm in one of my little depressed episodes... even on meds they pop up from time to time and tend to last a few days... this one started yesterday. I can't focus on anything, for the past few days I've been so tired all the time. I've been trying to study and do school work and the most I'm getting done is...
|
ChicknLittle
|
6
|
305
|
|
|
|
|
|
Feeling SO low........
(Preview)
Just want to report here that I am feeling extremely low right now. I am coming up on a year again in a couple of weeks, which I think has less to do with this than the time of year, the darkness, and my general tendency to go through periods like this. Was sober for 2 years before the relapse last year, and dur...
|
jonijoni1
|
14
|
494
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Miricle of Blessings!
(Preview)
Hi all! I have gone to this Christian church for several years now. It is a very big church and they have lots of money. There is a little tiny church I went to for years before. Left it for the hype and excitement of this other church. Well, we are in financial straighnts pretty bad here. To set the sc...
|
nique
|
1
|
331
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Good Grace of God
(Preview)
Sometimes God breaks our Spirit to save our Soul Sometimes our heart to make us whole Sometimes God allows pain so we can be Stronger Sometimes sends us failure so we can be humble Sometimes God allows illness so we can take better care of ourselves Sometimes takes everything away so we can learn the val...
|
Sobrietyspell
|
4
|
314
|
|
|
|
|
|
Living Life on Life's Terms
(Preview)
I think I finally figured this saying out this week by a major life change. It seems at the present moment I am like Job, but God reminds me that it is just a season, stand tall and know that I am God! Many major things are very bad in my life right now, and I am only handling what I CAN no more no less. Trying t...
|
nique
|
4
|
351
|
|
|
|
|
|
24 Hrs a Day ~ 31st Oct 08
(Preview)
A.A. Thought for the Day I have more peace and contentment. Life has fallen into place. The pieces of the jigsaw puzzle have found their correct position. Life is whole, all of one piece. I am not cast hither and yon on every wind of circumstance or fancy. I am no longer a dry leaf cast up and away by the bree...
|
Sobrietyspell
|
0
|
372
|
|
|
|
|
|
A few questions for my friends
(Preview)
I try to be as proactive as I can and with the holiday season fast approaching I want to have a plan in place. This will be the 1st Christmas I will be spending alone, and not really looking forward to it. Who else has faced this ? Where did you go ? What did you do ? Finances are not a problem anymore. I hav...
|
mstrmsn66
|
7
|
350
|
|
|
|
|
|
Another lost.....
(Preview)
His name was D-----. He was really struggling with staying sober. He was doing what his sponsor suggested and was in the process of 90 in 90 when he was found Sunday night in home - he'd hung himself. Just proves, again, that alcoholism WILL kill us! In one way or another. I'm so sad for this man, his family...
|
Doll
|
9
|
403
|
|
|
|
|
|
All Our Needs
(Preview)
And my God shall supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory... -- Phil. 4:19
This verse has helped me many times. It has helped me when I have wondered where my next friend bit of wisdom, insight, or meal was coming from.
Everything I need today shall be supplied to me.
People, jobs...
|
Quetzal
|
0
|
498
|
|
|
|
|
|
Job Crisis! No References.
(Preview)
I was wondering if anyone out there has been in a similar situation. I'm 39 years old and I don't have any work references. Hard to believe eh. Pretty sad, I know. I have skipped jobs so frequently and usually leave abruptly,without notice. Anyhow, my whole resume is a lie and I just go to interviews hop...
|
Artsy Gal
|
3
|
422
|
|
|
|
|
|
confession
(Preview)
Hello,I've used AAs 12 steps successfully to stop drinking, but now I have a new problem. Food addiction. I hope the steps will serve me well again. I keep thinking about food, and it has gotten out of control. I hope I can get through this.
|
urchin
|
3
|
377
|
|
|
|
|
|
Self Value
(Preview)
We have a real life of our own. Yes, we do.
That empty feeling, that senses that everyone except us has a life - an important life, a valuable life, a better life - is a remnant from the past. It is also a self-defeating belief that is inaccurate.
We are real. So is our life. Jump into it, and we'll see.
...
|
Quetzal
|
0
|
283
|
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Reflections ~ Our Survival
(Preview)
Since recovery from alcoholism is life itself to us, it is imperative that we preserve in full strength our means of survival. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 177 The honesty expressed by the members of A.A. in meetings has the power to open my mind. Nothing can block the flow of energy that hone...
|
Sobrietyspell
|
0
|
352
|
|
|
|
|
|
24 Hrs a Day ~ 29th Oct 08
(Preview)
A.A. Thought for the Day My relationships with my children have greatly improved. Those children who saw me drunk and were ashamed, those children who turned away in fear and even loathing have seen me sober and like me, have turned to me in confidence and trust and have forgotten the past as best they c...
|
Sobrietyspell
|
0
|
340
|
|
|
|
|
|
Acceptance
(Preview)
A magical potion is available to us today. That potion is called acceptance.
We are asked to accept many things: ourselves, as we are; our feelings, needs, desires, choices, and current status of being. Other people, as they are. The status of our relationships with them. Problems. Blessings. Fi...
|
Quetzal
|
3
|
353
|
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Reflections ~ An Unbroken Tradition
(Preview)
We conceive the survival and spread of Alcoholics Anonymous to be something of far greater importance than the weight we could collectively throw back of any other cause. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 177 How much it means to me that an unbroken tradition of more than half a century is a threa...
|
Sobrietyspell
|
0
|
363
|
|
|
|
|
|
24 Hours a Day ~ 28th Oct 08
(Preview)
A.A. Thought for the Day What other rewards have come to me as a result of my new way of living? Each one of us can answer this question in many ways. My relationship with my husband or my wife is on an entirely new plane. The total selfishness is gone and more cooperation has taken its place. My home is a home...
|
Sobrietyspell
|
1
|
321
|
|
|
|
|
|
Step Eleven
(Preview)
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. -- Step Eleven of Al Anon
"... praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out" me...
|
Quetzal
|
4
|
316
|
|
|
|
|
|
its old i know!
(Preview)
i am in a weird place....i know my old gf is nowhere to be seen, and this alcohol seems to bring it all back with insane clarity....that is not good. My problem is getting sober, but at the same time, Stacey or (shall we call her that), just screwed me up, just a little more pride and I would be Godzilla. I may...
|
Dodsworth
|
9
|
496
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Progression of the Disease of Alcoholism
(Preview)
Hello A.A. Family, We often hear in meetings that the disease of alcoholism continues to progress even as we remain sober, or, put another way, "if we drink, we pick right up where we left off." Here's my experience with that: when I got sober in 1986, one of the things that I hated most about...
|
BGG
|
5
|
329
|
|
|
|
|
|
Saturday night was a good night.....
(Preview)
I am finding that the meetings I initially choose not to attend, usually turn out to be the standout ones. Such was the case last night. I had my Dr. Pepper and settled into the usual banter with my family. As the chairperson made her rounds handing out the preamble material, she leaned into me and asked m...
|
mstrmsn66
|
4
|
378
|
|
|
|
|
|
Back To Basics: 1, 2, 3- 10, 11, 12... pick up the tools, etc.
(Preview)
I have not posted in many moons and appreciate the connection relocating residentially back to hometown after retirement..even though sober awhile believe I have been in a recent depression with loss of sibling and older sibling's health issues living sober, etc. Am regular meeting attender...
|
johnn101259
|
4
|
330
|
|
|
|
|
|
Meditation and Prayer
(Preview)
The Eleventh Step asks us to meditate as a route to improving our conscious contact with God.
Meditation is different than obsessing or worrying. Obsession and worrying are fear connections. Meditation means opening our mind and our spiritual energy to the God connection.
To connect with God...
|
Quetzal
|
0
|
273
|
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Reflections ~ Global Sharing
(Preview)
The only thing that matters is that he is an alcoholic who has found a key to sobriety. These legacies of suffering and of recovery are easily passed among alcoholics, one to the other. This is our gift from God, and its bestowal upon others like us is the one aim that today animates A.A.s all around the gl...
|
Sobrietyspell
|
0
|
356
|
|
|
|
|
|
Honesty
(Preview)
Rigorous honesty. Something I will be spending the rest of my life learning about and practicing. But now is the time of great revelation and awareness. Now I am seeing it for the first time. I have lived my life as what is called a non-feeling person. I was raised to not talk back or have an opinion - in...
|
tlcate
|
5
|
2336
|
|
|
|
|
|
24 Hrs a Day ~ 27th Oct 08
(Preview)
A.A. Thought for the Day Seventh, I can help other alcoholics. I am of some use in the world. I have a purpose in life. I am worth something at last. My life has a direction and a meaning. All that feeling of futility is gone. I can do something worthwhile. God has given me a new lease on life so that I can help o...
|
Sobrietyspell
|
0
|
317
|
|
|
|
|
|
Going into treatment
(Preview)
Hello 43 teacher and father. Was pulled over for DUI a couple of weeks ago and plead guilty. Wake up call for me. I have decided to go into treatment starting next saturday. getting more nervous each day....
|
kevbo65
|
6
|
502
|
|
|
|
|
Alcohol Rehabilitation
(closed)
(Preview)
When considered in population terms, alcohol is a more important risk factor for antisocial behaviour than are other drugs because it is more frequently taken in excess-------------------Ella -- Edited by StPeteDean at 00:49, 2008-10-28
|
ella
|
4
|
338
|
|
|
|
|
|
My poem
(Preview)
Hi everyone, I wanted to share 2 poems I wrote. The first one is about accepting the emptiness and loneliness of addiction; accepting that I do have a problem- and what now? The second, more recent poem is about the fear of being truly honest with myself; not liking who I see in the mirror. I hope some o...
|
Artsy Gal
|
5
|
381
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hey y'all!
(Preview)
Hey y'all, how's everyone doing? I've become a total workaholic with school! I study about 8 or so hours a day, sometimes less, sometimes more... I hardly go to any message boards or chatrooms anymore, I never call anyone any more except my sponsor a couple of times a week... I'm actually not making...
|
ChicknLittle
|
3
|
305
|
|
|
|
|
|
change
(Preview)
just some thoughts................... reflecting today funny how i can be looking outward see everyone elses "faults" "flaws" see how easy there answers are see how good there life would be if only they did or changed somethings then i look in my own mirror oh yeahhhhhhhhhhh...
|
debbi
|
5
|
346
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sponsee Question
(Preview)
So I drank at 58 days. I was so scared I was going to get fired by my sponsor as I had someone else tell me they would have fired me if I was their sponsee. I know each person is different - but I was just wondering the general opinion on this. It just keeps nagging at me. The more I read about tolerance, accep...
|
tlcate
|
18
|
1952
|
|
|
|
|
|
Clarity
(Preview)
I know better than to not trust God., But sometimes, I forget that.
When we are in the midst of an experience, it is easy to forget that there is a Plan. Sometimes, all we can see is today.
If we were to watch only two minutes of the middle of a television program, it would make little sense. It would be a d...
|
Quetzal
|
0
|
242
|
|
|
|
|
|
WHACK!!!!
(Preview)
I have a very large purse, and I am going to share a little and in the process, WHACK myself upside the head for a moment. I saw this meditation subject in an email I got today, and thought it might apply to some others, as I know it sure does apply to me. (Paraphrased for AA appropriateness.....) I...
|
jonijoni1
|
2
|
305
|
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Reflections ~ A.A.'s Heartbeat
(Preview)
Without unity, the heart of A.A. would cease to beat; . . . . AS BILL SEES IT, p. 125 Without unity I would be unable to recover in A.A. on a daily basis. By practicing unity within my group, with other A.A. members and at all levels of this great Fellowship, I receive a pronounced feeling of knowing that I am...
|
Sobrietyspell
|
0
|
359
|
|
|
|
|
|
24 Hrs a Day ~ 25th Oct 08
(Preview)
A.A. Thought for the Day Fifth, I have learned to live one day at a time. I have finally realized the great fact that all I have is now. This sweeps away all vain regret and it makes my thoughts of the future free of fear. Now is mine. I can do what I want with it. I own it, for better or worse. What I do now, in this...
|
Sobrietyspell
|
0
|
312
|
|
|
