|
|
When am I manipulative?
(Preview)
When am I manipulative?
Without understanding our motives, we can easily lapse into behavior aimed at manipulating others. Sulking is a means of letting others know we are displeased and forcing them to attempt to win our approval. Flattery is a false expression of approval that we don't reall...
|
Quetzal
|
0
|
347
|
|
|
|
|
safety net
(Preview)
Not sure where it's from this phrase helps me when i need to take a "leap of faith."
“Jump and the net will appear”
christine
|
CAM
|
1
|
332
|
|
|
|
|
Acting "As If"
(Preview)
The Language of Letting Go The behavior we call "acting as if" can be a powerful recovery tool. Acting as if is a way to practice the positive. It's a positive form of pretending. It's a tool we use to get ourselves unstuck. It's a tool we make a conscious decision to use. Acting as if can be helpful when a fe...
|
Phil
|
1
|
489
|
|
|
|
|
the dog collar
(Preview)
I just heard Ron Hutchcraft tell a story that hit home with me:
He said that one of his nephews decided to try on a dog collar that his father had. It wasn't a regular one, but was one of those that gives a little shock when the dog barks. The child decided to call out to a friend that was in the d...
|
amanda2u2
|
0
|
286
|
|
|
|
|
Constant Contact With Our Higher Power
(Preview)
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Rarely does a chain break in a strong link. Only the weak links fail. If we fail this day-by-day program, it will likely be where we are weakest. To be more steadfast, we emphasize constant contact with our Higher Power. Do I still have secret thoughts that I am in complete contro...
|
Quetzal
|
1
|
667
|
|
|
|
|
stuck in a rut
(Preview)
looking for suggestions.....how to get out of that stuck in a rut place inside myself....in my head i know exactly what i need to be doing to take care of myself.....that's as far as i can get tho!....im sure ya all can understand what im saying when i say, ive been thru an aweful lot the past 5 years....it...
|
debbi
|
4
|
432
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Reflections Jan 17
(Preview)
HAPPINESS COMES QUIETLY "The trouble with us alcoholics was this: We demanded that the world give us happiness and peace of mind in just the particular order we wanted to get it - by the alcohol route. And we weren't successful. But when we take time to find out some of the spiritual laws, and familiariz...
|
Doll
|
0
|
277
|
|
|
|
|
Smoking (cough cough)
(Preview)
This smoking deal is by degrees no different than drinking. And my reaction,
waking up to it, has been about the same (by degrees) as drinking. All hell
broke loose. Powerdrive against it with all my might, when exact opposite is
what I need.
Only this time around, I am now recognizing that I ha...
|
RyanS
|
2
|
372
|
|
|
|
|
Moral of THIS story ?
(Preview)
My HG's speaker didn't show up, so it happened that a woman who got sober there 12 yrs ago, and had moved away, was visiting family this weekend. She was asked to speak. Telling her story she included that she had been married and often cheated on her then husband by picking up men at bars w...
|
Doll
|
8
|
362
|
|
|
|
|
SAD book, mood disorders book
(Preview)
www.normanrosenthal.com new book out in 2005 on Seasonal Affective Disorder by Dr. Norman Rosenthal.
This book can be ordered to check out for free from your local library system. Also, "Beating the Blues" New Approaches to Overcoming Dysthymia and Chronic M...
|
wallsal55
|
1
|
424
|
|
|
|
|
hey
(Preview)
hope all is well with everyone, things here in iowa are good, just very busy, these days. i always wonder what i would do with spare time when not drinking, i still womder cause i have none. lol , oh by the way picking up my 2 year chip tonight. be safe all and thanks heaps wagon
|
wagon
|
4
|
337
|
|
|
|
|
Friends
(Preview)
He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare. -- Ai Ibn-Abu-Talib
When we entered recovery, we had buddies we drank or used with and people we hung out with, but often no one we could really call a friend. For a long time, we hadn't been "friend material." Too poor in body, mind, and spirit...
|
Quetzal
|
1
|
310
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Reflections Jan 16
(Preview)
HITTING BOTTOM Why all this insistence that every A.A. must hit bottom first? The answer is that few people will sincerely try to practice the A.A. program unless they have hit bottom. For practicing A.A.'s remaining eleven Steps means the adoption of attitudes and actions that almost no alcoholic...
|
Doll
|
1
|
322
|
|
|
|
|
Standing Up For Ourselves
(Preview)
We learn some behaviors have self-defeating consequences, while others have beneficial consequences. We learn we have choices. It is so easy to come to the defense of others. How clear it is when others are being used, controlled, manipulated, or abused. It is so easy to fight their battles, become...
|
Phil
|
1
|
530
|
|
|
|
|
HEY!! Mike In Boston!!
(Preview)
Having an unsound mind....and the odd moment of Sometimers...
I would like to take the opportunity, to Congratulate YOU on ELEVEN Biggies..as of this comming Saturday...
Thats a lot of days...one day at a time..And you have accomplished many great things, within that time..
Keep on truckin...
|
Phil
|
4
|
342
|
|
|
|
|
Optimism
(Preview)
What I think about surrounds me. What I allow to be entertained in my mind becomes a reality. If I think negatively, I will attract negativity in my life. On the other hand, if I concentrate on developing positive thoughts, I will attract positive people and events to my life. My potential will be incre...
|
Quetzal
|
1
|
306
|
|
|
|
|
Binging or alcoholism?
(Preview)
OOps I put this as a reply on my own topic and think I should have it as a new topic...anyway.
Thanks for advice and support from everyone.
I managed to get through last night without a drink and felt pretty pleased with myself as a result!
I feel like the week will be OK because I have never really had...
|
Sally
|
6
|
360
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Reflections Jan 15
(Preview)
AN UNSUSPECTED INNER RESOURCE With few exceptions our members find that they have tapped an unsuspected inner resource which they presently identify with their own conception of a Power greater than themselves. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 569-70 From my first days in A.A., as I struggled for sobri...
|
Doll
|
0
|
278
|
|
|
|
|
Think for Yourself
(Preview)
"I think the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you except yourself."
-- Rita Mae Brown
Where do you need to think for yourself?
When we begin to cultivate awareness of our thoughts and emotions, we begin to see just how much we live according to other people’s and society’s beliefs an...
|
Wren
|
1
|
818
|
|
|
|
|
Be aware of wonder
(Preview)
We have days when we experience the small coincidences in life -- our car breaks down and we run into an old friend at the service station; we're thinking about someone and she calls just because we've been on her mind; we ask ourselves a question and the answer appears on the side of a bus or out of the mout...
|
Quetzal
|
3
|
2119
|
|
|
|
|
Day two...
(Preview)
I dont count the day before yesterday because I woke up drunk...so the way I see it it's day two.
I'm feeling pretty good...fortunate that I've decided to face reality and salvage the incredible life that I have. I've even been "shudders* praying every time my mind starts to obsess about bo...
|
Lucky McSober
|
7
|
336
|
|
|
|
|
RESPONSIBILITY
(Preview)
Today is January 14, 2007 A Great Day for Recovery!
RESPONSIBILITY
"The fault is in us." -- Hannah Arendt As a drunk I would blame everybody for my problems: My family was too controlling. I did not have people around who understood me. I worked too hard and the people were too deman...
|
Doll
|
0
|
278
|
|
|
|
|
Perfectionism
(Preview)
Part of the ego reduction necessary to our recovery is the acceptance of the fact that we are not and never will be perfect. Perfectionism gets in the way of recovery because it imposes impossible, unrealistic goals which guarantee failure. If we do not think we have to be perfect, then we can accept ou...
|
Quetzal
|
4
|
356
|
|
|
|
|
Moving... so nervous
(Preview)
I'm moving this weekend, Monday at the latest... to Nebraska. My new roommate will be here tomorrow!!! eek! I'm really nervous... we've been online friends for around 7 months but we've never met... He was driving a friend down here to buy a semi about 5 hours east of here... and has a couple of days to ki...
|
LisaF
|
4
|
338
|
|
|
|
|
Mentally Retarded...And Can't Get It Started..
(Preview)
Undoing alcohol's damage to the mind
With sobriety, the brain can begin to restore some lost function, researchers find.By Melissa Healy Times Staff Writer December 25, 2006 In addition to claiming lives, marriages, homes and careers, alcoholism has a greedy way of robbing its victims of bra...
|
Phil
|
8
|
670
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Reflections Jan 14
(Preview)
NO REGRETS We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.83 Once I became sober, I began to see how wasteful my life had been and I experienced overwhelming guilt and feelings of regret. The program's Fourth and Fifth Steps assisted me enormously in healing those t...
|
Doll
|
0
|
289
|
|
|
|
|
Using the 24-hour plan
(Preview)
Using the 24-hour plan
In our drinking days, we often had such bad times that we swore, "Never again." We took pledges for as long as a year, or promised someone we would not touch the stuff for three weeks, or three months. And of course, we tried going on the wagon for various periods of time...
|
Quetzal
|
1
|
847
|
|
|
|
|
Hitting the fan, more being revealed, or gearing up?
(Preview)
So, my last encounter, shall we call it, was with the cured alcoholic, which posed many questions in my own mind, and now, I'm wondering about the phone call I got an hour ago!
Someone I used to drink with, not really friends, but ya know......called me to say she was somewhat concerned about her own dr...
|
Doll
|
8
|
460
|
|
|
|
|
Quotes..regarding Step One
(Preview)
Understanding the addiction cycle is important because it helps explain why for both the Oxford Group and for Bill Wilson, the admission of powerlessness is the first step to recovery. Otherwise, we remain caught. If we rely on willpower alone, then the only thing we know to do is to escalate our addi...
|
Phil
|
0
|
5096
|
|
|
|
|
Worst Christmas party EVER....
(Preview)
So I went to my wife's company Christmas party and proceeded to drain two bottles of red wine with dinner. I was pretty "on" and I really had the table yuking it up...right up until I decided to stagger out for a cigarette and shit my pants. Pardon my language but there's no polite way to say it. I wen...
|
Tipsy McStagger
|
8
|
414
|
|
|
|
|
Kicking Booze's ass!
(Preview)
I'm kind of feeling angry at alcohol....like I want to battle and fight it with a furious vengence!
Anyone else ever feel that way? Think it's a useful state of mind to be in?
All I knowis that it certainly has me fired up!
|
Tipsy McStagger
|
3
|
399
|
|
|
|
|
Please, I need some help.
(Preview)
I know I've burned my bridges with some of you on this site. I know that I've been rude, arrogant, obnoxious...I wish I could take it all back. I wish I had listened to what you people told me the first time I came here, or the second, or the third, fourth, etc.
I hope that you will forgive me and believe me t...
|
Tipsy McStagger
|
7
|
383
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Reflections Jan 13
(Preview)
IT DOESN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 85 The most common alcoholic fantasy seems to be: "If I just don't drink, everything will be all right." Once the fog...
|
Doll
|
0
|
259
|
|
|
|
|
Determination
(Preview)
Diamonds are only chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs, you see. -- Malcolm Forbes
How has your determination paid off for you in your life? So often it is difficult to know when to continue pushing forward and when to let go of a project or an idea.
Leslie wanted to change the culture of her s...
|
Quetzal
|
0
|
306
|
|
|
|
|
Finding Balance
(Preview)
The Language of Letting Go.
The goal of recovery is balance - that precious middle ground.
Many of us have gone from one extreme to another: years of taking care of everyone but ourselves, followed by a time of refusing to focus on anyone's needs but our own.
We may have spent years refusing to ide...
|
Phil
|
0
|
329
|
|
|
|
|
Being humiliated is not the same as having humility.
(Preview)
Being humiliated is not the same as having humility.
We have all suffered humiliation. Perhaps a spouse ridiculed us in public or a parent's disorderly conduct shamed us in front of our friends. Perhaps a boss criticized us in front of co-workers.
However, we could have refused to let our...
|
Quetzal
|
4
|
1315
|
|
|
|
|
Growing Up
(Preview)
Yesterday Just for Today says alot of us growing up spiritually. Today, I am faced with truly growing up and letting go. And, boy is this something new. Facing the past, so that it does not effect my present way of life. In relationships I always thought that I had to do for the man. And, not him taking care...
|
mmerlino
|
2
|
377
|
|
|
|
|
People Pleasing
(Preview)
People Pleasing - Having Trouble Saying No?
by Kali Munro, M.Ed., Psychotherapist, 2001
Do you have trouble saying NO? Do you do things for other people but almost never ask anybody to do things for you? You may be a people pleaser.
People pleasers think of other people’s needs before their own...
|
Phil
|
5
|
408
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Reflections Jan 11
(Preview)
THE 100% STEP Only Step One, where we made the 100 percent admission we were powerless over alcohol, can be practiced with absolute perfection. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 68 Long before I was able to obtain sobriety in A.A., I knew without a doubt that alcohol was killing me, yet even with t...
|
Doll
|
1
|
304
|
|
|
|
|
What we do for a living is not who we are
(Preview)
All the arts we practice are apprenticeship. The big art is our life. -- M. C. Richards
What you do for a living is not who you are. You are more, much more, than that.
It's easy to get so caught up in what we do that we're only identifying ourselves through our daily tasks. I am a mechanic. I am a pa...
|
Quetzal
|
2
|
389
|
|
|
|
|
The Death of an innocent
(Preview)
I went to a party mom, and remembered what you you said.
You told me not to drink mom, so I drank a soda instead
I felt really proud inside mom, Just like you said I would.
I didn't drink and drive mom, even though others said I should.
I know I did the right thing mom, I know your always right.
Now th...
|
tina
|
0
|
308
|
|
|
|
|
Just checking in
(Preview)
Just wanted to say hi
and check in, some know I haven't been able to get many meetings due to working nites shift with work. Been doing alot of soul search lately and well lets put it this way, still sober. There is a few things I've been having trouble dealing with and well just hanging in t...
|
tina
|
2
|
312
|
|
|
|
|
Saved a life
(Preview)
A Humming Bird flew into the warehouse where I work yesterday. She (I think it was a she) flew up into the sky light of the 20 foot ceiling and couldn't figure out that this wasn't the way out. After a while I opened the roll up door all the way and pulled the truck out, hoping that she see the light and fly out....
|
cooncatbob
|
6
|
382
|
|
|
|
|
Yikes!!
(Preview)
The Language of Letting Go.
Fear
Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. What if they are a little coarse, and. you may get your coat soiled or torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twic...
|
Phil
|
1
|
334
|
|
|
|
|
Alcohol WAS m
(Preview)
Long story short......I was 'socializing' a couple days back.....was with a friends and their friends. I kept being offered "a drink". After 1000's of no thank yous, finally just smiled and said "I'm an alcoholic, I don't drink anymore". A guy friend of a friend of a friend of a friend sp...
|
Doll
|
6
|
387
|
|
|
|
|
Yes I am still alive & SOBER
(Preview)
Hello All,
I haven't been around much lately but yes I am still here & Sober. YEAAHHHHH
I have been going through alot of crap for the last several months plus my internet is still down on my comp. and DH won't pay to fix it - the XXXXX. It is hard just to get out of bed somedays wi...
|
kathy570
|
4
|
376
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Reflections Jan 10
(Preview)
UNITED WE STAND We learned that we had to fully concede to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics. This is the first step in recovery. The delusion that we are like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 30 I came to Alcoholics Anonymous becau...
|
Doll
|
0
|
259
|
|
|
|
|
golden greco
(Preview)
see attached for what my friend in aa posted all round a monastry last time I went to mount st bernards on a retreat.
|
Robert
|
3
|
317
|
|
|
|
|
Source of our Anger
(Preview)
"Anger is that powerful internal force that blows out the light of reason."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
How does anger typically surface in your life?
We usually get angry at someone, don’t we? We judge that someone has done something wrong and we want them to be punished.
In truth, the actions of o...
|
Wren
|
1
|
388
|
|
|
|
|
Giving Our Best
(Preview)
Give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to you. -- Madeline Bridges
Sometimes we feel lazy or bored, and then we don't do our best work. Perhaps we are daydreaming instead of listening closely to what a friend is trying to tell us. When we are not really paying attention to our...
|
Quetzal
|
1
|
341
|
|
|