“What spiritual principle did I put into action today—intentionally or by accident?"
Practicing the pause. Slowing down. Thanking my HP for the beauty in my life. I was on my way home from a little black friday shopping (mostly window shopping at 2 smaller stores lol) and the sun was starting to set when I was by the lake. I stopped and took in the beauty around me. It was cold and windy, but I am glad I stopped. It reminded me that even if conditions aren’t always ideal, there is still lots of beauty in life to behold. This allowed me to talk to my HP in a way I probably wouldn’t have if I hadn’t stopped. And immediately I looked down and saw a heart. I know I was heard.
Spiritual principles followed accidentally on purpose: in a week of overworking overseas, yesterday I Googled myself after a raving praise from my client. It put me in a real funk, all day. After striving for so many years, I saw the indelible online record. Now all I want is to live by attraction rather than promotion, to be as good as my current season. None of us are cast in stone, thankfully. Today, I will limit my strivings to the maintenence of my spiritual condition and sharing the solid footing in a new Guided life that is a gift of the Work.
At the personal level, anonymity provides protection for all members from identification as alcoholics, a safeguard often of special importance to newcomers. At the level of press, radio, TV, and films, anonymity stresses the equality in the Fellowship of all members by putting the brake on those who might otherwise exploit their A.A. affiliation to achieve recognition, power, or personal gain.
“UNDERSTANDING ANONYMITY,” p. 5
Attraction is the main force in the Fellowship of A.A. The miracle of continuous sobriety of alcoholics within A.A. confirms this fact every day. It would be harmful if the Fellowship promoted itself by publicizing, through the media of radio and TV, the sobriety of well-known public personalities who became members of A.A. If these personalities happened to have slips, outsiders would think our movement is not strong and they might question the veracity of the miracle of the century. Alcoholics Anonymous is not anonymous, but its members should be.
“What is one way I can show compassion to myself this week that I usually withhold?”
This week I intend to give myself grace. It’s going to be a very busy one and instead of worrying about that and how I’m going to get everything done, I intend to just give myself grace and love in each moment it’s needed instead of being critical of myself for not getting everything done. It’s all good! I wrote that last night, and today I woke up not feeling great. I’m giving myself permission to have a lazy, restful & relaxing day today too.
Our Twelfth Step also says that as a result of practicing all the Steps, we have each found something called a spiritual awakening. . . . A.A.'s manner of making ready to receive this gift lies in the practice of the Twelve Steps in our program.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 106-07
I remember my sponsor’s answer when I told him that the Steps were “suggested.” He replied that they are “suggested” in the same way that, if you were to jump out of an airplane with a parachute, it is “suggested” that you pull the ripcord to save your life. He pointed out that it was “suggested” I practice the Twelve Steps, if I wanted to save my life. So I try to remember daily that I have a whole program of recovery based on all Twelve of the “suggested” Steps.
“What is one area of my life where I can choose progress instead of perfection this week?”
Today I am immediately drawn to my exercise routine. I often want to just jump right in & do alllll the things, but I again have to give myself grace. I want to be back to “normal” but I’m simply not and have to go slow. A big part of my recovery is learning how to have progress over perfection and far more balance than I ever had. I am grateful for the continuing lesson on this.
I love this question about choosing progress over perfection. A life in addiction highlighted my already installed tendency to hold to a rigid standard until it absolutely broke and went directly to chaos. Now, I’m working to become aware of my character defects and encourage myself to surrender them, while I invite my HP to remove them. I’m endeavoring to wear my recovered life as a looser garment, clothed in serenity and acceptance, rather than victimhood or its shadow side: the myth of self-madeness.
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, . . .
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 106
As I continued to go to meetings and work the Steps, something began to happen to me. I felt confused because I wasn’t sure what it was that I was feeling, and then I realized I was experiencing serenity. It was a good feeling, but where had it come from? Then I realized it had come “. . . as the result of these steps.” The program may not always be easy to practice, but I had to acknowledge that my serenity had come to me after working the Steps. As I work the Steps in everything I do, practicing these principles in all my affairs, now I find that I am awake to God, to others, and to myself. The spiritual awakening I have enjoyed as the result of working the Steps is the awareness that I am no longer alone.
The day has just started for me, but I too feel the most connected in prayer. Another time I feel most grounded or connected, is at the gym. Exercise for me is very grounding and at times even spiritual. I even pray while on the treadmill lol
Me too! Me three! I’m at the end of my day here, but the best moments lately have been when I remember that God is in charge of the long game. I pedal, He steers. I’m listening to Aussie Benedictine Monk Mark Gladman’s Advent recordings on Insight Timer, this year called: Waiting with Matthew. It reminds me that I can be working and doing the next right thing and be waiting and listening for God’s guidance at the same time. No moments in recovery or attentive to my HP are wasted.
. . . we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 106
I find that carrying the message of recovery to other alcoholics is easy because it helps me to stay sober and it provides me with a sense of well-being about my own recovery. The hard part is practicing these principles in all my affairs. It is important that I share the benefits I receive from A.A., especially at home. Doesn’t my family deserve the same patience, tolerance and understanding I so readily give to the alcoholic? When reviewing my day I try to ask, “Did I have a chance to be a friend today and miss it?” “Did I have a chance to rise above a nasty situation and avoid it?” “Did I have a chance to say ‘I’m sorry,’ and refuse to?”
Just as I ask God for help with my alcoholism each day, I ask for help in extending my recovery to include all situations and all people!
“What character asset is beginning to show up more often in my daily life, and how can I nurture it?”
Ooh, I love this. I have to sometimes put conscious effort into remembering I have more assets now instead of just defects. Today I’m going to say I have the ability now to not take things so personally-where someone else is at has nothing to do with me most of the time. I don’t have the power nor the desire to control them-I just let my HP lead my way and know what others think of me is none of my business.
A.A. is more than a set of principles; it is a society of alcoholics in action. We must carry the message, else we ourselves can wither and those who haven’t been given the truth may die.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 13
I desperately wanted to live, but if I was to succeed, I had to become active in our God-given program. I joined what became my group, where I opened the hall, made coffee, and cleaned up. I had been sober about three months when an oldtimer told me I was doing Twelfth-Step work. What a satisfying realization that was! I felt I was really accomplishing something. God had given me a second chance, A.A. had shown me the way, and these gifts were not only free—they were also priceless! Now the joy of seeing newcomers grow reminds me of where I have come from, where I am now, and the limitless possibilities that lie ahead. I need to attend meetings because they recharge my batteries so that I have light when it’s needed. I’m still a beginner in service work, but already I am receiving more than I’m giving. I can’t keep it unless I give it away. I am responsible when another reaches out for help. I want to be there—sober.
“What situation recently tested my sobriety or serenity, and what did I learn about myself from it?”
When my stomach is off, I like to drink a little bit of ginger ale or sprite. I don’t like soda and I drink very little of it-only what I need to so I don’t like to drink off the bottle. So, the smallest cup in the house was used, a wine glass. It didn’t bother me at all as I like drinking water out of kind of similarly shaped water glasses, these were just smaller as I needed less. It didn’t feel like I was drinking and I wasn’t romanticizing-to me it was just a small glass vs the alternative-a huge heavy cup. When he walked in and said it looked like I was drinking so he had to do a double take even though he knew I wasn’t-I decided that could end up being a sneaky slippery slope. Cunning, baffling and powerful this addiction is. So I went out and bought new little glasses. That little piece of glass that holds liquid does carry an energy to it and I don’t want to get complacent or have an object be what could bring me back out.
He has been granted a gift which amounts to a new state of consciousness and being.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 107
Many of us in A.A. puzzle over what is a spiritual awakening. I tended to look for a miracle, something dramatic and earth-shattering. But what usually happens is that a sense of well-being, a feeling of peace, transforms us into a new level of awareness. That’s what happened to me. My insanity and inner turmoil disappeared and I entered into a new dimension of hope, love and peace. I think the degree to which I continue to experience this new dimension is in direct proportion to the sincerity, depth and devotion with which I practice the Twelve Steps of A.A.
When we developed still more, we discovered the best possible source of emotional stability to be God Himself. We found that dependence upon His perfect justice, forgiveness, and love was healthy, and that it would work where nothing else would. If we really depended upon God, we couldn’t very well play God to our fellows nor would we feel the urge wholly to rely on human protection and care.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 116
It has been my experience that, when all human resources appear to have failed, there is always One who will never desert me. Moreover, He is always there to share my joy, to steer me down the right path, and to confide in when no one else will do. While my well-being and happiness can be added to, or diminished, by human efforts, only God can provide the loving nourishment upon which I depend for my daily spiritual health.
“Where did I experience gratitude today, even in a small or subtle way?”
Everywhere. Today (yesterday) was not ideal. At all. But I am absolutely full of gratitude! Instead of complaining about any of my day, I have nothing but gratitude and that is ALL thanks to my recovery!
True ambition is not what we thought it was. True ambition is the deep desire to live usefully and walk humbly under the grace of God.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 124-25
During my drinking years, my one and only concern was to have my fellow man think highly of me. My ambition in everything I did was to have the power to be at the top. My inner self kept telling me something else but I couldn’t accept it. I didn’t even allow myself to realize that I wore a mask continually. Finally, when the mask came off and I cried out to the only God I could conceive, the Fellowship of A.A., my group and the Twelve Steps were there. I learned how to change resentments into acceptance, fear into hope and anger into love. I have learned also, through loving without undue expectations, through sharing my concerns and caring for my fellow man, that each day can be joyous and fruitful. I begin and end my day with thanks to God, who has so generously shed His grace on me.
“How can I nurture a healthier relationship with myself this week—emotionally, spiritually, or physically?”
This is a great question. It’s a balance to take care of myself as well as help others. I just need to keep my HP in charge and do what is being asked of me. I don’t always know what’s best for me but my HP does so I will connect and trust in that today.
