Thought for the Day
Intelligent faith in that Power greater than ourselves can be counted on to stabilize our emotions. It has an incomparable capacity to help us look at life in balanced perspective. We look up, around, and away from ourselves, and we see that nine out of ten things that at the moment upset us will shortly disappear. Problems solve themselves; criticism and unkindness vanish as though they had never been. Have I got the proper perspective toward life? Meditation for the Day
A truly spiritual man or woman would like to have a serene mind. The only way to keep calm in this troubled world is to have a serene mind. The calm and sane mind sees spiritual things as the true realities and material things as only temporary and fleeting. That sort of mind you can never obtain by reasoning, because your reasoning powers are limited by space and time. That kind of a mind you can never obtain by reading, because other minds are also limited in the same way. You can only have that mind by an act of faith, by making the venture of belief. Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may have a calm and sane mind. I pray that I may look up, around, and away from myself.
Many people perceive AA as a “religious” program because of the language used in the literature to describe spirituality. I appreciate how this passage describes spiritual living as an emotional state, and the complicated relationship between intellect, emotion and the action of belief. There is no religion here. There is only connection to that thing beyond our ability to perceive it directly.
The book 24 Hours a Day is what I call “AA adjacent”. It draws some source material from the AA Big Book, it was written by an AA member as a supplemental piece for other AA members, and it was offered to AA but turned down because they didn’t have the resources at the time to edit, publish and distribute it. This book is an absolute cornerstone of my sobriety. I read and study it daily, first thing in the morning. That helps to properly focus and slow my mind so I can have a calm and sober day, most days.
24 Hours a Day, thought for July 16. Editorial license has been exercised.
Thought for the Day
We can believe that (there is) a purpose for our lives, which will eventually work out as long as we try to live the way we believe (The Divine) wants us to live. It has been said that we should “wear the world like a loose garment.” That means that nothing should seriously upset us because we have a deep, abiding faith that (The Universe) will always take care of us. To us that means not to be too upset by the surface wrongness of things, but to feel deeply secure in the fundamental goodness and purpose in the universe. Do I feel deeply secure?
Or as Bob Marley put it: Every little thing is gonna be alright.
Meditation for the Day
To God, a miracle of change in a person’s life is only a natural happening. But it is a natural happening operated by spiritual forces. There is no miracle in personalities too marvelous to be an everyday happening. But miracles happen only to those who are fully guided and strengthened by God. Marvelous changes in people’s natures happen so simply, and yet they are free from all other agencies than the grace of God. But these miracles have been prepared for by days and months of longing for something better. They are always accompanied by a real desire to conquer self and to surrender one’s life to God. Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may expect miracles in the lives of people. I pray that I may be used to help people change.
Put aside any difficulty you have with the word or concept “God”. I find this description of how surrender is accompanied by grace to effect the naturally occurring ‘miracles’ of change to come close to helping me explain myself. I have seen it happen in myself and in others, and I’ve struggled to verbalize this phenomenon.
The miracle sometimes happens all at once, at the very beginning of sobriety, and sometimes it operates more subtly, when a person simply puts into practice the discipline necessary to stay dry, sober and content.
Phrasing it as a natural occurrence that is manifested with the help of that strange energy “grace” gives me hope that it can happen for anyone. And it does happen every day, to many different addicts. We are blessed .
Meditation for the Day
The inward peace that comes from trust in (the Good) truly passes all understanding. That peace no one can take from you. No person has the power to disturb that inner peace. But you must be careful not to let in the world’s worries and distractions. You must try not to give entrance to fears and despondency. You must refuse to open the door to distractions that disturb your inward peace. Make it a point to allow nothing today to disturb your inner peace, your heart-calm.
The aspiration to inner peace can be achieved. I have purposely removed myself from drama and negativity. In early sobriety, I stopped reading the newspaper for three years. Today I will delete my Instagram account. When I slip in my attitude or my focus, I can return to trusting the Good by admitting my slip to another alcoholic and then laying aside my anxiousness and refocusing my thoughts.
From 24 hours a day, entry for July 30, by Richmond Walker. Editorial license by yours truly.
Meditation for the Day
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is not seeing, but believing. Down through the ages, there have always been those who obeyed the heavenly vision, not seeing but believing in (the Divine). And their faith was rewarded. So shall it be to you. Good things will happen to you. You cannot see (Divinity), but you can see the results of faith in human lives, changing them from defeat to victory. (Divine) grace is available to all who have faith - not seeing, but believing. With faith, life can be victorious and happy. Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may have faith enough to believe without seeing. I pray that I may be content with the results of my faith.
Now re-read that last sentence carefully! Faith is believing without seeing, it is receiving grace. And it is letting go of results. I can believe and pray and expect grace, I can plan and take action. The test of true faith is to do these things and have no emotional investment in the outcome.
Faith, as the basis of my life, it’s believing and acting as if “Every little thing is gonna be alright.”
A paraphrase from 24 hours a day , entry for September 22, by Richmond Walker.
Meditation for the Day
There should be joy in living the spiritual life. A faith without joy is not entirely genuine. If you are not happier as a result of your faith, there is probably something wrong with it. Faith in (a higher power) should bring you a deep feeling of happiness and security, no matter what happens on the surface of your life. Each new day is another opportunity to serve (the Divine) and improve your relationships with other people. This should bring joy. Life should be abundant and outreaching. It should be glowing and outgoing, in ever widening circles. Prayer for the Day
I pray that my horizons may grow ever wider. I pray that I may keep reaching out for more service and companionship.
Today’s 24 hours a day entry has me thinking that i have left religious authorities create a false distinction in my thinking between prayer and meditation. One is not a rote repetition of infantile adoration and the other a mysterious advanced metaphysical practice. Contemplation on my weaknesses and the greater power that is always available at any time is an essential part of how I can live sober. And in today’s writing, I can quite easily let ‘God’ be a placeholder word.
Meditation for the Day
Pray - and keep praying until it brings peace and serenity and a feeling of communion with One who is near and ready to help. The thought of God is balm for our hates and fears. In praying to God, we find healing for hurt feelings and resentments. In thinking of God, doubts and fears leave us. Instead of those doubts, and fears, there will flow into our hearts such faith and love as is beyond the power of material things to give, and such peace as the world can neither give nor take away. And with God, we can have the tolerance to live and let live. Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may have true tolerance and understanding. I pray that I may keep striving for these difficult things.
Meditation for the Day
There is only one-way to get full satisfaction from life and that is to live the way you believe (The Divine) wants you to live. Live with (The Divine) in that secret place of the spirit and you will have a feeling of being on the right road. You will have a deep sense of satisfaction. The world will have meaning and you will have a place in the world, work to do that counts in the eternal order of things. Many things will work for you and with you, as long as you feel (this). Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may have a sense of the eternal value of the work I do. I pray that I may not only work for now, but also for eternity.
For many years, even while drinking, my career was directly helping others. In sobriety, I switched to a corporate job, with much higher pay and far less social impact. For some time I justified my life as a corporate shill because it enabled me to supply my kids with a lifestyle that allowed them to explore. I had started working at age 12 and was fully responsible financially for myself at 18. The economy was depressed for many years and I put aside my dreams to provide for myself and by age 20 my young family. My kids have not known that privation and have been able to explore both large and small issues in their lives from the comfort of knowing financial security.
Today, as I wind down my corporate life and head toward retirement in 3 or 4 years, my mission is to mentor the young people I have hired onto my team. And after retiring, I will be able to devote myself once again to work that has the direct social impact I value.
None of this would be possible without my sobriety.
Meditation for the Day
Day by day we should slowly build up an unshakable faith in a Higher Power and in that Power’s ability to give us all the help we need. By having these quiet times each morning, we start each day with a renewing of our faith, until it becomes almost a part of us and is a strong habit. We should keep furnishing the quiet places of our souls with all the furniture of faith. We should try to fill our thoughts each day with all that is harmonious and good, beautiful and enduring. Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may build a house in my soul for the spirit of God to dwell in. I pray that I may come at last to an unshakable faith.
Though it may seem a paradox, we must believe in spiritual forces, which we cannot see more than in material things which we can see, if we are going to truly live. In the last analysis, the universe consists more of thought or mathematical formulas than it does of matter, as we understand it. Between one human being and another only spiritual forces will suffice to keep them in harmony. These spiritual forces we know, because we can see their results although we cannot see them. A changed life - a new personality - results from the power of unseen spiritual forces working in us and through us.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may believe in the Unseen. I pray that I may be convinced by the results of the Unseen, which I do see.
24 hours a day, October 28
Paraphrased by yours truly.
Every little thing is gonna be alright Bob Marley
Meditation for the Day
We can align ourselves with the Divine Will in anticipation of the thing happening which will, in the long run, be the best for all concerned. It may not always seem the best thing at the present time, but we cannot see spiritually very far ahead. We do not know how such plans are laid, we only need to believe that if we trust and accept whatever happens in a spirit of faith, everything will work out for the best in the end. Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may not ask to see the distant scene. I pray that one step may be enough for me.
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