|
|
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
|
892
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
2387
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
423
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
356
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
446
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
410
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
732
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
360
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
979
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
523
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
481
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
474
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
464
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
326
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
412
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
418
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
1410
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
463
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
490
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
376
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
450
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
400
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
396
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
475
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
410
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
465
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
487
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
332
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
386
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
451
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
430
|
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Reflections Jan 9
(Preview)
AN ACT OF PROVIDENCE It is truly awful to admit that, glass in hand, we have warped our minds into such an obsession for destructive drinking that only an act of Providence can remove it from us. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 21 My act of Providence, (a manifestation of divine care and directio...
|
Doll
|
0
|
337
|
|
|
|
|
|
Need some help from AA
(Preview)
I go to mostly the Al-anon part of this website, and I was wondering if you AA's might come together and find out a way to help me.
My A let me read a story in the 4th edition on the BB. I started out with the part of How it works they read in meetings. I cannot to this alone.
Does ANYONE out there have copies o...
|
hippietrippiechick
|
4
|
584
|
|
|
|
|
|
Elder's Meditation
(Preview)
Elder's Meditation of the Day - January 6
"When we're through with this earth and all these problems, we don't have to come back. But as long as we're here we have a job to do and a purpose to fulfill and that means dealing with the circumstances around us."
...
|
Wren
|
1
|
397
|
|
|
|
|
|
Faith and Trust
(Preview)
Lately, things in my life seem to be going in circles. And, as I led a meeting I realized that if I surrender on a daily basis. I will not only become one with my HP, but also find that my option to use and the choice to use is eliminated. Because, with that surrender I adapt my will to my&n...
|
mmerlino
|
3
|
459
|
|
|
|
|
|
Transformation
(Preview)
Transformation In life we will go through many transformations. During these periods of reconstruction and rebirth we come into a fuller awareness of who we are, and what we can become. A couple of images come to mind, that of the caterpillar becoming the butterfly, or of the phoenix bird rising out o...
|
Wren
|
1
|
421
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vulnerability
(Preview)
Vulnerability
Some of us may have made a decision that no one was ever going to hurt us again. We may automatically go on "feelings freeze mode" when faced with emotional pain. Or, we may terminate a relationship the first time we feel hurt. Hurt feelings are a part of life, relationships, and reco...
|
Quetzal
|
1
|
385
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dealing with Painful Feelings
(Preview)
The Language of Letting Go.
Feelings of hurt or anger can be some of the most difficult to face. We can feel so vulnerable, frightened, and powerless when these feelings appear. And these feelings may trigger memories of other, similar times when we felt powerless.
Sometimes, to gain a sense of c...
|
Phil
|
4
|
565
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hey M and M...s
(Preview)
Right on with 90 days eh....Happy Birthday!! Lot of new miracles.. on this board, over the last while.. You are one of them.... Keep on truckin!! I celebrated one on New Years day....and Im as old as dirt...and still learning how to live..life on lifes terms sober... We nev...
|
Phil
|
6
|
432
|
|
|
|
|
|
New Relationships
(Preview)
There are important steps I need to take if I want new relationships to last.
I need to allow a new relationship to grow in a healthy way by giving it the time it needs. When I go too fast in a relationship, necessary stages are overlooked, and I might find myself in a relationship destined to fail. Whe...
|
Quetzal
|
0
|
409
|
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Reflections Jan 8
(Preview)
DO I HAVE A CHOICE? The fact is that most alcoholics, for reasons yet obscure, have lost the power of choice in drink. Our so-called willpower becomes practically nonexistent. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.24 My powerlessness over alcohol does not cease when I quit drinking. In sobriety I still have no c...
|
Doll
|
0
|
366
|
|
|
|
|
|
Contemplate Unity
(Preview)
Looking for the similarities rather than the differences...Wren
"Poverty is in separatism. Abundance is in unity."
-- Torkom Saraydarian
Watch for those times when you perceive yourself to be separate from the rest of the world. When you find yourself feeling uncomfortable, threa...
|
Wren
|
0
|
343
|
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Reflections Jan 7
(Preview)
AT THE TURNING POINT Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 59 Every day I stand at turning points. My thoughts and actions can propel me toward growth or turn me dow...
|
Doll
|
0
|
363
|
|
|
|
|
|
Change
(Preview)
Well I did it! I came off anti depressants, the important message is I did it according to the Dr. People have been saying all kinds of rubbish in the meetings about them, the only one which was valid was "I am not qualified to talk about prescriptions- talk to a Dr" and thats what I did.
I am really...
|
Robert
|
5
|
423
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cultivating An Easy Faith
(Preview)
About the time I wish I were dead, something falls in my path about which I make a difference. Then I figure God was saving me for that. -- Janice Clark
Not everybody has the easy faith that Janice has, but perhaps we could all cultivate it. They say it's never too late to make a friend of God who's bee...
|
Quetzal
|
0
|
359
|
|
|
|
|
|
life death and change
(Preview)
the only sure thing in life is change....my dad's funeral was on thursday...i have always liked the way the salvation army guys put it when one of their own passes "promoted to glory". i like to think of dad as being that.i moved into my new place while this was going on too. its a beautiful place. t...
|
cindy
|
2
|
420
|
|
|
|
|
|
Learning...
(Preview)
I've learned that, no matter what happens, how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I've learned that, regardless of...
|
Phil
|
2
|
466
|
|
|
|
|
|
miss'n ya
(Preview)
been too long since i was here last,,,
anyways, doing pretty good today
got lots on my plate
got moved...thank God
very blessed, i left the transition house with pretty much everything i needed and more. Amazing
currently waiting on a jopb verification, been struggling with some things t...
|
wantneeda
|
1
|
425
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lost another one.
(Preview)
Received an e-mail from a friend back in my old home town, bad news an old family friend died alone in his apartment around Christmas. Howard was assistant manager of this apartment complex and hadn't been seen for several days. The listed cause of death is probably a heart attack but we know better, Ho...
|
cooncatbob
|
8
|
485
|
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Reflections Jan 6
(Preview)
THE VICTORY OF SURRENDER We perceive that only through utter defeat are we able to take our first steps toward liberation and strength. Our admissions of personal powerlessness finally turn out to be firm bedrock upon which happy and purposeful lives may be built. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITION...
|
Doll
|
0
|
625
|
|
|
