Vital Sustenance (0)
Posted 15 November, 2007 in Daily Reflections, Meetings
Those of us who have come to make regular use of prayer would no more do without it than we would refuse air, food, or sunshine. And for the same reason. When we refuse air, light or food, the body suffers. And when we turn away from meditation and prayer, we likewise deprive our minds, our emotions, and our intuitions of vitally needed support.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS p. 97
Step Eleven doesn’t have to overwhelm me. Conscious contact with God can be as simple, and as profound, as conscious contact with another human being. I can smile. I can listen. I can forgive. Every encounter with another is an opportunity for prayer, for acknowledging God’s presence within me.
IN GOD’S HANDS (0)
Posted 13 November, 2007 in As Bill See's It, Meetings
When we look back, we realize that the things which came to us when we put ourselves in God’s hands were better than anything we could have planned
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My depression deepened unbearably, & finally it seemed to me as though I were at the very bottom of the pit. For the moment, the last vestige of my proud obstinacy was crushed. All at once I found myself crying out, “If there is a God, let Him show Himself! I am ready to do anything, anything!”
Suddenly the room lit up with a great white light. It seemed to me, in the minds eye, that I was on a mountain & that a wind not of air but of spirit was blowing. & then it burst upon me that I was a free man. Slowly the ecstasy subsided. I lay on the bed, but now for a time I was in another world, a new world of consciousness. All about me & through me there was a wonderful feeling Presence, & I thought to myself, “So this is the God of the preachers!”
1 Alcoholics Anonymous p-100
2 A.A. Comes of Age p-63
AN INDIVIDUAL ADVENTURE (0)
Posted 8 November, 2007 in Daily Reflections, Meetings
Meditation is something which can always be further developed. It has
no boundaries, either of width or height. Aided by such instruction and example as we can find, it is essentially an individual adventure, something which each one of us works out in his own way.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 101
My spiritual growth is with God as I understand Him. With Him I find
my true inner self. Daily meditation and prayer strengthen and renew my source of well-being. I receive then the openness to accept all that He has to offer. With God I have the reassurance that my journey will be as He wants for me, and for that I am grateful to have God in my life.
AA Daily Reflection
(c) Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
I CANNOT CHANGE THE WIND (0)
Posted 1 November, 2007 in Daily Reflections, Meetings
It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 85
My first sponsor told me there were two things to say about prayer and
meditation: first, I had to start and second, I had to continue. When I came to A.A. my spiritual life was bankrupt; if I considered God at all, He was to be called upon only when my self-will was incapable of a task or when overwhelming fears had eroded my ego.
Today I am grateful for a new life, one in which my prayers are those of
thanksgiving. My prayer time is more for listening than for talking. I know today that if I cannot change the wind, I can adjust my sail. I know the difference between superstition andspirituality. I know there is a graceful way of being right, and many ways to be wrong.