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.

AA Daily Reflection
(c) Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

PERSONALITY CHANGE (0)

Posted 30 October, 2007 in As Bill See's It, Meetings

It has often been said of A.A. that we are interested only in
alcoholism. That is not true. We have to get over drinking in order to stay alive. But anyone who knows the alcoholic personality by firsthand contact knows that no true alky ever stops drinking permanently without undergoing a profound personality change.

We thought “conditions” drove us to drink, & when we tried to correct
these conditions & found that we couldn’t do so to our entire satisfaction,
our drinking went out of hand & we needed to change ourselves to meet
conditions, whatever they were.

1. Letter, 1940
2. 12×12, p. 47
© 1967 by A.A. World Services, Inc.

A.A.’s HEARTBEAT (0)

Posted 25 October, 2007 in Daily Reflections, Meetings

Without unity, the heart of A.A. would cease to beat; . . . .
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 125

Without unity I would be unable to recover in A.A. on a daily basis. By practicing unity within my group, with other A.A. members and at all levels of this great Fellowship, I receive a pronounced feeling of knowing that I am a part of a miracle that was divinely inspired. The ability of Bill W. and Dr. Bob, working together and passing it on to other members, tells me that to give it away is to keep it. Unity is oneness and yet the whole Fellowship is for all of us.

First Meeting (5)

Posted 23 October, 2007 in As Bill See's It, Meetings

The first meeting of the new group was held today.

Here is the reading from “As Bill Sees It”

We admitted we could not lick alcohol with our own remaining resources, & so we accepted the further fact that dependence upon a Higher Power (if only our A.A. group) could do this hitherto impossible job. The moment we were able to accept these facts fully, our release from the alcohol compulsion had begun.

For most of us, this pair of acceptances had required a lot of exertion to achieve. Our whole treasured philosophy of self sufficiency had to be cast aside. This had not been done with sheer will power; it came instead as the result of developing the willingness to accept these new facts of living.

We neither ran nor fought. But accept we did. And then we began to be free.