Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:In analysis, as I have known it, you are confronted by your qualities and cannot disown them, though you may try to.--Florida Scott MaxwellWe aren't all in formal analysis, but the Twelve Step program does introduce us to the personal inventory. In this exercise of introspection, we come to know ourselves. We often don't like who we see, but until we have acknowledged it, we are unable to change the specifics of our behavior.Blaming other people and the "unlucky" circumstances of our lives for all our troubles is deeply rooted in who we are. But coming to believe that accepting full responsibility for ourselves will empower us, even when we are guilty of wrongdoing, is a major step forward.Looking squarely at ourselves and owning all of who we are may not make us proud, but it does make us honest and humble. We have to be both, first, if we ever hope to forge the qualities that will make us proud.Today I will reveal qualities that I like very much. If some that I don't like surface, I won't deny them; I will correct them. You are reading from the book: A Woman's Spirit by Karen Casey A Woman's Spirit by Karen Casey. © 1994 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirationsRead a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org. Managing your email subscriptionsHave an account on hazelden.org? Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address. Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, 15251 Pleasant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW19, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 800-257-7810 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.Subscribe to Today's Gift emails Have our emails been recommended to you Sign up today to receive them at no charge. They're our daily gift to you.
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Sunday, December 4, 2016
Saturday, December 3, 2016
New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Thoughts For The Day~*~Rewards ^*^*^ December 4
To Donate Go toTo Donate Go http://ift.tt/2fYnnWM. Thoughts For The Day~^*^*^*^*^(\ ~~ /)( \(AA)/ )(_ /AA\ _)/AA\^*^*^*^*^Rewards"The rewards of sobriety are bountiful and as progressive as the disease they counteract. Certainly among these rewards for me are release from the prison of uniqueness, and the realization that participation in the AA way of life is a blessing and a privilege beyond estimate -- a blessing to live a life free from the pain and degradation of drinking and filled with the joy of useful, sober living, and a privilege to grow in sobriety one day at a time and bring the message of hope as it was brought to me."From the new Fourth Edition of Alcoholics AnonymousAA Grapevine, December 2001, p. 47Thought to Consider . . . Sobriety is a choice and a treasure. *~*AACRONYMS*~*G I F T S = Getting It From The Steps. *~*^Just For Today!^*~* Gift Step Twelve: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. "When a man or a woman has a spiritual awakening, the most important meaning of it is that he has now become able to do, feel, and believe that which he could not do before on his unaided strength and resources alone. He has been granted a gift which amounts to a new state of consciousness and being. He has been set on a path which tells him he is really going somewhere, that life is not a dead end, not something to be endured or mastered."1952 AAWS Inc. Printed 2005Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pages. 106-07 *^Daily Reflections^*INTO ACTION 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 old-timer 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
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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 12/3/2016
Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:Serenity = Reality = Inner peace and strength.--AnonymousMost of us chased an elusive thing called serenity for years. We thought our journeys outside reality brought us peace and serenity. When we returned to reality we found harshness and pain that caused us to run back to using. So it went, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. Run, escape, pain; run, escape, pain. Then something happened. Our addiction wouldn't let us escape anymore. We no longer found what we were seeking. We tried using more heavily. Finally, all that was left of our lives was the pain. The Fellowship shows us that reality is not a problem. Trying to escape reality is a problem. When we continue to turn our wills and lives over to a Higher Power, the serenity that results creates a reality of inner peace and strength.I trust and believe that the changes I am going through in my recovery are necessary and good for me. You are reading from the book: Easy Does It by Anonymous Easy Does It © 1999 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirationsRead a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org. Managing your email subscriptionsHave an account on hazelden.org? Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address. Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, 15251 Pleasant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW19, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 800-257-7810 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.Subscribe to Today's Gift emails Have our emails been recommended to you Sign up today to receive them at no charge. They're our daily gift to you.
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Friday, December 2, 2016
New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Thoughts For The Day~*~Fear ^*^*^ December 3
Click here now to check out our list of Recovery Podcasts!~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~^*^*^*^*^(\ ~~ /)( \(AA)/ )(_ /AA\ _)/AA\^*^*^*^*^Fear"We have had a much keener look at ourselves and those about us. We have seen that we were prodded by unreasonable fears and anxieties into making a life business of winning fame, money, and what we thought was leadership. So false pride became the reverse side of that ruinous coin marked 'Fear.' We simply had to be Number One people to cover up our deep-lying inferiorities." 1952AAWSTwelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 123Thought to Consider . . . Situations I fear are rarely as bad as the fear itself. *~*AACRONYMS*~*F E A R = Frantic Efforts to Appear Recovered *~*^Just For Today!^*~* An Avocation From: "Foreword" It is important that we remain anonymous because we are too few, at present to handle the overwhelming number of personal appeals which may result from this publication. Being mostly business or professional folk, we could not well carry on our occupations in such an event. We would like it understood that our alcoholic work is an avocation. When writing or speaking publicly about alcoholism, we urge each of our Fellowship to omit his personal name, designating himself instead as "a member of Alcoholics Anonymous." Very earnestly we ask the press also, to observe this request, for otherwise we shall be greatly handicapped.1989, Carry the Message, Inc.Alcoholics Anonymous[First Edition facsimile], page vii *^Daily Reflections^*IN ALL OUR AFFAIRS. . . 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!Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*Random Quote - Servant, Not MasterIn A.A., we found that it did not matter too much what our material condition was, but it mattered greatly what our spiritual condition was. As we improved our spiritual outlook, money gradually became our servant and not our master. It became a means of exchanging love and service with those about us.<<< >>>One of A.A.'s Loners is an Australian sheepman who lives two thousand miles from the nearest town, where yearly he sells his wool. In order to be paid the best prices he has to get to town during a certain month. But when he heard that a big regional A.A. meeting was to be held at a later date when wool prices would have fallen, he gladly took a heavy financial loss in order to make his journey then. That's how much an A.A. meeting means to him.1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 122 2. A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 31 *~*^Big Book Quote^*~* "When you discover a prospect for Alcoholics Anonymous, find out all you can about him. If he does not want to stop drinking, don't waste time trying to persuade him. You may spoil a later opportunity."Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th EditionWorking With Others, pg. 90 *^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*A.A. Thought for the DayThere is some alcoholic thought, conscious or unconscious, that comes before every slip. As long as we live, we must be on the lookout for such thoughts and guard against them. In fact, our A.A. training is mostly to prepare us, to make us ready to recognize such thoughts at once and to reject them at once. The slip comes when we allow such thoughts to remain in our minds, even before we actually go through the motions of lifting the glass to our lips. The A.A. program is largely one of mental training. How well is my mind prepared? Meditation for the DayFret not your mind with puzzles that you cannot solve. The solutions may never be shown to you until you have left this life. The loss of dear ones, the inequality of life, the deformed and the maimed, and many other puzzling things may not be known to you until you reach the life beyond. "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." Only step by step, stage by stage, can you proceed in your journey into greater knowledge and understanding. Prayer for the DayI pray that I may be content that things that I now see darkly will someday be made clear. I pray that I may have faith that someday I will see face to face.Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012 You have 2 Options to Participate in the TransitionsDaily Email & Discussion Group:1. To join the Private Announcement Only Google Group TransitionsDaily, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.comwith “Join” in the subject line. You will be manually added to the closed Google Group TransitionsDaily. IF YOU ALREADY RECEIVE THE DAILY TOPIC EMAIL, NO ACTION IS NECESSARY ON YOUR PART TO CONTINUE. MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND AT http://ift.tt/2f53TEc members of this group cannot be seen by other members or by non-members. You are completely anonymous with no sale or disclosure of membership to other members or the redistribution of emails of any kind. Once you have been added, you will receive a confirmation email. Please allow 24 – 48 hours for entry. You will then receive one topic email daily.2. To Join the Transitions Daily Secret Facebook Group, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join Facebook Group” in the subject line. Make sure and either send from the email associated with your Facebook account or specify your Facebook email in the message. You will receive an invitation via email to join the secret Facebook group where all discussion takes place. Every day the topic email is also posted in the Secret Facebook group.If your anonymity in regards to other members of the Facebook group is an issue, it is suggested that you create a Facebook personal profile with no personal information, using only your first name and last name initial. Only members of the group are able to see your information. Non-members cannot see your posts or that you are a member. Make sure your notifications are turned so you will be reminded of the new posts.Topics are posted Daily via Email and Facebook! -- To Donate Go to: http://ift.tt/1LFEb4b For more Information about this distribution go to http://ift.tt/1MBbjVt. The members of this group are anonymous with no sale or disclosure of membership to other members or the redistribution of emails of any kind. Once you have been added, you will receive a confirmation email. Please allow 24 48 hours for entry. Feel free to share http://ift.tt/1MBbjVt in meetings, with friends, sponsors, and especially your sponsees in recovery! You can also download the Transitions Daily Flyer by clicking on this link http://ift.tt/1MBbjVv to use in your service work!
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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 12/2/2016
Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:Letting go to save our livesI crouched in the doorway of the airplane next to my skydiving coach. I held on to the doorway with my right hand for balance. With my left hand, I firmly grasped my coach's gripper, a padded piece of cloth on his jumpsuit. It was up to me to give the count. "Ready, set. . ." I heard a snicker. "Get out of the plane," someone hollered. "Go!" I released my grip on the door, closed my eyes, and dived headfirst into the air with my left hand firmly attached to my jump master's gripper. I was falling stable and holding on with both hands. He nodded, giving me my cue to let go. I shook my head no. He looked confused, then nodded again. I shook my head again, clinging more tightly. It was almost time to pull. I released my grips. I just let go. It was time to save my own life. My coach backed away. I signaled and then pulled my ripcord. My parachute made that sweet whooshing sound, the one I had come to identify as the sound it makes when it opens correctly and fills with air, slowing my fall into a float. Wow! I thought. This is really fun! Sometimes we're so scared, all we can think to do is hang on. Hanging on in this case was a silly illusion. We were both falling through the air. Holding on to a relationship that's not working, a negative self-image, a job that isn't working, moments and times that have passed, or emotions such as fear and hurt can be silly illusion, too. To save our own lives, sometimes we have to let go first.God, show me what I need to let go of, and when it's time to do that. You are reading from the book: More Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie More Language of Letting Go © 2000 by Melody Beattie. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirationsRead a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org. Managing your email subscriptionsHave an account on hazelden.org? Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address. Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, 15251 Pleasant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW19, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 800-257-7810 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.Subscribe to Today's Gift emails Have our emails been recommended to you Sign up today to receive them at no charge. They're our daily gift to you.
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Thursday, December 1, 2016
New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Thoughts For The Day~*~Grandiosity ^*^*^ December 2
~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~^*^*^*^*^(\ ~~ /)( \(AA)/ )(_ /AA\ _)/AA\^*^*^*^*^Grandiosity"In my teens, I had to be an athlete because I was not an athlete. I had to be a musician because I could not carry a tune. I had to be first in everything because in my perverse heart I felt myself the least of God's creatures. I could not accept my deep sense of inferiority, and so I strove to become captain of the baseball team, and I did learn to play the fiddle. Lead I must -- or else. This was the 'all or nothing' kind of demand that later did me in." - Bill W., AA Comes of Age, p. 531967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 214Thought to Consider . . .We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection. *~*AACRONYMS*~*N U T S = Not Using The Steps. *~*^Just For Today!^*~* December 1944 AA History The New York World-Telegram reported on the dinner held in honor of the tenth anniversary of Bill W's sobriety (December 11, 1934). That newspaper erroneously called it the 10th anniversary of the founding of AA. There were 1500 members in attendance that night at the Commodore Hotel. The New York Herald Tribune recounted that Bill's report of AA's 10 year history was impressive. AA went from 15 alcoholics released from the "drinking habit" in the first year to 40 "conversions" after 3 years. At the end of 4 years there were 100 members, and the book Alcoholics Anonymous had been written. After nearly 10 years there were more than 12,000 members in 370 groups throughout the United States and Canada and a "new unit" functioning successfully in Hawaii (Hawaii would not become a state for another 15 years - in August of 1959).2003 AAWS Inc. *^Daily Reflections^*SERENITY 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.Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC. *~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*Random Quote - Freedom through AcceptanceWe admitted we couldn't lick alcohol with our own remaining resources, and 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.GRAPEVINE, MARCH 1962 *~*^Big Book Quote^*~*"Although financial recovery is on the way for many of us, we found we could not place money first. For us, material well-being always followed spiritual progress; it never preceded."Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th EditionThe Family Afterward, pg. 127 "If there be divorce or separation, there should be no undue haste for the couple to get together. The man should be sure of his recovery. The wife should fully understand his new way of life. If their old relationship is to be resumed it must be on a better basis, since the former did not work. This means a new attitude and spirit all around. Sometimes it is to the best interests of all concerned that a couple remain apart. Obviously, no rule can be laid down. Let the alcoholic continue his program day by day. When the time for living together has come, it will be apparent to both parties."Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th EditionWorking With Others, Page 99*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*A.A. Thought for the DayThe thoughts that come before having a slip seem to be partly subconscious. And yet it is likely that at least part of these thoughts get into our consciousness. An idle thought connected with drinking casualty pops into our mind. That is the crucial moment. Will I harbor that thought even for one minute or will I banish it from my mind at once? If I let it stay, it may develop into a daydream. I may begin to see a cool glass of beer or a Manhattan cocktail in my mind's eye. If I allow the daydream to stay in my mind, it may lead to a decision, however unconscious, to take a drink. Then I am headed for a slip. Do I let myself daydream?Meditation for the DayMany of us have a sort of vision of the kind of person God wants us to be. We must be true to that vision, whatever it is, and we must try to live up to it, by living the way we believe we should live. We can all believe that God has a vision of what He wants us to be like. In all people there is a good person whom God sees in us, the person we could be and that God would like us to be. But many a person fails to fulfill that promise and God's disappointments must be many. Prayer for the DayI pray that I may strive to be the kind of a person that God would have me be. I pray that I may try to fulfill God's vision of what I could be.Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012 You have 2 Options to Participate in the TransitionsDaily Email & Discussion Group:1. To join the Private Announcement Only Google Group TransitionsDaily, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.comwith “Join” in the subject line. You will be manually added to the closed Google Group TransitionsDaily. IF YOU ALREADY RECEIVE THE DAILY TOPIC EMAIL, NO ACTION IS NECESSARY ON YOUR PART TO CONTINUE. MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND AT http://ift.tt/2f53TEc members of this group cannot be seen by other members or by non-members. You are completely anonymous with no sale or disclosure of membership to other members or the redistribution of emails of any kind. Once you have been added, you will receive a confirmation email. Please allow 24 – 48 hours for entry. You will then receive one topic email daily.2. To Join the Transitions Daily Secret Facebook Group, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join Facebook Group” in the subject line. Make sure and either send from the email associated with your Facebook account or specify your Facebook email in the message. You will receive an invitation via email to join the secret Facebook group where all discussion takes place. Every day the topic email is also posted in the Secret Facebook group.If your anonymity in regards to other members of the Facebook group is an issue, it is suggested that you create a Facebook personal profile with no personal information, using only your first name and last name initial. Only members of the group are able to see your information. Non-members cannot see your posts or that you are a member. Make sure your notifications are turned so you will be reminded of the new posts.Topics are posted Daily via Email and Facebook! -- To Donate Go to: http://ift.tt/1LFEb4b For more Information about this distribution go to http://ift.tt/1MBbjVt. The members of this group are anonymous with no sale or disclosure of membership to other members or the redistribution of emails of any kind. Once you have been added, you will receive a confirmation email. Please allow 24 48 hours for entry. Feel free to share http://ift.tt/1MBbjVt in meetings, with friends, sponsors, and especially your sponsees in recovery! You can also download the Transitions Daily Flyer by clicking on this link http://ift.tt/1MBbjVv to use in your service work!
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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 12/1/2016
Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: Thou art everywhere, but I worship you here; Thou art without form, butI worship you in these forms; Thou needest no praise, yet I offer you these prayers and salutations.--Hindu prayerThe history of the Twelve Steps tells us that in the first small A.A. group there was controversy about the word God. For some of the men God was known in traditional religious ways; other members were agnostic. This first group followed their group conscience. The resolution they achieved has inspired many new Twelve Step members ever since. They were guided through their disagreement to a new expression of their spiritual relationship. They began to speak of a "Power greater than ourselves" and of "God, as we understood Him."Today we turn to God, as we understand God, because our definitions are restricted by human limitations. We know from our own experiences and from the stories of thousands of men and women who have preceded us, that this spiritual program is very practical and simple. It works. It restores our lives. To a Power greater than myself, I am filled with gratitude. You are reading from the book: Touchstones by Anonymous Touchstones ©1986, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirationsRead a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org. Managing your email subscriptionsHave an account on hazelden.org? Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address. Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, 15251 Pleasant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW19, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 800-257-7810 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.Subscribe to Today's Gift emails Have our emails been recommended to you Sign up today to receive them at no charge. They're our daily gift to you.
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