An Alcoholic and a Child of God – Grapevine Article July 1995 By Rick D.

STEP 7: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings “You ought to be ashamed of yourself.” This would have been a perfect epitaph for my headstone if my drinking had killed me before I got to AA. It was something I was constantly told; it was a feeling about myself that, although I didn’t likeContinue reading “An Alcoholic and a Child of God – Grapevine Article July 1995 By Rick D.”

Desire For Control & Denial Of Spiritual – Not God (P.208-210) By Ernst Kurtz

Experience taught Alcoholics Anonymous that the root of the addiction to alcohol lay essentially in his misunderstanding and denial of the spiritual. The active alcoholic was attempting to attain the spiritual, the unlimited, by means of the material. He was trying to achieve a quality of living by the mere adding up of quantities ofContinue reading “Desire For Control & Denial Of Spiritual – Not God (P.208-210) By Ernst Kurtz”

Mashup – Seeking Emotional Stability Daily Reflection Aug 22nd & Being Is More Important Than Doing Aug 6th Reflection Henri Nouwen

Seeking Emotional Stability When we developed still more, we discovered the best possible source of emotional stability to be God Himself. We found that dependence upon His perfect justice, forgiveness, and love was healthy, and that it would work where nothing else would. If we really depended upon God, we couldn’t very well play GodContinue reading “Mashup – Seeking Emotional Stability Daily Reflection Aug 22nd & Being Is More Important Than Doing Aug 6th Reflection Henri Nouwen”

What Anxiety And Rigorous Honesty Have To Teach Us? 12 Essential Insights For Emotional Sobriety By Dr. Allen Berger

There are many powerful forces at work in our lives in relation to our personal development, but some of the most significant ones are the desires to be loved, to be accepted, and to feel that we belong.   Take a moment to think about the importance of those desires  in your current life. Can youContinue reading “What Anxiety And Rigorous Honesty Have To Teach Us? 12 Essential Insights For Emotional Sobriety By Dr. Allen Berger”

The Gift Of Sobriety – Grapevine Article February 1993 In Their Own Words

I’m still mystified by how I got sober, and the only answer that makes sense is that I stopped drinking through the grace of God. I was thinking about the difference between those of us who get sober and those who are still drinking, and I believe the difference is that we have accepted theContinue reading “The Gift Of Sobriety – Grapevine Article February 1993 In Their Own Words”

Staying In Your Own Business – Loving What Is By Bryon Katie

I can find only three kinds of business in the universe: mine, yours, and God’s. For me, the word God means “reality.” Reality is God, because it rules. Anything that’s out of my control, your control, and everyone else’s control — I call that God’s business. Much of our stress comes from mentally living out of our own business.Continue reading “Staying In Your Own Business – Loving What Is By Bryon Katie”

Persist Or Let Go – Touchstone Reflection July 3rd

Vitality shows not only in the ability to persist but in the ability to start over.—F. Scott Fitzgerald Many situations require fierce persistence, but in others we need to start over. Early in recovery, most of us haven’t had a good way of knowing the difference. Perhaps with every challenge we tried harder and heldContinue reading “Persist Or Let Go – Touchstone Reflection July 3rd”

How Meditation Can Move Us From Conscious Separation To Conscious Connection – Extracts From ‘Presence: The Art of Being at Home in Yourself’ By Tracy Cochran

Wayne S’s meditation teacher, Tracy Cochran has written a beautiful book entitled ‘Presence: The Art of Being at Home in Yourself’. There is a straight forward way to connect much of what Tracy outlines in her book to the spiritual practices we have in AA. I think a very useful theme to establish this connectionContinue reading “How Meditation Can Move Us From Conscious Separation To Conscious Connection – Extracts From ‘Presence: The Art of Being at Home in Yourself’ By Tracy Cochran”

Connections Between The Four Agreements & Recovery June 2022 By Mark S.

Recently I found myself returning to a book I had read many years ago – The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz. As I reflected on his thoughts about these “Four Agreements,” I began to see connections with our efforts to achieve and maintain sobriety. In this article, I hope to show youContinue reading “Connections Between The Four Agreements & Recovery June 2022 By Mark S.”

As Bill Sees It – Freedom To Choose # 124

Looking back, we see that our freedom to choose badly was not, after all, a very real freedom. When we chose because we “must,” this was not a free choice, either. But it got us started in the right direction. When we chose because we “ought to,” we were really doing better. This time weContinue reading “As Bill Sees It – Freedom To Choose # 124”