When We Stop Negotiating With Reality – Take The 12 Blog May 2026 By Rick W.

Step One, Acceptance, and the Freedom Found in Surrender One of the most exhausting things an alcoholic ever does is negotiate with reality. We negotiate with consequences. We negotiate with truth. We negotiate with our own patterns, our own pain, our own powerlessness. We say things like: And perhaps the most dangerous negotiation of all: “IContinue reading “When We Stop Negotiating With Reality – Take The 12 Blog May 2026 By Rick W.”

Letting Go Of Old Beliefs – The Language Of Letting Go June 23rd By Melody Beattie

Try harder. Do better. Be perfect. These messages are tricks that people have played on us. No matter how hard we try, we think we have to do better. Perfection always eludes us. Messages of perfectionism are tricks because we can never achieve that goal. We cannot feel good about ourselves or what we haveContinue reading “Letting Go Of Old Beliefs – The Language Of Letting Go June 23rd By Melody Beattie”

Reasons We Need A Morning Practice – Recovery 2.0 By Tommy Rosen

The Uplift – Inspiration For People In Recovery When I’m asked by people if a Morning Practice would work for them, I always answer with an enthusiastic “YES”. How can I be so sure? There is over 5000 years of evidence that morning practice helps a person heal what has not been working, realize their excellence, andContinue reading “Reasons We Need A Morning Practice – Recovery 2.0 By Tommy Rosen”

Making Use Of Telephone Therapy – Living Sober Chapter 10

When we were first trying to achieve sobriety, many of us found ourselves taking a drink without planning to. Sometimes, it seemed to happen practically without our knowing it. There was no conscious decision to drink, and there was no real thought about possible consequences. We had not intended to set off an entire drinkingContinue reading “Making Use Of Telephone Therapy – Living Sober Chapter 10”

Facing Our Darker Side – The Language of Letting Go By Melody Beattie April 2nd

“Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.” – Step Four By the time we get to the Fourth of the Twelve Steps, we are ready to face our darker side, the side that prevents us from loving others, from letting others love us, and from enjoying life and ourselves. The purpose of StepContinue reading “Facing Our Darker Side – The Language of Letting Go By Melody Beattie April 2nd”

Reliability Matters – A Spiritual Principle A Day February 28th

For some of us, being a member of an AA group gives us our first taste of what it feels like to be reliable. When we are new, members urge us to come to the next meeting and come back clean. Group members remember us, seem happy to see us, ask us to share orContinue reading “Reliability Matters – A Spiritual Principle A Day February 28th”

Amends Without Expectations – Just For Today October 6th

06 October The Eighth Step asks us to become willing to make amends to all persons we have harmed. As we approach this step, we may wonder what the outcome of our amends will be. Will we be forgiven? Relieved of any lingering guilt? Or will we be tarred and feathered by the persons we’veContinue reading “Amends Without Expectations – Just For Today October 6th”

Keeping Sobriety First – Grapevine Article January 2015 By Anonymous

In a rehab one night, a desperate young man almost gives up—until he hears a knock on the door. I remember sitting in a rehab in Austin, Texas. I had come in there broken and beaten; the bottle had done a good number on me this time. I had lost my job, my family, myContinue reading “Keeping Sobriety First – Grapevine Article January 2015 By Anonymous”

Forgiveness – Spirituality Of Imperfection (Extract From Chapter 15) By Ernest Kurtz

To forgive, truly to forgive, involves letting go of the feeling of resentment and of the vision that underlies that feeling—the vision in which we see ourselves as being offended against, the vision of self-as-victim. As in all matters relating to the spiritual, focusing on feeling distracts from the more profound and truly important issue—theContinue reading “Forgiveness – Spirituality Of Imperfection (Extract From Chapter 15) By Ernest Kurtz”

Growing Up Emotionally – 12 Smart Things To Do When The Booze And Drugs Are Gone By Dr. Allen Berger

Emotional sobriety doesn’t spontaneously appear. We have to work hard at growing up. Bill did. In addition to the time he spent working the Steps, getting spiritual direction from the Reverend Sam Shoemaker, spending time alone in contemplation, and working with others, he also sought out psychotherapy. His therapist was the famous Dr. Harry Tiebout,Continue reading “Growing Up Emotionally – 12 Smart Things To Do When The Booze And Drugs Are Gone By Dr. Allen Berger”