Daily Reflections reading April 23rd

A.A. Is Not A Cure -all

It would be a product of false pride to claim that A.A. is a cure-all, even for alcoholism. As Bill Sees It, p285

In my early years of sobriety I was full of pride, thinking that A.A. was the only source of treatment for a good and happy life. It certainly was the basic ingredient for my sobriety and even today, with over twelve years in the program, I am very involved in meetings, sponsorship and service. During the first four years of my recovery, I found it necessary to seek professional help, since my emotional health was extremely poor. There are those folks too, who have found sobriety and happiness in other organizations. A.A. taught me that I had a choice: to go to any lengths to enhance my sobriety. A.A. may not be a cure-all for everything, but it is the center of my sober living.

© Alcoholics Anonymous World Services

My thoughts on April 23rd Reading

It would be a product of false pride to claim that A.A. is a cure-all, even for alcoholism, AA is a worldwide fellowship of men and women who are banded together to solve their common problems, to help fellow sufferers from that age-old baffling malady alcoholism

I Know the Twelve Steps can mean more than sobriety for problem drinkers, I now see in them a way to happy and effective living for many alcoholic, or not, how often have I been ask about A.A. why can’t we as members have authority over another

How can a set of traditional principles, having no legal force at all, hold the Fellowship of AA in unity and effectiveness? The simple answer is if we tried to control others we ourselves would be out of control and for me I sure would make up a bunch of rules and regulations that would only be of the best interest of myself and making me all powerful

The basic principles of A.A. were borrowed mainly from the fields of religion and medicine, some ideas upon which success finally depended, were the result of noting the behavior and needs of all the groups individually and as a Fellowship itself.

After many failures getting alcoholics to sober, three groups emerged, the first at Akron, the second at New York, and the third at Cleveland, AA had it’s beginning, even then it was hard to find two score of sure recovering alcoholics in all three groups

The traditions are written a way that allow the fellowship to work with the professional fields to insure AA is not working against them AA had to remain anonymous at the personal level, AA’s do not bring attention to themselves, we some times target mental and emotional sobriety

As well as substance abuse, some are addicted to alcohol, drugs, still others were addicted to the person, on the alcohol and drugs, these addictions in their full blown state had the power to kill, because of the inability to control it

Courts, Doctors, and Therapists see the results of instincts gone astray instincts run wild and instincts in collision these behaviors revealed themselves in the form of unstable, thoughts, attitudes, or actions, unmanageable lives, and insane thinking

Without mental and emotional sobriety, people would go right back for more of what caused the problem, the mind and body would demand more of the addictive behavior, when we face the truth mental and emotional sobriety follows

Today I have a new outlook on life, a defense against my old behaviors I have experienced a psychic change in my thoughts, attitudes, and actions, when dealing with Instincts it's very helpful to have a loving God in our life

Instincts are God given, fife led Instincts astray, God can restore them, only after I have cleared the old way of thinking and acting, I am going to have bad days, without them I sure wouldn’t know what a good day was

When I following Gods direction most days are good, before I found recovery, my best thinking got me emotionally drunk, and when I stray from the path, things get pretty bad, what is a step program without steps?

It is called half measures. Half measures avail nothing; the concept of living without engaging in the different kinds of behaviors shouldn't be to bad, I know I did it as a child, lived from day to day without the use and abuse of alcohol

In the fellowship I have to refrain from prejudice views we were all sick people, It's not for us to judge what is a problem in life, but to share or experiences of problems in our own lives that we corrected using the twelve steps to a new life

What was a problem in my life may not be a problem in your life, but if it becomes a problem than you are in the right place, I realize lives are at stake and it's important we identify with feelings, not compare them

It's important that our bottom line alcoholism be so that we strive for progress not perfection. If we take on too much at once, we may not see the progress and that means we are only seeing the negative.

God bless you AL M