District 9: November 2015

Monday, November 30, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - November 30, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

November 30, 2015

The Gift
When I was driven to my knees by alcohol, I was ready to ask for the gift of faith.
Never again, my pains and problems notwithstanding, would I experience my former desolation.
I saw the universe to be lighted by God's love; I was alone no more.
- As Bill Sees It, p. 51

Thought to Ponder . . .
A spiritual awakening is our greatest gift.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
F A I T H = Finding Answers In The Heart.

Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Blessings in sobriety to all,
In love and service,
joanna b
dailythought@aa-alive.org

For further information about AA-Alive, including:

Meeting Schedule
The Daily Thought Discussion Board
Service Opportunities
AA Birthday Signups
Helpful links and much more
Please go to our Website
http://aa-alive.net …
G.S.O. Registration Number: 712515

** Trademarks and Disclaimer: **
Alcoholics Anonymous, AA, and the Big Book are registered trademarks of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. The AA Daily Thought is neither endorsed by, approved by, associated nor affiliated with, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., or The AA Grapevine, Inc.
Disclaimer: The Daily Thought is meant for domestic distribution only and for countries where it is in public domain.

Online Intergroup of A.A. Nears 20-Year Anniversary

‘The Man on the Web’: Online Intergroup of A.A. Nears 20-Year Anniversary “Today’s counterpart to the ‘man on the bed’ is the trembling, sick alcoholic in cyberspace,” writes Dennis M. of the Bronx, N.Y. in a Grapevine article titled AA in Cyberspace. “And we see a good number of them looking for help for the first time. We see them coming back from slips; we see them finding A.A. at a time and a place where we can feel their desperation and share our hope, just as we do in f2f (face-to-face) meetings.” Excited about today’s expanding ability to reach out to suffering alcoholics, A.A. members around the world continue finding new ways to carry A.A.’s message of hope. One helpful development in this effort has been the growth of the Online Intergroup of A.A. (O.I.A.A.), an organization nearing its 20th anniversary. First formed to help unify the growing number of online meetings that began to mushroom in the late 1980s, many starting as bulletin board meetings and email groups, the O.I.A.A. was legally incorporated in 1996, giving online groups a forum for exchanging information and ideas and for helping one another carry the message of A.A. online. Online meetings come in a variety of formats: real-time chat, email meetings, telephone chats, audio-visual meetings using video streaming applications, message boards/forums, and discussion board meetings. Some are targeted toward specific groups: women, military, deaf/hard-of-hearing, and there are meetings available in a number of languages. Many have regular schedules, and some are “catch-as-catch-can,” with members posting when there is time and a burning desire. Many A.A. members use the online medium to supplement their f2f meetings or vice-versa, depending on each member’s own situation, and most online groups encourage attendance at f2f meetings. There are many A.A.s, however, who cannot attend f2f meetings (geographically isolated members, members with physical disabilities, members living in a foreign country, members in the military or at sea, older A.A.s, shift workers, parents with young children) and online A.A. may be the best or only resource available to allow these members to participate fully in the A.A. Fellowship. One of O.I.A.A.’s chief services is an online meeting directory posting an up-to-date list of online A.A. groups on its website (www.aa-intergroup.org). On average, the directory lists about 170 groups. It also directs an estimated 22,600 online visitors a month from more than 100 countries to meetings held in 14 languages and to meetings with formats that make A.A. accessible to people with vision, speech, or hearing problems. A little more than half of O.I.A.A.’s visitors access their information on mobile devices (phones or tablets), with others using desktop computers. O.I.A.A.’s directory does not include every A.A. group in cyberspace, however — only those that choose to be listed and subscribe to the Twelve Traditions of A.A. Keenly aware that “personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity,” as the First Tradition says, O.I.A.A. also encourages communication among online groups as well as with local intergroups, areas, G.S.O., and other A.A. service bodies. This is done chiefly through the work of its committees. In addition to a Twelfth Step Committee, which is comprised of approximately 40 members worldwide, speaking multiple languages and fielding between 350-400 requests for help per month, O.I.A.A. has formed committees for: Public Information, Cooperation With the Professional Community, Unity and G.S.O. liaison, Conventions, Finance, Policy and Admissions, and World Wide Web — all of which are described on O.I.A.A.’s website. O.I.A.A.’s governing body, the Intergroup Assembly, is made up of an Intergroup Representative and alternate from each registered group, plus its committee chairs, their alternates, and five officers: a chair and co-chair, treasurer, historian, and secretary. With the lessons learned over nearly 20 years working together, they strive to practice the principles of A.A. in all web affairs, so that the hand of A.A. will always be there in cyberspace as well.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - November 29, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

November 29, 2015

~ Scroll Down for Share ~

The Light
"Believe more deeply. Hold your face up to the Light, even though for the moment you do not see."
- As Bill Sees It, p. 3

Thought to Ponder . . .
From darkness comes light.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O P E = Heart Open; Please Enter.

A Member Shares:
Hi all, I'm Kim and have alcoholism. In 1988, I was in AA for the first time. I don't know for how long, or even if I was really practicing the Steps. I finally had an experience that became a beacon of light to follow. I came to realize that we are all one, all connected, and everywhere all at the same time, cosmos, body, one another. And that there is nothing to fear; love is the ultimate power of the universe. I do not believe I really did anything for this. It was Grace. I didn't know what it was until I shared it with an AA friend. I couldn't put anything together at the time at all. I thought the Steps were not congruent; there was no real picture. I still had so much self-will and ego. In retrospect, this was something to grow into and not expect. I was still at home under abusive situations and struggling with a myriad of problems over the simplest things. I believed myself to be the exception, and that all that is God is innately in others but I was put out in the darkness. As I worked on my ego, it changed. I became speaking from a place where the experience must mean I'm special, and I'm not. I acted as if what the experience told me was the truth, but didn't kick the alcohol or carry on working any Steps. I didn't really know that this was the factor to help me with carrying on in God's will, not mine. Anyway, I am here now. That experience many years ago is still a beacon of light and just as real in truth as it was 28 years ago. I understand the umbrella of congruence of the Steps now and am working the program. I do not expect anything and am getting right-sized. Now I can see what I can do and am doing it. I love this program. It took hitting a bad enough bottom to really see how powerless I am. Thanks for listening.
To respond to the sharer, please email DTShare@aa-alive.org and it will be forwarded to them.
(All shares are reproduced with the kind permission of the person sharing)

Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Blessings in sobriety to all,
In love and service,
joanna b
dailythought@aa-alive.org

For further information about AA-Alive, including:

Friday, November 27, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - November 28, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

November 28, 2015

Meditation
Whatever I learn during meditation applies to me in my life, not necessarily to anyone else.
The messages are usually what I need to hear at a particular time, whether I agree or not. For example:
Help yourself by helping someone else first.
When in doubt, be silent.
Grow where you are planted.
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 3], p. 219

Thought to Ponder . . .
Meditation is our step out into the sun.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
G R A C E = Gently Releasing All Conscious Expectations.

Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Blessings in sobriety to all,
In love and service,
joanna b
dailythought@aa-alive.org

For further information about AA-Alive, including:

Meeting Schedule
The Daily Thought Discussion Board
Service Opportunities
AA Birthday Signups
Helpful links and much more
Please go to our Website
http://aa-alive.net …
G.S.O. Registration Number: 712515

** Trademarks and Disclaimer: **
Alcoholics Anonymous, AA, and the Big Book are registered trademarks of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. The AA Daily Thought is neither endorsed by, approved by, associated nor affiliated with, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., or The AA Grapevine, Inc.
Disclaimer: The Daily Thought is meant for domestic distribution only and for countries where it is in public domain.

AA Thought for the Day - November 27, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

November 27, 2015

Perfection
Perfection would limit me; imperfection offers me the freedom of a million potentials.
All the excitement and interest and wonder of adventure are mine to explore, ever-new, ever-changing, ever-becoming.
Thank God, as a result of AA and sobriety, I am liberated from dreaming the impossible dream
and free, finally, to start living the possible dream.
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 1], .p. 61

Thought to Ponder . . .
Give me the courage to be imperfect.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H J F = Happy, Joyous, Free.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - November 26, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

November 26, 2015

Acceptance
It was not apparent to me that admitting I was an alcoholic and accepting it as a fact of life were two very different things.
After acceptance, my shame melted into the new interest that I soon took in my recovery,
knowing that at last I was working in the right direction.
With acceptance of my disease of alcoholism came a full-fledged effort to work in all aspects of the recovery program.
- The Home Group: Heartbeat of AA, p. 124

Thought to Ponder . . .
The Three A's .. Awareness, Acceptance, Action.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A B C = Acceptance, Belief, Change.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - November 25, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

November 25, 2015

~ Scroll Down for Share ~

Forgiveness
If we ask, God will certainly forgive our derelictions.
But in no case does He render us white as snow and keep us that way without our cooperation.
That is something we are supposed to be willing to work toward ourselves.
He asks only that we try as best we know how to make progress in the building of character.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 65

Thought to Ponder . . .
Forgiveness is the key to moving forward.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
T G I F = Thank God I'm Forgiven.

A Member Shares:
Evening friends, my name is Susan, grateful to be alive and sober. Before I asked for forgiveness, I think perhaps what I needed to establish first was the fact that I am simply human ... not God, not a saint, just one among many. Understand that I have good qualities and not so good ones that need working on and that is ok. Also, that after establishing a Higher Power I can believe in, one of the qualities He/She/It possesses is the ability to forgive me. If I am to turn my will and life over, then I must accept that if my Higher Power forgives me, then who am I not to forgive myself? Do I occasionally wish I had done better? Yes. But the past can't be changed. So I live in today and try not to repeat the mistakes of my past. That is all I can do. Thanks for listening, and blessings to all.
To respond to the sharer, please email DTShare@aa-alive.org and it will be forwarded to them.
(All shares are reproduced with the kind permission of the person sharing)

Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Blessings in sobriety to all,
In love and service,
joanna b
dailythought@aa-alive.org

For further information about AA-Alive, including:

AA Thought for the Day - November 24, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

November 24, 2015

Prayers
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 and spirituality.
I know there is a graceful way of being right, and many ways to be wrong.
- Daily Reflections, p. 314

Thought to Ponder . . .
Life is fragile, handle with prayer.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
P R A Y E R = Praying Regularly Allows Your Everyday Recovery.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - November 23, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

November 23, 2015

Thankful Givers
Why should not each of us tell himself: "Yes, we AAs were once a burden on everybody. We were 'takers.'
Now that we are sober, and by the grace of God have become responsible citizens of the world,
why shouldn't we now about-face and become 'thankful givers'! Yes, it is high time we did!"
- The Language of the Heart, p. 86

Thought to Ponder . . .
We were astounded to find that we were as tight as the bark on a tree.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Always Awesome.

Saturday, November 21, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - November 21, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

November 21, 2015

A Fourth Dimension
Everyone became resigned to the certainty that I would have to be shut up somewhere,
or would stumble along to a miserable end. How dark it is before the dawn!
In reality, that was the beginning of my last debauch.
I was soon to be catapulted into what I like to call the fourth dimension of existence.
I was to know happiness, peace, and usefulness, in a way of life that is incredibly more wonderful as time passes.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 8

Thought to Ponder . . .
AA is not something we join; it's a way of life.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H J F = Happy, Joyous, Free.

Friday, November 20, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - November 20, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

November 20, 2015

Hope
I've felt more pain sober than I'd ever allowed myself to feel while drinking. I don't always see the purpose of these struggles,
but by the grace of God I've learned not to fight as much and try to learn from them.
Willingness to take the Twelve Steps, the gift of a working faith, and fellowship with AA members
has given me one more day of sobriety, for which I am very grateful.
The next fifty years is as unfathomable as the day I first walked into AA.
What's different today? The difference is hope.
The AA Grapevine, August 1966

Thought to Ponder . . .
Hope is the key that unlocks the door of discouragement.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O P E = Heart Open; Please Enter.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - November 19, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

November 19, 2015

Transformation
Until now, our lives have been largely devoted to running from pain and problems.
Escape through the bottle was always our solution. Then, in AA, we looked and listened.
Everywhere we saw failure and misery transformed by humility into priceless assets.
- As Bill Sees It, p. 156

Thought to Ponder . . .
Learn to listen; listen to learn.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A R T = Always Remain Teachable.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - November 18, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

November 18, 2015

~ Scroll Down for Share ~

Asking for Help
I went to a meeting of AA the next night, knowing I wanted what you had.
I sat in that cold metal chair and read Step One on the wall for the hundredth time.
But this time I asked with all my heart for God to help me, and a strange thing happened.
A physical sensation came over me, like a wave of pure energy,
and I felt the presence of God in that dingy little room.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 334-335

Thought to Ponder . . .
Simply asking for help seems to be a help in itself.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H E L P = His Ever-Loving Presence.

A Member Shares:
Hello Family, Lance here, an alcoholic. I know what prevents me from asking for help. In a word, it's Pride, and a down-deep feeling I can handle things without help, which is not true. The only shame of alcoholism is not asking for help. But once we do get that help we need, then the burden is back on our side of the street. Having brought no trust with me into AA, following suggestions was a crap shoot. The big offset for me was Hope. I saw all of you could stay sober, and I thought heck maybe, just maybe, I could too. Honesty wasn't one of my big-time qualities, although in my own mind I was a great humanitarian. I did suffer from a huge ego together with an inferiority complex. So saying, I'm an alcoholic, puts things right. And I don't want to forget it either, lest I fall into some kind of self-delusion again. Thanks for your patience.
To respond to the sharer, please email DTShare@aa-alive.org and it will be forwarded to them.
(All shares are reproduced with the kind permission of the person sharing)

Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Blessings in sobriety to all,
In love and service,
joanna b
dailythought@aa-alive.org

For further information about AA-Alive, including:

Monday, November 16, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - November 17, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

November 17, 2015

Connected
What happens outside me is less important than what's happening inside. My being does attract my life;
repeated work with each of the Twelve Steps generates changes within me that are reflected in improvements around me.
Simple, but not easy, the AA program gives me everything needed to become what I should be.
Finally, there is no you or me or them. Everything is connected to everything else,
and the salvation of each of us is linked to the salvation of all of us.
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 1], p. 129

Thought to Ponder . . .
Together we can do what we could never do alone.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
F E L L O W S H I P =
Faith, Empathy, Learning, Love, Openness, Wisdom,
Self-worth, Hope, Insight, Peace.

AA Thought for the Day - November 16, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

November 16, 2015

Kinship
From the beginning, communication in AA has been no transmission of helpful ideas and attitudes.
It has been unusual and sometimes unique.
Because of our kinship in suffering, and because our common means of deliverance are effective
only when constantly carried to others,
our channels of contact have always been charged with the language of the heart.
- The Language of the Heart, p. 243

Thought to Ponder . . .
Modem-to-modem or face-to-face, AA's speak the language of the heart.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H E A R T = Healing, Enjoying, And Recovering Together.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - November 15, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

November 15, 2015

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Step Eleven
"Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him,
praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 96

Thought to Ponder . . .
Take a walk with God. He will meet you at the Steps.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A S A P = Always Say A Prayer.

A Member Shares:
My name is Deb, and I'm an alcoholic. I can be having a really bad day, and I don't have too many, but when I am feeling like crap I make a conscious effort to work my Step Eleven and get in contact with God. Everything evens out and is okay. My day is fixed. It's much more manageable and I get relief. Thanks.
To respond to the sharer, please email DTShare@aa-alive.org and it will be forwarded to them.
(All shares are reproduced with the kind permission of the person sharing)

Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Blessings in sobriety to all,
In love and service,
joanna b
dailythought@aa-alive.org

For further information about AA-Alive, including:

Friday, November 13, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - November 14, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

November 14, 2015

Just One Day
Any of us can handle just one day; all each of us has to try at is our own job, our own family life.
We don't have to try fixing up the whole world or understanding what no theologian of any faith has ever understood.
We simply stop messing in God's business. And in my opinion, when we stop messing and worrying,
we have turned our will and our lives over to God (or Good) as we understand (or don't understand) Him.
- Came To Believe . . ., p. 116

Thought to Ponder . . .
Remove the worry from your mind. Remove the anger from your heart.
Give a lot. Expect little. Keep it simple.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
G O D = Good Orderly Direction.