A Dozen Steps

June 16th, 2008

The Tablemate - Discussion No. 3 Inventory and Restitution Part III

As a reminder;
The Tablemate was an early A.A. set of beginners lessons entitled ‘Alcoholics Anonymous: An Interpretation of the Twelve Steps,’ put out in the form of a little pamphlet. It was (and still is) the most successful set of A.A. beginners lessons ever devised.
And I’m drawing content from the Hindsfoot site, laboriously prepared by […]

By Mark -- 2 comments

October 23rd, 2007

How To Listen to God

How To Listen to God
God will tell you all that you need to know.
He will not always tell you all that you want to know.
These are a few simple suggestions for people who are willing to make an experiment.
You can discover for yourself the most important and practical thing any human being can ever […]

By Mark -- 3 comments

October 15th, 2007

Tenth Step Promises

The Tenth Step Promises from the AA History Lovers Group at Yahoo!

We continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along. (84:2)
We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. (84:2)
We have entered the world of the Spirit. (84:2)
Love and tolerance of others […]

By Mark -- 1 comment

October 14th, 2007

I Lacked Serenity

The first sentence of today’s daily reflection. How true! Seemingly always in a state of frustration.

The second sentence also hits home, today… “With more to do than seemed possible, I fell further behind, no matter how hard I tried.”
It hasn’t been easy leaving someone that I was emotionally invested in for over forty years but […]

By Mark -- 2 comments

October 7th, 2007

The World Of The Spirit

“We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness.”

We have a good friend who asks this question at meetings - “how do I know that AA is working?” The answer?
I’ve never had it […]

By Mark -- 0 comments

October 19th, 2006

On Topic And Timely

From the Tenth Step in the 12 and 12, page 93;
“We can try to stop making unreasonable demands upon those we love. We can show kindness where we had shown none. With those we dislike we can begin to practice justice and courtesy, perhaps going out of our way to understand and help them.
Whenever we […]

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October 16th, 2006

And Then - Don’t Send It

From page 91 in the 12 and 12;
“Our first objective will be the development of self-restraint. This carries a top priority rating. When we speak or act hastily or rashly, the ability to be fair-minded and tolerant evaporates on the spot. One unkind tirade or one willful snap judgement can ruin our relation with another […]

By Mark -- 5 comments

October 14th, 2006

Hidden Agendas

I’ll never forget Tom. He had been a sober member of the Patchogue group of A.A. (which meets at St. Josephs) for about 17 years when I was walked in by the Grace of God.
Tom had a story as we all do - part of his story was about hollow apologies. They were actually the […]

By Mark -- 0 comments

October 13th, 2006

Who Can I Help Today?

Today’s reflection says in part (paraphrased);
“When selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, or fear crop up we ask God at once to remove them, then we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help.”
The question, for me for today, is at the end of the reading;
Tags: 10th-step, alcoholics-anonymous, Recovery, sobrietyShare This

By Mark -- 3 comments

October 10th, 2006

Another Thought About Reacting

Did you happen to read yesterday’s Daily Reflection? Do you happen to be anything like me? Reactionary?
Speaking of two separate, but almost identical incidents, the person who authored that reflection says;
“Both incidents taught me that when a person experiences nearly identical events and reacts two different ways, then it is not the event which is […]

By Mark -- 3 comments