Quotes, Sayings and Slogans

[bluidkiti]

Sobriety does not remove responsibility.

There is strength in surrender.

Never take recovery for granted.

With God's help, even our failures can be useful in our recovery.

NUTS Not Using The Steps

C H A N G E = Choosing Honesty Allows New Growth Every day

B E S T = Been Enjoying Sobriety Today?

F I N E = Free, Independent, New and Energetic

T H I N K = The Happiness I Never Knew

S O B E R = Son Of a Basket, Everything's Real

A A's - R - U S = Alcoholics Anonymous Recovery Unity Service

S T E P S = Solutions To Every Problem in Sobriety

A S A P = Always Say A Prayer

F I N E = Free, Independent, New and Energetic

B O G G L E = Bad Or Good, God Loves Everyone

The only thing you get from sitting on the pity pot is a ring around your butt and nobody to show it to!
--Anonymous

In A.A., it does not matter what our material condition is, what matters greatly is our spiritual condition.

F A I L U R E =
Fearful, Arrogant, Insecure, Lonely, Uncertain, Resentful, Empty.

G O D = Good Orderly Direction

E G O = Easing God Out

A C T I O N = Any Change Toward Improving One's Nature.

S O B E R = Spiritually On Beam; Everything's Right

H A L T = Hope, Acceptance, Love, Tolerance

C A R E = Comforting And Reassuring Each other

One of the main differences between an active alcoholic and a recovering alcoholic can be expressed as a matter of tense;, the active alcoholic tends to live in the future or in the past, the sober alcoholic strives to live in the present.


We in A.A. have the privilege of living two lives in one lifetime, one life of drunkenness, failure and defeat; then, through the grace of God and A.A., another life of sobriety, happiness and usefulness.


If we don't introduce the newcomer to the Big Book, how will he or she know what they don't know.

Surrender and willingness are the keys to our recovery.

If you claim to be sober; look it, act it, sound it particularly
at meetings since we have a program of attraction.

If we are not part of the solution we are part of the problem.

Reality does not change; our perception of it does when we sober up.

Doing what is written in the Big Book produces the promises in the Big Book.

One drink is too many and a thousand not enough.

"Show me a grateful alcoholic -- an i'll show you a sober one" -- the late Dick N.

A N O N Y M O U S =
Actions, Not Our Names, Yield Maintenance Of Unity and Service.

A C T I O N = Any Change Toward Improving One's Nature

S W A T = Surrender, Willingness, Acceptance, and Trust

H O P E = Happy Our Program Exists

H O P E = Hang On; Pray Every day

A S A P = Always Say A Prayer

D E N I A L = Don't Even Notice I Am Lying.

F E A R = Forever Escaping And Retreating

H O W = Honest, Open, and Willing

It is better to offer help too soon then risk being too late.

Alcoholism does not take a vacation when we do.

Wouldn't we be better off if we shared experiences rather then opinions.

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Alcoholism is a disease: an obsession of the mind that compels us to drink, and a sensitivity of the body that condemns us to go mad or die if we keep on.

An alcoholic is in no greater peril than when he takes sobriety for granted.

The essence of all growth is a willingness to change for the better.

An alcoholic/addict is a person who wants to be held while he's isolating.

A definition of sobriety is the ability to live comfortably, peacefully and joyously with ourselves.

A.A. is truly God's creation.

Every meeting has its own atmosphere and personality, if you don't like one, go to another.

Our recovery involves coming to terms with ourselves as we really are.

On alternatives to A.A. for the alcoholic; death if you're lucky, insanity if you're not--take your pick.

A C T I O N = Any Change To Improve Our Natures

H E L P = Hope, Encouragement, Love, and Patience

P R I D E = Pretty Ridiculous Individual Directing Everything

Y A N A = You Are Not Alone.

D U E S = Desperately Using Everything but Sobriety

F E A R = Forgetting Everything's All Right

B A T H = Behavior, Attitude, Thinking, and Habits

T R U S T = Try Relying Upon Steps and Traditions

F I T = Faith, Intuition, and Trust

N U T S = Not Using The Steps

T H I N K = The Happiness I Never Knew

G I F T S = Getting It From The Steps

B E S T = Been Enjoying Sobriety Today?

S O B E R = Son Of a Basket, Everything's Real

It isn't important how many times we fall--as long as we get up one more time.

ISM = I sponsor myself

When something needs done in our groups, let's quit waiting for "Somebody else to do it".

Stick with the stickers, those are the ones who have stuck around and are enjoying sobriety.

Sobriety doesn't change having good days and bad days, it's just that now we can have a bad day and remember that it'll change before we know it.

Recovery means change.

Resentment; recycled anger.

Live in the now.

Some may get to A.A. because they see the light but most get to A.A. because they feel the heat.

May we never forget that in extending the hand of A.A. we survive.

By saying we are alcoholics, we are constantly reminding ourselves that we are in recovery, not cured.

Just because we are no longer newcomers and are sponsoring others doesn't mean we should never feel disturbed.

If we do not take A.A.'s Twelve Steps seriously and in full how can we expect any results from them.

Alcohol is a depressant rather than a stimulant.

Alcoholism has been labeled as a "family illness" in that each member of the family feels the impact of having an alcoholic parent or spouse.

What a person shares in a meeting is not to be discussed outside the meeting.

Alcohol-ISM: I, Self, Me // I Sponsor Myself // Internal Spiritual Malady (or Maladjustment)// Incredibly Short Memory // InSide Me // I Sabotage Myself.

The Twelve Steps are a plan for living, not just for discussion.

"If God can solve the age-old riddle of alcoholism, He can solve your problems too." pg. 116

This AA oldtimer walks into a meeting room early, and sees a newcomer sitting at the table. The oldtimer says "Hey, how are you doing?"

The newcomer says "Oh, I'm doing okay, under the circumstances."

The oldtimer says "What are you doing under there?"

For the alcoholic, surrender is marked by the admission of being powerless over alcohol.

To change our lives we must change our thinking.

We helped others by passing on what we did, what we read, and what actions we took.

The simplicity of our program never changes--what works is constant; trust in God, clean house, and work with others.

If we can't figure out how to make amends, just turn it over to God, in time, there will be an answer, there will be a way.

The monkey may be off our backs, but let us not forget, the circus had not left town.

We can visit A.A. meetings for years, be a member of our Fellowship for years, but until we have a spiritual awakening, emotional sobriety will elude us.

Diet, rest and play are an important part of staying sober.

Please may we keep in mind: It is not what I like but what is best for the group.

One of the main differences between an active alcoholic and a recovering alcoholic can be expressed as a matter of tense;, the active alcoholic tends to live in the future or in the past, the sober alcoholic strives to live in the present.

We need power each day, because we get weary, but with A.A. as our structure and God as our source of strength, we can face life without taking a drink.

A.A. history statement: God was the cure for our drunkenness.

A drink will only make a situation worse, never ever better.

A.A. gives meaning and purpose to the individual and a way to be of service to others.

Anyone's relapse is an important learning experience for all.

"My gratitude to A.A. grows deeper each day I am sober" pg. 420

Our entire A.A. program rests upon the principle of mutual trust; we trust God, we trust A.A., and we trust each other.

Permanent sobriety can be attained only by a most revolutionary change in our lives and outlook--by a spiritual awakening that can banish the desire to drink.

Having a lot of knowledge of our Steps, A.A. and our Traditions is not really worth a darn if not put into practice.

Without sobriety we have nothing.

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Bend your knees not your elbows.

No alcoholic dies in vain, they carry a message to other alcoholics.

We may have very few material things, but we can be rich in terms of spiritual values, enjoying life.

Rationalization and denial are part of the alcoholic's illness.

A.A. has no fixed address, we take it with us wherever we go.

The past is a place of reference, not a place of residency.

Freedom comes from surrendering.

We judge ourselves by our intentions, others judge us by our actions.

Alcoholism is a threefold illness; mental, physical and spiritual.

The best time to begin working the A.A. program is right now.

Recovery = work in progress.

We only have to change one thing - EVERYTHING

Thank God for A.A.

A.A. has no fixed address; we can take it with us where ever we go.

A smile in a meeting may be just the message a newcomer may need.

A.A. got started by one drunk talking to another about alcohol, and the process still works and that is how A.A. grows.

A.A. has a wrench to fit every nut that walks through the door, the 12 Steps are the key to getting that wrench to work right.

A.A. is a Fellowship founded upon equality--one drunk talking to, never down, to another.

A.A. is the only place where you can walk into a room full of strangers and reminisce.

Alcohol was our failed solution to our problem so when taken away we still have the problem, us.

A.A. may not add years to our lives, but it certainly adds life to our years.

A.A. works upon the novel principle that a recovered alcoholic can reach and treat a fellow sufferer as no one else can and in so doing, the recovered alcoholic maintains his own sobriety.

Alcohol produces more misery than it relives, it causes more accidents than it prevents; it costs more money and breaks more hearts and minds than any other one substance known to man.

Alcohol has a definite color scheme; it gives you a red nose, a black eye, a white liver, a yellow streak, and a blue outlook.

If our lives didn’t get better, why would we want to stay sober, if all we had to look forward to was restlessness, irritability and discontentment, why do the work, A.A. offers so much more than just freedom from alcohol, it offers a new way of living, far more beautiful than anything we ever could have imagined, that’s why we take the Steps, and that’s why we take them again and again.

Alcoholics can be so rich that they can buy anything, but there’s 1 thing they cannot afford, anger. (I'll add resentments also.)

Alcoholics refuse to give up a life of failure without a fight.

Alcoholics do not deliberately try to drink themselves into trouble, but trouble seems to be the inevitable consequence of an alcoholic’s drinking

Alcoholism has been labeled as a family illness in that each member of the family feels the impact of having an alcoholic parent or spouse.

Alcoholism, if fought by self-well will always win.

Alcoholism is a physical and a mental illness which only a spiritual experience will conquer.

Alcoholism seeks precedence over our relationship with God.

If our lives are to be changed, our thinking needs to be changed.

If all else fails, why not try God?

Amends are best made to our loved ones by restoring the love, confidence and respect they once had for us by the action of right living today.

The most convincing message we can carry to other alcoholics is our own example of contented sobriety.

It is never to late to start.

You recover at your own rate, not in your time, In God's time.

Don't count time, make time count.

TIME = Things I Must Earn

When I was using I walked 25 miles into the forest, One day at a time....the 12 steps will lead me out.

I need to be in a meeting for 1 1/2 hours so I can learn to live the other 22 1/2 hours.

If you don't keep coming, then your going to keep going.

Clean time does not equal recovery.

Please be patient, You are not a finished product, God is not through with you.

Addiction is a disease of isolation and loneliness.

The suffering of an alcoholic is not only the suffering of an individual but of all those related to him, especially those in his immediate family.

The insanity of alcoholism begins before the first drink.

We must look inside to find our problem.

The 12 Steps and 12 Traditions are like 24 wrenches to fit any size nut that walks in through the doors of our program. Mark Kostew

For the newcomer: "Enjoy your ride on the pink cloud, but make sure you`ve got a parachute on, so that when the cloud dissipates, you can float to earth, not crash and burn".

"AA saved my life, and has given me life to live."

"Coffee maker is the best job in AA."

"I ain`t what I could be, ain`t what I should be, but I`m alot better than I used to be."

"The God in me recognizes the God in you."

"If you can help - help. If you can`t - don`t hurt."

[bluidkiti]

Heard At a meeting....

"It's not old behavior if I'm still doing it."

"If you're looking to have an image in AA, look around at the meetings you go to and take a look at whom you're trying to impress."

"An alcoholic is a person who wants to be held while isolating."

"A treatment center is where you go and pay $15,000 to find out that AA meetings are free."

"This is a 'One Day At A Time' program. If you're clean and sober today, you're tied for first place in AA."

"I often obsessively pursue feeling good.. no matter how bad it makes me feel."

"When I was new, I didn't think I had any obsessions until I started thinking about it. Then it was all I could think about."

"If you want to quit [drinking], then you are going to have to quit [drinking]."

"I would rather go through life sober, believing I am an alcoholic, than go through life drunk, trying to convince myself that I am not."

"Resentments are like stray cats: if you don't feed them, they'll go away."

"It is the great obsession of every Al-Anon, that someday he or she will learn to control and enjoy their drinker."

"I drank when I was happy. I drank when I was unhappy. Actually, I am a reason to drink."

"I can't do God's will my way."

"In order to change the way we feel, we need to change the way we act."

"The good news is you get your emotions back; the bad news is you get your emotions back."

"There is only one way to coast, and that is downhill."

"The difference between the problem drinker and the alcoholic is this: a)
when the alcohol is taken away from the problem drinker, the problem goes away. b) when the alcohol is taken away from the alcoholic, the problem begins.

Newcomer: "How do I know how many meetings I should attend each week?"
Old-timer: "Gradually cut back until you drink. Then you'll know."

"How come if alcohol kills millions of brain cells, it never killed the ones that made me want to drink?"

AA = Altered Attitudes
AA = Attitude Adjustment
ABC = Acceptance, Belief, Change
ANONYMOUS = Actions Not Our Names Yield Maintenance Of Unity & Service
ACTION = Any Change Toward Improving One's Nature

BATH = Behavior, Attitude, Thinking, and Habits
BEST = Been Enjoying Sobriety Today?
BS = Before Sobriety
BUT = Being Unconvinced Totally

CARE = Comforting And Reassuring Each other
CALM = Can Anger Leave Me?
CHAOS = Can't Handle Another Overwhelming Situation
CHANGE = Choosing Honesty Allows New Growth Everyday
CRAP = Carry Resentments Against People

DEAD = Drinking Ends All Dreams

EDI not DIE Easy Does It not Does It Easy
EGO Easing God Out

FEEL = Feel, Experience, Express, Let go
FEAR = Forgetting Everything's All Right
FEAR = Fools Every Alcoholic Repeatedly
FEAR = Forever Escaping And Retreating
FEAR = Failure Expected And Received
FAITH = Finding Answers In The Heart
FAITH = Found Always In Trusting Him
FAITH = For An Instant Trust Him
FINE = Feeling Insecure, Numb and Empty
F I N E = Free, Independent, New and Energetic

GIFT = God Is Forever There
GIFTS = Getting It From The Steps
GRACE = Gently Releasing All Conscious Expectations
GOD = Give Others Dignity

HALT = Honestly, Actively, Lovingly, Tolerant
HELP = Hope, Encouragement, Love and Patience
HOPE = Happy Our Program Exists
HOPE = Hearing Other Peoples' Experience
HOPE = Heart Open; Please Enter
HOPE = Help Open People's Eyes
HOPE = Hang On, Pray Everyday
HEART = Healing, Enjoying, And Recovering, Together
HOW = Honest, Open-minded and Willing
HOW NOW = Honest Open-minded, Willing. No Other Way!

ISM = I, Self, Me
ISM = I Sponsor Myself

KISS = Keep It Simple, Surrender

LET GO Leave Everything To God, Okay?

NEW = Nothing Else Worked

PEACE = Providing Experienced Attitude Changes Every day
PEACE = Praying Energetically Always Creates Ease
PUT = Patience, Understanding, Tolerance
PROGRAM = People Relying On God Relay A Message
PUSH = Pray Until Something Happens
PACE = Positive Attitudes Change Everything

RACING = Real Alcoholics Centered Inward Needing God

STEPS = Solutions To Every Problem in Sobriety
SWAT = Surrender, Willingness, Acceptance, Trust
SOBER = Simply Observe Bill's Exemplary Recovery
SIT = Stay In Today
SOBRIETY = Stay Off Booze Recovery Is Everything To You
S P O N S O R = Sober Person Offering Newcomer Support Of Recovery

THINK = The Happiness I Never Knew
TRUST = Teaching Recovery Using Steps and Traditions
TRUST = Try Relying Upon The Steps and Traditions
TEAM = Together Everyone Achieves More
TIME = Things I Must Earn

WHO = Willingness, Honesty, Openmindedness
WHO ME? = Willingness,Honesty, Open-mindedness,Must Exist
WISDOM = When Into Self, Discover Our Motives
WILLING = When I Live Life, I Need God

YET = You'll End There
YANA = You Are Not Alone

Know God; Know peace. No God; No peace.

H O P E = Heart Open; Please Enter.

If we hear something in a meeting we don't like, maybe we should take a real close look at it to see why.

A smile in a meeting may be just the message a newcomer may need.

If you think staying away from the first one is difficult, try staying away from the second one.

Ain't it wonderful to be sober?

How many of us came to A.A. because we felt the heat but stayed to experience the warmth.

Anyone can stay sober at an A.A. meeting -- it's the time in between that counts.

A.A. is for those who want it, not need it.

Alcoholics are not bad people trying to be good but sick people who need to get well.

13 stepping = Step 1 + Step 12 (or my live is unmanageable and I want to share it with you.

All of A.A.'s suggestions are free, the ones we don't take are the ones we wind up paying for.

If we want to be sober tomorrow we need to stay away from the first drink today.

Contact another member before taking a drink, not after.

Having an advisor is not the same as having a sponsor.

No one in a A.A. meeting is offended by a lack of profanity.

There are no big shots in A.A., nor are there little shots.

From coffeemaker to delegate there is something for everyone in A.A. service, and service work is as essential to recovery as it is to A.A.'s longevity.

God has given us this day to use as we wish, A.A. shows us how to live it without a drink.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results

It's never too early for the Steps, because the point is to try and practice them to the best of our ability, not to master them when we think we are well enough to truly understand them all.

Listen to the similarities, not the differences.

Nobody gets to A.A. by mistake.

Recovery gives us hope for brighter days.

When we surrender we don't weaken ourselves, on the contrary, we strengthen ourselves.

The sun can't shine every day but if we can stand the rain, we'll see the sun again, if we stay sober.

We go to A.A. to live our lives, not live our lives to go to A.A.

HJF = Happy, Joyous, and FREE!

ALCOHOLIC SLANG
AFGO - A f--king growth opportunity
Beer Thirty - Slang for any 1/2 on the hour we used to drink
Big Book Thumper - A regular who knows the Big Book inside and out
BOHICA - Bend over - here it comes again
Boxed - A person thrown out of the house with their boxed up belongings
Camel Chip - A chip signifying a person with long-term sobriety
Carpet Muncher - Oral Sex
Cellar Dweller - An alcoholic who prefers to stay in self-misery
Check Up From The Neck Up - Go to a meeting
Chip - AA chip marking certain amount of continuous sobriety i.e. 30 days
Cleaning House - Getting your life in order
Clean Side Of Street - Getting your life in order
Denial Aisle - A small table of people who talk during meetings instead of listening
Double Dip - Speaking twice at the same AA meeting
Drip Dry U - Rehab
Dry Drunk - A non-drinking alcoholic who does not follow the program
Elevator - How low one goes before getting into recovery
GOD - Group of drunks
God Can Look Around Corners - Principle which suggests that God can do things we cannot
Going Out - An alcoholic who goes back out to drink again
GOYA - Get off your a$$
HALT - Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired
Hand of AA - An alcoholic reaching out to AA for a helping hand
Heavy Metal - A 1-year chip
Liquid Courage - The false belief one gets after substantial drinking
Meeting - Two of more AA's getting together to discuss recovery
Meeting Before the Meeting - Informal gatherings before official meetings
Meeting After the Meeting - Informal gatherings after official meetings
Mickey - Short for Mickey Finn. An alcoholic drink mixed with a strong sedative ,typically without the knowledge of the drinker.
Newcomer - An alcoholic who has less than 30 days of continuous sobriety
Normie - A term used by alcoholics to describe "normal" people
Nudge From The Judge - Court ordered to go to AA
Old Tape - Memories in your head that make you think drinking was good
Pink Cloud - A warm fuzzy feeling that "newcomers" feel in early recovery
Pity Pot - Self indulgent attitude
Playground - Places where we socialized before recovery
Playmates - People we used to socialize with before recovery
Plug In The Jug - Putting the cap on the bottle and walking away forever
Poor me, poor me, pour me a drink - The pity which precedes the taking of the first drink
Relapse - An alcoholic who goes back out and takes another drink
Retread - An alcoholic who has relapsed and returned to the program
Running and Gunning - Active drinking
Senior Sober - A recovering alcoholic with a lot of sobriety
Serenity by Injection - Attempt to have sex with a brand new member
Slip A Mickey - To surreptitiously add a sedative to someone's alcoholic drink
Slippery Slope - Doing things that might cause you to go out and drink
Stinking Thinking - An alcoholic's false belief that he/she may be correct when in fact it may be a stupid idea
Suicide - Suicide: A permanent solution to a temporary problem.
Suit Up/Show Up - Get dressed and attend an AA meeting
Tape - Remembering previous events (e.g. replay the tape)
Three Hots and a Cot - Jail term for three mails and a bed
13th Step - Dating someone in the program
Wet Drunk - A practicing alcoholic
White Nuckle - Trying to stay sober without the help of a program
Wine O'Clock - Slang for any hour of the day we used to drink
Whiner Chip - Chip representing 18 months sobriety
Yesterday Is History Tomorrow is Mystery - Live in the Moment

If we don’t introduce newcomers to the Big Book; how will they know what they don’t know?

If we are not part of the solution we are part of the problem.

If we feel the urge for a drink, we neither yield nor resist, we merely put off taking that particular drink until tomorrow.

If we focus on the problem, the problem grows, and if we focus on the solution, the solution grows: the solution, sponsorship, continuous working of the Steps, and service work.

Turning our will over to the care of God is vital for us, it is surely something to do with all sincerity, for recovery is a life and death matter.

If we have emotional sobriety, then thank God for it and to keep it, we must give it away.

If we have 4 problems and take a drink then we have 5 problems.

If we stop doing the things that keep us in A.A., we’ll go back to doing the things that brought us into A.A.

If we lean too heavily on people, they will sooner or later fail us, for they are human, too.

If we feel restless, edgy, anxious, or unhappy, we’ve got some more work to do and should begin now, if we’re content, serene, and peaceful, we should continue the work we’re doing.

When we stop changing, we stop growing.

Alcoholics are known to be "fast forgetters" due to our obsession.

Alcoholics do not seek normal alcohol intoxication, they seek anesthetic oblivion.

Alcoholics not in recovery are very hungry and don't realize it; they are starving for spiritually.

Amends = change.

Anonymity in A.A. makes us all equal.

Any alcoholic capable of honestly facing his problems in the light of our experiences can recover, provided he does not close his mind to all spiritual concepts.

Because of God's love for us, no one is beyond recovery.

Being physically dry and mentally drunk is dangerous territory for alcoholics.

Sponsoring requires patience.

[bluidkiti]

The A.A. slogans are shorthand for our 12 Steps.

We did a lot of exercising when we were drinking: hitting the bottle, beating ourselves up, bending the rules, stretching the truth, jogging our memory, running into trouble, jumping to conclusions, stepping on toes, climbing the walls, dodging responsibility, pushing our luck, pulling the wool over people's eyes, walking over people, carrying a grudge, throwing fits, and picking up the pieces.

We must work the program for ourselves alone--not for our wife, children, friends, or for our job.

Every new day is a new opportunity to live as we should.

Anger, resentments, jealousy, envy, self-pity, hurt pride--all led
to the bottle.

A.A. is a place where we share.

I can have complete serenity at this very moment...if I live in denial.

We came to AA to save our ass, and found out our soul was attached .

Hope
Unity
Gratitude
Serenity
not drugs

HOPE is
Helping
Other
People
Everyday!

Just For Today...
You have to be willing to get rid of the life you have planned, so to have the life that is waiting for you.

No matter what - you don't have to pick up.

Until the pain gets strong enough, there will be no change.

It came to pass; it didn't come to stay.

Humble people don't think less of themselves, they just think of themselves less.

Resentments are like peeing your pants--they don't affect anyone quite as much as you!

May your lost dreams of yesterday become the reality of your tomorrow!

Hit your knees.....
not the bottle!"

I can't fix anyone but me,
and that's a full time job!"

Recovery is an inside job

Just for today.

Think Think Think

First things first.

How important is it?

Keep an open mind.

Keep it simple.

Live and let live.

Have an attitude of gratitude.

Mind your own business.

Progress not perfection.

Change the things I can.

One day at a time.

Wonderful things happen
One day at a time

Listen and learn.

Let go and let God

Easy does it.

This too shall pass.

Great expectations can lead to great disappointments.

Al-Anon doesn't give us the choice between feeling good or feeling bad- it gives us the choice between feeling and not feeling.

Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself

If it is to be, it is up to me.

If you think handling everything is too much, try letting go.

Fear is a darkroom where negatives are developed.

Take what you like and leave the rest.

Measure yourself by your best moments not your worst.

Remember yesterday, dream of tomorrow, but live for today.

The longest journey starts with the first step.

Recovery is a process, not an event-it takes time.

Recovery is an inside job.

You must be present to win.

Each new day offers a new opportunity

One hour at a time..
One day at a time..
One step at a time

Wonderful things happen..
One Day At A Time

A.A. Slogans

"It's alcohol-ISM, not alcohol-WASM !"

"A.A. also stands for.
"Attitude Adjustment."

"I can only carry the message, I can"t carry the drunk!"

Seven missed meetings makes one weak.

Happiness is not getting what you want, it is wanting what you get.

Self-will can get me what I want right now,
God's will can provide what I need for eternity.

The only difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how we use them.

Being Recovered from Alcoholism is like getting a Gunshot wound. You can
recover from it but it does NOT make you bulletproof. You can recover from
alcoholism but it does not make you Immune from Alcohol.

HALT: Don't get
too Hungry,
too Angry,
too Lonely, or
too Tired!!

It's never to late to be what you might have been. George Eliot (12 life in recovery magazine).

There ain't no big deals!

If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got.
or
If you keep doin' what your doin'
you'll keep gettin' what your gettin'

No matter how far off the path we've stumbled, we're no more than 12 steps away from the solution!

Thoughts are not things and feelings are not facts; they only have the power we give them.

Looking for God
is like a fish looking for water.

Listen to the message..
not the messenger

Feel, Deal and the Heal
(Feel it, Deal with it and then Heal from it)

Hope is knowing the good in us will overcome the bad.

Happy, Joyous & Free

God speaks to us all a little differently, hoping we'll tell each other.

Even if I'm on the right track, if I don't move I'll get run over

Don't give up five minutes before the miracle

Do not be discouraged.

There is no situation too difficult to be bettered and No unhappiness to great to be lessened.

Don't take everything personally.

When you feel left out, reach out.

Have patience with all things, but first with yourself.

Serenity comes when I stop expecting and start accepting.

Today is the tomorrow that I worried about yesterday.

You cannot deal with the alligators until you drain the swamp and get out of the mud.

Glance at the past, but don't stare at it.

You can't change yesterday, but you can ruin today by worrying about tomorrow.

Wherever you go- there you are.

To live or just exist- the choice is yours.

Focus on the program-not the problem.

One needn't make a crisis out of an incident.

When you're flat on your back, there's no way to look but up.

As you go through life, make this your goal- watch the donut not the hole.

No is a complete sentence.

It's hard to be hateful when you're being grateful.

Fear is not a shortcoming- it's an emotion. Our reaction to it can be the shortcoming.

It helps to learn the difference between being responsible to others and being responsible for others.

Ulcers are what you get from mountain climbing on mole hills.

If you find yourself in a rut, stop digging.

Never walk unescorted through your own mind- it can be a dangerous neighborhood.

The way to get anywhere is to start from where you are.

If you want serenity, put your Higher Power between you & your problem.

Expectations are premeditated resentments.

Burn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can get well regardless of anyone or anything.

Are we carrying the message or the mess?

Quality...not quantity

"Part of what works for me is to remember.....
I am not the only person who has ever gone through any of this. Therefore I am not alone."—302oiler

# We are as unique as snowflakes, and as common as blades of grass.

# AA richens the broth in the soup of life.

# A Slip is when Sobriety Loses It's Priority.

# There is no elevator to serenity, you must use the steps.

# "Alcohol was the lubricant that minimized the friction in all my relationships." (From Joe's story in the book The Courage to Change.)

# One is too many, and a thousand not enough. (Thanks to George W. for reminding me of this one.)

Are we so impressed with how long someone has been sober that it over rides their quality of sobriety?

On his twentieth A.A. anniversary, an old-timer turns to his sponsor, gloating, "Ha! And you thought I'd never make it!" The sponsor, with thirty years of sobriety, coolly answers, "Who says you've made it?"

As our knowledge of God grows, so will our strength of recovery.

Are we walking towards a drink or away from one?

Be with sober alcoholics and become and stay sober, be with drinkers and, well, you figure it out.

Before we say, "We can't", say, "We'll try".

A fellow said he came to A.A. because of back problems-to get his wife off his back, to get his boss of his back, to get his creditors off his back, etc.

By continuing with our personal inventories, we allow the seeds of recovery to take deeper root.

By standing together, we form a shield against a relapse.

If you do what we do you'll get what we got....
If you do what you did, you'll get what you got.....

I have to get into action. Sitting in an AA meeting doesn't make me sober anymore than sitting in a garage makes me a car.

HJF = Happy, Joyous, and FREE!

The steps did for me the very thing I kept hoping alcohol would do for me --- they gave me the peace and serenity I had been looking for in a bottle.

By sharing the program with others we reinforce how important it is to us.

Contented sobriety is contingent on spiritual fitness.

En route to her first sober vacation, a women newcomer confessed her apprehension to her husband. The idea of being on a plane without a drink was unthinkable. She came through the flight without incident and was absolutely floored to be met with a large banner in the airport saying. "A.A. Welcomes You." She grabbed her husband's arm and pointed to the sign, being concerned about her anonymity being broken. He looked at it for a moment, turned to her, and said quietly, "Dear, it stands for American Airlines."

Do our actions back up our words?

Do yourself a big favor, STUDY the Big Book.

Don't be afraid to ask others for help.

Ever wonder why as soon as we begin to learn about the Program we want to make it complicated?

Even when we cannot see a way out, we must never give up hope.

Every alcoholic will eventually quit drinking, but it's better to do it when we're still alive.

Every part of our lives should be important to us: our families and friends as well as our recovery and careers.

First things first: God, us, our families, ???.

Freedom from alcohol results in many other freedoms.

The quickest way to get on your feet ............. is to .........
Get on your knees.

If we stop doing the things that keep us in A.A., we’ll go back to doing the things that brought us into A.A.

If our lives are to be changed, our thinking needs to be changed.

PRAY = Put Recovery Around You

Rationalize = Rational Lies

RELAPSE = Recovery Exists Life And Program Seem Empty

SOLUTION = Saving Our Lives Using The Inventories Of Needed Steps

Relapse IS NOT a requirement BUT It IS a reality.

STAR = Start Talking About Recovery

TIME = Things I Must Earn

TRUST = Try Relying Upon Steps Today

SPONSOR = Service Person Offering Newcomers Suggestions On Recovery

Keep GRATITUDE Up front !!!!

[bluidkiti]

WILLING = When I Live Life I Need God

YET = You’re Eligible Too

YET = You’ll End-up There

ISM = Incredibly Short Memory

S T E P S = Solutions To Every Problem, Sober.

SLIP - Sobriety Loses It's Priority

Stick with the winners. We try to hang out with people who have good attitudes and some clean and sober time in the program.

Hearing
Others
Personal
Experiences

If you want to quit drinking, you are going to have to quit drinking.

The secret to the AA program is the first three words on page 112 of the Big Book.

Before I came into AA, I was dead, but I did not know enough to lay down.

The good news is you get your emotions back; the bad news is you get your emotions back.

My head is like a bad neighborhood and I shouldn't go in there alone.

I'm not going to give anybody free rent in my head.

Uncover...Discover...Discard.

The power behind me is greater than the problem in front of me.

Having a resentment is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die.

Expectations are resentments waiting to happen.

If you keep doing what you're doing - you'll keep getting what you're getting.

Turn up a stereo to full volume then unplug it. In 2, 5,10 or 20 years later - if you plug it in again, the stereo will come on full volume. That's what alcoholism is like.

We come to the program thinking we are at the end of the line, whereas we are just at the start of a journey.

When I turned myself over to God, I took my life out of the hands of an idiot.

Where God guides, God provides.

Worry is just negative goal-setting.

Stinking thinking leads to drinking.

Carry the message, not the mess.

Isolation is the Darkroom where I develop all my Negativity!

The first step adds years to my life, the rest add life to my years.

I am the black sheep of the family. I came to Alcoholics Anonymous and found the rest of the herd.

It works if you work it, so work it cause you're worth it.

Just remember to B-R-E-A-T-H-E... Breathe in God, breathe out self.

H-A-L-T DON'T BE TOO: HUNGRY - ANGRY - LONELY - TIRED

"BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD"

"God is the only constant." --Ruth Casey

"No one can make you feel inferior without your permission." --Eleanor Roosevelt

"Cease to inquire what the future has in store, and take as a gift whatever the day brings forth." --Horace

"Today, I will have some fun with life, with recovery, with people, and with my day." --The Language Of Letting Go

"It pleases God that those rowing the boat are being of service ——— even to those rocking the boat."

"God, give me the courage to follow my heart. Teach me how to experience more joy in my life." --Melody Beattie

The solution is simple. The solution is spiritual.

A B C = Acceptance, Belief Change

[bluidkiti]

Alcohol is a solvent; it will remove everything from your life.

If you want to quit drinking, you are going to have to quit drinking. - Mary G.

I can't do His will my way. - Mary G.

An alcoholic is a person who wants to be held while he's isolating. - Mary G.

This is a 'One Day at a Time' program. If you are clean and sober today, you are tied for first place in AA. - Mary G.

If drinking is interfering with your work, you're probably a heavy drinker. If work is interfering with your drinking, you're probably an alcoholic. - Mary G.

[bluidkiti]

First we put down the anesthesia; then we operate. - Renee M.

I sum up Step 3 as "Fire myself, hire GOD". - Renee M.

Put down the drink and pick up the program.

The longer a burden is carried, the heavier it gets - so TODAY - I choose to live a life of serenity and not a life of regrets...

Sobriety is not between you and me - It's between a God of my understanding and me. To thine own self be true.

Sharing God's gifts with others - feels good. Possibly His little way of motivating us to continue to do it.

[bluidkiti]

Think the same - React the same - Say the same - Expect the same - and you will feel the same - Soldier Billy.

Don't expect and you will not be disappointed - Soldier Billy.

Resentment makes resentment - Soldier Billy.

Drinking on a problem is like trying to put a fire out with petrol - Soldier Billy.

Resentment - The best cure is to ask yourself: Have I ever done what I am resenting that person for? - Soldier Billy.

I have never met anyone who came into AA because the price of alcohol was raised - Soldier Billy.

[bluidkiti]

The very things that once destroyed me, have become the very foundations of who I am today in recovery.

I put down the drink to get closer to GOD.

If God takes us to it, he will take us through it.

Prior to coming to AA, when I told my family I was not going to ever drink again.... my intentions were good. But because of what they saw, it was difficult for them to hear what I was saying.

The task in front of you is never greater than the power behind you. No human power could have relieved our alcoholism. Remember, nothing is going to happen to you today that you and God cannot handle together. ODAAT

[MajestyJo]

Great shares, thank you.

[bluidkiti]

An alcoholic is a person who wants to be held while he's isolating. - Pandora N.

Hit your knees... not the bottle!

Keep coming back... it works if you LIVE it!

Without Him, I can't.... without me, He won't!

The first thing you put in front of your sobriety is the second thing you'll lose.

[bluidkiti]

One day at a time, is like building a house one brick at a time, if you don't take another drink until the day you die, you would have built a castle.

Then, I lived a life of Hell, Got Sober, Now I live A HELLUVA LIFE.

You can take the rum out of fruit cake, but you still have fruit cake!

"I'm sober today cause I ain't drank no liquor today." Harold B.

When I take the "me" out of blame; all I have is bla, bla, bla...

[bluidkiti]

Don't explain why you can't drink just say your allergic to alcohol and people leave you alone put to rest the debate... I'm allergic to alcohol, I break out in felonies....

Relationship: Really Exciting Love Affair Turns Into Outrageous Nightmare Sobriety Hangs In Peril - Carrie C.

You can never be Perfect BUT; you can ALWAYS be better! - Mike P.

There are no Big Deals in AA. ( Tom G. )
PS: Never limit your future by only doing what you have done in the past!

Joy isn't the absence of pain - it's the presence of God. ( Pandora )

[bluidkiti]

S. I. T. STAY IN TODAY !!! (Jan)

Today is the Tomorrow I worried about Yesterday (Ken)

Resentment is like taking poison in an effort to kill your enemy! (Cathy)

GOD always answers prayers. He doesn't always say YES, He doesn't always say NO, sometimes he says YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING!?! (Chris)

Your mind is like a "bad neighborhood" - don't go there alone. (Ashley)

[bluidkiti]

Those who quit going to meetings aren't there to find out what happens to people who quit going to meetings. (Stacey)

Insanity is not doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results; insanity is doing the same thing over and over again knowing full well what the results will be! (Paul)

God answers our prayers in four ways: 1. No 2. Yes 3. Wait 4. I have a better idea in mind (Bob)

I asked for all things that I might enjoy Life, I was given Life that I might enjoy all things. (BJ)

Plant the seed of hope, it will grow in due time...for each of us the water of time is different..... (Janice)

[bluidkiti]

A A = Achieve Anything.

Inventory taking is not all in red ink.

It works - it really does.

F A I T H = Found Always In Trusting Him.

Some days I carry the message. Some days I AM the message. What message am I today? --Jan B.

[bluidkiti]

Walk softly and carry a Big Book.

[dwmoeller]

:92:


:91:

[dwmoeller]

We must be the change we wish to see in the world, - Gandhi

[MajestyJo]

Who are the forgotten children of AA?

- Those that came and went back out never to return?

- Those that came a long time ago and stayed and have forgotten where they came from?

- Those still in denial, but not wanting to go back to where they came from?

- Those that have a problem grasping for the knowledge of a Higher Power?

- Those who compare instead of identifying the feelings behind the acitons?

Please keep coming, don't leave until the miracle happens. The power is in the rooms. If you stay, it will raise you above anything you have ever experienced before. If you go back out, it will take you lower than you ever dreamed possible.

Lest I forget!

http://angelwinks.net/images/kayomi/kayomi12.jpg

[dwmoeller]

Dare to be brave,
Dare to stand tall,
Give life the best,
Get up when you fall.

- William A. Ward

[MajestyJo]

THAT'S NOT ODD, THAT'S GOD!

I think God's job is to keep the planets from hitting each other, He's busy enough with that. I don't think He takes a lot of time wondering if I'm going to have a parking space at the meeting. - John L.

- Alkiespeaks

Thought this was cute, I was helping a newcomer, a temporary sponsor until he found someone he could identify with. I just happened to be the person he heard share and met me after the meeting. He said, I know if I make it to JoAnne's place, I know I will make it to a meeting and have a parking place. All I have to do is not drink in today. He carried a great message to me. He said, "If he didn't get a parking place, either I forgot to ask for one for him or he didn't something wrong during his day that he needed to address.

I look at those `That`s not odd, that`s God!` moments and try to remember to say thank you. They show me that my God is working in my life.

When we stay clean and sober over the holidays, it is just another 24 hours, that is not odd, that is God. The normal thing for an alcoholic to do is drink. For me, prescription drugs were like dried up alcohol, I had the same symptoms, more black outs with them that I had with alcohol.

It is my God working in my life, doing for me, something I couldn`t do for myself. I tried to quit my way for 8 years.

I like the saying, "Just because you have a feeling, doesn't mean you have to act on it." Also, feel the feelings and do it anyway and my personal favourite and a new one to me, "Just because you get a thought, it doesn't mean it is yours. It could be your Higher Power's or it could be something projected onto you by someone else.

Peace on your journey, when we go within and connect to our Higher Power, we can find the calm within the storm.

Posted in part on another site in 2011 and 2012.

http://excellentquotations.com/Images-EQ/quotesImages/64824-ExcellentQuotations.com-Steven-Furtick.jpg

[MajestyJo]

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"If life is a bowl of cherries, what am I doing in the pits?"

-- Erma Bombeck

When I saw this, I thought it read, "What am I doing with the pits?"

Both are worth thought and require action on my part. The 12 Steps are applicable to both.

Am I practicing the principles in all my affairs? Do I work the Steps into my daily life? Do I just think program in meetings and leave my program at the door when I go home, to work, or out into the community?

Do I think, oh woe is me? I am an alcoholic. I am so hard done by, forgetting that I should be grateful that I have found this new way of living. If I wasn't an alcoholic, I wouldn't have known that there was a chance at recovery.

Do I sometimes need to eat my words? Do I give others a second thought? Am I so caught up in self that I don't have time for others?

[MajestyJo]

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http://positivelypebbles.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/BeFunky_SL384139(pp_w649_h568).jpg(pp_w649_h568).j pg


I wish to live without hate, whim, jealousy, envy, and fear. I wish to be simple, honest, frank, natural, clean in mind and clean in body. . . to face any obstacle and meet every difficulty unabashed and unafraid.

--Elbert Hubbard

Growing up, we learned there were many places to make wishes: the first star, a well, candles on a birthday cake. We saw Dorothy return from Oz after she wished she were back home. Fairy tales taught us wishes can come true.

We don't have to stop wishing, even though many of our wishes never came true. We may have wished for the impossible when we said "I wish things would get better at home." But we may have gotten our way when we said, "I wish this pain would end." Our dreams came true with the program.

Our best wishes can be about ourselves and the lives we want to have. We can wish for riches and find friends with hearts of gold. We can wish for comfort and health, and get a night of uninterrupted sleep. Whatever we wish for, we can receive.

You are reading from the book:

Night Light by Amy E. Dean

Posted on another site in 2011

This reminds me of what my spiritual advisor once told me, "God meets my needs, sometimes my wishes and my wants. As a dear friend of mind use to say, "Put it out to the Universe and see what you get back."

[MajestyJo]

Walk in dry places
____

What causes a binge?

Understanding Honesty.

In the foggy world of drinking, we were sometimes confused about cause and effect. A person might think of a binge as having been caused by a fight with his or her spouse. The real truth, however, is that he or she provoked the fight in order to get out of the house to launch a drinking spree. It was really the need to drink that caused the fight, and not the reverse, as the alcoholic believes.

We must always understand that the compulsion to drink is the root cause of every binge. We may blame certain things that seemed to trigger a drunk, but it is always our own compulsion that gives force to such an action. Non-alcoholics have the same human experiences we do, but such things do not cause them to have binges.

Seasoned AA members are trained by they experience to detect and defuse these false causes. "There are excuses but never good reasons for drinking," they say. We always drink because we want to drink., not because another's actions forced us into it.

Once we've established real sobriety, we also learn to identify the excuses and devices that helped us blame our binges on other people and conditions. We learn that we are always responsible for maintaining our own sobriety.

............................

I intend to get along with everybody today and to meet all conditions and circumstances in a mature manner. Nothing can trigger a binge but my own desire to take a drink.

From an old site of Bluidkiti's

This reminds me of a co-sponsor I had for several years. She couldn't be my sponsor because she was a counsellor in the treatment center I went to. I had her in my life, because she was a Native American and I connected to her culture.

She asked a fellow client, "What does binge taste like?" It was one of the reasons I was attracted to her. She was very old school. She was short and had the tiniest hands that seemed as though they could move mountains.

One of my fellow clients was having a difficult and she asked me to go with a walk to see if she would open up to me. She didn't think she was an alcoholic. When we got back, she came to the realization that she too belonged and she later became my next door neighbour. You just never know.

The ultimate excuse, the devil made me do it.

http://www.animated-gifs.eu/religion-adam-eve/0009.gif

[dwmoeller]

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[MajestyJo]

We are all capable of causing damage and pain to others, but that doesn't make us hopeless or one-dimensional bad-guys. Perhaps the ones we harm won't be able to forgive us, and perhaps it is not right to expect or desire from them anything at all. But, I truly believe that each of us, as humans, have been deemed with the responsibility of giving compassion to our fellow humans and animals (and plants and earth, for that matter). And, so, even if there is one person we have difficulty forgiving, we can still give compassion to another who hasn't harmed us, while knowing that he/she may have harmed another. Those who cause damage suffer and need love as much as their victims.

Peace,
Frogdog

Posted on another site in 2004

Some thoughts that made me think. That our disease is one of perception. What one person sees may not be what another person perceives.

What might be taken as a slight by one person may be taken in stride or with acceptance by another.

We can ask for forgiveness. We do it for ourselves and our recovery. The acceptance of that forgiveness is not up to us.

Some quotes on forgiveness

www.quotegarden.com/forgiveness.html

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[MajestyJo]

Live and Let Live:

This is a slogan that I have to live daily when it comes to my son. He came by yesterday and made the comment, "Your place is neat and tidy and you are glad to have your son out of your life." I said, "I don't want my son out of my life, I just don't want him living in my life." He always acted as if I didn't have one. If I did, it was one, certainly not worth putting aside for his higher good.

I have had to continually set boundaries, reinforce them, and at times, shut the door to make him aware, that I love you dearly, but I don't like it when you come into my home and act out in your disease. He has choices, and his choice is to continue to use. I have a choice. I chose to not let him use in my space, and that includes using me.

http://www.animated-gifs.eu/cartoons-peanuts/0065.gif

[MajestyJo]

It was good to be able to share with someone today at my bank while getting a money order that I was a recovering alcoholic/addict and had a son in recovery. The woman admitted to having phoned and asked for help and worried about her son but hadn't gone to a meeting.

You never know when you can reach out and help someone. With my disability I don't get out to do the service work that I use to. I still go into our local jail when called. I just got two letters of thanks from the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. They have 3,744 volunteers and I am proud to be a part of that.

I have gone into the jail for AA, NA, and Al-Anon. I can see from both sides of the fence and have lived on both sides.

This is an old post from 2010 on another site. I can't get out and do the service I use to do, but I can come on line and share with others. It doesn't matter how small or how big a deed we do, a simple smile or a kind word can make a difference in someone's day.

If you stayed sober today, it has been a good day.

http://www.animated-gifs.eu/mammals-mice-7/0078.gif

[MajestyJo]

The greatest achievement is selflessness.

The greatest worth is self-mastery.

The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.

The greatest precept is continual awareness.

The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.

The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.

The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.

The greatest generosity is non-attachment.

The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.

The greatest patience is humility.

The greatest effort is not concerned with results.

The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

- Atisha

Think of something that you fear to lose, then ask yourself, 'Were I to lose it, would I be a different person than I am today?' In yourself, be contented. Be whole.

From Do It Now!, by J. Donald Walters


A lot of these I fall short on. I am a firm believer though in what I think and project comes back to me. If I put out negativity, it comes back in kind.

Progress not Perfection, keeps me coming back.

[MajestyJo]

One Day at a Time.

Today's thought is:
Reflection for the Day

In the old days, I saw everything in terms of forever. Endless hours were spent rehashing old mistakes. I tried to take comfort in the forlorn hope that tomorrow would be "different." As a result, I lived a fantasy life in which happiness was all but nonexistent. No wonder I rarely smiled and hardly ever laughed aloud. Do I still think in terms of "forever"?

Today I Pray

May I set my goals for the new year not at the year-long mark, but one day at a time. My traditional New Year's resolutions have been so grandly stated and so soon broken. Let me not weaken my resolve by stretching it to cover "forever" or even one long year. May I reapply it firmly each new day. May I learn not to stamp my past mistakes with that indelible word, "forever." Instead, may each single day in each new year be freshened by my new found hope.

Today I Will Remember

Happy New Day.

You are reading from the book:

A Day at a Time (Softcover) by Anonymous


Posted on my site Soundness of Mind on January 2006

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[MajestyJo]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

My sponsor says 'Mark the places where you find God and go there often.' AA meetings are a place where I find God - I think that the power of God is in the group. - Chris C.

Really like this, and although I have called a meeting a God Village for many years, this is a new perspective.

I think this is a duplicate, but a good message for me in today.

===============

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

The Twelve Steps: One to Three: Clear up; Four to Nine: Clean up; Ten to Twelve: Contact up. These are also called the Foundation Steps, the Action Steps, and the Maintenance Steps respectively. Are you looking for something easier?

The easier, softer way is the Twelve Steps.

As they say, the elevator is broken, take the stairs a step at a time.

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[MajestyJo]

Well I am unique
We all are in our own way
but I am no more special than anyone else.
To humble is to put myself in a position to learn,
To admit I do not know how is a major step in my recovery.
It may be time to take a good look at this 4th step and put it in the past and be over it.

Unknown

[MajestyJo]

Be your own best friend. Give yourself a hug! Ask yourself, would I like to be friends with me? Why not? What do I need to change?

http://angelwinks.net/images/iq/qckittensbear295.jpg

[MajestyJo]

DAILY OM

Breaking Family Cycles

The Start of Change

by Madisyn Taylor

Breaking your family patterns may be the most important work you do and the hardest.

It is easy to believe that in leaving our childhood homes and embarking upon the journey of adulthood, we have effectively removed ourselves from harmful and self-perpetuating familial patterns. In looking closely at ourselves, however, we may discover that our behaviors and beliefs are still those that were impressed upon us during our youth by our parents, grandparents, and the generations that preceded them. We may find ourselves unconsciously perpetuating cycles of the previous generations, such as fear of having enough, not showing affection, and secrecy patterns. Yet the transmission of negative patterns from one generation to the next is not inevitable. It is possible to become the endpoint at which negative family cycles that have thrived for generations are exhausted and can exert their influence no longer. Breaking the pattern is a matter of overcoming those values imprinted upon us long ago in order to replace them with pure love, tolerance, and conscious awareness.

Even if you have struggled with the cumulative effects of family cycles that were an expression of established modes of living and a reflection of the strife your ancestors were forced to endure, you can still liberate yourself from the effects of your family history. The will to divest yourself of old, dark forms of familial energy and carry forth a new loving energy may come in the form of an epiphany. You may one day simply realize that certain aspects of your early life have negatively affected your health, happiness, and ability to evolve as an individual. Or you may find that in order to transcend long-standing patterns of limiting beliefs, irrational behavior, and emotional stiltedness, you have to question your values and earnestly examine how your family has impacted your personality. Only when you understand how family cycles have influenced you can you gain freedom from those cycles.

In order to truly change, you must give yourself permission to change. Breaking family patterns is in no way an act of defiance or betrayal. It is important that you trust yourself implicitly when determining the behaviors and beliefs that will help you overwrite the generation-based cyclical value system that limited your individual potential. Many people are on the earth at this time to break family cycles, for all of you are true pioneers. In breaking negative family cycles, you will discover that your ability to express your feelings and needs grows exponentially and that you will embark upon a journey toward greater well-being that can positively impact generations to come.

This is so true, "nothing changes if nothing changes." If I am not open to change, it is not going to happen. If I am CLOSED DOWN and shut down, I block the good and the not so good in my life. If I am obsessive about something, it become my 'god' of the day and takes over my life. The substance is but a symptom of my dis-ease, the problem is me.

Brought this up as a topic last week at my group. You just know when something comes to mind, things will follow to give you food for thought, especially, when I word keeps repeating itself. I didn't go looking, I just clicked on this old post, and there was the word "change" telling me that some is due. I am not sure it is referring to the fact that I am getting a new double bed tomorrow as my single orthopedic one is broken. ;)

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[dwmoeller]

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[dwmoeller]

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