"Men and women drink
essentially because they like the effect produced by alcohol. The sensation is
so elusive that, while they admit it is injurious, they cannot after a time
differentiate the true from the false. To them, their alcoholic life seems the
only normal one. They are restless, irritable and discontented, unless they can
again experience the sense of ease and comfort which comes at once by taking a
few drinks - drinks which they see others taking with impunity. After they have
succumbed to the desire again, as so many do, and the phenomenon of craving
develops, they pass through the well-known stages of a spree, emerging
remorseful, with a firm resolution not to drink again. This is repeated over and
over, and unless this person can experience an entire psychic change there is
very little hope of his recovery."
2001, AAWS, Inc.
Alcoholics Anonymous, pages
xxviii-xxix
1. Complete
deflation.
2. Dependence and guidance from a Higher Power.
3. Moral Inventory.
4. Confession.
5.
Restitution.
6. Continued work with other alcoholics.
A.A. Thought For The Day
One of the best things about the A.A. program is the peace of mind and serenity that it can bring us. In our drinking days, we had no piece off mind or serenity. We had the exact opposite, a kind of turmoil and that "quiet desperation" we knew so well. The turmoil of our drinking days was caused partly by our physical suffering, the terrible hangovers, the cold sweats, the shakes and the jitters. But it was caused even more by our mental suffering, the loneliness, the feeling of inferiority, the lying, the remorse that every alcoholic understands. Have I achieved more peace of mind?
Meditation For The Day
Try to look for God's leading in all your personal relationships, in all your dealings with other persons. God will help you to take care of all your relationships with people, if you are willing to let Him guide you. Rejoice that God can protect you and keep you from temptation and failure. God can protect you in all situations during the day, if you will rely on His strength and go forward. You should feel that you are entering upon the stage of success in the proper way of living. You should not doubt that better things are ahead for you. Go forward unafraid because you feel deeply safe under God's protection.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that God may protect
and keep me as long as I try to serve Him. I pray that I may go
forward today unafraid.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012