Words Of Wisdom From His Holiness Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama

When confronted with human problems, force will not bring a lasting solution. That is why I attach great importance to the feeling of mutual love among all human beings, as well as to the sense of responsibility of community life. These concepts are the source of peace everywhere in the world. They are the origin of all individual and collective fulfillment in a human community and therefore of concern to us all.

First day at work

First full day of work was great, kinda strange giving BA's and pat downs instead of receiving them.

Sent from my Samsung Intercept™

Limited blogs

By blogs will be somewhat limited for a few days, I'm having a slight computer/wifi problem, sorry for the inconvenience.

Sent from my Samsung Intercept™

MYSTERIOUS PARADOXES

MYSTERIOUS PARADOXES
FEBRUARY 23, 2011


Such is the paradox of A.A. regeneration: strength arising out of complete defeat and weakness, the loss of one’s old life as a condition for finding a new one. A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 46


What glorious mysteries paradoxes are! They do not compute, yet when recognized and accepted, they reaffirm something in the universe beyond human logic. When I face a fear, I am given courage; when I support a brother or sister, my capacity to love myself is increased; when I accept a pain as part of the growing experience of life, I realize a greater happiness; when I look at my dark side, I am brought into new light; when I accept my vulnerabilities and surrender to a Higher Power, I am graced with unforeseen strength. I stumbled through the doors of A.A. in disgrace, expecting nothing from life, and I have been given hope and dignity. Miraculously, the only way to keep the gifts of the program is to pass them on."

Words Of Wisdom From His Holiness Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama

Through constant familiarity, we can definitely establish new behavior patterns, using our tendency to form habits to our advantage. If we make a steady effort, I think we can overcome any form of negative conditioning and make positive changes in our lives. But we need to remember that genuine change doesn't happen overnight.

Online Daily Reflections

FEBRUARY 22
GUIDANCE
. . . this means a belief in a Creator who is all power,
justice, and love; a God who intends for me a purpose, a
meaning, and a destiny to grow, however . . . haltingly,
toward His own likeness and image.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 51
As I began to understand my own powerlessness and my
dependence on God, as I understand Him, I began to see
that there was a life which, if I could have it, I would have
chosen for myself from the beginning. It is through the
continuing work of the Steps and the life in the Fellowship
that I've learned to see that there is truly a better way into
which I am being guided. As I come to know more about
God, I am able to trust His ways and His plans for the
development of His character in me. Quickly or not so
quickly, I grow toward His own image and likeness.

Alcoholic Thinking Or , "Sorry Honey Thats My Disease Talking! "

      When I was in my early thirty's, drinking and drugging pretty heavily I had a massive heart attack and flat lined, after they jump started me, and I spent over 3 weeks in CCU, my wife at the time asked me "Honey are you ready to stop drinking?"  My response was,"I will when it gets bad!"
     This was the disease of alcoholism talking! Sorry people it doesn't get worse than dead!  Alcohol ask us to lie for it, steal for it, kill for it, and die for it. It beats us down so much we gladly answer Yes. Two years ago death would have been a welcome release, then I found AA It offered me a solution, I reacquainted myself with my higher power, I found unconditional love in these rooms. I thank God every day for this gift.

Online Daily Reflections

FEBRUARY 21

I'M PART OF THE WHOLE

At once, I became a part—if only a tiny part—of a cosmos.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 225 

When I first came to A.A., I decided that "they" were very

nice people—perhaps a little naive, a little too friendly, but

basically decent, earnest people (with whom I had nothing

in common). I saw "them" at meetings—after all, that was

where "they" existed. I shook hands with "them" and, when

I went out the door, I forgot about "them."

Then one day my Higher Power, whom I did not then

believe in, arranged to create a community project outside

of A.A., but one which happened to involve many A.A.

members. We worked together, I got to know "them" as

people. I came to admire "them," even to like "them" and,

in spite of myself, to enjoy "them." "Their" practice of the

program in their daily lives—not just in talk at meetings—

attracted me and I wanted what they had. Suddenly the

"they" became "we." I have not had a drink since.

Happy Birthday Ansel

Ansel Adams Was Born On This Day In 1902

The famous western photographer Ansel Adams is born in San Francisco. Adams' dramatic black and white images of Yosemite and the West are some of the most widely recognized and admired photographs of the 20th century.

Online Daily Reflections

FEBRUARY 20

THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER

At this juncture, his A.A. sponsor usually laughs.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 26

Before my recovery from alcoholism began, laughter was

one of the most painful sounds I knew. I never laughed and

I felt that anyone else's laughter was directed at me! My

self-pity and anger denied me the simplest of pleasures or

lightness of heart. By the end of my drinking not even

alcohol could provoke a drunken giggle in me.

When my A.A. sponsor began to laugh and point out my

self-pity and ego-feeding deceptions, I was annoyed and

hurt, but it taught me to lighten up and focus on my

recovery. I soon learned to laugh at myself and eventually I

taught those I sponsor to laugh also. Every day I ask God to

help me stop taking myself too seriously.

Leaping into Faith, daily reflection February 19 – Whiskey and Porn for Everyone

Leaping into Faith, daily reflection February 19 – Whiskey and Porn for Everyone: By Karin L Burke

In the first weeks of my sobriety, my poems began to change. There was a new element of uncertainty, the unknown, and walking along edges. All that talk about hitting bottoms: it seems to me not bottom but precipice; we teeter on an edge and look down. We don’t know what’s down there, how far it might go. The alcoholic entering recovery makes a gamble: he trades in what he knows for something he cannot know, he can’t imagine, and can’t understand. He jumps.

Gambling is not the same as bargaining. That we did all the time. Bargaining is an act of control, of hanging on with your teeth, of arguing your point until half-way decent is found. Gambling is a different thing. Gambling is what happens when you take the whole of your life, or as much of it as you can stand, put it into an untidy pile, and hand it over.

Alcoholics are people who have fallen apart."

Online Daily Reflections

Online Daily Reflections — by A.A. Members for A.A. Members

I'M NOT DIFFERENT
FEBRUARY 19, 2011
In the beginning, it was four whole years before A.A. brought permanent sobriety to even one alcoholic woman. Like the “high bottoms, ” the women said they were different; . . . The Skid-Rower said he was different . . . so did the artists and the professional people, the rich, the poor, the religious, the agnostic, the Indians and the Eskimos, the veterans, and the prisoners. . . . nowadays all of these, and legions more, soberly talk about how very much alike all of us alcoholics are when we admit that the chips are finally down. AS BILL SEES IT, p. 24

I cannot consider myself “different” in A.A.; if I do I isolate myself from others and from contact with my Higher Power. If I feel isolated in A.A., it is not something for which others are responsible. It is something I’ve created by feeling I’m “different” in some way. Today I practice being just another alcoholic in the worldwide Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous."

Words Of Wisdom From His Holiness Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama

"Since patience or tolerance comes from an ability to remain steadfast, to avoid being overwhelmed by adverse situations or conditions, we should not see patience as a sign of weakness or giving in, but rather as a sign of strength. Responding to a trying situation with patience and tolerance rather than reacting with anger and hatred involves active restraint, which arises from a strong, self-disciplined mind."

FEBRUARY 18

OUR PATHS ARE OUR OWN

. . . there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple

kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 25

My first attempt at the Steps was one of obligation and

necessity, which resulted in a deep feeling of

discouragement in the face of all those adverbs:

courageously; completely; humbly; directly; and only. I

considered Bill W. fortunate to have gone through such a

major, even sensational, spiritual experience. I had to

discover, as time went on, that my path was my own. After

a few twenty-four hours in the A.A. Fellowship, thanks

especially to the sharing of members in the meetings, I

understood that everyone gradually finds his or her own

pace in moving through the Steps. Through progressive

means, I try to live according to these suggested principles.

As a result of these Steps, I can say today that my attitude

towards life, people, and towards anything having to do

with God, has been transformed and improved.

Online Daily Reflections

FEBRUARY 17

THE LOVE IN THEIR EYES

Some of us won't believe in God, others can't, and still

others who do believe that God exists have no faith

whatever He will perform this miracle.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 25

It was the changes I saw in the new people who came into

the Fellowship that helped me lose my fear, and change my

negative attitude to a positive one. I could see the love in

their eyes and I was impressed by how much their "One

Day at a Time" sobriety meant to them. They had looked

squarely at Step Two and came to believe that a power

greater than themselves was restoring them to sanity. That

gave me faith in the Fellowship, and hope that it could

work for me too. I found that God was a loving God, not

that punishing God I feared before coming to A.A. I also

found that He had been with me during all those times I had

been in trouble before I came to A.A. I know today that He

was the one who led me to A.A. and that I am a miracle.

God Doing For Me................

I just received another call back from a local  treatment center inquiring if I was still interested in working for them. Being unemployed since December, this is a Godsend !    Let GO Let GOD

Words Of Wisdom From His Holiness Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama

A given situation can be viewed as either unbearable or beneficial: it depends how we look at it. We must make certain that things don’t begin to seem unbearable. If we look too closely at problems we will see nothing else and they will appear all out of proportion with reality; that is when they become intolerable. If we can stand back from them, we will be better able to judge them and they will seem less serious.

Neil Young - Needle and the Damage Done

This goes out for a friend of mine who was found a while back in his car with a needle still in his arm, sometimes in the program you never know a friends last name till you read it in paper.
You have to ask yourself, Do I really think I have one more left in me?

Online Daily Reflections

FEBRUARY 16

COMMITMENT

Understanding is the key to right principles and attitudes,
and right action is the key to good living.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 125
There came a time in my program of recovery when the
third stanza of the Serenity Prayer—"The wisdom to know
the difference"—became indelibly imprinted in my mind.
From that time on, I had to face the ever-present
knowledge that my every action, word and thought was
within, or outside, the principles of the program. I could no
longer hide behind self-rationalization, nor behind the
insanity of my disease. The only course open to me, if I
was to attain a joyous life for myself (and subsequently for
those I love), was one in which I imposed on myself an
effort of commitment, discipline, and responsibility

Squirrel Nut Zippers "Put A Lid On It"

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time Again!

Determination

Prayers And Condolences

My Payers And Condolences Go Out To His Holyness Dalai Lama And His Family, Whose Nephew Jigme Norbu Was Killed Yesterday In An Accident Near St Augustine Florida, In A Walk For Tibet Florida Event.  

Online Daily Reflections

Online Daily Reflections — by A.A. Members for A.A. Members

TAKING ACTION
FEBRUARY 15, 2011
Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us–sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84

One of the most important things A.A. has given me, in addition to freedom from booze, is the ability to take “right action.” It says the promises will ALWAYS materialize if I WORK for them. Fantasizing about them, debating them, preaching about them and faking them just won’t work. I’ll remain a miserable, rationalizing dry drunk. By taking action and working the Twelve Steps in all my affairs, I’ll have a life beyond my wildest dreams."

Words Of Wisdom From His Holiness Dalai Lama

 Dalai Lama Feelings of anger and hatred arise from a mind that is troubled by dissatisfaction and discontent. So you can prepare to deal with such occasions by constantly working to build inner contentment and by cultivating kindness and compassion. This brings about a certain calmness of mind that can help prevent anger from arising in the first place.

Be My Valentine

Be My  Valentine

O, be swift to love! Make haste to be kind.

— Henri F. Amiel

The legend of St. Valentine goes back to the early days of Christianity when Christians were being persecuted by the Romans. One Christian, Valentinus, was tried as a heretic and sentenced to death. In prison, Valentinus befriended a guard who respected his wisdom, and soon the guard brought his seven-year-old blind daughter, Julia, to Valentinus for lessons. Daily, the two talked of important things, and Julia developed a deep love and respect for her mentor. One day Julia asked him, “Valentinus, do you think I will ever be able to see? ”

Valentinus thought for a moment and answered, “With love in your heart and belief in God, anything is possible, Julia. ”

At that moment, Julia was overtaken with a flash of light, and suddenly her eyesight was restored. “Valentinus, I can see! ” the child shouted.

“Praise be to God, ” he humbly answered.

The next day when Julia came to visit Valentinus, he was gone. He had been taken to his execution. Julia found this note:

My Dear Julia,

Although we shall never see each other again, know
that I will always love you. You are very dear to me. I will
stay unseen by your side, and I will live in your heart. I
believe in you.

Your Valentine

The Tide is Turning - Roger Waters

There are many songs that I profess to love, But this song brings up the goose flesh every time I hear it. The lyrics still resonate twenty years later

The Tide Is Turning

I used to think the world was flat
Rarely threw my hat into the crowd
I felt I had used up my quota of yearning
Used to look in on the children at night
In the glow of their Donald Duck light
And frighten myself with the thought of my little ones burning
But, oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning

Satellite buzzing through the endless night
Exclusive to moonshots and world title fights
Jesus Christ, imagine what it must be earning
Who is the strongest
Who is the best
Who holds the aces
The East
Or the West
This is the crap our children are learning
But oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning

Now the satellite's confused
'Cause on Saturday night
The airwaves were full of compassion and light
And his silicon heart
Warmed to the sight of a billion candles burning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning Billy

I'm not saying that the battle is won
But on Saturday night all those kids in the sun
Wrested technology's sword from the hand of the war lords
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning Sylvester
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning

The Meeting

Bill Meets Dr. Bob. In His Own Words

Online Daily Reflections

FEBRUARY 14
EXPECTATIONS vs. DEMANDS

Burn the idea into the consciousness of ever, man that he
can get well regardless of anyone. The only condition is
that he trust in God and clean house.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 98
Dealing with expectations is a frequent topic at meetings. It
isn't wrong to expect progress of myself, good things from
life, or decent treatment from others. Where I get into
trouble is when my expectations become demands. I will
fall short of what I wish to be and situations will go in
ways I do not like, because people will let me down
sometimes. The only question is: "What am I going to do
about it?" Wallow in self-pity or anger; retaliate and make
a bad situation worse; or will I trust in God's power to
bring blessings on the messes in which I find myself? Will
I ask Him what I should be learning; do I keep on doing the
right things I know how to do, no matter what; do I take
time to share my faith and blessings with others?

Sunday Afternoon

A little Sunday afternoon music, a testament to my other addiction. Now off to Home Group!

U2 I Still Haven't Found What Im Looking For Live From Milan

Ian Anderson - Bouree

Online Daily Reflections

FEBRUARY 13
WE CAN'T THINK OUR WAY SOBER

To the intellectually self-sufficient man or woman, many A.
A.'s can say, "Yes, we were like you—far too smart for our
own good. . . . Secretly, we felt we could float above the
rest of the folks on our brain power alone."
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 60
Even the most brilliant mind is no defense against the
disease of alcoholism. I can't think my way sober. I try to
remember that intelligence is a God-given attribute that I
may use, a joy—like having a talent for dancing or drawing
or carpentry. It does not make me better than anyone else,
and it is not a particularly reliable tool for recovery, for it is
a power greater than myself who will restore me to
sanity—not a high IQ or a college degree.

Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama

Feelings of anger and hatred arise from a mind that is troubled by dissatisfaction and discontent. So you can prepare to deal with such occasions by constantly working to build inner contentment and by cultivating kindness and compassion. This brings about a certain calmness of mind that can help prevent anger from arising in the first place."

Online Daily Reflections

Online Daily Reflections — by A.A. Members for A.A. Members

THE ROOT OF OUR TROUBLES
FEBRUARY 12, 2011
Selfishness–self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of all our troubles. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 62

How amazing the revelation that the world, and everyone in it, can get along just fine with or without me. What a relief to know that people, places and things will be perfectly okay without my control and direction. And how wordlessly wonderful to come to believe that a power greater than me exists separate and apart from myself. I believe that the feeling of separation I experience between me and God will one day vanish. In the meantime, faith must serve as the pathway to the center of my life."

Uniqueness

Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else. 
-- Margaret Mead

Online Daily Reflections

Daily Reflection
FEBRUARY 11
THE LIMITS OF SELF-RELIANCE

We asked ourselves why we had them [fears]. Wasn't it
because self-reliance failed us?
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 68
All of my character defects separate me from God's will.
When I ignore my association with Him I face the world
and my alcoholism alone and must depend on self-reliance.
I have never found security and happiness through self-will
and the only result is a life of fear and discontent. God
provides the path back to Him and to His gift of serenity
and comfort. First, however, I must be willing to acknowledge
my fears and understand their source and power
over me. I frequently ask God to help me understand how I
separate myself from Him.

Online Daily Reflections

Online Daily Reflections — by A.A. Members for A.A. Members

I DON'T RUN THE SHOW
FEBRUARY 10, 2011

When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is, or He isn’t. What was our choice to be? ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.53

Today my choice is God. He is everything. For this I am truly grateful. When I think I am running the show I am blocking God from my life. I pray I can remember this when I allow myself to get caught up into self. The most important thing is that today I am willing to grow along spiritual lines, and that God is everything. When I was trying to quit drinking on my own, it never worked; with God and A.A., it is working. This seems to be a simple thought for a complicated alcoholic."

Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama

The more you think about your own self, the more self-centred you are, the more trouble even small problems can create in your mind. The stronger your sense of ‘I’, the narrower the scope of your thinking becomes; then even small obstacles become unbearable. On the other hand, if you concern yourself mainly with others, the broader your thinking becomes, and life’s inevitable difficulties disturb you less."

It's A Small World - Disney

Did you ever get a song stuck in your head and everything you do fails to get rid of it?

This song is guaranteed to get rid of it!

Did I forget to mention now you'll have this song stuck in your head with no possible way to get it out?

Your Welcome! ;-)

Online Daily Reflections

FEBRUARY 9
GETTING THE "SPIRITUAL ANGLE"

How often do we sit in AA meetings and hear the speaker
declare, "But I haven't yet got the spiritual angle." Prior to
this statement, he had described a miracle of
transformation which had occurred in him—not only his
release from alcohol, but a complete change in his whole
attitude toward life and the living of it It is apparent to
nearly everyone else present that he has received a great
gift; " . . . except that he doesn't seem to know it yet!"
We well know that this questioning individual will tell us six
months or a year hence that he has found faith in God.
LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 275
A spiritual experience can be the realization that a life
which once seemed empty and devoid of meaning is now
joyous and full. In my life today, daily prayer and
meditation, coupled with living the Twelve Steps, has
brought about an inner peace and feeling of belonging
which was missing when I was drinking.

It's Not Them

I have to remind myself this all the time!

Online Daily Reflections

Online Daily Reflections — by A.A. Members for A.A. Members

CONVINCING 'MR. HYDE'
FEBRUARY 8, 2011

Even then, as we hew away, peace and joy will still elude us. That’s the place so many of us A.A. oldsters have come to. And it’s a hell of a spot, literally. How shall our unconscious–from which so many of our fears, compulsions and phony aspirations still stream–be brought into line with what we actually believe, know and want! How to convince our dumb, raging and hidden “Mr. Hyde” becomes our main task. THE BEST OF BILL, pp. 42-43

Regular attendance at meetings, service and helping others is the recipe that many have tried and found to be successful. Whenever I stray from these basic principles, my old habits resurface and my old self also comes back with all its fears and defects. The ultimate goal of each A.A. member is permanent sobriety, achieved One Day at a Time.

Online Daily Reflections

Online Daily Reflections — by A.A. Members for A.A. Members

A PATH TO FAITH
FEBRUARY 7, 2011

True humility and an open mind can lead us to faith, and every A.A. meeting is an assurance that God will restore us to sanity if we rightly relate ourselves to Him. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 33

My last drunk had landed me in the hospital, totally broken. It was then that I was able to see my past float in front of me. I realized that, through drinking, I had lived every nightmare I had ever had. My own self-will and obsession to drink had driven me into a dark pit of hallucinations, blackouts and despair. Finally beaten, I asked for God’s help. His presence told me to believe. My obsession for alcohol was taken away and my paranoia has since been lifted. I am no longer afraid. I know my life is healthy and sane."

Super Bowl Predictions

My Super Bowl Prediction, Packers 28, Steelers 17, Corporations 187 billion,  You 0.

Bob marley "no woman no cry" 1979

Happy Birthday Bob! RIP

Online Daily Reflections

Online Daily Reflections — by A.A. Members for A.A. Members
A RALLYING POINT
FEBRUARY 6, 2011

Therefore, Step Two is the rallying point for all of us. “Whether agnostic, atheist, or former believer, we can stand together on this Step. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 33

I feel that A.A. is a God-inspired program and that God is at every A.A. meeting. I see, believe, and have come to know that A.A. works, because I have stayed sober today. I am turning my life over to A.A. and to God by going to an A.A. meeting. If God is in my heart and He speaks to me through other people, then I must be a channel of God to other people. I should seek to do His will by living spiritual principles and my reward will be sanity and emotional sobriety."

In Memory Of Thomas Thetcher

Folks have asked why the tombstone on the photo in my profile here's a larger image. If you still don't make the connection you need to look no further than page one in that Big Book they talk about in the meetings. So if your new to this I can only offer these suggestions 1 Get A Sponsor   2 Read The Big Book 3 Find Your Higher Power  4 Meetings, Meetings, and More Meetings. 

Panoramio - Photo of The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge.

Panoramio - Photo of The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge.

I long for good weather, Right now it's 29 with Horizontal Snow.

Super Bowl

Congratulations to the Packers and the Steelers! You're both a credit to the defunct industries that are your namesakes.

Words Of Wisdom From His Holiness Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama

I feel that an individual whose actions are motivated by the wish to bring others happiness necessarily meets with less misfortune that one who does not. Sickness, old age, mishaps of one sort or another are the same for us all. But the sufferings which undermine our internal peace - anxiety, doubt, disappointment - these are definitely less.

Online Daily Reflections

Online Daily Reflections — by A.A. Members for A.A. Members

A GLORIOUS RELEASE
FEBRUARY 5, 2011

The minute I stopped arguing, I could begin to see and feel. Right there, Step Two gently and very gradually began to infiltrate my life. I can’t say upon what occasion or upon what day I came to believe in a Power greater than myself, but I certainly have that belief now. To acquire it, I had to stop fighting and practice the rest of A.A.’s program as enthusiastically as I could. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.27

After years of indulging in a “self-will run riot,” Step Two became for me a glorious release from being all alone. Nothing is so painful or insurmountable in my journey now. Someone is always there to share life’s burdens with me. Step Two became a reinforcement with God, and I now realize that my insanity and ego were curiously linked. To rid myself of the former, I must give up the latter to One with far broader shoulders than my own."

Problems

 You can't run from your problems forever. Eventually, you'll have to take a car, train, boat or a plane to really avoid them. NOT!

Words Of Wisdom From His Holiness Dalai Lama

Dalai LamaWe can't be useful to ourselves unless we're useful to others.

Online Daily Reflections

Online Daily Reflections — by A.A. Members for A.A. Members:
WHEN FAITH IS MISSING
FEBRUARY 4, 2011

Sometimes A.A. comes harder to those who have lost or rejected faith than to those who never had any faith at all, for they think they have faith and found it wanting. They have tried the way of faith and the way of no faith. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 28

I was so sure God had failed me that I became ultimately defiant, though I knew better, and plunged into a final drinking binge. My faith turned bitter and that was no coincidence. Those who once had great faith hit bottom harder. It took time to rekindle my faith, though I came to A.A. I was grateful intellectually to have survived such a great fall, but my heart felt callous. Still, I stuck with the A.A. program; the alternatives were too bleak! I kept coming back and gradually my faith was resurrected."

Words Of Wisdom From His Holiness Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama
The whole purpose of engaging in the practice of patience is to become stronger in mind, stronger in heart."

Don McLean - American Pie

The Day The Music Died!

On this day in 1959, rising American rock stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson are killed when their chartered Beechcraft Bonanza plane crashes in Iowa a few minutes after takeoff from Mason City on a flight headed for Moorehead, Minnesota.

R.E.M. Man On the Moon

Here's A Truck Stop Instead Of St. Peters, Yea, Yea. Yea, Yea!

Online Daily Reflections

Online Daily Reflections — by A.A. Members for A.A. Members:

FILLING THE VOID
FEBRUARY 3, 2011

We needed to ask ourselves but one short question. “Do I now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power greater than myself?” As soon as a man can say that he does believe, or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on his way. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 47

I was always fascinated with the study of scientific principles. I was emotionally and physically distant from people while I pursued Absolute Knowledge. God and spirituality were meaningless academic exercises. I was a modern man of science, knowledge was my Higher Power. Given the right set of equations, life was merely another problem to solve. Yet my inner self was dying from my outer man’s solution to life’s problems and the solution was alcohol. In spite of my intelligence, alcohol became my Higher Power. It was through the unconditional love which emanated from A.A. people and meetings that I was able to discard alcohol as my Higher Power. The great void was filled. I was no longer lonely and apart from life. I had found a true power greater than myself, I had found God’s love. There is only one equation which really matters to me now: God is in A.A."

On Egypt...

I would hurry up, Egypt. Only three days left in the American attention span.

susan tedeschi angel from montgomery

Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama: "Dalai Lama Adopting a wider perspective includes working cooperatively with others. Crises that are global by nature, such as problems related to climate change or the modern economic structure, call for coordinated and concerted efforts among many people, with a sense of responsibility and commitment - this is more encompassing than any individual or personal issue."

Online Daily Reflections

Online Daily Reflections — by A.A. Members for A.A. Members: "RESCUED BY SURRENDERING
FEBRUARY 2, 2011
Characteristic of the so-called typical alcoholic is a narcissistic egocentric core, dominated by feelings of omnipotence, intent on maintaining at all costs its inner integrity…. Inwardly the alcoholic brooks no control from man or God. He, the alcoholic, is and must be the master of his destiny. He will fight to the end to preserve that position. A.A. COMES OF AGE, p.311

The great mystery is: “Why do some of us die alcoholic deaths, fighting to preserve the ‘independence’ of our ego, while others seem to sober up effortlessly in A.A.?” Help from a Higher Power, the gift of sobriety, came to me when an otherwise unexplained desire to stop drinking coincided with my willingness to accept the suggestions of the men and women of A.A. I had to surrender, for only by reaching out to God and my fellows could I be rescued."

Dalai Lama (DalaiLama) on Twitter

Dalai Lama (DalaiLama) on Twitter: "The aim of spiritual and therefore ethical practice is to transform and perfect the individual’s motivation and mental disposition."

Online Daily Reflections

Online Daily Reflections — by A.A. Members for A.A. Members: "GOAL: SANITY
FEBRUARY 1, 2011
…Step Two gently and very gradually began to infiltrate my life. I can’t say upon what occasion or on what day I came to believe in a power greater than myself, but I certainly have that belief now. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 27

“Came to believe!” I gave lip service to my belief when I felt like it or when I thought it would look good. I didn’t really trust God. I didn’t believe He cared for me. I kept trying to change things I couldn’t change. Gradually, in disgust, I began to turn it all over, saying: “You’re so omnipotent, you take care of it.” He did. I began to receive answers to my deepest problems, sometimes at the most unusual times: driving to work, eating lunch, or when I was sound asleep. I realized that I hadn’t thought of those solutions–a Power greater than myself had given them to me. I came to believe."