Weekly AA Thread - Week of Oct. 26 - Nov. 1
Welcome Tippy! :welcome: I hope you are finding your way around the site! The important thing is to read and post and read and post and read and post. If you keep exploring and clicking I think you will eventually figure out where things are, and find topics and groups that you identify with. I think 30 days AF is a GREAT goal to start out with. Just take it one day or even one minute at a time if you have to. Great suggestions about the AF Daily Thread in addition to this thread in Monthly Abstinence, as well as the other motivation threads that you can find in Just Starting Out and also General Discussion.
Mary, I am so glad that you have always posted here how you "just do it" as your sponsor suggests. Your words ring in my head whenever I feel rebellious about something that is suggested to me. I often think of your wonderful progress, and your advice to "just do it." Good for me to hear that you got back out of bed and on your knees. I will remember that next time (which is often!) I am tempted to skip stuff.
Cindi thanks for sharing those links!! I can ALWAYS use helpful info on ALL the steps. I can't imagine a time when there will be nothing beneficial left to learn about any of them. I'm just starting to appreciate what in means in AA that I don't have to be perfect - just willing to try. That certainly applies to me and the higher power business! I think if Bill W were still alive he would be all over this computer / internet age figuring out new ways to use modern technology to save us drunks from ourselves.
I think he would like MWO and the stuff on your laptop and also the iPhone cool thing that PP mentioned!
Speaking of...PP it's great to see you. It's wonderful that you are "heads down" and centered doing what you need to for your family, and that your AA "routine" helps you do that. That's what this is ultimately all about - not only getting rid of AL from our lives but finding a way to LIVE again. Mr. Doggy just recently got an iPhone and loves it. He thinks I need one. I have thought not up to this point - I don't need a phone that does much more than call out LOL! But the AA apps sound cool so maybe that will be my tipping point!!
This subject of perfection is an interesting one. I've been listening to some speaker CD's in my truck the last few days, and am really enjoying one with Brady Burns. I think it's safe to say he's an "old timer." At first I thought I wouldn't relate to much of his story but a number of things have grabbed my attention - and the impact of "perfectionism" is one of them. He describes how he became a perfectionist - the "conditional love" he grew up with. So that's the only way he knew how to have relationships, so he went on to have difficulties with marriages, etc. with the "conditional love" model. (if you are perfect, I will love you. If you are not perfect, I will punish you) Many of us got a dose of that in Church growing up it seems and/or from parents. I realize I did. I'm glad I don't have to be perfect any more and am learning some good tools to help me approach life from a standpoint of unconditional rather than conditional love. I realize I am rather weak at giving that sort of love AND receiving that sort of unconditional love.
Another topic he talks about in this CD is what it means to be "in fit spiritual condition" which is what the BB says gives us the daily reprieve. To be honest I did not have a good understanding of that (and probably still don't LOL!) I still have a bad habit of attaching the word "spiritual" to the word "religious." And I think I subconsciously may have been doing that with this important sentence from the BB.
He describes "fit spiritual condition" as having the character defects at bay so one can have some serenity and peace of mind. "Stinking Drinking Thinking" is driven by the defects such as fear, selfishness, self pity, resentment, etc. So if my "character defects" are running wild in my head, well - I'm at risk. I absolutely know THAT is true. As an example, if I let a resentment get going, then some "I'll show YOU (and go to a bar) thinking is sure to follow.
So...for me today, staying in "fit spiritual condition" as it pertains to my sobriety means using the tools I've learned thus far to keep resentment, selfishness, self pity, pride/ego, etc. QUIET in my head and heart.
LOL this is probably all obvious to others but sometimes I have to be hit with a board!! So now I have more purpose to my prayers and my actions with a clearer understanding of exactly how all this stuff relates to sobriety for moi.
The meeting this morning ended up being good. It was focused on the Daily Reflections reading which to day is about Tradition 10. (in a nutshell, AA's focus is on individual sobriety and helping others stay sober. AA doesn't take political positions on things or get involved in any type of controversial stuff.) I really enjoy studying the traditions but usually tradition meetings end up pretty dry. That was not the case today as some of the guys were there who have a bunch of years sobriety and interesting points of view. We didn't really stick to Tradition 10 but ended up discussion the traditions more generally, with lots of good comments on Tradition 3 (the only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking).
One guy talked about how he works to apply the traditions in his everyday life, which is something I haven't ever thought to consider before. I am continually amazed that the AA "organization" (which is certainly not the typically organization that I think of!) has survived so long on 12 simple rules that fit on one poster. I have to laugh when I think of the companies I have worked for and the massive volumes of policy manuals people think it takes to run things.
Well, this post is long enough!! I'm grateful for AA and the opportunity to learn some new skills that are making a positive difference in my life. And also grateful for the opportunity to share with you here!
Strength and hope,
DG
Welcome Tippy! :welcome: I hope you are finding your way around the site! The important thing is to read and post and read and post and read and post. If you keep exploring and clicking I think you will eventually figure out where things are, and find topics and groups that you identify with. I think 30 days AF is a GREAT goal to start out with. Just take it one day or even one minute at a time if you have to. Great suggestions about the AF Daily Thread in addition to this thread in Monthly Abstinence, as well as the other motivation threads that you can find in Just Starting Out and also General Discussion.
Mary, I am so glad that you have always posted here how you "just do it" as your sponsor suggests. Your words ring in my head whenever I feel rebellious about something that is suggested to me. I often think of your wonderful progress, and your advice to "just do it." Good for me to hear that you got back out of bed and on your knees. I will remember that next time (which is often!) I am tempted to skip stuff.
Cindi thanks for sharing those links!! I can ALWAYS use helpful info on ALL the steps. I can't imagine a time when there will be nothing beneficial left to learn about any of them. I'm just starting to appreciate what in means in AA that I don't have to be perfect - just willing to try. That certainly applies to me and the higher power business! I think if Bill W were still alive he would be all over this computer / internet age figuring out new ways to use modern technology to save us drunks from ourselves.
I think he would like MWO and the stuff on your laptop and also the iPhone cool thing that PP mentioned!Speaking of...PP it's great to see you. It's wonderful that you are "heads down" and centered doing what you need to for your family, and that your AA "routine" helps you do that. That's what this is ultimately all about - not only getting rid of AL from our lives but finding a way to LIVE again. Mr. Doggy just recently got an iPhone and loves it. He thinks I need one. I have thought not up to this point - I don't need a phone that does much more than call out LOL! But the AA apps sound cool so maybe that will be my tipping point!!
This subject of perfection is an interesting one. I've been listening to some speaker CD's in my truck the last few days, and am really enjoying one with Brady Burns. I think it's safe to say he's an "old timer." At first I thought I wouldn't relate to much of his story but a number of things have grabbed my attention - and the impact of "perfectionism" is one of them. He describes how he became a perfectionist - the "conditional love" he grew up with. So that's the only way he knew how to have relationships, so he went on to have difficulties with marriages, etc. with the "conditional love" model. (if you are perfect, I will love you. If you are not perfect, I will punish you) Many of us got a dose of that in Church growing up it seems and/or from parents. I realize I did. I'm glad I don't have to be perfect any more and am learning some good tools to help me approach life from a standpoint of unconditional rather than conditional love. I realize I am rather weak at giving that sort of love AND receiving that sort of unconditional love.
Another topic he talks about in this CD is what it means to be "in fit spiritual condition" which is what the BB says gives us the daily reprieve. To be honest I did not have a good understanding of that (and probably still don't LOL!) I still have a bad habit of attaching the word "spiritual" to the word "religious." And I think I subconsciously may have been doing that with this important sentence from the BB.
He describes "fit spiritual condition" as having the character defects at bay so one can have some serenity and peace of mind. "Stinking Drinking Thinking" is driven by the defects such as fear, selfishness, self pity, resentment, etc. So if my "character defects" are running wild in my head, well - I'm at risk. I absolutely know THAT is true. As an example, if I let a resentment get going, then some "I'll show YOU (and go to a bar) thinking is sure to follow.
So...for me today, staying in "fit spiritual condition" as it pertains to my sobriety means using the tools I've learned thus far to keep resentment, selfishness, self pity, pride/ego, etc. QUIET in my head and heart.
LOL this is probably all obvious to others but sometimes I have to be hit with a board!! So now I have more purpose to my prayers and my actions with a clearer understanding of exactly how all this stuff relates to sobriety for moi.
The meeting this morning ended up being good. It was focused on the Daily Reflections reading which to day is about Tradition 10. (in a nutshell, AA's focus is on individual sobriety and helping others stay sober. AA doesn't take political positions on things or get involved in any type of controversial stuff.) I really enjoy studying the traditions but usually tradition meetings end up pretty dry. That was not the case today as some of the guys were there who have a bunch of years sobriety and interesting points of view. We didn't really stick to Tradition 10 but ended up discussion the traditions more generally, with lots of good comments on Tradition 3 (the only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking).
One guy talked about how he works to apply the traditions in his everyday life, which is something I haven't ever thought to consider before. I am continually amazed that the AA "organization" (which is certainly not the typically organization that I think of!) has survived so long on 12 simple rules that fit on one poster. I have to laugh when I think of the companies I have worked for and the massive volumes of policy manuals people think it takes to run things.
Well, this post is long enough!! I'm grateful for AA and the opportunity to learn some new skills that are making a positive difference in my life. And also grateful for the opportunity to share with you here!
Strength and hope,
DG
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