Readings

For Today:

"Back of tranquility lies conquered unhappiness." David Grayson

"'Be optimistic . . . look on the bright side.' I have often tried to follow that advice, but it seldom brought solutions to my problems. It is difficult to get in touch with feelings, hold them up, and examine them in the light of sobriety and abstinence. But what a difference it makes! The great phantoms of misery vanish under such scrutiny, not because I've given them a coating of optimism, but because I worked my way through to the source of my unhappiness.
I know that I cannot do it alone. I need this program, my fellow OA members and my Higher Power with me every step of the way. Only with that help am I able to deal with my difficulties and turn over what I cannot handle. Serenity is letting go and letting God.

For today: Am I taking advantage of ALL the help O offers in trying to get at the root of my unhappiness? many choices are open to me: I can ask someone to sponsor me, go to a meeting, write an inventory or take steps five through nine."

Okay, Self - really time to move along with step 8 and do 9.

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Voices of Recovery:

"Those of us who live this program don't simply carry the message, we are the message. Each day that we live well, we are well, and we embody the joy of recovery which attracts others who want what we've found in OA." OA 12 & 12 p. 106

I feel like I've already typed this one. But will continue anyway.

"When I am in recovery, I am better able to share the OA message with the world. My thoughts are clearer to me, and I can live my life according to the Steps and Traditions. I listen carefully to the messages of others and tell my fellow OA members what I was like and what I ahve done to save my life.
Staying abstinent and working the spiritual and emotional parts of this program are the only ways I can survive this deadly disease. When I depend on my Higher Power, my sponsor's wisdom, and the meetings i attend, my recovery grows daily. Using the tools keeps me focused on living to the best of my ability.

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In This Moment:


"In This moment, I let go of past negative beliefs.

My negativity used to stop me from loving myself and loving others. Now, when old beliefs creep into my thought patterns. i remember the work I have done on Step Four. I remind myself of how much I have grown in recovery. I stop, own my behavior, and make positive changes.

Through experiencing change, I know in my heart that all is possible. When I realize that negativity is seeping into my thinking, I know that I have a choice to let go of old ways. If I am taking someone else's inventory, or taking my own, I remind myself that we are all children of God. Each one of us deserves to be treated with love and respect."

Wow. Even me.

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The Language of Letting Go

"Our Path

I just spent several hours with someone from my group, and I feel like I'm losing my mind. This woman insisted that the only way I would make progress in my program was to go to her church and succumb to her religious rules. She pushed and insisted, and insisted and pushed. She's been in the program so much longer than I have. I kept thinking that she must know what she's talking about. But it didn't feel right. And now I feel crazy, afraid, guilty, and ashamed." - Anonymous

"The spiritual path and growth promised to us by the Twelve Steps dos not depend on any religious belief. They are not contingent upon any denomination or sect. They are not, as the traditions of Twelve Step programs state, affiliated with any religious denomination or organization.
we do not have to allow anyone to badger us about religion in recovery. We do not have to allow people to make us feel ashamed, afraid, or less-than because we do not subscribe to these beliefs about religion.
We do not have to let them do it to us in the name of God, love, or recovery.
The spiritual experience we will find as a result of recovery and the TWelve STeps will be our own spiritual experience. It will be a relationship with God, a Higher Power as we understand God.
Each of us must find our own spiritual path. Each of us must build our own relationship with God as we understand God. Each of us needs a Power greater than ourselves. These concepts are critical to recovery.
So is the freedom to choose how to do that.


Higher Power, help me know that I don't have to allow anyone to shame or badger me into religious beliefs. If they confuse that with the spirituality available in recovery, help me give their issue back to them. Help me discover and develop my own spirituality, a path that works for me. Guide me, with Divine Wisdom, as I grow spiritually.

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