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From Daily Reflections

November 3rd

There is a direct linkage among self - examination, meditation, and prayer. Taken separately, these practices can bring much relief and benefit. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 98

If I do my self - examination first, then surely, I’ll have enough humility to pray and meditate - because I’ll see and feel my need for them. Some wish to begin and end with prayer, leaving the self - examination and meditation to take place in between, whereas others start with meditation, listening for advice from God about their still hidden or unacknowledged defects. Still others engage in written and verbal work on their defects, ending with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. These three - self - examination, meditation and prayer - form a circle, without a beginning or an end. No matter where, or how, I start, I eventually arrive at my destination: a better life.

NOTHING GROWS IN THE DARK

We will want the good that is in us all, even in the worst of us, to flower and to grow.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 10

With the self-discipline and insight gained from practicing Step Ten, I begin to know the gratifications of sobriety — not as mere abstinence from alcohol, but as recovery in every
department of my life.

I renew hope, regenerate faith, and regain the dignity of self-respect. I discover the word
“and” in the phrase “and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.”
Reassured that I am no longer always wrong, I learn to accept myself as I am, with a new
sense of the miracles of sobriety and serenity.

There are many long term health effects of alcoholism on the body…

Because these effects usually involve several organs in the body, long-term heavy drinking puts you at risk for developing serious health conditions and illnesses. Here are examples of long term effects of alcohol on the body:

• Liver Inflammation and Cirrhosis of the Liver - liver inflammation symptoms include abnormal yellowing of the skin, eyeballs and urine, fever and abdominal pain. And in the case of cirrhosis, as many as one in five heavy drinkers will develop cirrhosis of the liver. Alcohol is especially damaging to the liver since the liver is needed to metabolize alcohol. Alcohol destroys liver cells, and it destroys the ability of the liver to regenerate new cells.

• Cancer - long term heavy drinkers increase their risk for certain forms of cancer such as cancer of the mouth, throat and esophagus and colon.

• Heart disease - long term heavy drinking increases a person’s risk for developing high blood pressure and heart disease.

• Pancreaitis - long term heavy drinking can result in the development inflammation of the pancreas, called pancreatitis. The pancreas are needed for food digestion, and pancreaitis symptoms include severe abdominal pain and weight loss. Pancreaitis can be life-threatening.

Other long term negative health effects of alcohol on the body include damage to the brain, nerve damage, bleeding in the esophagus, erectile dysfunction in men, insomnia and depression.

What comes to your mind when you hear the word cult? Jim Jones Kool Aid? David Koresh? Charles Manson?

This article has been Dugg 924 times in the last 12 days.

I have to admit that some of the comments are a bit aggravating, but everyone’s entitled to their opinion. At the end of the day only one thing matters to me - how am I with my own life? How do I feel about the choices I’m making and the quality of my happiness? That’s it. Funny thing, is many of the people that argue vehemently about everything would have their own “cult” if they could find some people that they could conform to their non-conformist beliefs.

My personal opinion is that people spend way too much time being smarter than everyone else and determining what’s best for everyone else. Saving the masses from themselves is an easy distraction from your own problems. Let me save me. HOW I see fit. Worry about saving yourself. Some of the wisest words I’ve ever received - “Do you want to be right or do you want to be peaceful?”

read more | digg story

Thanks to the BBC, I now have one more reason to be grateful that, just for today, I don’t drink.

A Russian man trying to sleep off a night of after-work drinking failed to notice a six-inch (15-cm) knife in his back - until his wife woke him up.

I came across a great article on addiction by Mark Smith from Family Tree Counseling this morning. He does a great job of approaching the disease of addiction with compassion and hope. Plus, he points out what many do not:

“While alcohol and drugs get much of the focus when discussing addictions, there are many substances to which human beings find themselves addicted: food, spending, rescuing, work, busyness, TV, exercise, approval, religion, shame, money, power, possessions, sex, relationships, smoking and prescription drugs to name just a few.”

My experience is that anything can be addictive if it interferes with my ability to participate in my own life. I can easily say today that I’m addicted to Web 2.0 Social Networking services. It was a great realization when I began understanding that addiction is not about one substance, but rather a whole way of thinking and behaving. There’s so much freedom that comes from applying spiritual principles to all areas of life.

I have no idea where Hamilton County is, but thanks Mark for shedding much needed gentle light on what truly is one of “the most important and destructive social issue of our generation.”

What strange addictions to you have? Leave a comment!

I need the A.A. principles for the development of the buried life within me, that good life, which I had misplaced, but which I found again in this fellowship. This life within me is developing slowly but surely, with many set-backs, many mistakes, many failures, but still developing. As long as I stick close to A.A., my life will go on developing, and I cannot yet know what it will be, but I know that it will be good. That’s all I want to know. It will be good.

Am I thanking God for A.A.?

Meditation for the Day

Build your life on the firm foundation of true gratitude to God for all His blessings and true humility because of your unworthiness of these blessings. Build the frame of your life out of self-discipline; never let yourself get selfish or lazy or contented with yourself. Build the walls of your life out of service to others, helping them to find the way to live. Build the roof of your life out of prayer and quiet times, waiting for God’s guidance from above. Build a garden around your life out of peace of mind and serenity and a sure faith.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may build my life on A.A. principles. I pray that it may be a good building when my work is finished.

Today’s Meditation from:

Twenty-Four Hours a Day by Hazelden Meditations