Sobriety Survival101

Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. has not approved, endorsed, or reviewed this website, nor is it affiliated with it, and the ability to link to A.A.’s site does not imply otherwise. The AA Preamble "ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety." The Serenity Prayer God, grant me The serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, and The wisdom to know the diffe

On Awakening (from  Alcoholics Anonymous  – pages 86-88) ►  On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day. 1. Before we begin,  we ask God to direct our thinking  … 2. Especially  asking that it be divorced from * self-pity, * dishonest or * self-seeking motives. ►  Under these conditions we can employ our mental faculties with assurance, for after all God gave us brains to use.  Our thought-life will be placed on a much higher plane when our thinking is cleared of wrong motives. ►  In thinking about our day we may face indecision. We may not be able to determine which course to take. Here … 1. We ask God for * inspiration, * an intuitive thought, or * a decision. 2. We relax and take it easy. We don't struggle. 3. We are often surprised how the right answers come after we have tried this for a while. 4. What used to be the hunch or the occasional inspiration gradually becomes a working part of the mind. ► Being still inexperienced a

The Twelve Steps We admitted we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable.  Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.  Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God  as we understood Him. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.  Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.  Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.  Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.  Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.  Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.  Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.  Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God  as we understood Him , praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that

“Why are you rushing so much?” asked the rabbi. “I’m rushing after my livelihood,” the man answered. “And how do you know,” said the rabbi, “that your livelihood is running on before you, so that you have to rush after it? Perhaps it’s behind you, and all you need to do is stand still.” —Tale about Rabbi Ben Meir of Berdichev Most of us accept the standard ideas we were taught. “Men should be good providers.” “We will get self-esteem from hard work.” “It is a virtue to be productive.” “It’s better not to have too much time to think.” A major crisis can quickly change our perspective. Perhaps someone close to us dies, and we are faced with how temporary life is. Or we have a health crisis, or a relationship crisis, or an addiction crisis. The standard ideas come crashing down. We look closely at the rush of our lives and ask deeper questions: Are we hurrying to a worthwhile goal? Or are we losing out in our great rush? These doubts can teach us personal things that society can never tea

"Slippery Souls need Sober Shoes" "Happiness keeps You Sweet, Trials keep You Strong, Sorrows keep You Human, Failures keep You Humble, Success keeps You Glowing, But Only God keeps You Going!" "It's not what I know in recovery that keeps me sober. It's what I Do that keeps me sober." "I used to be a hopeless dope fiend; today I'm dopeless hope fiend." "Suit up and Show up, Don't shoot up and throw up" "If God made anything better than this, He kept it for himself!" "If I Forget 'What' I am, It doesn't Matter 'Who' I am." "god helps those who help themselves do nothing and nothing will happen" "I searched for the enemy that I could not see, when I looked in the mirror the enemy was me." "There is a GOD and I am not it." "The slogan s are Band-aids; The steps are the cure; your Higher Power is the doctor."

“AA is not for people who need it, its for people who want it.” “If you’re not moving away from a drink you’re moving closer to it.” “Sobriety is a journey; not a destination.” “Call your sponsor before, not after, you take the first drink” “We can be positive that our drinking was negative” “If I think, I won’t drink. If I drink, I can’t think.” “Even my worst day in sobriety is better than my best day drunk.” “When all else fails, the directions are in the Big Book.” “Why recovery never ends: the disease is alcoholISM, not alcoholWASM!” “A coincidence is a miracle in which God chooses to remain anonymous.” “Having a resentment is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die.” “An alcoholic without a sponsor is like leaving Dracula in charge of the blood bank.” “The first thing in the human personality that dissolves in alcohol is dignity.” “First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.” -Francis Scott Key Fitzgera

All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act without benefit of experience. —Henry Miller From time to time you may move through the day with little energy or interest, as if on automatic pilot—taking the same route to work, eating the same meals, attending the same meetings, or spending time with the same people. You may ask, “Where am I going in my life?” But a more productive question is, “Where am I  growing  in my life?” Although familiar routines provide comfort, they can prevent you from experiencing new challenges, excitement, and opportunities for change and growth. Doing something new or different every once in a while can help you break out of the rut of your daily grind and give you something new to think or talk about. Today, strive to experience something new and different in your life. Take a new route to work. Stop at a different coffee shop. Strike up a conversation with someone you do not know at a meeting. Accept an invitation to dinner. Such ex