Today, Dom F from Reston, VA joins us to talk about Powerlessness; how powerlessness works in his program of recovery and he stays sober, one day at a time.

Check out Dom's meetings at https://aavirginia.org/meetings/the-sunlight-of-the-spirit-group/

January 3 - Powerless
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 21

It is no coincidence that the very first Step mentions powerlessness: An admission of personal powerlessness over alcohol is a cornerstone of the foundation of recovery. I've learned that I do not have the power and control I once thought I had. I am powerless over what people think about me. I am powerless over having just missed the bus. I am powerless over how other people work (or don't work) the Steps. But I've also learned I am not powerless over some things. I am not powerless over my attitudes. I am not powerless over negativity. I am not powerless over assuming responsibility for my own recovery. I have the power to exert a positive influence on myself, my loved ones, and the world in which I live.

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If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Quentin W. from New York City joins the program today to share on the concept of the foundations of recovery. Quentin frequently attends the Sunrise Semester group in Philadelphia, PA via online meetings. I've gotten to know Quentin through his shares at meetings and he's got a phenomenal take on the foundation of recovery. I hope you enjoy this episode.

FIRST, THE FOUNDATION
Is sobriety all that we can expect of a spiritual awakening? No, sobriety is only a bare beginning.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 8

Practicing the A.A. program is like building a house. First I had to pour a big, thick concrete slab on which to erect the house; that, to me, was the equivalent of stopping drinking. But it's pretty uncomfortable living on a concrete slab, unprotected and exposed to the heat, cold, wind and rain. So I built a room on the slab by starting to practice the program. The first room was rickety because I wasn't used to the work. But as time passed, as I practiced the program, I learned to build better rooms. The more I practiced, and the more I built, the more comfortable, and happy, was the home I now have to live in.

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If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Today, Louie L from Florida joins me to share on the reflection for January 1st. Louie has a great program of recovery and I respect him immensely. 

Meeting Guide: https://meetingguide.org
To find a meeting, start here: https://www.aa.org/

January 1st

"I AM A MIRACLE"

The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us which we could never do by ourselves.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 25

This truly is a fact in my life today, and a real miracle. I always believed in God, but could never put that belief meaningfully into my life. Today, because of Alcoholics Anonymous, I now trust and rely on God, as I understand Him; I am sober today because of that! Learning to trust and rely on God was something I could never have done alone. I now believe in miracles because I am one!

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If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out. 

Support the show

Need the Daily Reflection Book?

Visit our web site

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Support the Podcast:

- On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection

- On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection

If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

The idea of "twenty-four-hour living" applies primarily to the emotional life of the individual. Emotionally speaking, we must not live in yesterday, nor in tomorrow.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 284

A New Year: 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes—a time to consider directions, goals, and actions. I must make some plans to live a normal life, but also I must live emotionally within a twenty-four-hour frame, for if I do, I don't have to make New Year's resolutions! I can make every day a New Year's day! I can decide, "Today I will do this . . . Today I will do that." Each day I can measure my life by trying to do a little better, by deciding to follow God's will, and by making an effort to put the principles of our A.A. program into action.

** NEWS ** Starting tomorrow, I'll be incorporating a new format. We'll host interviews with members of the recovery community. These are individuals I've encountered through my attendance at various recovery meetings around the world. They will read the reflection and share their experience, strength and hope around that reflection. 

Thanks so much for listening. Please provide feedback view a rating, a review or send me email at [email protected].

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If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 564

Tradition Twelve became important early in my sobriety and, along with the Twelve Steps, it continues to be a must in my recovery. I became aware after I joined the Fellowship that I had personality problems, so that when I first heard it, the Tradition's message was very clear: there exists an immediate way for me to face, with others, my alcoholism and attendant anger, defensiveness, offensiveness. I saw Tradition Twelve as being a great egodeflator; it relieved my anger and gave me a chance to utilize the principles of the program. All of the Steps, and this particular Tradition, have guided me over decades of continuous sobriety. I am grateful to those who were here when I needed them.

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If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

. . . therefore the joy of good living is the theme of A.A.'s Twelfth Step.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 125

A.A. is a joyful program! Even so, I occasionally balk at taking the necessary steps to move ahead, and find myself resisting the very actions that could bring about the joy I want. I would not resist if those actions did not touch some vulnerable area of my life, an area that needs hope and fulfillment. Repeated exposure to joyfulness has a way of softening the hard, outer edges of my ego. Therein lies the power of joyfulness to help all members of A.A.

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If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

In A.A. we aim not only for sobriety—we try again to become citizens of the world that we rejected, and of the world that once rejected us. This is the ultimate demonstration toward which Twelfth Step work is the first but not the final step.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 21

The old line says, "Suit up and show up." That action is so important that I like to think of it as my motto. I can choose each day to suit up and show up, or not. Showing up at meetings starts me toward feeling a part of that meeting, for then I can do what I say I'll do at meetings. I can talk with newcomers, and I can share my experience; that's what credibility, honesty, and courtesy really are. Suiting up and showing up are the concrete actions I take in my ongoing return to normal living.

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If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

"Quite as important was the discovery that spiritual principles would solve all my problems."

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 42

Through the recovery process described in the Big Book, I have come to realize that the same instructions that work on my alcoholism, work on much more. Whenever I am angry or frustrated, I consider the matter a manifestation of the main problem within me, alcoholism. As I "walk" through the Steps, my difficulty is usually dealt with long before I reach the Twelfth "suggestion," and those difficulties that persist are remedied when I make an effort to carry the message to someone else. These principles do solve my problems! I have not encountered an exception, and I have been brought to a way of living which is satisfying and useful.

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Support the Podcast:

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If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Furthermore, how shall we come to terms with seeming failure or success? Can we now accept and adjust to either without despair or pride? Can we accept poverty, sickness, loneliness, and bereavement with courage and serenity? Can we steadfastly content ourselves with the humbler, yet sometimes more durable, satisfactions when the brighter, more glittering achievements are denied us?

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 112

After I found A.A. and stopped drinking, it took a while before I understood why the First Step contained two parts: my powerlessness over alcohol, and my life's unmanageability. In the same way, I believed for a long time that, in order to be in tune with the Twelve Steps, it was enough for me "to carry this message to alcoholics."  That was rushing things. I was forgetting that there were a total of Twelve Steps and that the Twelfth Step also had more than one part. Eventually, I learned that it was necessary for me to "practice these principles" in all areas of my life. In working all the Steps thoroughly, I not only stay sober and help someone else to achieve sobriety but also I transform my difficulty with living into a joy of living.

Support the show

Need the Daily Reflection Book?

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Support the Podcast:

- On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection

- On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection

If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities "How can I best serve Thee— Thy will (not mine) be done."

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 85

I read this passage each morning, to start off my day, because it is a continual reminder to "practice these principles in all my affairs." When I keep God's will at the forefront of my mind, I am able to do what I should be doing, and that puts me at peace with life, with myself and with God.

Support the show

Need the Daily Reflection Book?

Visit our web site

Read about Recovery on our Blog

Visit our Facebook Group

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Support the Podcast:

- On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection

- On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection

If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.