Blog entries

February 5 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 2 | 2012

Don Oddy — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:52:04 +0100

February 5 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 2 | 2012 | Today's AA daily: "a glorious release" was the beginning of freedom on a daily basis from the slavery of addiction to alcohol. In my early days, it did not feel glorious at all. I will still full of old beliefs, attitudes and behaviour which were not bad in balance simply complete blocks in my recovery. The old ideas: standing on my own two feet and being strong, resilient and stubborn and Read More...

February 4 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 2 | 2012

Don Oddy — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:28:21 +0100

February 4 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 2 | 2012 | Today's AA daily: "when faith is missing." Faith was certainly missing from my life from the very beginning. No understanding of God, or simply mistrust of anything religious. And an understanding driven home by real-life that hard work, doing the right thing and standing on my own two feet would lead to success. Coming into recovery, I had no blame attached to anyone but me for mRead More...

February 3 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 2 | 2012

Don Oddy — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:32:45 +0100

February 3 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 2 | 2012 | Today's AA daily reflections: "filling the void" strikes me on many levels in recovery. The amount of time I spent drinking in those last dark days left no room for me let alone anyone else. I became a 24 seven drinker. When I stopped, the immense gap and emptiness felt like a minute was an hour, an hour felt like a day and a week felt like a year-long. As time has passed, I neverRead More...

February 2 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 2 | 2012

Don Oddy — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:49:43 +0100

February 2 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 2 | 2012 | today's AA daily reflection: "rescued by surrendering" was very difficult for me, to be rescued from myself. All my life taught to be strong and independent in thinking and action. Standing on my own two feet with a "stiff upper lip" and "a brave face" I would face anything and everything. The idea of being vulnerable and unable to sort myself out meant I isolated and drank because I could Read More...

Came to Believe - Step 2

Pati Berg — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:13:07 +0100

I remember early in sobriety having some great concern about this step. I had never really believed in any kind of spiritual power greater than me, only in the power of the rest of the world and people over my life and their ability to cause me great pain and suffering. I mean if there was really some God or Universal Power out there, why had all these bad things happened to me all my life. (At this point in my recovery, little did I know how much my choices had caused a greRead More...

February 1 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 2 | 2012

Don Oddy — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:54:05 +0100

February 1 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 2 | 2012 | Step 2 "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity" Admitting and accepting that I am powerless over alcohol and if I drink again life will be unmanageable. That is step one, and I remind myself of this choice every day. Our whole program of recovery is simply one day long. If I do not remind myself, I can be very forgetful and find myself in a problem, rRead More...

January 31 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 |

Don Oddy — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:32:38 +0100

January 31 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 | Powerless over alcohol, people, places and things is my daily reminder. And I know I need to learn powerlessness over computers if I don't read the instructions. Which helps me realise there are steps and an order if life and anything is to be manageable. Humour, powerlessness and unmanageability are a constant reminder of what I can and cannot do today…
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6AFixSXyhY 210x175]
Today's AA daily refleRead More...

working the steps for the first time

charlotte — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:38:23 +0100

i am currently in a 12step workshop. i have never done a workshop or the steps on my own. i thought it maybe in my best to do the steps in a group first, but im now thinkin i may be wrong. we just now made it to step two so i know im not that far into the shop yet, but this step is making me ask so many questions that maybe i needed to do them on my own first. if i would have had a sponser before i started the workshop maybe i would have done things differently. i know what i want in life is Read More...

January 30 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 |

Don Oddy — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:34:25 +0100

January 30 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 | Today's AA daily reflection: "freedom from and freedom to?" It can be very difficult in my experience to feel any freedom at all in early days of recovery. Which is why hope is so important and was so important. Hearing people share their stories, experience of recovery in the fellowship of AA, eventually started to make a difference to me. Simply one day at a time, not needing to drink was key. I still had many wants, wanting to be well, wanting a rooRead More...

January 29 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 |

Don Oddy — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:49:53 +0100

January 29 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 | Today's AA daily reflection: "the Joy of sharing" is all about life taking on new meaning. So many new questions in recovery and at the beginning no answers, and often many assumptions by all. The first question, what am I going to do now with all this time? Still in the grip of fear and out of sorts with everything, fear of the unknown can grip. When an old-timer may say "take it easy" it seems like they have no clue what goes on for the newcomer,Read More...

January 28 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 |

Don Oddy — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:19:18 +0100

January 28 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 | Today's AA daily reflection: "treasure of the past" is about honouring all experiences we have had in our lifetime. We are shaped and developed by every experience we have, be it good or bad. Often said, "nothing is wasted in God's economy" and whether you believe in God or not is not the issue. The issue always what have we learned and can determine as important in our life story. We learn from pain, joy and every emotion we feel. And the years whRead More...

January 27 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 |

Don Oddy — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:18:44 +0100

January 27 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 | AA daily reflection: "Freedom from guilt." When I read this this morning it reminds me of how I was back in the day and I am today, "that was then and this is now." We do live in a blame culture, just listen to politicians "they did it." Recovery is all about new living and being in the moment of now, learning what works now and coping with reality today…
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-F33hM555A 210x172]
Anyone can adoptRead More...

January 26 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 |

Don Oddy — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:04:25 +0100

January 26 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 | AA daily reflections: "rigorous honesty" in my experience has become a way of life. Understanding the truth of today means I need not make assumptions that what worked yesterday will work today. Indeed life is progress and to be lived in the moment. An open mind and no assumptions or expectations means it is unlikely that there are resentments under construction…
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQt8XHcONZs 210x172]
Living life inRead More...

Gratitude

Megan — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:23:32 +0100

Today I am grateful for all of you. We come together with a common problem and work toward a common solution. The only way this common solution works is if we do this together. Please let me know if there is anyway I can be of help (service) to you today.

MES

January 25 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 |

Don Oddy — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:39:11 +0100

January 25 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 | AA Fellowship basics: as an individual to be open honest and willing one day to time. In fellowship to be steadfast in unity, service and recovery, and again one day to time. And if we are diligent we make progress and do not seek perfection. Attraction, what you see is what you get "WYSIWYG" rather than promotion which is a guarantee or a fix and is impossible one day at a time…
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE3TiWr5V78 210x172]

The Language of Letting Go (Morning Meditation)

Megan — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:23:03 +0100

Clearing the Slate

One of the greatest gifts we can give is an open, loving heart. And holding on to negative feelings from past relationships is our greatest barrier to that gift.

Most of us have had relationships that have ended. When we examine these relationships, we need to clear the emotional slate. Are we holding on to anger or resentments? Are we still feeling victimized? Are we living with the self-defeating beliefs that may be attached to these relationships - WoRead More...

January 24 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 |

Don Oddy — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:36:54 +0100

January 24 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 | Wonderful lunchtime meeting of the fellowship yesterday at the Methodist Church on the Kings road here in London: uplifting gave me a feeling of happiness and serenity. The chair all about how the twelve steps work and translate into living truthfully day by day by being open, honest and willing to keep learning one day to time. All about having the humility to keep learning and being ourselves making progress and not trying to be perfect…

January 23 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 |

Don Oddy — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:52:14 +0100

January 23 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 | AA daily reflection is all about, "are we having fun yet?" We're not a glum lot is the assertion I heard in early days and read in the daily reflections. I did see people having fun, heard them talk about fun times they were having. It took a while to believe them, and then an inkling of change in me began. Happy as my situation could be, and sad when my situation was sad. Real feelings happening in the moment of now…
[video:http://wwwRead More...

In love and trouble

charlotte — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:49:56 +0100

Hello everyone, so I have a little problem maybe someone will have some insite for me. I am married been married to my husband for 4yrs but weve been together for 12 years, we have 2 kids 12 and 4. I used for 6 years and i have only been sober 11 months. I hide my using from my husband for 6months, then one day when i told him about it i made sure that i had drugs with me that night so if he wanted to he could use them too. well of course he did. now i am sober and he is not and iRead More...

January 22 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 |

Don Oddy — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:54:57 +0100

January 22 | AA 12 Steps In Action | 2012 | Today's AA daily reflection: "let's keep it simple," said Dr Bob to Bill. And, "let's not louse things up." Fellowship: no rules, no laws or regulations to prevent individual recovery by exclusion. The individual comes first and at the same time the “group conscience” is the decision-making process.
All my life until I got recovery, I was very much a loner and not a joiner to anything. As I read the twelve steps and twelve traditiRead More...