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What do you call your Higher Power? Spirituality was built into the AA recovery program, right from the beginning. Emmet Fox’s secretary in New York was the mother of one of the men who worked with AA co-founder Bill Wilson.  Partly as a result of this connection, early AA recovery groups often went to hear Mr.… Continue reading Spirituality and How Is It Working For Your Recovery Program? Think Before You Answer.

Will Descartes forgive me for the way that I think? Just what is the difference? If any? Step 3 says: We turned our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. OK, I remember when I first approached this step I would think “OK, God or whatever is listening, take… Continue reading I Think. Therefore, Am I?

Do you find that your same old problem-solving tools no longer work? We can’t solve problems by using the same thinking we used when we created them. Albert Einstein PROBLEM-SOLVING WHEN IN THE MADNESS Back, “in the day,” when I was in the madness of active alcoholism, I must have been one of the most intelligent… Continue reading Why Didn’t it work? It always has!

Surrender was not even part of my vocabulary when in the madness Step 3 states: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. I don’t remember turning much over to anyone or anything before coming into the AA Program, let alone surrendering to anything… Continue reading How To Surrender to Win. Is This Even Possible?

This is where the shortened version of the AA 3rd Step comes in to help As time goes by and as happy, joyous, and free as I feel most of the time, occasionally forks in the road come up in my life. Snags such as frustration, indecision, physical pain or trauma, and a host of other… Continue reading Quick, Simple Help for Problems As They Occur

There really is a difference. The choice is entirely yours Recently, I overheard a short discussion on tolerance and acceptance which got me thinking. Then, several days later the daily reading in one of my Spiritual readings, the Guide for Spiritual Living, discussed the same thing. The mention of this topic twice in a week or… Continue reading Would You Rather Use Acceptance and Be Happy, Joyous, and Free or Use Tolerance and Continue Wondering What Is Wrong?

I quit drinking. Why do I still have these crazy thoughts Step 2 states: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. “Yeah, but I don’t wish death to people who disagree with me anymore. Serious injury maybe but not death.” So, what’s the problem? The problem is that thoughts… Continue reading How To Successfully Deal With the Crazy Thinking That Comes Even After You Stop Drinking

Jim, you are a good boy, but. You are a smart boy, but. You can become anything that you want to, but. And on and on! This is how I was raised. It was difficult growing up knowing that I was a lot of things, “…But!” It seemed like the “big but” was placed after every… Continue reading I Was Raised by the “Big But” and So Why is it a Suprise That I Became One?

You can be every bit as Happy, Joyous, and Free as I am. No matter what is happening to or near you I am Happy, Joyous, and Free 24/7/365. This is not a boast. This is a statement of fact! I am going to explain in this article how you can be every bit as Happy,… Continue reading How To Be Happy, Joyous, and Free Even When Stuff is Hitting the Fan

They didn’t even seem to care about our newfound “stopping drinking again” phase When many of us came into the AA program we were dumbfounded when faced with people we were close to. They didn’t even seem to care about our newfound “stopping drinking again” phase. The quitting that we were going through. (Again?) Who cares?… Continue reading How to Realize the Importance of  Knowing Who Really Cares

Change your thoughts, change your life The ideas for the daily topics for our articles many times are taken from everyday events. Today’s topic, The Power of our Thoughts, is no different. It was inspired by a talk recently by Reverend Stephanie Sorensen. The study of Spirituality shows us that our thoughts are our most powerful… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Best Utilize the Power of Our Thoughts

“I was then looking at myself and the rest of the area from seemingly treetop height and seeing myself flying in the air” “Back in the day…” I was a Detroit cop. I was blessed to have worked a lot of street units and had participated in so many drug raids that I couldn’t even come… Continue reading I Was Blessed to Have Been Shot

Everything seems to have improved drastically since I found the program of Alcoholics Anonymous  First, AA is where I first heard of Spirituality. I rather quickly changed from being a very self-absorbed, very large, very angry, very violent, well-armed, well-trained man with no real friends and a family that feared him. I have changed into… Continue reading Are You Ready To Really Live, Not Just Exist?

Because of Alcoholics Anonymous, I feel too blessed to be stressed “I’m too much of a realist to think that I need Spirituality in my life. Don’t I have common sense so who needs anything more?” I do, for one.  My common sense, my realistic approach to life, my depending on myself and my life’s experiences,… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Know Alcoholics Anonymous Works For You

What a concept! The more tolerance I have for others, the more others put up with me Recently, I was talking with a friend and the subject of tolerance came up. I have discovered that by embracing fully the spiritual aspects of the AA program, I have more patience in so many ways. The AA program… Continue reading The More I Study Spirituality, The More I Know How To Have Tolerance

The Foundation for recovery from alcoholism is spirituality These steps for recovery are not just for newcomers. They are the key to the door leading from dread and misery that haunt us when we enter the Program into a whole new way of life. One that gives us Happiness, Joy, and Freedom. No matter what… Continue reading Here Is How To Begin a Great Recovery Using a Spiritual Beginning

I am truly Happy, Joyous, and Ulcer Free I am truly Happy, Joyous, and ulcer Free. So much so, that I hope and pray that you all will also be if you are not now. I have not always been this way. When I was drinking and somewhat after coming into the program, I was… Continue reading Are You Ready To Learn How To Get Rid Of Ulcer Meds?

Just another way to get our message out. Just learning but please let me know how it can improve. https://twitter.com/JimBoylan01 This old dog is learning some new tricks.

Growth comes when we stretch our peace and serenity Today, we will add to our spiritual and emotional growth. How? By using the shortened version of the AA 3rd Step. This is done by simply saying “God, help me.” And then step aside and let Him! Simple but, admittedly, not easy. So, how do we achieve… Continue reading Spiritual Growth Does Not Come When We Are Comfortable and at Ease

And any other negativity or problem that clutters your mind The one thing that Covid, Goblins, Ghosts, and Witches have in common is that they cause fear in many. Fear is mentioned in the Big Book after each and every character defect and shortcoming. That makes fear the biggest problem to first getting and then keeping… Continue reading How To Deal With The Covid, Goblins, Ghosts, and Witches Problem

This is not prayer like we have always known. This is simplicity in action What is Affirmative Prayer? We hear from Dr. Ernest Holmes, the founder of The Science of Mind, that Affirmative Prayer is when we pray, we should do it believing it is true. What a beautiful, simple concept!  Affirmative Prayer is based on… Continue reading Spirituality And Using Affirmative Prayer To Get A Great Life

To feel great is really simple, but not always easy I was always very guarded with my true feelings. I bottled up a lot of frustrations, anger, and fears. They came out in other self-destructive ways. I never felt great, or even all that good. When I took the advice of my early AA sponsors and… Continue reading Everything You Need To Know To Feel Great Simply Using Spirituality 

Is there a difference When I was new to the AA Program, I had a problem with religion. Organized religion, that is. I had no problem with there being a Higher Power and this Power being called God, or Allah, or Buddha, or Jesus Christ, or any other name. I had never heard of spirituality… Continue reading How To Know the Difference Between Religion and Spirituality

Do you even have a Higher Power Another name for Higher Power, God, Allah, Buddha, or whatever this Power is called, is Love. Thus, I very much appreciated a line that Reverend Stephanie Sorensen used recently when beginning her talk. It went “When we love not, we judge. When we judge not, we love.” Wow! Lately,… Continue reading Spirituality and What Do You Call Your Higher Power

Don’t you really want to be a better person or do need your defects Step 6 says “Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.” Remember, we started to see our Higher Power as a loving, non-judgmental God in Step 2. One who was ready, willing, and able to help us have… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Oust Our Character Defects, a Beginning

If you have taken Steps 1 and 2, you are ready for Surrender in Step 3. First, are you truly through the first 2? Step 1 states: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol and our lives had become unmanageable. This step should be done in two parts, after admitting these things, accepting them is another… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Surrender In Step 3

Listen with your heart and learn what is right for you and what is not There is a large difference between hearing and listening.  Hearing is defined in the Mirriam-Webster dictionary as the process, function, or power of perceiving sound. Listening is defined in the Mirriam-Webster dictionary as hearing something with thoughtful attention: give consideration.… Continue reading Your Head Hears But Your Heart Listens

I have said many times that the way that I live my life, not just exist, is to work my program 24/7/365 to the best of my ability. This takes balance. The barrier to even trying this balance when new into the program, and even later upon occasion, was wondering how I could carry on with life… Continue reading Spirituality and how To Balance Life During Recovery

You have spiritual law to prove you are I have heard and even thought “I sure wish that I could be more spiritual.”  Forget about it! Yeah, sure. But why? Because you can not ever be any more or less spiritual than you are right now! Wow! What could you possibly mean by that? Ernest Holmes… Continue reading How To Know That You Are A Spiritual Being

Keep It Simple Stupid The AA Program is filled with acronyms. When new to the Program I wondered why grown men and women were so enamored with them. K.I..S.S., or Keep It Simple Stupid, is one of the more well-known ones. I soon discovered that they are more than simple words. They can lead the way… Continue reading Spirituality And How To Apply K.I.S.S.