Click on a title to read the excerpt:
| There is a Solution | The Promises |
| A Vision For You | Service in SLAA |
| Unity Prayer | Recovery in CODA |
| Acceptance | Recovery in Al-Anon |
There is a Solution
There is a Solution. Almost none of us liked the self-searching, the leveling of our pride, the confession of shortcomings which the process [of recovery] requires for its successful consummation. But we saw that it really worked in others, and we had come to believe in the hopelessness and futility of life as we had been living it… [Therefore]… there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet… The great fact is just this, and nothing less: That we have had deep and effective spiritual experiences which have revolutionized our whole attitude toward life, toward our fellow and toward God’s universe. The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lies in a way which is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us which we could never do by ourselves.
Page 25 of the book of Alcoholics Anonymous
A Vision For You
Our book is meant to be suggestive only. We realize we know only a little. God will, constantly disclose more to you and to us. Ask Him in your morning meditation what you can do each day for the man who is still sick. The answers will come, if your own house is in order. But obviously you cannot transmit something you haven’t got. See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for us. Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny. May God bless you and keep you—until then.
Page 164 of the book of Alcoholics Anonymous
Unity Prayer
I put my hand in yours, and together we can do what we could never do alone. No longer is there a sense of hopelessness; no longer must we each depend upon our own unsteady will power. We are all together now, reaching out our hands for a power and strength greater than ours, and as we join hands we find love and understanding beyond our wildest dreams.
Overeaters Anonymous
Acceptance
[A]cceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation—some fact of my life—unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in God’s world by mistake. Until I could accept my… [love addiction I could not recover]; unless I accept life completely on life’s terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes.
Page 449 of the 3rd edition of the Book of
Alcoholics Anonymous
The Promises
If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize ifwe work for them.
Page 83 of the book of Alcoholics Anonymous
Service in SLAA
We discovered that we could continue to affirm our recovery by working with other sex and love addicts. Minus the guilt, our experiences in addiction had been transformed into lessons for living of profound depth and durability. We shared our experiences freely and openly with others, establishing a healing bond through that language of the heart which could move others to recognize their own straits, and point them towards the source for their own healing. No expeience in living was more meaningful for us than letting ourselves become channels through which healing and redeeming grace could flow. The paradox was that our usefulness as chanels for healing was a direct result of our experiences in sickness, as well as in recovery.
Page 102 of Sex & Love Addicts Anonymous
Recovery in CODA
Through God’s abundant love, the spiritual principles of our program and our willingness to be rigorously honest in continuing our recovery to the best of our abilty, we will come to know a new sense of belonging. We will begin to trust and believe in ourselves and that the healing of our past is possible. We’ll no longer be controlled by fear and shame. We will find we are able to respond to life’s challenges with courage, integrity and dignity. Others will longer be our gods. We will experience a new love and acceptance of ourselves and others. We will become capable of developing and maintaining healthy and loving relationships, and we will learn to see ourselves as equal to others. We will learn that it’s possible for our families to mend and become more loving and intimate. We will come to now that we are each a unique creation of a loving Higher Power, born with beauty, value and worth. And, we will progressively experience spiritual strength and serenity in our daily lives.
Page 89 of Codependents Anonymous
Recovery in Al-Anon
Today I face the same problems and people that I faced before…. The difference is I have the tools of the program to help me keep my serenity. I take responsibility for my actions while letting go of trying to control the things I cannot change. If I truly live my life, it becomes easier to let other people live theirs.
Now I understand that life is a balance. Sometimes things are good and sometimes they are bad, but I have the program to help me live through all of it. I emphasize the word live because I merely survived [before]…
Al-Anon/Alateen Family Groups Website