Don't Slip

March 31 -- Reflection of the Day:  My illness is unlike most other illnesses in that denial that I am sick is a primary symptom of my sickness. Like many other incurable illnesses, however my illness is characterized by relapses. In Gamblers Anonymous Program, we call such relapses "slips." The one thing I know for certain is that I alone can cause myself to slip.

Will I remember at all times that the thought precedes the action? Will I try to avoid "stinking thinking?"

Today I Pray:  May God give me the power to resist temptation. May the responsibility for giving in, for having a "slip." be on my shoulders and mine only. May I see beforehand if I am setting myself up for a slip by blame-shifting, shirking my responsibility to myself, becoming the world's poor puppet once again. My return to those old attitudes can be as much of a slip as the act of placing a bet.

Today I Will Remember:  Nobody's slip proof.

Finding Humility

March 30 -- Reflection of the Day: Absolute humility means freedom from myself, freedom from the demands that my character defects place so heavily upon me. Humility means the willingness to discover and carry out the will of God. Although I do not presume to attain such a vision, just keeping it in my heart helps me know where I stand on the road to humility. I recognize that my journey toward God has barely begun. As I shrink in self-importance, I may even find the humor in my former pomp and ego-tripping.

Do I take myself too seriously?

Today I Pray: May the grandiosity that is a symptom of my addiction be brought back into proportion by the simple comparison of my powerlessness with the power of God. May I think of the meaning of Higher Power as it relates to my human frality. May it bring my ego back down to scale and help me shed my defenses of pomp or bluster or secret ideas of self-importance.

Today I Will Remember: Humility is freedom.

Copyright © 1994 Hazelden Foundation

You and Tequila

"It's always your favorite sins that do you in..."  Just replace Tequila with Gambling and the song is spot on!

Gambling cafes in Grand Rapids

Just stay away! Remember the public libraries offer free access to the Internet and seems like a lot safer environment.

 

Internet cafes gamble with Mich. law: woodtv.com

Our greatest accomplishments...

Watching Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" on achieving your childhood dreams, one can not help but ponder what we dreamed of as a child, and how our lives led us here.  It seems unfair sometimes, unreal.  But also so blessed.  Randy was passed away in 2008 of pancreatic cancer, a diagnosis that prompted his "Last Lecture". 

Sit and think of your legacy.  We all have a purpose.  We may sit and think of our greatest accomplishments and immediately think of our children.  When we were children, we dreamed of happiness...life with no complications.  Wow...how different things turn out.  This life is our life.  Own it!  Are you able to add this battle of gambling as one of your greatest accomplishments?  It should be.  Leave your legacy, please.  What will you leave behind for societies' children?  Feel free to comment anonymously on your legacy and greatest accomplishments. 

Michigan Statistics

The 2010 annual report on problem gambling in Michigan revealed 971 of our brothers and sisters were referred to Gamblers Anonymous.  This is why we have a moment of silence for those who still suffer, because we know GA of Michigan hasn't grown that much.  What can we do to help them? 

Check out the Annual Report:
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdch/Prbl_Gmbl_Rprt_fy10_354980_7.pdf

Stages of Gambling Addiction

Did you know there were stages to gambling addiction.  Here's a quick reference:

1. Winning phase -- Win a little, win a lot, but ignoring the losses.
2. Losing phase -- The big win euphoria wears off and chasing begins.
3. Desperation phase -- Withdrawal, blame, and guilt.
4. Hopeless phase -- No hope of winning back losses and feeling of no way out.
5. Recovery!

Stages of gambling reference

Growth Matters

March 26 -- Reflection of the Day: I know today that getting active means trying to live the Steps of the Gamblers Anonymous Program to the best of my ability. It means striving for some degree of honesty, first with myself, then with others. It means activity directed inward, to enable me to see myself and my relationship with my Higher Power more clearly. As I get active, outside and inside myself, so shall I grow in the Program.

Do I let others do all the work at meetings? Do I carry my share?

Today I Pray: May I realize that "letting go and letting God" does not mean that I do not have to put any effort into the Program. It is up to me to work the Twelve Steps, to learn what may be an entirely new thing with me--honesty. May I differentiate between activity of activity's sake--busy-work to keep me from thinking--and the thoughtful activity that helps me to grow.

Today I Will Remember: "Letting God" means letting God show us how.

Astounding number of addicts

6 million adults and 500,000 teens meet criteria for gambling addiction!

Never Enough and Enough?

What an amazing story of losing it all and fighting back. We all likely walked away with a lot that night. Being a sponsor and providing support was hit on hard at the end of the evening. It was even suggested that enough wasn't being done to reach out. Not sure that is true!

The amount of resources are endless. The opportunities are written everywhere we look. The meetings are scheduled, the phone numbers posted, and the welcoming tone is abound. Those who have given support to newcomers for so many years does not fall on deaf ears. Your words and time do save lives.

In this battle we have each other. But more importantly, we have to be ready to have ourselves. Many of us likely ignored the help until it was our time. Nothing can make us ready more than ourselves.

For those who are ready, the support IS here and always needed. THANK YOU! For those still struggling, may you find the strength to find us.

Find Something Higher

March 25 -- Reflection of the Day: If a compulsive gambler wants to live successfully in society, he or she must replace the power of gambling over his/her life with the power of something else--preferably positive, at least neutral, but not negative. That is why we say to the agnostic newcomer: If you can't believe in God, find a positive power that is as great as the power of your addiction, and give it the power and dependence you gave to your addiction. In Gamblers Anonymous, the agnostic is left free to find his or her Higher Power. and can use the principles of the Program and the therapy of the meetings to aid in rebuilding his/her life.

Will I go out of my way to work with newcomers?

Today I Pray: May the Power of the Gamblers Anonymous Program work its miracles equally for those who believe in a personal God or in a Universal spirit or in the strength of the group itelf, or for those who define their higher Power in their own terms, religious or not. If newcomers are disturbed by the religiosity of the Program, may I welcome them on their own spiritual terms. May I recognize that we are all spiritual beings.

Today I Will Remember: To each his own spirituality.

Copyright © 1994 Hazelden Foundation

Daily living

March 24 -- Reflection of the Day:  All of us are faced with the troubles and problems of daily living, whether we've been in Gamblers Anonymous two days or twenty years. We'd sometimes like to believe we could take care of all our problems right now, but it rarely works that way. If we remember the slogan "A Day at a Time" when we are ready to panic, we may come to know that the very best way to handle anything is to "turn it over." We put one foot in front of the other, doing the best we are capable of doing. We say "A Day at a Time," and we do it --a day at a time. Are the Program's slogans growing with me as I grow with the Program?

Today I Pray:  May even the words "A Day at a Time" serve to slow me down in my headlong rush to accomplish too much too fast. May just those words be enough to make me ease up on the accelerator that plunges me into new situations without enough forethought, ease off on the number of hours spent in material pursuits. May I hark to the adage that Rome wasn't built in a single day. Neither can I build solutions to my problems all at once.

Today I Will Remember:  A Day at a Time.

Copyright © 1994 Hazelden Foundation

Hear my own complaints...

March 23 -- Reflection of the Day:  Gamblers Anonymous teaches us, through the experience, strength, and hope of its Fellowship, that the worst situation imaginable does not warrant a return to gambling. No matter how bad a particular situation or set of circumstances, the return to our old ways for even a minute will assuredly make it worse.

Am I grateful for the caring and sharing of the Program?

Today I Pray:  May I insist that no stone can be heavy enough to drag me back down into the pool of my addiction. No burden, no disappointment, no blow to pride or loss of human love is worth the price of returning to my old way of life. When I harbor thoughts that life is "too much" for me, that no one should be expected to "take so much and still remain sane" or that i am "the fall guy," let me listen for the tone of my complaints and remember that I have heard that whine before--before I concluded that I was powerless over gambling and gave my will over to the will of God. Such wailing sets me up for gambling again. May God keep my ears alert to the tone of my own complaining.

Today I Will Remember:  Hear my own complaints.

Copyright © 1994 Hazelden Foundation