Tip 5: Coping with Urges

Say the Serenity Prayer:  "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."  Repeat the prayer until the urge dissipates.  A quieting of the mind will quiet the urge to gamble.

Love is Not a Trading Game

May 31 - Giving love is a fulfillment in itself.  It must not matter whether love is returned or not.  If I give love only to get a response on my terms, my love is canceled out by my motives.  If I have the capacity to give love, then any return I get for it is a special bonus.  It is through giving love, freely and without expectation of return, that we find ourselves and build ourselves spiritually.

Have I begun to believe, in the words of Goethe, that "Love does not dominate; it cultivates..."?

Today I Pray - May I, the inveterate people-pleaser and approval-seeker, know that the only real love does not ask for love back.  May God be patient as I try to practice this principle.  May I rid myself of pride that throws itself in the way of love.  May I discard my silly cat-and-mouse games that have no place in real love.

Today I Will Remember - I will not give love to get love.

Let Yourself Feel Love

May 30 - Since I've been in Gamblers Anonymous, I've learned to redefine love.  I've come to understand, for example, that sometimes it's necessary to place love ahead of indiscriminate "factual honesty."  No longer, under the guise of "perfect honesty," can I cruelly and unnecessarily hurt others.  Today, I must always ask myself, "What's the best and most loving thing I can do?"

Have I begun to sow the seeds of love in my daily living?

Today I Pray - May God's love show me how to be loving.  May I first sense the feelings of love and caring within me and then find ways to show those feelings.  May I remember how many times I cut myself off from relationships because I did not know how either to let myself feel love or to show what I did feel.

Today I Will Remember - When I feel love, I will be loving. 

Tip 4: Coping with Urges

Accept the fact that you cannot gamble safely.  This may seem painfully obvious, but many GA members have reported relapsing after having debated mentally with themselves on this point.  Among some of the common inner arguments:  "It'll be different this time," "I'm not that bad yet," "I'll quit once I get even," and "I'm due.".  Acceptance is one of the key components of the GA program.

A True Kinship

May 29 - When we first reached Gamblers Anonymous and for the first time in our lives stood among people who seemed to understand, the sense of belonging was exhilarating.  We felt that the problem of isolation had been solved.  We soon discovered however, that while we weren't alone anymore in a social sense, we still suffered many of the old pangs of anxious apartness.  Until we had talked with complete candor of our conflicts and had listened to someone else do the same thing, we still didn't belong.  Step Five was the answer.

Have I found through my Fifth Step the beginning of true kinship with my fellows and God?

Today I Pray - May God help me learn to share myself, my attributes and my failings, not just as I take the Fifth Step but in a continuing give-and-take process with my friends.  May I cultivate an attitude of openness and honesty with others, now that I have begun to be honest with myself.  May I remember who I used to be - the child in a game of hide-and-see, who hid so well that nobody could find her or him and everyone gave up trying and went home.

Today I Will Remember - I will be open to friendship. 

Feel a Presence

May 28 - We've all had times when we felt alienated, when it seemed we had nowhere to turn and no one to turn to.  When we don't know which way to turn, when there seems to be no one to help us, even then we're not alone or without help; the presence of God is always with us.  When we need strength or courage or comfort, God is there with us as the help we need.  Even before we turn to God, His love reaches out to us; His loving Spirit in us hears our cry and answers us.

Do I truly believe that I no longer need to be alone?

Today I Pray - May I never be alone, even in a place by myself, if I take time tot alk to my Higher Power.  May God be my companion, my joy, my ever-present help in trouble.  May the knowledge of that constant presence fill me with calm, so that I will not fear either the solitude of my own room or alienation in a roomful of people.

Today I Will Remember - Listen for the presence of God.

Tip 3: Coping with Urges

Make believe your mind is a slide projector and the thoughts that enter your brain are slides.  Go to a quiet place, close your eyes and CHANGE THAT SLIDE!  Refuse to entertain thoughts about gambling.  Think about your family member, a loved one, your job, a pleasant activity - anything but gambling.  You can do it if you quiet your mind and concentrate. 

Don't Let Your Resistance Get Low

May 27 - When I have only myself to talk to, the conversation gets sort of one-sided.  Trying to talk myself out of a "small wager" or "just one hand" is like trying self-hypnosis.  It simply doesn't work; most of the time, it's about as effective as trying to talk myself out of a case of the flue.  When my heart is heavy and my resistance  low, I can always find some comfort in sharing with a true and understanding friend in the Gamblers Anonymous Program. 

Do I know who my friend are?

Today I Pray - May I be convinced that, as part of God's master plan, we were put here to help each other.  May I be as open about asking for help as I am ready to give it, no matter how longer I have been in the Program.  May the experiences of countless others be enough to prove to me that "talking myself out of it" seldomworks, that the mutual bolstering that comes from sharing with a friend usually does.

Today I Will Remember - When I ask for help, I am helping. 

What do you love?

What do you love about GA?  What gives you strength?  Comment anonymously and share!

A Crutch is a Beautiful Thing

May 26 - I know today that I no longer have to proceed on my own.  I've learned that it's safer, more sensible, and surer to move forward with friends who are going in the same direction as I.  None of us feel shame at using help, since we all help each other.  It's no more a sign of weakness to use help in recovering from my addiction than it is to use a crutch if I have a broken leg.  To those who need it, and to those who see its usefulness, a crutch is a beautiful thing.

Do I sometimes still refuse to accept easily obtained assistance?

Today I Pray - God makes me see that it is not a sign of weakness to ask for help, that the camaraderie of the group is what makes it work for each of us.  Like a vaccine for diphtheria or polio, the Gamblers Anonymous Program and the strength of the group have proved themselves as preventives for slips and backsliding.  Praise God for the tools of recovery.

Today I Will Remember - Help is as near as my telephone.

Tip 2: Coping with Urges

Ok.  So your urge to gamble is very strong.  Again, acknowledge the urge and become aware of what is happening and say to yourself, "OK, maybe I'll gamble in 10 minutes."  Wait 10 minutes.  If the urge is still there, say to yourself, "OK, maybe I'll gamble in another 10 minutes."  Then find something else to do for 10 minutes.  If the urge persists, keep putting off gambling for 10-minute stretches.  Keep doing this.  The urge to gamble will pass.

Need a friend? Reach Out!

May 25 - When we're new in Gamblers Anonymous, we're novices at reaching out for friendship - or even accepting it when it's offered.  Sometimes we're not quite sure how to do it or, indeed, whether it will actually work.  Gradually, however, we become restored; we become teachable.  We learn, for example, as Moliere wrote, "The more we love our friends, the less we flatter them."

Just for today, will I reach out if I need a friend?

Today I Pray - May God help me to discover what true friendship is.  In my new relationships, I pray that I may not be so eager for approval that I will let myself be dishonest - through flattery, half-truths, false cheeriness, protective white lies.

Today I Will Remember - A friend is honest.

Take it Easy...Easy Does it!

May 24 - Getting over years of suspicion and other self-protective mechanisms can hardly be an overnight process.  We've become thoroughly conditioned to feeling and acting misunderstood and unloved - whether we really were or not.  Some of us may need time and practice to break out of our shell and seemingly comfortable familiarity of solitude.  Even though we begin to believe and know we're no longer alone, we tend to sometimes feel and act in the old ways. 

Am I taking it easy?  Am I learning to wear the Gamblers Anonymous Program and life like a loose garment?

Today I Pray - May I expect no sudden, total reversal of all my old traits.  My abstinence from gambling is just a beginning.  May I realize that the symptoms of my compulsion will wear off gradually.  If I slip back, now and then, into my old self-pity bag or my grandiosity, may I not be discouraged, but grateful.  At last, I can face myself honestly and not let my delusions get the best of me.

Today I Will Remember - Easy does it. 

Tip 1: Coping with Urges

First acknowledge the urge.  Before acutely aware of it - how you feel and what is going on in your mind.  Then say to yourself, "Oh,OK.  I am now having an urge to gamble.  Right now I want to gamble.  TOO BAD I DON'T GAMBLE ANYMORE."

Ask before you gamble...

• Is it worth taking the risk?
• Why did I first come to GA?
• Am I willing to start all over?
• What do I think will happen?  Will I win, lose, and does it matter?
• Do I remember the people I hurt?
• Do I want to hurt them again?
• Do I want to hurt myself again?
• Do I want to go insane - go to prison - or die?
• Am I willing to lose my family and friends?
• Am I willing to lose everything?

If after answering these questions, do I still feel a need to gamble?  If so -- call someone day or night!  

Helpline 616-776-0666 or 231-744-8236 or 800-270-7117!

Loneliness is Curable

May 23 - When newcomers to Gamblers Anonymous experience the first startling feeling that they're truly among friends, they also wonder - with almost a sense of terror - if the feeling is real.  Will it last?  Those of us who've been in the Program a few years can assure any newcomer at a meeting that it is very real indeed, and that is does last.  It's not just another false start, nor just a temporary burst of gladness to be followed, inevitably, by shattering disappointment.

Am I convinced that I can have a genuine enduring recovery from loneliness of my compulsive gambling?

Today I Pray - Please, God, let me not be held back by my fear of recurring loneliness.  May I know that the openness that warms me in this group will not suddenly close up and leave me out.  May I be patient with my fear, which is swollen with past disappointments and losses.  May I know that the fellowship of the group will, in time, convince me that loneliness is never incurable.

Today I Will Remember - Loneliness is curable.

Give Back by Sharing

May 22 - When I first listened to people in Gamblers Anonymous talking freely and honestly about themselves, I was stunned.  Their stories of their own gambling escapades, of their own secret fears, and of their own gnawing loneliness were literally mind blowing for me.  I discovered - and hardly dared believe it at first - that I'm not alone, I'm not all that different from everybody else and, in fact, we're all very much the same.  I began to sense that I do belong somewhere, and my loneliness began to leave me.

Do I try to give others what has been given freely to me?

Today I Pray - May I begin to see, as the life stories of my friends in GA unfold for me, that our similarities are far more startling than our differences.  As I listen to their accounts of compulsive gambling and recovery, may I experience often that small shock of recognition, a "hey that's me!" feeling that is quick to chase away my separateness.  May I become a wholehearted member of the group, giving and taking in equal parts.

Today I Will Remember - Sameness, not differences.

Watch the Loneliness Vanish

May 21 - "The language of friendship is not words, but meanings," wrote Thoreau.  Life indeed takes on new meanings, as well as new meaning in the Gamblers Anonymous Program.  To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a Fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends - this is an experience not to be missed. 

Can I recall my initial reactions when I came o Gamblers Anonymous?  Do I believe that I've finally come home?

Today I Pray - As the GA Program has given life new meanings for me, may I pass along to others the same chance to re-evaluate their lives in the light of recovery, common purpose, friendships, and spiritual expansion.  Praise God for my new vision of human life.  Praise God for restoring for me the value and purpose of living.

Today I Will Remember - I value my life.

Be a Friend

May 20 - Compulsive gambling is a lonely disease; although it may have seemed that we were part of the lights and action crowd, we were often tortured by loneliness.  Even before the end of our gambling days - before the debts and guild showed us how unmanageable our lives had become - nearly all of us felt that we didn't quite belong.  Either we were basically shy, or we were noisy good fellows craving attention and approval, but rarely getting it.  Though we sought through the seeming sociability of gambling to overcome our loneliness, reckless risk was always lonely.  Finally, even the Game itself betrayed us; we were struck down and left in terrified isolation.

Have I begun to achieve an inner calm?

Today I Pray - May I know the tenderness of an intimate relationship with God and the calm I feel when I touch God's spirit.  May I translate this tenderness and calm to my relationships with others.  May God deliver me from my lifelong feeling of loneliness and show me how to be a friend. 

Today I Will Remember - God can teach me to be a friend. 

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What Lies Within Us?

May 19 - "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us," wrote Oliver Wendell Holmes.  I was never able to look at what was within me until I came to Gamblers Anonymous and heard my story told.  Then I no longer had my "uniqueness" to hide behind.  What was more, the person seemed a lot happier telling it than I was hearing it.  I was jealous of a winner - always had been - so I began, ever so slowly, to tell my own story.

Am I surprised today that all that was within me could possibly have been kept secret so long from the outside world?

Today I Pray - Regardless of what lies ahead or behind me, may I remember that I must have God within me to guide me through difficult situations. When I am not in a difficult situation, may I thank God - and know that He is the reason I am where I am today.

Today I Will Remember - to make room for God within me.

Becoming Whole

May 18 - I considered myself a "loner" in the days when I was gambling.  Although I was often with other people - saw them, heard them, touched them, most of my important dialogues were with my inner self.  I was certain that nobody else would ever understand.  considering my former opinion of myself, it's likely that I didn't want anybody to understand.  I smiled through gritted teeth even as I was dying on the inside.

Have my insides begun to match my outsides since I've been in the Gamblers Anonymous Program?

Today I Pray - May my physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual selves become one, a whole person again.  I thank my Higher Power for showing me how to match my outside to my inside, to laugh when I feel like laughing, to cry when I feel sad, to recognize my own anger or fear or guilt.  I pray for wholeness.

Today I Will Remember - I am becoming whole.  

New Friends

May 17 - If we feel guilty, degraded, or ashamed of either our addiction itself or the things we did while "in action," that served to magnify our feelings of being outcasts.  On occasion, we secretly feared or actually believed that we deserved every painful feeling; we thought, at times, that we truly were outsiders.  The dark tunnel of our lives seemed formidable and unending.  We couldn't even voice our feelings and could hardly bear to think about them.  So we soon gambled again.

Do I remember well what it used to be like?

Today I Pray - May I remember how often, during my gambling days, I felt alone with my shame and guilt.  The phony jollity of a gambling party or the shallow relationships struck up at a casino could not keep me from feeling like an outsider.  May I appreciate the chance to make new friends through the Fellowship.  May I know that my relationships now will be saner, less dependent, more mature.

Today I Will Remember - Thank God for new friends.  

You Do Belong Now

May 16 - Many of us in the Gamblers Anonymous Program share the memory that we originally gambled to "belong," to "be a big shot," or to "be a part of a crowd."  Others of us fueled our addictions in order to "get in" - to feel, at least for a short time, that we fitted in with the rest of the human race.  Sometimes, our gambling had the desired effect, temporarily assuaging our feelings of apartness.  But when the rush of the action wore off, we were left feeling more alone, more left out, more "different" than ever.

Do I sometimes feel that "my case is different"?

Today I Pray - God, may I get over my feeling of being "different" or in some way unique, of not belonging.  Perhaps it was the feeling that led me to gambling in the first place.  It also kept me from seeing the seriousness of my addiction, since I thought "I am different.  I can handle it."  May I now be aware that I do belong, to a vast Fellowship of people like me.  With every shared experience, my "uniqueness" is disappearing.

Today I Will Remember - I am not unique. 

You Are No Longer Alone

May 15 - Looking back at those last desperate days before I came to Gamblers Anonymous, I remember more than anything the feeling of loneliness and isolation.  Even when I was surrounded by people, including my own family, the sense of "aloneness" was overwhelming.  Even when I tried to act sociable and wore the mask of cheerfulness, I usually feld a terrible anger at not belonging.

Will I ever forget the misery of being "alone in a crowd"?

Today I Pray - I thank God for the greatest single joy that has come to me outside of my abstinence from gambling - the feeling that I am no longer alone.  May I not assume that loneliness will vanish overnight.  May I know that there will be a lonely time during recovery, especially since I must pull away from my former gambling buddies.  I pray that I may find new friends who are recovering.  I thank God for the Gamblers Anonymous Fellowship.

Today I Will Remember - I am not alone.

Work the Steps

May 14 - "A very popular error - having the courage of one's convictions; rather it is a matter of having the courage for an attack upon one's convictions," wrote Nietzsche.  The Gamblers Anonymous Program is helping me get rid of my old ideas by sharing with others and working the Twelve Steps.  Having made a searching and fearless moral and financial inventory of myself; having admitted to myself and to another human being the exact nature of my wrongs; and having become entirely ready to have all my defects of character removed - I will humbly ask God to remove my shortcomings.

Am I trying to follow the Program just as it is?

Today I Pray - I pray that I may continue to practice the Twelve Steps, over and over again, if need be.  The Program has worked for thousands and thousands of recovering compulsive gamblers the world over.  It can work for me.  May I pause regularly and check to see if I am really practicing the GA Program, as it is set forth.

Today I Will Remember - Step by step. 

Happy Mother's Day

May 13 - Mother's Day is here and it's hard to think of the hurt we have caused our children. Reliving the times we weren't there, the nurture we did not give, and the times we set them aside is too much. How can we celebrate us as mothers when we know the pain we have caused to those we have loved unconditionally since the moment we knew they were in our lives?

Can I celebrate the light I have brought to my children and make this day about them?

Today I Pray - May today be different. May I have faith that the good I have done and the good I will do, is overshadowed by the hurt I have caused.  If we live for today, let's live for today and celebrate the day for the good we have done.  Let's  celebrate our accomplishments, celebrate our growth, and celebrate the good.

Today I Will Remember - Despite our misgivings, always remember the light you have brought to your children. Happy Mother's Day!

Put Courage to Good Use

May 13 - When a person wakes up each morning and rises, with nerves screaming and sick at heart, to face frightening reality; when a person stumbles through the day in a pit of despair, wishing to die, but refusing to die; when a person gets up the next day and does it all over again - well that takes guts.  That takes a kind of real, basic survival courage, a courage that can be put to good use if that person ever finds his or her way to Gamblers Anonymous.  That person has learned courage the hard way, and when that person comes to the GA Program, he or she will find new and beautiful ways to use it.

Have I the courage to keep trying, one day at a time?

Today I Pray - May I put the "guts-to-survive" kind of courage left over from my gambling days into good use in the Program.  If I was able to "hang on" enough to live through the miseries of my addiction, may I translate that same will to survive into my recovery program.  May I use my courage in new, constructive ways.

Today I Will Remember - God preserved me to help carry out His purpose.

A New Supply of Courage

May 12 - My courage must come each day, as does my desire to avoid a single bet, a single addictive act. It must be a continuing courage, without deviations and procrastinations, without rashness, and without fear of obstacles.  This would seem like a large order indeed, where it not for the fact that it is confined to this one day, and that within this day much power is given to me.

Do I extend the Serenity Prayer to my entire life?

Today I Pray - May each new morning offer me a supply of courage to last me during the day.  If my courage is renewed each day and I know that I need just a day's worth, that courage will always be fresh and the supply will not run out.  May I realize, as days pass, that what I feared during the earliest days of recovery I no longer fear, that my daily courage is now helping me cope with bigger problems.

Today I Will Remember - God give me courage - just for day.

Persistent and Intelligent Courage

May 11 - Now that I know I can no longer use false courage that is really bravado, I seek and pray for twenty-four-hour courage to change the things I can.  Obviously, this isn't the kind of courage that will make me a strong and brave person for life, able to handle any and all situations courageously.  Rather, what I need is a persistent and intelligent courage, continuing each day into the next one - but doing today only what can be done today and avoiding all fear and worry with regard to the final result.

What does courage mean to me today?

Today I Pray - May I tackle only those things I have a chance of changing. And change must start with me, a day at a time.  May I know that acceptance often is a form of courage.  I pray not for super-bravery, but just for persistence to meet what life brings to me without being overcome by it.

Today I Will Remember - Courage is meeting a day at a time.

Add up the Results

May 10 - As the doubter tries the process of prayer, he would do well to add up the results.  If he persists, he'll almost surely find more serenity, more tolerance, less fear, and less anger.  He'll acquire a quiet courage - the kind that isn't tension-ridden.  He'll be able to look at "failure" and "success" for what they really are.  Problems and calamity will begin to mean his instruction, instead of his destruction.  He'll feel freer and saner.

Have wonderful and unaccountable things begun to happen to me in my new life?

Today I Pray - Through prayer, communion with a Higher Power, may I begin to see my life sort itself out.  May I become less tense, more sane, more open, more courageous, more loving, less tangled in problems, less afraid of losing, less afraid of living.  May I know that God, too, wants these things for me.  May God's will be done.

Today I Will Remember - Be still and know that He is God.

Perfect Courage

May 9 - "Perfect courage," wrote La Rochefocauld, "means doing unwitnessed what we would be capable of with the world looking on."  As we grow in the Gamblers Anonymous Program, we recognize persistent fear for what it is, and we become able to handle it.  We begin to see each adversity as a God-given opportunity to develop the kind of courage that is born of humility, rather than of bravado.

Do I realize that whistling to keep up my courage is merely good practice for whistling?

Today I Pray - May I find courage in my Higher Power.  Since all things are possible through God, I must be able to overcome the insidious fears that haunt me - so often fears of losing someone or something that has become important in my life.  I pray for my own willingness to let go of those fears.

Today I Will Remember -  Praying is more than whistling in the dark.

The sun is shining in the sky...

Absolutely nothing to do with gambling...but who couldn't use a little Mr. Blue Sky after days of rain and clouds!  Bring on the sun!  Find your courage for today!

Gam-Anon suggested points 16-20

This is the last of a four part posting on the 20 suggested points for Gam-Anon members.

16.  Come to Gam-Anon even if your gambler continues to gamble.  We understand your problem and we can help you through our program.
17.  You may wish to obtain a personal credit report.
18.  You may wan to obtain information as to your liability on existing credit cards and credit lines.
19.  You may want to contact your Internet company to find out how to limit access to gambling and sports websites as appropriate to your needs.
20.  You may want to seek appropriate legal advice for answers if:  there is a question of liability for taxes (past, present, and future); you want to change title to real property; you have questions about pension, ownership of insurance policies and any other matters you feel require legal advice.

As always, thank you family members for your support!

Walk as you Talk

May 8 - I've learned in the Gamblers Anonymous Program that I need not apologieze to anyone for depending upon God as I understand Him.  In fact, I now have good reason to disbelieve those who think spirituality is the way of weakness.  For me, it is the way of strength.  The verdict of the ages is that men and women of faith seldom lack courage.  They trust their God.  So I never apologieze for my belief in Him, but, instead, I try to let Him demonstrate, through me and those around me, what He can do.

Do I walk as I talk?

Today I Pray - May my faith be confirmed as I see how God has worked through others since the beginning of time.  May I see that the brave ones, the miracle-workers, the happy people are those who have professed their spirituality.  May I see, even now as I look around, how God works through those who believe in Him.

Today I Will Remember - To watch God at work.

The addicts brain works differently

60 Minutes Addiction Expert on Gambling Addiction

Have the Power to Change

May 7 - If I believe that it's hopeless to expect any improvement in my life, I'm doubting the power of God.  If I believe I have reason for despair, I'm confessing personal failure, for I do have the power to change myself; nothing can prevent it but my own unwillingness.  I can learn in the Gamblers Anonymous Program to avail myself of the immense, inexhaustible power of God - if I'm willing to be continually aware of God's nearness.

Do I still imagine that my satisfaction with life depends on what someone else will do?

Today I Pray - May I give over my life to the will of God, not to the whims and insensitivities of others.  When I counted solely on what other people did and thought and felt for my own happiness, I became nothing more than a cheap mirror reflecting others' lives.  May I remain close to God in all things.  I value myself because God values me.  May I be dependent only upon my Higher Power. 

Today I Will Remember - Stay close to God.

Gam-Anon suggested points 11-15

This is the third of a four part posting on the 20 suggested points for Gam-Anon members. 

11.  Prudence tells us that compulsive gamblers are seldom able to handle finances.  Perhaps this condition will be altered as the gambler progresses toward recovery.
12.  Gamblers Anonymous is a program for the compulsive gambler.  Do not interfere.  Work your own program.
13.  It may be beneficial to encourage the gambler to go to the first few meetings, however, after this the GA activities must be left to the gambler.
14.  Recovery is a very slow process for the gambler.  Give the gambler encouragement and have confidence in the GA and Gam-Anon programs.
15.  The past is gone.  Peace of mind can be found when the past is accepted without resentment.

 As always, thank you family members for your support!

Be Free of Despair

May 6 - So many of us suffer from despair.  Yet we don't realize that despair is purely the absence of faith.  As long as we're willing to turn to God for help in our difficulties, we cannot despair.  When we're troubled and can't see a way out, it's only because we imagine that all solutions depend on us.  The Gamblers Anonymous Program teaches us to let go of overwhelming problems and let God handle them for us. 

When I consciously surrender my will to Gods' will, do I see faith at work in my life?

Today I Pray - May I, as a recovering person, be free of despair and depression, those two "down D's" that are the result of feeling of helplessness.  May I know that I am never without the help of God, that I am never helpless when God is with me.  If I have faith, I need never be "helpless and hopeless."

Today I Will Remember - Despair is the absence of faith.

Let Go of the Past

May 5 - I knew I had to have a new beginning, and the beginning had to be here.  I couldn't start anywhere else.  I had to let go of the past and forget the future.  As long as I held on to the past with one hand and grabbed at the future with the other hand, I had nothing with which to grasp today.  So I had to begin here, now.

Do I practice the Eleventh Step, praying only for knowledge of God's will for me and the power to carry that out?

Today I Pray - May I not worry about verbalizing my wants and needs in my prayers to a Higher Power.  May I not fret over the language of my prayers, for God needs no language; communication with God is beyond speech.  May the Eleventh Step guide me in prayers at all times.

Today I Will Remember - God's will be done.  

Gam-Anon suggested points 6-10

This is the second of a four part posting on the 20 suggested points for Gam-Anon members. 

6.  To nag the gambler about past losses or to talk of what might have been will prove detrimental to both the gambler's and your recovery.
7.  It is not recommended that the Gam-Anon member go to work specifically to cover the gambling debts.  Restitution is the responsibility of the gambler.
8.  The gambler, not the Gam-Anon member, should be responsible for calling the gambler's creditors to make restitution.  Don't take this responsibility from the gambler.
9.  It is strongly suggested that NO ONE finance, sign for or consolidate the gambler's debts.  Experience has taught us that it is not helpful to borrow money to cover the gambling debts whether or not the gambler is in GA.  Discourage friends and family from lending the gambler money.
10.  The gambler's gambling debts were not incurred over a short period of time, therefore, don't be discouraged if the gambler finds it necessary to pay back small amounts of monies over an extended period.  Normal family expenses must come first.

As always, thank you family members for your support!

He is Willing

May 4 - Many people pray as though to overcome the will of a reluctant God, instead of taking hold of the willingness of a loving God.  In the late stages of our gambling compulsion, the will to resist has fled.  Yet when we admit complete defeat, and when we become entirely ready to try the principles of the Gamblers Anonymous Program, our obsession leaves us and we enter a new dimension - freedom under God as we understand Him.

Is my growth in the Program convincing me that God alone can remove obsessions?

Today I Pray:  May I pray not as a complaining child to a stern father, as though "praying" must always mean "pleading," usually in moments of helpless desperation.  May I pray, instead, for my own willingness to reach out to Him, since He is ready at all times to reach out to me.  May I regard my Higher Power as a willing God. 

Today I Will Remember:  God is willing.

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GR gambling cafes shut down!

Knew it was just a matter of time!  HA!

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/michigan/ag-shuts-down-internet-gambling-cafes

Undiminshed Faith

May 3 - "To stand on one leg and prove God's existence is a very different thing," wrote Soren Kierkegaard, "from going down on one's knees and thanking Him."  It is my confidence in a Higher Power, working in me, that today releases and activates my ability to make my life a more joyous, satisfying experience.  I can't bring this about by relying on myself and my own limited ideas.

Have I begun to thank God every day?

Today I Pray:  May I remember constantly that it is my belief in my Higher Power that flips the switch to release the power in me.  Whenever I falter in my faith, that power is shut off.  I pray for undiminished faith, so that this power - given by God and regenerated by my own belief in it - may always be available to me as the source of my strength.

Today I Will Remember:  Faith regenerates God-given power. 

Gam-Anon suggested points 1-5

This is the first of a four part posting on the 20 suggested points for Gam-Anon members. 

1. Accept and learn to live with the fact that compulsive gambling is an illness that cannot be cured, only arrested.
2. Please do not repeat anything you hear in the room to anyone.  What you hear there, who you see there, let it stay there.
3. During the Gam-Anon meeting suggestions should be given and received with an open mind.
4. Attend meetings regularly and make use of the telephone and e-mail during the week.
5. To interrogate the gambler will serve no purpose.  If the gambler wishes to hide the truth, interrogation will prove pointless.

 As always, thank you family members for your support!

We are NOT Superior

May 2 - When I was gambling, I was certain my intelligence, backed by will power, could properly control my inner life and guarantee me success in the world around me.  This brave and grandiose philosophy, by which I played God, sounded good in the saying, but it still had to meet the acid test:  how well did it actually work?  One good look in the mirror was answer enough.

Have I begun to ask God each day for strength?

Today I Pray:  May I stop counting on my old standbys, my "superior intelligence" and my "will power," to control my life.  I used to think, with those two fabulous attributes, that I was all-powerful.  May I not forget, as my self-image is restored, that only through surrender to a Higher Power will I be given the power that can make me whole.

Today I Will Remember:  Check for "head-tripping."

Gamblers Suffering

Research finds that 2%-3% of the US population will have a gambling problem in any given year. That’s 6 million to 9 million Americans yet only a small fraction seek out services, such as treatment and self-help recovery programs.

No More Head-Tripping

May 1 - For those of us who have lost our faith, or who have always had to struggle along without it, it's often helpful just to accept - blindly and with no reservations.  It's not necessary for us to believe at first; we need not be convinced.  If we can only accept, we find ourselves becoming gradually aware of a force for good that's always there to help us. 

Have I taken the way of faith?

Today I Pray:  May I abandon my need to know the why's and wherefore's of my trust in a Higher Power.  May I not intellectualize about faith, since by its nature it precludes analysis.  May I know that "head-tripping" was a symptom of my disease, as I strung together - cleverly, I though - alibi upon excuse upon rationale.  May I learn acceptance, and faith will follow.

Today I Will Remember:  Faith follows acceptance.