Live in the Answer, Not the Problem

July 31 - One of the most serious consequences of the me-me-me syndrome is that we lose touch with practically everyone around us - not to mention reality itself.  The essence of self-pity is total self-absorption, and it feeds on itself.  Rather than ignore such an emotional state - or deny that we're in it - we need to pull out of our self-absorption, stand back, and take a good honest look at ourselves.  Once we recognize self-pity for what it is, we can begin to do something about it.

Am I living in the problem rather than the answer?

Today I Pray - I pray that my preoccupation with self, which is wound up tight as a Maypole, may unwind itself and let its streamers fly again for others to catch and hold.  May the thin, familiar wail of me-me-me become a chorus of us-us-us, as we in the Fellowship pick apart our self-fullness and look at it together.

Today I Will Remember - Change me-me-me to us-us-us.

How to lose $1 million in 6 months

Avoid a Long Walk Off a Short Pier

July 30 - When we first come to Gamblers Anonymous, the most common variety of self-pity begins:  "Poor me!  Why can't I just gamble now and then, like everybody else?  Why me?"  Such bemoaning, if allowed to persist, is a surefire invitation for a long walk off a short pier - right back to the mess we were in before we came to GA.  When we stick around this Program for a while, we discover that it's not just "me" at all; we become involved with people, from all walks of life, who are in exactly the same boat.

Am I losing interest in my comfortably familiar "pity pot"?

Today I Pray - When self-pity has me droopy and inert, may I look up, look around, and perk up.  Self-pity, God wills, vanishes in the light of other people's shared troubles.  May I always wish for friends honest enough to confront me if they see me digging my way back down into my old pity pit.

Today I Will Remember - Turn self- involvement into involvement.

Avoid "Poor-Meism" Attitude

July 29 - The feeling of self-pity, which we've all felt at one time or another, is one of the ugliest emotions we can experience.  We don't even relish the thought of admitting to others that we're awash in self-pity.  We hate being told that it shows; we quickly argue that we're feeling another emotion instead; we go so far as to hide - cleverly - from ourselves the fact that we're going through a siege of "poor-meism".  By the same token, in a split second we can easily find several dozen "valid" reasons for feeling sorry for ourselves.

Do I sometimes enjoy rubbing salt into my own wounds?

Today I Pray - May I recognize the emotions I am feeling for what they are.  If I am unable to point them out to myself, may I count on others who know what it's like to be a feelings-stuffer.  May I stay in touch with my feelings by staying in touch with my Higher Power and with the others in my group.

Today I Will Remember - Stay in touch.

Meditation for Gamblers

July 28 - We learn the value of meditation in the Gamblers Anonymous Program.  As the beginning of the Eleventh Step suggests, we sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him.  One of the great values of meditation is that it clears the mind.  And as the mind becomes clearer, it becomes more capable and willing to acknowledge the truth.  Less pain is required to force honest recognition of defects and their results.  The real needs of the whole person are revealed.

Are prayer and meditation a regular part of my daily living?

Today I Pray - May God's truths be revealed to me through meditation and these small prayers, through contact with my group, which keeps me mindful of my need to clear my mind with daily meditation.  For only an uncluttered mind can receive God, and only a mind cleansed of self interest can acknowledge the truth.

Today I Will Remember - Meditation is a mind-cleanser.

How one woman found Gamblers Anonymous

Make Progress in Gamblers Anonymous

July 27 - Over and over, I see that those who make the best and steadiest progress in the Gamblers Anonymous Program of Recovery are those who readily accept the help of a Higher Power.  Once they can do that, it's easier for them to get out of their own way.  Their problems then seem to resolve themselves in a way that is beyond human understanding.

Do I realize that the effectiveness with which I use the consciousness of God in my daily life depends non on Him, but on me?

Today I Pray - May I know that my recovery and growth depends on my being in touch with my Higher Power, not just once in a while, but always.  It means turning to that Power several times a day to ask for strength and knowledge of His will.  When I understand that my own life is part of a Higher Play, I will be less apt to trip and fall, head off in the wrong direction, or just to sit tight and let life pass me by.

Today I Will Remember - To be God-conscious. 

Honesty, Open-Mindedness, Willingness

July 26 - Now that I avail myself of the letters H O W suggested by friends in the Gamblers Anonymous Program - Honesty, Open-Mindedness, Willingness- I see things in a new light.  In ways that I couldn't have predicted and surely never expected, I've come to see things quite differently than I did before coming to GA.  I feel good most days.  I seldom feel bad, and never for long.  Certainly never as bad as I used to feel all of the time. 

Is my worst day now infinitely better than my best day previously?

Today I Pray - May I remember today to say "thank you" to my Higher Power, to my friends in the group, and to the whole, vast Fellowship of recovering compulsion gamblers for making me know that things do get better.  I give thanks, too, for those verbal boosters, the tags and slogans which have so often burst into my brain at exactly the moments when they were needed, redefining my purpose, restoring my patience, reminding me of my God.

Today I Will Remember - How it was.

Gamblers Anonymous Slogans

July 25 - The slogans used in Gamblers Anonymous are seemingly clear and simple.  Yet they may still have different meanings for different people, according to their own experiences and reactions to the words and ideas.  Take, for example, the slogan "Let Go and Let God."  For some people, it may suggest that all we have to do is sidestep the challenges that confront us and, somehow, God will do all the work.  We must remember that God gives us free will, intelligence, and good senses - it is clearly His intention that we use these gifts.  If I'm receptive, God will make His will known to me step by step, but I must carry it out.

Do I sometimes act as if I surrender to God's will is a passport to inertia?

Today I Pray - May my "passport" be stamped and ready to take me forward.  May my travels be motivated by challenges I can readily recognize as things to do, not things to watch.  I pray that I may make the most of my gifts from God, of talents that I am aware of and some I have yet to discover.  May I not "let go and give up" but keep on learning, growing, doing, serving, praying, carrying out the will of God as I understand it.

Today I Will Remember - God meant me to make the most of myself. 

Renew Your Will To Not Gamble

July 24 - How, exactly, can a person turn his or her own will and life over to the care of a Higher Power?  All that's needed is a beginning, no matter how small.  The minute we put the key of willingness in the lock, the latch springs open.  Then the door itself starts to open, perhaps ever so slightly; in time we find that we can always open it wider.  Self-will may slam the door shut again, and it often does.  But the door can always be reopened, time and time again if necessary, so long as we use our key of willingness.

Have I reaffirmed my decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God, as I understand Him?

Today I Pray - May I renew my decision to turn my will and my life over to a Higher Power.  May my faith be staunch enough to keep me knowing that there is, indeed, a power greater than I am.  May I avail myself of that Power simply by being willing to walk humbly with my God.

Today I Will Remember - Self-will minus self equals will.

Set Realistic Goals

July 23 - Today I'll try to settle for less than I wish were possible, and be willing to not only accept it but to appreciate it.  Today, I'll not expect too much of anyone - especially myself.  I'll try to remember that contentment comes from gratefully accepting the good that comes to us, and not from being furious at life because it's not "better."

Do I realize the difference between resignation and realistic acceptance?

Today I Pray - May I not set my sights unrealistically high, expect too much.  May I look backwards long enough to see that my self-set, impossible goals were the trappings of my addiction; too often I ended up halfway there, confronted by my own failure.  Those "foiled-again" or "I've-failed-again" feelings became monumental excuses to give in to my gambling compulsion, which blanketed my miseries.  May I avoid that sick old pattern.  May I be realistic.

Today I Will Remember - Good is good enough. 

To Know and To Will

July 22 - Gamblers Anonymous has taught me that the essence of all growth for me is a willingness to change for the better.  Following that, I must have further willingness to shoulder whatever responsibility this entails, and to take courageously every action that is required.

"I am and know and will;
I am knowing and willing;
I know myself to be and to will;
I will to be and to know."

                                      -St. Augustine

Is willingness a key ingredient of my life and the way I work the GA Program?

Today I Pray - I pray for willingness to do what I can, willingness to be what I can be, and - what is sometimes hardest - willingness to be what I am.  I pray, too, for energies to carry out my willingness in all that I do, so that I may grow in the ways of God and practice the principles of the Program in all my affairs.

Today I Will Remember - "I am and know and will".

Out of Faith, Anything is Possible

July 21 - When we're faced with some condition or situation not to our liking, how can we have faith that all things are working together for good?  Perhaps we have to ask ourselves just what is faith.  Faith has its foundation in truth and love.  We can have faith, if we so choose, no matter what the situation.  And, if we so choose, we can expect ultimate good to come forth.

Have I made my choice?

Today I Pray - may I be grateful for my God-given ability to make a choice.  Out of this gratitude and my sense of the nearness of God, I have chosen faith.  May that faith, as my chosen way, become strong enough to move mountains, strong enough to keep me free of my compulsion to gamble, mighty enough to hold back the tide of temptations that threaten me, optimistic enough to look past my present pain to ultimate happiness.

Today I Will Remember - With faith, nothing is impossible.

Hear the Words of Sharing

July 20 - "It is the privilege of wisdom to listen," Oliver Wendell Holmes once wrote.  If I try as hard as I can to cultivate the art of listening - uncritically and without making premature judgements - chances are great that I'll progress more rapidly in my recovery.  If I try as hard as I can to listen to the feelings and thoughts expressed - rather than to the "speaker" - I may be blessed with an unexpectedly helpful idea.  The essential quality of good listening is humility, which reflects the fact that God's voice speaks to us even through the least and most inarticulate of His children.

Does my holier-than-thou attitude sometimes close my mind to the shared suggestions of others?

Today I Pray - May my Higher Power keep me from being "holier-than-thou" with anyone whose manner or language or opposite point of view or apparent lack of knowledge turns me off to what they are saying.  May I be listening always for the voice of God, which can be heard through the speech of any one of us.

Today I Will Remember - Hear the speech, not the speaker.

Something to Believe

July 19 - Many of us come to the Gamblers Anonymous Program professing that we're agnostic or atheistic.  As someone once put it, our will is disbelieve is so strong that we prefer a date with the undertaker to an experimental and open-minded search for a Higher Power.  Fortunately for those of us with closed minds, the constructive forces in the GA Program almost always overcome our obstinacy.  Before long, we discover the bountiful world of faith and trust.  It was there all along, but we lacked the willingness and open-mindedness to accept it. 

Does obstinacy still sometimes blind me to the power for good that resides in faith?

Today I Pray - I want to thank my Higher Power for this opportunity to open my mind; to learn again about faith and trust; to realize that my wanderings from honesty and reality did not change God's place within me or God's loving concern for me.  May I know that it was my own doing that I lost faith.  Thank God for another chance to believe.

Today I Will Remember - Discard the will to disbelieve.

"Attitude" by Charles Swindoll

by: Charles Swindoll 

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.

The Best Laid Plans

July 18 - Very few of us know what we really want, and none of us knows what is best for us.  That knowledge is in the hands of God.  This is a fact I must ultimately accept, in spite of my rebelliousness and stubborn resistance.  From this day forward, I'll limit my prayers to requests for guidance, an open mind to receive it, and the strength to act upon it.  To the best of my capability, I'll defer all decisions until my contact with my Higher Power has made it seemingly apparent that the decisions are right for me.

Do I "bargain" with my Higher Power, assuming that I know what's best for me?

Today I Pray - May I not try to make pacts with my Higher Power.  Instead, may I be a vessel, open to whatever inspiration God wishes to pour into me.  I pray that I will remember that God's decisions are better for me than my own fumbling plans, and that they will come to me at the times I need them.

Today I Will Remember - I will not bargain - or bet- with God.

Honesty, Open-Mindedness, Willingness

July 17 - For my own good, I'll go to meetings and participate in discussion with an open mind that's ready to receive and accept new ideas.  For my own peace of mind and comfort, I'll determinedly try to apply those new ideas to my own life.  I'll remember that the Gamblers Anonymous Program offers me the instruction and support I can't find elsewhere.  I'll seek out others who understand my problems, and I'll accept their guidance in matters that cause me discomfort and confusion. 

Will I try to be willing to listen - and to share?

Today I Pray - Thank you, God, for bringing the GA Program into my life, and with it a better understanding of Divine Power.  Help me to remember that attendance and attentiveness at meetings are all-important to continuing in this happily discovered way of life.  May I listen and share with honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness.

Today I Will Remember - Here's HOW:  Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.

Gamblers Anonymous Changes Your Life

July 16 - Long experience has proved that the Gamblers Anonymous Program and Twelve Steps will work for any person who approaches them with an open mind.  We have to remember that we can't expect miracles overnight; after all, it took years to create the situation in which we find ourselves today.  I'll try to be less hasty in drawing judgmental conclusions.  I'll hand on to the expectation that the GA Program can change my entire life as long as I give it a chance. 

Have I begun to realize that my ultimate contentment doesn't depend on having things work out my way?

Today I Pray - I pray for a more receptive attitude; for a little more patience, a little less haste, and more humility in my judgments.  May I always understand that change will come - it will all happen - if I will listen for God's will.  God grant me perseverance, for sometimes I must wait awhile for the Steps to take effect.

Today I Will Remember - Patience. 

Don't Close the Doors on Your Mind

July 15 - Faced with almost certain destruction by our addiction to gambling, we eventually had no choice but to become open-minded on spiritual matters.  In that sense, the multitude of ways we used to bet and wager were potent persuaders; they finally whipped us into a state of reasonable-ness.  We came to learn that when we stubbornly close the doors on our minds, we're locking out far more than we're locking in.

Do I immediately reject new ideas?  Or do I patiently strive to change my old ways of living?

Today I Pray - May I keep an open mind, especially on spiritual matters, remembering that "spiritual" is a bigger word than "religious." (I was born of the Spirit, but I was taught religion.)  May I remember that a locked mind is a symptom of my addiction and an open mind is essential to my recovery.

Today I Will Remember - If I lock more out than I lock in, what am I protecting?

An Open Mind Will Help You Heal

July 14 - Conditioned as we are by our old ideas and old ways of living, it's understandable that we tend to resist certain suggestions made to us when we first come to the Gamblers Anonymous Program.  If that's the case, there's no need to reject such suggestions permanently; it's better, we've found, just temporarily to set them aside.  The point is, there's no hard-and-fast "right" way or "wrong" way.  Each of us uses what's best for him or her at a particular time, keeping an open mind about other kinds of help we may find valuable at another time.

Am I trying to remain open-minded?

Today I Pray - May I be enlightened about the real meaning of an open mind, aware that my one-time definition of "open-minded" as "broad-minded" doesn't seem to fit here.  May I constantly keep my mind open to the suggestions of the solid many who came into this program before me.  What has worked for them can work for me, no matter how far-fetched or how obvious it may be.

Today I Will Remember - Only an open mind can be healed.

Listen for Similarities in Fellow Gamblers

July 13 - These days, I go to meetings to listen for the similarities between me and others in Gamblers Anonymous - not the differences.  And when I look for the similarities, it's amazing how many I find, particularly in the area of feelings.  Today I go to meetings thinking that I'm here not because of anyone else's addictions, but because of mine and, most importantly, what my addiction did to my spirit and body.  I'm here because there's no way I can stay free of my addiction by myself.  I need the GA Program and my Higher Power.

Am I becoming less harsh in my judgment of others?

Today I Pray - May I stay alert as I listen, just one more time, to Jack or Jill or Fred or Sam or Martha go through his or her tale of woe or wail.  May I find, when I listen with the wholehearted attention I want to be able to give, that each has something to offer me to add to my own life tale.  May I be struck once again by our samenesses.  May each sameness draw us nearer to each other's needs.

Today I Will Remember - In sameness there is strength.

Stay Out of Shallow Seas

July 12 - In many respects, the Fellowship of Gamblers anonymous is like a reasonably happy cruise ship or, in time of trouble, like a convoy.  But in the long run, each of us must chart his or her own course through life.  When the seas are smooth, we may become careless.  By neglecting Step Ten, we may get out of the habit of checking our position.  If we're mindful of Step Ten, however, then we rarely go so far wrong that we can't make a few corrections and get back on course again. 

Do I realize that regular practice of Step Ten can help to bring me into serenity and a happier frame of mind?

Today I Pray - May Step Ten be the sextant by which I read my whereabouts at sea, so that I can correct my course, re-chart it as I am heading for shallow places.  May I keep in mind that, if it weren't for an all-knowing Captain and the vigilance of my fellow crew members, this ship could be adrift and I could easily panic. 

Today I Will Remember - To steer by a steady star.

Walking the Tightrope to a Healthy Ego

July 11 - Someone once defined the ego as "the sum total of false ideas about myself."  Persistent reworking of the Twelve Steps enables me gradually to strip away my false ideas about myself.  This permits nearly imperceptible but steady growth in my understandings of the truth about myself.  And this, in turn, leads to a growing understanding of God and other human beings.

Do I strive for self-honesty, promptly admitting when I'm wrong?

Today I Pray - God, teach me understanding; teach me to know truth when I meet it; teach me the importance of self-honesty, so that I may be able to say, sincerely, "I was wrong," along with "I am sorry."  Teach me that there is such a thing as a "healthy ego" which does not require that feelings be medicated by action highs.  May I- slowly, on my tightrope - move toward the ideal of balance, so I can do away with the nets of falsehood and compulsion. 

Today I Will Remember - To keep my balance.

The Journey is Not a Resting Place

July 10 - The Gamblers Anonymous Program is a road, not a resting place.  Before we came to this Program - and, for some of us, many times afterward - most of us looked for answers to our living problems in religion, philosophy, psychology, in theories of self-control and personal growth.  Often these explorations of ours aimed at goals that were precisely what we wanted:  freedom, calm, confidence, and joy.  But they seldom provided any workable methods for getting there - for how to get from the doldrums of despair we found  ourselves in to where we wanted to be.

Do I truly believe that I can find everything that I need and really want through the Twelve Steps?

Today I Pray - May I know that, once through the Twelve Steps, I am not on a plane surface.  For life is not a flat field, but a slope upward.  And those flights of Steps must be taken over and over and remembered.  May I be sure that, once I have made them totally familiar to me, they will take me anywhere I want to go.

Today I Will Remember - The Steps are a road, not a resting place.

Food for Thought

"My addiction is out in the parking lot doing push-ups...just waiting for me." ~b.d.

Change the Things You Can

July 9 - Samuel Johnson wrote: "...he who hath so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything other than his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts and multiply the grief he proposes to remove."  Today I understand that I am not the evil person I once thought I was, only that I have made mistakes in my lifetime that caused me and those I love much pain and grief.  By changing myself today, I can face my unsettled past as a time of learning.  I hope that those close to me will learn to respect the healthy choices I am making today, rather than dwelling on all the unhealthy choices I used to make.

Has the Serenity Prayer taught me to spend my efforts on changing only those tings I can - namely things about myself?

Today I Pray - Help me understand that I must seek the answers to change myself.  May I choose the things that bring me happiness and serenity, and avoid the things that bring me turmoil and grief.  If I allow my Higher Power to guide my life, I will be given all that is needed to make the right choices today.

Today I Will Remember - With God's help, I choose to change myself.

Be a Trusted Servant

July 8 - When we speak with a friend in the Gamblers Anonymous Program, we shouldn't hesitate to remind him or her of our need for privacy.  Intimate communication is normally so free and easy among us that even a friend or sponsor may sometimes forget when we expect him to remain silent.  Such "privileged communications" have important advantages.  For one thing, we find in them the perfect opportunity to be as honest as we know how to be.  For another, we don't have to worry about the possibility of injury to other people, nor the fear of ridicule or condemnation.  At the same time, we have the best possible chance to spot self-deception.

Am I trustworthy for those who trust me?

Today I Pray - I pray for God's assistance in making me a trusted confidant.  I need to be a person others will be willing to share with.  I need to be an open receiver, not just a transmitter.  Today I pray for a large portion of tried-and trueness, so that I may be a better and more receptive friend to those who choose to confide in me.

Today I Will Remember - Be a receiver. 

Gamblers, Be Honest With Yourself

July 7 - What wonderful things could happen in my life if I could get rid of my natural impulse to justify my actions.  is honesty so deeply repressed under layers of guilt that I can't release it to understand my motives?  Being honest with ourselves isn't easy.  It's difficult to search out why I had this or that impulse and, more importantly, why I acted upon it.  Nothing makes us feel so vulnerable as to give up the crutch of "the alibi," yet my willingness to be vulnerable will go a long way toward helping me grown in the Gamblers Anonymous Program.

Am I becoming more aware that self-deception multiplies my problems?

Today I Pray - May God remove my urge to make excuses.  Help me face up to the realities that surface when I am honest with myself.  Help me to know, as certainly as day follows sunrise, that my difficulties will be lessened if I can only trust God's will.

Today I Will Remember - I will be willing to do God's will.

Gambler's brains have unique chemistry

Financial market traders and keen gamblers take note. Scientists have found that a chemical in the region of the brain involved in sensory and reward systems is crucial to whether people simply brush off the pain of financial losses.

Scientists say the study points the way to the possible development of drugs to treat problem gamblers and sheds light on what may have been going on in the brains of Wall Street and City of London traders as the 2008 financial crisis took hold.

"Pathological gambling that happens at regular casinos is bad enough, but I think it's also happening a lot now at Casino Wall Street and Casino City of London," said Julio Licinio, editor of the Molecular Psychiatry journal which reviewed and published the brain study on Tuesday.

"We like to believe we all have free will and make whatever decisions we want to, but this shows it's not so easy," he said in a telephone interview. "Many people have a predisposure to make certain kinds of decisions."

For the study, a team of researchers led by Hidehiko Takahashi of the Kyoto University graduate school of medicine in Japan, scanned the brains of 19 healthy men with positron emission tomography (PET) scans after they had completed a gambling task.

Loss aversion
The experiment showed that a neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger, called norepinephrine, or noradrenaline, is central to the response to losing money.

Those with low levels of norepinephrine transporters had higher levels of the chemical in a crucial part of their brain - leading them to be less aroused by and less sensitive to the pain of losing money, the researchers found.

People with higher levels of transporters and therefore lower levels of norepinephrine or noradrenaline have what is known as "loss aversion," where they have a more pronounced emotional response to losses compared to gains.

Loss aversion can vary widely between people, the researchers explained. While most people would only enter a two outcome gamble if it were possible to win more than they could lose, people with impaired decision making show reduced sensitivity to financial loss.

"This research uses sophisticated brain scanning to improve our understanding of the way that our appetite for risk is linked to the way that chemical messengers operate in the brain," said Derek Hill, a professor of medical imaging science at University College London who was not involved in the research but intrigued by its findings.

"It is quite preliminary work, but has many intriguing implications," he said, adding this sort of imaging could in future be used to help test drugs to treat people who indulge excessively in risky behaviour.
Alexis Bailey, a lecturer in neuropharmacology at Britain's University of Surrey, said scientists now need to analyze known pathological gamblers to confirm whether they have higher levels of these brain chemical transporters than non-gamblers.

"Also there is a need to investigate if noradrenaline transporters are also increased in brain regions traditionally associated with decision making and emotional aspects of aversion such as the prefrontal cortex and amygdala," he said.

Compare Youself Only to You

July 6 - Some people in the Gamblers Anonymous Program feel that they can't do the things they want to do.  They doubt their own ability.  But actually, every person has untapped ability.  We're children of God, which should give us a strong clue as to the infinite nature of our ability.  As spiritual beings, we're unlimited.  We may find it easier to accept this as true of some person who shines in a particular field.  I may compare my own accomplishments with another's and feel discouraged.  But the only comparison I need make or should make is with myself.

Am I a better, more productive person today?

Today I Pray - May I realize that I am a child of God.  And His loving-parent promise to give me what I need, not what I might want, is His way of teaching me to be what I am, not what I dreamed I should be.  As a spiritual being, I can truly become a productive person, perhaps even do some of the things I once felt unable to do without the gambler's grandiosity, which lulled me into false confidence.

Today I Will Remember - To compare me with the old me.

You are Free to Make a Difference

July 5 - I am free to be, to do, to accept, to reject.  I am free to be the wise, loving, kind, and patient person I want to be.  I'm free to do that which I consider wise - that which in no way harm or hinder another person.  I'm free to do that which will lead me into paths of peace and satisfaction.  I'm free to do decide for or against, to say no and to say yes.  I'm free to live life in a productive way and to contribute what I have to give to life. 

Am I coming to believe that I am free to be the best self I am able to be?

Today I Pray - Let the freedom I am now experiencing continue to flow through my life into productiveness, into the conviction of life's goodness I have always wanted to share.  May I accept this freedom with God's blessing - and use it wisely.

Today I Will Remember - Let freedom ring true.

Celebrate your Independence from Gambling

July 4 Independence Day - It's time for me to become willing to do what it takes to recover my personal responsibility, even if that means giving over the financial reins to another.  Just as there are paradoxes in the Steps - admitting my life's unmanageablility in order that it become manageable again, surrendering to a Higher Power in order to become liberated - there will be other paradoxes in my recovery.  Allowing a trusted family member or professional to take over management of my finances in order for me to become fiscally responsible may be one of those paradoxes.  I have proed that I am powerless over gambling - and over the emotional highes and lows that went with it.  Now is the time to give up my lonely disaster course and begin to interact with others, accepting any help my Higher Power provides.

Have I accepted that, although my recovery is my own, I sometimes need to count on others for their help and encouragement?

Today I Pray - May the Gamblers Anonymous Program, with God's help, give me a chance to live a steady, creative, outreaching life.  May I accept the strength others offer me, as I willingly share my strength with others.  May I realize on this Declaration of Independence Day that I, too, have a celebration of freedom - from my gambling addiction.

Today I Will Remember - To celebrate my personal freedom.

Adjust to Change

July 3 - Change is a part of the flow of life.  Sometimes we're frustrated because change seems slow in coming.  Sometimes, too, we're resistant to a change that seems to have been thrust upon us.  We must remember that change, in and of itself, neither binds us nor frees us. Only our attitude toward change binds or frees.  As we learn to flow with the stream of life, praying for guidance about any change that presents itself - praying, also, for guidance if we want to make a change and none seems in view - we become willing. 

Am I willing to let God take charge, directing me in the changes I should make and the course I should take?

Today I Pray - When change comes too fast - or not fast enough - for me, I pray I can adjust accordingly to make use of the freedom the Gamblers Anonymous Program offers to me.  I pray for the guidance of my Higher Power when change presents itself - or when it doesn't and I wish it would.  May I listen for direction from that Power.

Today I Will Remember - God is in charge.

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Female Gamblers

Read these gripping stories of female problem gamblers...Great link!
http://www.femalegamblers.info/

What Does a Gambler Do With the Time?

July 2 - During our days of active addiction, many of us displayed almost dazzlingly fertile powers of imagination.  In no time at all, we could dream up more reasons - or excuses - for pursuing our addiction than most people use for all other purposes in their entire lives.  When we first come to Gamblers Anonymous, our once-imaginative minds seem to become lethargic and even numb.  "Now what do I do?" many of us wonder.  Gradually, however, the lethargy disappears.  We begin to apply our practiced imaginations to new, healthy challenges.  We become turned on to life in ways that we never dreamed possible.

Am I finding that I can now enjoy activities that I wouldn't even consider in the old days?

Today I Pray - May God give me a new surge of energy directed toward "turning on to life" rather than making excuses for not handling my responsibilities.  May my Higher Power allow my out-of-order imagination to be restored - not to the buzzing overactivity and excuse-making of my gambling days, but to a healthy openness to life's boundless possibilities.

Today I Will Remember - Turn on to life. 

You = "Part Of" Gamblers Anonymous

July 1 - Fear may have originally brought some of us to Gamblers Anonymous.  In the beginning, fear alone may help some of us stay away from the game and that insidious about-to-be-lucky feeling (even when we knew that gambling always turned against us in the end).  But a fearful state is hardly conducive to comfort and happiness - not for long.  We have to find alternatives to fear to get us through those first empty hours, days, and even weeks.  For most of us, the answer has been to become active in and around the GA Program.  In no time, we feel that we truly belong; for the first time, we be begin to feel a "part of" rather than "apart from."

Am I willing to take the initiative?

Today I Pray - May God please help me find alternatives to fear - that watchdog of my earliest abstinence.  I thank my Higher Power for directing me to a place where I can meet others who have experienced the same compulsions and fears.  I am grateful for my feeling of belonging.

Today I Will Remember - I am "a part of,"not "apart from."