February 28 - We have learned from others in GA that the chief activator of our defects has been self-centered fear - mainly fear that we wold lose something we already possessed or that we would fail to get something we demanded. Living on the basis of unsatisfied demands, we obviously were in a state of continual disturbance and frustration. Therefore, we are taught, no peace will be ours unless we find a means of reducing these demands.
Have I become entirely ready to have God remove all my defects of character?
Today I Pray - May I make no unrealistic demands on life, which, because of their grandiosity, cannot be met. May I place no excessive demands on others, which, when they are not fulfilled, leave me disappointed and let down.
Today I Will Remember - The set up for a let down.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Live for Today; Today is Good
February 27 - If I live just one day at a time, I won't so quickly entertain fears of what might happen tomorrow. As long as I'm concentrating on today's activities, there won't be room in my mind for worrying. I'll try to fill every minute of this day with something good - seen, heard, or accomplished. Then, when the day is ended, I'll be able to look back on it with satisfaction, serenity, and gratitude.
Do I sometimes cherish bad feelings so that I can feel sorry for myself?
Today I Pray - That I will get out of the self pity act and live for today. May I notice the good things from dawn to nightfall, learn to talk about them and thank God for them. May I catch myself if I seem to be relishing my moans and complaints more often than appreciating the goodness of my life.
Today I Will Remember - Today is good.
Do I sometimes cherish bad feelings so that I can feel sorry for myself?
Today I Pray - That I will get out of the self pity act and live for today. May I notice the good things from dawn to nightfall, learn to talk about them and thank God for them. May I catch myself if I seem to be relishing my moans and complaints more often than appreciating the goodness of my life.
Today I Will Remember - Today is good.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Don't Worry about the What If's
February 26 - "What if..." How often we hear these words from newcomers to the GA Program. How often, in fact, we tend to say them ourselves. "What if I lose my job?" "What if my car breaks down?" "What if I get sick and can't work?" "What if my child gets hooked on drugs?" What if - anything our desperate imaginings can project? Only two small words, yet how heavy-laden they are with dread, fear, and anxiety. The answer to "What if..." is, plainly and simply, "Don't project." We can only live with our problems as they arise, living one day at a time.
Am I keeping my thoughts positive?
Today I Pray - May I grow spiritually, without being held back by anxieties. May projected fears not hobble my pursuits or keep me from making the most of today. May I turn out fear by faith. If I will only make a place for God within me, the presence of that Higher Power will remove my fears.
Today I Will Remember - I can only borrow trouble at high interest rates.
Am I keeping my thoughts positive?
Today I Pray - May I grow spiritually, without being held back by anxieties. May projected fears not hobble my pursuits or keep me from making the most of today. May I turn out fear by faith. If I will only make a place for God within me, the presence of that Higher Power will remove my fears.
Today I Will Remember - I can only borrow trouble at high interest rates.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Why don't you gamble?
"I don't gamble because it scares me to death? Comment on why you don't gamble anymore...
Courage is fear that has said its prayers...
February 25 - Before we came to GA, fear ruled our lives. Tyrannized by our addictions and obsessions, we feared everything and everybody. We feared ourselves and, perhaps most of all, feared fear itself. These days, when I am able to accept the help of my Higher Power, it makes me feel capable of doing anything I am called upon to do. I am overcoming my fears and acquiring a comfortable new confidence.
Can I believe that "courage is fear that has said its prayers..."?
Today I Pray - God grant that through faith I may overcome my obsessive fears. I have been running scared for so long, it has become a habit. God help me to see that I may be purposely clinging to my fears to avoid making decisions, perhaps even to shirk the responsibility of success.
Today I Will Remember - Fear hides behind indecision.
Can I believe that "courage is fear that has said its prayers..."?
Today I Pray - God grant that through faith I may overcome my obsessive fears. I have been running scared for so long, it has become a habit. God help me to see that I may be purposely clinging to my fears to avoid making decisions, perhaps even to shirk the responsibility of success.
Today I Will Remember - Fear hides behind indecision.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Turn Fear into Faith
February 24 - I can banish fear by realizing the truth. Am I afraid to be alone? This fear can be banished by the realization that I am never alone, that God is always with me wherever I am and whatever I do. Am I afraid that I won't have enough money to meet my needs? This fear can be banished by the realization that God is my inexhaustible, unfailing resource, now and always.
Today I have the power to change fear into faith. Can I say with confidence, "I will trust, and I will not be afraid"?
Today I Pray - That I may fear no evil, for God is with me. That I may learn to turn to my Higher Power when I am afraid. I pray diligently that my faith in God - and trust in what God has in store for me - is strong enough to banish the fears that undermine my courage.
Today I Will Remember - Turn fear into faith.
Today I have the power to change fear into faith. Can I say with confidence, "I will trust, and I will not be afraid"?
Today I Pray - That I may fear no evil, for God is with me. That I may learn to turn to my Higher Power when I am afraid. I pray diligently that my faith in God - and trust in what God has in store for me - is strong enough to banish the fears that undermine my courage.
Today I Will Remember - Turn fear into faith.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Have the Courage to Make Right Choices
February 23 - The Twelve Steps teach us that, as faith grows, so does security. The terrifying fear of nothingness begins to subside. As we work the Program, we find that the basic antidote for fear is a spiritual awakening. We lose the fear of making decisions, for we realize that, if our choice proves wrong, we can learn from the experience. And should our decision be the right one, we can thank God for giving us the courage and the grace that caused us so to act.
Am I grateful for the courage and grace I receive from my Higher Power?
Today I Pray - I ask that I be given the power to act, knowing that I have at least a half-chance to make the right decision and that I can learn from a wrong one. For so long, decision making seemed beyond my capabilities. Now I can find joy in being able to make choices. Thank God for Courage.
Today I Will Remember - Freedom is choosing.
Am I grateful for the courage and grace I receive from my Higher Power?
Today I Pray - I ask that I be given the power to act, knowing that I have at least a half-chance to make the right decision and that I can learn from a wrong one. For so long, decision making seemed beyond my capabilities. Now I can find joy in being able to make choices. Thank God for Courage.
Today I Will Remember - Freedom is choosing.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Don't fear the non-existent
February 22 - When I cam to GA, I found people who knew exactly what I meant when I spoke finally of my fears. They had been where I had been; they understood. I've since learned that many of my fears have to do with projection. It's normal, for example, to have a tiny "back burner" fear that the person I love will leave me. But when the fear takes precedence over my present and very real relationship with the person I'm afraid of losing, then I'm in trouble. My responsibility to myself includes this: I must not fear things that do not exist.
Am I changing from a fearful person into a fearless person?
Today I Pray - I ask God's help in waving away my fears - those figments, fantasies, monstrous thoughts, projections of disaster that have no bearing on the present. May I narrow the focus of my imagination and concentrate on the hear and now, for I tend to see the future through a magnifying glass.
Today I Will Remember - Projected fears, like shadows, are larger than life.
Am I changing from a fearful person into a fearless person?
Today I Pray - I ask God's help in waving away my fears - those figments, fantasies, monstrous thoughts, projections of disaster that have no bearing on the present. May I narrow the focus of my imagination and concentrate on the hear and now, for I tend to see the future through a magnifying glass.
Today I Will Remember - Projected fears, like shadows, are larger than life.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Windmills as Menacing Giants
February 21 - Do I waste my time and energy wrestling with situations that aren't actually worth a second thought? Like Don Quixote, the bemused hero of Spanish literature, do I imagine windmills as menacing giants, battling them until I am ready to drop from exhaustion? Today I'll not allow my imaginiation to build small troubles into big ones. I'll try to see each situation clearly, giving it only the value and attention it deserves.
Have I come to believe, as the second of the Twelve Steps suggests, that a Power greater than myself can restore me to a normal way of thinking and living?
Today I Pray - God, keep my perspective sane. Help me to avoid aggrandizing petty problems, trying too much significance to casual conversations, making a Vesuvius out of an anthill. Keep my fears from swelling out of scale, like shadows on a wall. Restore my values, which became distorted during the days of my gambling compulsion.
Today I Will Remember - Sanity is perspective.
Have I come to believe, as the second of the Twelve Steps suggests, that a Power greater than myself can restore me to a normal way of thinking and living?
Today I Pray - God, keep my perspective sane. Help me to avoid aggrandizing petty problems, trying too much significance to casual conversations, making a Vesuvius out of an anthill. Keep my fears from swelling out of scale, like shadows on a wall. Restore my values, which became distorted during the days of my gambling compulsion.
Today I Will Remember - Sanity is perspective.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The Many Masks of Anger
February 20 - As we are restored to health and become increasingly able to live comfortably in the real word without gambling, we begin to see many things in a new light. Many of us have come to realize, for example, that anger, comes disguised in many shapes and colors: intolerance, sarcasm, distrust, anxiety, envy, cynicism, discontent, self-pity, malice, suspicion, jealousy. As more insights are granted to us, we begin to see how often anger is at the root of many of our restless, uncomfortable feelings. Such insights help us understand our anger and seek new ways to deal with it.
Do I let my feelings get the best of me?
Today I Pray - May I recognize that my anger, like a dancer at a masquerade, displays many forms and many faces. May I strip off its several masks and know it for what it is.
Today I Will Remember - Anger wears a thousand masks.
Do I let my feelings get the best of me?
Today I Pray - May I recognize that my anger, like a dancer at a masquerade, displays many forms and many faces. May I strip off its several masks and know it for what it is.
Today I Will Remember - Anger wears a thousand masks.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Positive Defeats Negative
February 19 - When people say rash or ugly things, we sometimes say they are "forgetting themselves," meaning they're forgetting their best selves in a sudden outburst of uncontrolled fury. If I remember the kind of person I want to be, hopefully I won't "forget myself" and yield to a fit of temper. I'll believe that the positive always defeats the negative: courage overcomes fear; patience overcomes anger and irritability; over overcomes hatred.
Am I always striving for improvement?
Today I Pray - Today I ask that God, to whom all things are possible, help me turn negatives into positives - anger into super energy, fear into a chance to be courageous, hatred into love. May I take time out to remember examples of such positive from negative transformations from the whole of my lifetime. Uppermost is God's miracle: my freedom from slavery of gambling addiction.
Today I Will Remember - Turn negatives into positives.
Am I always striving for improvement?
Today I Pray - Today I ask that God, to whom all things are possible, help me turn negatives into positives - anger into super energy, fear into a chance to be courageous, hatred into love. May I take time out to remember examples of such positive from negative transformations from the whole of my lifetime. Uppermost is God's miracle: my freedom from slavery of gambling addiction.
Today I Will Remember - Turn negatives into positives.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Deal with Anger
February 18 - We learn in GA that we cannot punish anyone without punishing ourselves. The release of my tensions, even justified, in a punishing way leaves behind the dregs of bitterness and pain. This was the monotonous story of my life before I came to GA. So in my new life, I'd do well to consider the long range benefits of simply owning my emotions, naming them, and thus releasing them.
Does the voice of God have a chance to be heard over my reproachful shouting?
Today I Pray - May I avoid name calling, ego crushing exchanges. If I am angry, may I try to assign my anger to what someone did instead of what someone is. May I refrain from downgrading, lashing out of character flaws, or mindless abuse. May I count on my Higher Power to show me the way.
Today I Will Remember - To deal with anger appropriately.
Does the voice of God have a chance to be heard over my reproachful shouting?
Today I Pray - May I avoid name calling, ego crushing exchanges. If I am angry, may I try to assign my anger to what someone did instead of what someone is. May I refrain from downgrading, lashing out of character flaws, or mindless abuse. May I count on my Higher Power to show me the way.
Today I Will Remember - To deal with anger appropriately.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Why are you angry?
February 17 - If I become angry today, I'll pause and think before I say anything, remembering that my anger can turn back upon me and worsen my difficulties. I'll try to remember, too, that well-timed silence can give me command of a stressful situation as angry reproaches never can. In such moments of stress, I'll remember that my power over others is nonexistent, and that only God is all-powerful.
Have I learned that I alone can destroy my own peace of mind?
Today I Pray - May I learn that I can choose how to handle my anger - in silence or as a tantrum, a rage, a fist fight, a pillow fight, a tirade, an elaborate plan to "get back at" whoever caused it, an icy glare, a cool pronouncement of hate - or a simple statement of fact, "I am angry at you because" (in 25 words or less). Or may I, if need be, turn my anger into energy and shovel the walk, bowl, play a game of tennis, or clean the house. I pray that God will show me appropriate ways to deal with my anger.
Today I Will Remember - "I am angry because...".
Have I learned that I alone can destroy my own peace of mind?
Today I Pray - May I learn that I can choose how to handle my anger - in silence or as a tantrum, a rage, a fist fight, a pillow fight, a tirade, an elaborate plan to "get back at" whoever caused it, an icy glare, a cool pronouncement of hate - or a simple statement of fact, "I am angry at you because" (in 25 words or less). Or may I, if need be, turn my anger into energy and shovel the walk, bowl, play a game of tennis, or clean the house. I pray that God will show me appropriate ways to deal with my anger.
Today I Will Remember - "I am angry because...".
Saturday, February 16, 2013
It's Ok to be Angry
February 16 - What about "justifiable anger"? If somebody cheats us or acts toward us in an outrageous manner, don't we have the right to be furious? the hard learned experiences of countless others in the GA Program tell us that adventures in rage are usually extremely dangerous. So, while we must recognize anger enough to say "I am angry," we must not allow the build up of rage, however justifiable.
Can I accept the fact that, if I am to live, I have to be free of anger?
Today I Pray - Even though I go out of the way to skirt them, may I be aware that there always will be certain situations or certain people who will make me angry. When my anger doesn't seem justifiable - with arguable reason behind it - I may deny it, even to myself. May I recognize my anger, whether it is reasonable or not, before I bury it alive.
Today I Will Remember - It is all right to feel anger.
Can I accept the fact that, if I am to live, I have to be free of anger?
Today I Pray - Even though I go out of the way to skirt them, may I be aware that there always will be certain situations or certain people who will make me angry. When my anger doesn't seem justifiable - with arguable reason behind it - I may deny it, even to myself. May I recognize my anger, whether it is reasonable or not, before I bury it alive.
Today I Will Remember - It is all right to feel anger.
Friday, February 15, 2013
$1 Billion Gambling Debt San Diego Ex-Mayor
A disease that does not discriminate...
Maureen O'Connor was a physical education teacher who won a seat on the San Diego City Council when she was only 25 years old, later winning two terms as the city's first female mayor as she charmed voters with a populist flair.
But her rapid rise was matched by her fall, culminating Thursday when she acknowledged in federal court that she took $2.1 million from her late husband's charitable foundation during a decade-long gambling spree in which she won — and lost — more than $1 billion.
O'Connor pleaded not guilty to a money laundering charge in an agreement with the Justice Department that defers prosecution for two years while she tries to repay the foundation and receives treatment for gambling.
Read more here...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/san-diego-mayor-faces-money-laundering-charge-18502139
Maureen O'Connor was a physical education teacher who won a seat on the San Diego City Council when she was only 25 years old, later winning two terms as the city's first female mayor as she charmed voters with a populist flair.
But her rapid rise was matched by her fall, culminating Thursday when she acknowledged in federal court that she took $2.1 million from her late husband's charitable foundation during a decade-long gambling spree in which she won — and lost — more than $1 billion.
O'Connor pleaded not guilty to a money laundering charge in an agreement with the Justice Department that defers prosecution for two years while she tries to repay the foundation and receives treatment for gambling.
Read more here...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/san-diego-mayor-faces-money-laundering-charge-18502139
Don't Let Anger turn to Rage
February 15 - When I became angry, can I admit to it and state it as face without allowing it to build up and burst out in inappropriate ways? Pent-up anger, I've finally begun to learn, quickly shatters the peace of mind that's so critical to my ongoing recovery. When I become enraged and lose control, I unwittingly hand over control to the person, place, or thing with which I am enraged.
When I'm angry will I try to remember that I endangering myself? Will I "count to ten" by calling a friend in the GA Program and say the Serenity Prayer aloud?
Today I Pray - May I recognize angry feelings and let them out a little at a time, stating my anger as a fact, instead of allowing it to fester into rage and explode uncontrollably.
Today I Will Remember - Anger is. Rage need not be.
When I'm angry will I try to remember that I endangering myself? Will I "count to ten" by calling a friend in the GA Program and say the Serenity Prayer aloud?
Today I Pray - May I recognize angry feelings and let them out a little at a time, stating my anger as a fact, instead of allowing it to fester into rage and explode uncontrollably.
Today I Will Remember - Anger is. Rage need not be.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Count and Consider Blessings
February 14 - Writing down the things I am grateful for helps me switch from a negative to a positive attitude. Today I will take the time to list the positive aspects of my new life and the blessing that accompany the miracles of my recovery. I am grateful for such seemingly simple things: the ability to fall asleep with contentment, to awaken with a gladness to be alive, to face life on life's terms - with peace of mind and self-respect.
Have I forgotten that all my needs are being met today? On a daily basis, do I count my blessings?
Today I Pray - One this day of love-giving, may I count all the good thing sin my life and give thanks for them. May I take no blessing for granted, including the beating of my own heart and the fresh feel of new I air as I breathe.
Today I Will Remember - To count - and consider - my blessing.
Have I forgotten that all my needs are being met today? On a daily basis, do I count my blessings?
Today I Pray - One this day of love-giving, may I count all the good thing sin my life and give thanks for them. May I take no blessing for granted, including the beating of my own heart and the fresh feel of new I air as I breathe.
Today I Will Remember - To count - and consider - my blessing.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Don't Stand in Own Light
February 13 - We sometimes hear someone say, "He is standing in his own light." A mental picture then clearly reveals that many of us tend to shadow our own happiness by mistaken thinking. Let us learn to stand aside so the light can shine on us and all we do. For only then can we see ourselves and our circumstances with true clarity. With the GA Program of Recovery, we no longer need to stand in our own light and try alone to solve our problems in the darkness.
When I am faced with a seemingly insolvable problem, will I ask mys elf if I am standing in my own light?
Today I Pray - May I not get in my own way, obscure my own clarity of thought, stumble over my own feet, block my own doorway to recovery. If I find that I am standing in my own light, may I ask my Higher Power and my friends in the group to show me a new vantage point.
Today I Will Remember - If all I can see is my shadow, I'm in my own light.
When I am faced with a seemingly insolvable problem, will I ask mys elf if I am standing in my own light?
Today I Pray - May I not get in my own way, obscure my own clarity of thought, stumble over my own feet, block my own doorway to recovery. If I find that I am standing in my own light, may I ask my Higher Power and my friends in the group to show me a new vantage point.
Today I Will Remember - If all I can see is my shadow, I'm in my own light.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Be a friend to fellow gamblers
February 12 - I am grateful for my friends in the GA Program. Right now I am aware of the blessings of friendship - the blessings of meeting of sharing, of smiling, of listening, and of being available when needed. Right now I know that if I want a friend, I must be a friend.
Will I vow, this day, to be a better friend to more people? Will I strive, this day - in my thoughts, words, and actions - to disclose the kind of friend I am?
Today I Will Pray - May I restore in kind to GA's Fellowship the friendship I have so hungrily taken from it. After years of glossing my lonely existence with superficial acquaintance-ships, may I learn again the reciprocal joys of caring and sharing.
Today I Will Remember - Be a friend.
Will I vow, this day, to be a better friend to more people? Will I strive, this day - in my thoughts, words, and actions - to disclose the kind of friend I am?
Today I Will Pray - May I restore in kind to GA's Fellowship the friendship I have so hungrily taken from it. After years of glossing my lonely existence with superficial acquaintance-ships, may I learn again the reciprocal joys of caring and sharing.
Today I Will Remember - Be a friend.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Gamblers Anonymous offers a World of Friends
February 11 - I can always take strength and comfort from knowing I belong to a worldwide Fellowship. Thousands just like me are working together for the same purpose. None of us needs ever to be alone again, because each of us in our own way works for the good of others. We are bound together by a common problem that can be solved by love and understanding and mutual service. The GA Program - like the little wheel in the old hymn - runs by the grace of God.
Have I thanked God today for helping me find GA, which is showing me the way to a new life?
Today I Pray - May my thanks be lifted to God each day for dispelling my self-inflicted loneliness, for warming my stoicism, for leading me to the boundless fund of friendship in the GA Program.
Today I Will Remember - I have a world of friends.
Have I thanked God today for helping me find GA, which is showing me the way to a new life?
Today I Pray - May my thanks be lifted to God each day for dispelling my self-inflicted loneliness, for warming my stoicism, for leading me to the boundless fund of friendship in the GA Program.
Today I Will Remember - I have a world of friends.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Success is Not Making the Bet
February 10 - IBM founder T. J. Watson said, "Success is on the far side of failure." For most compulsive gamblers, nothing could be truer. Without failure upon failure, we would never be capable of seeing that losing the bet was not the cause of problems in our life; it was making the bet in the first place. Only after we reached or exceeded our painful threshold for failures were we able to realize that, conversely, success does not mean winning; success means not making the wager. Then success becomes dependent upon the action - our choice not to gamble - rather than the reaction.
Am I hopeful that, if my failings are behind me, success is surely ahead?
Today I Pray - May I understand the only through my failings have I been given a chance for success. May I know from the examples of others in the Program that former failings, once faced and rectified, can be a more solid foundation for a new life than any chance winnings.
Today I Will Remember - Failings can be footings for recovery.
Am I hopeful that, if my failings are behind me, success is surely ahead?
Today I Pray - May I understand the only through my failings have I been given a chance for success. May I know from the examples of others in the Program that former failings, once faced and rectified, can be a more solid foundation for a new life than any chance winnings.
Today I Will Remember - Failings can be footings for recovery.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
NPGAW Coming soon!
National Problem Gambling Awareness Week coming soon. March 3 - 9. Follow our blog for daily motivation and information recognizing this important week!
http://www.npgaw.org/
http://www.npgaw.org/
Nothing Worth the Price of Relapse
February 9 - The slogan "Live and Let Live" can be extremely helpful when we are having trouble tolerating other people's behavior. We know for certain that nobody's behavior - no matter how offensive, distasteful, or vicious - is worth the price of relapse. Our own recovery is primary, and while we must be unafraid of walking away from people or situations that cause us discomfort, we must also make a special effort to try to understand other people - especially those who rub us the wrong way.
Can I accept the fact that, in my recovery, it is more important to understand that to be understood?
Today I Pray - When I run headlong into someones unpleasant behavior, may I first try my best to understand. Then, if my abstinence from gambling seems threatened, may I have the courage to remove myself form the situation.
Today I Will Remember - Live and let live.
Can I accept the fact that, in my recovery, it is more important to understand that to be understood?
Today I Pray - When I run headlong into someones unpleasant behavior, may I first try my best to understand. Then, if my abstinence from gambling seems threatened, may I have the courage to remove myself form the situation.
Today I Will Remember - Live and let live.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Love the Differences in the Fellowship
February 8 - When we first stopped gambling, it was an enormous relief to find that the people we met in the GA Program seemed quite different than those apparently hostile masses we know as "they." We were met, not with criticism and suspicion, but with understanding and concern. However, we still encounter people who get on our nerves, both within the Program and outside it. Obviously, we must begin to accept the fact that there are people who'll sometimes say things we disagree with, or do things we don't like.
Am I beginning to see that learning to live with differences is essential to my comfort and, in turn, to my continuing recovery?
Today I Pray - May I recognize that people's differences make our world go around and tolerate people who "rub me the wrong way." May I understand that I must give them room, that some of my hostile attitudes toward others may be leftovers from the unhealthy days when I tended to view others as mobilized against me.
Today I Will Remember - Learn to live with differences.
Am I beginning to see that learning to live with differences is essential to my comfort and, in turn, to my continuing recovery?
Today I Pray - May I recognize that people's differences make our world go around and tolerate people who "rub me the wrong way." May I understand that I must give them room, that some of my hostile attitudes toward others may be leftovers from the unhealthy days when I tended to view others as mobilized against me.
Today I Will Remember - Learn to live with differences.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Meet the Real You during Recovery
February 7 - Honesty is a word I had to be reacquainted with. Before coming to GA, I bounced lies and half-truths around so often in my head that I believed they were all true. Today I strive for rigorous honesty - with myself and with others. Above all, I must always remain honest with myself about where the credit for my recovery belongs - with my Higher Power and the Fellowship of GA.
Have I accepted the fact that self-deception can only damage me, providing a clouded and unrealistic picture of the person I really am.
Today I Pray - May God allow me to push aside my curtain of fibs, alibis, rationalizations, justifications, distortions, and downright lies and let in the light on the real truths about myself. May I meet the person I really am and take comfort in the person I can become.
Today I Will Remember - Hell, Me. Meet the real Me.
Have I accepted the fact that self-deception can only damage me, providing a clouded and unrealistic picture of the person I really am.
Today I Pray - May God allow me to push aside my curtain of fibs, alibis, rationalizations, justifications, distortions, and downright lies and let in the light on the real truths about myself. May I meet the person I really am and take comfort in the person I can become.
Today I Will Remember - Hell, Me. Meet the real Me.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
See your Good Points during Recovery
February 6 - I used to be an expert at unrealistic self-appraisal. At certain times, I would look only at that part of my life that seemed good. Then I would magnify whatever real or imagined virtues I had attained. Next, I would pat myself on the back for the fantastic job I was doing in the Program. Naturally, this generated a craving for still more "accomplishments" and still greater approval. Wasn't that the pattern of my days during active addiction? The difference now, though, is that I can use the best alibi known - the spiritual alibi.
Do I sometimes rationalize willful actions and nonsensical behavior in the name of "spiritual objectives"?
Today I Pray - God help me to know if I still crave attention and approval to the point of inflating my own virtues and magnifying my accomplishments in the Program or anywhere. May I keep a realistic perspective about my good points, even as I learn to respect myself.
Today I Will Remember - Learn to control inflation.
Do I sometimes rationalize willful actions and nonsensical behavior in the name of "spiritual objectives"?
Today I Pray - God help me to know if I still crave attention and approval to the point of inflating my own virtues and magnifying my accomplishments in the Program or anywhere. May I keep a realistic perspective about my good points, even as I learn to respect myself.
Today I Will Remember - Learn to control inflation.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Recovery takes Honesty
February 5 - If I am troubled, worried, exasperated, or frustrated, do I tend to rationalize the situation and lay the blame on someone else? When I am in such a state, is my conversation punctuated with, "He did...," "She said...," "They did..."? Or can I honestly admit that perhaps I'm a fault. My peace of mind depends on overcoming my negative attitudes and my tendency to rationalize.
Will I try, day by day, to be rigorously honest with myself?
Today I Pray - May I catch myself as I talk in the third person, "He did..." or "they promised..." or "She said she would..." and listen for the blaming that has become such a pattern for me and preserves delusion. May I do a turnabout and face myself instead.
Today I Will Remember - Honesty is the only policy.
Will I try, day by day, to be rigorously honest with myself?
Today I Pray - May I catch myself as I talk in the third person, "He did..." or "they promised..." or "She said she would..." and listen for the blaming that has become such a pattern for me and preserves delusion. May I do a turnabout and face myself instead.
Today I Will Remember - Honesty is the only policy.
Monday, February 4, 2013
We are truely powerless over gambling
February 4 - Rare is the recovering compulsive gambler who will now dispute the fact that denial is a primary symptom of the illness. The GA Program teaches us that compulsive gambling actually tells the afflicted person that he or she really isn't sick at all. Not surprisingly, then, our lives as addictive gamblers were characterized by endless rationalizations and dishonesty and, in short, a steadfast unwillingness to accept the fact that we were, without question, emotionally and mentally different from our fellows.
Have I admitted to my innermost self that I am truly powerless over my compulsion to gamble?
Today I Pray - May the First Step be not half-hearted for me, but a total admission of powerless over my addiction. May I rid myself of that first symptom - denial- which refuses to recognize any other symptom of my illness.
Today I Will Remember - Deny denial.
Have I admitted to my innermost self that I am truly powerless over my compulsion to gamble?
Today I Pray - May the First Step be not half-hearted for me, but a total admission of powerless over my addiction. May I rid myself of that first symptom - denial- which refuses to recognize any other symptom of my illness.
Today I Will Remember - Deny denial.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
The roadblocks to recovery
February 3 - GA enables us to discover two roadblocks that keep us from seeing the value and comfort of the spiritual approach: self-justification and self-righteousness. The first grimly assures me that I'm always right. The second mistakenly comforts me with the delusion that I'm better than other people - "holier than thou."
Just for today, will I pause abruptly while rationalizing and ask myself why I am doing this, and whether my self-justification is really honest?
Today I Pray - May I overcome the need to be "always right" and know that cleansing feeling of release that comes with admitting, openly, a mistake. May I be wary of setting myself up as an example of self-control and fortitude, and give credit where it is due - to a Higher Power.
Today I Will Remember - To err is human, but I need to admit it.
Just for today, will I pause abruptly while rationalizing and ask myself why I am doing this, and whether my self-justification is really honest?
Today I Pray - May I overcome the need to be "always right" and know that cleansing feeling of release that comes with admitting, openly, a mistake. May I be wary of setting myself up as an example of self-control and fortitude, and give credit where it is due - to a Higher Power.
Today I Will Remember - To err is human, but I need to admit it.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
To Blame is to Game
February 2, Looking back, I realize just how much of my life has been spent in dwelling upon the faults of others. It provided much self- satisfaction, to be sure, but I see now just how subtle and actually perverse the process became. After all was said and done, the net effect of dwelling on the so-called faults of others was self-granted permission to remain comfortably unaware of my own defects.
Do I still point my finger at others and thus self-deceptively overlook my own shortcomings?
Today I Pray - May I see that my preoccupation with the faults of others is really a smokescreen to keep me from taking a hard look at my own, as well as a way to bolster my own failing ego. May I check out the "why's" of my blaming.
Today I Will Remember - Blame saying is game playing
Do I still point my finger at others and thus self-deceptively overlook my own shortcomings?
Today I Pray - May I see that my preoccupation with the faults of others is really a smokescreen to keep me from taking a hard look at my own, as well as a way to bolster my own failing ego. May I check out the "why's" of my blaming.
Today I Will Remember - Blame saying is game playing
Friday, February 1, 2013
Gamblers Anonymous Step 2
February 1 is upon us and it's a great time to start working on Step 2
Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to a normal way of thinking and living
Recognizing the nature of the compulsive gambling illness, members realize that alone they are powerless to establish a normal way of thinking and living. Therefore, compulsive gamblers understand that they need help from a power greater than themselves. In Step 2, members are asked to believe in a Higher Power, which is a source of strength external to oneself and greater than one’s self-will and self-determination. The Higher Power can be anything a member wants it to be, such as God or the psychological and emotional support from the Fellowship or the group. This step does not ask for belief in any organized religion but, more simply, a commitment to personal spirituality. Belief in a Higher Power enables the compulsive gambler to realize that a better way of thinking and living is possible than that offered by gambling.
Why we keep coming back...
Less than 8% of those who initially attend GA, remain in the program and abstinent from gambling for over a year.
KEEP COMING BACK!
What kind of person are you...really?
February 1 - The longer I'm in the GA Program, the more clearly I see why it's important for me to understand why I do what I do, and say what I say. In the process, I'm coming to realize what kind of person I really am. I see now, for example. that it's far easier to be honest with other people than with myself. I'm learning also that we're all hampered by our need to justify our actions and words.
Have I taken an inventory of myself as suggested in the Twelve Steps? Have I admitted my faults to myself and to another human being?
Today I Pray - May I not be stalled in my recovery process by the enormity of the Program's Fourth Step - taking a moral and financial inventory of myself - or by admitting these shortcomings to myself and to another human being. May I know that honesty to myself about myself is all important.
Today I Will Remember - I cannot mend if I bend the truth.
Have I taken an inventory of myself as suggested in the Twelve Steps? Have I admitted my faults to myself and to another human being?
Today I Pray - May I not be stalled in my recovery process by the enormity of the Program's Fourth Step - taking a moral and financial inventory of myself - or by admitting these shortcomings to myself and to another human being. May I know that honesty to myself about myself is all important.
Today I Will Remember - I cannot mend if I bend the truth.
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