830AM Daily Reflections Meeting

Daily Reflections

Good Morning and Welcome to the open Daily Reflections meeting of the 562 Group. We meet each day at 8:30 AM. My name is _____________, I am your chairperson for the month. We ask that when we open the meeting for sharing, each member limit his or her share to 3 - 4 minutes in order to give others an opportunity to share.

Read the AA Preamble:

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for AA membership. We are self-supporting through our own contributions. AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

• Ask someone to read How it Works (Chapter 5 from the Big Book).

• How It Works

  Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average. There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest. Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now. If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it—then you are ready to take certain steps.

  At some of these we balked. We thought we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not. With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely.

  Remember that we deal with alcohol—cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power—that One is God. May you find Him now! Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon. Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program of recovery:

  1.    We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.

  2.    Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

  3.    Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

  4.    Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

  5.    Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

  6.    Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

  7.    Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

  8.    Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

  9.    Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

  10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

  11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

  12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

  Many of us exclaimed, “What an order! I can’t go through with it.’’ Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection.

  Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter to the agnostic, and our personal adventures before and after make clear three pertinent ideas:

  (a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.

  (b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.

  (c) That God could and would if He were sought.

  Reprinted from the book Alcoholics Anonymous ® Copyright © 1939, 1955, 1976, 2001 by A.A. World Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Ask for a moment of silence (at least 10 seconds) for the still suffering alcoholics, both inside and outside the rooms, followed by the Serenity Prayer.

• Read the passage from the Daily Reflections.

• Chairperson share on reading Note: Try to finish share by 8:45 and to avoid sharing between others’ shares.

• Open Meeting for sharing. We will go by a show of hands or feel free to unmute your device yourself.

• At 9:00 – In keeping with our 7th Tradition, AA has no dues or fees and must remain self-

  supporting. Expenses include, but are not limited to, rent and sanitation for our meeting space,

  online fees and the support of AA's primary purpose to carry the message to the

  next alcoholic. Please contribute to the basket or you can contribute via Venmo to

  @Group-Treasurer or scan the QR code

• Are there any announcements for the good of AA?

• Is this anyone’s first AA Meeting? If so, may we please have your first name so we may welcome you. Do not forget to unmute yourself.

• Is anyone attending this meeting for the first time?

• Is anyone celebrating an AA Anniversary?

• Is anyone counting days?

We suggest that Newcomers get a Temporary Sponsor – Men with Men and Women with Women. If you have more than 1 year of continuous sobriety and are willing to be a Temporary Sponsor, please raise your hand for a moment. To request an electronic copy of the temporary sponsor list or add your name and number to the list, please visit our website at 562group.org. 

Re-Open the Meeting for sharing.

Before closing – ask someone to read “The Road of Happy Destiny” from page 164 of the Big Book.

“The Road of Happy Destiny”

Our book is meant to be suggestive only. We realize we know only a little. God will constantly disclose more to you and to us. Ask Him in your morning meditation what you can do each day for the man who is still sick. The answers will come, if your own house is in order. But obviously you cannot transmit something you haven’t got. See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for us.

Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny. May God bless you and keep you – until then.

Page 164 of the Big Book (Alcoholics Anonymous)

We believe the principal of Anonymity has an immense Spiritual significance – so remember, who you see hear, what you hear here, when you leave here let it stay here.

We have a nice way of closing with the “Lords Prayer”. Thank You for Your Service!!