Today's thought is: 

                                                      Willingness is the Key

 No matter how much one wishes to try, exactly how can he turn his own will and his own life over to the care

of whatever God he thinks there is?  A beginning, even the smallest, is all that is needed. Once we have placed the key

of willingness in the lock and have the door ever so slightly open, we find that we can always open it some more.

 Though self -will may slam it shut again, as it frequently does, it will always respond the moment we again pick

up the key of willingness.

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It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness ....... But

for most people, whose Hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business

of resentment is infinitely grave.

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You realize that much of the way you view yourself, and the world around you, is as a result of

all the messages and opinions that have been ingraned into your psyche. And you begin to sift

through all the crap you've been fed about how you should behave, how you should look

and how much you should weigh, what you should wear and where you should shop. You learn

to open up to new worlds and different points of view. And you begin reassessing and redefining

who you are and what you really stand for.  You learn the difference between wanting and needing

and you begin to discard the doctrines and values you've outgrown. You begin to realize that

principles such as honesty and integrity are not the outdated ideals of a bygone era but the

mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build a life.

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Today's thought is: 

 On awakening, let us think about the day ahead. Lets ask God to direct our thinking, especially

asking that it be divorced from self-pity and from dishonest or self-seeking motives. Free of these,

we can employ our mental faculties with assurance, for God gave us brains to use. Our thought-life

will be on a higher plane when our thinking begins to be cleared of wrong motives. 

We conclude our meditation with a prayer that we be shown all through the day what our next step

is to be, asking especially for freedom from damaging self-will.

Taken from as Bill Sees it pg. 243  

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Today's thought is:

NEW EYES 

A time comes in your life when you finally get it ........... When in the midst of all your fears and

insanity you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out- ENOUGH!

Enough fighting and crying or struggling to hold on. And, like a child quieting down after a blind

tantrum, your sobs begin to subside, you shudder once or twice, you blink back your tears and

through a mantle of wet lashes you begin to look at the world through new eyes. 

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Today's thought is:

ACCEPTANCE

There is nothing wrong in the universe.  Wrong exists only in my perception or limited view. The voice inside my head is not God, it just sounds and thinks like it is.  I have no choice
about what I get, but I do have a choice about how I react to them.  Even if I don't always like it.  I must accept it.  It is much easier to want what you get then to get what you want. When we learn to accept everything that comes into our lives, we are free from the pain of resistance. 

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Today's thought is:

GUILT

Guilt is second judgement. It is looking at oneself in hindsight and saying, "I really ought

not to have done that."  But, my friends, if you really "ought not to have," you would not have.

Know that at the moment of happening, it was all appropriate. If I have learned since that the

act was not what you would choose now and you feel guilty, know that the act itself has

brought you to this understanding. That was all it was meant to do. 

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Today's thought is:

FEAR and FAITH

The achievement of freedom from fear is a lifetime undertaking, one that can never be wholly completed.

When under heavy attack, acute illness, or in other conditions of serious insecurity, we shall all react to this emotion - well or badly, as the case may be. Only the self deceived will claim perfect freedom from fear. 

Taken from As Bill sees It. pg. 263 

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Today's thought is:

Gratitude
Sometimes in life, things happen too fast. We barely solve one problem when two new problems surface. We're feeling great in the morning, but we're submerged in misery by nightfall.

Every day we face interruptions, delays, changes, and challenges. We face personality conflicts and disappointments. Often when we're feeling overwhelmed, we can't see the lessons in these experiences.
One simple concept can get us through the most stressful of times. It's called gratitude. We learn to say thank you for these problems and feelings. Thank you for the way things are. I don't like this experience, but thank you anyway.

Force gratitude until it becomes habitual. Gratitude helps us stop trying to control outcomes. It is the key that unlocks positive energy in our life. It is the alchemy that turns problems into blessings, and the unexpected into gifts.

Today, I will be grateful. I will start the process of turning today's pain into tomorrow's joy.