Episodes

  • JULY 19 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Discard disbelief"

    JULY 19 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Discard disbelief"
    Jul 19 2025
    Many of us come to the Gamblers Anonymous Program professing that we're agnostic or atheistic. As someone once put it, our will to 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. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠
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    2 mins
  • JULY 18 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "I will not bargain"

    JULY 18 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "I will not bargain"
    Jul 18 2025
    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. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠
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    1 min
  • JULY 17 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "HOW"

    JULY 17 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "HOW"
    Jul 17 2025
    For my own good, I'll go to meetings and participate in discussions 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. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠
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    2 mins
  • JULY 16 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Patience"

    JULY 16 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Patience"
    Jul 16 2025
    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 hang 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. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠
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    1 min
  • JULY 15 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "What am I protecting?"

    JULY 15 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "What am I protecting?"
    Jul 16 2025
    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 reasonableness. 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 way 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? A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠
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    1 min
  • JULY 14 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Open to heal"

    JULY 14 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Open to heal"
    Jul 14 2025
    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. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠
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    2 mins
  • JULY 13 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Strength in sameness"

    JULY 13 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Strength in sameness"
    Jul 13 2025
    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. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠
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    2 mins
  • JULY 12 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "A steady star"

    JULY 12 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "A steady star"
    Jul 12 2025
    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, rechart 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. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠
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    1 min