Gambling Addiction & Recovery Support Group
Compulsive gambling is an urge or addiction to gamble despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop. A preferred term among many professionals is problem gambling, as few people described by the term experience true compulsions in the clinical sense of the word. Problem gambling often is defined by whether harm is experienced by the gambler or others rather...
Good Afternoon Folks
Took me awhile to figure out how to get back into the site.
I am not computer wise.But am back and I am going to start
posting the GA Reflection for the Day again and hope to catch
up with my old recovery friends and to meet some new people.
If you are interested I visit a new site called Gamtalk that is run
out of Montreal Canada and it has 24/7 chat room and on Friday
at 3pm est we have a group Topic Session.Today's topic is Step 9.
God Bless
Ken L GRCG
March 22 Reflection for the Day
Once in a great while, I find myself thinking perhaps things werent quite so bad as they seemed to be. At such moments, I force myself to realize that my illness is talking to me, trying to tempt me into denying that I am, in fact, afflicted with an illness. One of the key action steps of the Gamblers Anonymous Program is that we give our illness to God, as we understand Him, accepting our powerlessness in the face of His greater Power.
Do I believe that the grace of God can do for me what I could never do for myself?
Today I Pray
May I know that much of our lives depends on faith. For we cannot know the limits of space and time or explain the mysteries of life and death. But when we see God working through us and through others who have found new life in the GA Program it is all the evidence we need to know that God exists.
Today I will Remember
The Big Wheel runs by faith.
Took me awhile to figure out how to get back into the site.
I am not computer wise.But am back and I am going to start
posting the GA Reflection for the Day again and hope to catch
up with my old recovery friends and to meet some new people.
If you are interested I visit a new site called Gamtalk that is run
out of Montreal Canada and it has 24/7 chat room and on Friday
at 3pm est we have a group Topic Session.Today's topic is Step 9.
God Bless
Ken L GRCG
March 22 Reflection for the Day
Once in a great while, I find myself thinking perhaps things werent quite so bad as they seemed to be. At such moments, I force myself to realize that my illness is talking to me, trying to tempt me into denying that I am, in fact, afflicted with an illness. One of the key action steps of the Gamblers Anonymous Program is that we give our illness to God, as we understand Him, accepting our powerlessness in the face of His greater Power.
Do I believe that the grace of God can do for me what I could never do for myself?
Today I Pray
May I know that much of our lives depends on faith. For we cannot know the limits of space and time or explain the mysteries of life and death. But when we see God working through us and through others who have found new life in the GA Program it is all the evidence we need to know that God exists.
Today I will Remember
The Big Wheel runs by faith.
All of the Twelve Steps ask us to go contrary to our natural inclinations and desires; they puncture, squeeze, and finally deflate our egos. When it comes to ego deflation, few Steps are harder to take than the Fifth, which suggests that we "admit to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." Few Steps are harder to take, yes, but scarcely any other Step is as necessary to long-term freedom from gambling addiction.
Have I quit living by myself with the tormenting ghosts of yesterday?
Today I Pray
May God give me strength to face that great ego-pincher - Step Five. May I not hesitate to call a trusted hearer of Fifth Steps, set up a meeting, and share this Step. By accepting responsibility for my behavior, and then sharing my account of it with one other, I am actually unburdening myself.
Today I Will Remember
My Fifth Step pain is also my liberation.
After we take an inventory, determining and admitting the exact nature of our wrongs, we become "entirely ready," as the Sixth Step suggests, "to have these defects of character removed." Sure, its easy to feel like that and be "entirely ready" on a morning-after a gambling fiasco, but we know in such desperate moments that our motive may be colored by a misery of the moment. The further we get away from the last compulsive numbers binge, the more innocent it looks. Possibly even more attractive.
Am I ready THEN to have these defects of character removed?
Today I Pray
May I be "entirely ready" to have my character defects removed. May those words "entirely ready" re-summon my determination in case it should fade with time and abstinence. May God be my strength, since I alone cannot erase my faults.
Today I Will Remember
I am "entirely ready."
So often, in the past, we prayed for things, a windfall, or a streak of luck. Ive learned in Gamblers Anonymous that real prayer begins - not ends - in asking God to change me. In fact, thats exactly what the Seventh Step suggests: humbly asked God (of our understanding) to remove our shortcomings. We ask God for help through His grace, and the amazing thing is that such a prayer is answered if we truly want it to be. Our own wills are so much a required part of the result that it seems almost as if we had done it. But the help from God is even more necessary; without Him, we couldnt possibly have done it alone.
Have I asked God to help me change myself?
Today I Pray
May I learn to pray broadly - that Gods will be done, that God remove my shortcomings. No need to specify what these shortcomings are; God who knows all, knows. May I learn that details are not necessary in my praying. All that matters is my humility and my faith that God does, indeed, have the Power to change my life.
Today I Will Remember
To ask God to change me.
I heard someone in the Gamblers Anonymous Program once read, "Burn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can get well, regardless of anyone. The only condition is that he trust in God and clean house." That is what Step Seven means to me - that Im going to clean house and will have all the help I need.
Do I realize by taking the Seventh Step that Im not really giving a thing, but instead getting rid of whatever might lead me back to my gambling addiction and away from peace of mind?
Today I Pray
May I know that if I should give up that key word "humbly," which combines all in one my humility, my awe, my faith, I would once again be taking too much on my shoulders and assuming that the power is my own. May God in His wisdom make His will mine, His strength mine, His goodness mine. As He fills me with these Divine gifts, there can be little space left in me for looming defects.
Today I Will Remember
Trust in God and clean house.
Some of us, after weve taken the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and then the Seventh Step, sit back and simply wait for our Higher Power to remove our shortcomings. The Gamblers Anonymous Program reminds us of the story of St. Francis working in a beautiful garden. A passerby said, "You must have prayed very hard to get such beautiful plants to grow." The good saint answered, "Yes, I did. But every time I started to pray, I reached for the hoe." As soon as our "wait" is changed to "dig," the promise of the Seventh Step begins to become reality.
Do I expect my Higher Power to do it all?
Today I Pray
May I not just pray and wait - for my Higher Power to do everything. Instead may I pray as I reach for the tools the Program gives me. May I ask now for guidance on how I can best use these precious tools.
Today I Will Remember
Pray and act.
Without freedom from compulsive gambling, we have nothing. Yet we can't be free of our obsession to gambling until we become willing to deal with the character defects that brought us to our knees. If we refuse to work on our glaring defects, we'll almost certainly return to our addiction. If we stay clean with a minimum of self-improvement, perhaps we'll settle into a comfortable but dangerous sort of limbo for a while. Best of all, if we continuously work the Steps, we'll assuredly find true and lasting freedom under God.
Am I walking with confidence that I'm at last on the right path?
Today I Pray
May God show me that freedom from gambling addiction is an insecure state unless I can be freed also of my compulsions. May God keep me from a half-hearted approach to the Program, and make me know that I cannot be spiritually whole if I am torn apart by my own dishonesty and selfishness.
Today I Will Remember
Half-hearted, I cannot be whole.
What causes compulsive gambling? Did we gamble because of some inner flaw or shortcoming or life situation? Gamblers Anonymous: A New Beginning says: "We don't know and...we cannot afford to care. Those who come to us need help immediately.... The benefits of introspection and speculation are paltry when compared to the rewards of helping others regain their lives." Although we all want to be rid of our character flaws, by just sharing honestly with others in the Program, some of our shortcomings will come to light. We've found that often, through the grace of God and helping our fellow members, such shortcomings as self-centeredness and insensitivity are lifted from us.
Do I find that sharing with others in the Program helps me see myself?
Today I Pray
May I, in looking inward, not become so preoccupied with my own shortcomings that I am unable to reach out to others in Gamblers Anonymous. May my faults, which had become magnified in my action days as a compulsive gambler, be revealed to me gently in time as I continue to work the Program with conviction and sincerity.
Today I Will Remember
Sharing makes my faults less glaring.
Taking a long hard look at those defects I'm unwilling or reluctant to give up, I ought to rub out the rigid lines I've drawn. Perhaps, in some cases, I'll then be able to say, "Well, this one I can't give up yet.... The one thing I shouldn't say: " This one I'll never give up." The minute we say, " No, never," our minds close against the grace of God. Such rebelliousness, as we have seen in the experiences of others, may turn out to be fatal. Instead, we should abandon limited objectives and begin to move toward God's will for us.
Am I learning never to say never?
Today I Pray
May God remove any blocks of rebellion that make me balk at changing my undesirable qualities. Out of my delusion that I am "unique" and "special" and somehow safe from consequences, I confess to God that I have defied the natural laws of health and sanity, along with Divine laws of human kindness. May God drain away the defiance that is such a protected symptom of my addiction.
Today I Will Remember
Defiance is an offspring of delusion.
"Prayer does not change God," wrote Soren Keirkgaard,"but it changes him who prays." Those of us in the Gamblers Anonymous Program who've learned to make regular use of prayer would no more do without it than we'd turn down sunshine, fresh air, or food - and for the same reason. Just as the body can wither and fail for lack of nourishment, so can the soul. We all need the light of God's reality, the nourishment of His strength, and the atmosphere of His grace.
Do I thank the God of my understanding for all that He has given me, for all that He has taken away from me, and for all that He has left me?
Today I Pray
Dear Higher Power: I want to thank you for spreading calm over my confusion, for making the jangled chords of my human relationships harmonize again, for putting together the shattered pieces of my Humpty Dumpty self, for giving me as an abstinence present a whole great expanded world of marvels and opportunities. May I remain truly Yours. Yours truly.
Today I Will Remember
Prayer, however simple, nourishes the soul.
Prayer can have many rewards. One of the greatest rewards is the sense of belonging it brings me. No longer do I live as a stranger in a strange land, alien in a completely hostile world. No longer am I lost, frightened, and purposeless. I belong. We find, in Gamblers Anonymous, that the moment we catch a glimpse of God's will - the moment we begin to see truth, justice, and love as the real and eternal things in life - we're no longer so deeply upset by all the seeming evidence to the contrary surrounding us in purely human affairs.
Do I believe that God lovingly watches over me?
Today I Pray
May I be grateful for the comfort and peace of belonging - to God the ultimately wise "parent" and to His family on earth. May I no longer need bumper stickers or boisterous groups to give me my identity. Through prayer, I am God's.
Today I Will Remember
I find my identity through prayer.
I'll begin today with prayer - prayer in my heart, prayer in my mind, and words of prayer on my lips. Through prayer, I'll stay tuned to God today, reaching forward to become that to which I aspire. Prayer will redirect my mind, helping me rise in consciousness to the point where I realize that there's no separation between God and me. As I let the power of God flow through me, all limitations will fall away.
Do I know that nothing can overcome the power of God in my life?
Today I Pray
Today may I offer to my Higher Power a constant prayer, not just a "once-in-the-morning-does-it" kind. May I think of my Higher Power at dawn, coffee breaks, lunch, at dusk, or during a quite evening - and at all times in between. May my consciousness expand and erase the lines of separation, so that the Power is a part of me and I am a part of the Power.
Today I Will Remember
To live an all-day prayer.
From time to time, I begin to think I know what God's will is for other people. I say to myself, "This person ought to be cured of his illness," or "That one ought to be freed from the abuse she's going through," and I begin to pray for those specific things. My heart is in the right place when I pray in such fashion, but those prayers are based on the supposition that I know God's will for the person for whom I pray. The Gamblers Anonymous Program teaches me, instead, that I ought to pray that God's will - whatever it is - be done for others as well as for myself.
Will I remember that God is ready to befriend me, but only to the degree that I trust Him?
Today I Pray
I praise God for the chance to help others. I thank God also for making me want to help others, for taking me out of my tower of self so that I can meet and share with and care about people. Teach me to pray that "Thy will be done" in the spirit of love, which God inspires in me.
Today I Will Remember
I will put my trust in the will of God.
The Gamblers Anonymous Red Book, in explaining Step Eleven, says "A conscious contact seems to start with daily prayer. What is prayer? To some it is a personal chat with their Higher Power. So each of us can pray as we see fit." If at first prayer seems difficult, you can "fake it until you make it." "In time you will grow to eagerly accept prayer and know the rewards it will give you...Prayer enlarges the ability to cope."
Have I accepted prayer and meditation as a part of my life?
Today I Pray
I praise my Higher Power for my freedom to find my own understanding of God. May my life be Gods, whether I think of Him as a Father whose hand and spirit I can touch with an upward reach of my own, or as a universal Spirit that I can merge with as the hard outlines of my "self" begin to melt, or as a core of Divine and absolute goodness inside myself. May I know Him well, whether I find Him within me, without me, or in all things everywhere.
Today I Will Remember
I thank God, as I understand Him, for my understanding of Him.
When I wake up, Ill think quietly about the twenty-four hours ahead. Ill ask God to direct my thinking, especially asking that it be free from self-pity and from dishonest or self-seeking motives. If I have to determine which of several courses to take, Ill ask God for inspiration, for an intuitive thought, or a decision. Then Ill relax and take it easy, confident that all will be well.
Can I believe that, when I give up my "rights" of expectations, Ill know freedom?
Today I Pray
I praise God for being able to praise God, to choose the times when I will seek Him, to find my own words when I talk to Him, to address Him in the way that seems most right to me. May I expect that He in turn must be free of my expectations, to affect my life as He sees fit.
Today I Will Remember
Who am I to try to tell God what to do?
Sometimes, even when friends in and outside of the Gamblers Anonymous Program tell us how well were doing, we know deep down that were really not doing well enough. We still have trouble handling life and facing reality on realitys terms. We suspect, at those times, that there must be a serious flaw in our spiritual practice and development. Chances are strong that our trouble lies in either the misunderstanding or neglect of Step Eleven - prayer, meditation, and the guidance of God. The other Steps can keep most of us clean and functioning. But Step Eleven can keep us growing - `so long as we try hard and work at it continuously.
Do I trust infinite God rather than my finite self?
Today I Pray
I pray for a deepening of my spiritual awareness, for a stronger faith in the Unseen, for a closer communion with my Higher Power. May I realize that my growth in the GA Program depends on my spiritual development. May I give over more of my trust to Gods eternal wisdom.
Today I Will Remember
I will not give in or give up, but give over to the power of God.