Ken L

JUNE 21 Reflection for the Day
“Direct” is a key word in the Ninth Step. There are times, unfortunately, when many of us are hopeful that indirect amends will suffice, sparing us the pain and supposed humiliation of approaching people in person and telling them of our wrongs. This is evasion and will never give us a true sense of breaking with the…[Read more]

JUNE 20 Reflection for the Day

When we take the Ninth Step, we must be willing to be absolutely honest. Obviously, though, indiscriminate “absolute honesty” would blow the roof off many a house and entirely destroy some relationships. We must hold nothing back through deceit and pride; we may need to hold something back through discretion and…[Read more]

JUNE 19 Reflection for the Day

The Gamblers Anonymous Program teaches us that only one consideration should qualify our desire to completely disclose the damage we’ve done. And that’s where a full revelation would seriously harm the one to whom we’re making amends – or, just as important, others close to that person. We can hardly unload a d…[Read more]

JUNE 18 Reflection for the Day

I believe today that I have a right to make spiritual progress. I have a right to be emotionally mature. I have a right to take pleasure in my own company, and that makes me more pleasant to be with. I also have a right to become willing – deeply willing, entirely willing – to make amends to all those I’ve harmed.…[Read more]

June 17 Reflection for the Day

Readiness to take the full consequences of our past acts, and to take responsibility for the well-being of others at the same time, is the very spirit of Step Nine. A casual apology, on the one hand, will rarely suffice in making amends to one we have harmed; a true change of attitude, in contrast, can do wonders to…[Read more]

June 16 Reflection for the Day

The Ninth Step of the Gamblers Anonymous Program is:”Made direct amends to such people wherever possible,except when to do so would injure them or others.”To make restitution for the wrongs we’ve done can be extremely difficult,to say the least;if nothing else,it deflates our egos and batters our pride.Yet that in…[Read more]

June 15 Reflection for the Day

Learning how to live in peace and partnership – with all men and women – is a fascinating and often very moving adventure. But each of us in Gamblers Anonymous has found that we’re not able to make much headway in our new adventure of living until we first take the time to make an accurate and unsparing survey of…[Read more]

June 14 Reflection for the Day

Somewhere along the line, as we become more involved in the Gamblers Anonymous Program, we reach a sharp awareness of the growth-value of honesty and candour. When this happens, one of the first things we’re able to admit is that our past behaviour has been far from sane or even reasonable. As soon as we can make…[Read more]

JUNE 11 Reflection for the Day
Guilt is a cunning weapon in the armory of the compulsive gambler. We can use the weapon against ourselves in many subtle ways; it can be deftly wielded, for example, in an attempt to convince us that the Gamblers Anonymous Program doesn’t really work. I have to protect myself constantly against guilt and…[Read more]

JUNE 10 Reflection for the Day

When I least expect it, my keen addictive mind will try to divert me back toward my old ideas and old ways. My mind is expert, in fact, at planting and nourishing negative feelings within me – feelings such as envy, fear, anxiety, or guilt. The minute I spot any of these poisonous feelings rising up, I have to deal…[Read more]

JUNE 9 Reflection for the Day

Some of us, new in Gamblers Anonymous, couldn’t resist telling anyone who would listen just how “terrible” we were. Just as we often exaggerated our modest accomplishments by pride, so we exaggerated our defects through guilt. Racing about and “confessing all,” we somehow considered the widespread exposure of our…[Read more]

JUNE 8 Reflection for the Day

A friend in Gamblers Anonymous taught me to look at excessive guilt in a entirely new way, suggesting that guilt was nothing but a sort of reverse pride. A decent regret for what has happened is fine, he said. But guilt, no. I’ve since learned that condemning ourselves for mistakes we’ve made is just as bad as…[Read more]

JUNE 6 Reflection for the Day

Adjusting myself to things as they are, and being able to love without trying to interfere with or control anyone else, however close to me – that’s one of the important things I search for and can find in Gamblers Anonymous. The learning is sometimes painful; however, the reward is life itself – full and serene.

Is…[Read more]