Recovered Alcoholic

 I thought of the passage below right away from the program of Alcoholics Anonymous which is located in the front of the Big Book which starts with the contents, and ends on page 164. The pages that follow 164 are referred to as the "stories in the back" which are essentially the alcoholic's personal experience with the program-kinda like personal testimonies of something working, but not the program itself. So while many of us have a great deal of insight and wisdom, again, it's just that person's experience with the Steps that brought them to a HP.  "We, of ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, know thousands of men and women who were once just as hopeless as Bill.  Nearly all have recovered.  They have solved the drink problem. We are average Americans. All sections of this country and many of its occupations are represented, as well as many political, economic, social, and religious backgrounds.  We are people who normally would not mix. But there exists...

  “The first thing my sponsor told me was, ‘I don’t have time to help you stay sick ... but if you want to get better I’d be glad to help.” Temple, Texas, October 1990, “The Man I’ve Always Wanted to Be,” Emotional Sobriety I love this! I couldn't comprehend the concept of enabling vs helping.  "Helping" is being supportive of someone to reach a desired goal Enabling is doing it for them so that I don't have to take the time to actually teach them-or maybe I don't want to deal with the backlash of telling them "no" or "I can't"; or perhaps maybe I want them to need me or be dependent upon me for whatever reason my twisted and sick brain has convinced me the best course of action for the human being-which is actually usurping God's role and inserting myself as thier HP, which is not only not helpful, it can be down right deadly.  When I was first getting sober I had pretty much been stripped of all things-including a car, so I was essent...

"It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities. "How can I best serve Thee - Thy will (not mine) be done." These are thoughts which must go with us constantly. We can exercise our will power along this line all we wish. It is the proper use of the will." This last month or so has been packed with movement, creative energy and some not so comfortable realizations that have thrown me out of my comfort zone in a couple of areas-which is a good thing in the big picture. None of the stuff that comes up now that I am sober, practicing the principles in my affairs, and led by God, has been too much for me to process and then progress from. I ALWAYS come o...

“We AAs shall have to hang together -- or else hang separately!” AA Co-Founder, Bill W., October 1947, “Why Can’t We Join AA, Too?”, The Language of the Heart "We must all hang together, or else we shall all hang separately," is attributed to  Benjamin Franklin  at the signing of the  Declaration of Independence  in 1776, meaning the American colonies had to unite in their fight for independence or face individual defeat and execution by the British, using a pun on "hang" (stick together vs. execution) to stress vital solidarity.   We have been given a daily reprieve/stay of execution because AA choose Unity over Conformity, God over our many personalities on any given day, and humility over selfish  endeavors. You simply cannot do this having a leader or a spokesperson in charge of the collective. It can't work in a construct that's only primary purpose is to serve God, live a principled life and carry the message to the next alcoholic.  So as mu...

Living Sober, like our slogans, was the perfect amount of nourishment/milktoast I could digest in early sobriety that would ignite me into remembrance of these sacred spiritual principles later down the road. Layer by layer, line by line, word for word, year by year. So once I could comprehend that, I was able to expand to accommodate this from the Big Book: "Assuming we are spiritually fit, we can do all sorts of things alcoholics are not supposed to do. People have said we must not go where liquor is served; we must not have it in our homes; we must shun friends who drink; we must avoid moving pictures which show drinking scenes; we must not go into bars; our friends must hide their bottles if we go to their houses; we mustn't think or be reminded about alcohol at all. Our experience shows that this is not necessarily so. We meet these conditions every day. An alcoholic who cannot meet them, still has an alcoholic mind; there is something the matter...

I am so g rateful for the suggested program of action that made it possible for me to live sober!! We don't sober people up here, we do not have the power to get, or keep anyone sober, let alone ourselves, hense Step 1!! God I think got sick of seeing his most destructive, self hating, egocentric and stubborn children die, and knowing that we would only hear the sound of certain words, that this may redirect us from the path of rebellion, to the way home. If something is "suggested" rather than enforced, I am more likely to open my mind to receive the information. The torment made me willing and the wording made it possible for the message to be received. The continued process/program of daily action keeps clearing more and more of the false constructs and identities, perceptions and conceptions that block out the Sunlight of the Spirit. The more nourishment I get from God, the less likely I am to make you my God which causes m...