Archive for August, 2008
Slogans can inspire us all
Slogans can inspire us all
There’;s a story sometimes
told by members of
Alcoholics Anonymous
(AA): A mountain climber
stumbles off the edge of a
cliff. He manages to break
his fall by grabbing a
branch on a tree that
overlooks the ravine.
Hanging for his life, he calls
up to heaven. “If there’;s
anybody up there, help
me-please!” A thunderous
voice booms from the
clouds: “Let go, and I will
protect you.” The man
pauses for a moment to
think. Finally he shouts, “Is
there anyone else I can
talk to?” AA offers a
program based on the
paradox of personal
change-that
transformation comes only
when we
Alcoholic Mouthwash Can get you Drunk
People are drinking alcohol-based mouthwash because it’s now cheaper than regular alcoholic drinks in some parts of Australia.
Health workers have warned that they risk serious consequences, even death
Street cleaners lately have been stumbling on scores of empty bottles of a popular mouthwash, which is nearly 30 per cent pure alcohol.
And in the space of a [...]
Principles of the 12-Steps
Recovery through the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous
Sgt. Bill S., used a one word summary to describe the basic principle (as he saw it) behind each of the 12 Steps, when he was giving talks to military personnel about alcoholism at Lackland in San Antonio, Texas, during the 1950’s and later on in California.
In the [...]
Staying on the Beam
Staying on the Beam
“Today most commercial
flying is done on a radio
beam. A directional beam is
produced to guide the pilot
to his destination, and as
long as he keeps on this
beam he knows that he is
safe, even if he cannot see
around him for fog, or get
his bearings in any other
way. As soon as he gets
off the beam in any
direction he is in danger,
and he immediately tries to
get back on to the beam
once more. Those who
believe in the All-ness of
God, have a spiritual beam
upon which to navigate on
the voyage of life. As long
as you have
Types of 12-Step Meetings
The two most common kinds of 12-Step meetings are:
OPEN MEETINGS: As the term suggests, meetings of this type are open to members and their families and to anyone interested in solving a personal problem or helping someone else to solve such a problem.
Most open meetings follow a more or less set pattern, although distinctive variations [...]
Mental Obsession
Mental obsession Bill W. a
co-founder of Alcoholics
Anonymous answers
questions about alcoholism
in a discussion in 1960.
Question; Bill, could you
explain what you mean by
“mental obsession”? What
is this? Bill W.: Well, as I
understand it, we are all
born with a certain amount
of freedom of choice. The
degree of this varies from
person to person, and from
area to area in our lives. In
the case of neurotic
people, our instincts take
on certain patterns and
directions, sometimes so
compulsive they cannot be
broken by any ordinary
effort of the will. The
alcoholic’;s compulsion to
drink is like that.
Dual Recovery Personal Story
Tim’s Story…
DRA has offered me what I had lost or been unable to find in my sobriety. It offers me believable hope and steps to apply to both my chemical dependency and my psychiatric illnesses. It also offers me a way to heal the emotional and psychic damage that I experienced as a result of [...]
Disease, Illness or Malady
Alcoholism - Disease,
Illness or Malady Bill W. a
co-founder of Alcoholics
Anonymous answers
questions about alcoholism
in a discussion in 1960.
Question; Bill, I noticed
that in your talk you did
not use the word
‘disease.’; Did you intend
to make any kind of
distinction between disease
and sickness? Bill W: We
Aas have never called
alcoholism a disease
because, technically
speaking, it is not a disease
entity. For example, there
is no such thing as heart
disease. Instead there are
many separate heart
ailments or combinations of
them. It is something like
that with alcoholism.
Therefore, we did not wish
to get in
Emotions Anonymous
Twelve Steps of Emotions Anonymous
We admitted we were powerless over our emotions - that our lives had become unmanageable.
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Made a [...]
Relapse, Slips and Busts
Relapse, Slips and Busts Bill
W. a co-founder of
Alcoholics Anonymous
answers questions about
alcoholism in a discussion in
1960. Question; What
about slips in general? You
must have witnessed a lot
of them. Bill W.: The
subject of slips is a very
large one. It takes in a lot
of territory. Slips can often
be charged to rebellion and
some of us surely are more
rebellious than others. Slips
can be charged to
carelessness, to
complacency. Many of us
fail to ride out such periods
sober. Slips are due to the
illusion that one can be
“cured” of alcoholism.
Things go fine for two or
three
