From my friend Dennis:
As AA changes with a more diluted message and fewer people doing 12 Step work as the Big Book suggest and getting away from our Traditions so does the group conscience change.
The group conscience works best when there is group consciousness. A spiritual experience is a rising of consciousness. Taking the Steps raises consciousness and eventually to the point where we become more intuitive. When there is enough in the group that have raised their consciousness through the spiritual process of the group the group becomes a “spiritual entity” as it states in Tradition 6. Alcoholics I believe have a spiritual connection with each other anyway and we become more conscious of this as we spiritually grow in sobriety. Through the Steps we meet each other on a plane of consciousness that transcends ego, personalities and even the intellect and we begin to understand the spiritual anonymity of Tradition 12, which is quite different than the personal anonymity of Tradition 11. This becomes the fellowship of the spirit and as a group that has become a spiritual entity; then God may express Himself
through our group conscience.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Bob Bacon, Part Two:
When a person comes to us after 30 days in a rehabilitation center, he or she is already dry and needs to know how we are staying sober. I believe our meetings are not really covering this heavy responsibility as effectively as we should and could. We do have some good news, such as Big Book Study Meetings. More and more in my area, we are going to discussion meetings. This new idea is from the Grapevine.
To me, it is vital to the survival of our Fellowship that we make certain the people coming to us for help are made aware of the Big Book, the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions as possibly their only hope for survival from alcoholism. If we fail to guide them to our program of recovery, our Fellowship will not survive. Our future is dependent upon a continuing stream of recovered alcoholics.
In today’s frustrating world, our Program works better than ever. Are we doing a good enough job sharing this with the thousands of people coming to us now? Shouldn’t we be giving these people all Three Legacies of Recovery, Unity and Service? We have to tell them more than, “Don’t drink and go to meetings”. If all we talk about is our drinking, our ideas, our opinions, my day or the way I do it, we are not carrying the message--we are carrying the illness. We should be talking about recovery. I don’t believe we are.
Are we stressing the real value of the Big Book? You can go to meetings in my area where you can’t find a Big Book. Lately, when I am asked to lead a meeting, I have to take my Big Book with me. I don’t want to lead a meeting that doesn’t have a Big Book. We hear many people lead meetings and never mention the Steps or the Big Book. Is it because nobody told them how very important the Big Book is? Do we forget to tell the newcomer that what is in the Big Book can save his or her life? Our total Program is in the Big Book and only in the Big Book. Shouldn’t we be telling people that?
We hear a lot of ridiculous things like, “There are no musts in A.A.” My Big Book read different. People say that it is an individual program, that we can take the Steps any way we want to. Dr. Bob said, and I quote, “There is no such thing as an individual interpretation of the Twelve Steps.” If we are not honest with the new people and tell them how important each Step is, who will tell them? Some people seem to think the Steps are a necessary evil instead of a lifesaving prescription for happiness.
We rarely hear about the Traditions. The fact that these came about because of our mistakes and failures is almost a secret. The Traditions are the lifesaving guide lines for each group and for our Fellowship as a whole and each of us should be responsible to honor them. When I first wanted to get a copy of the “Twelve and Twelve”, a G.S.R. told me the Tradition pamphlet had all I needed. Thank God, I didn’t listen to him.
In 1965 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, most of us stood with Bill and said, “I am responsible. When anyone, anywhere reaches out for help, I want the hand of A.A. always to be there and for that I am responsible.” Being at that Convention is the reason I am standing here now. We are the guardians of this Fellowship, and maybe we need to do a better job of
sharing what it is all about. Are we still responsible?
When a person comes to us after 30 days in a rehabilitation center, he or she is already dry and needs to know how we are staying sober. I believe our meetings are not really covering this heavy responsibility as effectively as we should and could. We do have some good news, such as Big Book Study Meetings. More and more in my area, we are going to discussion meetings. This new idea is from the Grapevine.
To me, it is vital to the survival of our Fellowship that we make certain the people coming to us for help are made aware of the Big Book, the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions as possibly their only hope for survival from alcoholism. If we fail to guide them to our program of recovery, our Fellowship will not survive. Our future is dependent upon a continuing stream of recovered alcoholics.
In today’s frustrating world, our Program works better than ever. Are we doing a good enough job sharing this with the thousands of people coming to us now? Shouldn’t we be giving these people all Three Legacies of Recovery, Unity and Service? We have to tell them more than, “Don’t drink and go to meetings”. If all we talk about is our drinking, our ideas, our opinions, my day or the way I do it, we are not carrying the message--we are carrying the illness. We should be talking about recovery. I don’t believe we are.
Are we stressing the real value of the Big Book? You can go to meetings in my area where you can’t find a Big Book. Lately, when I am asked to lead a meeting, I have to take my Big Book with me. I don’t want to lead a meeting that doesn’t have a Big Book. We hear many people lead meetings and never mention the Steps or the Big Book. Is it because nobody told them how very important the Big Book is? Do we forget to tell the newcomer that what is in the Big Book can save his or her life? Our total Program is in the Big Book and only in the Big Book. Shouldn’t we be telling people that?
We hear a lot of ridiculous things like, “There are no musts in A.A.” My Big Book read different. People say that it is an individual program, that we can take the Steps any way we want to. Dr. Bob said, and I quote, “There is no such thing as an individual interpretation of the Twelve Steps.” If we are not honest with the new people and tell them how important each Step is, who will tell them? Some people seem to think the Steps are a necessary evil instead of a lifesaving prescription for happiness.
We rarely hear about the Traditions. The fact that these came about because of our mistakes and failures is almost a secret. The Traditions are the lifesaving guide lines for each group and for our Fellowship as a whole and each of us should be responsible to honor them. When I first wanted to get a copy of the “Twelve and Twelve”, a G.S.R. told me the Tradition pamphlet had all I needed. Thank God, I didn’t listen to him.
In 1965 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, most of us stood with Bill and said, “I am responsible. When anyone, anywhere reaches out for help, I want the hand of A.A. always to be there and for that I am responsible.” Being at that Convention is the reason I am standing here now. We are the guardians of this Fellowship, and maybe we need to do a better job of
sharing what it is all about. Are we still responsible?
David T., Part Two:
What we do have is an answer for one very particular problem- alcoholism as defined in the
Bigbook of Alcoholics Anonymous. When I take a drink, I get a craving for another drink that
eliminates all control over how much I drink or what I do in the process. And most importantly,
knowledge of this fact will never keep me from taking the next drink. It is a progressive and fatal
malady that we have come to view as an illness involving an allergic, or abnormal, reaction to
alcohol coupled with a mental obsession for more of the same.
Our program began when one alcoholic, seeking to keep himself sober, sought out another
alcoholic with whom he shared his experience with this particular problem. Dr. Bob, who was
only going to listen for 15 minutes, spent over 6 hours because, as he said of Bill: “He was the
first living human with whom I had ever talked who knew what he was talking about in regard to
alcoholism from actual experience” Dr. Bob was then able to accept the solution because of his
assurance that Bill had overcome a problem common to his own.
So it was then and is still today. Our greatest asset as recovered alcoholics is our past.
Whether in a meeting, on the answering service, or one on one, we use our past experience
with alcohol to reach the still-suffering alcoholic. It is through our stories of alcoholism that we
help the alcoholic overcome his feelings of difference and isolation and accept the solution that
we have to offer. As an alcoholic, I had many defenses against those who would talk of my
drinking, but I had no defense against you when you spoke of your drinking. It was through
hearing these stories that denial fell away and hope was born for myself and countless others
like me.
What we do have is an answer for one very particular problem- alcoholism as defined in the
Bigbook of Alcoholics Anonymous. When I take a drink, I get a craving for another drink that
eliminates all control over how much I drink or what I do in the process. And most importantly,
knowledge of this fact will never keep me from taking the next drink. It is a progressive and fatal
malady that we have come to view as an illness involving an allergic, or abnormal, reaction to
alcohol coupled with a mental obsession for more of the same.
Our program began when one alcoholic, seeking to keep himself sober, sought out another
alcoholic with whom he shared his experience with this particular problem. Dr. Bob, who was
only going to listen for 15 minutes, spent over 6 hours because, as he said of Bill: “He was the
first living human with whom I had ever talked who knew what he was talking about in regard to
alcoholism from actual experience” Dr. Bob was then able to accept the solution because of his
assurance that Bill had overcome a problem common to his own.
So it was then and is still today. Our greatest asset as recovered alcoholics is our past.
Whether in a meeting, on the answering service, or one on one, we use our past experience
with alcohol to reach the still-suffering alcoholic. It is through our stories of alcoholism that we
help the alcoholic overcome his feelings of difference and isolation and accept the solution that
we have to offer. As an alcoholic, I had many defenses against those who would talk of my
drinking, but I had no defense against you when you spoke of your drinking. It was through
hearing these stories that denial fell away and hope was born for myself and countless others
like me.
-
David T., Part Three:
I am an alcoholic. I have a drug history as long as my alcoholism, but I am not an addict. The
stories I have heard of addicts, gamblers, and so on elicit sympathy from me, but do not reach
that place in me of identification that I find in the story of another alcoholic- that place where I
actually begin to feel the pain experienced by the speaker and relate his experience to my own.
Thank God you had alcoholics speak to me of alcoholism when I came into AA. Because
identification is so vital to the recovery of alcoholics like myself, I do not wish to risk weakening
my effectiveness by speaking of my drug use in an AA meeting.
We alcoholics come with many “related disorders” of drugs, gambling, overeating, sex,
depression, anxiety, and so on, but by choosing to join AA we have chosen a common ground
on which to relate to one another- alcoholism and recovery from alcoholism. Given the diversity
of people and problems in AA, the unity necessary to function as a group would be impossible
and our effectiveness with newcomers diminished if we did not keep our focus on our common
problem. I have to relate myself to the group as a whole for my own recovery and the recovery
of those I would help. I would hate to see the day in AA where an alcoholic’s chance to recover
was dependent upon whether we had the “right” person for him that day on the answering
service, 12 Step call, and so on. I would hate to see the day when an alcoholic finds himself
unable to relate to a speaker or discussion due to too much talk of addictions and other
problems he does not have. I want every alcoholic to have the chance I had to enter an AA
meeting and come to realize that those people are like him and maybe if he does what they did
it will work for him too.
I’m sorry to inform those who don’t know it already, but AA is not all-inclusive, nor was it ever
intended to be. We developed from a narrowing of the broad objectives of the Oxford Group to
focus on helping alcoholics only. We are still strong, the Oxford Group is not. Many fine
organizations have come and gone because of their inability to stick to one thing they do well.
Many organizations have failed because they lacked the humility to realize their limitations.
Many fine Twelve Step programs have developed out of our program because their members
new the importance of identification in recovery and sought to create a place where maximum
identification, and therefore maximum recovery, was possible. In this day and age, anyone
seeking help can find a group to deal with his particular problem. Our job is not to try to expand
our program to fit all situations or persons, but to grow in effectiveness at the one simple thing
that we do well. It is not always the easy path to stand on this principle, but I am learning that
we can do this with kindness and concern for all involved. It is by so doing that AA has become
the single most effective treatment for alcoholism in recorded history.
David T., Primary Purpose Group, Spartanburg, SC
Reprinted from the K.I.T. Newsletter
From Jim I: Back to Basics 1976
Are we, in the content of our AA meetings, getting away from basics?
Are we talking about our own recovery from alcoholism,
the Big Book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions?
(Bob Bacon - Delegate, Northeast Ohio)
(Excerpts from his talk)
My name is Bob Bacon. I am powerless over alcohol and very grateful to be alive and a part of this conference.
Are we, in the content of our A.A. meetings, getting away from A.A. basics? I believe we are. Alcoholics Anonymous is growing at a faster rate than at any time since the ‘40’s, and I suspect we were not ready for such growth. Have we gotten a little complacent and smug in our well-being? People today are coming to Alcoholics Anonymous in far better shape physically and mentally than most of us here did. We need to show them how we learned to stay sober. If our meetings consist mostly of drinking experiences, our ideas and opinions, we are not doing our jobs. Dr. Bob said our program when boiled down, is love and service.
We need to show all the newcomers that we love them as we were loved and we have a way of life we wish to share. If our meetings are nothing but drunk-a-logs and meaningless chatter, we are not showing them “How It Works”. In A.A. meetings, we reach out with love and told people, “These are the Steps we took” and “We had to go to any lengths”. Is that what the newcomer is hearing in our meetings tod
Are we talking about our own recovery from alcoholism,
the Big Book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions?
(Bob Bacon - Delegate, Northeast Ohio)
(Excerpts from his talk)
My name is Bob Bacon. I am powerless over alcohol and very grateful to be alive and a part of this conference.
Are we, in the content of our A.A. meetings, getting away from A.A. basics? I believe we are. Alcoholics Anonymous is growing at a faster rate than at any time since the ‘40’s, and I suspect we were not ready for such growth. Have we gotten a little complacent and smug in our well-being? People today are coming to Alcoholics Anonymous in far better shape physically and mentally than most of us here did. We need to show them how we learned to stay sober. If our meetings consist mostly of drinking experiences, our ideas and opinions, we are not doing our jobs. Dr. Bob said our program when boiled down, is love and service.
We need to show all the newcomers that we love them as we were loved and we have a way of life we wish to share. If our meetings are nothing but drunk-a-logs and meaningless chatter, we are not showing them “How It Works”. In A.A. meetings, we reach out with love and told people, “These are the Steps we took” and “We had to go to any lengths”. Is that what the newcomer is hearing in our meetings tod
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From the late Don Pritts, GrapeVine article, 1988, Part One:
If Our Message Is Clear. . .
In working with professionals, let us keep in mind that for our friends to recommend us, they must understand us. And for that, we are responsible.
As AA grows, cooperating with members of the professional community becomes one of the most important activities we can engage in. We are experiencing a growth beyond our wildest dreams, but with that growth come some problems. Most groups are finding that many of the new people coming to us are not alcoholics, but suffer from many other maladies. The people who refer them have seen the true miracles that happen in AA and, having no other resource, they lovingly send everyone to us.
While I believe that our recovery program, the Twelve Steps, will work for any problem, our Fellowship of alcoholics does not seem to provide the same service for others as it does for us. Fellowship is a gathering of people of like mind, and while there are many similar behaviors among alcoholics and others suffering from obsessions of many kinds, the alcoholic mind and body are different. According to Dr. Silkworth, in "The Doctor's Opinion" in the Big Book, "This phenomenon [of craving], as we have suggested, may be the manifestation of an allergy which differentiates these people, and sets them apart as a distinct entity." So, as we are experiencing, nonalcoholics coming to our Fellowship cause us to be uncomfortable because we do not really understand them. We cause them to be uncomfortable because we demonstrate that we don't understand them. We know when our principles are applied to problems other than alcohol, in fellowships designed for each problem, such as Narcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, or Overeaters Anonymous, the results are the same.
If Our Message Is Clear. . .
In working with professionals, let us keep in mind that for our friends to recommend us, they must understand us. And for that, we are responsible.
As AA grows, cooperating with members of the professional community becomes one of the most important activities we can engage in. We are experiencing a growth beyond our wildest dreams, but with that growth come some problems. Most groups are finding that many of the new people coming to us are not alcoholics, but suffer from many other maladies. The people who refer them have seen the true miracles that happen in AA and, having no other resource, they lovingly send everyone to us.
While I believe that our recovery program, the Twelve Steps, will work for any problem, our Fellowship of alcoholics does not seem to provide the same service for others as it does for us. Fellowship is a gathering of people of like mind, and while there are many similar behaviors among alcoholics and others suffering from obsessions of many kinds, the alcoholic mind and body are different. According to Dr. Silkworth, in "The Doctor's Opinion" in the Big Book, "This phenomenon [of craving], as we have suggested, may be the manifestation of an allergy which differentiates these people, and sets them apart as a distinct entity." So, as we are experiencing, nonalcoholics coming to our Fellowship cause us to be uncomfortable because we do not really understand them. We cause them to be uncomfortable because we demonstrate that we don't understand them. We know when our principles are applied to problems other than alcohol, in fellowships designed for each problem, such as Narcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, or Overeaters Anonymous, the results are the same.
From Jim I
Like most statistics that these organizations put
together, they fail to separate the alcoholics
from the hard drinkers. The test base they always use has both, the difference is; that a hard drinker can
stop or moderate if they really try and the alcoholic can't. What good are statistics for a treatment
process when there are people in it who can do it anyway by themselves when they decide to. When the
treatment field gets with that fact, real alcoholism statistics will finally mean something to me, don't
trust what you read made by people who do not understand the nature of alcoholism, many
professionals don't.
With a lot of treatment or awareness programs, what they try to do is get you to decide to stop or
moderate, they show you what you can do to stay clean and sober. These can be as affective and are
good things, but what happens is there is harm reduction or sobriety for the heavy or potential drinker
but no real help for those who are already alcoholic or real drug addicts. They need a personality
change at depth, a spiritual awakening with a shift in perspective so large they operate with a
completely different perspective and perception, that can only come after a conversion experience
following extensive use of spiritual practices.
I end up working with those who have been in 12 treatment centers or whatever and have been
desperately trying to separate from drugs or alcohol for years, they absolutely cannot summon up the
needed fortitude to not pick up. After the 12 step work, if they remain focused on spiritual disciplines
and carry the message of the 12 steps to others who have their problem, they find the power comes into
them and become safe and protected from the first drink or drug, but this takes constant willingness and
persistence, something only the desperate have, 90% of people in treatment would not bother to do this
work, they would feel it an overreaction to a problem they can handle because maybe they can. Read
the doctors opinion, and chapter 2 and 3 in the Big Book really carefully. This is still the best
understanding I have ever read about the nature of powerlessness and addiction.
Most positive statistics with professional addiction studies are with the category of the Hard Drinker
not the Alcoholic, treatment processes alone fail almost always with the real alcoholic or addict, that is
where the 12 steps can be one of the only solutions.
This probably does not answer your question, but I don't intensively delve into the study of something I
see as irrelevant to my own work, why rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic? I need to stay focused on
what works for me and not get sidetracked by things that are interesting intellectually but of little value
to my work in the trenches. I don't mean this to sound negative, treatment processes are needed, we
need every rehab we have, its just they have nothing to gain by the separation of the real from the hard
drinker, what would it profit them to say they cant do anything permanent for a percentage of their
clients? So I understand what they do and why, I just get frustrated when I see a whole industry with
statistics that do not apply in a way I would find meaningful and truly accurate. They do help people
realize that drinking and drugging is a negative behavior, so they should stop. This is important for
those who can. The good treatment centers emphasize the need for a 12 step way of life for a real
recovery and the bad ones don't.
Chris S. February 11, 2011 6:34 PM
together, they fail to separate the alcoholics
from the hard drinkers. The test base they always use has both, the difference is; that a hard drinker can
stop or moderate if they really try and the alcoholic can't. What good are statistics for a treatment
process when there are people in it who can do it anyway by themselves when they decide to. When the
treatment field gets with that fact, real alcoholism statistics will finally mean something to me, don't
trust what you read made by people who do not understand the nature of alcoholism, many
professionals don't.
With a lot of treatment or awareness programs, what they try to do is get you to decide to stop or
moderate, they show you what you can do to stay clean and sober. These can be as affective and are
good things, but what happens is there is harm reduction or sobriety for the heavy or potential drinker
but no real help for those who are already alcoholic or real drug addicts. They need a personality
change at depth, a spiritual awakening with a shift in perspective so large they operate with a
completely different perspective and perception, that can only come after a conversion experience
following extensive use of spiritual practices.
I end up working with those who have been in 12 treatment centers or whatever and have been
desperately trying to separate from drugs or alcohol for years, they absolutely cannot summon up the
needed fortitude to not pick up. After the 12 step work, if they remain focused on spiritual disciplines
and carry the message of the 12 steps to others who have their problem, they find the power comes into
them and become safe and protected from the first drink or drug, but this takes constant willingness and
persistence, something only the desperate have, 90% of people in treatment would not bother to do this
work, they would feel it an overreaction to a problem they can handle because maybe they can. Read
the doctors opinion, and chapter 2 and 3 in the Big Book really carefully. This is still the best
understanding I have ever read about the nature of powerlessness and addiction.
Most positive statistics with professional addiction studies are with the category of the Hard Drinker
not the Alcoholic, treatment processes alone fail almost always with the real alcoholic or addict, that is
where the 12 steps can be one of the only solutions.
This probably does not answer your question, but I don't intensively delve into the study of something I
see as irrelevant to my own work, why rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic? I need to stay focused on
what works for me and not get sidetracked by things that are interesting intellectually but of little value
to my work in the trenches. I don't mean this to sound negative, treatment processes are needed, we
need every rehab we have, its just they have nothing to gain by the separation of the real from the hard
drinker, what would it profit them to say they cant do anything permanent for a percentage of their
clients? So I understand what they do and why, I just get frustrated when I see a whole industry with
statistics that do not apply in a way I would find meaningful and truly accurate. They do help people
realize that drinking and drugging is a negative behavior, so they should stop. This is important for
those who can. The good treatment centers emphasize the need for a 12 step way of life for a real
recovery and the bad ones don't.
Chris S. February 11, 2011 6:34 PM
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