Father Joseph Martin passed this morning at Ashley in Harve de Grace, Maryland.
His chalk talks taught me so much and I’ll take them with me and pass them on where I can. To paraphrase one very important thought that works so well for me;
“There is one undeniable fact about my past – I can’t change it. I can only commend my past to the mercy of God. There is also one undeniable fact about my future – I have one, I just don’t know how long it will be. I can only commend my future to the providence of God.”
From …read more

MC spoke about them today and I’d like to join the queue;
One of the many places online with info is the Silkworth site where Dick B. has had his writing reproduced. This is the beginning of that…
What Are These “Four Absolutes?”
You have to be around A.A. for quite a while before you hear much about the “Four Absolutes.” Exceptions to that statement are those who read our Conference Approved history DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, or Dr. Bob’s last major speech, or are in the chain of sponsees beginning with Clarence S., or come from the Akron area, or …read more

Check out “The Early Akron Pamphlets” at the Hindsfoot site then read “The Akron Manual.”
Quote;
“A.A. is not interested in sobering up drunks who are not sincere in their desire to remain completely sober for all time. A.A. is not interested in alcoholics who want to sober up merely to go on another bender, sober up because of fear for their jobs, their wives, their social standing, or to clear up some trouble either real or imaginary. In other words, if a person is genuinely sincere in his desire for continued sobriety for his own good, is convinced in his heart …read more

First Things First – there’s seems to be some confusion about the spelling of her last name. Additionally, there was a time when Henrietta thought Bill W. might have lost his marbles. Take note however, that this letter is posted on a site not associated with AA or AA G.S.O.
More importantly, for me, is an audio tape from Henrietta which I first posted last year. It is titled “Never Be Afraid To Acknowledge God.”
Quoting Henrietta Sieberling, through her son John, who made an audio tape of his mother for the Founders Day meeting in Akron in 1971. Bill W. had …read more

Be clear in the implications that saying this might offer. THIS IS A PERSONAL OPINION! I DO NOT SAY THIS TO REPRESENT ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS! Clear enough?
If you take an unnecessary opportunity to reply to a post about Big Book Prayers to argue that AA is religious in nature then you no doubt are attempting to proselytize an alternative. Else, why argue?
Which means you’re working to try to win a useless argument where no argument had existed.
AA thrives on religious principles. Recovery thrives on religious principles. AA and recovery means that lives which would otherwise have been lost will now be …read more

TO ALL MEMBERS
Greetings On Our 10th Christmas
1944
Yes, it’s in the air! The spirit of Christmas once more warms this poor distraught world. Over the whole globe millions are looking forward to that one day when strife can be forgotten, when it will be remembered that all human beings, even the least are loved by God, when men will hope for the coming of the Prince of Peace as they never hoped before.
But there is another world which is not poor. Neither is it distraught. It is the world of Alcoholics Anonymous, where thousands dwell happily and secure. Secure because …read more

Four Absolutes or Four Standards of the Oxford Group
“The Absolutes were borrowed from the Oxford Group Movement back in the days when our Society was in its humble beginnings. In those days our founders and their early colleagues were earnestly seeking for any and all sources of help to define and formulate suggestions that might guide us in the pursuit of a useful, happy, and significant sober life.”
1. Absolute Honesty
2. Absolute Unselfishness
3. Absolute Purity
4. Absolute Love
Four questions associated with the Absolutes;
1. Is it true or is it false?
2. Is it right or is it wrong?
3. How will it affect others?
4. …read more

A poem by Jack McC called simply “Drunks” (thanks again Alex)

We died of pneumonia in furnished rooms where they found us three days later when somebody complained about the smell.
We died against bridge abutments and nobody knew if it was suicide
and we probably didn’t know either except in the sense that it was always suicide.
We died in hospitals, our stomachs huge, distended and there was nothing they could do.
We died in cells, never knowing whether we were guilty or not.
We went to priests, they gave us pledges, they told us to pray, they told us to go and sin no …read more

From the AA Grapevine and an article about The Washingtonians;
In April of 1840 six drunks got together to condemn the curse of drink and drew up a pledge of complete abstinence from alcohol. From that first meeting came part of our current format for speaker meetings.
“They chose the name Washington Temperance Society in honor of George Washington, and a membership fee of twenty-five cents was established, together with monthly dues of twelve and a half cents. With fond embraces they parted, each agreeing to bring one new member to the next meeting at the tavern. And they stayed sober!
In response …read more

We’ll try to sell you on this…
From the Original Manuscript;
Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter to the agnostic, and our personal adventures before and after, have been designed to sell you three pertinent ideas:
(a) That you are alcoholic and cannot manage your own life.
(b) That probably no human power can relieve your alcoholism.
(c) That God can and will.
If you are not convinced on these vital issues, you ought to re-read the book to this point or else throw it away!
That’s right – if you’re unconvinced, throw the book away! And we should practice stroking feathers in recovery? I doubt …read more