Despite caustic, contradictory commentary in opposition to the reality, Alcoholics Anonymous does not demand that you be convinced you are an alcoholic. Once again, from Mel B.;
“In other words, the AA founders were not zealously committed to the task of convincing any person that he might be an alcoholic, or of citing scientific proof that he could never be a controlled drinker. This was something the individual would have to decide for himself, even at the cost of getting drunk again. Is it irresponsible to tell an alcoholic to try drinking again if he thinks he can get away with …read more

From “The Language of the Heart” page 90;
“Our AA Traditions are those attitudes and practices by which we may deserve, as a movement, a long life and a useful one. To this end, none could be more vital than our Tenth Tradition, for it deals with the subject of controversy – serious controversy.”
Sounds familiar… try to remember that Bill wrote this in July, 1948.
“On the other side of the world, millions have died even recently in religious dissension. Other millions have died in political controversy. The end is not yet. Nearly everybody in the world has turned reformer. Each group, …read more

I’ve spoken many times about living on a type of reward system when actively drinking. I did something good for you regardless of the circumstances and I developed an expectation that, somehow, you owed me. When you were unable to pay off – resentment followed, then, not too far away, alcohol.
Today’s reading from the Daily Reflection is part of the change in thinking which ends that old reward system, replacing it with something much more rewarding.
“The Reward of Giving”
This is indeed the kind of giving that actually demands nothing. He does not expect his brother sufferer to pay him, or …read more

Twelve Qualities of Sponsorship
1.   I will not help you to stay and wallow in limbo.
2.   I will help you to grow, to become more productive, by your definition.
3.   I will help you become more autonomous, more loving of yourself, more excited, less sensitive, more free to become the authority for your own living.
4.   I can not give you dreams or “fix you up” simply because I can not.
5.   I can not give you growth, or grow for you.  You must grow for yourself by facing reality, grim as it may be at times.
6.   I can not take away your loneliness …read more

What did he say? And… why?
There are those “out there” who seem to have a need to place themselves in a position of authority regarding who may or may not be a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. Thankfully Bill W. had the foresight to know such could happen. A copy of what he wrote in the Grapevine is posted at the Silkworth site.
Briefly – what happened in the early days was groups setting all sorts of impossible rules and members passing all grades of judgments they weren’t qualified to pass. (Sadly, this is still occurring today but I won’t mention where.) …read more

No longer plague us but they once did…

From pages 123-124 of Alcoholics Anonymous;
“Now and then the family will be plagued by spectres from the past, for the drinking career of almost every alcoholic has been marked by escapades, funny, humiliating, shameful or tragic. The first impulse will be to bury these skeletons in a dark closet and padlock the door. The family may be possessed by the idea that future happiness can be based only upon forgetfulness of the past. We think that such a view is self-centered and in direct conflict with the new way of living.”

I wonder how many of us in this “new era” of recovery through Internet resources are truly willing to accept this tenet?
From today’s Daily Reflection;
“Never since it began has Alcoholics Anonymous been divided by a major controversial issue. Nor has our Fellowship ever publicly taken sides on any question in an embattled world. This, however, has been no earned virtue. It could almost be said that we were born with it. … ‘So long as we don’t argue these matters privately, it’s a cinch we never shall publicly.”
To note quickly – had I not discovered that someone lacking the courage …read more

This is from a powerful article in this month’s Grapevine. It allows me to continue to stand for opportunities to present crosstalk in meetings, when done responsibly, as an invaluable tool with which to attain sobriety.
Juliet H. tells us;
“I am practicing the spirit of the Tenth Tradition as long as I am sharing my experience, strength, and hope, and not my opinions. By practicing this, I’ve been able to strengthen my relationships in and out of the rooms…”
It is important for me to take note of what Juliet says next;
“One of the sayings I’ve heard in the rooms for many …read more

It is time to pay attention to ego. Plain and simple. Practice Steps 2, 3, and 11. Then, by God’s grace, be myself.
Referencing comments from the crosstalk topic and conference approved literature, there is a quote from one of my older posts that Glenn C. put together at Hindsfoot;
“I am trying to avoid sounding overdramatic about this issue, but an A.A. which no longer follows the traditional A.A. program laid down by the good old-timers, will lose its heart and spirit, and its power to transform human lives and lift lost souls out of the miry pit where they had …read more

And a few other boring characters…
From Mel’s article “Open-Meeting Bores”
The challenge? AA … “is greatly imperiled by the great blanket of boredom that stifles many meetings from coast to coast.”
Mel’s research and conclusion: “Having arrived at the conclusion that boring meetings and groups were caused by boring members, I began to look for some means of identifying just who these members really were. Surprisingly, they were the same fellows I have seen in my own bathroom shaving mirror from time to time.”
The first in Mel’s cast of boring characters;