Many of the discussion topics chosen are taken from AA literature that may not be generally available to all participants in this meeting. This blog will share this AA literature that a chairperson has chosen that may not be generally available.
Many of the posts come from the over 60 years of archives from the monthly AA magazine, Grapevine. Other sources may include AA literature such as ‘As Bill Sees It’ as well as AA pamphlets.
There is also a growing set of quotes from the AA Big Book , Twelve and Twelve, Daily Reflections, and Living Sober.
All of these posts are categorized to allow quicker access. You can also search on key words that you are interested in learning more about.
Looking back , it’s easy to see how our outlook on life morphed to accommodate and justify our choices. Self-delusion had become second nature. It takes effort and practice to embrace honesty instead. Even before, there were clues that honesty might have helped to counter our distorted thinking. At some point, many of us experienced…
Most of us want to be liked. We want other people to think of us as nice, friendly, kind, and loving. Most of us want the approval of others. Since childhood, some of us have been trying to get approval, trying to get people to like us and think highly of us. We may be…
I love this poem and decided to share it. I think it puts a lot of substance on the possibility you may hear in the rooms of being spiritual beings having a physical experience. It may also help us keep in check those ‘out of proportion’ responses we often have to whatever is in front…
AA teaches us how to live without drinking. It doesn’t prevent our hearts from breaking. This has been a hard year. In December 2016, I left NYC after living there for 14 years and moved back home to Texas to be here for my aging parents. They didn’t physically need me at that point and…
This poem has also been added to the Recovery Poem section of the website. Those who will not slip beneaththe still surface on the well of grief, turning down through its black waterto the place we cannot breathe, will never know the source from which we drink,the secret water, cold and clear, nor find in…
I’ve heard some version of this from newcomer sponsees more times than I can count: “I put down the bottle. I’m praying every day. I’m going to meetings. I’m calling you. Why don’t I feel better? Why isn’t my life getting better? And why am I not farther along than some of these other people?” It’s a fair…
Becoming his wife’s caretaker left this longtimer alone and without meetings. Good thing his sponsor had a plan Four years ago, I came home one evening from my usual AA meeting to find my wife in an irrational rage. She was completely out of control, yelling at me, “Get out of my house,” among other…
As long as we are alive, we feel fear. It is an intrinsic part of our makeup, as natural as a bitter cold winter day or the winds that rip branches off trees. If we resist it or push it aside, we miss a powerful opportunity for awakening. Rilke writes: You nights of anguish. Why…
Looking at those defects we are unwilling to give up, we ought to erase the hard and fast lines that we have drawn. Perhaps in some cases we shall say, “This I cannot give up yet. . .” But we should not say to ourselves, “This I will never give up!” The moment we say,…
Click here to read more from Rick W and see articles about Step 1 , Step 2 , Step 4 and Step 6 . I find Rick’s short articles about what he calls the preparation steps from his excellent book ‘The Prep Steps: Setting Up Action In A.A. full of insights and extremely helpful -…
