The relationship between spiritual recovery and emotional sobriety is probably a gray area for most of us. There may be three reasons for this, all intimately related. One, we are not clear on what, practically speaking, a spiritual awakening is. The very idea of the spiritual being practical sounds like a contradiction in terms. Two,Continue reading “Emotional Sobriety, Spiritually Speaking – Practice These Principles By Ray A.”
Category Archives: Blame
Anxiety/Tension—All Bad? – Grapevine Article March 1969 By J.C.
An AA suggests that stress reminds us to plunge deeper into the program NO, SERENITY doesn’t mean a lack of any stress or tension. It means, instead, the inner security that enables us to bear these stresses and to use them as occasions for growth. I need not fear or shun anxiety, because there isContinue reading “Anxiety/Tension—All Bad? – Grapevine Article March 1969 By J.C.”
My Best Friend – Grapevine Article March 2025 By L.G.
Once alone and full of self-pity, she made a decision to let Step Three introduce her to a partner for life When I came into AA, my will was pretty much dead. I didn’t want to quit drinking and definitely didn’t want to be an alcoholic, but that was where I fit, on the bottomContinue reading “My Best Friend – Grapevine Article March 2025 By L.G.”
Importance Of Forgiveness – Empowered Perspective By Madisyn Taylor
So often, I can find myself in tbe insanity of “I’ll show you; I’ll hurt me” … this article gives us a pragmatic approach, with the help of a Power greater than ourselves, to discover a new “response ability” to what we cannot change – Bruce M. Learning to forgive is the greatest gift youContinue reading “Importance Of Forgiveness – Empowered Perspective By Madisyn Taylor”
How Our Character Is Revealed By Our Emotions – Practice These Principles By Ray A.
Our moral inventory as laid out in the Big Book is an examination of our character flaws as they relate to three emotions. These are anger, resentment, and fear. We make a list of the people we are angry at and note next to each the “cause” of our resentments (our perception of what theyContinue reading “How Our Character Is Revealed By Our Emotions – Practice These Principles By Ray A.”
We Cannot Live Alone – As Bill Sees It #83
All of A.A.’ s Twelve Steps ask us to go contrary to our natural desires; they all deflate our egos. When it comes to ego deflation, few Steps are harder to take than the Fifth. Scarcely any Step is more necessary to long-time sobriety and peace of mind. A.A. experience has taught us we cannotContinue reading “We Cannot Live Alone – As Bill Sees It #83”
Getting To Know Our Differentiated Self – 12 Essential Insights For Emotional Sobriety By Dr. Allen Berger
I think there is a strong connection between this article and what I like to call the ‘mini-steps’ suggested as responses to a spot inventory of what disturbs us. These mini-steps are suggested in the Twelve £ Twelve in Step 10. Specifically, I see this article as very prescriptive when I find myself taking thingsContinue reading “Getting To Know Our Differentiated Self – 12 Essential Insights For Emotional Sobriety By Dr. Allen Berger”
No Ordinary Lunch – Grapevine Article December 2024 By Anonymous
One day in a quiet suburban neighborhood, a meeting of two friends becomes a life-saving opportunity to reach out A dear AA friend and former sponsor and I decided to have lunch together. She had been a support to me for many years and had sponsored me through very difficult times, including the death ofContinue reading “No Ordinary Lunch – Grapevine Article December 2024 By Anonymous”
Working Incognito – Grapevine Article April 1994 By Susan G.
When people learn that they are suffering from an incurable, progressive disease, they are said to follow a pattern of denial, anger, fear, and acceptance. I know that’s what happened to me. Following a court-ordered drug and alcohol evaluation, I was diagnosed as having severe alcoholism requiring in-patient treatment. I went through the evaluation reportContinue reading “Working Incognito – Grapevine Article April 1994 By Susan G.”
Daily Inventory – As Bill Sees It #296
Often, as we review each day, only the closest scrutiny will reveal what our true motives were. There are cases where our ancient enemy rationalization has stepped in and has justified conduct which was really wrong. The temptation here is to imagine that we had good motives and reasons when we really hadn’t. We “constructivelyContinue reading “Daily Inventory – As Bill Sees It #296”