Like the author of “A Drunk Like You” in the Big Book, I, too, think scientifically and had to research whether or not I was an alcoholic. I first came into the rooms following a bout of drinking that had resulted in my seeing things, hearing things, feeling paranoid, and busting ghosts. After a fewContinue reading “A Soul Checks In – Grapevine Article March 2006 By Jeff A.”
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Anthem – Song/Poem By Leonard Cohen
One of the most powerful phrases I heard early in AA meetings was ‘where there’s a crack; the Light can shine in’. Accepting our cracks and brokenness and reframing them into perhaps the most authentic and rigorously honest expressions of ourselves is one of the more universal experiences in recovery. I love this song byContinue reading “Anthem – Song/Poem By Leonard Cohen”
What Is Happiness – Grapevine Article January 2017 By Edwin B.
A son’s question on an autumn day reminds a sober dad just how far he’s come This fall, I was raking the lawn and my 22-year-old son, Nico, was bagging leaves for me. At one point, he asked me, “Does raking make you happy?” My initial thought was, Just stuff the leaves in the freakingContinue reading “What Is Happiness – Grapevine Article January 2017 By Edwin B.”
Developing A New Way To Relate & Respond To Pain – Stephen Hayes
Do you feel stuck ? Are you constantly battling with your thoughts and the conflicting noises in your head? Think of this article and the related video as teaching us how to move from that rigidity of the quicksand of being stuck to find a flexible ‘way out’ that can move us in an entirelyContinue reading “Developing A New Way To Relate & Respond To Pain – Stephen Hayes”
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”
Four Paradoxes Of AA – Grapevine Article December 1953 By John P
AA medallions includes the Shakespeare quote “To Thine Own Self Be True”. This quote is both an aspiration describing a direction we move toward as well as a marker of the progress we’ve made and are making ‘one day at a time’. I believe practicing these four paradoxes is incredibly prescriptive in helping us uncoverContinue reading “Four Paradoxes Of AA – Grapevine Article December 1953 By John P”
Feeling Stuck; Try Surrender & Withdrawal – Consolations By David Whyte
The Big Book Chapter 3 ‘More About Alcoholism’ begins with a warning about what happens when we attach ourselves to the old idea that we can control our drinking: “The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion isContinue reading “Feeling Stuck; Try Surrender & Withdrawal – Consolations By David Whyte”
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”
Pride & Possessions – Grapevine Article September 2014 By Anonymous
At 59, she left her old life behind. Thank goodness she kept coming back I went to my first AA meeting in 1975 at the age of 29. I went because my boyfriend thought I needed to go. I had had an episode of what I later came to know was the DTs. I was screamingContinue reading “Pride & Possessions – Grapevine Article September 2014 By Anonymous”
Reclaimed By Something Deeper – Daily Meditation February 20th 2024 By Richard Rohr
Richard Rohr connects the spiritual journey to how we respond to our suffering. I believe that only people who have suffered in some way can save one another—exactly as Twelve Step programs have discovered. Deep communion and dear compassion are formed much more by shared pain than by shared pleasure. I do not know whyContinue reading “Reclaimed By Something Deeper – Daily Meditation February 20th 2024 By Richard Rohr”