It wasn’t until he started putting his shoes under the bed that he came to believe I behaved my way into believing. When I came through the doors of my first AA meeting, I was desperate. I had already picked out a bridge abutment that I wanted to smash my car into. The hope wasContinue reading “At The Jumping-Off Point – Grapevine Article By S.W.”
Category Archives: Change
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”
Peeling Back The Layers Of The Onion
Jacque has chosen a mashup of articles that explore how we often replace our dependency on alcohol with another unhealthy dependency. These articles show us how we can work Step 1 and the rest of the steps on these additional unhealthy dependencies which may be revealed. In the Twelve and Twelve, Bill W outlines healthyContinue reading “Peeling Back The Layers Of The Onion”
Finding Security Within Us By Phil Stutz
At the heart of recovery is the principle of paying it forward. This article is a great illustration of how this principle, when combined with another key AA principle of anonymity, can build a resilient inner security in the face of incredible, and often unconscious, uncertainty in our lives. The reflection below is poignant forContinue reading “Finding Security Within Us By Phil Stutz”
God Doesn’t Create Junk – Grapevine Article By Linda P.
God Doesn’t Create Junk She had to give up perfectionism and learn to value herself I will always be amazed at the wisdom I find in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous. I once heard that it is not what you say that matters, but how you make someone feel that counts. I want to make a difference,Continue reading “God Doesn’t Create Junk – Grapevine Article By Linda P.”
Tis The Set Of The Sail – Poem By Ella Wheeler Wilcox
I love this short poem. When first sober and very defiant in my agnosticism, I was able to find a way of relating to a Power greater than myself as breath and wind. I knew my breath was absolutely essential to my life yet something I was being given each moment of every day unceasinglyContinue reading “Tis The Set Of The Sail – Poem By Ella Wheeler Wilcox”
Surviving and Thriving – Grapevine Article By Jennifer T.
A horrific accident ultimately leads her to the rooms and recovery Alcohol has always been a part of my story. I grew up in a home with an alcoholic father. I started sipping alcohol as a toddler. My story is not unusual. At some point growing up, I went from a confident, outgoing young girlContinue reading “Surviving and Thriving – Grapevine Article By Jennifer T.”
AA Principles & Purpose Are Portable – A Spiritual Principle A Day December 12th
“Being able to focus on a primary purpose and work creatively toward it is so much part of our way of life that we may not realize how valued that is in the world at large.” Living Clean, Chapter 5, “Bridging Two Worlds” The idea that what we learn in recovery applies outside AA isContinue reading “AA Principles & Purpose Are Portable – A Spiritual Principle A Day December 12th”
Through The Darkest Days – Grapevine Article May 2005 By Roger W.
A sober decision leads to a career When I was five years sober, I was twenty-three years old and I had just been laid off from a seasonal job. I had a new wife, new child, and had put a college education on hold in order to take care of my family. I was learningContinue reading “Through The Darkest Days – Grapevine Article May 2005 By Roger W.”