To say that honesty wasn’t a top priority may be an understatement. We gain a new awareness of honesty’s value once we clean up. With a clear head and a restored conscience, we find that dishonesty comes at a price. Regret is no joke, so we try to avoid it. Practicing honesty with ourselves canContinue reading “Honest Self-Appraisal In The Steps – Spiritual Principle A Day May 11th”
Category Archives: Defiance
God Will Not Desert Us – As Bill Sees It #221
Word comes to me that you are making a magnificent stand in adversity—this adversity being the state of your health. It gives me a chance to express my gratitude for your recovery in A.A. and especially for the demonstration of its principles you are now so inspiringly giving to us all. You will be gladContinue reading “God Will Not Desert Us – As Bill Sees It #221”
The Individual’s Rights – As Bill Sees It #134
We believe there isn’t a fellowship on earth which devotes more care to its individual members; surely there is none which more jealously guards the individual’s right to think, talk, and act as he wishes. No A.A. can compel another to do anything; nobody can be punished or expelled. Our Twelve Steps to recovery areContinue reading “The Individual’s Rights – As Bill Sees It #134”
Honesty, Open-Mindedness, Willingness – October 14th 2021 Reflection By Andy F
Not long after coming to A.A., the alcoholic fog began to clear. I kept hearing people at meetings sharing about something called the H.O.W. of the program. Buddies in the fellowship told me that H.O.W. is an acronym for Honesty, Open-mindedness, and Willingness. They said these three principles were the only way to get well. The warped logicContinue reading “Honesty, Open-Mindedness, Willingness – October 14th 2021 Reflection By Andy F”
No Orders Issued – As Bill Sees It # 237
Neither the A.A. General Service Conference, its Board of Trustees, nor the humblest group committee can issue a single directive to an A.A. member and make it stick, let alone mete out any punishment. We’ve tried this lots of times, but utter failure is always the result. Groups have sometimes tried to expel members, butContinue reading “No Orders Issued – As Bill Sees It # 237”
On The Broad Highway – As Bill Sees It #119
I now realize that my former prejudice against clergymen was blind and wrong. They have kept alive through the centuries a faith which might have been extinguished entirely. They pointed out the road to me, but I did not even look up, I was so full of prejudice and self-concern. When I did open myContinue reading “On The Broad Highway – As Bill Sees It #119”
Reliability Matters – A Spiritual Principle A Day February 28th
For some of us, being a member of an AA group gives us our first taste of what it feels like to be reliable. When we are new, members urge us to come to the next meeting and come back clean. Group members remember us, seem happy to see us, ask us to share orContinue reading “Reliability Matters – A Spiritual Principle A Day February 28th”
God Speaks to Us in Silence – Grapevine Article April 2025 By M.B.
With AA’s help and prayer, a mother puts down the bottle, lets go of the past and reconnects with her family in a new way Most of my life I was a weekend drinker. I had a successful career teaching college and high school. When I retired in 2017, lacking the daily routine and purpose that had filledContinue reading “God Speaks to Us in Silence – Grapevine Article April 2025 By M.B.”
Pain, Resistance & Suffering – Suffer Like A Marine By Arthur Brooks
His Holiness the Dalai Lama often talks to me about pain and suffering, but he doesn’t use the terms interchangeably. On the contrary, he teaches that they exist together in the following way: Suffering = pain x resistance Pain can be physical or mental, and happens to you because of an outside stimulus—you slam your hand inContinue reading “Pain, Resistance & Suffering – Suffer Like A Marine By Arthur Brooks”
The Faith To Believe In What Is – Grapevine Article July 1972 By J.W.
Faith must be structured in the bright light of truth as we see it THERE IS a joke which tells of God’s decision to grant a personal interview to one member of the world press. The duly elected representative departs, and all the luminaries of church, state, and the communications media gather to await hisContinue reading “The Faith To Believe In What Is – Grapevine Article July 1972 By J.W.”