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”
Category Archives: Desperation
Serenity Circle – Grapevine Article August 1986 By S.F.
I am an alcoholic. I live on an Indian reservation. My home sits perched on a desert mountain overlooking the largest hydroelectric power plant in the world, and I remember wishing Grand Coulee Dam could be filled with Canadian whiskey. Boy, then we could party! I was forty when “Frank” and I found each other.Continue reading “Serenity Circle – Grapevine Article August 1986 By S.F.”
Accepting The Hardship Of Anxiety As The Pathway To Peace By Stephen Hayes
I believe this article does a great job of exploring the phrase we hear in the rooms ‘what we resist persists’ specifically in the context of anxiety. The long version of the Serenity Prayer includes the verse “accepting hardship as the pathway to peace’. You can use this article to explore how to apply theContinue reading “Accepting The Hardship Of Anxiety As The Pathway To Peace By Stephen Hayes”
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”
The Untold Story Of Your Inner Critic By Jordin James
This article does a very good job of helping us understand the possibility of healing the inner voice you may hear which seems unrelenting in its criticisms and condemnations … what many call your inner critic. The section of the website entitled ‘Healing Our Jekyll/Hyde Divided Self’ begins to explore this area and help usContinue reading “The Untold Story Of Your Inner Critic By Jordin James”
How Grandiosity And Unworthiness Are Related Dangerous Traps By Jane Drew
The belief in how special and unique we are can develop into a grandiosity that we may need to recognize within ourselves. The Twelve & Twelve reminds us of what the results of a study of alcoholics concluded were our most common personality traits The doctors weren’t trying to find how different we were fromContinue reading “How Grandiosity And Unworthiness Are Related Dangerous Traps By Jane Drew”
The Professor and the Paradox – 2nd Edition Big Book Story By John B
Note – Excerpts regarding paradox from the end of this story were also posted as a Grapevine article entitled ‘The Four Paradoxes’ which you can access here. – Bruce M. Says he, “We A.A.’ s surrender to win; we give away to keep; we suffer to get well, and we die to live.” I amContinue reading “The Professor and the Paradox – 2nd Edition Big Book Story By John B”
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.”
At The Jumping-Off Point – Grapevine Article By S.W.
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.”
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”