Our Problem Centers In The Mind – As Bill Sees It #130

We know that as long as the alcoholic keeps away from drink, he usually reacts much like other men. We are equally positive that once he takes any alcohol whatever into his system, something happens, in both the bodily and the mental sense, which makes it virtually impossible for him to stop. The experience ofContinue reading “Our Problem Centers In The Mind – As Bill Sees It #130”

Using Blame To Avoid & Distort Reality – Keep It Simple June 25th

When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that three of his fingers are pointing at himself.—Louis Nizer It’s so easy to blame others. Others are always making mistakes we can hide behind. That’s what blame is—hiding. When we blame others for our mistakes, we’re trying to hide our character defects.Continue reading “Using Blame To Avoid & Distort Reality – Keep It Simple June 25th”

No Personal Power – As Bill Sees It #114

At first, the remedy for my personal difficulties seemed so obvious that I could not imagine any alcoholic turning the proposition down were it properly presented to him. Believing so firmly that Christ can do anything, I had the unconscious conceit to suppose that He would do everything through me—right then and in the mannerContinue reading “No Personal Power – As Bill Sees It #114”

Got A Pain In Your Feelings – Grapevine Article March 1950 By J.F.

Am I my own worst enemy? I’VE been in AA, and sober, for five years. But I still bruise easily–at times. Just when I think God is in heaven and the goose hangs high, something is said or done and–ouch!–I’ve got a pain in my feelings again! Ever have that happen to you, a painContinue reading “Got A Pain In Your Feelings – Grapevine Article March 1950 By J.F.”

Keeping Sobriety First – Grapevine Article January 2015 By Anonymous

In a rehab one night, a desperate young man almost gives up—until he hears a knock on the door. I remember sitting in a rehab in Austin, Texas. I had come in there broken and beaten; the bottle had done a good number on me this time. I had lost my job, my family, myContinue reading “Keeping Sobriety First – Grapevine Article January 2015 By Anonymous”

Searching In The Shadows – Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation May 28th

This meditation can be helpful in our ongoing Step 10 and Step 4 work of critical self examination and radical acceptance. It suggest a perspective change and supports the 10th step spiritual axiom that when I am disturbed there is something wrong (or off) within me. Jungian therapists Connie Zweig and Steve Wolf describe shadowContinue reading “Searching In The Shadows – Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation May 28th”

Humility – The Spirituality Of Imperfection (Extract From Chapter 14) By Ernest Kurtz

Humility as earthiness may be less a distortion than humility as groveling or timidity, but each of these modern interpretations misses the essence of this ancient, classic virtue. For humility signifies, simply, the acceptance of being human, the acceptance of one’s human being. It is the embrace of the both-and-ness, both saint and sinner, bothContinue reading “Humility – The Spirituality Of Imperfection (Extract From Chapter 14) By Ernest Kurtz”

Forgiveness – Spirituality Of Imperfection (Extract From Chapter 15) By Ernest Kurtz

To forgive, truly to forgive, involves letting go of the feeling of resentment and of the vision that underlies that feeling—the vision in which we see ourselves as being offended against, the vision of self-as-victim. As in all matters relating to the spiritual, focusing on feeling distracts from the more profound and truly important issue—theContinue reading “Forgiveness – Spirituality Of Imperfection (Extract From Chapter 15) By Ernest Kurtz”

What We Resist Persists; Acceptance And Willingness – Get Out Of Your Mind & Into Your Life (Chapter4) By Stephen Hayes

This article focuses us on the pragmatic idea that we must be willing to accept our pain to begin to heal as we move from a life of being a pain killer to become a pain healer. Experience avoidance and denial do not work. What we resist persists. The truth can set us free butContinue reading “What We Resist Persists; Acceptance And Willingness – Get Out Of Your Mind & Into Your Life (Chapter4) By Stephen Hayes”

Emotional Sobriety, Humility, and Radical Response Ability – Video By Dr. Allen Berger

As many of you know, Dr. Berger is a leader in Emotional Sobriety. His book 12 Essential Insights For Emotional Sobriety is featured prominently in the Emotional Sobriety section of the gugogs.org website. He is a Gestalt therapist with over 50 years of sobriety. I found this video very helpful in setting a firm foundationContinue reading “Emotional Sobriety, Humility, and Radical Response Ability – Video By Dr. Allen Berger”