Growth – Grapevine Article June 1976 By Tricia J.

A NEW THOUGHT has been forming in my mind (now that the AA program has put it in working order). I believe that an element most important in building our sober lives is what is left out. Several months ago, my husband and I enrolled in a beginners’ art course. We didn’t become great painters,Continue reading “Growth – Grapevine Article June 1976 By Tricia J.”

Humility 7th Step – Twelve & Twelve Pages 70 thru 76

The attainment of greater humility is the foundation principle of each of A.A.’ s Twelve Steps. …Without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all. Nearly all A.A.’ s have found, too, that unless they develop much more of this precious quality than may be required just for sobriety, they still haven’tContinue reading “Humility 7th Step – Twelve & Twelve Pages 70 thru 76”

As Good As It Gets – Grapevine Article June 2023 By Greg S.

Today, I set out to do one of the things that gives me a great deal of satisfaction—taking care of life’s day-to-day tasks. In the old days, fun had to be a wild, drunken adventure. Nowadays, I find enjoyment in simple everyday jobs that feature a quiet sort of fun and a sense of accomplishment. Continue reading “As Good As It Gets – Grapevine Article June 2023 By Greg S.”

Giving Without Demand – As Bill Sees It #69

Watch any A.A. of six months working with a Twelfth Step prospect. If the newcomer says, “To the devil with you,” the twelfth-stepper only smiles and finds another alcoholic to help. He doesn’t feel frustrated or rejected. If this next drunk responds, and in turn starts to give love and attention to other sufferers, yetContinue reading “Giving Without Demand – As Bill Sees It #69”

A Program Of Action – Grapevine Article March 1989 by J.L.

Step Three – Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. As an atheist with long-term sobriety in Alcoholics Anonymous, I am occasionally asked how I resolve my atheist philosophies with the program’s strong reliance on belief in God’s participation in recovery fromContinue reading “A Program Of Action – Grapevine Article March 1989 by J.L.”

Responsibility Is Our Theme – Grapevine Article July 1965 by Bill W

MARKING AA’s thirtieth year we shall, in this month of July, 1965, hold our International Convention at Toronto. It is most fitting that the chosen keynote for this gala occasion will be “AA’s Responsibility.” There we shall review the three decades of AA life that are now history. Stirred by gratitude beyond expression, we shallContinue reading “Responsibility Is Our Theme – Grapevine Article July 1965 by Bill W”

Self Knowledge Is Not Enough – Big Book pg 38/39

However intelligent we may have been in other respects, where alcohol has been involved, we have been strangely insane. It’s strong language – but isn’t it true? Some of you are thinking: “Yes, what you tell us is true, but it doesn’t fully apply. We admit we have some of these symptoms, but we haveContinue reading “Self Knowledge Is Not Enough – Big Book pg 38/39”

4th Step Fear Inventory – Practice These Principles by Ray A.

Healthy and Unhealthy Fear Overcoming our fear is not always a good thing. We ought to have feared drinking, suggests the Big Book, for we knew how much suffering and humiliation it had wrought. But we did not. We lacked “the kind of defense that keeps one from putting his hand on a hot stove”Continue reading “4th Step Fear Inventory – Practice These Principles by Ray A.”

The Twelve Promises following the 9th Step – Big Book pg 83,84

If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. The Twelve Promises Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us—sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.

Not My Weak Will But A Greater Power – Grapevine Article February 1968 by Anonymous

The key is this: A human being stops depending on his own will and turns his life over to some other kind of will RECENTLY I had to sit and endure a mournful song and dance, delivered over a glass of vodka and grapefruit juice, by a woman who had called AA for help, toContinue reading “Not My Weak Will But A Greater Power – Grapevine Article February 1968 by Anonymous”