An AA suggests that stress reminds us to plunge deeper into the program NO, SERENITY doesn’t mean a lack of any stress or tension. It means, instead, the inner security that enables us to bear these stresses and to use them as occasions for growth. I need not fear or shun anxiety, because there isContinue reading “Anxiety/Tension—All Bad? – Grapevine Article March 1969 By J.C.”
Category Archives: Step 3
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.”
The Coming Of Faith – As Bill Sees It #51
In my own case, the foundation stone of freedom from fear is that of faith: a faith that, despite all worldly appearances to the contrary, causes me to believe that I live in a universe that makes sense. To me, this means a belief in a Creator who is all power, justice, and love; aContinue reading “The Coming Of Faith – As Bill Sees It #51”
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.”
Mashup – Should I Move From A Manager To A Wise Navigator Of My Life
This mashup of two articles should allow us to explore what lies after the dash in the 1st Step …‘that our lives had become unmanageable’. Is our goal in sobriety to manage/control OR is it to learn to wisely navigate through a reality of what we can control and what we cannot? How do weContinue reading “Mashup – Should I Move From A Manager To A Wise Navigator Of My Life”
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”
Step 3 From Right Dependence We Gain True Freedom – Practice These Principles By Ray A
On page 552 of the Big Book, we find this provocative assertion “The only real freedom a human being can ever know is doing what you ought to do because you want to do it.” For me , my often unconscious, unquestioned belief is in freedom through my self will and the delusion that “IContinue reading “Step 3 From Right Dependence We Gain True Freedom – Practice These Principles By Ray A”
A New-Found Providence – As Bill Sees It #328
When dealing with a prospect of agnostic or atheistic bent, you had better use everyday language to describe spiritual principles. There is no use arousing any prejudice he may have against certain theological terms and conceptions, about which he may already be confused. Don’t raise such issues, no matter what your own convictions are. ‹‹Continue reading “A New-Found Providence – As Bill Sees It #328”
Working Incognito – Grapevine Article April 1994 By Susan G.
When people learn that they are suffering from an incurable, progressive disease, they are said to follow a pattern of denial, anger, fear, and acceptance. I know that’s what happened to me. Following a court-ordered drug and alcohol evaluation, I was diagnosed as having severe alcoholism requiring in-patient treatment. I went through the evaluation reportContinue reading “Working Incognito – Grapevine Article April 1994 By Susan G.”