In our Twelve Traditions we have set our faces against nearly every trend in the outside world. “We have denied ourselves personal government, professionalism and the right to say who our members shall be. We have abandoned do-goodism, reform and paternalism. We refuse charitable money and prefer to pay our own way. We will cooperateContinue reading “AA Traditions Are Not Traditional! – Grapevine Article Extract Jan 1955 by Bill W”
Category Archives: Traditions
Tradition Five: What A Group Ought To Be Grapevine Article May 2006 by Anonymous
An AA says we can’t transmit what we don’t have The first thing Tradition Five tells us is what a group is, or at least “ought to be.” We are not a sociological entity, although sociologists find us fascinating. We are not a therapy group, although remarkable healing takes place among us. And we areContinue reading “Tradition Five: What A Group Ought To Be Grapevine Article May 2006 by Anonymous”
What Is Freedom in AA? – Grapevine Article May 1960 by Bill W
THE TRADITIONS and customs of Alcoholics Anonymous reveal a charter for individual and group freedom, the like of which history has never before produced. We have no humanly administered government whatever. Once upon a time, there was an AA member who got the notion that his own group was a little too stuffy, respectable, andContinue reading “What Is Freedom in AA? – Grapevine Article May 1960 by Bill W”
Again at the Crossroads – Grapevine Article November 1961 by Bill W.
WE AAs are everywhere developing a keener sense of our history and the meaning of its turning points. Moreover, I believe that we are getting a right sense of our history; something of the utmost importance indeed. The world’s past reveals that many societies and nations have fallen victims to fear and pride, or to their aggressiveContinue reading “Again at the Crossroads – Grapevine Article November 1961 by Bill W.”
Dr. Bob The Fundamentals – In Retrospect – Grapevine Article September 1948
It is gratifying to feel that one belongs to and has a definite personal part in the work of a growing and spiritually prospering organization for the release of the alcoholics of mankind from a deadly enslavement. For me, there is double gratification in the realization that, more than thirteen years ago, an all-wise Providence,Continue reading “Dr. Bob The Fundamentals – In Retrospect – Grapevine Article September 1948”
The Right To Be Wrong – Grapevine Article April 1995 by Jim N.
After moving out West, I attended a beginners meeting one afternoon. A man stood at the door greeting people this way: “Are you new? Do you have a desire to stop drinking?” If the individual didn’t admit to having such a desire, he or she was invited to leave and go to another meeting. IContinue reading “The Right To Be Wrong – Grapevine Article April 1995 by Jim N.”
The Whisper of Humility – Grapevine Article March 1955 by E.M., MD.
ONE PART of our great program–the Twelve Traditions–has come to mean life itself to me. The Traditions, as written by our co-founder Bill, define for me clearly and precisely how to get well and stay well. They tell me who God is, what He does, and where He functions. They show me what spirituality isContinue reading “The Whisper of Humility – Grapevine Article March 1955 by E.M., MD.”
The Big Picture – Steps & Traditions (Foreword Page 15 of Twelve & Twelve)
“A.A.’ s Twelve Steps are a group of principles, spiritual in their nature, which, if practiced as a way of life, can expel the obsession to drink and enable the sufferer to become happily and usefully whole. A.A.’ s Twelve Traditions apply to the life of the Fellow-ship itself. They outline the means by whichContinue reading “The Big Picture – Steps & Traditions (Foreword Page 15 of Twelve & Twelve)”
You Mean There’s Already A Solution – Grapevine Article March 1988 by Boyce B.
As the AA Steps contain the message of recovery, so the AA Traditions contain that of unity. I knew this fact in spirit sometime before my head caught on to it. While still very much a newcomer to the Fellowship, I first became aware of the Traditions while observing the running of meetings. Despite myContinue reading “You Mean There’s Already A Solution – Grapevine Article March 1988 by Boyce B.”
Freedom Under God: The Choice Is Ours – Grapevine Article November 1960 by Bill W
Part I. In its deeper sense AA is a quest for freedom–freedom under God. Of course the immediate object of our quest is sobriety–freedom from alcohol and from all its baleful consequences. Without this freedom, we have nothing at all. Paradoxically, though, we can achieve no liberation from the alcohol obsession until we become willingContinue reading “Freedom Under God: The Choice Is Ours – Grapevine Article November 1960 by Bill W”
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