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”
Category Archives: Unmanageability
Peeling Back The Layers Of The Onion
Jacque has chosen a mashup of articles that explore how we often replace our dependency on alcohol with another unhealthy dependency. These articles show us how we can work Step 1 and the rest of the steps on these additional unhealthy dependencies which may be revealed. In the Twelve and Twelve, Bill W outlines healthyContinue reading “Peeling Back The Layers Of The Onion”
Finding Security Within Us By Phil Stutz
At the heart of recovery is the principle of paying it forward. This article is a great illustration of how this principle, when combined with another key AA principle of anonymity, can build a resilient inner security in the face of incredible, and often unconscious, uncertainty in our lives. The reflection below is poignant forContinue reading “Finding Security Within Us By Phil Stutz”
God Doesn’t Create Junk – Grapevine Article By Linda P.
God Doesn’t Create Junk She had to give up perfectionism and learn to value herself I will always be amazed at the wisdom I find in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous. I once heard that it is not what you say that matters, but how you make someone feel that counts. I want to make a difference,Continue reading “God Doesn’t Create Junk – Grapevine Article By Linda P.”
The Grateful Flow & Part X – Lessons For Living By Phil Stutz
I love Phil Stutz. His insights about getting us out of our comfort zone, facing our PUH … our pain, uncertainty and hard work … about the necessity of crossing PUH to find endless new possibilities and potential … the process he describes as a ‘reversal of desire’ moving from comfort and moving toward theContinue reading “The Grateful Flow & Part X – Lessons For Living By Phil Stutz”
False Pride & Self Centered Fear – Experience The Big Book By Dr. Michael H.
Clancy I., in one of his talks, stated that false pride is a killer for alcoholics. He defined false pride as a compensation for feeling “less than”. That statement defined my life. From early childhood, I was constantly seeking approval through actions or achievements. Just being “Michael” wasn’t good enough. I never felt OK.Continue reading “False Pride & Self Centered Fear – Experience The Big Book By Dr. Michael H.”
An Alcoholic and a Child of God – Grapevine Article July 1995 By Rick D.
STEP 7: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings “You ought to be ashamed of yourself.” This would have been a perfect epitaph for my headstone if my drinking had killed me before I got to AA. It was something I was constantly told; it was a feeling about myself that, although I didn’t likeContinue reading “An Alcoholic and a Child of God – Grapevine Article July 1995 By Rick D.”
The Twelve Steps And Shame – Steps 1 -3 Booklet By Mic Hunter
What Is Shame? Shame is that burning in our faces when we think those around us have finally figured out how worthless we are. We think we’re inadequate or worthless. It’s when we hate to look anyone in the eye; when time seems to crawl and we wish we could disappear. It makes us feelContinue reading “The Twelve Steps And Shame – Steps 1 -3 Booklet By Mic Hunter”
Desire For Control & Denial Of Spiritual – Not God (P.208-210) By Ernst Kurtz
Experience taught Alcoholics Anonymous that the root of the addiction to alcohol lay essentially in his misunderstanding and denial of the spiritual. The active alcoholic was attempting to attain the spiritual, the unlimited, by means of the material. He was trying to achieve a quality of living by the mere adding up of quantities ofContinue reading “Desire For Control & Denial Of Spiritual – Not God (P.208-210) By Ernst Kurtz”
What Anxiety And Rigorous Honesty Have To Teach Us? 12 Essential Insights For Emotional Sobriety By Dr. Allen Berger
There are many powerful forces at work in our lives in relation to our personal development, but some of the most significant ones are the desires to be loved, to be accepted, and to feel that we belong. Take a moment to think about the importance of those desires in your current life. Can youContinue reading “What Anxiety And Rigorous Honesty Have To Teach Us? 12 Essential Insights For Emotional Sobriety By Dr. Allen Berger”