There are two sides to the AA coin. On the one is the elegant simplicity of abstinence from alcohol. Then, on the other is the utter complexity that each of our lives brings to our unique walk with sobriety. I believe this is what makes the AA program so endlessly fascinating. In AA, there is…
I’ve been sitting in AA meetings for decades and often become engrossed in the discussion, losing sight of AA’s point. The point, and the solution that the AA program offers, is complete and total abstinence from alcohol and non-prescription medicine. That is The Solution that alcoholics anonymous offers. It is just that simple. So if…
This will be a series on working the steps. My opinions and experience here. I hope you find them helpful. Step 1 – Diagnosis Step There are many cliches you’ll hear in meetings about step 1, “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol, and our lives had become unmanageable.” Like most cliches, while they may…
People walking into AA are all over the map in terms of experience and expectations. Some are frequent attendees. Others are first-timers. Part of the challenge for AA is meeting the expectations of these very different audiences. Succeeding at this is a very tall order and is rarely accomplished. This article will address what first-timers…
I’ve been sober for a long time. I have a sponsor and have worked the steps. All along, I have been in AA and have gone to thousands of meetings. I have listened to tens of thousands of pitches. I have also gone to hundreds of book studies and, as a result, have a pretty…
A core tenant (some would even describe as a requirement) of the AA program is “finding a power greater than yourself.” Not only is this idea explicitly called out in the second step, “Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity,” but, is also implicitly referenced throughout the Big…
We’ve all heard the phrase, “running at the mouth!” Typically, this is not a good thing. You never want to be accused of doing it. I bet you’ve heard examples at meetings of this behavior? Maybe even you, like me, have been guilty of it across the years. With that in mind, I suggest, in…
Life has vexed Philosophers, Artists, and the Common Man since the dawn of humanity. Consciousness, with its seemingly endless capacity for nuanced semi-reflective, thought, socialized man and continues to capture his imagination. Language, culture, and religion followed. Later, math, science, medicine, and the arts followed. Several thousand years later, we’ve become the diverse and often…
A recurring theme on this website is an encouragement to making your communication better. Be it in meetings, with other AAs, or the world at large, when what you are trying to say is heard in the way it’s intended, everyone wins. This strategy goes for writing as well as speaking. Some Refinement But, communicating…
The ninth step, “Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.” Amends – The AA Context Reasonably straightforward. Harmed people? Well, AA says you make a list of them, then clean up the perceived harm. You either do it, or you don’t. Plus, the much-beloved…