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Posts
A little AA literature and history - read Bill W.'s 1948 Grapevine article on Tradition Five: Tradition Five Says the old proverb, "Shoemaker, stick to thy last." Trite, yes. But very true for us of AA. How well we need to heed the principle that it is better to do one thing supremely well than many things badly. Because it has now become plain enough that only a recovered alcoholic can do much for a sick alcoholic, a tremendous responsibility has descended upon us all, an obligation so ...
From the Little Red Book: The alcoholic must learn to "let go" whenever he becomes upset; when over-activity brings him feelings of mental and physical exhaustion; when he becomes extremely impatient; when he experiences anger; when he is bored; when he is resentful. Relaxation will restore his sense of well-being and allow better concentration of his mental faculties which are necessary for an understanding of God sufficient to effect our recovery from alcoholism. Page 42-43, Step Three
A little AA literature and history - read Bill W.'s 1948 Grapevine article on Tradition Four: Tradition Four Tradition Four is a specific application of general principles already outlined in Traditions One and Two. Tradition One states : "Each member of Alcoholics Anonymous is but a small part of a great whole. AA must continue to live or most of us will surely die. Hence our common welfare comes first. But individual welfare follows close afterward." Tradition Two states: " For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority -- a loving God as he may express himself in our group conscience." With these concepts in mind, let us look more closely at Tradition Four. The first sentence guarantees each AA group local autonomy. With respect to its own affairs, the group may make any decisions, adopt any attitudes that it likes. No overall or intergroup authority should challenge this primary privilege. We feel this ought to b...
Uses of Will/Will power in the Big Book and Twelve and Twelve: Uses of 'will', in terms of human power or character, almost always indicate it is negative or insufficient. Uses of 'will' to describe Step Three ('Turning our will and life over...') are excluded here. A few positive uses of will / will power are at the bottom of the page. Big Book: Faced with this problem, if a doctor is honest with himself, he must sometimes feel his own inadequacy. Although he gives all that is in him, it often is not enough. One feels that something more than human power is needed to produce the essential psychic change." The Doctor's Opinion "It relieved me somewhat to learn that in alcoholics the will is amazingly weakened when it comes to combating liquor, though if often remains strong in other respects." Page 7, Bill's Story "But my friend [Ebby] sat before me, and he made the pointblank declaration that God had done for him what he could not d...
A short bio and a talk by AA historian Ernie Kurtz (From Stories of Recovery.org ): Dr Ernie Kurtz - (AA) of Ann Arbor, Michigan. (1935-2015) Author of "Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous" , "The Spirituality of Imperfection: Storytelling and the Search for Meaning" and "Shame & Guilt" . On January 19, 2015, at the age of 79, Dr. Ernest Kurtz died of cancer at his home in Ann Arbor, MI. Historian and former Roman Catholic priest, he is perhaps best known today for his many writings on alcoholism, Alcoholics Anonymous, addiction, and spirituality—works informed by his academic brilliance, his deep concern with human spiritual life, and his own struggles with alcohol. Ernie Kurtz - Spirituality & AA
