Traditions

Love the Traditions of A.A. - No one should make anyone conform or believe in anything. Get a sponsor or you will get drunk? religious all over again or what!! LOL

Tradition 8

“Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.”

To me this tradition seems cut and dry on the surface. AA should have no professional class, but we can hire janitors, secretaries, and managers for our service centers to provide for our fellowship. It’s our 12 step work that can’t be for hire. As individuals we can be counselors but we can’t use the AA name for our benefit.

I feel this keeps the AA name from being misused by individual members of our fellowship. It has been said many times that AA doesn’t have to worry about being destroyed from outside our fellowship. If or when it falls apart, it will come from within our fellowship. I think if we keep working the steps of AA and practicing the 12 traditions and 12 concepts we will be ok.

Thanks for reading.

"Our common welfare should come first. Personal recovery depends upon AA unity"
If you think you are unique, maybe you are and don't belong in AA.
Save the hyphenated labels for marriage. In AA we are just alcoholics, with a singleness of purpose; To carry the message and help others to recover from alcoholism.
So if your anything but just an alcoholic, ie: grateful, recovering, addict or any other hyphen that makes you 'special', save it. We are united as simply alcoholics.
Charlz W.

Tradition 7: Every AA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.

My favorite part of this tradition as written in the 12x12 is at the end of the 7th tradition. It says,” They pointed out that the irresponsible has become responsible.” I think that statement is great! I can’t think of a statement that sums up AA better.

I think Tradition 7 has also given AA an enormous public relations boost. Every other organization out there is asking for money. We of AA simply say,” no thanks. We want to pay our own way”. It is truly amazing.

My group recently rented a room in a facility. The manager said it was “free” to use. We said that’s fine, but we would like to pay rent. We offered the going rate for our area and they accepted it. We pay to the facilities foundation. They use the money to replace carpet, tables, and chairs. The very things we are using and wearing out.

I have heard many members of AA talk of low self-esteem. This tradition taught me that if we do esteem able acts, we will gain self-esteem. I feel there is no other way.

Thanks for reading.

Why are we discussing an unapproved publication from a outside source its none of our business, It time to keep it simple or go simple.

Tradition 6

“An AA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose”

First I have to ask our group, what is our “primary purpose”? I think it has something to do with carrying the message of AA. So what is the message of AA? I read in the AA pamphlet “the group” that the sole purpose of an AA group is the teaching and practice of AAs 12 steps. So it sounds like that is what our efforts should be devoted to.

Now the first part of tradition 6: Never endorse? Looks like my group has to stop talking about how great the treatment center or a particular counselor is for AA.

Never finance? Looks like my group should stop giving all that money to our local Alano club. If they really need more money, they should charge us more rent.

Never lend the AA name to any related facility! Ouch! I guess that meeting in the local hospital basement should quit calling itself the “……. …….. hospital meeting.

That last line, “lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose”. You mean to tell me that my precious group can’t handle money, property, and prestige! Individually, we are Doctors, lawyers, business men, teachers, and housewives. As individuals, we handle money, property and prestige everyday.

As a group, though we are not emotionally sober enough to handle it. We are all at different experience levels with practicing the AA principles. We are like my kids last week. We were at a large playground. All 3 of my children had one hand on one part of the park. They were all fussing over who got to play with it. I calmly said,” look around at all the playground equipment, why are you all fighting over this one piece”? The all looked at me and said, “but this is the one I want to play with”. Individually they were fine. As a group, they were not grown up enough to handle it, just like my group.

This is my experience with tradition 6, only my experience. Thanks for reading.

Tradition 5

“Each group has but one primary purpose-to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.”

“Better do one thing supremely than many badly”(12x12pg 150).

“There is another reason for this singleness of purpose. It is the great paradox of A.A. that we know we can seldom keep the precious gift of sobriety unless we give it away”. (12x12 pg 151)

“Now concludes the oldtimer, suppose I’d been obliged to talk to this man on religious grounds? Suppose my answer had to be that AA needed a lot of money; that AA went in for education, hospitals, and rehabilitation? Suppose I’d suggested that I’d take a hand in his domestic and business affairs? Where would we have wound up? No place, of course.” (12x12 pg 154)

After reading tradition 5 in the 12x12, it is more clear to me than ever. My group has one purpose and one purpose only, to carry it’s message to the alcoholic who still suffers. Sometimes, I am afraid, I am not sure what “message” is being carried.

I have read in the AA pamphlet “The Group”, that the sole purpose of an AA group is the teaching and practice of AA’s twelve steps. When I read this with tradition 5 it is clear to me. At the group level we should be teaching and practicing the 12 steps of alcoholics anonymous.

Teaching and practicing the 12 steps could be carried out in a wide variety of ways. It is up to each group to decide for themselves. I feel the best way for me is to attend meetings where the book Alcoholics Anonymous is studied. I think that keeps me from getting too far off the track. Then there are no surprises later when new members decide if they want to try the program of AA or not. If they have been exposed to the BB they will know where the answers are.

This also works well for AA’s that don’t read well. They can listen to the program read and apply the principals if they so choose.

Tradition 4: Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or AA as a whole”

This is where my group has a right to be wrong.
Our group can read what we want, pray what we want, and say what we want as long as we don’t affect other groups or AA as a whole. That being said, can we read non AA conference approved liturature at meetings? Yes, although it’s not the “best for our group”, but we do have the right to be wrong.

If we are right, our group will flourish and many lives will be saved. If we are wrong and are not humble enough to change, our group will die, probably along with some of our beloved members.

In AA comes of age, Bill wrote that there are two authorities in AA. One in benign and one is malign. One is God waiting for you to do his will. The other is alcohol who will kill you if you don’t. I think that quote fits perfect with tradition 4.

Thanks for reading.

Tradition 3: long form
Our membership ought to include all who suffer from alcohol. Hence we may refuse none who wish to recover. Nor ought AA membership ever depend upon money or conformity. Any two or three alcoholics gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an AA group, provided that as a group, they have no other affiliation.
Tradition 3 short form: The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking.

I feel the spirit of tradition three is inclusion. I am a member if I say so. Al l that is required is that I have a desire to stop drinking. I don’t need money or have to conform to anything. We let alcohol enforce conforming to the steps and traditions. If I or my group don’t conform, I will surely drink. If I drink, I will certainly die. Also any group of people can call themselves an aa group as long as it is not aa and this or that, ect.

I also need to remember the difference between an aa group and an aa meeting. An aa group exists outside of the meetings.( AA pamphlet the group). That same pamphlet states the sole purpose of an aa group is the teaching and practicing of the 12 steps. AA groups hold meetings so newcomers can find the fellowship they seek.

This is my experience, thanks for reading.

Bill W and Dr. bob were drug addicts. Bill used drugs and attended AA.

Tradition 2 “For our group purpose, there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants, they do not govern.

When a group of drunks gets together while working the program of action in aa (12 steps) The feeling of the presence of a Higher Power is incredible. When combined with an informed group conscience, I rank the experience right up there with a successful 12 step call.

When a group of people has lost interest in selfish things, as a group they can make the best decisions for the group. I don’t mean good decisions, I mean the best. What I find amazing is even when grave mistakes are made. The group is humble enough to laugh at ourselves and chalk it up to experience.

I have to keep in mind that I am a servant. That means I am here to serve the group, not govern it. With this attitude I have made many friends along the way. I haven’t had a drink since August of 1992. I spent a good part of yesterday morning with a newcomer with less than a day of sobriety. I want my home group to be there for him as he trudges the road to happy destiny.

This is why I am thankful for tradition two. That I belong to a group that has an informed group conscience and mostly trusted servants with only a few governors!

Thanks for reading.

Tradition 1: Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon AA unity.

Just like all the steps, tradition 1 goes against my basic personality trait of selfishness and ego. It reminds me that if there is no group, I may not have contiunued sobriety.

It helps me to clean up my act. I have to think whats best for the group. That usually means tonning down my aa talks a little. It also means I need to speak up when my group is flirting with breaking traditions.

It also reminds me that I might be the only picture my community sees of AA. I should carry myself in town in a way that makes AA look attractive. Nothing too serious, just stop lying, cheating, and stealing. Easy to say, hard to do. Especially the lying and cheating part!

Thanks for reading.