Steps
Mon, 2013-03-25 13:33
#51
4th and 5th step
In the past few weeks, I have listened to four 5th steps and have written a 4th myself (call it a 10th step if you want) and have given my 5th step. I can’t say for sure how many 5th steps I have given or listened to over the years. I think over the past 20 years, I have done at least one 4th and 5th step a year during an annual or semi annual big book study and listened to maybe 2 or 3 a year on average. Also whenever I sponsor someone, when we get to the 4th step in the book, I write one and share it with them (how can I suggest they do something I’m not doing?). So I guess I may have done 30 or so and listened to maybe 30 or more. I can’t recall anyone over this time drinking after doing the 4th and 5th steps. Not to give the wrong impression, they all have done their best with the seven remaining steps. I do recall several who decided they were exceptions. About ¾ of them continued drinking.
My point is this, through practicing the AA program as outlined in the big book, my life is now the best I have ever known! In continuously working the steps my life has gradually improved in all aspects.
After giving and listening to many 4th and 5th steps, a line from the big book in the chapter the family afterward comes to mind,” Cling to the thought that, in God’s hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have-the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them.”
I would like to thank my sponsor for showing me how to take the steps as outlined in the big book and for listening to my 5th steps.
Sat, 2013-04-06 08:23
#52
step 4
I want to share one helpful thing I tried while doing a fourth step. I wrote the third step prayer at the top of the page, like I just did this morning. Then I proceed just like in the book. By writing the third step prayer I remind myself that I'm not doing this to get something. And that is a comforting thought. And I know something solid, that I can believe.
As a teacher a very effective principal I had told me if I wanted to start enjoying my job that I had to teach something I believed. Even a simple concept. When I tried it, the students responded better. The lights went on in their minds.
So I think those things we learn while we are out there can be used for good after we get sober.
At the time, I used the new tool to make myself feel better, more hopeful, and I decided to try a different experience.
But I was driven by a motive like fear of not getting something.
Wed, 2013-03-20 09:51
#53
Just take your time
One of my best friends. Rose from high school senior dad through numerous lousy dead end jobs to best radio announcer in town and starting a mobile dj business. Speeding, drinking, gun suicide age 28. Survived by widow, two pretty young daughters (who I watched grow up into very troubled lives).
Friend, neighbor, brick restoration company, freshly rehabbed house. Always smiling, making big bucks while enjoying considerable loafing time. Married to a lovely RN. Two year old boy, the apple of his eye. Found hanged in his garage. Decided never to drink or drug again no matter what.
Wife’s brother, successful attorney in Tucson. Worked enough to support his hobby of archaeology. Nice guy, always a beautiful girlfriend. On top of the world. Alcoholic, one too many holes burned through his stomach. Died in the emergency room in his early fifties.
My first sponsor (and then ex-sponsor) thought he needed a vacation at home with the blinds down. Postman noticed the mail piling up and then the smell. Dead at 62 on a floor covered with nice old Navajo rugs and empty vodka 750’s.
Second sponsor’s brother dead at 39 –cirrhosis.
Wife’s mother, retired teacher maintenance drinking trying to stand the pain of multiple osteoporosis fractures. Hospitalized for yet another fracture. Nice old lady, they thought dementia when she went over the edge. Delirium tremors from withdrawal. Dead.
My father, liked a stiff drink in the evening but never saw him drunk until his late sixties. A year in county jail at age 73. Then bourbon burned a hole through his stomach. Stopped him for a while. Few years later walked into the hospital for tests on Thursday, hearse picked him up on Sunday. Cirrhosis.
Funerals are bad. Some are worse. These are far, far worse. We mouth the words “It’s sad. It’s a disease, like anything else.” but nobody’s really buying it. There will be about two hundred more like it in the US today.
These are some of the reasons that Alcoholics Anonymous is not a leisurely paced social club for my wife and me. A disease treated with words. Only words. Listened to, read, spoken, written down. Is it any indication of our insanity that the solution is too tough to commit to today?
Sat, 2013-03-16 13:53
#55
I could not help but respond
I could not help but respond to making amends. Yesterday we were on Step 9; so the need to comment to writer
who has 6mos. and wrote March 13th.
For me I know that the steps are in order for a reason and Step 9 is where it is because we need time to practice some changes to be a different person that came into the rooms. I shared and went back remebering how self-centered I was and am glad to have been able to make my amends after I was sober long enough to be believable, especially to those who had to be on the other end of my mouth.
My drinking days are well over 30years and I never want to forget who I was and where I came from.
Change comes when we have a good sponsor to show us the way and do all the work that is needed on steps prior to Step 9.
I will always be an alcoholic, I just don't have to be a wet one.
Sincerely
Joy in Massachusets.
Wed, 2013-03-13 12:15
#56
Making Amends To Loved Ones
I am new to AA, 6 months sober. I am trying to make amends to my boyfriend. He always says to me its ok. I do not feel that it is, I am trying to take baby steps in my sobriety. I am also trying to make amends to his two boys. He tells me its ok with them to. I need some advice on this please. Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you all
Shelly
Mon, 2013-03-18 10:18
#57
RE-Amends
The most important person I had to make amends to was myself and it didn't happen overnight. Once I had though my actions were in a place where they spoke louder than my words and people could see a difference. The acts of kindness and love towards my family and friends is what made a difference not empty words like "I'm sorry"
Tue, 2013-03-19 14:14
#58
RE Amends
Nonsence. If your an alcoholic your problem has always been too much self thinking and placing your needs ahead of everything else. If we put the needs of others ahead of our own, we would not drink.
I challenge you or anyone who has access to this site to find anything in the big book or 12x12 that says anything about making amends to yourself!
The second part of step 12 says we tried to carry this message to alcoholics. This message in AA has never been make amends to yourself!
Wed, 2013-06-05 16:18
#59
Making Amends to Yourself
Pg 76 "Let's look at Steps Eight and Nine. We have a list of all persons we have harmed and to whom we are willing to make amends. We made it when we took inventory."
Pg 67 "Referring to our list again. Putting out of our minds the wrongs others had done, we resolutely looked for our own mistakes. Where had we been selfish, dishonest, self-seeking and frightened? Though a situation had not been entirely our fault, we tried to disregard the other person involved entirely. Where were we to blame? The inventory was ours, not the other man's. When we saw our faults we listed them. We placed them before us in black and white. We admitted our wrongs honestly and were willing to set these matters straight."
Pg 66 "We turned back to the list, for it held the key to the future."
So our instructions clearly point out that our inventory from the 4th step is the key to making amends in steps 8 & 9. So what is on our list?
Pg 64 "We listed people, institutions or principles with whom we were angry."
In addition to the above inventory on resentments, we're instructed to inventory fears & sexual conduct.
To me it's perfectly reasonable that someone's path in following the instructions in the Big Book could lead them to write down their own name if they were angry with themselves. Can someone have a resentment against themselves? Absolutely. In addition, our fears are often based on self, "self-centered fear", so they can follow the instructions and put there name down there. An individual may have harmed themselves by their own sexual conduct; following the instructions they list their name there.
Once their name is listed on an inventory, following the instructions in 'Into Action' should lead them to make amends to themselves; to take some action to restore the balance.
Can our Big Book's specific instructions be followed to cause us to make amends to ourselves? Absolutely. If that works for someone, fine. If that hasn't been your path and doesn't work for you, fine. But I'll see your challenge and raise you another: Try following the instructions I've mentioned above, put your name on your list, and see where it takes you.
Take care,
Thu, 2013-03-21 10:39
#60
RE-AMENDS I challenge
Apparently, you do not approve of my recovery. I was sharing my experience strength and hope. I'm not aware of judgment as one of our key principals, however it is in certain religious systems. Remember when you point the finger three are pointing back. The Big Book and Twelve and Twelve might be your security blanket at the moment but, not to burst your bubble; there is more to recovery and living in sobriety than waving AA books around. We are all equals in AA but, your comments placed you in a self-apointed superior position. Where is your humiltiy? Are you the keeper of my sobriety? I don't think so. Who are you to challenge me? Nobody. I've been doing quite well since 1983 without your help.
Try and keep any open mind. Genaldo
Fri, 2013-04-12 17:25
#61
Genaldo
That is quite a wordy response to a simple challenge. It
was not to a Bull fight. We just want to know where in our
books and literature it says anything about making amends to ourselves. If it there I would like to read it. Rose
Fri, 2013-04-26 00:14
#62
Genaldo and Rose
Rose who is this "we" you talk about? Do you really believe there is only one way of getting sober? If so, try a little flexibility. If you fall in line with the "paint by numbers" recovery crowd, try a little abstract expressionism. Make a few mistakes and practice imperfection every once in a while. Sobriety is a by-product of my actions not my words. There is one thing most alcoholics in recovery have in common and that is; there is an expectation that salvation will come floating in from the sky. Alcoholics are ever reaching out for something to relieve them from their misery and to satisfy selfish desires. I had to learn in AA to save myself and to let go of savior theories. I did this by throwing away formulas and to stop chasing spiritual highs. It’s okay if you do not approve of my experience, strength and hope. Sometimes it’s the stranger that comes to town that forces me to re-examine my recovery.
Fri, 2013-05-03 13:40
#63
re anonymous
If your like me, you have mistaken emotionalism for true spiritual living. the 12 steps of AA have shown me the way to a truly spiritual life. I had no idea that the emptyness I felt inside was a higher power shaped hole. Through practicing the AA way out, I have a life today that is better than I have ever known and it keeps getting better not worse. when I suffered from alcoholism, my life continually got worse, even while not drinking.
Fri, 2013-04-26 18:14
#64
"WE"
And you still do not answer "our" question. Where in
our literature or books does it tell me to put my name
at the top of the amends list? Where does it say that I
am to make amends to myself? If it is written, I would
love to read it. Location please, only A.A. literature, Rose
Sat, 2013-03-23 13:05
#66
re genaldo
Genaldo
I am sorry my comments gave you the impression that I put myself in a superior position. Please answer the question of where your idea of making amends to yourself came from? Was it a sponsor, friend, or spiritual advisor, some outside literature, or you own epiphany?
My concern is this, how many alcoholics have heard you say make amends to yourself since 1983? How many alcoholics have been misled as to what the program of alcoholics anonymous suggests as a program of recovery? This is exactly the reason why our founders decided to put the AA message in text book form. To keep the message (12 steps) from being garbled over the years. If you are a member of AA (you are if you say so), don’t you think it would be helpful to read up on the basic text of AA? Spend a little time researching the program that works for at least 50% of alcoholics who try? Maybe even try to apply those 12 steps to your own life.
Again, if I have upset you I am sorry. My intentions are to carry the message of AA, not the disease.
Thu, 2013-03-28 18:36
#67
re-Genaldo-thanks
Hey man, thanks for being honest-To many deceivers and liars around us pretending to know more than they really do or are acting more important than they really should. It's refreshing to hear different points of view because we never know what the new person needs to hear. As far as I'm concerned we shouldn't boast how great the steps and big book are when our recovery rates and attendance are at an all-time low. There are too many members trying to get to heaven when I'm just trying to stay sober for one day. I don't need to tip-toe across the sky with holy men or meet Bill W. in heaven. When I come home from work my kids and wife are happy to see me. My mother-in-law lives with us and we can help her live out the remaining years of her live with dignity. Thats perfect enough for me. Like my grandmother used to say "Actions speak louder than words and words are like worms that dig holes in our hearts" Jake E.
Tue, 2013-03-26 10:48
#68
RE-amends
You said, "My intentions are to carry the message of AA, not the disease." What exactly is the message to you?
To me, passing on sayings and cliches without true experiences and wisdom is not helping anyone in AA. I refuse to abandon logic and reason and blindly have faith in the earlier members and their ideas about recovery. There is a mythology about the "good ol days in AA" which increases the farther away we travel from 1935. In my opinion, many of the earlier members were not a happy or even sober. We have created this false golden age of recovery where everyone was perfect and everyone got sober by the book. I've doubled the time of Dr. Bob and a few years from now, one day at a time, I will pass Bill W. His ideas were a start but not the end to me. Personally, I tried all the big book stuff and could quote the pages with the best of them. When I looked around the rooms I saw a bunch of unhappy people preaching the "good news." I wanted more than that out of life. Prayer and God never helped me in recovery and after 15 years of misery and depression in recovery I became an atheist in AA. My whole life changed. I took responsibility for my recovery and abandoned mainstream AA ideas. So this is my experience, strength and hope. I share it freely at my home group and with people I sponsor. A few of my sponsees like the mainstream AA. I can help them with this because I have experience with it. If there was only one way of getting sober then there would only be one person sober in AA. I've learned to be flexible in recovery.
Mike S. New York
Mon, 2013-05-06 16:20
#69
Re: RE-amends
I'm curious, Mike. If you have found a better way to stay sober than the program passed down from the founders, why are you still in AA? Perhaps you have convinced yourself that AA would collapse if you stopped carrying your message, or do you just like the attention you get with your preaching your own brand of recovery?
Fri, 2013-05-03 13:33
#70
re mike
Mike, how about a little credit or maybe even a thank you to those in AA who came before you? Those who followed the AA program of surrender, self-examination, meditation, prayer, and helping others so 50 years later all the selfish drunks like you and I could come to the meetings that someone else started, read the literature that someone else wrote, welcome the newcomers that someone else’s 12 step work gave AA a good enough name that judges, shrinks, counselors, families, and friends still send newcomers our way.
I am happy you found your own path after 15 years in AA. I’m just curious where you would be today if those founding fathers you’ve been sober longer than hadn’t taken the time to put their experience on paper for you to follow? I am also curious how many real alcoholics are sober using your formula? When you have time please post what you do to stay sober and ponder what was actually your own” out of the box” idea and what you learned from the AA’s who had come before you.
Thu, 2013-03-21 01:19
#71
RE-Amends
Don't worry about that "Nonsense" post. Sounds like a bully post to me. It amazes me how people try and back up their talk with quotes from the big book and the 12x12 instead of backing up their talk with experience and real examples. What that guy was really saying to me was, "I'm insecure about my recovery and I lack a true understanding of the principals in AA." My recommendation to him would be to "Live and Let Live" This is always a good starting point. Anyway, I made amends to myself first, my mother second and my higher power third and that was that. I couldn't care less about anyone else. There are people who pretend to be saints in the rooms and I'm not one of them. My sobriety does not depend on my morals or sins. I like this site because it is a safe place for people who want to share their recovery away from the bullies in their home groups. However, there are occasional control freaks who come to this site and can't handle reading recovery experiences that are different than theirs. Its very juvenile to me.
Mon, 2013-03-25 13:42
#72
re amends
If your home group isn't a safe place to share your recovery, I would suggest you find another homegroup or start a group that you feel safe to share your thoughts. On the other hand, if you are afraid to share you thoughts, maybe it's because you shouldn't be having "those" thoughts?
Thu, 2013-03-28 08:49
#73
re-Amends
You said, "..maybe it's because you shouldn't be having "those" thoughts?" What are you the AA brain police?
What an unenlightened thing to suggest. Why not share something with a little meat on it. AA is not the healthiest place on the planet. We are a step outside the institutions but, there is hope in the rooms. Something foreign to the alcoholic. People who spend too much time in the rooms are missing the point of recovery and all the possibilities which AA provides by obtaining sobriety. Recovery is outside the rooms. Its living in the Real world not the Romper world. Even Bill W. thought attending AA anything more than once a week was too much.
Mon, 2013-03-25 13:35
#74
re amends
you can always tell and alcoholic, you just cant tell them much.
The only alcoholics that don't like big book quotes are the ones that don't know any. :)
Corey
Sun, 2013-03-31 12:43
#75
re-amends
Hi Cory, of course you are assuming people who do not like Big Book quotes don't know any ;) This is not the case. A monkey can come into AA and be a Big Book Guru after a few months. I have found the most blustering and boastful drunks at the bar come into the rooms and become the biggest blowhards in AA. Only alcohol has been removed. I think it is not healthy to confuse ones ability to quote pages with one's quality of sobriety. If you believe quoting the Big Book leads to an easy-bake recovery than I don't know what to say. Not everything in the Big Book adheres to our Preamble which is all-inclusive and life-saving. Since you enjoy page numbers check out the last paragraph of Dr. Bob's story on page 181. To me, a man whose mind is in a place to say those things has nothing to teach me. Keep up the Good Work
Fri, 2013-03-15 21:41
#77
Making Amends to Lkoved Ones
I think if your boyfriend and his 2 boys are still in your life & they say all is Ok, then it's OK. Be grateful they say that at least. I personally haven't done amends yet, but I think my actions speak louder than my words. All my family so very proud of me for not picking up for 16 mths now. Thnak you God & AA.
Fri, 2013-03-15 14:45
#78
amends
I tried to make some amends too early, before I understood the purpose of amends, and before loved ones were ready to trust that I was committed to the changes I was trying to make. What I have found, and what others have shared as well, is that the reaction of some to my amends was incredulity that I not only remembered but obsessed over something they had long since forgotten. Others expressed that the only amends needed was to keep doing what I was doing -- staying sober and trying to be a better person (do the next right thing). So if your boyfriend says it is okay, respect his wishes, including as regards his kids. I have found "living amends" to be the best way to make amends for my wrongs, since so many of them with loved ones were acts of omission anyway (like not being around physically or emotionally).
Fri, 2013-03-15 12:08
#79
Re: Making Amends
Making amends is step 9, where are you with the proceeding 8? Of course we want to make amends to those close to us soon and rightly so. I’m sure that it’s a good thing that you did. For many of us pride (or false pride if you prefer) shows up in capital letters on steps 4 – 7. It’s OK for mere mortals to screw up but I’M BETTER THAN THAT. I shouldn’t have. I’m stronger than that. I knew better. The great I let them down. I’m so important that my screwing up destroys the lives of those anywhere around me. My harming is irreparable. I’m unforgivable.
Sound familiar?
Forgiveness is in God’s sphere, not mans. We make amends. That’s our job. People either accept or reject them. That’s their choice. Our result comes from our choice. Their result comes from theirs.
Perhaps you are looking to be repaid with trust immediately? We didn’t earn their distrust immediately, we worked at it. Perhaps you can be grateful for their tolerance until trust comes.
Thu, 2013-03-14 18:12
#80
Shelly
You don't need advice. You need to understand what it
means to "make amends". You are changing. I believe that
is what we ought to be doing. Our loved ones worry about
us. We take away their peace of mind. In A.A. and sobriety
we learn to care more about others and think of ourselves
less often. Be mindful and considerate of the feelings of
others. Love AND tolerance. Both ingredients are vital.
Welcome to a new life in Alcoholics Anonymous. ANONYMOUS
Mon, 2013-03-11 11:43
#81
Am only on Step 2
Short and sweet here.....I chose my sponsor because she seems as busy/ chaotic as me w/ kids, work, life, yadayadayada. She has 22 yrs sobriety, too. I rarely see her though except about 2-3 times, maybe less, a month between her schedule & mine. Have thought about finding another sponsor, but frankly, have not found one I can relate to & hate to hash out what all I have hashed out already. Is there anything wrong w/moving this slowly thru the Steps. I feel like I work all of them Daily though & I can call my sponsor anytime or others during tough times/days. I go to meetings about 4-5 times a week & read Grapevine & chair Grapevine meetings 1X a week & read AA books, too, everyday for a bit.Any comments appreciated. Thanks.
Wed, 2013-03-13 14:44
#82
re: Am only on Step 2
When somebody online tells you that the easier softer way worked great for them, how do you know he didn't log in from San Quentin and gets his laughs trying to get us in a mess just like him? Those recommending "by the book" have a lot of hard evidence behind them if you need to check them out.
Wed, 2013-03-13 14:34
#84
Am only..
Despite all of the evidence to the contrary, it’s easy for us to be lulled into believing that our disease will follow a predictable path to a point that it becomes obvious we need to take serious action. We expect some kind of “fairness”. In the last year I have heard, “I wasn’t drunk. I turned right from a stop sign, was lazy and let a front tire cross the centerline. Nobody was coming but the cop saw it. You know the drill. Got 9 months in county which lost the best job I ever had.” Another one. “I didn’t want to fight; I just pushed the guy away. Stupid drunk fell over his own feet and cracked his skull. My lawyer told me he earned his ten thousand dollar fee getting me off with felony and two years.”
Women don’t usually work their way down to a prison sentence. They jump. They still have a position in the community, a good job, a car, a house. She’s the treasure of the soccer league that can “borrow” a little when the ex misses a child support payment. She’s so good at her job the boss wouldn’t know what the books looked like if he ever saw them so what if she skims a little. If she got paid what she was worth she wouldn’t need to. A house that’s worth anything to hang onto, a car to crash. She’s not flat broke. With a little ATM cash she can help her friends get a little product they’re going to buy anyway and make a little on the side. Who’s to know?
The gal we visualize on skid row that “has it coming” likely doesn’t. She doesn’t have the trust, the job, the car, the credit cards to get herself into trouble. If it’s not her type that keeps the prisons full then it must be us and when we get out with nothing, we can join her.
Wed, 2013-03-13 11:47
#86
What’s the big benefit of
What’s the big benefit of staying as close as I can to the edge of a cliff?
The choice between freedom to drive and the freedom to hire whichever DUI lawyer I can afford?
The choice of dressing up or dressing down today vs. wearing the collar of my orange coveralls up or down today?
The freedom to phone whoever I want and the freedom to call whoever will accept collect calls from the prison system phone? (Yes, local calls too)
The freedom to get a night’s rest if I want one vs. the choice between aiming vomit over the edge of the bed or spending the night hugging the toilet?
The freedom to lie to my brother or to my best friend why I need another loan when I haven’t repaid the last one?
The freedom to choose whatever I think will do SOMETHING for the headache without finishing the job of burning through my stomach lining?
The freedom to choose between the risk calling in sick AGAIN or risk going to work in the shape I’m in?
The freedom to risk having my car insurance cancelled or just keep driving around with the damage from the last wreck?
If you have written the first half of your first step, an admission of powerlessness over alcohol, you have several more pages of the above. Don’t forget the first word of the first step – We. Early in AA the founders saw our commonality. If I listen to the story of another alcoholic with an open mind, I begin to see that no matter how much farther his or her disease progressed, problems mounted, we think alike. What he has done, I will do. My powerless extends far beyond my own experience. Do I want to remain at the edge of that abbess? What’s the payoff?
Fri, 2013-03-15 21:58
#87
What's the benefit of...
Not sure if you were replying to my Only on Step 2. If so I gather you simply think aI am moving too slowly thru the steps & am way too close to the edge of relapsing.Will think about getting thru the Steps more quickly in next few months, but as someone else mentioned..I do tend to vent/talk w/other psuedo-sponsers to get thru &....eat some M&M's or walk my dog or go to yoga or go shopping for cheap stuff....for fun to pass thru some tough times.Have a good night or day!
Tue, 2013-03-12 16:48
#88
easy does it...
It pains me to see some of the responses to your post by those suggesting you need to do AA their way. The AA slogan that comes to mind is "easy does it ... but do it." Sobriety is not a race, nor do you get extra credit for working through the steps more quickly. I thought perhaps I was too slow in working the steps (and in getting a sponsor) relative to others who came in around same time as I did, and yet many of them were unsuccessful in staying sober. The main thing I have to do daily is be honest with myself, first and foremost about the fact that I cannot safely take a drink. I talk with my sponsor infrequently (partly a guy thing) he is always there when I need him, and I have other "pseudo-sponsors" whom I see more frequently at meetings who can help with issues and/or call me on my BS. My opinion: there is no wrong way to stay sober, though there are easier ways, and I found that working the steps when I was ready to do so has made life on life's terms easier to do.
Sun, 2013-03-17 11:30
#89
RE: easy does it?
One of the origional three slogans was "Easy Does It". To
add "but do it" distorts the meaning of the slogan itself.
ANONYMOUS
Tue, 2013-03-12 14:18
#91
Re: Am only on Step 2
"I feel like I work all of them Daily though & I can call my sponsor anytime or others during tough times/days."
How can you be working all the steps daily and still be on step two?
"I go to meetings about 4-5 times a week & read Grapevine & chair Grapevine meetings 1X a week & read AA books, too, everyday for a bit"
One of the ladies who came in to AA in the early days said in one of her talks, "I can starve to death reading a cookbook." Stop just reading and start doing.
Fri, 2013-03-15 22:09
#92
AD010416
All the steps are a way of life....thru all of life's ups and downs....I make lists of who to make amends to, though actions speak louder than words so...so far, everyone in my life are really happy & proud of my sobriety. I talk about my character defects to others. So..yes..I try & work all steps daily if even for only a few moments.I have people who want me to be there sponsor, but I say I can't, but am there for them if they realy need me I tell them w/a smile which hopefully my smile can brighter their day.
If I didn't work on all the steps daily or every few days...then I wouldn't be living in my opinion.I would be sitting on a street corner doing nothing when I KNOW ..
I AM NOT DOING ACTION...AM JUST GOING SLOWLY. Better late than never for me, I guess.have a grea day or evening.:))
Mon, 2013-03-11 21:25
#93
Am only on...
Four meetings a week sounds like a good schedule to be on if two of them are at home with Bill W. That way you will have some clue about who’s blowing smoke and who’s walking the walk at the other two meetings. In 33 years I have never wanted to pick up a drink while reading my Big Book or 12 &12. Not once. Save gas. Save time. Save your life.
Fri, 2013-03-15 22:15
#94
Four meetings a week
Thanks for your reply....thanks for your reply...yes 4-5 meetings a wk OUT at meetings & 2 other meetings w/my BB or 12 & 12 seem to be working super duper for me amongst other AA books. I forgot how much I used to love to read when I was I was drinking & driving & blacking out.
Mon, 2013-03-11 18:29
#95
"Is there anything wrong
"Is there anything wrong w/moving this slowly thru the Steps."
No more than taking your time getting on a lifeboat on the Titanic. "...Remember that we deal with alcohol, cunning, baffling,, and powerful."
"I feel like I work all of them Daily"
The fourth requires filling many pages with writing. The fifth is reading them to somebody. Is that what you are doing daily? If you are, good! If you are not then you can't be doing 6,7,8 or 9 yet and you don't have a message to carry in 12.
Fri, 2013-03-15 22:27
#96
Is there anything wrong
I work on the fourth & fifth slowly by writing in my iphone that's w/me anytime anywhere so not to carry a big journal....& discuss w/my sponsor or puesdo sponsers as need be...I feel all the Steps blend together & hear at times that people do the Steps over & over..to me that means daily , a new way of life. As far as carrying a message..16 mths sober now..I think I have a message to carry & w/a grateful smile....I get it slowly but surely & am very aware of the cunning baffling part of the disease.I try & set some REAl goals like become a counselor after 2 yrs of sobriety sometimes..if only truely on Step 9 for example does that mean I should NOT go to school to become a counselor?? I think not. I want to live life & not sit on the side getting upset that I haven't finished the Steps w/my sponsor...as long as I strive for progress not perfection I think I will be Ok & always pray to God for another sober day & tahnk him at the end of my day,too.
Thu, 2013-03-14 19:39
#97
RE-is there anything wrong
You asked, "Is there anything wrong w/moving this slowly thru the Steps." No, I've been sober since the eighties and never worked the steps. They are suggestions. Don't drink over them. We aren't clones in AA. The steps help some people and to others they are not important. Put, the cork in the bottle, seek goodness and love and you will be okay. The 12-Step program doesn't own the market on spirituality. Remember the path is easy but our minds are difficult.
Tue, 2013-03-19 20:34
#98
anything wrong
You are saying quite clearly that you have mastery over alcohol. Lots of people do. Everything about Alcoholics Anonymous is about us people who are powerless over alcohol.
AA is a fellowship of every kind of person imaginable who has tried every possible method to simply stop drinking and stay stopped and failed without the program of recovery spelled out in perfect detail in all of our literature. Since you are not one of us please don't offer your advice here to those who's lives depend on AA's message.
Wed, 2013-04-03 20:17
#99
RE-to anything wrong ...well yes your post
You stated, "Since you are not one of us please don't offer your advice here to those who's lives depend on AA's message."
The only thing I can ascertain from this is you are a newcomer and your program lacks open-mindedness. Its never a sober statement or an appropriate message to tell another alcoholic that they are not one of us. I'm a member if I say I am. Because my message does not fit into your simplistic view of recovery you assume too much. Please respect others on this site especially people who do not think like you. Live and Let Live