Search

“Spiritual fitness is required if I am to be of service to anyone.”

“There are many kinds of spiritual experience. Some are like the conversions of the great religious leaders of the past; others seem purely psychological. Some are sudden or instantaneous; others are a gradual learning experience. But all of them, whatever form they take, have one effect: They make a person capable of doing something he could not do before. “As Bill puts it, ‘When a man or a woman has a spiritual awakening, the most important meaning of it is that he has now become able to do, feel, and believe that which he could not do before on his unaided strength and resources alone.’”

“What unites all members on the program is a common sincerity. We are all seeking the truth; we are trying for honesty. In practice, any useful conception of God must relate to this idea of truth. Some people would say that God is truth -- no more and no less.”

“The whole world became mine when I had nowhere else to go.”

“I have never mastered the art of self-sponsorship, and I doubt that I ever will.”

“There are no shibboleths in AA. We are not bound by theological doctrine ... We are many minds in our organization.”

“One of the truly great gifts in this Fellowship of mutually concerned people is the gift of the art of listening.”

“Until I understood and accepted my status as a human being, my effort toward seeking God was in vain.”

“It doesn’t matter too much how the transforming spiritual experience is brought about so long as one gets one that works ... Somehow the alcoholic must get enough objectivity about himself to abate his fears and collapse his false pride.”

“I can make any decision about my behavior and life, as long as I am prepared to deal with the consequences. I can decide to get drunk every night if I want to take the consequences ... Or I can decide to stay sober another day, and enjoy the consequences of that decision -- being able to deal realistically with another day in my life.”

“Are you willing to be amazed?”

“The little things that happen, the spoken word, the kind smile, the nod of encouragement -- the fellowship that goes with the program -- these things I will never forget.”

“Our alcoholism is a sickness we no longer fear to discuss.”

“I am grateful to AA that I have learned some humility, so when offered help, I can now say, ‘Yes, I can use your assistance.’”

“What has happened in the past is just that -- the past! What I should have done about certain issues no longer matters. What I do now is of greatest concern.”