Archive of Old Posts

“A.A. as such ought never be organized, but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those the serve.” The twelve traditions of AA is basically a set of…

The Principle of Justice by Susie S. In my old Big Book, the word I wrote that corresponded to Step Nine was “discipline.” In the lists I found online, still other…

In 1983, when loneliness and desperation prodded me to go to more meetings, I discovered the newly formed Friendship Group that still meets Saturday 10 o’clock in the basement of Friendship…

I grew up in an alcoholic home with two functional alcoholic parents. This was a traumatic childhood that I can bring into my relationships. My parents would get drunk together every…

“We are average Americans. All sections of this country and many of its occupations are represented, as well as many political, economic, social, and religious backgrounds. We are people who normally would not…

There are so many benefits to this tradition for the alcoholic and for the group and for all AA as a whole. When we first come into AA we were at a…

I remember I always wanted to be a dad. Growing up I dreamed of having a son of my own one day.  I would teach him how to be a gentleman,…

The enigmatic Sixth Step, after the buildup to Step Four and the ceremony of Step Five, seemed lost to me the first time through…and second. Sitting quietly for an hour with nobody…

It was my fourth time going through the steps before I thought I really “got” it on step five.  (By got it, I mean that I felt I finally understood the real…

“Our membership ought to include all who suffer alcoholism. Hence we may refuse none who wish to recover. Nor ought A.A. membership ever depend upon money or conformity. Any two or…

I was born to be a mother. Thankfully, my higher power gave me the gift of sobriety first. Twenty five years of binge drinking kept me from achieving my heart’s desires.…

By the time I arrived at AA I had no doubt that I was an alcoholic. I arrived beaten down and willing to do whatever it took to stay sober. That…

“Admitted we were powerless over alcohol that our lives had become unmanageable.” 1. Every “natural” instinct cries out against the idea of a personal powerlessness (defects of the thinking mind). 2.…

All of us in recovery have to deal with various levels of sickness, from the common cold to life-threatening illnesses. One gift of sobriety is having a choice in how we…

“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…

“Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.” “Each member of Alcoholics Anonymous is but a small part of a great whole. A.A. must continue to live…

How It works…Step 2 When, therefore, we speak to you of God, we mean your own conception of God. This applies, too, to other spiritual expressions which you find in this…

Step One A Brief Outline “Admitted we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable”. 1.Every “natural” instinct cries out against the idea of a personal powerlessness (defects of…

Today is my sobriety birthday.  Through God’s grace, and one day at a time, I have been sober twenty-five years, a quarter of a century. It has been an ordinary day…

I was the quiet kid; the shy one sitting in the back furiously reading to avoid having to talk to anyone. I gave off the illusion of studious enthrallment so you…

“Spiritus contra spiritum” literally translates to “spirit against spirit”.  Loosely translated, it refers to “a spiritual experience to counter addiction to the spirits (alcoholism).” Spiritus in Latin means both alcoholic beverages,…

In my experience Step 1 was the hardest for me to come to terms with. Even before I started drinking it was necessary for me to perpetuate the illusion that I…

“You need to know, you are in sudden danger of dying at any moment.”   Not necessarily the words one wants to hear from his doctor, but there they were.  The next…

Oh the holidays. “Festivus for the rest of us” stems from the show “Seinfeld”. George’s dad explains one Festivus tradition as “After Christmas dinner you gather all the family around and…

The first time I got drunk was at age 14, and for some reason I thought “I can control this and I can do this whenever I want for as long…

When most people hear Chapter 11, they think of bankruptcy. According to bankruptcy law, filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy puts an “automatic stay” on the actions of creditors. That stay provides…

…So my concept of a Higher Power is probably much like that of others but I simply see mine a little differently.  My Higher Power simply supplies me with things. All…

To most of us, Alcoholics Anonymous has become as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar. We like to believe that it will soon be as well known and just as enduring…

How anyone can possibly stay married without practicing Step 10 is beyond me. My husband is also in recovery and we often go to our corners fixed on holding out to…

MY SEARCH  FOR HIGHER POWER AND SPIRITUALITY (2/3) By: Alan L. …Eventually, thanks to the power of the Hubble Telescope and science, I was able to make progress, finally, toward obtaining…

Riding a motorcycle was something I never thought of. At 5 years sober, I met a guy in the rooms of AA, and after a long motorcycle ride on the back…

My first Sturgis trip was a follow-up to the annual AA Serenity Run in Cedaredge, Colorado, in 1992. I had met a man there who was heading to Sturgis following the…