We know so much more today

Contributed by Vasu


While there is a tendency to believe that "we know so much more today," which we do in almost every area of our society, that appears not to be true where recovery from alcoholism is concerned. The truth is that "alcoholism" has not changed since the beginning of recorded history. God certainly has not changed since 1939. And, nobody has demonstrated a more successful program of recovery than the action of the Twelve Steps Program of Alcoholics Anonymous, which is so clearly outlined in the book, "ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS". So, what's new?

Before taking a look at what is so often heard in meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, let's examine some of the statements made by the Authors of this Basic Text. For example:

"We, of Alcoholics Anonymous, are more than one hundred men and women who have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. To show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of this book." AA, pg. xiii

(Note: PRECISELY - "Exactly or sharply defined or stated. Minutely exact; not varying in the slightest degree from truth." Webster's Collegiate Dictionary - circa 1936.)

So, let's examine the TRUTH!

" If you are an alcoholic who wants to get over it, you may be asking - 'What do I have to do?' It is the purpose of this book to answer such questions specifically. We shall tell you what we have done." AA, pg. 20

"Lack of power was our dilemma. We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves. Obviously. But where and how were we to find this Power?
Well, that is exactly what this book is about. Its main object is to enable you to find a Power greater than yourself that will solve your problem." AA, pg. 45

"Further on, clear-cut directions are given showing how we recovered." AA, pg. 29

There is a Spiritual Axiom that applies to recovery from alcoholism:
"Noah, an amateur, with God's guidance, built the Ark. Professionals, with all their smarts, built the Titanic."

Now, let's review what is so often "Heard" in the meetings.

Heard - "Don't be so hard on yourself."
BB - "The rule is we must be hard on ourselves, but always considerate of others."
AA, pg. 74

Heard - "Alcoholism is a problem of denial."
(Note: Denial - "Refusal to admit the truth. - Webster's Collegiate Dictionary - circa 1936.) Sure sounds like lying, doesn't it? Alcoholics are real good at that.
BB - "Whatever the definition of the word may be, we call it plain insanity." AA, pg. 37

"However intelligent we may have been in other respects, where alcohol has been involved, we have been strangely insane." AA, pg. 38

"Again it was the old, insidious insanity--that first drink." AA, pg. 154

And what is the hope of Step Two? That we can find a Power greater than ourselves that could restore us to sanity.

Heard - "It is my opinion that ......." or
"I don't know anything about the Big Book but here is the way I do it.'
BB - "We have concluded to publish an anonymous volume setting forth the problem as we see it. We shall bring to the task our combined experience and knowledge. This should suggest a useful program for anyone concerned with a drinking problem."
AA, pg 19
(Note: The Big Book is based solely on the experience and knowledge of the first one hundred recovered alcoholics. The Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous has been unable to find any way to improve on its effectiveness since it was first published. It contains no opinions because one thing the early members learned was that opinions have the power to kill alcoholics.)

Heard - "My sponsor told me that, if in making an amend I would be harmed, I could consider myself as one of the 'others' in Step Nine."
BB - "Reminding ourselves that we have decided to go to any lengths to find a spiritual experience, we ask that we be given strength and direction to do the right thing, no matter what the personal consequences might be." AA, pg. 79

Heard - "Be good to yourself."
BB - " The rule is we must be hard on ourself, but always considerate of others."
AA, pg. 74

Heard - "Never pray for patience. You'll regret it if you do."
BB - "So clean house with the family, asking each morning in meditation that our Creator show us the way of patience, tolerance, kindliness and love." AA, pg. 83

Heard - "Alcoholics Anonymous is a self-help program."
BB - "We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves." AA, pg. 84
It would appear from this that it is a God-help program.

Heard - "We don't work the steps, we just take them."
BB - "Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us-sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. But they will always materialize if we work for them." AA, pg. 84
"If he did not work, he would surely drink again." AA, pg. 15
"On each of these occasions we worked with him, reviewing carefully what had happened." AA, pg.35
"Being all powerful, He provided what we needed, if we kept close to Him and performed His work well." AA, pg. 63

"It works, if we have the proper attitude and work at it." AA, pg. 86

"Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity form drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other activities fail." AA, pg. 89

"Now we try to put spiritual principles to work in every department of our lives."
AA, pg. 116

And there are more for serious students to find.

Heard - "Oh, just turn it over."
BB - "Simple, but not easy; a price had to be paid." AA, pg. 14

Heard - "Your Higher Power can be whatever you want It to be; a door knob, a Dr. Pepper can, a light bulb, just any old thing.

BB - "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." AA, pg. 59 (A door knob?)

"Lack of power, that was our dilemma. We had to find a Power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves." AA, pg. 45 (A Dr. Pepper can?)

"The great fact is this, and nothing less: That we have had deep and effective spiritual experiences* which have revolutionized our whole attitude toward life, toward our fellows and toward God's universe. The central fact of our lives today is the absolute
certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way that is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us that we could never do by ourselves." AA, pg. 25 (A light bulb?)

House of AA Founder a Draw for Members

By JIM FITZGERALD

Wednesday, August 1, 2007; 3:53 AM

BEDFORD HILLS, N.Y. -- At least once a year, Bill T. gathers up a few of his fellow Alcoholics Anonymous members and makes a pilgrimage from Florida to honor those who saved him from a life of drunkenness.

The 56-year-old stopped drinking in 1990 and he likes to visit the former home of the co-founder of AA, Bill Wilson, and his wife, Lois.

"I like to come up here because it carries the message," Bill T. said during a visit in July to the brown-shingled Dutch colonial. "There's a connectedness."

Bill T. can sit at the kitchen table where in 1934 Wilson sat and drank gin with pineapple juice as a newly sober friend sparked his quest for a way out of alcoholism.

He can see the desk, marred by cigarette burns, where Wilson later wrote "Alcoholics Anonymous," better known as "The Big Book," and set out the 12 steps and other principles that have helped millions.

AA is an informal society of recovering alcoholics who help one another stay sober by following a 12-step, spiritual approach. An estimated 2 million members attend community meetings where they share their personal problems and triumphs.

Many visitors are AA members, who use their first name and last initial in public to preserve their anonymity. For many, the Wilsons were miracle workers, and visiting their home, called Stepping Stones, is tremendously moving.

"If you're sober in AA, you have this second life you never thought you'd have. It's very moving to see the books and the people and the things of interest that went into making Bill and Lois who they were," said Tim H., 62. "It's like learning about your Dad when he was a boy."

Bill Wilson died in 1971 and Lois Wilson _ who founded Al-Anon, the organization for alcoholics' relatives _ set up the Stepping Stones Foundation in 1979. She died in 1988, and the house is maintained to look like it did when she and her husband lived in it. >>. Read Complete Article

Source : www.washingtonpost.com

Have a Great Day

Quotes to Ponder

The four blessed looks:

Look back and thank God.
Look forward and trust God.
Look around and serve God.
Look within and find God!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"I asked God, 'How do I get the best out of life?'
God said, 'Face your past without regrets. Handle your present with
confidence. And prepare for the future without fear!'"


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Without God, our week is: Mournday, Tearsday, Wasteday, Thirstday,
Fightday, Shatterday and Sinday. So, allow Him to be with you every day!"


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Life is short, so forgive quickly. Believe slowly. Love truly.
Laugh uncontrollably. Never regret anything that makes you happy.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Any trouble that is too small to take to God in prayer is too small to worry about "

SATAN'S MEETING

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons.
In his opening address he said,
"We can't keep Christians from going to church."
"We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth."
"We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their saviour."


"Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken."


"So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.."


"This is what I want you to do," said the devil:
"Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"
"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted.
"Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered.
"Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow."
"Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles."


"Keep them from spending time with their children."
"As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!"


"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice."


"Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive." To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly."


"This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ."
"Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers."
"Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day."
"Invade their driving moments with billboards."


"Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes.."


"Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives. "


"Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night."
"Give them headaches too! "


"If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere." "That will fragment their families quickly!"


"Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas."


"Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about his resurrection and power over sin and death."


"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive."


"Have them return from their recreation exhausted."


"Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead."


"Keep them busy, busy, busy!"


"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences."


"Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus."


"Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause."


"It will work!"
"It will work!"
It was quite a plan!


The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there.
Having little time for their God or their families.


Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives.

I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes?

You be the judge!!!!!


Does " BUSY" mean: B -eing U -nder S -atan's Y -oke?

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we may as well dance !!

Bill W's Writings

The following was written by Bill W., co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous for "The Road Back," a bimonthly publication by the Dublin, Ireland, group, and is reprinted )
By Bill W.

I think we oldsters who have put the A.A. booze cure to such severe tests, yet still find we lack emotional sobriety, are probably the spearhead for the next major development in AA the development of something like real maturity and balance (which is to say, humility) in our relations with ourselves, with our fellows and with God.

Those adolescent urges for top approval, perfect security and the perfect romance, urges quite appropriate to age 17, prove to be an impossible way of life at 47 or 57. Since AA began, I've taken immense wallops in all these departments because of my failure to grow up, emotionally and spiritually. How painful it is to keep insisting on the impossible, and how painful to discover that we have the cart before the horse. Then comes the final agony of seeing how wrong we are, but still finding ourselves unable, seemingly, to get off the merry-go-round. Problem of Everyone. How to translate right intellectual conviction into right emotional results and so into easy, happy, active and good living that's not only the neurotics problem. Its the problem of life itself for all who have got to the point of willingness to hew to right principles. Even then, as we hew away, peace and joy still elude us. That's the place so many of us AA oldsters have come to. How shall the unconscious from which our fears, compulsions and phony aspirations still stream be brought into line with what we actually believe, know and want? How to convince our dumb, raging and hidden "Mr. Hyde" becomes the final task.

I've recently become to believe this can be done. I believe so because I began to see many benighted ones, folks like you and me, commencing to get results. Last fall, depression, having no really rational cause at all, took me to the cleaners. I began to be scared that I was in for another five-year chronic spell. Considering the grief I've had with depression, it wasn't a bright prospect. I kept asking myself, "Why can't the twelve steps work to release depression?" By the hour I stared at the St. Francis prayers. It's better to understand than to be understood Its better to love than be loved. It's better to comfort than to be comforted" Here was the formula. But why didn't it work? Suddenly I realized what the matter was. My basic flaw had always been dependence, absolute dependence, on people or circumstances to supply me with prestige, security and romance. Failing to get these, according to my still childish dreams and specifications, I had fought for these things. And when defeat came, so did depression.

There wasn't a chance of making the outgoing love of Francis a workable and joyous way of life until these fatal and really absolute dependencies were cut away. Because I had undergone a little spiritual development the absolute quality of these frightful liabilities had never before been so starkly revealed. Therefore, reinforced by what grace I could secure in prayer, I found I must exert every ounce of will and action to cut off these emotional dependencies upon people, upon A.A. indeed upon any set of circumstances whatever. Then, only then, would I be free to love as Francis could. Emotional or instinctual satisfactions, I saw, were really the extra dividends of having love, offering love and expressing love appropriate to each relation of life. Must Offer Love To God. Plainly, I could not avail myself of Gods love until I was able to offer it back to Him by loving others as He would have me. And I couldn't possibly do that so long as I was victimized by my dependencies. For dependencies meant demand; demand for possession and control of people and conditions.

While the words "absolute dependency" may look like a gimmick, they were the ones that triggered my release into my present stability and quietness of mind which I am now trying to consolidate by having love and offering love, regardless of the return. This is the primary healing circuit; our outgoing love of Gods creation and His people, by which we avail ourselves of His love for us. But the real current can't flow until our dependencies are broken at depth. Only then can we have a glimmer of what adult love really is. Spiritual calculus, you say? Not a bit of it. Watch any A.A. of six months working on a new 12th step case. If the case says, "the hell with you," the 12th stepper smiles and turns to another case. He doesn't feel frustrated or rejected. If his case responds and starts to give love and attention to other alcoholics, but returns none to the sponsor, then the sponsor is happy anyway. He still doesn't feel rejected. And when his case turns out in later time to be his best friend (or romance), then the sponsor is joyful. But his happiness and joy were byproducts, and no more. The real stabilizing thing was having the offering of love to that strange drunk on the doorstep. That was Francis at work, powerful and practical, minus dependency and minus demand. In my first six months of sobriety, I worked hard with many alcoholics. Not one responded, but they kept me sober. It wasn't a question of their giving me anything. Stability came out of giving, not of receiving. Thus I think it will work out with emotional sobriety. If we examine every disturbance we have, great or small, we can find at the root of it some sort of unhealthy dependency and consequent demand. Let us hack away at these chains, begging Gods help. Then we shall be set free to love. We shall then be able to 12th step ourselves and others into emotional sobriety. I haven't offered you a single new idea just a gimmick that has started to unhook my several "hexes" at depth.

My brain no longer races compulsively in either elation, grandiosity or depression. I have been given a quiet place in bright sunshine. Bill W."MADE A LIST. . ." Made a list of all persons we had harmed,. . . TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 77 When I approached the Eighth Step, I wondered how I could list all the things that I have done to other people since there were so many people, and some of them weren't alive anymore. Some of the hurts I inflicted weren't bad, but they really bothered me. The main thing to see in this Step was to become willing to do whatever I had to do to make these amends to the best of my ability at that particular time. Where there is a will, there's a way, so if I want to feel better, I need to unload the guilt feelings I have. A peaceful mind has no room for feelings of guilt. With the help of my Higher Power, if I am honest with myself, I can cleanse my mind of these feelings.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC. PS On this date, August 7,1879, Robert Holbrook Smith was born in St. Johnsbury, VT. Happy Birthday, Dr. Bob. And thanks.=============================

THE TWELVE REWARDS OF SOBRIETY

THE TWELVE REWARDS OF SOBRIETY
By Searcy W., 55 years sober as at 2001 aged 90.o

1. Faith instead of despair.
2. Courage instead of fear.
3. Hope instead of desperation.
4 Peace of mind instead of confusion.
5 Real friendships instead of loneliness.
6 Self-respect instead of self-contempt.
7 Self-confidence instead of helplessness.
8 A clean conscious instead of a sense of guilt.
9 The respect of others instead of their pity and contempt.
10. A clean pattern of living instead of a hopeless existence.
11. The love and understanding of our families instead of their doubts and fears.
12. The freedom of a happy life instead of the bondage of an alcoholic obsession

SEEDS FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR MIND

"Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes.:Alan Watts

Whenever you have truth it must be given with love, or the message and the messenger will be rejected. Mahatma Gandhi

Loyalty to a petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul. -Mark Twain, (1835-1910)

"Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

"At the center of your being you have the answer;you know who you are and you know what you want." Lao-tzu

"In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present." Tao Te Ching

"The only Zen you find on tops of mountains is the Zen you bring there."Robert M. Pirsig

Do you Identify ?

The Big Book says that "we will intuitively know how to handle things which
used to baffle us."  I've discovered that it does NOT say that I will
handle them well, nor does it say that I will look good while doing it!

---


An alcoholic grammar lesson, or how an alcoholic conjugates a verb:

I am in pain, so I drink.
I was in pain, so I drank.
I might be in pain, so I will drink.
Oh, look!  There's someone else in pain, so I should drink.

_


The way  a "recovered alcoholic" conjugates a verb

I am  in pain, so I Pray
I was in pain, so I Prayed
I might be in pain, so I will Pray
Oh, look! There's someone else in pain, so I should Pray

__

I didn't think that anybody thought enough of me to ever do anything for me. Then I met the people of Alcoholics Anonymous, and you people did what you could do for me. You prayed for me. Young at heart. Slightly older in other places.

Source: As we see It - "As We See It" (AWSI). A daily thought that frequently is something
heard in a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, or forwarded to the list Join the Group
administrator from AWSI subscribers. Rule #62 is invoked frequently

The Corn Story

The Corn Story

(Sent by Sanjay Kalia)

There was a farmer who grew superior quality and award-winning CORN. Each year he entered his CORN in the state fair where it won honour and prizes.

Once a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learnt something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbours'.
'How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?' the reporter asked.

'Why sir, 'said the farmer, 'didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbours grow inferior, sub-standard and poor quality corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbours grow good corn.'

The farmer gave a superb insight into the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbour's corn also improves. So it is in the other dimensions! Those who choose to be at harmony must help their neighbours and colleagues to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well.

Success does not happen in isolation. It is very often a participative and collective process.

If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples, then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas

- G.B Shaw

Hello Guys Start Posting !

Hello All,

Start Posting some other AA related topics, like some sayings, or quotes from literature etc, also perhaps a few good jokes.

Lets prove to the world that we are not a GLUM Lot.....

All type of postings are welcome here.

You can also ask your friends to Join AAindya Egroup (at Yahoo groups here)

All the best and Lots of Love

Anurag C