We were once in full flight from reality. Now the great fact for us is that we’ve had deep and effective spiritual experiences which have revolutionized our whole attitude toward life, toward our fellows, and toward God’s universe. Join us in the fellowship of the spirit!
1000-pound gorilla; disease of spirituality; don't leave before the miracle
Half measures; Going to any lengths; Being disturbed about alcoholism.
Step 10 (p.84): "We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness."
Step 12: "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs."
Yet we had been seeing another kind of flight, a spiritual liberation from this world, people who rose above their problems.
Pej identifies, shares the message, and breaks down his experience with the steps with clarity and purpose. He talks about his journey from atheist, to agnostic, to believer, and beyond.
Power of choice; the progressive slide into illness; recovered life of a service junkie
p. 17: "We are like passengers of a great liner the moment after rescue from a shipwreck when camaraderie, joyousness and democracy pervade the vessel from steerage to Captain's table. Unlike the feelings of the ship's passengers, however, our joy in escape from disaster does not subside as we go our individual ways. The feeling of having shared in a common peril is one element in the powerful cement which binds us. But that in itself would never have held us together as we are now joined."
Matt shares his ESH, and discusses the 10th Step Promises on pp. 84-85.
Heather discusses her Step 1 experience, the hopelessness of our condition, and fully conceding to ourselves the truth of what we suffer from.
Erin shares her ESH with the Steps, using the passages on p. 86, "On awakening..." and "When we retire at night..." as focal points. The steps are to be lived, and Erin shares how she lives them every day.
Steve talks about p. 21 in the Big Book, and how he identifies with the description of a real alcoholic as stated there. He talks about his journey through the 12 Steps, and how he's uncovering and discarding more and more still today, 30 years on.
Sydney discusses p. 30 from More About Alcoholism: "We learned that we had to fully concede to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics. This is the first step in recovery. The delusion that we are like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed. We alcoholics are men and women who have lost the ability to control our drinking. We know that no real alcoholic recovers control...We are like men who have lost their legs; they never grow new ones."
Daryl discusses p. 21, from There is a Solution: "But what about the real alcoholic? He may start off as a moderate drinker; he may or may not become a continuous hard drinker; but at some stage of his drinking career he begins to lose all control of his liquor consumption, once he starts to drink."
Elizabeth breaks down the fundamentals of Steps 1-3, talks about her experience with half-measures, and discusses the importance of p.85 in her recovery: “It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities.”
Ronnie discusses his journey from agnosticism to faith, from desperation to contentment, and from loneliness to belonging.
Esmeralda discusses her many bottoms, in and out of AA, and how she found peace of mind through working the 12 Steps.
Gil discusses p. 66: "It is clear that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness...But with the alcoholic whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave..." Gil shares what it is like having been inwardly reorganized, and having found inner access to his higher power through the process outlined in the Big Book. Step 4 is a powerful tool for clearing that channel, and getting free.
Jesse illustrates the power of the 10th step promises on pp 84-85, as they blossom in his life today. He shares his journey from chaos toward light, and his energy and passion for unity, recovery and service.
Andrea discusses the description on the alcoholic on p. 21, and the importance of being honest with herself (p. 58: "Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves.")
p.61: "...Is he not a victim of the delusion that he can wrest satisfaction and happiness out of this world if he only manages well?...Is he not even in his best moments, a producer of confusion rather than harmony?..." Ron discusses: the program of action which treats his spiritual malady, the vital spiritual experience acquired, and how he nurtures his "6th sense", as an antidote to self-centeredness and ego-centricity.
Levi discusses steps 6 and 7, discomfort as a starting point for spiritual growth, and cultivating an attitude which will lead us toward willingness and humility. (p.76)
(p. 73): "More than most people, the alcoholic leads a double life. He is very much the actor. To the outer world he presents his stage character. This is the one he likes his fellows to see. He wants to enjoy a certain reputation, but knows in his heart he doesn't deserve it."
Alex discusses why the 5th Step is vital for permanent recovery. (p.73): "If we skip this vital step, we may not overcome drinking. Time after time newcomers have tried to keep to themselves certain facts about their lives...Almost invariably they got drunk. Having persevered with the rest of the program, they wondered why they fell. They took inventory all right, but hung on to some of the worst items in stock."
Michael discusses page 53: "When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is, or He isn't. What was our choice to be?"
Jessica discusses unmanageability, living life without a solution, and how we can "re-create" our lives, when our ideals are grounded in a power greater than ourselves. [p. xxviii]
Ali discusses spiritual authenticity, pp 72-73, and the importance of having a trusted advisor for the 5th step. "We will be more reconciled to discussing ourselves with another person when we see good reasons why we should do so." "More than most people, the alcoholic leads a double life. He is very much the actor. To the outer world, he presents his stage character."
Ray challenges the newcomer to ask themselves "are you willing to be sober?" "Do you really want to be sober for yourself?" as relay his experience of getting to that place of wanting to be sober.
Martha discusses page 53: "...God is everything, or else He is nothing. God either is, or He isn't. What was our choice to be?"
JP discusses the line from page 84: "And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone-- even alcohol."
Keirda discusses freedom from the bondage of self, and her experience accessing the power which provides that freedom.
John discusses p. 54: " How much of these feelings, these loves, these worships, have to do with pure reason? Little or nothing we saw at last. Were not these things the tissue out of which our lives were constructed?" And also, a story from the back of the book "Keys to the Kingdom."
Michelle discusses page 45: "Lack of power, that was our dilemma."
....and we have come to believe in the hopelessness and futility of life as we have been living it. (p.25) Janice uses her experience to demonstrate the depth of this phrase.
Kristian discusses emotional sobriety. Alcohol is but a symptom.
Michael discusses page 85: "It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities."
Chandra shares her experience with p. 133 :"But it is clear that we made our own misery. God didn't do it. Avoid then, the deliberate manufacture of misery, but if trouble comes, cheerfully capitalize it as an opportunity to demonstrate His omnipotence."
Belinda shares her experience, strength, and hope with the first two pages of We Agnostics (pp 44-45).
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