From the books ...
Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book) and
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (12 & 12)
MATTER occurs
63 times
(
Definition from Merriam-Webster Online)
Click
to display the full page from the Big Book
1.
... matter?
12&12 p.32,
Step Two
What, then, can be the matter?
2.
... matter.
12&12 p.140,
Tradition Three
We were
grim because we
felt
our
lives and
homes were
threatened, and that was no
laughing matter.
3.
... matter.
12&12 p.177,
Tradition Ten
But when it
comes to
A.A. as a
whole, that's quite a
different matter.
4.
... matter.
BB p.40,
More About Alcoholism
I had no
trouble refusing drinks, and
began to
wonder if I had not
been
making too
hard work of a
simple matter.
5.
... matter.
BB p.69,
How It Works
In
meditation, we
ask God what we should do about each
specific matter.
6.
... matter.
BB p.84,
Into Action
This is not an
overnight matter.
7.
... matter.
BB p.86,
Into Action
It would be
easy to be
vague
about this
matter.
8.
... matter any
way you please.
12&12 p.173,
Tradition Nine
They even had to
coin a
couple of
sentences which
still go into
half the
letters they
write: "Of
course, you are at
perfect
liberty to
handle this
matter any way you
please.
9.
... matter before
our sponsor or spiritual adviser, ...
12&12 p.86,
Step Nine
10.
... matter for
your discretion.
BB p.142,
To Employers
Whether you
mention this book is a
matter for your
discretion.
11.
... matter here,
Ma.
BB p.82,
Into Action
To his
wife, he
remarked,
"Don't see anything the
matter here,
Ma.
12.
... matter how
bad, to the abnormal action ...
BB p.140,
To Employers
But these
scrapes can
generally be
charged, no
matter how
bad, to the
abnormal action of
alcohol on his
mind.
13.
... matter how
deeply we felt they had ...
12&12 p.58,
Step Five
Often it was while
working on this
Step with our
sponsors or
spiritual advisers that
we
first felt truly able to
forgive others,
no
matter how
deeply we
felt they had
wronged us.
14.
... matter how
far down the scale we ...
BB p.84,
Into Action
No
matter how far down the
scale we have
gone, we will see
how our
experience can
benefit others.
15.
... matter how
far we have progressed, desires ...
12&12 p.66,
Step Six
No
matter how far we have
progressed,
desires will
always be
found which
oppose the
grace of
God.
16.
... matter how
far we have to go, ...
BB p.78,
Into Action
We
must lose our
fear of
creditors no
matter how far we have to go, for we are
liable to
drink if we are
afraid to
face them.
17.
... matter how
good.
12&12 p.157,
Tradition Six
18.
... matter how
grave your emotional complications -- even ...
12&12 p.139,
Tradition Three
No
matter who you are, no
matter how
low you've
gone, no
matter how
grave your
emotional complications -- even your
crimes -- we still can't
deny
you
A.A.
19.
... matter how
great the necessity or the ...
BB p.34,
More About Alcoholism
This is the
baffling feature of
alcoholism as
we
know it -- this
utter inability to
leave it
alone, no
matter how
great
the
necessity or the
wish.
20.
... matter how
grievous, out of their hiding ...
BB p.124,
The Family Afterward
We
think each
family which
has been
relieved owes
something to those who have not, and when the
occasion requires, each
member of it should be only too
willing to bring
former mistakes, no
matter how
grievous, out of their
hiding places.
21.
... matter how
haltingly we walk.
12&12 p.68,
Step Six
It will
seldom matter how
haltingly we
walk.
22.
... matter how
hard you try.
BB p.111,
To Wives
You may be
unable to do so, no
matter how
hard you
try.
23.
... matter how
isolated you are.
BB p.573(575),
Appendix VI, How to Get in Touch With A.A.
If there is
none nearby, you
will be
invited to
carry
on a
correspondence which will do much to
insure your
sobriety no
matter how
isolated you
are.
24.
... matter how
low you've gone, no matter ...
12&12 p.139,
Tradition Three
No
matter who you are, no
matter how
low you've
gone, no
matter how
grave your
emotional complications -- even your
crimes -- we still can't
deny
you
A.A.
25.
... matter how
much one wishes to try, ...
12&12 p.35,
Step Three
No
matter how much one
wishes to
try,
exactly how can he
turn his
own will and his
own life over to the
care of whatever
God he
thinks there is?
26.
... matter how
much we tried.
BB p.45,
We Agnostics
But we
found that such
codes
and
philosophies did not
save us, no
matter how much we
tried.
27.
... matter how
unpromising.
12&12 p.144,
Tradition Three
In those
days, we'd go anywhere on a
Twelfth Step job, no
matter how
unpromising.
28.
... matter, however,
if someone does throw us ...
BB p.78,
Into Action
It should not
matter, however, if someone does
throw us out of his
office.
29.
... matter, in
its actual operation it discloses ...
12&12 p.175,
Tradition Nine
30.
... matter must
be discussed, let's try to ...
12&12 p.86,
Step Nine
And even in those
cases where such a
matter must be
discussed, let's
try to
avoid harming third parties,
whoever they may be.
31.
... matter of
being willing to believe in ...
BB p.12,
Bill's Story
It was only a
matter of being
willing to
believe in a
Power greater than myself.
32.
... matter of
course, the family may look ...
BB p.128,
The Family Afterward
As soon as his
sobriety begins to be
taken as a
matter of
course, the
family may
look at their
strange new
dad with
apprehension, then with
irritation.
33.
... matter of
exercising my will power and ...
BB p.40,
More About Alcoholism
I
felt I had every
right to
be
self-
confident, that
it would be only a
matter of
exercising my will
power
and
keeping on
guard.
34.
... matter of
fact he was tight.
BB p.115,
To Wives
Frequently, you have
felt obliged to tell your
husband's
employer and his
friends that he was
sick,
when as a
matter of
fact he
was
tight.
35.
... matter of
fact, I still do -- all ...
12&12 p.26,
Step Two
As a
matter of
fact, I still
do -- all
except the
worship part.
36.
... matter of
fact, the waking hours are ...
12&12 p.93,
Step Ten
As a
matter of
fact, the
waking hours are usually well
filled with things that are
constructive.
37.
... matter of
fact way he told how ...
BB p.9,
Bill's Story
In a
matter of
fact way he
told how
two men had
appeared in
court,
persuading the
judge to
suspend his
commitment.
38.
... matter of
giving that is in question, ...
BB p.98,
Working With Others
It is not the
matter of
giving that is in
question,
but when and how to
give.
39.
... matter of
good business.
BB p.141,
To Employers
He
wants to
quit drinking and you
want to
help him, even if it be only a
matter of
good business.
40.
... matter of
life and death, Bill, and ...
12&12 p.137,
Tradition Two
This is a
matter of
life and
death,
Bill, and
nothing but the very
best will
do!'
41.
... matter of
months, A.A. booms in Middletown.
12&12 p.133,
Tradition Two
42.
... matter of
physical treatment should, of course, ...
BB p.143,
To Employers
The
matter of
physical treatment should, of
course, be
referred to your
own doctor.
43.
... matter of
prayer.
BB p.85,
Into Action
We shouldn't be
shy on this
matter of
prayer.
44.
... matter of
this book: It contains full ...
BB p.143,
To Employers
To
return to the
subject
matter of this book: It
contains full suggestions by which the
employee may
solve his
problem.
45.
... matter of
willingness, patience and labor.
BB p.163,
A Vision For You
To
duplicate, with such
backing, what we have
accomplished is only a
matter of
willingness,
patience and
labor.
46.
... matter so
much to some people no ...
BB p.161,
A Vision For You
Being
wrecked in the same
vessel, being
restored and
united under one
God, with
hearts and
minds attuned to the
welfare of
others, the things which
matter so much to some
people no
longer signify
much to them.
47.
... matter, that
his alcoholic derelictions, the treatment ...
BB p.143,
To Employers
While on the
subject of
confidence, can you
adopt
the
attitude that so far as you are
concerned this will be a
strictly personal matter, that his
alcoholic derelictions, the
treatment about to be
undertaken, will
never be
discussed without his
consent?
48.
... matter, the
board of directors told him ...
BB p.138,
To Employers
He has just
returned from a
three-
months leave of
absence, has
taken a
cure,
looks fine, and to
clinch the
matter, the
board of
directors told him
this was his
last chance."
49.
... matter too
much what our material condition ...
12&12 p.122,
Step Twelve
It did not
matter too much what our
material condition was,
but it did
matter what our
spiritual condition
was.
50.
... matter what
he says or does.
BB p.108,
To Wives
Try not to
condemn your
alcoholic husband no
matter what he says or does.
51.
... matter what
our material prospects were.
12&12 p.121,
Step Twelve
But as
time passed we
found that with the
help of
A.A.'s
Twelve Steps we could
lose those
fears, no
matter what our
material prospects were.
52.
... matter what
our spiritual condition was.
12&12 p.122,
Step Twelve
It did not
matter too much what our
material condition was,
but it did
matter what our
spiritual condition
was.
53.
... matter what
the cause, there is something ...
12&12 p.90,
Step Ten
It is a
spiritual axiom
that every
time we are
disturbed, no
matter what
the
cause, there is something
wrong with us.
54.
... matter what
the personal consequences may be.
BB p.79,
Into Action
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 may be.
55.
... matter what
the provocation, publicly take sides ...
12&12 p.176,
Tradition Ten
As by some
deep instinct,
we
A.A.'s have
known from the
very
beginning that we
must never, no
matter what the
provocation,
publicly take
sides in
any
fight, even a
worthy
one.
56.
... matter what
the subject, it should be ...
BB p.118,
To Wives
Next time you and he have a
heated discussion, no
matter what the
subject, it
should be the
privilege of either to
smile and say, "This is
getting serious.
57.
... matter what
we had thought or done.
12&12 p.58,
Step Five
This
vital Step was also the
means by which we
began to
get the
feeling that we could be
forgiven, no
matter what we
had
thought or done.
58.
... matter what
your own convictions are.
BB p.93,
Working With Others
Don't
raise such
issues, no
matter what your
own convictions are.
59.
... matter what
your present circumstances!
BB p.100,
Working With Others
60.
... matter when
his more serious ailments were ...
BB p.135,
The Family Afterward
She sees she was
wrong to make a
burning issue out of such a
matter when his more
serious ailments were
being
rapidly cured.
61.
... matter who
you are, no matter how ...
12&12 p.139,
Tradition Three
No
matter who you are, no
matter how
low you've
gone, no
matter how
grave your
emotional complications -- even your
crimes -- we still can't
deny
you
A.A.
62.
... matter with
constructive imagination; all sound achievement ...
12&12 p.100,
Step Eleven
63.
... matter with
his spiritual status.
BB p.101,
Working With Others
An
alcoholic who cannot
meet them, still has an
alcoholic mind; there is
something the
matter with his
spiritual status.
Passages from the Big Book Alcoholics Anonymous
and the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
are reprinted with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.
The A.A. Preamble, copyright ©
The A.A. Grapevine, Inc., is reprinted with permission.
Permission to reprint does not in any way imply affiliation with or
endorsement by either Alcoholics Anonymous or The A.A. Grapevine, Inc.
Top
Copyright © 2005-2008, Recovery Press LLC; All Rights Reserved.
