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From the books ... Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book) and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (12 & 12)
Click the page number or the book cover icon
to view that page in the literature.1.
2.
3.
This had the effect of making me resolve that when I
was free from parental domination, I would never again darken the doors of a church.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Next we launched out on a course of vigorous action, the first step of which is a personal housecleaning, which many
of us had never attempted.
8.
9.
There will be other cases where action ought to be deferred, and still others in which by the very nature of the situation we shall never be able to make direct personal contact at all.
10.
In all probability, we shall never be able to touch more than a fair fraction of the alcohol problem in all its ramifications.
11.
12.
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?
13.
Ten -- Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
14.
Tradition Ten -- "Alcoholics Anonymous has
no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy."
15.
"Alcoholics Anonymous
has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy."
16.
Thus was laid the cornerstone for Tradition Ten: "Alcoholics Anonymous has
no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy."
17.
Today, we are able to say with assurance that Alcoholics Anonymous --
A.A. as a whole -- should never be organized at all.
18.
Nine -- A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to
those they serve.
19.
Tradition Nine -- "A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create
service boards or committees directly responsible to those they
serve."
20.
"A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create
service boards or committees directly responsible to those they
serve."
21.
... never be
personally punitive nor an incitement ...
BB
Appendix VII, Twelve Concepts (Short Form), p.575
XII. The Conference shall observe the spirit of A.A. tradition, taking care that it never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power; that sufficient operating funds and reserve be its prudent financial principle; that it place none of its members in a position of unqualified authority
over others; that it reach all important decisions by discussion,
vote, and, whenever possible, by substantial
unanimity; that its actions never be personally punitive nor an incitement to public controversy; that
it never perform acts of government, and that,
like the Society it serves, it will always remain democratic in thought and
action.
22.
It was then discovered that when one alcoholic had planted in the mind of another the true nature of his malady, that person could never be the same again.
23.
24.
... never becomes
the seat of perilous wealth ...
BB
Appendix VII, Twelve Concepts (Short Form), p.575
XII. The Conference shall observe the spirit of A.A. tradition, taking care that it never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power; that sufficient operating funds and reserve be its prudent financial principle; that it place none of its members in a position of unqualified authority
over others; that it reach all important decisions by discussion,
vote, and, whenever possible, by substantial
unanimity; that its actions never be personally punitive nor an incitement to public controversy; that
it never perform acts of government, and that,
like the Society it serves, it will always remain democratic in thought and
action.
25.
26.
27.
28.
When your husband is bad, you
become a trembling recluse, wishing the telephone had never been invented.
29.
With many individuals the
methods which I employed
are successful, but I have never been successful with an alcoholic of your description."(*)
30.
It is to be hoped that every
A.A. who has a religious connection which emphasizes meditation
will return to the practice of that devotion
as never before.
31.
32.
33.
But when the broker gave him
Dr. Silkworth's description of alcoholism and its hopelessness, the physician began to pursue the spiritual remedy for his malady with a willingness he had never before been able to muster.
34.
The second section of this
volume, though designed for A.A.'s membership, will give such inquirers an inside view of A.A. never before possible.
35.
36.
Try to remember that though God has wrought miracles among us, we should never belittle a good doctor or psychiatrist.
37.
38.
39.
40.
Why did we dare to say, contrary to the experience of society and
government everywhere, that we would neither punish nor deprive any A.A. of membership, that we must
never compel anyone to pay anything, believe anything, or conform to anything?
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
They spoke with great freedom from embarrassment, which I could never do, and they seemed very much at ease on all occasions and appeared very healthy.
48.
49.
50.
51.
Here are some of the methods
we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with
and without a solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums --
we could increase the list
ad infinitum.
52.
Here are some of the methods
we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with
and without a solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums --
we could increase the list
ad infinitum.
53.
Here are some of the methods
we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with
and without a solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums --
we could increase the list
ad infinitum.
54.
Six -- An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
55.
Tradition Six -- "An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our
primary purpose."
56.
"An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our
primary purpose."
57.
His own character may still be gravely defective, but he somehow
knows that God has enabled him to make a mighty beginning, and he senses that he stands at the edge of new mysteries, joys, and experiences of which he had never even dreamed.
58.
To us, the Realm of Spirit is
broad, roomy, all inclusive; never exclusive or forbidding
to those who earnestly seek.
59.
60.
For no people have ever loved personal triumphs more than we have loved them; we
drank of success as of a wine which could never fail to make us feel elated.
61.
It never fails, if you go about it with one half the zeal you have been in the
habit of showing when you
were getting another drink.
62.
Even the suggestion of such a thing never fails to whip up a hurricane, and we have discovered that hurricanes have a way of mauling with equal severity both the just and the unjust.
63.
64.
65.
When others showed us that
"God-sufficiency" worked with them, we began to feel like those who had insisted the Wrights would never fly.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
Simply we tell him that we will never get over drinking until we have done our utmost to straighten out the past.
73.
Some of them may sink and perhaps never get up, but if our experience is a criterion, more than half of those approached will become fellows of Alcoholics Anonymous.
74.
Either we were shy, and dared not draw near others, or we were apt to be noisy good fellows craving attention and companionship, but never
getting it -- at least to
our way of thinking.
75.
76.
Perhaps we shall be obliged in some cases still to say, "This I cannot give up yet...," but we should not say to ourselves, "This I will never give up!"
77.
78.
79.
While an A.A. group may cooperate with anyone, such cooperation ought never go so far as
affiliation or endorsement, actual or implied.
80.
81.
It was thought that no alcoholic man or woman could be excluded from
our Society; that our leaders might serve but never govern; that each group was to be autonomous and there was to be no professional class of therapy.
82.
83.
84.
85.
Sometimes A.A. comes harder to those who have lost or rejected faith than to those who never had any faith at all, for they think they have tried faith and found it wanting.
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.
It could almost be said that
we were born with it, for, as one
oldtimer recently declared, "Practically
never have I heard a heated religious, political, or reform argument among A.A. members.
91.
Else why would we consume such great amounts of time wishing for what we have
not, rather than working
for it, or angrily looking
for attributes we shall
never have, instead of adjusting to the fact, and accepting it?
92.
93.
94.
Here are some of the methods
we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with
and without a solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums --
we could increase the list
ad infinitum.
95.
Your job now is to be at the place where you may be of maximum helpfulness to others, so never hesitate to go anywhere if you can be helpful.
96.
97.
Possibly, too, we were still handicapped by many liabilities, great and small, we never knew we had.
98.
99.
100.
101.
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
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.
108.
109.
110.
We believe, and so suggested a few years ago, that the action of alcohol on these chronic alcoholics is a manifestation of an allergy; that the phenomenon of craving is
limited to this class and
never occurs in the average temperate drinker.
111.
Never once in my life have I had a headache,
which fact leads me to believe that I was an alcoholic almost from the start.
112.
113.
Twelfth Step work is never paid for, but those who labor in service for us are worthy of their hire.
114.
... never perform
acts of government, and that, ...
BB
Appendix VII, Twelve Concepts (Short Form), p.575
XII. The Conference shall observe the spirit of A.A. tradition, taking care that it never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power; that sufficient operating funds and reserve be its prudent financial principle; that it place none of its members in a position of unqualified authority
over others; that it reach all important decisions by discussion,
vote, and, whenever possible, by substantial
unanimity; that its actions never be personally punitive nor an incitement to public controversy; that
it never perform acts of government, and that,
like the Society it serves, it will always remain democratic in thought and
action.
115.
116.
Human beings are never quite alike, so each of us, when making an inventory, will need to determine what his individual character defects are.
117.
118.
The emphasis on inventory is heavy only because a great many of us have never really acquired the habit of accurate self-appraisal.
119.
120.
121.
In the doctor's judgment
he was utterly hopeless;
he could never regain his position in society and he
would have to place himself
under lock and key or hire a bodyguard if he expected
to live long.
122.
123.
Save for a few brief moments of temptation the thought of
drink has never returned; and at such times a great revulsion has risen up in him.
124.
These allergic types can
never safely use alcohol in any form at all; and once having formed the habit and found they cannot break it, once having lost their self-confidence, their reliance upon things human, their problems pile up on them and become astonishingly difficult to solve.
125.
126.
127.
Though the earning power of most A.A.'s is relatively high, we have some
members who never seem to get on their feet moneywise, and still others who encounter heavy financial reverses.
128.
The doctor said: "You have the
mind of a chronic alcoholic. I have never seen one single case recover, where that state of mind existed to the extent that it does in you."
129.
130.
131.
I could almost hear the sound of the preacher's voice as I sat, on still Sundays, way over there on the hillside; there was that proffered temperance pledge I never signed; my grandfather's
good natured contempt of some church folk and their doings; his insistence that the spheres really had their music; but his denial of the preacher's right to tell him how he must listen; his fearlessness
as he spoke of these things
just before he died; these recollections
welled up from the past.
132.
133.
This to the end that our great
blessings may never spoil us; that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation
of Him who presides over us
all.
134.
This to the end that our great
blessings may never spoil us; that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation
of Him who presides over us
all.
135.
136.
Never talk down to an alcoholic from any moral or spiritual hilltop; simply lay out the kit of spiritual tools for his inspection.
137.
138.
We never thought of making honesty, tolerance, and true love of man and God the daily basis of living.
139.
140.
141.
Our Twelfth Step is never to be paid for, but those who labor in service for us are worthy of
their hire.
142.
143.
While an A.A. group may cooperate with anyone, such cooperation ought never to go so far
as affiliation or endorsement, actual or implied.
144.
During the subsequent fifteen years I had sense enough never to go to the hospital if I had been drinking, and very seldom did I receive patients.
145.
It is clear now that we ought never to name boards to govern us, but it is equally
clear that we shall always need to authorize workers to serve us.
146.
147.
148.
These observations would be academic and pointless if
our friend never took the first drink, thereby setting the terrible cycle in motion.
149.
I've prayed to God on hangover mornings and sworn that I'd never touch another drop but by nine o'clock I'd be boiled as an owl."
150.
It has been well said that "almost the only scoffers at
prayer are those who never tried it enough."
151.
152.
We are there to sweep off our side of the street, realizing that nothing worth while can be accomplished until we do
so, never trying to tell him what he should do.
153.
154.
155.
Never was I to be critical
of them.
156.
157.
158.
159.
160.
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