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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.
How persistently we claim the right to decide all by ourselves just what we shall think and just how we shall act.
2.
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.
3.
We shall at once think of a few people who know all about our drinking, and who have been most affected by it.
4.
Then, as year by year we walk back through our lives as far as memory will reach, we shall be bound to construct a long list of people who have, to some
extent or other, been affected.
5.
We live in the imminent possibility of a fresh holocaust to determine
how men shall be governed, and how the products of nature and toil shall be divided among them.
6.
We live in the imminent possibility of a fresh holocaust to determine
how men shall be governed, and how the products of nature and toil shall be divided among them.
7.
Very earnestly we ask the press also, to observe this request, for otherwise we
shall be greatly handicapped.
8.
9.
We shall be interested to
hear from those who are getting results from this book, particularly from those who have commenced work with other alcoholics.
10.
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!"
11.
Some day we hope that Alcoholics Anonymous will help the public to a better realization of the gravity of the alcoholic problem, but we shall be of little use if our attitude is one of bitterness or hostility.
12.
If we place instincts first, we have got the cart before the horse; we shall be pulled backward into disillusionment.
13.
But am I to be consigned to a life where I shall be stupid, boring and glum, like some righteous people I see?
14.
We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit,
and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the
Road of Happy Destiny.
15.
16.
Not long after the man with the double stigma knocked for admission, A.A.'s other group received into its membership a salesman we
shall call Ed.
17.
18.
We shall claim that our serious character defects, if we think we have any at all, have been caused chiefly by excessive drinking.
19.
So we shall describe some of
the mental states that precede a relapse into drinking, for obviously
this is the crux of the problem.
20.
21.
The principle that we shall
find no enduring strength until we first admit complete defeat is the main taproot from which our whole Society has sprung and flowered.
22.
In many instances we shall find that though the harm done others has not been great, the emotional harm we have done ourselves has.
23.
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.
24.
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.
25.
26.
If these thoughts occur,
they are hazy and readily supplanted with the old threadbare idea that this time we shall handle ourselves like other people.
27.
28.
At the very least, we shall have to come to grips with some of our worst character defects and take action toward their removal as quickly as we can.
29.
30.
31.
And how shall he ever straighten out that awful jam that cost him the affection of his
family and separated him
from them?
32.
33.
34.
35.
If we would gain any real advantage in the use of this Step on problems other than alcohol, we shall need to make a brand new venture into open-mindedness.
36.
37.
Perhaps we shall need to share with this person facts about ourselves which no others ought to know.
38.
Good judgment, a careful sense of timing, courage, and prudence -- these are the qualities we shall need when we take Step Nine.
39.
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.
40.
In all probability, we shall never be able to touch more than a fair fraction of the alcohol problem in all its ramifications.
41.
42.
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?
43.
44.
... shall observe
the spirit of A.A. tradition, ...
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.
45.
46.
No doubt we shall point with pride to the good lives we thought we led before the bottle cut us down.
47.
48.
Once unlocked by willingness, the door opens almost of itself, and looking through it, we shall see a pathway beside which is an inscription.
49.
As we shall see, he now means a great deal to his community, and the major liabilities of thirty years of hard drinking have been repaired
in four.
50.
An honest regret for harms done, a genuine gratitude for blessings received, and a
willingness to try for better things tomorrow will be the permanent assets we shall seek.
51.
Let us look now upon the sea and ponder what its mystery is; and let us lift our eyes to the far horizon, beyond which we shall seek all those wonders still unseen.
52.
53.
... shall stand
convicted of emotional sterility and ...
BB
Appendix III, The Medical View on A.A., p.569
If we do not do so, we shall stand convicted of emotional sterility and
of having lost the faith that
moves mountains, without which medicine can
do little.
54.
They live today in the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous,
which -- God willing -- shall sustain us in unity for so long as He may need us.
55.
56.
57.
How persistently we claim the right to decide all by ourselves just what we shall think and just how we shall act.
58.
59.
Carefully reading the first five proposals we ask if we have omitted anything, for we are
building an arch through which we shall walk a free man at last.
60.
61.
We shall want to hold ourselves to the course of admitting the things we have done, meanwhile forgiving the
wrongs done us, real or fancied.
62.
We shall want to speak with someone who is experienced, who not only has stayed dry but has been able to surmount other serious difficulties.
63.
Therefore our problem now becomes just how and by what specific
means shall we be able to let Him in?
64.
65.
66.
How then shall we help our readers determine, to their
own satisfaction, whether they are one of us?
67.
68.
How shall we meditate?
69.
How, then, shall we meditate?
70.
The 164 and More™ Book, eBook, and Web Site
are all CONCORDANCES which display passages from the Big Book
Alcoholics Anonymous, the
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,
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164 and More concordance does not in any way imply
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Inc., or the A.A. Grapevine, Inc. Further A.A.W.S. Inc. and the A.A.
Grapevine Inc. have no objection to the use of this material in the
164 and More concordance.
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