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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.
Living upon a basis of unsatisfied demands, we were in a state of
continual disturbance and frustration.
3.
But once these men had hit upon a cure, once it became apparent that only by
their united effort could
this be accomplished, then all of them would feel bound to devote themselves solely to the relief of cancer.
4.
One of the many doctors who had the opportunity of reading
this book in manuscript form told us that the use of sweets was often helpful, of course depending upon a doctor's advice.
5.
6.
Learning to depend upon a higher power and absorb himself in his work with other alcoholics, he remains sober day by day.
7.
8.
And the facts seem to be these:
The more we become willing to depend upon a Higher Power, the more independent we actually
are.
9.
As long as we placed self-reliance first, a genuine reliance upon a Higher Power was out of the question.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Ask the polio sufferer confined to an iron lung who depends with complete trust upon a motor to keep the breath of life in him.
14.
My friend promised when
these things were done I would
enter upon a new relationship with my Creator; that I would have the elements of a way of living which answered all my
problems.
15.
Whether such a person can quit upon a nonspiritual basis depends upon the extent to which he has already lost the power to choose whether he will drink or not.
16.
17.
Like us, they had suddenly
found themselves saved from death, but still floating upon a perilous sea.
18.
19.
20.
We were bothered with the thought that faith and dependence upon a Power beyond ourselves was somewhat weak, even cowardly.
21.
How frequently we see a frightened human being determined to depend completely upon a stronger person for guidance and protection.
22.
As though lying upon a sunlit beach, let us relax and breathe deeply of the spiritual atmosphere with which the grace of this prayer surrounds us.
23.
Such prayers, of course, are fundamentally good acts, but often they are based upon a supposition that we know God's will for the person for whom we pray.
24.
But suppose that instinct
still cries out, as it certainly will, "Yes, respecting alcohol, I guess I have to be dependent
upon A.A., but in all other matters I must still maintain my independence.
25.
He made a beginning, we
have seen, when he commenced to rely upon A.A. for the solution of his alcohol problem.
26.
27.
28.
29.
Tradition One -- "Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity." Without unity, A.A. dies. Individual liberty, yet great unity. Key to paradox: each A.A.'s life depends on obedience to spiritual principles.
The group must survive or the individual
will not. Common welfare comes first. How best to live and work together as groups.
30.
31.
Sometimes the man we are calling upon admits his own fault, so feuds of years' standing melt away in an hour.
32.
Isn't it true that in all matters touching upon alcohol, each of them has decided to turn his or her life over to the care, protection, and guidance
of Alcoholics Anonymous?
33.
Hence the two men set to work almost frantically upon alcoholics arriving in
the ward of the Akron City Hospital.
34.
The wonderful energy it
releases and the eager action by which it carries our
message to the next suffering alcoholic and
which finally translates the Twelve Steps into action upon all our affairs is the payoff, the magnificent reality, of Alcoholics Anonymous.
35.
36.
37.
38.
... upon careful
reading, shows that the personality ...
BB
Appendix II, Spiritual Experience, p.567
The terms "spiritual experience" and "spiritual awakening" are
used many times in this book which, upon careful reading, shows that the personality change sufficient to bring about recovery from alcoholism
has manifested itself among us in many different forms.
39.
40.
After we have made the list of people we have harmed, have reflected carefully upon each instance, and have tried to possess ourselves of the right attitude in which to proceed, we will see that the making of direct amends divides those we should approach into several classes.
41.
Upon entering A.A., these attitudes were sharply reversed, often going much too far in the opposite direction.
42.
43.
44.
The family may be possessed by the idea that future happiness can be based only upon forgetfulness of the past.
45.
Though he could not accept
all the tenets of the Oxford
Groups, he was convinced
of the need for moral inventory, confession of
personality defects,
restitution to those harmed, helpfulness to others, and the necessity of
belief in and dependence
upon God.
46.
47.
The minute we put our work on a service plane, the alcoholic commences to rely upon our assistance rather than upon God.
48.
We now clearly see that we have been making unreasonable demands
upon ourselves, upon others, and upon God.
49.
50.
We discover that we do receive guidance for our lives to just about the extent that we stop making demands upon God to give
it to us on order and on our terms.
51.
If we really depended
upon God, we couldn't very well play God to our fellows nor would we feel the urge wholly to rely on human protection and care.
52.
When a job still looked like a mere means of getting money rather than an opportunity
for service, when the acquisition of money for financial independence
looked more important than a right dependence upon God, we were still the victims of unreasonable
fears.
53.
Upon hearing this, our friend was somewhat relieved, for he reflected
that, after all, he was a good
church member.
54.
55.
56.
57.
They help others with similar problems ... In this
atmosphere the alcoholic often overcomes his excessive
concentration upon himself.
58.
The unique ability of each A.A. to identify himself with, and
bring recovery to, the newcomer in no way depends upon his learning, eloquence, or on any special individual skills.
59.
Triumphantly we seize
upon his misbehavior as
the perfect excuse for minimizing or forgetting our own.
60.
We found that dependence
upon His perfect justice, forgiveness, and
love was healthy, and that it
would work where nothing else would.
61.
62.
The physician who, at our request, gave us this letter, has been kind enough to enlarge upon his views in another statement which follows.
63.
We supposed we had been serious about religious practices when, upon honest appraisal, we found we had been only superficial.
64.
65.
In fact, the effectiveness of the whole A.A. program will rest upon how well and earnestly we have tried to come to "a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."
66.
Nor does it mean that the members of Alcoholics Anonymous, now restored as citizens of the
world, are going to back away from their individual responsibilities to act
as they see the right upon issues of our time.
67.
68.
69.
70.
Let him know you are available if he wishes to make a decision and tell his story, but do not insist upon it if he prefers to consult someone else.
71.
Our hope is that when this chip
of a book is launched on the
world tide of alcoholism, defeated drinkers will seize upon it, to follow its suggestions.
72.
We believe there isn't a fellowship on earth which lavishes more devoted care upon its individual members; surely there is none which more jealously guards the individual's right to think, talk, and act as he wishes.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
78.
79.
"As material success founded upon no more than these ordinary attributes began to come to us, we felt we were winning at the game of life.
80.
81.
82.
But all who are in the least reasonable will agree upon one point: that there is plenty wrong with us alcoholics about which plenty will have to be done if we are to expect sobriety, progress, and any real ability to cope with life.
83.
We began to get over the idea that the Higher Power was a sort of bush-league pinch hitter, to be called upon only in an emergency.
84.
Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: Job or no job --
wife or no wife -- we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God.
85.
Demands made upon other people for too much attention, protection,
and love can only invite domination or revulsion
in the protectors themselves -- two emotions quite as unhealthy as the demands
which evoked them.
86.
87.
We now clearly see that we have been making unreasonable demands
upon ourselves, upon others, and upon God.
88.
This is our gift from God, and its bestowal upon others like us is the one aim that today animates A.A.'s all around the globe.
89.
90.
Pride lures us into making demands upon ourselves or upon others which cannot be met without perverting or misusing
our God-given instincts.
91.
This is a point we wish to emphasize and re-emphasize, to smash home upon our alcoholic readers as it has
been revealed to us out of bitter experience.
92.
The minute we put our work on a service plane, the alcoholic commences to rely upon our assistance rather than upon God.
93.
Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we
may help meet their needs.
94.
95.
Pride lures us into making demands upon ourselves or upon others which cannot be met without perverting or misusing
our God-given instincts.
96.
We now clearly see that we have been making unreasonable demands
upon ourselves, upon others, and upon God.
97.
98.
We had refused to learn the
very hard lesson that overdependence upon people is unsuccessful because all people are fallible, and even the best of them will sometimes let us down, especially when our demands for attention become unreasonable.
99.
If the pursuit of wealth tramples upon people who happen to be in the
way, then anger, jealousy, and revenge are likely to be aroused.
100.
101.
To any questioning or criticism of his actions he
instantly proffers his
reliance upon prayer for guidance in all matters great or small.
102.
Much of the political, economic, and religious life of the world is dependent upon publicized leadership.
103.
Powerfully, blindly, many times subtly, they drive us, dominate us, and insist upon ruling our lives.
104.
105.
We have seen that character
defects based upon shortsighted or unworthy desires are the obstacles that block our path toward these objectives.
106.
If what we have learned and felt and seen means anything at all, it means that all of us, whatever
our race, creed, or color are the children of a living Creator with whom we
may form a relationship
upon simple and understandable terms as
soon as we are willing and honest enough to try.
107.
108.
109.
Unless one's family expresses a desire to live upon spiritual principles we think we ought not to urge them.
110.
Hence it was most evident
that a solitary self-appraisal, and the admission of our defects based upon that alone, wouldn't be nearly enough.
111.
He relies upon the assurance that his many troubles, now made more acute because he cannot use alcohol to kill the pain, can be solved, too.
112.
A spiritual experience, he conceded,
was absolutely necessary, but the price seemed high upon the basis suggested.
113.
But when self-will had driven everybody away and our isolation had become complete, it caused us to play the big shot in cheap barrooms and then fare forth alone on the street to depend upon the charity of passersby.
114.
115.
116.
As we have seen, self-searching is the means by
which we bring new vision, action, and grace to bear upon the dark and negative side of our natures.
117.
Whether such a person can quit upon a nonspiritual basis depends upon the extent to which he has already lost the power to choose whether he will drink or not.
118.
119.
120.
Though the aggregate of
recoveries resulting
from psychiatric effort
is considerable, we physicians must admit we have made little impression upon the problem as a whole.
121.
Let's here take note of our improved outlook upon the problems of personal importance, power, ambition, and leadership.
122.
123.
Doesn't nearly every society on earth give authority to some of its members to impose obedience upon the rest and to punish or expel offenders?
124.
Others fell apart because of sheer self-righteousness while trying to enforce upon the rest of mankind some millennium of
their own specification.
125.
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.
126.
We cannot, for example, unload a detailed account of extramarital
adventuring upon the shoulders of our unsuspecting wife or husband.
127.
When we saw others solve their problems by a simple reliance upon the Spirit of the Universe, we had to stop doubting the power of God.
128.
So far, upon the total problem of several million actual and potential alcoholics in the world, we
have made only a scratch.
129.
130.
131.
Either we had tried to play God and dominate those about us, or we
had insisted on being overdependent upon them.
132.
133.
134.
As part of his rehabilitation he commenced to present his conceptions to other alcoholics, impressing
upon them that they must do likewise with still others.
135.
136.
137.
138.
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.
139.
Once we have a complete willingness to take inventory, and exert ourselves to do the job thoroughly, a wonderful
light falls upon this foggy scene.
140.
By so accepting our dependence upon this marvel of science, we find ourselves more independent personally.
141.
It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective
spiritual structure
can be built.(*)
142.
We looked upon this world of warring individuals, warring theological systems, and
inexplicable calamity, with deep skepticism.
143.
What happens when we wallow
in depression, self-pity oozing from every pore, and inflict that upon those about us?
144.
145.
146.
VII. The Charter and Bylaws of the General Service Board are legal instruments, empowering the trustees
to manage and conduct world service affairs. The Conference Charter is not a legal document; it relies upon tradition and the A.A. purse for final effectiveness.
147.
Since Dr. Silkworth's first endorsement of Alcoholics Anonymous, medical societies and physicians throughout
the world have set their approval upon us.
148.
Employers learn that great corporations have set their approval upon us, and wish to discover what can be done about
alcoholism in their own firms.
149.
Therefore, a great responsibility fell upon us to develop the best possible public relations policy for Alcoholics Anonymous.
150.
151.
I can't say upon what occasion or upon what day I came to believe in a Power greater than myself, but I certainly have that belief
now.
152.
I can't say upon what occasion or upon what day I came to believe in a Power greater than myself, but I certainly have that belief
now.
153.
Our admissions of personal powerlessness
finally turn out to be firm bedrock upon which happy and purposeful lives may be built.
154.
155.
156.
The basic principles of
A.A., as they are known today, were borrowed mainly from the fields of religion and medicine, though some ideas upon which success finally depended were the result of noting the behavior and needs of the Fellowship itself.
157.
After three years of trial and error in selecting the most
workable tenets upon which the Society could be based, and after a large amount of failure in getting alcoholics to recover, three successful groups emerged -- the first at Akron, the second at New York, and the third at Cleveland.
158.
159.
We have a way out on which we can
absolutely agree, and
upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious
action.
160.
161.
162.
Alcoholics Anonymous
can be likened to a group of
physicians who might find
a cure for cancer, and upon whose concerted work would depend the answer for sufferers of this disease.
163.
Men who had liquor shipped in from Boston or New York by express were looked upon with great distrust and disfavor by
most of the good townspeople.
164.
Be certain he will be welcomed by your family, and
that he is not trying to impose upon you for money, connections, or shelter.
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,
and the A.A. Grapevine (A.A. Preamble only).
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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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