All Addictions
12-Step Study
Workshop
12-Step Study
Workshop
7/26/2018 0 Comments Recording For July 26, 2018(week 341) 26 July 2018 12 Step Study Big Book All Addictions Workshop
Call back number: 641 715 3900 pin no. 95666# (available for a week) Open Study Buddy group on Sundays 11-12am EST. 319 527 3511 pin no. 587213# Tuesdays 8am EST Reading the AA literature: Living Sober & As Bill Sees It. Everyone is encouraged to come to this awesome group. To listen to the recording: 641 715 3900 pin no. 298913# Donations towards the cost of the website please send via Pay Pal on the website or mail a check to: Stephanie Whiting P O Box 531 North Pembroke MA 02358 If you are new to the workshop (or not receiving the questions) please phone Sue W *HS Ruddock on: 434 987 4346 and email her at: [email protected] If you do not have a members’ list ask Sue to email it to you to enable you to phone other members. If someone is no longer on the meeting it is an opportunity to ask if they would be interested in joining the next Big Book workshop which will start after we finish Step 12 & Tradition 12. IMPORTANT: The next Big Book Study Group will start on Thursday 13 September 2018. Tell anyone you think may be interested in joining. 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.” AA 12 x 12 pages 115-116 ‘After we come into A.A., if we go on growing, our attitudes and actions toward security—emotional security and financial security—commence to change profoundly. Our demand for emotional security, for our own way, had constantly thrown us into unworkable relations with other people. Though we were sometimes quite unconscious of this, the result always had been the same. Either we had tried to play God and dominate those about us, or we had insisted on being overdependent upon them. Where people had temporarily let us run their lives as though they were still children, we had felt very happy and secure ourselves. But when they finally resisted or ran away, we were bitterly hurt and disappointed. We blamed them, being quite unable to see that our unreasonable demands had been the cause. When we had taken the opposite tack and had insisted, like infants ourselves, that people protect and take care of us or that the world owed us a living, then the result had been equally unfortunate. This often caused the people we had loved most to push us aside or perhaps desert us entirely. Our disillusionment had been hard to bear. We couldn’t imagine people acting that way toward us. We had failed to see that though adult in years we were still behaving childishly, trying to turn everybody—friends, wives, husbands, even the world itself—into protective parents. We had refused to learn the very hard lesson that over-dependence 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. As we made spiritual progress, we saw through these fallacies. It became clear that if we ever were to feel emotionally secure among grown-up people, we would have to put our lives on a give-and-take basis; we would have to develop the sense of being in partnership or brotherhood with all those around us. We saw that we would need to give constantly of ourselves without demands for repayment. When we persistently did this we gradually found that people were attracted to us as never before. And even if they failed us, we could be understanding and not too seriously affected.’ Soul work Look up: fallible fallacy. disillusioned. Q1. Who are you blaming in your life today? Why are you blaming them? Do a 10th step on this. [I am resentful at so-and-so, the Cause. Affects my… Think about your blaming and how it affects your self-esteem, pride, personal relationships, security, pocket book and your sex relations.] Q2. When I point a finger at someone, three come back to me. Write on this slogan. Q3. Awareness comes from God. Then the key ingredient is willingness. Followed by action and then acceptance. Does this apply to you in this order? Or do you have awareness, then acceptance followed by action and willingness. Write on your experience? Our disillusionment had been hard to bear. Q4a) Write about your past disillusionment. b) Is there any area of you life where you are really disillusioned today? If so, how are you going to get through it sober? [For Stephanie to be disillusioned is to be hopeless, discouraged] It became clear that if we ever were to feel emotionally secure among grown-up people, we would have to put our lives on a give-and-take basis; we would have to develop the sense of being in partnership or brotherhood with all those around us. Q5. Give an example of what Bill means by a give-and-take basis. If you don’t have one, imagine what it might it look like? Ends
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7/19/2018 0 Comments Recording For July 19, 2018(week 340) 19 July 2018 12 Step Study Big Book All Addictions Workshop
Call back number: 641 715 3900 pin no. 95666# (available for a week) Open Study Buddy group on Sundays 11-12am EST. 319 527 3511 pin no. 587213# Tuesdays 8am EST Reading the AA literature: Living Sober & As Bill Sees It. Everyone is encouraged to come to this awesome group. To listen to the recording: 641 715 3900 pin no. 298913# Donations towards the cost of the website please mail a check to: Stephanie Whiting P O Box 531 North Pembroke MA 02358 If you are new to the workshop (or not receiving the questions) please phone Sue W *HS Ruddock on: 434 987 4346 and email her at: [email protected] If you do not have a members’ list ask Sue to email it to you to enable you to phone other members. If someone is no longer on the meeting it is an opportunity to ask if they would be interested in joining the next Big Book workshop which will start after we finish Step 12 & Tradition 12. IMPORTANT: The next Big Book Study Group will start on Thursday 13 September 2018. Pass this message onto anyone you think may be interested in joining. 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.” AA 12 x 12 Pages 114 top of the page until the middle of page 115. Soulwork Q1 When was the last time you had what you consider was a large crisis and how did you handle it? Q2. And how did you handle it when you had a small crisis? Q3. What part did God play? What part did going to Quiet Time, making an action plan, giving it over to accountability? We have sometimes seen families broken apart by misunderstanding, tensions, or actual infidelity, who are reunited by the A.A. way of life. Q4. Has anything in your family been like that: broken apart by misunderstandings, infidelity? Have you been able with the programme to try and build a bridge? Can you ride above these day to day human issues? Write about all of this. You are putting your finger on the pulse of your recovery. Q5. Where are you with your money? Do you make enough to balance i.e. spend less than you earn. Hopefully with recovery you can put some away. Write about your financial situation. Our answer is in still more spiritual development. Underline this. Q6. Do you agree that more spiritual development is the answer to all our problems. If so, what are you doing to develop your spiritual walk? Q7. Only by this means can we improve our chances for really happy and useful living. If you agree, write out an action plan for how to grow in this spiritual walk. If not, write about why you don’t believe it. Q8)a Look up ‘instinct.’ b) Read page 42 of 12 x 12 - Step four - for expansion on instincts. c) As we grow spiritually, we find that our old attitudes toward our instincts need to undergo drastic revisions?’ What does this mean? Underline: But when we are willing to place spiritual growth first - then and only then do we have a real chance. Where people had temporarily let us run their lives as though they were still children, we had felt very happy and secure ourselves. But when they finally resisted or ran away, we were bitterly hurt and disappointed. We blamed them, being quite unable to see that our unreasonable demands had been the cause. Q9. How many girlfriends, boyfriends, how many sponsors, ran away from you? Q10. The Next Frontier-Emotional Sobriety The Next Frontier by Karl R » Sun Sep 13, 2009 1:31 pm Bill W.---From the Grapevine Digital Archives. Copyright © The AA Grapevine, Inc. (January 1958 vol. 14 no. 8 ). Reprinted with permission. Read this letter, which you can find here: https://12stepstudyworkshop.weebly.com/the-next-frontier.html ends 7/12/2018 0 Comments Recording For July 12, 2018(week 339) 12 July 2018 12 Step Study Big Book All Addictions Workshop
Call back number: 641 715 3900 pin no. 95666# (available for a week) Open Study Buddy group on Sundays 11-12am EST. 319 527 3511 pin no. 587213# Tuesdays 8am EST Reading the AA literature: Living Sober & As Bill Sees It. Everyone is encouraged to come to this awesome group. To listen to the recording: 641 715 3900 pin no. 298913# Donations towards the cost of the website please send via Pay Pal on the website or mail a check to: Stephanie Whiting P O Box 531 North Pembroke MA 02358 If you are new to the workshop (or not receiving the questions) please phone Sue W *HS Ruddock on: 434 987 4346 and email her at: [email protected] If you do not have a members’ list ask Sue to email it to you to enable you to phone other members. If someone is no longer on the meeting it is an opportunity to ask if they would be interested in joining the next Big Book workshop which will start after we finish Step 12 & Tradition 12. IMPORTANT: The next Big Book Study Group will start on Thursday 13 September 2018. Pass this message onto anyone you think may be interested in joining. 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.” AA 12 x 12 Pages 113-4 Soulwork Stephanie believes gratitude is the answer to all our problems. Not even acceptance which can be harder, much harder. “We can always find something to be grateful for. And then gratitude can bring acceptance. The more grateful I am the more I am able to say, with God I can get through this. And then accept what is happening.” look up: calamity. The best-intentioned of us can fall for the “two-step”illusion. Sooner or later the pink cloud stage wears off and things go disappointingly dull. We begin to think that A.A. doesn't pay off after all. We become puzzled and discouraged. Q1. Do you find recovery disappointing? For example. did you think Prince Charming would come into your life, you would get the ideal job, be in good health, etc.? Are you puzzled and discouraged in your recovery about anything? Then perhaps life, as it has a way of doing, suddenly hands us a great big lump that we can't begin to swallow, let alone digest. Q2. How did you handle the last big lump of life, with gratitude or self-pity? We fail to get a worked-for promotion. We lose that good job. Maybe there are serious domestic or romantic difficulties, or perhaps that boy we thought God was looking after becomes a military casualty. What then? Have we alcoholics in A.A. got, or can we get, the resources to meet these calamities which come to so many of us. Q3. What do you consider a calamity? Write out some calamities you have been through and then ask yourself what resources did I use to meet these particular calamities. [This will give you a really good examination of your recovery. And what areas you need to put more emphasis on.] Listen to the Tuesday group recording on Living Sober and page 27 of As Bill Sees It. Is there a different way? Yes God’s way….We of AA obey spiritual principles. These were problems of life which we could never face up to. Can we now, with the help of God as we understand Him, handle them as well and as bravely as our nonalcoholic friends often do? Can we transform these calamities into assets, sources of growth and comfort to ourselves and those about us? Well, we surely have a chance if we switch from “two-stepping” to “twelve-stepping,” if we are willing to receive that grace of God which can sustain and strengthen us in any catastrophe. Q4. Are you willing to let go? To transform these assets into strengths and aspects of maturity? Our basic troubles are the same as everyone else's, but when an honest effort is made “to practice these principles in all our affairs,” well-grounded A.A.'s seem to have the ability, by God's grace, to take these troubles in stride and turn them into demonstrations of faith. We have seen A.A.'s suffer lingering and fatal illness with little complaint, and often in good cheer. We have sometimes seen families bro- ken apart by misunderstanding, tensions, or actual infidelity, who are reunited by the A.A. way of life. Q.5 What area of your life needs God’s power? Q6. In Al-Anon they talk about the elephant in the room. Is there any type of elephant in your life, something that is off? [It could be something like un-forgiveness]. Ends 7/5/2018 0 Comments Recording For July 5, 2018(week 338) 5 July 2018 12 Step Study Big Book All Addictions Workshop
Call back number: 641 715 3900 pin no. 95666# (available for a week) Open Study Buddy group on Sundays 11-12am EST. 319 527 3511 pin no. 587213# Tuesdays 8am EST Reading the AA literature: Living Sober & As Bill Sees It. Everyone is encouraged to come to this awesome group. To listen to the recording: 641 715 3900 pin no. 298913# Donations towards the cost of the website please send via Pay Pal on the website or mail a check to: Stephanie Whiting P O Box 531 North Pembroke MA 02358 If you are new to the workshop (or not receiving the questions) please phone Sue W *HS Ruddock on: 434 987 4346 and email her at: [email protected] If you do not have a members’ list ask Sue to email it to you to enable you to phone other members. If someone is no longer on the meeting it is an opportunity to ask if they would be interested in joining the next Big Book workshop which will start after we finish Step 12 & Tradition 12. IMPORTANT: The next Big Book Study Group will start on Thursday 13 September 2018. Pass this message onto anyone you think may be interested in joining. 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.” AA 12 x 12 Page 111-113 Now comes the biggest question yet. What about the practice of these principles in all our affairs? Can we love the whole pattern of living as eagerly as we do the small segment of it we discover when we try to help other alcoholics achieve sobriety? Can we bring the same spirit of love and tolerance into our sometimes deranged family lives that we bring to our A.A. group? Can we have the same kind of confidence and faith in these people who have been infected and sometimes crippled by our own illness that we have in our sponsors? Can we actually carry the A.A. spirit into our daily work? Can we meet our newly recognized responsibilities to the world at large? And can we bring new purpose and devotion to the religion of our choice? Can we find a new joy of living in trying to do something about all these things? Furthermore, how shall we come to terms with seeming failure or success? Can we now accept and adjust to either without despair or pride? Can we accept poverty, sickness, loneliness, and bereavement with courage and serenity? Can we steadfastly content ourselves with the humbler, yet sometimes more durable, satisfactions when the brighter, more glittering achievements are denied us? But in the longer run we clearly realize that these are only the pains of growing up, and nothing but good can come from them if we turn more and more to the entire Twelve Steps for the answers. Now comes the biggest question yet. What about the practice of these principles in all our affairs? Can we love the whole pattern of living as eagerly as we do the small segment of it we discover when we try to help other alcoholics achieve sobriety? Can we bring the same spirit of love and tolerance into our sometimes deranged family lives that we bring to our A.A. group? Can we have the same kind of confidence and faith in these people who have been infected and sometimes crippled by our own illness that we have in our sponsors? Can we actually carry the A.A. spirit into our daily work? Can we meet our newly recognized responsibilities to the world at large? And can we bring new purpose and devotion to the religion of our choice? Can we find a new joy of living in trying to do something about all these things? Furthermore, how shall we come to terms with seeming failure or success? Can we now accept and adjust to either without despair or pride? Can we accept poverty, sickness, loneliness, and bereavement with courage and serenity? Can we steadfastly content ourselves with the humbler, yet sometimes more durable, satisfactions when the brighter, more glittering achievements are denied us? The A.A. answer to these questions about living is “Yes, all of these things are possible.” We know this because we see monotony, pain, and even calamity turned to good use by those who keep on trying to practice A.A.'s Twelve Steps. And if these are facts of life for the many alcoholics who have recovered in A.A., they can become the facts of life for many more. Of course all A.A.'s, even the best, fall far short of such achievements as a consistent thing. Without necessarily taking that first drink, we often get quite far off the beam. Our troubles sometimes begin with indifference. We are sober and happy in our A.A. work. Things go well at home and office. We naturally congratulate ourselves on what later proves to be a far too easy and superficial point of view. We temporarily cease to grow because we feel satisfied that there is no need for all of A.A.'s Twelve Steps for us. We are doing fine on a few of them. Maybe we are doing fine on only two of them, the First Step and that part of the Twelfth where we “carry the message.” In A.A. slang, that blissful state is known as “two-stepping.” And it can go on for years. Soulwork Q1. Are you carrying the AA message into your daily work? Q2. Can we meet our new responsibility to the world at large? Of course we can, but are we? Q3. Are we bringing new purpose and devotion to the religion of our choice? Q4. Can we find a new joy of living and trying to do something about all these things? Q5. How strong/weak are you in different areas of your recovery? Q6. Can you succeed without pride? Fail without fear? Q7. Can you accept poverty, sickness, loneliness, and bereavement with courage and serenity? Q8. Can you steadfastly content yourself with the humbler, yet sometimes more durable, satisfactions when the brighter, more glittering achievements are denied you? Q9. How are you doing, taking your sobriety on the road? Write on that. Ends |
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Our live phone meetings are every Tuesday at 8:00 AM EST. The phone number for these live meetings is (712) 775-7031, and the meeting ID number is 714744988#.
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P O Box 531 North Pembroke MA 02358 |
You can listen to our recorded meetings at (641) 715-3900, pin 95666# for our Tuesday Big Book Step Study workshop. You can also hear our Thursday Big Book Study recordings at (641) 715-3900, pin 298913#. These meetings can be accessed at any time.
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