All Addictions
12-Step Study
Workshop
12-Step Study
Workshop
11/9/2017 0 Comments Recording For November 9, 2017(week 304) 9 November 2017 12-Step Big Book All Addictions Workshop
We have a new website. To hear the recordings (inc. Tuesday 8am EST meeting reading to the end of the Big Book) visit the website at: http://www.12StepStudyWorkshop.weebly.com and click on ‘Recordings’ . 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# Donations towards the cost and upkeep of the website. Please send via Pay Pal on the website or send a check to: Stephanie Whiting P O Box 531 North Pembroke MA 02358 There will be a meeting on Thanksgiving and over the Christmas holidays on Thursday 21 & 28 December. Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous: Spiritual Experience Appendix II page 399-400 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. Yet it is true that our first printing gave many readers the impression that these personality changes, or religious experiences, must be in the nature of sudden and spectacular upheavals. Happily for everyone, this conclusion is erroneous. In the first few chapters a number of sudden revolutionary changes are described. Though it was not our intention to create such an impression, many alcoholics have nevertheless concluded that in order to recover they must acquire an immediate and overwhelming "God-consciousness" followed at once by a vast change in feeling and outlook. Among our rapidly growing membership of thousands of alcoholics such transformations, though frequent, are by no means the rule. Most of our experiences are what the psychologist William James calls the "educational variety" because they develop slowly over a period of time. Quite often friends of the newcomer are aware of the difference long before he is himself. He finally realizes that he has undergone a profound alteration in his reaction to life; that such a change could hardly have been brought about by himself alone. What often takes place in a few months could seldom have been accomplished by years of self discipline. With few exceptions our members find that they have tapped an unsuspected inner resource which they presently identify with their own conception of a Power greater than themselves. Most of us think this awareness of a Power greater than ourselves the essence of spiritual experience. Our more religious members call it "God-consciousness." Most emphatically we wish to say that any alcoholic capable of honestly facing his problems in the light of our experience can recover provided he does not close his mind to all spiritual concepts. He can only be defeated by an attitude of intolerance or belligerent denial. We find that no one need have difficulty with the spiritual side of the program. Willingness, honesty and open mindedness are the essentials of recovery. But these are indispensable. Soul work Look up: spiritual, experience, awakening, manifesting, form, erroneous. Q1. Write about the personality change you have seen in yourself from when we started step one five years ago. Q2. Has your change been sufficient enough to bring about recovery from alcoholism? Q3. Has the form of your spiritual experience changed since you first started? Q4a) What does God consciousness mean to you? b) Do you have it and if so, describe it. c) If not, ask yourself am I afraid of having a God consciousness and of what I would turn into? Am I afraid I won’ t like or know myself and people won’t like me? Q5. Do you compare your recovery with that of others? If so, why do you think you do that. What purpose does it serve? Q6. If you have had a profound alteration give an example of a recent reaction to life that you know you would not have had before. Q7. Have you tapped into that inner resource to go up and over an issue? Q8. The biggest banner in AA used to be ‘But For the Grace of God.’ What does that mean to you now, five years after starting this workshop? Write this down: The self-discipline of recovery comes in the form of admitting I need a relationship with God. That is the self-discipline which comes from being humble. If you stay humble and know that but for the grace of God you are sober you don’t even need self-discipline as you will willingly do the tools and help others because you have so much gratitude. The willingness to admit you need God takes a lot of self-discipline. The ego wants you to start thinking YOU are doing it, a human doing rather than a human being. Willingness, honesty and open-mindedness. Stephanie has never seen anyone recover who did not have these. 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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