Boleo

"Keep it simple" (KISS) was a phrase that Dr. Bob used in the early days of AA to remind Bill Wilson that too much information was destructive for the newcomer.

What he really meant (IMO) was something alone the lines of "Let's stay focused".

It really is a simple program if you examine the last paragraph in the basic text (first 164 pages):

"Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. 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.
May God bless you and keep you - until then."

The problem today is that the lazy-bums and con-artists have hi-jacked this slogan and put a new spin on it to mean :

"Keep-It-Soft-&-Shallow"

BB quote: 1at. Edition

Wolfchild

Keep: to let be what is and be vigilant to maintain it.
It: refers to what i chose it to refer to, example-Life.
Simple: to continue forward with spiritual awareness.

That's what works for me and that's how i chose to live.

Music

Keep It Simple means "don't complicate it!" Stop trying to figure out what the Big Book means when it says what it says. Take the Big Book at face value and do what most drunks don't like doing..............FOLLOW DIRECTIONS!!

I love it when I hear someone say the Big Book is "outdated", or that the Big Book should be re-written. What they mean is "I don't agree with the Big Book because it says I should do something I don't want to do." Shut the hell up and "just do it."

24hrsAday

music.. very mildly put as always:rotfxko i guess for me it means taking life and the program ODAAT doing the best i can while keeping in mind progress not perfection.. i will never have all the answers.. but.. if i stay sober today maybe i can tomorrow as well!

tommyk

Keep it simple:

Avoid paralysis by analysis.

CarolD

I first heard KISS as :Keep It Simple Stupid"
then ... "Keep It Simple Sweetie"
then..."Keep It Simple Spiritually"

Now it's "Keep-It-Soft-&-Shallow"?
I've not heard that before.

I think the correct quote from Dr. Bob to Bill was
"Keep it simple. Don't lose this up"

Therefore...it's never been KISS anyway
it's KIS.

It's not a term I use.

jimhere

I guess it mean many things to many different people. To me it just means follow directions.

I never liked the "Keep It simple Stupid" slogan. I'm not stupid and neither are you. In fact there isn't anything stupid about the program. The only thing stupid are silly-ass slogans like this that people use for an excuse to stay sick. Kind of like what Carol said "Keep it soft & shallow," now I kinda like that one.
jim

tomvlll

Wasn't " Keep it simple" Dr. Bob's advice to Wilson, the zealous salesman who wanted to save the world with AA ( and make a few bucks doing it!) ?

kurtrambis

Not really I don't follow the big book as for me personally I find it ambiguous, vague, inaccurate, illogical, faith healing based, irrelevant to name a few reasons why. The AA program is not considered appropriate (according to NHS papers I have read) for my type of alcoholic.

Zencat

KISS: to follow instructions rather than to reconstruct instructions aimlessly.

jimhere

Exactly.

Music

And just what "type" of alcoholic are you?? Another contribution from the terminally unique!! See, this is what I'm talking about. A rose by any other name is still a rose. If it walks and talks like a duck, chances are it's a damn duck. Why don't you just knock off the BS? NHS papers??? It's been said, "if you want to hide something from a drunk, put it in the Big Book." Read the Big Book and if you don't find yourself in there, maybe you're the "type" of alcoholic who's been mis-diagnosed and you can drink after all. Bottoms up!!

1_day@_a_time

then why read it?

I too can find all the differences when I want to find them.

1_day@_a_time

to address the question:

My mind complicates everything.

I can't rely on it.

I need to find a Higher Power for answers.

Tommyh

Tom,Dr Bob`s Son told me once it was Dr Bob`s last request of Bill Wilson.
Bill had come to see Dr Bob when he was dying of cancer and as Bill was leaving,Dr. Bob told him to "keep this thing simple"
that what Smitty told me to do also

Taking5

This is also consistent with the book Dr Bob and the Good Oldtimers and the film My name is Bill W starring James Woods and James Gardner as Bill and Dr. Bob, respectively.

sugErspun

At some point I realized how utterly simple the whole thing is. Getting sober wasn't about trying harder - it was about giving up!

That is how I see it today ~ when things are as they should be, there is no conflict and everything is 'simple' as can be...even that whole "god" thing.