dsmaxis10

In the book pass it on Bill Wilson talks about spook party's were they all would use the ouija board. That he would talk to archangels st francis friends in purgatory some not. Does anybody else have a problem with this I'm quitting aa because of it.

Dee74

spiritualism was pretty big after the first world war.

A lot of folks had lost loved ones and anything that promised contact again must have looked pretty good.

I think we should look at it in that context.

I'm not aware of any spiritualism in any AA literature. I wouldn't quit over it.

D

Carlotta

and do what?
Because if you have a solid alternate plan that's great but if you use Bill W playing with a ouija board 60 years ago as an excuse to drink, that's pretty lame and the only person you will end up hurting is yourself.
Are you ok?

Lenina

DSM, has AA been working for you? Are you working the Steps? I'm sorry, but I don't recall ouija boards of spiritualism being any part of AA. I think perhaps it's your AV making an excuse to leave AA.

Take care, dear one!

love from Lenina

awuh1

Bill even had the "spook room" at stepping stones where he lived out his latter years.

If I were you I'd find another meeting if they haul out a ouija board and turn down the lights.

JaneLane

If AA has been working for you then I really hope you won't quit because of it, at least without having another firm plan in place. I go for the community and support of face to face meetings and That's been invaluable to me.

With regards to AA literature that you've read, have you tried "living sober"? I have that book and find it really useful too.

Turtle82

Similarities... not differences.

Carlotta

If you ever hear of a meeting like that, please let me know. I would definitely have to check it out.
>always up for adventures<

LBrain

Brown v Board of Education did not take place until the 1950's.

Do you think AA was integrated when Bill and his cohorts first started meetins?
People who would not normally mix - but not all people who would not normally mix.
I've seen many blacks at aa meetins today.

It was a different time for sure. There are people of all faiths that attend meetins today.
Even the ouija board types and the believers of door knobs as their higher power attend meetins.

awuh1

I've attended meetings where some very unusual spirits manifested themselves. Dimming the lights was not even required.

Believe it or not, some keep coming back.

paulokes

There's a fact of life...Bill Wilson worship will not keep you sober. Hero worship of any kind will not keep you sober.

Whoever it is, if I listen to them long enough - or I listen to what other people say about them - I will find a reason not to like them.

I call that Alcoholism - "See, we can't trust them. They're a bunch of liars and frauds. Lets you and me sort this out by ourselves"...

Sounds like you have a dilemna there Maxis. What do you say...do you want to get sober regardless of what you hear about other people, and what you think their beliefs are?

P

Ken33xx

I don`t have a problem with it at all.

I like the fact that BW was human with plenty of "character defects" that were anything but removed. Hell, his wife helped co-start Al-Anon in order to deal with the guy.

Personally, I avoid meetings where members go on and on about, "Well, BW wrote this or BW said that" as if it`s sacred scripture. Not ago I attended a meeting where one member tried to downplay BW flawed behaviour suggesting he didn`t write the BB.

That God wrote it. God was speaking through him. Whatever.

BW helped start AA and for that I think we`re all very grateful.




PS. My Name is Bill by Susan Cheever is a good read on the life of BW.

tomsteve

Your going to quit AA because ya don't like what one person talked about what he did?
Something someone talked about doing a long time ago- someone whose been dead a long time- bothers you??
Instead of quitting, why not work the steps to find why it bothers you?
Maybe pride,ego, selfish, self centeredness. Maybe fear.maybe even some self pity.
Call your sponsor. Go to a meeting and bring it up as a topic.

Seriously...quitting AA because if this??? I've heard a lot of reasons/excuses for leaving AA, but this one........makin me laugh actually.
And I think if ya took some time to think about it,work the steps on it, you'd be able to laugh,too.

mfanch

Principles before personalities. I try not to preach from some moral high ground because truthfully I am no better than anyone else.

Sounds like you might be looking for excuses. When I am disturbed, I run to the nearest mirror and try to find out why...which of my defects is being activated. And then I remove the blockage from HP and try to do better.

I tried contacting spirits using a Ouija board and it was fun.

Glad you are here.

skg

But he didn't get loaded, did he?

Boleo

“That you seemed disillusioned with me personally may be a new and painful experience for you but many members have had that experience with me. Most of their pain has been caused not only by my several shortcomings but by their own insistence on placing me, a drunk, trying to get along with other folks, upon a completely illusory pedestal; a station which no fallible person could possibly occupy. I’m sure that you will understand that I have never held myself out to anybody as either a saint or a superman. I have repeatedly and truthfully said that A.A. is full of people who have made more spiritual progress than I ever, or can make. That in some areas of living I have made some decided gains but in others I seem to have stood still. And in still other ways I may have gone backwards. I am sorry that you are disillusioned with me but I am happy that even I have found a life here."

Bill Wilson’s now famous “ILLUSORY PEDESTAL’ 10th STEP Perfect example of the spirit of our 10th Step by Bill W in his reply to a 1960 letter mailed to him from a Group in Chicago taking his inventory (Bill was 26 years*sober)

silentrun

Demaxis I keep catching myself doing this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splitting_(psychology). I think you may be doing some of that. It's one thing if you don't agree with the underlying philosophy. I know you have schizophrenia so this might really freak you out but to people without that disorder it is no big deal.

CaiHong

Hi DS,
That's a pretty lame excuse for quitting AA. What's really going on with you? You post some trivial piece of information on this board about seances and use this to diss the whole program.
You know you have to stop drinking, personally I don't care how, which program you use. You know this yourself in your heart of hearts you know this. Are you taking your medication?
DS, people want you to get well, the amazing thing on this website is that we genuinely rejoice when people recover, perhaps it's because we all suffer from alcoholism that unites us. You also have an accompanying mental illness but you can get better and have a life if you take certain steps. You know what you have to do, please for your sake do it.

DS I wish you all the best
CaiHong

Fly N Buy

It is well documented that Bill W experimented with LSD as part of trying to illicit a spiritual awakening. This practice was quickly abandoned and is not recommend either.

silentrun

It may not be a lame excuse. I can see a Christian fundamentalist having a real problem with this information. Some see an Ouija board as a portal to demons and those who would use one as Satanic. I myself am more Penn & Teller on this but it took me years to undo that phobia. I don't know if that is what demaxis has going on or not. Can you articulate your fear and/or problem surrounding this?
Edit: It just occurred to me that maybe the problem might be that the fact he reached the other side means he is probably just a crackpot in which case you are not interested in anything he has to say. That would bring us back to splitting.