[. . . later . . . ]
:beerchug: <--- LOL! Love those smilies.
Paul it's all good. I did say I did not take "STFU" as directed toward me.
Then said I
was offended. LOL!
So who's more confused - I take
that prize.
It's all good - peace and cheers.
=-=-=-=-=
Having hopefully conveyed an effective
mea culpa, I do have follow-up thoughts on the subject in general. There is nothing wrong with the old
"take the cotton out of your ears and put it in your mouth" but I got to a point where AA's message simply did not resonate.
I could no longer sit and
pretend to pretend (an advanced art-form of "fake it 'til you you make it" mixed in with a peculiar
politically correct self-denial. [1] LOL)
I mean shoot, after I'd "made" it, what was the need of faking it?
Suddenly, there
was no longer that need. I was sober, thinking, reading, and transforming. I became bored to death and began to realize that in a very real sense, I had worked and outgrown the Steps of AA.
I'm talking back to the days around 15 year ago of cursing- and smoke-filled rooms. I gagged on more than the smoke, but the prerequisite that in order to fit in, you'd damn well best park thy brain on the front steps first, please.
=-=-=-=-=
To
nolonger, I was never suggesting open debate in an AA meeting: You would no more stand up in an AA meeting and begin spouting the foundations of existential psychology born of Nietzsche and expanded upon by Kant & Kierkegaard than you would the unique take on metaphysics of Martin Heidegger after them.
You learned quickly that you'd be told to STFU and listen.
Philosophy and debate is out of place in AA, period. And in fairness--it is
rightfully inappropriate. AA is a "program" of intellectual surrender and resignation, remember?
Outside those walls, I underwent my own period of raw skepticism of the Anglo Saxon Western theology; its godhead and trilogy and... somehow, I dunno. Came out the other end quite at peace with the notion that there simply is no more a God than there is a Santa Claus.
Obviously, I cannot reconcile atheism with AA. LOL But again obviously, some people manage. [1] cited above comes in handy for cult-like orgs.
I evolved spiritually at first. After reading the Bible through and breaking free of strict religious dogma, I branched out and read works by such noted authors as Gary Zukav, Deepak Chopra, Wayne W. Dyer, Marianne Williamson (a lovely soul and beautiful writer. "A Return to Love: Reflections on A Course in Miracles" is truly a must-read. DO NOT be fooled by Williamson's title; it's a wonderful introduction to modern day, new-age (or metaphysical) thinking and does well in tying together ALL the world's religions including Buddhism and Hinduism. Hinduism by the way, is the world's oldest religion, predating Jesus Christ by over two millennia!)
All this occurred right about when I hit thirty. Through my thirties, I studied much of Eastern theology--Buddhism, Hinduism, and Lao-Tzu's Taoism...
Cut to present and I'm fascinated by philosophy - still sober. LOL
STFU won't fly outside AA, folks, and is for the newcomer
in AA, in crisis.
Thanks again,
-TCD-