Originally Posted by
awuh1 
alaek, I see that Tom Steve must not have seen your question about where that quote was from. It's at the beginning of the personel stories for section 2.
Interesting interpretation of the first step, but it's completely wrong. The first step says. "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable". Nothing in the step about other people. Nothing there about their ability (or inability) to help us. Nada zip. The first step is just 13 words. It's about taking action, about making an admission. That's all. It's simple as can be. It's a distortion to say it says something other than what's clearly stated in those 13 words.
I have always been told that this is a "we program" and that it starts there. The very first word about other people---"We."
I think that if the step was just "I admitted..." then just walking into the meeting would constitute taking the step. It is that little word "We" that makes the step so hard.
Originally Posted by
awuh1 These things are done all the time. People are told that cravings don't last forever in all sorts of ways (e.g. this too shall pass), they are told to call their sponsor (pick up the phone before you pick up a drink) and to remember HALT (hungry angry lonely tired) as things to watch out for. Is this stuff in the program? No. But it does exist as wisdom in the rooms and there is alot wisdom there. These are things a sponsor can be quite helpful with as well.
Again it is not "the AA line...thto drink". What you describe does not even sound like an AA meeting. Iat there was nothing they could do to help someone who felt an urge n fact I have never (in the many thousands of meetings I have attended) been to an AA meeting where anything like what you are referring to has taken place. In fact, my experience is exaxtly like tomsteve's who says:
Why is your experience so consistently different from what other people experience miami? Could it be something to do with how you interpret things (step 1 for example)?
I have heard HALT and other techniques in therapy. I have not been to many meetings that have not been solution-centered, so there never was much talk about dealing with cravings (unless I bring it up).
Every sponsor I ever had said that they would never do anything that would endanger their own sobriety. They said it was important not to take others down with you when you are relapsing. And there is that pesky first step. So while I read on SR about people calling a sponsor in such situations, that is something I have always been strongly told NOT to do.
It was indeed an AA meeting where they said you cannot help someone craving. Later at a very small meeting (only 2 other people there), when I asked about this the two people there said that if I felt cravings that probably it would be okay if I called someone...just not them...they did not know who I should call...but probably it was okay. They were a little relieved when I said I would only call people outside of the program.
A number of times over the years here on SR and IRL, people have described similar experiences and teachings. I would have loved an easier, softer way, but I never found it in 12-step recovery.