TOPIC: What Does A.A.'s 'HOW IT WORKS' Mean To You? What Part Do You Like The Most?
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TOPIC: What Does A.A.'s 'HOW IT WORKS' Mean To You? What Part Do You Like The Most?
Hi Im Sharon and Im an Alcoholic.
By the Grace of my HP and people
like you here in SR I havent had a
drink of Alcohol since 8-11-90.
For that and you I am truely
grateful.
Below is a copy of A.A.'s
HOW IT WORKS taken from
the BIG BOOK of Alcoholics
Anonymous.
How often do you read or
hear this passage?
Does it mean something to
you hear it or read it?
What message do you get
from the words u hear or read?
What part do you like
the most?
Read it slowly and carefully
and share your thoughts on
it. Maybe what u share will
inspire another on how stay-
ing sober or clean works.
Alcoholics Anonymous - How it works
RARELY HAVE we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average. There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest.
Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now. If you have decided that you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it - then you are ready to take certain steps.
At some of these we balked. We thought that we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not. With all earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely.
Remember that we deal with alcohol - cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power - that One is God. May you find him now.
Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon.
Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program of recovery:
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Many of us exclaimed, "What an order! I can't go through with it." Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point is, that we were willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection.
Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter of the agnostic, and our personal adventures before and after make clear three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That God could and would if He were sought.
How it works - Chapter 5, page 58-60 of the Book,
Alcoholics Anonymous
© Alcoholics Anonymous
By the Grace of my HP and people
like you here in SR I havent had a
drink of Alcohol since 8-11-90.
For that and you I am truely
grateful.
Below is a copy of A.A.'s
HOW IT WORKS taken from
the BIG BOOK of Alcoholics
Anonymous.
How often do you read or
hear this passage?
Does it mean something to
you hear it or read it?
What message do you get
from the words u hear or read?
What part do you like
the most?
Read it slowly and carefully
and share your thoughts on
it. Maybe what u share will
inspire another on how stay-
ing sober or clean works.
Alcoholics Anonymous - How it works
RARELY HAVE we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average. There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest.
Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now. If you have decided that you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it - then you are ready to take certain steps.
At some of these we balked. We thought that we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not. With all earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely.
Remember that we deal with alcohol - cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power - that One is God. May you find him now.
Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon.
Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program of recovery:
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Many of us exclaimed, "What an order! I can't go through with it." Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point is, that we were willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection.
Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter of the agnostic, and our personal adventures before and after make clear three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That God could and would if He were sought.
How it works - Chapter 5, page 58-60 of the Book,
Alcoholics Anonymous
© Alcoholics Anonymous
Forum Leader
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Scottsdale, AZ, one big happy dysfunctional family!
Posts: 23,030
My favorite sentence is "Rarely have we seen a person fail who has THOROUGHLY followed our path". God did it take me a long time to fully understand that.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Murfreesboro, TN
Posts: 595
"RARELY HAVE we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average. There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest."
IMHO, the first paragraph of How It Works hold to the key. The word honesty is mentioned 3 times. I don't think that was by coincidence. When I became willing to be honest with myself and others, something happened to me. I was able to free myself of the burdens I'd been carrying around for years. I finally realized the meaning of the expression, "The truth will set you free."
It's very easy for some on this site to be a little honest, or somewhat honest. For some, it's very easy to be rigorously honest, since we not looking at each other in the eye. The true test of honesty, IMHO, is when we can look each other in the eye and be rigorously honest.
Again, this is just my opinion. But HONESTLY, how could anybody disagree with me!!! Yeah right!!!
Your sometimes humble servant,
Ed
IMHO, the first paragraph of How It Works hold to the key. The word honesty is mentioned 3 times. I don't think that was by coincidence. When I became willing to be honest with myself and others, something happened to me. I was able to free myself of the burdens I'd been carrying around for years. I finally realized the meaning of the expression, "The truth will set you free."
It's very easy for some on this site to be a little honest, or somewhat honest. For some, it's very easy to be rigorously honest, since we not looking at each other in the eye. The true test of honesty, IMHO, is when we can look each other in the eye and be rigorously honest.
Again, this is just my opinion. But HONESTLY, how could anybody disagree with me!!! Yeah right!!!
Your sometimes humble servant,
Ed
Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Murfreesboro, TN
Posts: 595
Originally Posted by aasharon90 
Stick with it as the BEST IS YET TO COME. : )
Sharon,
Your pm mailbox is full. How do you expect me to give you a little s**t under the table if I can't send it?
xxoo
Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Murfreesboro, TN
Posts: 595
Originally Posted by doorknob
I understand how it works for individuals who believe in God.
It even works for those who don't believe in the classic definition of God. If you have any doubts, check out the "Chapter to the Agnostic" in the Big Book of AA. It's a whole chapter devoted to folks who have plenty of doubt.
Your in sobriety,
Ed
Knucklehead
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Davenport, WA
Posts: 4,005
Originally Posted by Golfman
It even works for those who don't believe in the classic definition of God. If you have any doubts, check out the "Chapter to the Agnostic" in the Big Book of AA. It's a whole chapter devoted to folks who have plenty of doubt.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Middle Ga
Posts: 1,515
I would say it doesn't matter what you call it as long as you surrender yourself to the fact that you can not do it alone- The controls have to be given over to some higher power. The whole "God" thing is one of the issues that scared me most about AA. Turns out, it is kept "God of my understanding" and it is not uncomfortable at all now.
Thanks- T
Thanks- T
'55 Classic
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Waco, TX
Posts: 637
That’s a hard call to make as to what is my favorite part because it’s all important to me. I actually listen to it almost every time it's read. Why? Because after all this time it still speaks to me. Here are a few of my thoughts on various sections.
“Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter of the agnostic, and our personal adventures before and after make clear three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That God could and would if He were sought.”
What a summation! That’s a perfect way to describe the first three steps in a nutshell.
“RARELY HAVE we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path.”
You can quote me all the statistics that you want, but it’s hard to beat that statement if you honestly follow what it says.
“At some of these we balked. We thought that we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not. With all earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely.
All the research has been done for us. The authors know how we think, how we would feel, and our tendencies of denial and rebellion. They know these things because they’ve been there. This is my opinion and of course I don’t speak for AA as a whole, but when I study those words I can’t help but think that they were divinely inspired. God was working through these people to reach a section of society that all other conventional means had missed. When they say that this is a spiritual program I can only nod my head in mute agreement. Only the spirit of something more powerful than our addiction would be able to fashion a plan this complete.
I can go on this way and become passionate on the subject because the program saved my life. Maybe that sound cliché, but I think it is human nature to feel this type of emotion when you come as close to death as many of us have. By following this outline for living I was able to discover “How It Works” for recovery. Since I can be a slow learner and a quick forgetter I need to listen to its message frequently.
Thank you Sharon for the topic...
“Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter of the agnostic, and our personal adventures before and after make clear three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That God could and would if He were sought.”
What a summation! That’s a perfect way to describe the first three steps in a nutshell.
“RARELY HAVE we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path.”
You can quote me all the statistics that you want, but it’s hard to beat that statement if you honestly follow what it says.
“At some of these we balked. We thought that we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not. With all earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely.
All the research has been done for us. The authors know how we think, how we would feel, and our tendencies of denial and rebellion. They know these things because they’ve been there. This is my opinion and of course I don’t speak for AA as a whole, but when I study those words I can’t help but think that they were divinely inspired. God was working through these people to reach a section of society that all other conventional means had missed. When they say that this is a spiritual program I can only nod my head in mute agreement. Only the spirit of something more powerful than our addiction would be able to fashion a plan this complete.
I can go on this way and become passionate on the subject because the program saved my life. Maybe that sound cliché, but I think it is human nature to feel this type of emotion when you come as close to death as many of us have. By following this outline for living I was able to discover “How It Works” for recovery. Since I can be a slow learner and a quick forgetter I need to listen to its message frequently.
Thank you Sharon for the topic...
Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Murrieta, Ca
Posts: 2,683
I still listen to that, chapter 3, the pre-amble, The Promises, and a Vision for You every time they're read. Good stuff, all of it. I just just LOVE The Promises.(So much better than those darn be-devilments)
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