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#8 |
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Join Date: Aug 2013
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Big Book Study - Post #8
Good morning everyone! We're at the top of page 13 - Bill went again to Towns Hospital to be separated from alcohol for the last time. This is at the beginning of December 1934; he had stayed drunk for a month after Armistice Day. Bill's sobriety dates from December 11, 1934. Paragraph 2 describes Steps 3, 4, 6 & 7: "There I humbly offered myself to God, as I then I understood Him, to do with me as He would. I placed myself unreservedly under His care and direction (3). I admitted for the first time that of myself I was nothing; that without Him I was lost. I ruthlessly faced my sins (4) and became willing to have my new-found Friend take them away, root and branch (6, 7). I have not had a drink since." The first sentance of paragraph 3 describes Step 5, and the remainder of paragraph 3 describes Steps 8 and 9, (also known as "restitution" by the Oxford Groups): "My schoolmate [Ebby Thacher] visited me, and I fully acquainted him with my problems and deficiencies (5). We made a list of people I had hurt or toward whom I felt resentment (8). I expressed my entire willingness to approach these individuals, admitting my wrong. Never was I to be critical of them. I was to right all such matters to the utmost of my ability (9)." [Remember this sentence when we talk about amends in Chapter 6.] Paragraph 4 - The first sentance describes Step 10 and the remainder of the paragraph goes into Step 11. The last paragraph on this page discusses the first part of Step 12: "My friend promised that when these things were done, [not by osmosis I would guess], I would enter upon a new relationship with my Creator; that I would have the elements of a way of living which has answered all my problems." That sounds like a Spiritual Awakening, doesn't it? But don't we want all our problems solved first? It is through that spiritual awakening that they are solved. Page 14 - Bill's "White Light Experience" in found in paragraph 2. One of the reasons that Appendix II -"Spiritual Experience" was added to the book was that many people were confused; they thought that they had to have the same type of sudden transformation that Bill had. The concept of "carrying the message" was born with Bill while lying in that bed in Towns Hospital (see paragraph 5). The last part of Step 12 is described in the following paragraph continuing to the top of page 15: "My friend [Ebby Thacher] had emphasized the absolute necessity of demonstrating these principles in all my affairs." A bit of step 12 here! For us, that means not just in the rooms of AA, but everywhere. Going on to paragraph 1 on page 15, Bill describes the dangers of "...self-pity and resentment. This sometimes nearly drove me back to drink, but I soon found that when all other measures failed, work with another alcoholic would save the day." Perhaps there is something to this "carrying the message" stuff after all! Bill went on to work with drunks and barely earning a living. Not only was he not making any money, he also had no success in sobering up drunks. Lois was working at Macy's. Ebby moved from Rev. Sam Shoemaker's Calvary Church mission and in with Bill and Lois at 182 Clinton St. in Brooklyn at this time. It wasn't until May, 1935 (six months later) that Bill had any success at all -- he carried the message to Doctor Bob Smith -- aside from staying sober himself. More details are available in "AA Comes of Age," pages 52-77, which tells Bill's story in greater detail; how he met Bob, how they helped Bill Dotson (AA number 3) get sober, and the early days of what was to become AA. With our next post we will begin Chapter 2 on Page 17: "There is a Solution." Have a great day! Jim
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![]() "No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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