This is a "we" Program, we hear that at meetings all the time

Many people who say that are able to stay sober by frequent meeting attendance, who say "we" refers to all of the people in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous, who use meetings for group therapy and for them it does, my hat is off to them, and I have no problem with them, my "we" is comprised of an entirely different group of people, who also attend meetings, but who needed to find a power greater then themself to be recovered from a hopeless condition of mind and body by working the 12 steps outlined in the book "Alcoholics Anonymous" which our fellowship was named after and we use meetings to carry that message to the alcoholic who still suffers. Kind of a fellowship inside the fellowship, the fellowship of the spirit and participating members of Alcoholics Anonymous who have worked the steps and learned the traditions, who have found the answer is contained by working the 12 steps and then passing that information on to others.

Once again, I have no problem with those able to stay sober and not have the spiritual awakening as the result of working the 12 steps, but my reaction to life is different to theirs, as are many alcoholics who wander through the doors desperately looking for a way to stop drinking. Mere meeting attendance won't help these people and well meaning, helpful people telling them to take it slow and wait to work the steps is no different then telling someone with a bi-polar disorder or schizophrenia to stop taking their meds. They are suffering from a spiritual malady, not addiction, thus the treatment for addiction doesn't work for them, they are known as "alcoholics", if they haven't worked the steps, dry or not, they are known as "still suffering alcoholics". Trigger lists, meeting attendance, tips and tricks, and slogans won't keep these people sober no matter how hard they try, their only remedy is a spiritual one, no human power could relieve their alcoholism, but God could and would if he were sought.

The steps are there to clear what is between each person and their God, it's not a "self help" program, it's a "God help" program, as in "God help me", and with the wreckage from the past and present by doing the steps being cleared away God is able to help these alcoholics. I have seen this with my own eyes countless enough to be a believer, and I am an atheist/agnostic.

If you are unable to get and maintain any sort of long term sobriety by meeting attendance, slogans and tips and tricks alone, keep slipping or relapsing, or while sober wonder what's the point and are so miserable that the only two options are drink or suicide, it is easy to find the "we" who are recovered, the "we" that can help you, the "we" that needs more then merely meeting attendance to stay happy, sober and sane. "We" talk about God in meetings, "we" talk about working the steps, and about the spiritual awakening as the result of the steps, we serve as secretaries, General service representatives, in H and I, and we share at group level our experience strength and hope about working the steps and recovering, we sweep the floor and we make the coffee, we arrive early and we leave late, we are the "speakers" or "the chairperson" who shares what it was like, what happened, and what it's like now, and we offer more to the newcomer then just our phone number.

We offer the newcomer a solution.

So why do we call it a "we" program? Is it because the first word in the book is "we"?

We, of Alcoholics Anonymous, are more than one -million-* men and women who have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.
*It was 100 at the time of the book being written, AA started to expand internationally and grew to an estimated two million by 2001

So "we" have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.

Or is it because the first word in the first step is "we"?

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.

No, that can't be it, that can be found at any bar or by talking to any alcoholic homeless person.

Who then, are the "we" who is being referred to by saying this is a "we" program?

"We" are Alcoholics in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous who have recovered by working the 12 steps and have been given the power to help others.

We are people who normally would not mix. But there exists among us a fellowship, a friendliness, and an understanding which is indescribably wonderful. We are like the passengers of a great liner the moment after rescue from shipwreck when camaraderie, joyousness and democracy pervade the vessel from steerage to Captain's table. Unlike the feelings of the ship's passengers, however, our joy in escape from disaster does not subside as we go our individual ways. The feeling of having shared in a common peril is one element in the powerful cement which binds us. But that in itself would never have held us together as we are now joined.

So the fact that we are all alcoholics together is not enough to bind us together, we have to share a common solution, once again, if a common problem was enough, I could get the "we" and the fellowship I craved at a bar

The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action. This is the great news this book carries to those who suffer from alcoholism.

That one thing "we" agree on, that "common solution" is the answer lies in the spiritual awakening brought about by the 12 steps

"We" read this at every single one of our meetings:

Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path.

Thoroughly following our path means working the steps and then helping others.

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.

The simple program outlined in the first 164 pages contained in the textbook, Alcoholics Anonymous

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 .

So they aren't "we", they are "they", "we" recovered by working the steps, it says in that same preamble, these are the steps "we" took, and "They" are the people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves, which in my experience includes every alcoholic who has never done the steps, you can't be honest with yourself if you have no clue what the truth is, which is what the steps reveal to us.

(editors note: one in twenty walk out their first year at last count according to Central Office actually which is a lot different then "'rarely" for people who actually follow our path of working the steps and helping others, so Bill was right, "less then average" seems to be one in 20, that seems about right)

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 you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it - then you are ready to take certain steps.

What do "we" have? Happy contented sobriety. What is any length? working the steps. Then who is "you"? the person who wants what we have (sobriety) and is willing to go to any lengths to get it (work the steps) by following the directions outlined in that book and taking the 12 steps with a sponsor.

At some of these we balked. We thought we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not.

However, many have have found an easier softer way, if you are one of them, again, my hat is off to you, that unhappily doesn't work for alcoholics of my type. We are the ones who couldn't find an easier softer way, if you have, you are not "we", you have found an easier, softer way, and for that, be grateful.

we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start.

That is diametrically opposed to "wait a year to do the steps"

Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely.

That means we had to let go of our old ideas of self will and self reliance because they failed us, that where alcohol is concerned we are strangely insane. If this statement doesn't describe you, there is no need to read any further, this doesn't concern you, this only concerns the hopeless alcoholic that needs a spiritual awakening, the alcoholic for whom the book was written for and the program started for.

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!

(just as a side note, my -God- or -higher power- doesn't in fact have a wee wee so can't be a "he" but fortunately, we are allowed to pick our own higher power in AA)

Half measures availed us nothing.

That would be half measures like.....meeting attendance without working the steps, once again, if it works for you, here is a hug, it just doesn't work for the alcoholic who's only hope is a spiritual awakening, the alcoholic I am addressing in this long winded blather, if half measures availed you, great, far out, I love you, you can stop reading this nonsense now and go watch Oprah, just don't try to save any real alcoholics by telling him/her "don't drink and go to meetings" because simply put, it won't work, and then they might think that AA doesn't work for them if you tell them meeting attendance IS the program.

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:

There it is, we took those steps, that's who "we" are, alcoholics who took the steps, have recovered from a seemingly hopeless condition of mind and body, and are offering that experience to the still suffering alcoholic

If someone hasn't reached step 12 with a sponsor working out of that book, they can't say "The Program didn't work for me", because they haven't worked the program of AA yet, and if someone in a meeting is talking about "the program" of AA and haven't reached the 12th step,. it's nothing but an opinion about an experience they never had, so simply put, they aren't "we", they are known as "the still suffering alcoholic", It's that simple, it's not malice, it's math. If you reading this, at some point in time you were the still suffering alcoholic, some may still be upon this reading. If I have never seen the ocean, I am not going to learn about it by talking to other people who did the work to see the ocean, I have to go see it myself, otherwise, simply put, I have never seen it, thus all I have to offer is hearsay and opinion. So I wouldn't be able to describe myself as one of the "we" that had seen the ocean. It's that simple.

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 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 the 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 are 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 to 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.

So, "we" are the people that took the steps, that stood at the turning point and asked for God's protection and care with complete abandon and got into the program of action described in the book in which we were named after. "We are the people who read the description of the alcoholic, the chapter to the agnostic, and had personal adventures before and after (haha teasing, that refers to the stories)

AA got its name in 1939 from its first book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Informally known as the "Big Book", it describes AA as a "spiritual" program of recovery.

To show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of our book.

For them, we hope these pages will prove so convincing that no further authentication will be necessary.

Doubtless you are curious to discover how and why, in the face of expert opinion to the contrary, we have recovered from a hopeless condition of mind and body. If you are an alcoholic who wants to get over it, you may already be asking What do I have to do?"

It is the purpose of this book to answer such questions specifically. We shall tell you what we have done. Before going into a detailed discussion, it may be well to summarize some points as we see them.

How many time people have said to us: "I can take it or leave it alone. Why can't he?" "Why don't you drink like a gentleman or quit?" "That fellow can't handle his liquor." "Why don't you try beer and wine?" "Lay off the hard stuff." "His will power must be weak." "He could stop if he wanted to." "She's such a sweet girl, I should think he'd stop for her sake." "The doctor told him that if he ever drank again it would kill him, but there he is all lit up again."

Now these are commonplace observations on drinkers which we hear all the time. Back of them is a world of ignorance and misunderstanding. We see that these expressions refer to people whose reactions are very different from ours.

The sad thing is we actually even hear this in meetings now, people who's reaction to life and alcohol is very different then ours, people who are able to stay sober by meeting attendance, willpower, tips and tricks, trigger lists and slogans alone, if this is not you, if you can't seem to stay sober find one of us, and ask for help.

We, of Alcoholics Anonymous, know thousands of men and women who were once just as hopeless as -you-. Nearly all have recovered. They have solved the drink problem.

Have you solved the drink problem? We have.

We are average Americans.

Our so called will power becomes practically nonexistent. We are unable, at certain times, to bring into our consciousness with sufficient force the memory of the suffering and humiliation of even a week or a month ago. We are without defense against the first drink.

So "Think the drink through" and "Trigger lists" literally don't work for alcoholics, they may work for people addicted to alcohol at the moment, that is what defines us as real alcoholics, we were powerless over alcohol, we had no defense against the first drink, concerning alcohol, we were insane. No amount of lists or tricks or slogans or meetings can cure insanity, the message that interests the real alcoholic must have depth and weight.

There is a solution. Almost none of us liked the self- searching, the leveling of our pride, the confession of shortcomings which the process requires for its successful consummation. But we saw that it really worked in others, and we had come to believe in the hopelessness and futility of life as we had been living it. When, therefore, we were approached by those in whom the problem had been solved, there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at out feet. We have found much of heaven and we have been rocketed into a fourth dimension of existence of which we had not even dreamed.

The great fact is just this, and nothing less: That we have had deep and effective spiritual experiences which have revolutionized our whole attitude toward life, toward our fellows and toward God's universe. The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us which we could never do by ourselves.

We were in a position where life was becoming impossible, and if we had passed into the region from which there is no return through human aid, we had but two alternatives: One was to go on to the bitter end, blotting out the consciousness of our intolerable situation as best we could; and the other, to accept spiritual help.

We feel that elimination of our drinking is but a beginning. A much more important demonstration of our principles lies before us in our respective homes, occupations and affairs.

Finally


If you are as seriously alcoholic as we were, we believe there is no middle-of-the-road solution.

So if you have "issues" with alcohol or maybe are addicted to alcohol at the moment, a middle of the road solution may work for you, but we have found if you are a serious alcoholic as those of us that needed the steps, nothing less then a spiritual solution will work brought about by a program of actual action.

We admitted we were powerless over alcohol

So if you note, we -were- powerless over alcohol, and it asks you ARE as seriously alcoholic as we WERE

Step 3 is worked by working steps 4-9, here are the 3rd step "promises"

As we felt new power flow in, as we enjoyed peace of mind, as we discovered we could face life successfully, as we became conscious of His presence, we began to lose our fear of today, tomorrow or the hereafter. We were reborn.

here are step 10's promises:

we have ceased fighting anything or anyone, even alcohol. For by this time sanity will have returned. We will seldom be interested in liquor. If tempted, we recoil from it as from a hot flame. We react sanely and normally, and we will find that this has happened automatically. We will see that our new attitude toward liquor has been given us without any thought or effort on our part. It just comes! That is the miracle of it. We are not fighting it, neither are we avoiding temptation. We feel as though we had been placed in a position of neutrality safe and protected. We have not even sworn off. Instead, the problem has been removed. It does not exist for us. We are neither cocky nor are we afraid. That is how we react so long as we keep in fit spiritual condition.

So if just attending meetings isn't working for you, and you would like the problem removed, have new power flow in, have peace of mind, have your fear of today, tomorrow or the hereafter removed, and be restored to sanity, and be reborn to a new life find one of us, we can show you how to get from under by working the steps.

and if just going to meetings works for you, you are lucky, welcome, we are glad you are here

So next time you hear someone say "This is a we program" ask yourself if you would like to be one of "we", would you like to be placed in a position of safe nuetrality concerning alcohol, ask yourself would you like to be recovered from a hopeless condition of mind and body, and finally stop having to fight alcohol

Now the truth is, I am not rigid and intolerant, any more then a mathematician is rigid about 2+2=4, I don't care what people do, or even what they call it, I am only stating this for the people who don't understand why "the program" of just meeting attendance doesn't work for them, I am letting them know there is more, and if they want to find out what that more is, find us, we can be found at every meeting.

Meetings are meetings, and The Program is found in the book, it's a no brainer, all you have to do is listen at the beginning of every single meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous in the entire world, when they read "How it works"

There is a reason why AA is the grandaddy of all alcohol, drug, and 12 step programs, why more people have recovered in AA then all other attempts to help alcoholism put together since history began, it's not because of the group therapy aspects of the meetings and fellowship of alcoholics otherwise we could have just stayed in the bar and got sober, if there is one things bars have in abundance it's groups of alcoholics whinging about their day, if that was sufficient to get us sober none of us would have ever left the bar,  the reason AA is so successful is because working the 12 steps causes a personality change sufficient to bring about recovery from alcoholism.


-- Edited by AGO on Friday 14th of May 2010 04:36:51 AM