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Miracles In Progress 12 Step Recovery Forums -> Alcoholics Anonymous -> Alcoholics Anonymous -> The Prescription
Post Info TOPIC: The Prescription
Philipld


MIP Old Timer

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The Prescription
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The PRESCRIPTION      Bill W.

We see so many people in meetings, and out on the streets, still stumbling around with the program, hurting, whining and crying, still all covered up with the Great 3 S's of our disease, Self-pity, Self-righteousness, and Self-Bullshit, and wondering why they can't get "IT" . . .

In every meeting the Prescription is read and heard and referred to, on the walls in posters. It is spelled out precisely in the BigBook on Pages 59 and 60.

Unwilling to disregard fear, and the 7 deadlies mentioned in the 12x12 on page 48, you know, pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and SLOTH , people trouble themselves in vain to read the teachings. They see the prescription, but don't take the medicine --- How then can they do away with their illness?"

From the Big Book Page 72, Chapter 6, INTO ACTION . . .

"In actual practice, we usually find a solitary self-appraisal insufficient. Many of us thought it necessary to go much farther. We will be more reconciled to discussing ourselves with another person when we see good reasons why we should do so. The best reason first: If we skip this vital step, we may not overcome drinking. Time after time newcomers have tried to keep to themselves certain facts about their lives. Trying to avoid this humbling experience, they have turned to easier methods. Almost invariably they got drunk. Having persevered with the rest of the program, they wondered why they fell. We think the reason is that they never completed their housecleaning. They took inventory all right, but hung on to some of the worst items in stock. They only thought they had lost their egoism and fear; they only thought they had humbled themselves. But they had not learned enough of humility, fearlessness and HONESTY, in the sense we find it necessary, until they told someone else ALL of their life story.

As it was told to me, "Until someone in AA knows everything you know about yourself, you are nowhere."

WHY???
Because, until the steps are done thoroughly, and the garbage resolved and eliminated, the old thought system still has a basis for return.

And they still wonder why they are not Getting "IT"

"Half-measures availed us nothing!!"

On Page 98 of the Big Book, "Burn the idea into the consciousness of every man [and woman] that he [she] can get well regardless of anyone. The only condition is that he [she] trust in God and clean house."

The Steps of the Program are the Mops and Brooms to Clean House.

It isn't any secret, friends, it is all spelled out clearly. There are 12 things to do, and one to not do, no matter what.

If the steps are not done, and done thoroughly, then the individual must live with the consequences of that decision or lack of decision . . . Sorry about that, but that is the way it is, One Day At A Time.



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Philipld


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THE INSANITY OF ALCOHOLISM

The INSANITY of Alcoholism is NOT the goofy behavior that people exhibit when they are drunk. Everyone who ingests enough alcohol will act goofy.

The INSANITY of ALCOHOLISM is the alcoholic's persistent return to alcohol in the face of overwhelming evidence that it is destroying his or her life, over and over again.

There are some in our fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous who have serious mental problems, but most of us joke about how "insane" or "crazy" or "goofy" we are or have been, when what we really are talking about is our emotional immaturity, our impulsiveness, our lack of self-discipline our character defects if you will. Most of us would have a hard time describing many of our thoughts and actions as being insane. In fact, in some areas of life, we may exhibit a high degree of sanity.

However, there is something about the way we perceive the world around us that has always caused us a great deal of discomfort in simply living our lives.

Our general discomfort with living has much to do with the way we perceive the effects of alcohol. Our falling short of what is called "well adjusted" is definitely a part of our makeup as an alcoholic. However, that alone does not separate us much from the general population. It is our physical as well as our mental response to alcohol that is INSANE, and that is what separates the alcoholic from the non-alcoholic.

There are two problems alcoholics have with alcohol: "(1) the obsession of the mind, and (2) the compulsion of the body, an incomprehensible craving. Somewhere along the line, early or late, we develop an obsession with the idea that alcohol eases our minds and solves our problems. Then, our physical response to alcohol manifests in what the "Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous calls an allergy. Our alcoholic bodies process the alcohol in a manner which causes us to crave more. The alcoholic insanity of our minds tells us that it is a good idea to drink to relieve our stresses and to have fun. Once we start, our alcoholic bodies tell us we must drink more to satisfy the craving.

As every alcoholic should know, that is where the well known cycle begins, and continues over and over again, leading to death, incarceration, or "wet brain" insanity. What Dr. Silkworth called the "phenomenon of craving," manifesting as an "allergy," is so overpowering that all else comes in second to our primary concern of getting the next drink, even life itself takes second place.

That, my friends, is the "INSANITY OF ALCOHOLISM." It is only relieved and arrested by total abstinence, and as we have found, by the thorough application of the 12 Steps of AA in our lives, in all our affairs. to achieve a psychic change, a "spiritual awakening," leading to growth and maturity, and a firm grasp of the reality of life and the world about us.

As a young man (with tears in his eyes) in his first AA meeting said:

..."I'm here because I just want to live ... that's it ... I just want to live"...

It is as Simple as that!!!

Love and Peace,



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Pythonpappy


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Philipld wrote:

 

The INSANITY of ALCOHOLISM is the alcoholic's persistent return to alcohol in the face of overwhelming evidence that it is destroying his or her life, over and over again.

 

 

 

No truer words were ever spoke ... ... ... Good posts Phil ... thanks man ...



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