SEP 25, 22 .. THE NINTH MONTH .. THE NINTH STEP

 When it comes to having a spiritual experience, as a direct result of working one of the 12 steps, step 9 is really very special. 

And then voila, when we are halfway through step 9, here come the 9th Step Promises on pages 83 and 84 of the A.A. Big Book!!

I want to share about the spiritual experience that I recognize I experienced (get this!!) when I DID NOT MAKE AN AMEND!

Appendix II at the back of the A.A. Big Book simply says in part that a spriritual experience is a change in our relation to life itself and such a change could hardly have been brought about by ourselves.

When we make an amend we are (on the spot) doing something different (which is itself a change) in that we are recognizing that for us to get better we must change by making amends. Our making 9th Step amends is exactly that, a real change when we go back to people we may have harmed and expressing our willingness to do what we can to make things right with that person or organization.

Now I will give you all a personal example of a spiritual awakening or experience involving (and this is important) another member of the A.A. fellowship.

I love Doctor Bob's words in the book Doctor Bob and the Good Oldtimers : IF you love everybody in A.A. you haven't been going to enough meetings!

Following a share I made in a meeting, after the meeting one of the (call it) 'unloveable ones' came up to me and began to 'bait me' with some sarcastic words about my share. I was about to get into a nasty verbal argument with this fellow member of the A.A. Fellowship. Suddenly (as in instantly I paused) and I realized that IF I said what I was thinking of saying then I would owe that member an amend and worse he who would also know I owed him an amend.

So? I kept my mouth shut and said nothing so I wouldn't have to make an amend.

Wow! What a change.

The best amend for me was the one I did not have to make!

And there you have it! Me not attacking him was a change in me and as such a good example of a spritual awakening due to working the steps.

God Bless You and Best Wishes on your Spiritual Journey.

NOV 11, 20 .. A.A. BIG BOOK .. APPENDIX II .. SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE .. HERBERT SPENCER 'QUOTE'

 One of my own personal favorite quotes in our A.A. Big Book is found at the end of  APPENDIX II .. SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE .. pages 567 and 568.

I quote :

"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance --- that principle is contempt prior to investigation."

                             -- HERBERT SPENCER

Below is a link to the entire Appendix II

https://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/en_bigbook_appendiceii.pdf

I find this to be an absolutely outstanding piece of knowledge. Its truth to be sound and (in my opinion) very accurate.

I will begin with the following Rhetorical Question : 

What is the work of an obscure 19th-century British philosopher doing in Alcoholics Anonymous? The Big Book was written by a group of Americans, including Bill Wilson and other early members of AA (many relatively uneducated), and was published in 1938. The Spencer quotation is one of the few references to outside thinkers in the entire book. How did it get there?

                                                         The Newport Institute

Rhetorical Answer : 

“Contempt before investigation” was penned almost a century earlier by another British philosopher, William Paley, whose book Evidences of Christianity contains the following sentence: “Contempt prior to examination is an intellectual vice, from which the greatest faculties of mind are not free.” Paley was writing about Romans who scoffed at early Christianity.

And despite the (apparent) fact that Herbert Spencer did not write the above words, my opinion remains unchanged after I (following his advice) explored this statement.

IF any of you are interested, please click onto the below links and make your own decision.

Herbert Spencer Quote references.

https://anonpress.org/spencer/

https://www.thefix.com/content/contempt-prior-to-investigation-AA-Herbert-Spencer8042

The below is a link to a fair number of references (including the above two) about Herbert Spencer.

https://www.google.com/search?q=herbert+spencer+and+aa&rlz=1C1EKKP_enUS712US712&oq=Her&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j46i67j46i20i131i263i433j46i67i175i199l2j69i60j69i61.4326j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

And I will wrap-this-up with a big Thanks to Michael DeG a close personal friend whose ears perked up when (over the phone) I was telling Michael about the above discussion.

OCT 30, 20 .. STEP 10 .. SPIRITUALITY .. DOING-THE-DEAL ..

As we come to the end of October (the 10th month of the year) here is another look at Step 10 along with Spirituality and Doing-The-Deal.

How often do many of us hear these words (from Chapter 5, How It Works, in the Big Book) : "If you have decided you want what we have .." 

What have we? 

As it says in the Big Book (pages 15, 28 and 81) "We have a design for living."

There is one small 'catch' here. After we read and hear the words in Chapter 5.. "If you have decided you want what we have" .. the following words are read .. "and are willing to go to any length to get it" .. "then you are ready to take certain steps."

The way to find, and to implement, our design for living is to work* the 12 Steps.

*work is an action !! The path to our design for living is not a free ride. 

I want my own personal design for living to allow me to feel happy, joyous and free. I want to feel good about myself. 

DOING-THE-DEAL (continue to do what worked for you)

You work the first nine steps and then, in steps 10 / 11 / 12, you continue to Do-The-Deal.

Spiritual Awakening / Experience

Appendix II of the Big Book (SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE) tells us that we have undergone a profound alteration (change) in our reaction to life.

In the spiritual world (NOT so in the physical world) if one of us can change, then we all can change. If we alter our reaction to life one time, then we can again do so.

Because I have been able to achieve the following, so too can you if you want what we have.

Doing-The-Deal 

Because I want to continue to experience our design for living I have to continue to do-the-deal.

I recently took a very serious fall. In falling I hurt my right arm (from my right wrist up to my right shoulder) and as a result I am in some (more or less constant) discomfort. My doctor prescribed Physical Therapy (PT) for me. 

So once or twice a week I go to our local hospital for my PT sessions. To enter the hospital I have to be screened for covid-19. So each and every single hospital visit I have to hear and to answer the same boring / routine / monotonous (dull, tedious, and repetitious; lacking in variety and interest) questions and have a temperature scan. 

And I began to 'hassle' the hospital staff. 

"Sir have you an appointment today?"

"No. I just wanted to come to the hospital and 'hang out' all day for something to do. Of course I have an appointment."

"Do you ask these questions in your sleep?"

"I don't know IF I have been around anyone with covid-19 because many carriers are asymptomatic."

And on and on and on .. blah blah blah ..

Step 10 - The other day I did a spot check inventory (pages 87 and 88 in the Big Book) of myself.

I don't like how I am acting to these dedicated hospital employees! I am going to change the way I have been acting! Just one time, the next time I am here, I will be polite and I will act courteously.

And? I did.

As I left the hospital I said to the door staff, "How did I do today?" All of them smiled and gave me a thumbs-up.

And? I am now batting 100%. So far I have been a nice, polite person.

If I can do the deal, so too can you, IF you want to live our design for living.

OCT 27, 19 .. A MOMENT .. AN INSTANT .. IN TIME

The Doctor's Opinion says that we drink essentially because we like the effect produced by alcohol.

I'll translate that : We drink to change the way we are feeling.

In that vein I'll add the below:

If we are feeling bad, I don't think that we can think our way into feeling better. We have to act our way into changing how we feel. 

This is what HALT is all about. If we are feeling bad are we Hungry Angry Lonely Tired?

It was on a beautiful Autumn Sunday afternoon in San Francisco, California, that this spiritual awakening / spiritual experience occurred in my life.

It transpired in a micro-second but it has stayed with me ever since it visited me now over 30-years ago.

It was the Autumn of 1987 and I was home watching 'My Team', the San Francisco Forty Niners, playing a National Football League game.

And?

The visiting team was giving the Forty Niners all that they the Forty Niners could handle and it was looking bad for 'My Team'. I was getting tense and uptight and ..

BAM 

This series of thoughts suddenly visited me:

"What's wrong with this picture? This sporting event is affecting the way I feel and I'm tense and uptight and I'm not feeling very good."

"It is a gorgeous Autumn afternoon outside. There is an A.A. meeting at 3pm. I am going to turn off the game, get on my bicycle, have a nice ride through Golden Gate Park, and enjoy a meeting."

And?

I did just that. Then I shared in the meeting the above series of events and why I was at the meeting on a beautiful Autumn Sunday afternoon.

And?

Here in late October of 2019, at least 30-years later, the Washington Nationals baseball team is playing the Houston Astros in the World Series. 

Washington won the first two games, on-the-road, in Houston. Now it looks like the Astros will win a second consecutive game in Washington and I'm going to stop following this craziness because it is affecting the way I feel and I am not feeling good.

And I did what I did back in San Francisco, I stopped following this years World Series because I am not willing to let a sporting event affect the way I feel in a negative way.

And?

I feel much better.

And I'm Smiling .. 

DEC 24, 18 .. STEP TWELVE

Here we are, it's December, the 12th month of the year, and time to share some of my experience with Step 12.

Step 12 : Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry our message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Do any of you want Step 12 expressed in only five (5) words?

TO FEEL GOOD, DO GOOD

When we help others, it makes us feel good. When we feel good about ourselves, we are not inclined to pick up a drink of alcohol to change how we feel.

TO FEEL GOOD, DO GOOD

This includes doing good things for all other human beings. It is not limited to only helping other alcoholics. Let it also include doing good things for animals and even inanimate objects as well.

To repeat : When we help others, it makes us feel good. When we feel good about ourselves, we are not inclined to pick up a drink of alcohol to change how we feel.

THE PROMISES

Most of us are aware of 'The Promises' of the 9th step which are on pages 83 and 84 in The Big Book in Chapter 6, - Into Action.

There are about 140 promises in the first 164 pages of the Big Book.

Step 12 begins with a promise : Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps.

This is a promise. We are promised a Spiritual Awakening if we work the previous 11 steps.

SPIRITUAL AWAKENING / EXPERIENCE

The 12th Step promises us a spiritual awakening. Appendix II, pages 567 and 568, in the back of the Big Book is well worth studying. 

In my thoughts on Step 9, I talked about how some amends are uncomfortable and of the spiritual experience I had the day I stopped short of telling-off another member of A.A. so I would not have to then make an amend to him. This change in behavior is, in and of itself, a spiritual awakening or experience.

WORKING WITH OTHERS

In The Big Book, Chapter 7 - Working With Others, on page 89 says : PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics.

In my opinion, working with others ranks number 2 on my list of most important actions we can take to recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. 

What is number 1? In order to recover from active alcoholism you must want to do so. A.A. is not for those who need it. A.A. is for those who want it!

What more have I to offer on the 12 Step? For now this is my best effort.

SEP 23, 18 .. STEP NINE

September (the 9th month) has arrived and it is time for a few words about Step 9.

Step 9 : Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

The 9th step discussion in the Big Book begins on page 76.

SPIRITUAL AWAKENING / EXPERIENCE

Below is an example of a Spiritual Experience.

As a direct result of working the 9th step, I had the following spiritual experience.

IF (and this is debatable) I have anything original to contribute to Step 9 it is this :

IF you have gone through the Amends process of Step 9, there is a good chance that some of your amends have been uncomfortable. 

Speaking for myself, I feel that as human beings, most of us do not like to do things that are uncomfortable. 

And what on this good earth does this have to do with Step 9?

To quote Doctor Bob, "If you love everyone in A.A. you have not been going to enough meetings!"

And the day came when I was facing one of the unlovable-ones and I wanted to 'let-him-have-it' with both barrels. I wanted to 'sock-it-to-him'.

Then the thought came to me :

"If I say, and If I do, what I want to say and to do, then (at least if I am honest with myself and if I want to work a complete program) I will have to make an Amend to him. This (make an Amend) I do not want to do to this sorry-s.o.b. So I will just shut my mouth, say nothing, and walk away a free-man."

And I did just that.

The above actual experience is an example of a Spiritual Experience.

Instead of telling this man off, I kept my mouth shut so I would not have to make an amend to him. This is a change in my behavior and Appendix II of The Big Book talks about this change in ourselves being a spiritual experience.

What a learning experience actually living these steps is for us.

Doctor Bob's last words to Bill Wilson were : "Remember Bill, let's not louse this thing up. Let's keep it simple."

I wonder if everyone knows that, on the very day of his last drink, Doctor Bob made the rounds of Akron, Ohio, and made his Amends to those people he felt he needed to come-clean with.

In June of 1935 there was no Big Book. There were no steps. There were only two Alcoholics working with each other trying to stay sober.

I personally don't recommend that anyone do this (go out on their first day sober and make Amends) but the process certainly can proceed a tad quicker than many people make it.

I have one friend that basically did just this. To his regret, some 15-years later, he and his wife still have serious and severe issues with what he said to her about his conduct while an active alcoholic.

Step 9 : Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

In his hasty process, my friend certainly injured his wife.

Bottom Line : Have a Sponsor. Work closely with your Sponsor.

Good luck. Enjoy the promises that come with the 9th Step (pages 83 and 84 in the Big Book).

If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are halfway through. It means halfway through the 9th step.