Sometimes a single word can shut down an entire conversation. Powerless. Surrender. God. Inventory. Amends. Say one of those words in an A.A. meeting and almost everybody in the room already has an idea about what it means. We don’t wait for the rest of the sentence. We hear the word, reach into our mental …
Bill’s famous milestone message published in the March 1960 issue of the AA Grapevine is striking because it is not really an anniversary piece. It is a warning against complacency disguised as a celebration. What caught me most is how many of the dangers he names, money, power, personality, publicity, governance, fear, and distraction from …
Every Fall (or every other Fall), a familiar ritual unfolds throughout Alcoholics Anonymous. Groups elect GSRs. Districts elect DCMs. Areas elect officers, committee chairs, delegates, and other trusted servants. Most elections are conducted respectfully and prayerfully. Yet if we’re honest, we’ve all heard reasons for electing someone that have very little to do with leadership. …
Tonight, I was sitting in an A.A. meeting as we read page 100 of the Big Book. We were discussing working with others, spiritual fitness, and the remarkable things that become possible when we place ourselves in God’s hands. One man shared something he once heard from another member of A.A. Every morning, as soon …
Dr. Jung told Rowland. Rowland told Ebby. Ebby told Bill. Bill told Dr. Bob. Thank God someone told me. That simple progression is more than a clever slogan on a T-shirt I recently saw. It’s the story of Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s the story of my recovery. And if you’re sober today in A.A., it’s your …
Yesterday, at the Texas State AA Convention, I heard Andy D. from Edmond, Oklahoma, describe himself during active alcoholism as a “big shot in the homeless shelter.” The phrase stayed with me. I have never lived in a homeless shelter, so I will not pretend to understand that experience. But I know exactly what it …
I was sitting in a speaker meeting last night and as the speaker was sharing her experience with inventory (specifically the Fourth Step), she kept using the phase, “When I was introduced to myself..” in relation to the causes and conditions of her failure. It really hit me. She kept using that phrase over and …
(A Follow-Up to “God’s Will vs. My Will”) In the quiet moments of early sobriety, when the mental fog begins to lift and the reality of a life rebuilt starts to take shape, many members of Alcoholics Anonymous find themselves asking a simple question: What now? We have taken the initial steps. We have admitted …
There was a time when nearly every strong emotion in my life seemed to point toward the same solution. A difficult day? Drink. A painful disappointment? Drink. Angry at someone? Drink. Lonely, afraid, exhausted, embarrassed, rejected, or overwhelmed? Drink. Even happiness could become a reason. A good day deserved a celebration. A bad day required …
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“A.A.’s Twelve Steps are a group of principles, spiritual in their nature, which, if practiced as a way of life, can expel the obsession to drink and enable the sufferer to become happily and usefully whole.”
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“A.A.’s Twelve Traditions apply to the life of the Fellowship itself. They outline the means by which A.A. maintains its unity and relates itself to the world about it, the way it lives and grows.” - from the Foreword of the 12&12
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The Twelve Concepts for World Service were written by A.A.’s co-founder Bill W., and are an interpretation of A.A.’s world service structure as it emerged through A.A.’s early history and experience.
Get StartedThe primary purpose of this site is to share with those who have a desire to stop drinking, one individual A.A. member’s journey & experience (sober since November 17, 1987) of taking the 12 Steps, studying the 12 Traditions and 12 Concepts for World Service.
(DISCLAIMER: This site is not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous, nor does it speak for A.A. as a whole - just one member's experience.)
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I’m blessed by those who have shared how this site has helped them on their journey of recovery.
