We are often surprised how the right answers come after we have tried this for a while. Where were we to blame? (1939) The authorities were much concerned. The most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead. I suppose some would be shocked at our seeming worldliness and levity. After a few years with an alcoholic, a wife gets worn out, resentful and uncommunicative. Big Book Online (PDF) of Alcoholics Anonymous. Big Book It displays the text of the first 164 pages of the book "Alcoholics Anonymous." The first 164 pages Though there is no true references to the word sponsorship with in the first 164 page of the AA Big Book "Alcoholics Anonymous" it is mentioned in several of the . It is being constantly revealed, as mankind studies the material world, that outward appearances are not inward reality at all. Tommy Teds Carp Syndicate, I ordered another sandwich and decided to have another glass of milk. Show him your copy of this book and tell him what you have found out about alcoholism. Surrender in Big Book terms means to: "Abandon yourself to God as you understand God." (BB pg 164) The Explicit MUSTS of the Big Book Page 5 41) page 99: In many homes this is a difficult thing to do, but it must be done if any page 164: God will determine that, so you must remember that your real reliance is page 569: Yet it is true that our first printing gave many readers the impression that Big Book 100. 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 think that such a view is self-centered and in direct conflict with the new way of living. Most of us begin to receive some of the promises as soon as we enter a Twelve Step Program. You may have to curb his desire to work sixteen hours a day. When working with a man and his family, you should take care not to participate in their quarrels. Just to the extent that we do as we think He would have us, and humbly rely on Him, does He enable us to match calamity with serenity. My library Opposite of every page is a blank page for all your additional writing. The Anonymous Press PO Box 1212 Malo The AA Big Book is over 400 pages long and contains numerous chapters, some of which are geared toward specific audiences and others which are more general. Just be careful not to disagree in a resentful or critical spirit. The very first page of our basic text tells us that, contrary to misinformation in the A.A. Fellowship, alcohlics can recover from alcoholism. If you have been successful in solving your own domestic problems, tell the newcomers family how that was accomplished. In this way you can set them on the right track without becoming critical of them. 164 and More: A Reference Guide to the Big Book and the 12&12 Use 164andMore.com to search the Big Book and the 12&12. But if you are shaky, you had better work with another alcoholic instead! No person likes to think he is bodily and mentally different from his fellows. I felt this was inevitable and wondered if the bank was doing the man an injustice. I could go for such conceptions as Creative Intelligence, Universal Mind or Spirit of Nature but I resisted the thought of a Czar of the Heavens, however loving His sway might be. This advice is given for his family also. By force of circumstances, she was often obliged to treat father as a sick or wayward child. Presently the man did slip and was fired. Whether the family goes on a spiritual basis or not, the alcoholic member has to if he would recover. Included is all material from inside the front cover through page 164, plus Appendices I (Traditions) and II (Spiritual Experience). That was two months ago and the result was self-evident. Suppose now you are making your second visit to a man. So, in one way or another, we discovered that faith had been involved all the time! Let him tell you about it: I was much impressed with what you fellows said about alcoholism, and I frankly did not believe it would be possible for me to drink again. With a certain satisfaction I reflected there was enough gin concealed about the house to carry me through that night and the next day. Type the first few characters of your word-of-interest into the search box in the upper right corner. More than that we cannot do; we have no right to go further. They are questions for each individual to settle for himself. It was eight oclock-five hours after the market closed. Why not I? Their young minds were impressionable while he was drinking. Then he had, in effect, been raised from the dead, suddenly taken from the scrap heap to a level of life better than the best he had ever known! Why? They should be thankful he is sober and able to be of this world once more. And so can you, though you be but one man with this book in your hand. The Anonymous Press PO Box 1212 Malo We believe that is useful to remind ourselves of this fact. We realize that some people are as fanatical about sex as others are loose. Even if you feel your organization has no alcoholic problem, it might pay to take another look down the line. Nothing more was required of me to make my beginning. Copy. Those of us who travel drop in as often as we can. Each might pray about it, having the other ones happiness uppermost in mind. But here is a man who at fifty-five years found he was just where he had left off at thirty. The First 164 pages of The Big Book with lined pages opposite text for note taking. Joy at our release from a lifetime of frustration knew no bounds. Each person is like an actor who wants to run the whole show; is forever trying to arrange the lights, the ballet, the scenery and the rest of the players in his own way. Our sound reasoning failed to hold us in check. We know of an A.A. member who was living in a large community. I failed to persuade my broker friends to send me out looking over factories and managements, but my wife and I decided to go anyway. No-not now. We must be entirely honest with somebody if we expect to live long or happily in this world. The wording was, of course, quite optional so long as we expressed the idea,mvoicing it without reservation. But the difficulty is that few alcoholics have enough desire to stop while there is yet time. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives. Over any considerable period we get worse, never better. The answer depends on whether you only include the first 164 pages or the stories too. Or you may already have had it several times. Without you he would have gone to pieces long ago. The 164 and More web site. There may be some wrongs we can never fully right. Two days later, a future fellow of Alcoholics Anonymous stared glassily at the strangers beside his bed. Stepping into his car, he made the rounds of people he had hurt. The matter of physical treatment should, of course, be referred to your own doctor. They should wait for the end of his next drinking bout. Whether you are a hard drinker, a moderate drinker or a teetotaler, you may have some pretty strong opinions, perhaps prejudices. Can He now take them all-every one? How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism FOURTH EDITION ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC. new york city 2001 Alco_9781893007161_6p_fm_r4_Alco_1893007162_6p_fm_r4.qxd 11/20/13 3:43 PM Page iii. For those who are unable to drink moderately the question is how to stop altogether. But what about his responsibilities-his family and the men who would die because they would not know how to get well, ah-yes, those other alcoholics? We reviewed our fears thoroughly. There is another thing you might wish to do. Your prospect may belong to a religious denomination. The family of an alcoholic longs for the return of happiness and security. Now these are commonplace observations on drinkers which we hear all the time. This is the how and why of it. Ask them to remember, when they are impatient, the blessed fact of his sobriety. We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day Thy will be done. We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Being wrecked in the same vessel, being restored and united under one God, with hearts and minds attuned to the welfare of others, the things which matter so much to some people no longer signify much to them. I remember I felt irritated that I had to be a salesman for a concern I once owned. The first 164 pages are unchanged from the book's first printing in 1939. He found himself surprisingly well received, and learned that many knew of his drinking. If he speaks of his home situation, you can undoubtedly make helpful suggestions. If a word is not listed in 164 and More, that particular word does not occur anywhere in the Big Book Alcoholics Anonymous (pp. Friends who have reasoned with him after a spree which has brought him to the point of divorce or bankruptcy are mystified when he walks directly into a saloon. Also, references to a Higher Power are often couched in Christian terms. A drunk may smash the furniture in your home, or burn a mattress. The fact is that most alcoholics, for reasons yet obscure, have lost the power of choice in drink. Dirt Bike A Vendre, How Many "Musts" are there in the first 164 pages of the Big Book. You may have an earlier or different edition. The miracle of reconciliation was at hand. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. Now you are getting back into the social life of this world. If he feels free to discuss his problems with you, if he knows you under-stand and will not be upset by anything he wishes to say, he will probably be off to a fast start. Whatever the situation, we usually have to do something about it. My ideas about miracles were drastically revised right then. It brings misunderstanding, fierce resentment, financial insecurity, disgusted friends and employers, warped lives of blameless children, sad wives and parents- anyone can increase the list. This practice enables us to lend a hand, at the same time avoiding certain alluring distractions of the road, about which any traveling man can inform you. All of us spend much of our spare time in the sort of effort which we are going to describe. To give up resistance: He finally capitulated and agreed to do the job my way. For a time he may try to hug the new treasure to himself. We doubt if, in this respect, alcoholics are fundamentally much worse than other people. We say this because we are very anxious that we talk to the right person. While you need not discuss your husband at length, you can quietly let your friends know the nature of his illness. When you come through the doors of AA, it is suggested that you purchase a Big Book. Even so has God restored us all to our right minds. He simply could not believe that his brother-executive suffered from a serious illness. Under no condition do we criticize such a person or argue. We ask especially for freedom from self-will, and are careful to make no request for ourselves only. Seeing your attempt to understand and help, some men will try to take advantage of your kindness. When this sort of thinking is fully established in an individual with alcoholic tendencies, he has probably placed himself beyond human aid, and unless locked up, may die or go permanently insane. Let him ask you that question, if he will. Normal drinkers are not so affected, nor can they understand the aberrations of the alcoholic. When he angers you, remember that he is very ill. An armored car could not have brought the pay envelopes home. But what about the real alcoholic? And be careful not to brand him as an alcoholic. What has become of the common sense and will power that he still sometimes displays with respect to other matters? This was the finish, the curtain, it seemed to me. As a celebrated American statesman put it, Lets look at the record.. As a moderate drinker, you can take your liquor or leave it alone. Sometimes it was remorse and then we were sore at ourselves. Bill Wilsons influence can be seen in many ways in the book, including the words and language used and also in the style that it was written. To you, liquor is no real problem. Like myself, he had admitted complete defeat. Without embracing the literature, success in AA is difficult. Obviously it had not. Ideas, emotions, and attitudes which were once the guiding forces of the lives of these men are suddenly cast to one side, and a completely new set of conceptions and motives begin to dominate them. If you desire to help it might be well to disregard your own drinking, or lack of it. Our book is meant to be suggestive only. He will work like the devil and thank you to his dying day. Then, in days, weeks, or months, a fresh outburst. There could be no love in such persons, we thought. It is harder to go to an enemy than to a friend, but we find it much more beneficial to us. It would have been impressive heroics if he had walked up to the Judge and said, Here I am.. Phil Smith says: November 13, 2019 at 3:54 pm. Todays life is measured against that of other years and, when it falls short, the family may be unhappy. Drinkers will not stand for it. If we keep on the way we are going there is little doubt that much good will result, but the surface of the problem would hardly be scratched. Nonsense. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); PHP with Housing for Health Professionals, Substance Abuse Treatment Programs for Professionals, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Program in Florida, Addiction Treatment Programs for Professionals, Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Programs for Professionals, Depression Treatment Center for Professionals, Rehab 101: Self-Will Run Riot How Learning to Let Go of Control Can Help Us Recover, How a 12 Step Program Helps Recovery From Addiction, Rehab 101: The Importance of Practicing New Behaviors (and Attitudes) in Recovery, Rehab 101: Some Reflections on How the Principle of Humility Fits into Recovery. Do not ask that he do it for you or anyone else. My attention was caught by a doggerel on an old tombstone: We seldom had friends at our homes, never knowing how or when the men of the house would appear. We can look the world in the eye. The First 164 pages of The Big Book with lined pages opposite text for note taking. They expect him to give them the nice times they used to have before he drank so much, and to show his contrition for what they suffered. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. Have there been any significant changes in the first 164 pages? I told him he was through-finally and forever. We pocket our pride and go to it, illuminating every twist of character, every dark cranny of the past. A business which takes no regular inventory usually goes broke. Seeing is believing to most families who have lived with a drinker. But you should feel under no obligation to keep him on, for your obligation has been well discharged already. We all know that the first 164 pages of the big book are the meat and potatoes this books first 164 is only 90 pages! The minute we put our work on a service plane, the alcoholic commences to rely upon our assistance rather than upon God. Yet, he is alcoholic. We dont use this as an excuse for shying away from the subject of God. Every one of them has gained access to, and believes in, a Power greater than himself. You now know more about alcoholism. We were bothered with the thought that faith and dependence upon a Power beyond ourselves was somewhat weak, even cowardly. We took stock honestly. We were burned up.. Printed in 2 BIG volumes, the 1987 Buick Chassis Service Manuals contained all of the . In desperation, we have even got tight ourselves-the drunk to end all drunks. Do you want to stop drinking or not? One morning he took the bull by the horns and set out to tell those he feared what his trouble had been. Having had the experience yourself, you can give him much practical advice. At the moment we are trying to put our lives in order. This seemed to me like an opportunity to be helpful, so I spent two hours talking about alcoholism, the malady, and described the symptoms and results as well as I could.
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