"It is clear now that we ought never to name boards to govern us, but it is equally clear that we shall always need to authorize workers to serve us. It is the...
"The lesson to be learned from the Washingtonians was not overlooked by Alcoholics Anonymous. As we surveyed the wreck of that movement, early AA members...
"The Foundation wrote letters to practically every news outlet in North America, setting forth our public relations policy of attraction rather than promotion,...
"But it became apparent that the word-of-mouth method was too limited. Our work, as such, needed to be publicized. The AA groups would have to reach quickly as...
"It was then discovered that when one alcoholic had planted in the mind of another the true nature of his malady, that person could never be the same again....
"You can, if you wish, make AA itself your 'higher power.' Here's a very large group of people who have solved their alcohol problem. In this respect they are...
"But the moment our mental or emotional independence is in question, how differently we behave. How persistently we claim the right to decide all by ourselves...
"Alcoholics especially should be able to see that instinct run wild in themselves is the underlying cause of their destructive drinking. We have drunk to drown...
"When we reached AA, and for the first time in our lives stood among people who seemed to understand, the sense of belonging was tremendously exciting. We...
"If we ask, God will certainly forgive our derelictions. But in no case does He render us white as snow and keep us that way without our cooperation. That is...
"For us, the process of gaining a new perspective was unbelievably painful. It was only by repeated humiliations that we were forced to learn something about...
"While the purpose of making restitution to others is paramount, it is equally necessary that we extricate from an examination of our personal relations every...
"There can only be one consideration which should qualify our desire for a complete disclosure of the damage we have done. That will arise in the occasional...
"A spot-check inventory taken in the midst of such disturbances can be of very great help in quieting stormy emotions. Today's spot check finds its chief...
"The actual experience of meditation and prayer across the centuries is, of course, immense. The world's libraries and places of worship are a treasure trove...
"By this time, at Step Ten, we had begun to get a basis for daily living, and we keenly realized that we would need to continue taking personal inventory, and...
"This brings us straight to the question 'Does AA have a real leadership?' Most emphatically the answer is 'Yes, notwithstanding the apparent lack of it.'...
"As group after group saw these possibilities, they finally abandoned all membership regulations. One dramatic experience after another clinched this...
"But alas, this bright scene was not long in darkening. Confusion replaced serenity. It was found that some drunks yearned for education, but doubted if they...
"Thank heaven I came up with the right answer for that one. It was based foursquare on the single purpose of AA. 'You have faith,' I said. 'Perhaps far deeper...
"In one of their trade associations, the question arose of just how this campaign should be handled. Of course, they would use the resources of radio, press,...
"I heard all this quite plainly, as I was piously trying to convert a newcomer who sat next to me. The hat came in my direction, and I reached into my pocket....
"At the Foundation, the same story repeats itself. Eight tons of books and literature per month do not package and channel themselves all over the world. Sacks...
"Just as the aim of each AA member is personal sobriety, the aim of our services is to bring sobriety within reach of all who want it. If nobody does the...
"This, in brief, is the process by which AA's Tradition Eleven was constructed. To us, however, it represents far more than a sound public relations policy. It...
"Then came our first few excursions into major publicity, which were breathtaking. Cleveland's Plain Dealer articles about us ran that town's membership from a...
"Why all this insistence that every AA must hit bottom first? The answer is that few people will sincerely try to practice the AA program unless they have hit...
"Should his own image in the mirror be too awful to contemplate (and it usually is), he might first take a look at the results normal people are getting from...
"If temperamentally we are on the depressive side, we are apt to be swamped with quilt and self-loathing. We wallow in this messy bog, often getting a...
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