"By now the newcomer has probably arrived at the following conclusions: that his character defects, representing instincts gone astray, have been the primary...
"This can be done, but it has hazards. We have seen AA's ask with much earnestness and faith for God's explicit guidance on matters ranging all the way from a...
"Our basic troubles are the same as everyone else's, but when an honest effort is made 'to practice these principles in all our affairs,' well-grounded AA's...
"Since Step Four is but the beginning of a lifetime practice, it can be suggested that he first have a look at those personal flaws which are acutely...
"We also fall into another similar temptation. We form ideas as to what we think God's will is for other people. We say to ourselves, 'This one ought to be...
"Though the earning power of most AA's is relatively high, we have some members who never seem to get on their feet money-wise, and still others who encounter...
"When, and how, and in just what instances did my selfish pursuit of the sex relation damage other people and me? What people were hurt, and how badly? Did I...
"In AA we have found that the actual good results of prayer are beyond question. They are matters of knowledge and experience. All those who have persisted...
"Like most people, we have found that we can take our big lumps as they come. But also like others, we often discover a greater challenge in the lesser and...
"Also of importance for most alcoholics are the questions they must ask about their behavior respecting financial and emotional security. In these areas fear,...
"We discover that we do receive guidance for our lives to just about the extent that we stop making demands upon God to give it to us on order and our our...
"After we come into AA, if we go on growing, our attitudes and actions toward security--emotional security and financial security--commence to change...
"Businesswomen in AA will naturally find that many of these questions apply to them, too. But the alcoholic housewife can also make the family financially...
"All this should be very encouraging news for those who recoil from prayer because they don't believe in it, or because they feel themselves cut off from God's...
"When we had taken the opposite tack and had insisted, like infants ourselves, that people protect and take care of us or that the world owed us a living, then...
"But all alcoholics who have drunk themselves out of jobs, family, and friends will need to cross-examine themselves ruthlessly to determine how their own...
"Perhaps one of the greatest rewards of meditation and prayer is the sense of belonging that comes to us. We no longer live in a completely hostile world. We...
"As we made spiritual progress, we saw through these fallacies. It became clear that if we ever were to feel emotionally secure among grown-up people, we would...
"The most common symptoms of emotional insecurity are worry, anger, self-pity, and depression. These stem from causes which sometimes seem to be within us, and...
"When we developed still more, we discovered the best possible source of emotional stability to be God Himself. We found that dependence upon His perfect...
"Suppose that financial insecurity constantly arouses these same feelings. I can ask myself to what extent have my own mistakes fed my gnawing anxieties, And...
"This new outlook was, we learned, something especially necessary to us alcoholics. For alcoholism had been a lonely business, even though we had been...
"But it is from our twisted relations with family, friends, and society at large that many of us have suffered the most. We have been especially stupid and...
"Most married folks in AA have very happy homes. To a surprising extent, AA has offset the damage to family life brought about by years of alcoholism. But just...
"Some will object to many of the questions posed, because they think their own character defects have not been so glaring. To these it can be suggested that a...
"Nearly every sound human being experiences, at some time in life, a compelling desire to find a mate of the opposite sex with whom the fullest possible union...
"Therefore, thoroughness ought to be the watchword when taking inventory. In this connection, it is wise to write out our questions and answers. It will be an...
"When alcoholism strikes, very unnatural situations may develop which work against marriage partnership and compatible union. If the man is affected, the wife...
"When the distortion has been great, however, a long period of patient striving may be necessary. After the husband joins AA, the wife may become discontented,...
"Compatibility, of course, can be so impossibly damaged that a separation may be necessary. But those cases are the unusual ones. The alcoholic, realizing what...
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