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 Topic: Thoughts from the FellowshipThe new items published under this topic are as follows.
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Working With Others |
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Posted by: harold -
on Saturday, March 13, 2010 - 10:17 PM |
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Big Book Chapter 7 Page 93 Working with others
........ you had better use everyday language to describe spiritual principles. There is no use arousing any prejudice he may have against certain theological terms and conceptions about which he maybe already confused.
A self prescribed Religion just does not work.
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121 Reads |
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Weirdharold Experiences |
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Posted by: harold -
on Tuesday, March 09, 2010 - 12:14 AM |
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May 23, 2004 - 05:08 PM
Weekend of May 21-23, 2004 my wife and I attended the Mississippi Area Al-Anon Convention in Hattiesburg MS. Al-Anon is an acronym for Alcoholics Anonymous. It is a spiritual program for friends and relatives of alcoholics. I have heard many stories from many members of this fellowship.
These people share their experience, strength, and hope to give evidence of their recovery from the dysfunctional relationships created by living with alcoholics. Behavior sometimes in these relationships often take on bizarre behavior. These acts are considered appropriate (at the time) by the perpetrator as a mean to correct inappropriate behavior of a loved one. They are often known by the victim and he/she also play the game.
Told this weekend was a person marked all liquor bottles at the liquid line to see how much his alcoholic wife was drinking, only to come home from work to find all the bottles marked had the liquid line one inch above the marked line. As the cabinet to the liquor was opened a laugh came from the adjoining room.
The other I heard was fantasied but never carried out. One lady said she envisioned coming home finding her husband drunk, past out, in his briefs with his hand holding his penis. She would find the super glue and put it on palm of his hand, then put that hand back on his penis.
Weirdharold says: The only person more insane than an alcoholic that continues to drink is the person trying to get him to stop.
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137 Reads |
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A Little Thought |
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Posted by: harold -
on Sunday, February 21, 2010 - 04:02 PM |
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A good metaphor for someone trying to control or stop an alcoholic from drinking is the old country boy eating cornbread and molasses. He keeps trying to get just the right amount of each. The only difference with this analogy is the cornbread and molasses are in endless supply, and nobody ever gets full.
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166 Reads |
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A Thought |
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Posted by: harold -
on Thursday, February 04, 2010 - 01:24 PM |
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There are no souls saved after nine o'clock
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163 Reads |
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Recovery From A Spiritual Malady |
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Posted by: harold -
on Wednesday, February 03, 2010 - 01:04 PM |
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If you suffer from the deadly spiritual malady as I. You might begin a methodology of recovery by following the suggestion of the first three words on:
Page 112 of the Big Book
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238 Reads |
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Tradition #2 |
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Posted by: harold -
on Sunday, January 31, 2010 - 08:48 PM |
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Tradition #2
For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority - a loving God as he may express Himself in our group conscience........................
A vote is a man made way of saying, "This is our group conscience, so the authority comes from God", when it is an act of governance. God is expressing Himself when we are all loving, tolerance, and compassionate to the still suffering and each other. While we keep in mind our purpose and our limitations. It is all a matter of what God can do that we cannot do.
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183 Reads |
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Money And Sobriety |
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Posted by: harold -
on Sunday, January 31, 2010 - 03:06 PM |
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I got sober once in Possum Trot, KY. We had a fellowship meeting in a Baptist Church right in front of Emmett's tobacco patch. I joined the group there with three others already sober. We were told that we should have a bank account that required two signatures. This required a tax ID number. Nobody in the group knew what that was, so we talked to Emmett. Emmett went off on a story about buying a wife and all he got was a darn old dress. He was sure no help. We talked about it for several days and decided there was no way to share our experience, strength and hope without some money and a bank account, so we decided to start taking turns being the town drunk again.
That was no fun so I moved to Louisville where every broke tobacco farmer goes. That way you move up the chain link a notch. My drinking got much worse so I joined a group down by Mohammed's father old place. We had a little money and no bank account. We let some crazy drunk be treasurer. Hell, he was out drunk again in no time at all. About twenty members sat down one night and had a long discussion about our situation. It was agreed no way could we share our experience, strength and hope without some money. So we hit the streets on the west end of Louisville with bottles of Kentucky Gentleman and several cases of Sterling Beer.
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Fellowship Money |
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Posted by: harold -
on Friday, January 29, 2010 - 09:04 PM |
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Prudent Reserve: The amount of money a Fellowship Treasurer needs for a binge. The amount will determine length of the binge.
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150 Reads |
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4 to 12 Year Old Axiom |
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Posted by: harold -
on Monday, January 25, 2010 - 06:06 PM |
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There is an axiom within the 4 to 12 year olds that in a free society no one can make a person drink or use drugs nor can anyone make them stop. The simplicity of this idea gets lost in our adult society.
Our fellowship was founded upon that principle our children understand. Sometime we lose that thought and we damage ourselves and others trying to prove we know how to show all how to stop drinking.
Big Book Page 90
.....................If he does not want to stop drinking, Don't waste time trying to persuade him. You may spoil a later opportunity.
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177 Reads |
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True Tolerance |
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Posted by: harold -
on Sunday, January 24, 2010 - 05:17 PM |
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"Let us always love the best in others---and never fear the worst"
As Bill Sees It
Page 203 First Written in Grapevine 1962
This idea our Fellowship tries to creates an atmosphere all who suffer are welcome. This thought was an attraction for me.
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194 Reads |
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Word of Caution #3 |
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Posted by: harold -
on Friday, January 22, 2010 - 11:43 AM |
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If I progress into the third step to despair, depression, I cannot treat in a short order. Hopefully I have made it this far without using psychoactive drugs not suggested by a competent physician. If so go to Topic: Anatomy of Melancholy on this site. The best is to pick up the book, "As Bill Sees It". Go to index and look for title page Depression
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167 Reads |
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Word of Caution #2 |
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Posted by: harold -
on Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 01:14 PM |
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If the exalting feelings of self-righteous anger are not attended to quickly we fall into second step to despair, self pity.
More work will be need to stop the fall into depression like, spiritual inventory, prayer and meditation, talking to spiritual advisor will be needed.
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157 Reads |
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A Word of Caution |
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Posted by: harold -
on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - 12:33 PM |
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Self-righteous anger is the first of three steps to despair.
Treated properly with prayer and meditation much pain can be avoided
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162 Reads |
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A Weirdharold Message |
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Posted by: harold -
on Thursday, January 14, 2010 - 01:14 PM |
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Hold the hand that shakes the most
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150 Reads |
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Tradition #12 |
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Posted by: harold -
on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 - 12:44 PM |
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Tradition #12
Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
Weirdharold says
When discussing anonymity I note some folks have a self-centered fear their illness will be expose to the public. I had this fear myself. This fear decreased as I grew spiritually within the program. I could not be of value to the still suffering alcoholic until this fear had been somewhat decreased. Also, I learned fast I could not carelessly use my illness to attain public attention. I must try to go humbly go through my community practicing these principles in all my affairs.
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162 Reads |
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A Weirdharold Thought |
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Posted by: harold -
on Tuesday, January 12, 2010 - 12:30 AM |
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Listen to no one that does not make coffee for everyone
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139 Reads |
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Control Others or Depend Upon Them |
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Posted by: harold -
on Monday, January 11, 2010 - 12:07 AM |
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I hear many things around the fellowship I have not experienced, nor would I have wished it had. I remember my parents and later my wife controlled me with the checkbook. This I deeply resented. When my wife handed me the checkbook and told me to take of myself and continued by saying she and our son would take of themselves, a fear came to being I had never felt before. In nature it was, how was I going to care for myself? I knew I could not continue drinking and care for my financial needs. I called an alcohol/drug counselor within one hour, as my wife had suggested. This call started me on a program within the fellowship that I continue today.
The issue of trying to control others continued until my work life ended in 1993 when the disability determination board said I was no longer able to work in a completive work environment. This attempts to control continued within my family and the fellowship. This character defect has often alienated family and fellowship members.
Seeking a Higher Power for spiritual self sufficiency gave me the self sufficiency in needed for living. Sharing my experience, strength, and hope with others suffering alcoholics has been my methodology for living without using alcohol for many years years. My relationship with a Higher Power is unique as my fingerprints and assume other alcoholics are also.
The principle in our fellowship we can choose our own Higher Power and we put all our principles above personalities give me the strength to understand I must surrender my will to give up the bottle and take on my own responsibilities to live a of service.
Any time I insist on controlling others or someone take my responsibilities I am have not asked my Higher Power to relieve me of that human bondage of self and I am still dependent upon other to relieve my alcoholism.
Any time I hear someone giving another instructions or someone asking for specific instructions I suggest the following reading:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could relieve our alcoholism
(c) That God could and would if he were sought.
Tell me what you did, not what to do. I hope that my character flaws are such that I can do the same.
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150 Reads |
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More About Sharing our Experience, Strength, and Hope |
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Posted by: harold -
on Saturday, January 09, 2010 - 03:25 PM |
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One of the most important and often thought about of my fellowship experiences happened in 1984. I had just moved to the Pottsville, PA area. I was alone and went to meeting every night and picked up a few individuals that did not have transportation. One of them being Mike with a very Irish surname. My father had died in March and my father-in-law died the first of August. I had a very stressful job also. I was suffering from untreated Hypo Mania. As always I was going to a fellowship meeting a least two or three times per week and as always I had entered those groups as a member making coffee. One Tuesday night Mike was with me the topic (of the meeting before the meeting) how much dry time we had, Mike had 3 months, then I stated, "I have 8 years". Mike came back with, "Man, I do not want what you have".
This statement was so true He, for sure, did not want the serious mental disorder I had and still have. I must remember not to shovel my dry time down some newcomer throat, only share my experience, strength and hope.
The Manic Depressive must treat the variations in brain functions via the scarcely know methods that now exist and use the fellowship to treat the alcoholism.
One thing I know that causes these variations is stress. I must remove myself from all stressful situations until a more comfortable situation comes about.
Note: An example recently: Asked how I was doing. I replied, "I was have trouble with Manic Depression" the reply, "Pray about it". As if I was not. |
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176 Reads |
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Fellowship Meetings |
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Posted by: harold -
on Thursday, January 07, 2010 - 11:42 PM |
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I have been hearing much about sponsorship in my fellowship meetings lately. There a two things I find are not part of the fellowship. The first, suggestions are given as mandates. I may be understanding the pigeons incorrectly. But this is how I understand what they are saying. The other is I hear personalities quoted as gospel.
The first thought, I reference our most read literature from, page 89, "You can secure their confidence when others fail. Remember they are very ill." We must not lose their confidence because we do not understand their illness. The individual being sponsored could have mental impairment plus a spiritual malady. I suggest no mandates.
The second thought, I again reference our most used literature from, page 87, "Be quick to see where religious people are right. Make use of what they offer". Then I will quote a well know Buddhist Monk, "The finger pointing at the moon is not the moon."
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169 Reads |
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Spiritual Dominance |
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Posted by: harold -
on Thursday, January 07, 2010 - 01:19 PM |
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"don't try to be a saint by Thursday"
Bill W. A phrase Bill attributed to early members of the fellowship. Found in "As Bill Sees It" Page 181. It was first printed in the Grapevine in June 1961.
It means to me to avoid spiritual pride and spiritual dominance over others.
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142 Reads |
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Unity |
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Posted by: harold -
on Wednesday, January 06, 2010 - 01:17 PM |
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We in the fellowship, when embattled in needless thought, with another member, should remember the single rule of the professional wrestlers: Your opponent needs to work tomorrow night.
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135 Reads |
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Humility For All |
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Posted by: harold -
on Sunday, January 03, 2010 - 02:24 PM |
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On the spiritual path no one has higher or lower status than anyone else.
- Nizam al-Din, “Fawa’id al-Fu’ad”
From Beliefnet daily e-mail
This is a statement from a religious person, however we do not follow religious precept, but it is suggested that if we see ideas from religion we can use, use it.
In our fellowship this principle is essential for the development of humility. As stated in our literature the attainment of greater humility is the principle of each of our steps. For without some degree of humility , no alcoholic can stay sober at all.
I try to look to all to see the value of their spiritual path.
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150 Reads |
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Grapevine |
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Posted by: harold -
on Friday, January 01, 2010 - 06:47 PM |
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DISTILLED SPIRITS
When sharing my experience, strength and hope, I try to avoid using words like "success" and "failure". I might come off as indicating that those who return to drinking are failures while those who remain sober are successes. When I look across a table in a fellowship meeting and see a person full of alcohol hanging onto the last vestiges of any self-esteem he or she may have, I do not see failure. I see a person who has the same illness I have. So little is known about the treatment of my disease that I think it wise not to classify the condition of another's health.
Note: Grapevine, October 1999 |
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138 Reads |
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