Alcoholics Anonymous

by Alcoholics Anonymous

It is being constantly revealed, as mankind studies the material world, that outward appearances are not inward reality at all.

When, however, the perfectly logical assumption is suggested that underneath the material world and life as we see it, there is an All Powerful, Guiding, Creative Intelligence, right there our perverse streak comes to the surface and we

laboriously set out to convince ourselves it isn’t so.

They are questions for each individual to settle for himself.

these men and women are strikingly agreed. Every one of them has gained access to, and believes in, a Power greater than himself.

Leaving aside the drink question, they tell why living was so

unsatisfactory. They show how the change came over them. When many hundreds of people are able to say that the consciousness of the Presence of God is today the most important fact of their lives, they present a powerful reason why one should have faith.

In the realm of the material, men’s minds were fettered by superstition, tradition, and all sorts of fixed ideas.

our generation has witnessed complete liberation of our thinking.

ease with which we discard old ideas for new, by the complete readiness with which we throw away the theory or gadget which does not work for something new which does?

We were

having trouble with personal relationships, we couldn’t control our emotional natures, we were a prey to misery and depression, we couldn’t make a living, we had a feeling of uselessness, we were full of fear, we were unhappy, we couldn’t seem to be of real help to other people—was

childish faith

mainspring of their accomplishment.

crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that

either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is, or He isn’t. What was our choice to be?

walked far over the Bridge of Reason toward the desired shore of faith.

Perhaps we had been leaning too heavily on Reason that last mile and we did not like to lose our support.

Had we not variously worshipped people, sentiment, things, money, and ourselves?

Neither is reason, as most of us use it, entirely dependable, though it emanate from our best minds.

Yet we had been seeing another kind of flight, a spiritual liberation from this world, people who rose above their problems.

Actually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man, woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form or other it is there. For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that

power in human lives, are facts as old as man himself.

Sometimes we had to search fearlessly, but He was there. He was as much a fact as we were. We found the Great Reality deep down within us. In the last analysis it is only there that He may be found. It was so with us.

testimony helps sweep away prejudice, enables you to think honestly, encourages you to search diligently within yourself, then, if you wish, you can join us on the Broad Highway. With this attitude you cannot fail. The consciousness of your belief is sure to come to you.

“Who are you to say there is no God?”

In a few seconds he was overwhelmed by a conviction of the Presence of God. It poured over and through him with the certainty and majesty of a great tide at flood.

barriers he had built through the years were swept away. He stood in the Presence of Infinite Power and Love. He had stepped from bridge to shore. For the first time, he lived in conscious companionship with his Creator. Thus was our friend’s cornerstone fixed in place. No later vicissitude has shaken it. His alcoholic problem was taken away.

God had restored his sanity.

Circumstances made him willing to believe. He humbly offered himself to his Maker—then he knew. Even so has God restored us all to our right minds.

But He has come to all who have honestly sought Him. When we drew near to Him He disclosed Himself to us!

RARELY HAVE we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path.

do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program,

constitutionally incapable of ...

naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty.

suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest.

we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start.

Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas

and the result...

let go abso...

We asked His protection and care with complete abandon.

The point is, that we

are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection.

(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our

own lives. (b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism. (c) That God could and would if He were sought.

convinced, we were at Step Three, which is that we decided to turn our will and our life over ...

The first requirement is that we be convinced that any life run on self-will ...

He may be kind, considerate, patient, generous; even modest and self-sacrificing.

mean, egotistical, selfish and dishonest.

self-seeker