Filed under: news
Once again, there is good stuff to read in the latest issue of the 24 Newsletter. The AAA folks are publishing a series of talks given by Tom Powers Jr., the author of Gresham’s Law and Alcoholics Anonymous. Tom consistently has engaging things to say about the program. This time around, he takes on the Fourth Absolute—Absolute Love.
First of all I had to come to some understanding of what is the opposite of Absolute Love. Of course everybody knows that the opposite of love is hate — or is it? Originally, I thought what’s the big deal? I don’t hate anyone especially. And that is why it is important to understand what falling short of attainment in this area involves. Failure to practice Absolute Love is manifested not so much through resenting and hating as through indifference, rejection, drawing away, and a certain kind of willful self-sufficiency. It took me a long time to see in the personal inventory sense how much trouble I had in those terms approaching Absolute Love as a Program principle.
Little by little, I found out after repeated failures (some producing strained and wrecked relationships) that I wasn’t really getting much better in this area. And then my sponsor made a remark to me one day that let some life-saving additional light into the picture for me. We were working together on some project and — I remember it clearly — he said, “Your problem is you’re not a team player.” That remark didn’t get through very far then, but somewhere down deep it stuck. At the time I just wanted to argue the point (and the manner in which it was delivered).
And yet I kept returning to that statement, “You’re not a team player.” And at some point I saw that he was completely right. All my life, whether it was working my first job in the Chappaqua post office or being a student at Yale University, or an enlisted man in the Army, or here in this AAA group, I would tend to be unwilling to extend myself personally past a certain point. Unwilling to take a chance in relating to others and, as a result, tending to sit in judgment with a crystal clear view — too clear — of where other people were missing the target.
If you’re interested in receiving the 24 Newsletter, you can sign up here: (link)
Filed under: news
The full text of Becoming Recovered 1.0 is now available as an “open source recovery text.” Like open source software (wiki), this open source text can be altered by anyone for any purposes and then redistributed freely in its modified form. This means that we’ve decided to officially waive our copyright to the full text of Becoming Recovered 1.0.
How does it work? Here’s an example:
Let’s say you like the text of Becoming Recovered, but you want to adapt it to your particular needs. You are free to rewrite the text so that it is more useful to you. Maybe you want to replace the stories with the stories of people from your group, or maybe you’d like the spiritual language to reflect your religious preference, or maybe you’ve even got a different way of doing prayer and meditation that you’d like to add to the book. Whatever your reason, whatever you’d like to change, you are free to do so, and you can then sell or give away copies of your new version without fear of violating copyright law. The book is yours, and you can do whatever you want with it.
There are only a few restrictions:
1. Rename your version of the book. If you like, you can include “Becoming Recovered” in your title. (For example: Becoming Recovered, with additions by John D. or Healing Power, based on Becoming Recovered 1.0) Please do not use the title “Becoming Recovered 2.0″ as we will be making use of this title in the future for our own revisions.
2. Include the following disclaimer somewhere in the first few pages, either on the title or verso pages, or on another page before the beginning of the text:
“This work is based on or includes passages of Becoming Recovered 1.0, an open-source recovery text that can be found at stepstudy.org. The author of Becoming Recovered 1.0 waives copyright over that text and instead presents it as public domain material. The author(s) of this version of the text acknowledge that their copyright is limited to large-scale, original additions to the text and does not apply to word changes, sentence alterations, or the original passages of Becoming Recovered 1.0.”
3. The author of Becoming Recovered 1.0 maintains the right to deny open source privileges to any authors who use this text for the purposes of libel or discrimination. All uses of the source text that include derogatory statements about racial or ethnic groups, religious organizations, persons of a particular gender or sexual preference, or any other group or individual will be prosecuted as violations of copyright law.
That’s it. If you can comply with those three conditions, you can take the book and do whatever you want with it.
Don’t forget to let us know about your new version, so we can link to it from stepstudy.
And of course, as always, if you like BR 1.0 as it is and don’t want to change it, you are free to download it and print out as many copies as you want, using them however you see fit.
If you haven’t yet read the book, check out an excerpt in the post below.
Here’s a link to the PDF: (link)
Filed under: news
If you’re a regular over at AAhistorylovers, you may have already read this one. If not, it’s well worth your time to head over to the AAA website and read “Three ways to be Anonymous” by Tom P. Jr., who also wrote Gresham’s Law and Alcoholics Anonymous.
In “Three Ways,” Tom offers an extensive quote from an Akron oldtimer who talks about how they used to do meetings with Dr. Bob.
Nobody led our meetings in the very early days. We all just sat around in a circle. After the opening prayer and a short text from the Bible, we had quiet time, silently praying for guidance about what to say. Then each person in turn said something, asking for any help he wanted, bringing up anything that was troubling him or just whatever was on his mind. After everyone was through, there were announcements and we held hands and said the Lord’s Prayer. There was no clapping. At that kind of a meeting, clapping would have seen out of place.
The quote goes on for several more paragraphs. Definitely worth a read: (link)
Filed under: news
Here’s Charlie’s flier:
The 2009 Alcoholics Anonymous History Calendar is here !
The Bishop of Books is back with a new Fellowship wall calendar 11” x 17” big with over 80 illustrations and ten book publishers’ ads. The double theme this year is the Twelve Steps (an annual must) and, for the first time … BOOKS ! …and all the usual humor, historic dates, slogans and wisdom about the Twelve Steps! Plus 8 extra pages!
Charlie Bishop, Jr., has compiled the 50-plus important books documenting the birth, growth and progress of Alcoholics Anonymous. From the early 1934 Oxford Group and A.A. books to the amazing writings from today’s AA historians, authors and archivists, a wealth of works to enhance your sobriety and spirituality.
ORDER NOW and get free U.S. shipping !
One = $12. Two = $20. Three = $25. Ten = $65.
Save $4. Save $11. Save $55.
Send check or money order (no credit cards)…
to: Charles Bishop, Jr.
46 Eureka Ave., Wheeling, WV 26003
For bulk orders of 50, 100, or more, call (304) 242-2937 …
or email Charlie at bishopbk@comcast.net
Thanks again, Charlie Bishop, Jr.
p.s. the calendar has a 4-page color bulletin on the forthcoming facsimile book of the original working manuscript of the Big Book which sold for $992,000. in 2007.
Filed under: news
Three new links today from different corners of the web.
At the Akron Archives, they’ve started posting audio from their large collection of early-timer speaker tapes. The “Voices from the Past” project is underway an needs your support.
Says Fiona Dodd of the Akron Archive:
Our starting point on this project is to provide the talks of early and influential members who are featured in the 1980 “Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers” (an Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. publication). You will be able to listen to them on-line or download as .mp3 files, along with an index showing where these speakers are featured in the text.
There are six talks from “Good Oldtimers” posted already. (link)
Over at aastuff.com, there’s a new project underway to create an AA-history-specific search feature that limits google searches to AA history pages. If you run a history site, or the website of a local archive, check them out and add your URL to their list by contacting Peter at aastuff. This promises to be a handy way to access hard-to-find AA sites around the web. (link)
And finally, for those of you who are interested in reading something a little more personal from yours truly, the becoming recovered blog offers my ongoing reflections on the spirituality of the 12 step program. It’s the place where I post the things I write that don’t quite have a home on stepstudy. (link)
Filed under: news
Two speaker events in the next couple of months worth noting:
Dick B. will be in Southern California next weekend, October 10-13. He requests that participants bring a Bible and a Big Book. Says Dick: “You’ll be doing what the pioneers did, and getting what the pioneers got—if you want to go to any lengths to get it.” (link)
Ernie K. will speak in South Bend Indiana on November 8. His topic will be “Varieties of AA Experience.” This title echoes the title of William James’s famous The Varieties of Religious Experience, and so Ernie’s talk promises to be a very interesting exploration of spirituality in AA. (link)
If you can’t make it to South Bend, it looks like a CD of Ernie’s talk will be available. (link)
Filed under: news
Philip Leon’s book, Philosophy of Courage: or the Oxford Group Way is now available in full, with Glenn Chesnut’s comprehensive introduction. Head over to our downloads section to check it out. It’ll be the first book on our list. (link)
Filed under: news
“Once we recognize that spirituality has a biological basis, we realize that we must have evolved toward spirituality. It is not too great a leap to hope that as natural selection continues, if we don’t denude or blow up our planet first, human beings may become still more spiritual.”
The quote above is from Spiritual Evolution: A Scientific Defense of Faith, a new book from George Vaillant, who served as a non-alcoholic trustee of Alcoholics Anonymous between 1994 and 2004. Vaillant is also a Positive Psychologist (wiki), and takes a rational but friendly approach to spiritual experiences.
In particular, Vaillant is interested in “positive emotions,” which, for him, make up all human spirituality. Drawing from Evolutionary theory and Ethology (the study of animal behavior) as well as from Positive Psychology, Vaillant looks at these emotions as a product of evolution.
In his words: “My intent is that Spiritual Evolution will create a middle ground for readers seeking to have both their spiritual hearts and their scientific intellects taken seriously.” And so, Vaillant is, in his mission at least, a kindred spirit to William James. (link: amazon)
Thanks to Piers K. for the tip.
Filed under: news
Well, we’re running a little behind on getting Philip Leon’s book Philosophy of Courage online. But progress is being made. We’re working on the layout now, and Glenn Chesnut of hindsfoot.org has agreed to write an introduction to the book. Chesnut’s intro promises to be thorough and informative, making this rather difficult book available to the average reader.
In the meantime, please enjoy yet another short excerpt from the text. Here is Leon introducing his definition of “God” in a manner that resonates with the open phrasing of the steps’ “God, as we understood him.”
It is possible to define or to give the meaning of a term without maintaining that the term stands for anything real. Thus, I can say what is meant by “pixies,” while at the same time declaring that there are no such things as pixies. What immediately follows is given as mere definition of the term “God.” But, because I believe that philosophy should all the time deal with experience, I will draw even my definition from experience—the experience, in fact, with which this book will deal all the time. Nevertheless, the unbelieving reader, to whom the term “God” is like the term “pixie,” may discount all allegation of experience and take it that in the definition I am merely inviting him to consider certain notions for which the term “God” has stood or stands and the connections between these notions, just as I might ask him to do the same for the term “pixie.” To this consideration I am inviting him because only after it will he be able to decide whether the term “God” stands for anything real, and if it does, whether it is necessary for denoting that reality or whether the reality is already adequately covered by some other term.
Filed under: news
24 Communications (publishers of a number of good books and, formerly, of 24 magazine) is giving away copies of Brother Lawrence’s famous book The Practice of the Presence of God. This title has long been a favorite among people in recovery looking to deepen their 11th step practice. 24 Communications has 20,000 copies to give away, so if you’d like one for personal use, or even a bunch for a group study, feel free to drop them a line.
All you need to do is send your name, address, and the number of copies you’d like to 24 Communications by email: click here
Here’s what they’ve got to say about the book:
“When you boil the All Addicts Anonymous Program down to its essence, what it is all about is turning your will and life over to God. The book, The Practice of the Presence of God, is one of the greatest how-to manuals ever written on that subject. The man who wrote it lived over three hundred years ago, but his life story is in the pattern of millions of modern recovery stories in the Anonymous Fellowships. There are some remarkable parallels in the lives of Brother Lawrence and Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. Both were large men, raised in the country. Both served for a time as soldiers. Both had sudden, overwhelming spiritual awakenings. Both went through long periods of depression after their conversions. Both won their way through these low periods by hanging on to God. And each of them gave the world a powerhouse book based on his experiences of trouble and release from trouble by God’s help. Bill’s book was Alcoholics Anonymous, the AA Big Book. Brother Lawrence’s book was The Practice of the Presence of God.
“Brother Lawrence was born Nicolas Herman in the province of Lorraine. When he was eighteen he had a spiritual experience that set him free from his worldly attachments, as Bill’s experience set him free from alcoholism. Where Bill responded to his opening by helping to found the spiritual society of Alcoholics Anonymous, Nicolas joined the already-going society of the bare-footed Carmelites in Paris in 1666. When he entered the order he took the name Brother Lawrence.
“He was assigned to work in the kitchen, a job he disliked. For over four years he was dogged by obsessive fears and depression, despite the intensity and authenticity of his original conversion experience.
“But it was during the crucible of these tough years that he worked out a simple yet powerfully effective method of conscious contact with God. This “practice of the presence of God” ended his depression and filled him with a serenity, peace, and light which was constant through the remaining forty years of a life of hard work and service.
“Brother Lawrence’s “practice” is a method well suited to modern times, because it can be applied in the hustle of workaday life as well as in retirement. And it is an especially good fit for people in the Anonymous Fellowships, because it is not limiting in the God area. It leaves you plenty of room to choose your own conception of God.
“This is a simple book certainly, but it turns out to be not easy to read. It takes patience, humility, and a sense of “easy does it” as you go along.
“I speak from experience. My sponsor gave me a copy of The Practice of the Presence of God after I had been in the Program two years, saying, “this might help in your Eleventh Step work.” I read through the whole book in about an hour and a half and didn’t get much out of it. As time went on, once in a while someone in the Program would mention Brother Lawrence and The Practice of the Presence, but mostly I forgot about it.
“Then, sitting in on a meeting one night, I heard the speaker say that he had been reading Brother Lawrence. He (the speaker) was all lit up. I went home and got my copy of Brother Lawrence off the shelf and started reading it again. Thus, finally, began my discovery of what this book really is, and what it can do for you. It is not just a “devotional classic.” It is a working text, full of practical information on how to improve conscious contact with God, one day at a time.”
