Aa history Lovers 2004 moderators Nancy Olson and Glenn F. Chesnut page

permanent effect unless at once followed by a strenuous effort to face, and

to be rid of, the things in ourselves which had been blocking us. (64:0)

2. Our liquor was but a symptom. (64:0)

3. Resentment is the "number one" offender. It destroys more alcoholics than

anything else. From it stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we have been

not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick. (64:3)

4. When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and

physically. (64:3)

5. Nothing counted but thoroughness and honesty. (65:3)

6. But the more we fought and tried to have our own way, the worse matters

got. As in war, the victor only seemed to win. Our moments of triumph were

short-lived. (66:0)

7. It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to

futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit these

(resentments), do we squander the hours that might have been worth while.

(66:1)

8. But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a

spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave. We

found that it (resentment) is fatal. For when harboring such feelings we

shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity of alcohol

returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to die. (66:1)

9. If we were to live, we had to be free of anger. (66:2)

10. We turned back to the list, for it held the key to the future. (66:3)

11. We began to see that the world and its people really dominated us. In

that state, the wrong-doing of others, fancied or real, had power to

actually kill. (66:3)

12. This was our course: We realized that the people who wronged us were

perhaps spiritually sick.

13. Though we did not like their symptoms and the way these disturbed us,

they, like ourselves, were sick too. (66:4)

14. We cannot be helpful to all people, but at least God will show us how to

take a kindly and tolerant view of each and every one. (67:4)

15. "Fear" This short word somehow touches about every aspect of our lives.

It was an evil and corroding thread; the fabric of our existence was shot

through with it. It set in motion trains of circumstances which brought us

misfortune. (67:3)

16. Just to the extent that we do as we think He would have us, and humbly

rely on Him, does He enable us to match calamity with serenity. (68:2)

17. We ask Him to remove our fear and direct our attention to what He would

have us be. At once, we commence to outgrow fear. (68:3)

18. If we are sorry for what we have done, and have the honest desire to let

God take us to better things, we believe we will be forgiven and will have

learned our lesson. (70:1)

19. If we are not sorry, and our conduct continues to harm others, we are

quite sure to drink. (70:1)

20. If we have been thorough about our personal inventory, we have written

down a lot. (70:3)

21. We have listed and analyzed our resentments. (70:3)

22. We have begun to comprehend their futility and their fatality. (70:3)

23. We have commenced to see their terrible destructiveness. (70:3)

24. We have begun to learn tolerance, patience and good will toward all men,

even our enemies, for we look on them as sick people. (70:3)

25. We have listed the people we have hurt by our conduct, and are willing

to straighten out the past if we can. (70:3)

Fifth Step Promises:

1. In actual practice, we usually find a solitary self-appraisal

insufficient. (72:2)

2. If we skip this vital step, we may not overcome drinking. (72:2)

3. They took inventory all right, but hung on to some of the worst items in

stock. They only thought they had lost their egoism and fear; they only

thought they had humbled themselves. But they had not learned enough of

humility, fearlessness and honesty, in the sense we find it necessary, until

they told someone else all their life story. (73:0)

4. We must be entirely honest with somebody if we expect to live long or

happily in this world. (73:4)

5. Once we have taken this step, withholding nothing, we are delighted.

(75:2)

6. We can look the world in the eye. (75:2)

7. We can be alone at perfect peace and ease. (75:2)

8. Our fears fall from us. (75:2)

9. We begin to feel the nearness of our Creator. (75:2)

10. We may have had certain spiritual beliefs, but now we begin to have a

spiritual experience. (75:2)

11. The feeling that the drink problem has disappeared will often come

strongly. (75:2)

12. We feel we are on the Broad Highway, walking hand in hand with the

Spirit of the Universe. (75:2)

Sixth Step Promises:

None in the Big Book... See the 12 & 12 for promises.

=====================================================

Seventh Step Promises:

None in the Big Book... See the 12 & 12 for promises.

Eighth Step Promises:

1. Now we need more action, without which we find that "Faith without works

is dead." (76:3)

Ninth Step Promises:

1. We are there to sweep off our side of the street, realizing that nothing

worth while can be accomplished until we do so, never trying to tell him

what he should do. (77:2)

2. If our manner is calm, frank, and open, we will be gratified with the

result. (78:0)

3. In nine cases out of ten the unexpected happens. (78:1)

4. Rarely do we fail to make satisfactory progress. (78:1)

5. We must lose our fear of creditors no matter how far we have to go, for

we are liable to drink if we are afraid to face them. (78:2)

6. Perhaps there are some cases where the utmost frankness is demanded. No

outsider can appraise such an intimate situation. (82:1)

7. Yes, there is a long period of reconstruction ahead. We must take the

lead. A remorseful mumbling that we are sorry won't fill the bill at all.

(83:1)

8. If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be

amazed before we are half way through. (83:4)

9. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. (83:4)

10. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. (83:4)

11. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. (83:4)

12. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our

experience can benefit others. (84:0)

13. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. (84:0)

14. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our

fellows. (84:0)

15. Self-seeking will slip away. (84:0)

16. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. (84:0)

17. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. (84:0)

18. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle

us. (84:0)

19. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do

for ourselves. (84:0)

20. Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled

among us-sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize

if we work for them. (84:1)

Tenth Step Promises:

1. We continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new

mistakes as we go along. (84:2)

2. We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past.

(84:2)

3. We have entered the world of the Spirit. (84:2)

4. Love and tolerance of others is our code. (84:2)

5. We have ceased fighting anything or anyone even alcohol. (84:3)

6. For by this time sanity will have returned. (84:3)

7. We will seldom be interested in liquor. If tempted, we recoil from it as

from a hot flame. (84:3)

8. We react sanely and normally, and we will find that this has happened

automatically. (85:0)

9. We will see that our new attitude toward liquor has been given us without

any thought or effort on our part. It just comes! That is the miracle of it.

(85:0)

10. We are not fighting it, neither are we avoiding temptation. (85:0)

11. We feel as though we had been placed in a position of neutrality-safe

and protected. (85:0)

12. We have not even sworn off. Instead, the problem has been removed. It

does not exist for us. (85:0)

13. We are neither cocky nor are we afraid. (85:0)

14. That is our experience. That is how we react so long as we keep in fit

spiritual condition. (85:0)

15. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. (85:1)

16. We are not cured of alcoholism. (85:1)

17. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of

our spiritual condition. (85:1)

18. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all

of our activities. (85:1)

19. "How can I best serve Thee-Thy will (not mine) be done." These are

thoughts which must go with us constantly. (85:1)

20. We can exercise our will power along this line all we wish. It is the

proper use of the will. (85:1)

21. If we have carefully followed directions, we have begun to sense the

flow of His Spirit into us. (85:2)

22. To some extent we have become God-conscious. (85:2)

23. We have begun to develop this vital sixth sense. But we must go further

and that means more action. (85:2)

Eleventh Step Promises:

1. We shouldn't be shy on this matter of prayer. Better men than we are

using it constantly. It works, if we have the proper attitude and work at

it. (85:3)

2. We ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced

from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives. Under these conditions we

can employ our mental faculties with assurance, for after all God gave us

brains to use. (86:2)

3. Our thought-life will be placed on a much higher plane when our thinking

is cleared of wrong motives. (86:2)

4. We are often surprised how the right answers come after we have tried

this for a while. (86:3)

5. What used to be the hunch or the occasional inspiration gradually becomes

a working part of the mind. (87:0)

6. Nevertheless, we find that our thinking will, as time passes, be more and

more on the plane of inspiration. We come to rely upon it. (87:0)

7. We are careful never to pray for our own selfish ends. Many of us have

wasted a lot of time doing that and it doesn't work. (87:1)

8. We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly

saying to ourselves many times each day "Thy will be done." We are then in

much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish

decisions. (87:3)

9. We become much more efficient. (88:0)

10. We do not tire so easily, for we are not burning up energy foolishly as

we did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves. (88:0)

11. It works-it really does. (88:1)

12. "Faith without works is dead." (88:3)

Twelfth Step Promises:

1. Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from

drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other

activities fail. (89:1)

2. Carry this message to other alcoholics! You can help when no one else

can. (89:1)

3. You can secure their confidence when others fail. (89:1)

4. Life will take on new meaning. (89:2)

5. Frequent contact with newcomers and with each other is the bright spot of

our lives. (89:2)

6. Unfortunately a lot of prejudice exists. You will be handicapped if you

arouse it. (89:3)

7. Ministers and doctors are competent and you can learn much from them if

you wish, but it happens that because of your own drinking experience you

can be uniquely useful to other alcoholics. (89:3)

8. To be vital, faith must be accompanied by self sacrifice and unselfish,

constructive action. (93:2)

9. You should not be offended if he wants to call it off, for he has helped

you more than you have helped him. (94:1)

10. You will be most successful with alcoholics if you do not exhibit any

passion for crusade or reform. (95:1)

11. We have no monopoly on God; we merely have an approach that worked with

us. (95:4)

12. Helping others is the foundation stone of your recovery. (97:1)

13. A kindly act once in a while isn't enough. You have to act the Good

Samaritan every day, if need be. (97:1)

14. The men who cry for money and shelter before conquering alcohol, are on

the wrong track. (98:0)

15. Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: job or no

job-wife or no wife-we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place

dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God. (98:1)

16. Burn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can get well

regardless of anyone. The only condition is that he trust in God and clean

house. (98:2)

17. Remind the prospect that his recovery is not dependent upon people. It

is dependent upon his relationship with God. (99:3)

18. If you persist, remarkable things will happen. (100:1)

19. When we look back, we realize that the things which came to us when we

put ourselves in God's hands were better than anything we could have

planned. (100:1)

20. Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a

new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances! (100:1)

21. Assuming we are spiritually fit, we can do all sorts of things

alcoholics are not supposed to do. (100:4)

22. An alcoholic who cannot meet them, still has an alcoholic mind; there is

something the matter with his spiritual status. (101:1)

23. In our belief any scheme of combating alcoholism which proposes to

shield the sick man from temptation is doomed to failure. (101:2)

24. At a proper time and place explain to all your friends why alcohol

disagrees with you. If you do this thoroughly, few people will ask you to

drink. (102:1)

25. Keep on the firing line of life with these motives and God will keep you

unharmed. (102:2)

26. We would not even do the cause of temperate drinking any good, for not

one drinker in a thousand likes to be told anything about alcohol by one who

hates it. (103:1)

27. After all, our problems were of our own making. Bottles were only a

symbol. (103:3)

28. Besides, we have stopped fighting anybody or anything. We have to!

(103:3)

Miscellaneous Promises:

1. The power of God goes deep! (114:1)

2. If God can solve the age-old riddle of alcoholism, He can solve your

problems too. (116:2)

3. You will lose the old life to find one much better. (120:0)

4. All problems will not be solved at once. Seed has started to sprout in a

new soil, but growth has only begun. In spite of your new-found happiness,

there will be ups and downs. Many of the old problems will still be with

you. This is as it should be. (117:1)

5. The faith and sincerity of both you and your husband will be put to the

test. These work-outs should be regarded as part of your education, for thus

you will be learning to live. You will make mistakes, but if you are in

earnest they will not drag you down. Instead, you will capitalize them. A

better way of life will emerge when they are overcome. (117:2)

6. You and your husband will find that you can dispose of serious problems

easier than you can the trivial ones. (118:1)

7. Patience, tolerance, understanding and love are the watchwords. Show him

these things in yourself and they will be reflected back to you from him.

(118:2)

8. Live and let live is the rule. If you both show a willingness to remedy

your own defects, there will be little need to criticize each other. (118:2)

9. Both of you will awaken to a new sense of responsibility for others.

(119:2)

10. We grow by our willingness to face and rectify errors and convert them

into assets. The alcoholic's past thus becomes the principal asset of the

family and frequently it is almost the only one! (124:1)

11. Cling to the thought that, in God's hands, the dark past is the greatest

possession you have-the key to life and happiness for others. With it you

can avert death and misery for them. (124:2)

12. We alcoholics are sensitive people. It takes some of us a long time to

outgrow that serious handicap. (125:2)

13. But we aren't a glum lot. If newcomers could see no joy or fun in our

existence, they wouldn't want it. We absolutely insist on enjoying life. We

try not to indulge in cynicism over the state of the nations, nor do we

carry the world's troubles on our shoulders. (132:1)

14. We have recovered, and have been given the power to help others. (132:2)

15. We have three little mottoes which are apropos. Here they are: First

Things First, Live and Let Live, Easy Does It.(135:4)

16. The greatest enemies of us alcoholics are resentment, jealousy, envy,

frustration, and fear. (145:3)

17. As a class, alcoholics are energetic people. They work hard and they

play hard. (146:1)

18. Yes, there is a substitute and it is vastly more than that. It is a

fellowship in Alcoholics Anonymous. (152:2)

19. There you will find release from care, boredom and worry. (152:2)

20. Your imagination will be fired. (152:2)

21. Life will mean something at last. (152:2)

22. The most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead. Thus we find

the fellowship, and so will you. (152:2)

23. You will be bound to them with new and wonderful ties, for you will

escape disaster together and you will commence shoulder to shoulder your

common journey. (152:4)

24. Then you will know what it means to give of yourself that others may

survive and rediscover life. (153:0)

25. You will learn the full meaning of "Love thy neighbor as thyself."

(153:0)

26. The practical answer is that since these things have happened among us,

they can happen with you. Should you wish them above all else, and be

willing to make use of our experience, we are sure they will come. The age

of miracles is still with us. Our own recovery proves that! (153:1)

27. He will show you how to create the fellowship you crave. (164:1)

28. God will constantly disclose more to you and to us. (164:2)

29. The answers will come, if your own house is in order. But obviously you

cannot transmit something you haven't got. (164:2)

30. See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events

will come to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for

us. (164:2)

31. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will

surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny. (164:3)

-----Original Message-----

From: Cloydg [mailto:[e-mail]]

Sent: Monday, May 17, 2004 7:44 PM

To: [e-mail]

Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Promises

I'm told there are 118 promises in the BB, not just the 12 we refer to on

pages 63-64. Does anyone have a complete list with page numbers?

In sobriety, Clyde G.

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++++Message 1821. . . . . . . . . . . . Richard Dubiel on Rowland Hazard (Part 1 of 2)

From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/18/2004 5:24:00 PM

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ROWLAND HAZARD

Part 1 of 2

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOTE BY GLENN C. (South Bend, Indiana) -- What has now become the definitive

account of Rowland Hazard's life and role in the founding of A.A. is contained

in a recent book by Richard M. Dubiel, Professor at the University of

Wisconsin-Stevens Point, entitled *The Road to Fellowship: The Role of the

Emmanuel Movement and the Jacoby Club in the Development of Alcoholics

Anonymous,* Hindsfoot Foundation Series on the History of Alcoholism Treatment

(New York: iUniverse, 2004).

For more details about the book see the Hindsfoot website at:

http://hindsfoot.org

In my own view, it is a book which should be read and studied in detail by

anyone, from this point on, who wishes to write about early A.A. history. It

gives us an incredible insight into the actual thought currents of the period

in American history during which A.A. was coming into being -- it puts A.A.

into historical context, in ways that we have to understand in order to

determine what was important to the founders, and what the problems were which

they were trying to solve -- and which they in fact DID solve so well.

What follows is an excerpt from Chapter 4 of that book, though without the

copious and detailed endnotes. Anyone wishing to do serious research on Hazard

needs to get a copy of the book and check through all of those carefully.

Some of the more important findings are that Rowland Hazard (who was a very

busy businessman in the United States) had no opportunity to see the famous

psychiatrist Carl Jung, who lived and worked in Switzerland, except for a two

month period (at most) in 1931, when Rowland and other members of the Hazard

family traveled around Europe for part of the summer He did not join the

Oxford Group and get sober immediately after seeing Jung -- there is in fact

no record of him being involved with the Oxford Group until almost three years

later. He was hospitalized for his alcoholism in February and March of 1932,

and totally incapable of carrying on business activities from January 1933

until October 1934. He had recovered enough however to come to Ebby Thatcher's

rescue in August 1934 (along with two other Oxford Groupers) when Thatcher was

threatened with commitment to the Brattleboro Asylum. After his rescue,

Thatcher took to the program of the Oxford Group with a good deal of

enthusiasm. Three months afterwards, Ebby then passed the message on to Bill

W. in the latter's kitchen in November 1934.

What is even more important is that Rowland was under the care of the Emmanuel

Movement therapist Courtenay Baylor in 1933 and 1934. Although Carl Jung might

have planted a valuable seed a few years earlier, the therapist who really got

Rowland sober was Baylor.

The reason for paying careful attention to Courtenay Baylor's role, is that

the only three groups in the United States during the first half of the

twentieth century which had any notable success in getting alcoholics sober

and keeping them sober, were the Emmanuel Movement (where Baylor was a key

leader), the closely associated Jacoby Club, and Alcoholics Anonymous.