Aa history Lovers 2009 moderators Nancy Olson and Glenn F. Chesnut page
Yüklə 11,49 Mb.
|
|
item but did not forward it to the Conference floor for a vote. =================================== There had been an earlier Conference Advisory Action saing that Dr. Bob's story should not be changed without written permission of 3/4 of all registered groups. The punctuation in "Dr. Bob's Nightmare" had been updated from the Third
Edition version. Many of us thought that was within the spirit of that Advisory
Action since it did not change the content and since that kind of editing had
occurred in earlier editions. Some members submitted an Agenda item because they
thought that even minor changes violated the previous Advisory Action and that
no Conference had approved the specific changes. =================================== [Comments on the above]: There is no such Conference advisory action regarding the need for permission of 3/4 of the registered groups to change Dr Bob's Story (or the Big Book or any other book). The 1995 Conference Literature Committee recommended that: "The first 164 pages of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, the Preface, the Forewords, 'The Doctor's Opinion,' 'Doctor Bob's Nightmare' and the Appendices remain as is." A floor action was submitted to the 1996 Conference to: "Propose a Conference resolution that the 46th General Service Conference recommend to the Fellowship of A.A.s of the world that the
first 164 pages of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, the Preface, the Forewards (sic), "The Doctor's Opinion," "Doctor Bob's Nightmare" and the Appendices be unchanged without approval of three quarters of groups of the world." It did not result in an advisory action. The 1997 Trustees Committee on Literature also reviewed the request and took no action. Note: the "3/4 of the registered groups permission" applies to the Steps, Traditions and Article 12 of the Permanent Conference Charter (i.e. the 6 "Warranties" which are also Concept 12) per advisory action of the 1976 Conference (which also approved the 3rd edition Big Book). =================================== At the 2004 Conference, the Literature Committee recommended against restoring the punctuation in "Dr. Bob's Nightmare" to that of the Third Edition.
When this recommendation came to the Conference, A Floor Action was submitted and the full Conference overrode the Literature Committee. When our Delegate gave his Conference report he told us that he was prepared to vote against the change in accordance with the wishes of many of us in the area. He finally voted for the Floor Action because he saw that it was an issue that was dividing AA and while he had an obligation to our Area, he had a bigger obligation to AA as a whole. I was never so proud of someone who disagreed with me as I was that day. =================================== [Comments on the above]: The 2003 Conference Literature Committee recommended that the punctuation be restored but it failed to produce a Conference advisory. The 2004 Conference Literature Committee did not recommend against restoring the punctuation changes. It "agreed to take no action." Again, this means that the committee discussed the item but did not forward it to the Conference floor for a vote. It was also consistent with the action of the 2003 Conference. A floor action was submitted at the 2004 Conference that "The punctuation in 'Dr. Bob's Nightmare' in the Fourth Edition be restored as it appears in the Third Edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous." It was approved.
confusion on the punctuation changes in Dr Bob's Story. Each Conference felt compelled to offer its own advisory action on the portions of the Big Book to be left "as is." They were not consistent. The 1999 Conference passed an advisory action that "The Publications Department of the General Service Office maintain the following specific editorial responsibilities regarding the Fourth Edition Big Book Project: Editorial 'fine tuning' such as footnotes, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, updating, jacket materials, page numbers, etc. ..." The 2001 Conference passed an advisory action that "The Fourth Edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, be approved keeping in mind the 1995 Conference Advisory Action which reads, "The first 164 pages of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, the Preface, the Forewords, 'The Doctor's Opinion,''Doctor Bob's Nightmare' and the Appendices remain as is' and keeping in mind the 1999 Conference Action which reads, 'The Publications Department of the General Service Office maintain the following specific editorial responsibilities regarding the Fourth Edition Big Book Project: Editorial 'fine tuning' such as footnotes, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, updating, jacket materials, page numbers, etc. ..." This was the Conference that the made the 4th edition Big Book "Conference-approved" and again allowed for editorial "fine-tuning" regarding punctuation among other things.
of the Conferences from 1995-2004 on the matter of the 4th edition Big Book, although they meant well on the matter. In determining whether punctuation changes to Dr Bob's story were appropriate or not, seems to depend on which Conference advisory action you choose. The final one on the matter (from the 2001 Conference which approved the 4th edition) allowed for punctuation changes to be made.
placement of commas, periods and semi-colons, rise to the level of such supreme and sanctimonious consideration. However, it also makes for great theater (Rule # 62). While on the soap box, I'd further suggest that the two main contributing factors to the theater are: (1) AA members who view the Big Book as some sort of inviolable Scripture (i.e. people who scrutinize it punctuation mark by punctuation mark as if somehow it changes the meaning of the content), and (2) the all-too-human tendency of many Delegates to want to leave behind some legacy advisory action that highlights their 2-year term of office. Cheers Arthur S
++++Message 5701. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Is there anyone with 60 yrs or more of sobriety still alive? From: Shakey1aa@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/13/2009 10:08:00 AM
in 1946 and has not had a drink since. He has 62 or 63 years.
Phila Pa USA. - - - - "Mary Latowski" (mplatowski at gmail.com) Paul Martin of Riverside Illinois Also from: "M.J. Johnson" I believe Paul M. of Chicago, IL just celebrated 61 years in September 2008. - - - - From: Tom White (tomwhite at cableone.net) Dear Shane: Yes, I know of an AA with more than 60 years of sobriety: I believe he sobered up in 1946, when he was in the first half of his 20's, and has stayed sober since. He is now 87. He is currently in hospital. I intend to call him and let him know of your inquiry. Tom W. Odessa, TX - - - - From: "Elisabeth" (dunnelisabeth at comcast.net) Yes, I know of one we have in Vegas. His name is Steve P. and he has 62 years and is from Cleveland, Ohio. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5702. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: profits from 24 Hour Book sent to New York AA From: firsthings1st . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/10/2009 7:35:00 PM
Laurie Andrews > > Since the 24 Hour book (like the Bible!) > is not Conference-approved, how did sending > profits from its sale to GSO (between 1948 > and 1954, when it was being printed under > the sponsorship of the Daytona Beach AA > Group) square with Tradition Seven? > > Laurie A. > - - - -
Daytona Beach Group. However it was not sent directly as such. Rich W. donated the profits from the book to his home group. Months later, around Christmas time, a letter came to every AA group that GSO needed more donations.
was very convincing of that fact. The group decided they had way over their prudent reserve and sent most of what they had to GSO. This information is from correspondence from NY office,the orginal printer, Hazelden and treasurers reports from the Daytona Beach Group.
the Daytona Beach Intergroup office.
Big Book
From: rick tompkins . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/13/2009 8:10:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII The change to the Foreword was made for the Seventh Printing, which followed in about eighteen months from the First Printing and a Floor Action / Advisory Action by the 2002 General Service Conference. Printings may have been anywhere between 100,000 for the First, through 10-20,000 for each following press run and it tool a while to put the Advisory Action into effect.
sections upside down, doubled sections, missing sections, etc. and a few reports made it to my Area meeting 'Open Mike Time.' At least one of the mis-printed books made it into my Area's Archives.
unnamed GSO Staff (not the Literature Committee Desk but one of a few editorial staff personnel) and passed through the General Service Board with little fanfare or announcement, until the 2003 Conference voted to restore the original verbatim syntax.
Foreword 'flack' was a heated Floor discussion bringing an immediate change to the Foreword's focus. And, all in the spirit of Tradition 2 and a "loving God expressing Himself through our Group conscience" that was right (appropriate) and the voting worked perfectly. All were happy with the Foreword's textual change and I haven't heard anyone dispute the change since 2002 ... we are a self-correcting Fellowship, aren't we?
can replace a face-to-face meeting effectiveness. Just ask a newcomer! Rick, Illinois - - - - From: buckjohnson41686 Sent: Friday, May 08, 2009 1:28 AM To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com Subject: Change to foreword, 4th ed. of Big Book Foreward to 4th edition was changed, page xxiv, line 10. First printing has "Fundamentally, though, the difference between an electronic meeting and the home group around the corner is only one of format."
(charlieparker at prodigy.net) What were the changes to Dr Bob's Nightmare and which foreword was changed?? IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5704. . . . . . . . . . . . Themes for General Service Conference From: Arun Shelar . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/15/2009 4:57:00 AM
of Themes for General Service Conferences from the beginning till the present date?
From: Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/14/2009 6:49:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I am a friend of Bill W. My profession has been printing for the past 53 years and just recently the local _Tularosa Basin Historical Society_ brought me a little project to print for them that AA History Buffs should be interested in.
spent here in New Mexico. Hazard's brief time spent here in Otero County, NM was flamboyant and memorable by the many natives of the area at the time.
times of Roland Hazard and that there is a void of the years 1928-30 or so when he was here. World War I got going and Roland got drunk so Clarence Agnew, Roland's Manager put him on the train to New York and he never returned.
From: chiphxsf . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/14/2009 6:15:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII My sponsor's sponsor came into a copy of "The God Angle" in his early sobriety. He had always favored it and thought it should be in circulation, again. I have
made numerous attempts to contact Mrs. T. W. Robinson, Alexandria, VA who had
the copyright to the volume. I have also attempted to contact the central and
archive's offices and e-mail addresses of the Virginia area, to no avail, to find the copyright holder(s) of the book. If anyone has any information concerning this book, the whereabouts of any surving family of the author, Robbie Robinson, the author's date of birth and death or the original date of the book's publishing and when it was written, please contact me at: Mike Kane michaelvkane@hotmail.com (michaelvkane at hotmail.com) 480-287-0091 Thank you! mike IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5707. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Is there anyone with 60 yrs or more of sobriety still alive? From: J. Lobdell . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/14/2009 6:41:00 AM
or older, which I cannot answer, so did not try. Clyde B. (June 20 1946) is around 88 (maybe 89); Chet H of Hummelstown PA, who regularly speaks at our History & Archives Gathering, has a DLD of April 4 1949: he is just about to turn 86. Chet got sober in Harrisburg PA and has been sober here sixty years, still living within ten miles or so of Harrisburg. Clyde B. was born in Canada, got sober in Boston, and came to Central PA in the early 1970s. He was at the Eastern PA General Service Convention/Assembly in the Poconos in November 2008,
but I haven't been able to get him to the History & Archives Gathering yet. - - - - From: Bernard Wood (bern-donna at earthlink.net) Carl Demorey got sober in Muskegon, MI in December 1947. He went to the first convention in Cleveland in 1950. Met Bill W. there. His story is posted here. I believe he is about 90, living in assisted living here in Largo, Florida - - - - From: Forrest Jackson (forrestdalejackson at yahoo.com) My Grandsponser Easy E. from Montgomery, AL passed away last year 2 months shy
of his 66th AA birthday. As they only make the medallions up to 60 years, I'd
have to get one without the numerals on it and sand the center down, then take
it in to an engraver to put the correct number in.I don't believe anyone had ever achieved this milestone (65 years). IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5708. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: The book called The God Angle From: Shakey1aa@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/15/2009 7:15:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII For more about the book (including a month's worth of readings) see this site: http://www.aabibliography.com/the_god_angle_alcoholics_book.htm Yours in Service, Shakey Mike Gwirtz Phila, Pa. USA Hope to see you all at the NAW IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5709. . . . . . . . . . . . Stepping Stones 2009 Newsletter From: Bill Lash . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/17/2009 9:28:00 AM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII http://www.steppingstones.org/Stepping_Stones_Newsletter_2009.pdf IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5710. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Themes for General Service Conference From: Charles Knapp . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/16/2009 3:59:00 AM
(cpknapp at yahoo.com) Hello, In Area 9 a list of past themes for the Conference is given out each year and
GSRs are ask to come up with ideas for the next years theme. Here is a list I found at Area 54 website. 1966 was the first year a theme was used. This list can also be gotten from your Delegate or GSO. 1966- Principles and Responsibility 1967- Sponsorship--The Hand of A.A. 1968- Unity Vital to AA Survival, Growth 1969- Group Conscience Guides AA 1970- Service- The Heart of AA 1971- Communication; Key to AA Growth 1972- Our Primary Purpose 1973- Responsibility-Our Expression of Gratitude 1974- Understanding and Cooperation-Inside and Outside AA 1975- Unity Through Love and Service 1976- Sponsorship-Our Privilege and Responsibility 1977- The AA Group-Where it Begins 1978- The Member and the Group-Recovery Through Service 1979- The Legacies; Our Heritage and My Responsibility 1980- Participation: The Key to Recovery 1981- AA Takes its Inventory 1982- The Traditions- Our Way of Unity 1983- Anonymity- Our Spiritual Foundation 1984- Gratitude-The Language of the Heart 1985- Golden Moments of Reflection 1986- AA's Future-Our Responsibility 1987- The Seventh Tradition-A Turning Point 1988- Singleness of Purpose-Key to Unity 1989- Anonymity-Living Our Traditions 1990- The Home Group-Our Responsibility and Link to AA's Future 1991- Sponsorship: Gratitude in Action 1992- The AA Message in a Changing World 1993- AA Takes its Inventory-The General Service Conference Structure 1994- Spirit of Sacrifice 1995- Pass It On - Our Three Legacies 1996- Preserving Our Fellowship-Our Challenge 1997- Spirituality-Our Foundation 1998- Our Twelfth Step Work 1999- Moving Forward; Unity Through Humility 2000- Trusting our Future to AA Principles 2001- Love and Service 2002- Sharing the Steps, Traditions and Concepts 2003- Living A.A.'s Principles Through Sponsorship 2004- Our Singleness of Purpose - the Cornerstone of AA 2005- Basics of Our Home Group- Recovery, Unity, Service 2006- Sponsorship, Service, and Self-Support In a Changing World 2007- A.A.'s 12th Step Responsibility - Are We Going to Any Length? 2008- Communication & Participation The key to Unity & Self-Support 2009- Our Commitment to Carry A.A.'s Message - Enthusiasm and Gratitude in Action
Charles from California (soon to be Charles from Wisconsin)
(ArtSheehan at msn.com) Hi Arun Conferences did not collectively predefine specific themes prior to 1966. However, the 1951-65 Conferences did have dominant or keynote topics. ======================================== 1951-65 Inferred or later defined themes ======================================== 1951 - Not to Govern - But to Serve 1952 - It's a Question of Lives that May Be Lost if AA Does Not Survive 1953 - The Milestones Ahead 1954 - The Lost Commandment, the Dictionary and AA 1955 - The Paradoxes of AA 1956 - Petition, Appeal, Participation and Decision 1957 - The Need for Authority Equal to Responsibility 1958 - Promise and Progress 1959 - Confidence, Absence of Fear of Future 1960 - Need for Improved Internal and External Communications 1961 - Determination to Work and Grow Together, and With Others 1962 - Our Primary Purpose and Deep Devotion to the Concept of Unity 1963 - Emphasis was on Function rather than Structure 1964 - Practice These Principles 1965 - Responsibility to Those We Serve ================================================= 1966 - First Conference to have a predefined theme ================================================== 1966 - Principles and Responsibility 1967 - Sponsorship - The Hand of AA 1968 - Unity Vital to AA Survival, Growth 1969 - Group Conscience Guides AA 1970 - Service - The Heart of AA 1971 - Communication: Key to AA Growth 1972 - Our Primary Purpose 1973 - Responsibility - Our Expression of Gratitude 1974 - Understanding and Cooperation - Inside and Outside AA 1975 - Unity Through Love and Service 1976 - Sponsorship - Our Privilege and Responsibility 1977 - The AA Group - Where it Begins 1978 - The Member and the Group - Recovery Through Service 1979 - The Legacies: Our Heritage and Responsibility 1980 - Participation: The Key to Recovery 1981 - AA Takes Its Inventory 1982 - The Traditions - Our Way of Unity 1983 - Anonymity - Our Spiritual Foundation 1984 - Gratitude - The Language of the Heart 1985 - Golden Moments of Reflection 1986 - AA's Future - Our Responsibility 1987 - The Seventh Tradition - A Turning Point 1988 - Singleness of Purpose - Key to Unity 1989 - Anonymity - Living Our Traditions 1990 - The Home Group - Our Responsibility and Link to AA's Future 1991 - Sponsorship: Gratitude in Action 1992 - The AA Message in a Changing World 1993 - AA Takes Its Inventory - The General Service Conference Structure 1994 - Spirit of Sacrifice 1995 - Pass It On - Our Three Legacies 1996 - Preserving Our Fellowship - Our Challenge 1997 - Spirituality - Our Foundation 1998 - Our Twelfth Step Work 1999 - Moving Forward: Unity Through Humility 2000 - Trusting Our Future to AA Principles 2001 - Love and Service 2002 - Sharing the Steps, Traditions and Concepts 2003 - Living AA's Principles Through Sponsorship 2004 - Our Singleness of Purpose - the Cornerstone of AA 2005 - Basics of Our Home Group - Recovery, Unity and Service 2006 - Sponsorship, Service and Self-Support in a Changing World 2007 - Our 12th Step Responsibility - Are We going to Any Length? 2008 - Communication and Participation - the Key to Unity and Self-Support 2009 - Our Commitment to Carry AA's Message - Enthusiasm and Gratitude in Action
Arthur
From: Arthur S . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/15/2009 7:07:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII His name is spelled "Rowland" - Cheers - Arthur IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5712. . . . . . . . . . . . The Little Red Book From: dave_landuyt . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/15/2009 6:01:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII A previous post by Tommy H. states "There were a number of changes made to the LRB in the first half-dozen printings from 1946-1950".
these changes, post some examples? If anyone has website(s) that show or explain these changes, that would also be appreciated. Thanks to one and all Dave L.
++++Message 5713. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: The Little Red Book From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/18/2009 3:25:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII The http://hindsfoot.org/ed02.html website gives some examples of changes made to The Little Red Book between the 1946 edition and the 1949 edition. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5714. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Silkworth Birthday Celebration From: Bill Lash . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/17/2009 12:17:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII You are cordially invited to the Sixth Annual Dr. Silkworth Birthday Celebration! Saturday, July 18, 2009 at 3:00PM (no rain date this year). At his gravesite in Glenwood Cemetery, Route 71 (Monmouth Rd.), West Long Branch, New Jersey. Speakers: Barbara Silkworth (a family member) and Bill S. (currently writing a book about the first edition AA Big Book).
SOMETHING TO SIT ON. If you have any questions please call Barefoot Bill at 201-232-8749 (cell). Directions: Take the Garden State Parkway (north or south) to Exit 105 (Route 36), continue on Route 36 approximately 3 miles through 5 traffic lights (passing Monmouth Mall, two more shopping plazas, and several automobile dealerships).
71 South, West Long Branch and Asbury Park” (this is just before the sixth light).
Square and bear right onto Route 71 (Monmouth Road).
left (the entrance is marked by two stone pillars and the name).
the hill and make the first right (a hard right). The gravesite is near the first tree on the right.
pamphlet
From: diazeztone . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/17/2009 12:10:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII High Road to Happiness Waterloo Iowa pamphlet Does anyone have info on the how and why's about this pamphlet being written? LD Pierce (eztone at hotmail.com) http://aabibliography.com/ IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5716. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Themes for General Service Conference From: Kevin Short . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/18/2009 7:26:00 PM
Conference will be: "Practicing A.A.'s Principles -- the Pathway to Unity."
From: victoria callaway . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/21/2009 11:14:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII At our BB study tonite I was asked if I knew anything about early AA meeting formats and could I find out any info about them. Anyone have any info on this? thanks God bless vicki
++++Message 5718. . . . . . . . . . . . Wednesday removed from 4th ed. He Sold Himself Short From: garylock7008 . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/22/2009 10:43:00 AM
the Big Book - I am wondering why they took the word "Wednesday" out of Earl T's story ("He Sold Himself Short," page 262/263) in the 4th Edition, in all the printings?
[afternoon] a doctor in the town I grew up in - in Nova Scotia - ever took off.
Dr. Bob and his family had made for the fellowship! With the stroke of a keyboard - a part of history is gone. Gary up in Canada eh! IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5719. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Silkworth''s own religious beliefs
From: katiebartlett79 . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/20/2009 2:34:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Hi, Katie from Barking Big Book study, The Way Out. Me and my group are wondering if Dr. Silkworth was himself a religious person. Many thanks, Katie IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5721. . . . . . . . . . . . Four essays on spirituality From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/22/2009 5:12:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Glenn C., four essays on spirituality http://hindsfoot.org/spiritu.html TWO ESSAYS on Rudolf Otto and his famous book "The Idea of the Holy." The central emphasis in A.A. spirituality is on learning to develop our God-consciousness and our awareness of the presence of God. The most important spokesman for this concept in early twentieth-century thought was the German philosopher and theologian Rudolf Otto (1869-1937). We need to know a little about Otto's book to fully understand what early AA people meant by this term "God-consciousness."
Reality. Rudolf Otto and the Idea of the Holy, Part 1: The holy as one of the categories of the human understanding." The human experience of the holy and the sacred, the story of Bill Wilson, the sense of the divine presence, the holy as the experience of the "numinous," the use of metaphors, analogies, and ideograms to talk about this experience. http://hindsfoot.org/g04sacr.pdf "The Seven Faces of the Experience of the Divine Reality. Rudolf Otto and the Idea of the Holy, Part 2: The experience of the sacred as the source of true serenity and the healing of the spirit." (1) Tremendum: the feeling of awe and dread, (2) Majestas: the call to total surrender, (3) Energeia: power, energy, love and Eros, (4) Alienum: the divine abyss lying behind the surface illusion of understandability, (5) Fascinans: salvation itself as living in the continual presence of the sacred, (6) Augustus: the power which condemns us but then washes us clean, (7) Illuminatio: inspiring us to see and be gripped by the true goal of the spiritual life. http://hindsfoot.org/g05myst.pdf ______________________________ In the 1930's, Rudolf Otto* and Karl Barth** were considered to be the two greatest theolo- gians in the western world. In Otto's formative work, "The Idea of the Holy," he said that the heart of all of the world's religions lay in the experience of what he called the holy or the sacred, which played a central role even in religions which had no concept of God (like nontheistic Buddhism and the Native American spirituality of tribes like the Navajos and Potawatomis).***
he suddenly remembered his encounter with the experience of the sacred (as Otto's book called it) at Winchester Cathedral, and he remembered how his grandfather had talked about experiencing the same mysterium tremendum while gazing at the starry heavens in the middle of the night. Shortly afterwards, Bill Wilson checked himself into Towns Hospital on Central Park West in New York City and had a second spiritual experience while in the hospital, a vision of light (an Illuminatio as we have called it in this discussion of Otto's work), where God gave Bill W. his mission. *Rudolf Otto was a German Lutheran Pietist like Frank Buchman (the founder of the Oxford Group). **Karl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theolo- gian (Reinhold Niebuhr, the author of the Serenity Prayer, was his most famous American representative). ***Otto's work is especially important because he showed how even atheists (or better put "nontheists") like Zen Buddhists and the members of many Native American religions can still have a rich and effective spirituality which can convey the sacred power which heals alcoholism and addiction -- but only if these men and women learn how to experience the overwhelming power of the Wholly Other which Otto called the holy or the sacred dimension of reality. ______________________________ TWO ADDITIONAL ESSAYS: "The Ground of Being: God and the Big Bang." Our universe exploded into being in the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago. God (the ground of being) is the infinite and unknowable Mystery out of which the Big Bang occurred. Eighteenth and nineteenth century attacks on the infallibility of the Bible and the rise of modern atheism in the 1840's. Atheism as control neurosis and control fantasy. How twentieth century science destroyed the roots of modern atheism. The ground of being as the basis of real spirituality. http://hindsfoot.org/g06grnd.pdf "Mount Sinai and the Burning Bush: The Cloud of Unknowing, the Altar to the Unknown God, and the Dark Night of the Soul." In order to find a God of our understanding, we first have to let go of all our old misconceptions about God, the universe, and ourselves, and make the ascent up Mount Sinai, following Moses into the Cloud of Unknowing. As we continue to climb further and further into the doubt and anguish of the Dark Night of the Soul, we use the twelve steps to guide us into a radical reframing of all the presuppositions of our lives. Disoriented within the infinite and all-encompassing Mystery, we discover the God of the empty altar -- the Altar to the Unknown God, the Agnosto Theo (Acts 17:23-28) -- and hear the voice from the Burning Bush giving us only the bare words, "I am what I am" -- the divine Person whose grace is his love offered to ALL the needy and suffering, without condition. http://hindsfoot.org/g02sinai.pdf
online
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/22/2009 5:57:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Messages 5630, 5635, and 5636 ("Is the silkworth.net site down?") made us all aware of the problem which Jim Meyers has had keeping the website up and on line, after his being on disability and unable to work for the past ten months. Some of the members of our AAHistoryLovers group have encouraged Jim to set up a Pay Pal account for silkworthdotnet, where those of us who wish to, could do the equivalent of passing the hat to help the website out.
policies in the AAHistoryLovers, but I think that for the good of the community of AA historians around the world, we very much need to post this note on the AAHistoryLovers, explaining what has now been done to keep silkworthdotnet going.
express my gratitude to all of you who emailed me in support of silkworth.net.
work for over 10 months due to disability reasons. It's been a rough year for me. But I am confident that the future will be much brighter for me than the present.
of silkworth.net. A little history for you. It was the year 2000 and I was introduced to computers by my mother. She was on her way to Canada and she showed me how to use ICQ instant messaging computer program to communicate with each other while she was in Canada -- one of the largest communications networks on the internet. It was probably about 6 months later, I became bored with ICQ and decided I was going to teach myself how to build websites. It was rough at first and my first attempt was building a site about UFO's. That didn't last long. Then while searching the internet about AA related stuff, I ran accross Mitchell K's website. I became very interested in AA history right then and set out to build a website about AA stuff. I had to study the code of many websites and learned at a rapid rate. Oh, before I forget, I took the suggestion of those who said open a Pay Pal account so anyone who wishes to help support silkworth.net can.
taken to the Pay Pal page where you can help get silkworth.net back online and keep it online.
on many forms -- completely different than it is today. Then I started learning other things about building websites. For instance, whether silkworth.net was going to look the same in the four main browsers, and coming to realize that most people don't want to hear music on the web pages. So I started making changes to the site for simplicity reasons till silkworth.net evolved to where it is today. I never intended silkworth.net to grow as large as it is today (almost 2 gigabytes). I also never expected the site to become so busy (over a million hits per month). I got a email one day not to long ago from doteasy.com where silkworth.net is hosted. They told me I had to control the bandwidth, which is unlimited, and a few other things. They said my site was the cause of all their servers shutting down.
Again, I would just like to say thank you and I am very grateful to you all for your help.
Ever Grateful Jim Myers
silkworth.net to a free web host just in case silkworth.net goes off line again, which God forbid. Again, I extend my gratitude to all of you who wish to help get silkworth.net back online. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5723. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Bob and Masonry From: Woodstock . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/22/2009 11:52:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I believe that I read somewhere that both Dr. Bob and Clarence Snyder were fraternal members of the Free and Accepted Masons fraternity, though not active during their AA membership.
interview or story written about Clarence, but I am not sure.
Dr. Bob's Masonic membership? Jim S. Pensacola, FL IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5724. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Early AA meeting formats From: S Sommers . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/25/2009 8:41:00 AM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I have heard a recording of a lead by Bill Dotson, AA number 3, from the first anniversary of a group - possibly Canton, Ohio's first birthday celebration. I believe it's the only extant lead of Bill D's we have. In his story he tells of early meetings when the group didn't know who was going to lead the meeting until the meeting itself. After five minutes of quiet time, the group members would vote on who would lead the meeting. My thought is that early formats of meetings might be recalled in some of the old leads, but the memory of even the sober worthies may not be historical fact. It's a starting point for knowing about the structure of early meetings. It would be interesting to know what was happening in the "flying blind" period before the book Alcoholics Anonymous was written. Thanks for everything. Sam Sommers Elkhart, Indiana IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5725. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Dr. Bob and Masonry From: buck johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/23/2009 10:01:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Mitchell Klein, "How It Worked," Chapter 9 http://www.aabbsg.org/chs/chs09.htm "Clarence became involved with the Masons in Florida. Like Dr. Bob, Clarence was a 32° Mason."
(brucecl2002 at yahoo.com) Also refers us to Mitchell K.'s "How It Worked" - - - - From: jdf10487@yahoo.com (jdf10487 at yahoo.com) The following article claims that Dr. Bob was a Mason.
http://www.worldviewtimes.com/article.php/articleid-3537 "Dr. Bob was a Mason. Suspended in 1934, he gained reinstatement after being sober for some years."
Secretary of Masons in Vermont, as the source of this information.
who is a Mason check the Vermont Masonic records to see if everything in that last statement (especially the part about Dr. Bob being "suspended" and all that) is in fact correct, before anybody repeats all that information. - - - - More importantly though, if Dr. Bob was a good Mason, then he believed that all you had to do to be approved in God's eyes was to be an ethical monotheist. Although most American Masons were Protestants, Jews were also allowed to join.
Architect who had designed and created this universe, and in living a life of honesty and the highest moral principles, based on God's Moral Law. But you did NOT have to believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ to be a Mason, nor was anyone required to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior. A number of American presidents were Masons: George Washington, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, James Knox Polk, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, James Abram Garfield, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Warren Gamaliel Harding, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry S Truman, Gerald R. Ford, Jr., and Lyndon Baines Johnson. The U.S. Declaration of Independence reflected this same Deist and Masonic conception of God and the universal moral law. If we observe "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God," it is a self-evident truth, the declaration proclaimed, "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
all other men and women with respect as human beings equal in importance (in God's eyes) to ourselves. Respect other people's rights at all times. Show tolerance to all, and give everyone else the Liberty to live their own lives on their own principles -- I have NO RIGHT to act like a tyrant and try to impose my will and my beliefs on anyone else. When I am in bitter conflict with other people, I must ask myself, which do I want? to be right or to be happy? Sane people (most of the time) choose "the pursuit of Happiness" in those situations as their goal. Dr. Bob was 55 years old when he met Bill W. and got sober. It doesn't matter what was preached by some religious youth group that Dr. Bob had belonged 40 or 50 years earlier. How many of us still believe when we are 55 what we believed when we were 5 or 10 years old? If Dr. Bob had joined the Masons, then this means that AS AN ADULT he had come to accept the principle that all God required of us human beings was that we recognize Him as the creator (the Great Architect of the universe) and as the Author of a universal moral law which intelligent people could work out for themselves, using their own conscience and their own common sense, without having to appeal to any church doctrines or dogmas or holy books.
From: Matt Dingle . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/25/2009 2:55:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Early AA meeting formats: see Message #5300 http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/5300 "How early AA meetings were held in Akron and Cleveland." Matt D. - - - - Also see Message #5301 http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/5301 and also see numerous passages in "Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers." There was considerable flux (and considerable variety) in the way AA meetings were conducted during the early period.
Winnipeg, 1971 From: mrpetesplace . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/23/2009 2:36:00 PM
on it, that comes from the 27th Annual Manitoba Conference in Winnipeg in 1971.
made sometime later that year after Bill passed (he died on 24 January at the beginning of 1971).
to know more about when the conference was held or any information on it.
great. Were there more of them made? I'm thinking it was a centerpiece for the podium at conference or perhaps might have been given to quest speakers (in which case, more than one would have been made). Thank you in advance for help. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5728. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Early AA meeting formats From: James Flynn . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/25/2009 2:55:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII What happened during the flying blind period was Bill and Bob had lots and lots of failed attempts at trying to get and keep alcoholics sober. Bill D. was AA number 3. There have always been small number of alcoholics who have gotten sober through religious conversion and even the psycho- logical approach (see Richard Peabody's "The Common Sense of Drinking).
show that sobriety could be mass produced, followed later by Alcoholics Anonymous, but there may have been other large movements throughout the course of history that have arisen and faded away. Sincerely, Jim F. - - - - From: S Sommers Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Re: Early AA meeting formats To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, May 25, 2009, 5:41 AM I have heard a recording of a lead by Bill Dotson, AA number 3, from the first anniversary of a group - possibly Canton, Ohio's first birthday celebration. I believe it's the only extant lead of Bill D's we have. In his story he tells of early meetings when the group didn't know who was going to lead the meeting until the meeting itself. After five minutes of quiet time, the group members would vote on who would lead the meeting. My thought is that early formats of meetings might be recalled in some of the old leads, but the memory of even the sober worthies may not be historical fact. It's a starting point for knowing about the structure of early meetings. It would be interesting to know what was happening in the "flying blind" period before the book Alcoholics Anonymous was written. Thanks for everything. Sam Sommers Elkhart, Indiana IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5729. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Four essays on spirituality From: jenny andrews . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/23/2009 4:43:00 AM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII DONALD REEVES There is a powerful description of "deflation at depth" in Donald Reeves' autobiograpy.* Reeves, now a retired Anglican priest, told how in the 1950s he experienced his own rock bottom, viz:
describe as a gift, not mediated by anyone or anything. The gift came with the words, 'Do not fear; you will be all right.' PAUL TILLICH Years later in a sermon by Paul Tillich, in "The Shaking of the Foundations", I recognised what I experienced in that Beirut church:
them to be transformed by a stroke of grace. It happens; or it does not happen ... Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life ... It strikes us when the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying, 'You are accepted, you are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know.
find it later. Do not try to do anything now; perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted!' If that happens to us, we experience grace. After such an experience we may not be better than before, and we may not believe more than before. But everything is transformed.' Theologians and preachers sometimes say far too much. I was not transformed there and then, but I recognised enough in Tillich's words which resonated with my own life. Atheists irritated by this 'emotional waffle' say: 'You were just exhausted and wanted a break'.' To which I respond: 'You are right, but why reduce everything to just? Can't you understand the depth and width of what I am describing?' They say: 'Why can't we have this experience, then?' And I respond: 'I do not know'. At which point the conversation falters." REEVES ON A.A. MEETINGS In an earlier book Reeves described an AA meeting as "an arena of hope". ____________________________ *The memoirs of a 'very dangerous man'; Donald Reeves; Continuum; 2009. ("A very dangerous man" is how Margaret Thatcher described Reeves when she was UK prime minister and he priest at St James's church, Piccadily, London!) - - - - Original message from: glennccc@sbcglobal.net Date: Fri, 22 May 2009 14:12:55 -0700 Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Four essays on spirituality
of Unknowing, the Altar to the Unknown God, and the Dark Night of the Soul." In order to find a God of our understanding, we first have to let go of all our old misconceptions about God, the universe, and ourselves, and make the ascent up Mount Sinai, following Moses into the Cloud of Unknowing. As we continue to climb further and further into the doubt and anguish of the Dark Night of the Soul, we use the twelve steps to guide us into a radical reframing of all the presuppositions of our lives. Disoriented within the infinite and all-encompassing Mystery, we discover the God of the empty altar -- the Altar to the Unknown God, the Agnosto Theo (Acts 17:23-28) -- and hear the voice from the Burning Bush giving us only the bare words, "I am what I am" -- the divine Person whose grace is his love offered to ALL the needy and suffering, without condition. http://hindsfoot.org/g02sinai.pdf - - - - Also see AA historian Richard M. Dubiel, "Paul Tillich: Key Philosophical Theologian of the Mid-Twentieth Century"
on Paul Tillich (and Albert Einstein) at http://hindsfoot.org/pers2.pdf Chapter 10 (pp. 56 ff.) "Paul Tillich: An Impersonal Ground of Being" Chapter 11 (pp. 69 ff.) "Tillich and Einstein" IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5730. . . . . . . . . . . . silkworth.net is back! From: silkworthdotnet . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/25/2009 5:13:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII silkworth.net Yüklə 11,49 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
|