Chapter 1 Bill's Story pgs.1-16

Good Afternoon,

Hope everyone had a wonderful long "15 de Septiembre" weekend!! This week we are going into Bill's Story - Chapter 1 - pgs.1-16.

Personally, I've always felt the most powerful tool one alcoholic has at his disposal, if he wishes to help another alcoholic, is their story. It is one's own story that enables an alcoholic to instantly gain the trust and confidence of another alcoholic where the doctor, minister or friend failed.

Bill was an astute salesman (we seem to have a lot of those in our rooms don't we?), so as soon as the problem had been explained in the Doctor's Opinion he recounts his own story in an effort to secure the reader's trust and confidence. Now Bill was a Wall Street Stock Speculator, he was a night school lawyer,  he was veteran of foreign wars,  an avid golfer, and a whole host of other things, which in my case, I couldn't identify with. His drinking, however, that I could identify with once I truly and honestly thought about it.

See everyone tomorrow,

David t

2014 Meeting Dates

01/29/14  Speaker Meeting <Shane B>

02/26/14  Speaker Meeting <Fred D>

03/26/14  Speaker Meeting <Pete T>

04/30/14  Speaker Meeting <Clive T>

05/28/14  Speaker Meeting <Todd P>

07/30/14 Speaker Meeting <Dave W>

08/27/14 Speaker Meeting <Edwin H>

09/03/14 Preface & Foreword to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Editions

09/10/14 The Doctor's Opinion

09/17/14 Chapter 1 - Bill's Story

09/24/14 SPEAKER MEETING

10/1/14  Chapter 2 - There is a Solution

10/8/14 Chapter 3 - More About Alcoholism

10/15/14 Chapter 4 - We Agnostics

10/22/14 Chapter 5 - How It Works

10/29/14 SPEAKER MEETING

11/5/14 Chapter 6 - Into Action

11/12/14 Chapter 7- Working with Others

11/18/14 Chapter 8 - To Wives

11/26/14 SPEAKER MEETING

12/3/14  Chapter 9 - The Family Afterward

12/10/14 Chapter 10 - To Employers

12/17/14 Chapter 11 - A Vision for You

12/24/14 SPEAKER MEETING

12/31/14 ~New Years~

Group Feedback:

This story is unique yet in many ways common to all of us...the many attempts with resolutions, periods of sobriety, self knowledge discovery, modify drinking habits....even not wanting to drink..to me this has always been the most mysterious....as you go through a period where you don't really want to drink and in fact hate it...and without a conscious contact with a higher power, fellowship in AA, and service to others...it bites over and over again...making a shamble of willpower..    

I think this is the most distinguishing mark in us...left to our own willpower , and not wanting to drink and knowing the outcome,without the program....we will. Plain and simple.     

I also think Bill makes very clear the objection almost 99% of people have with God...I know I did..we can accept the idea of God, a Supreme Being, A power of life outside of us, but where we balk is the idea we can have a personal relationship with God as often this borders too much on what we have seen in religious circles  no matter where a person has come from, culture, religion, race , etc.  Often it has been a turnoff.  It was for me...I went through a very bad experience with a very conservative group and came out thinking,"If this was knowing God I will take my chances  on my own."  It changed over time but a long time.   

Service...is a very important key..it is like anything. If you say you believe in something but do nothing to support those beliefs in the long run it will die in you...especially true with us. See you tonight! 

Russ

That's an excellent insight Russ. I know that was true for me as well when I relapsed back in early 2010. It felt like I had done what was asked of me and yet the world still wouldn't fall into place for me (or how I thought it should be).

Therefore, I reasoned, this God thing must be a sham. I've come to believe the only sham was me playing God and pretending I had any direct control over life itself. God wasn't the problem, my conception of God was. I needed a new "God of my Understanding".

I also agree with what you said about being left to our own devices being powerless over the first drink. Our primary problem is not our body, which once having ingested alcohol develops the "phenomenon of craving" making it impossible to keep from getting drunk, but in our minds, which despite all the evidence, experience, information and warnings continues to delude us into thinking we CAN have just one.

You've got an excellent way with words my friend! Look forward to hearing you tonight!

Regards,

David