Skip to main content

Chapter 2 - There is a Solution

Hey fellas,
First off, want to thank Larry H. for his share and a terrific speaker meeting last week!! This week we will be going over Chapter 2 - There is a solution.

"If you are as seriously alcoholic as we were, we believe there is no middle-of-the-road solution. We were in a position where life was becoming impossible, and if we had passed into the region from which there is no return through human aid, we had but two alternatives: One was to go on to the bitter end, blotting out the consciousness of our intolerable situation as best we could; and the other, to accept spiritual help. This we did because we honestly wanted to, and were willing to make the effort." - bottom of pg.25.
It goes on to describe the story of Rowland Hazzard III, a wealthy American business man from Rhode Island (1881-1945). Rowland had cross that threshold with his drinking and after having sought help from top American psychiatrists to no avail, he went to Europe where he consulted with Dr.Carl Jung in Zurich, Switzerland. After a while "he believed he had acquired such profound knowledge of the inner workings of his mind and its hidden springs that relapse was unthinkable"(pg.26). We can all guess how that turned out!! Beaten by booze once again he returned to Dr.Jung who told him bluntly that there was no hope for him. In desperation Rowland asked "Is there no exception?" To which the good doctor replied "Exceptions to cases such as yours have been occurring since early times. Here and there, once in a while, alcoholics have had what are called vital spiritual experiences. To me these occurrences are phenomena..."
Rowland was able to have that spiritual experience, he got sober with the help of the Oxford Groups, and later intervened on Ebby Thatcher's behalf (Bill Wilson's childhood friend). Ebby, in turned, planted the seed of this solution in Bill Wilson and a few yadda, yadda, yaddas down the line.... Here we all are!!!
BY THE WAY, this chapter is where the reference to APPENDIX II - SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE first appears. It is repeatedly referenced through out the big book so I would venture to say that they thought it was important. So if you want some extra credit...

Regards,
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 <Larry H>

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~
Labels:
Location: San José Province, Escazu, Costa Rica

Comments

Post a Comment

Leave your comments and feedback....

Popular posts from this blog

A Drunk, Like You p398-406

Hi everyone, My apologies on sending this out late this week, I've been battling a little bit of a cold lately. Anywho, I'd like to thank Dave W. for sharing his excellent story with us last week, nothing helps recovery along like a heavy dose of humor & depravity and Jesus Dave delivered in spades!! Also I'd like to remind everyone of the upcoming AA convention in Manuel Antonio that's taking place from May 6-8th. We're still working on the details of organizing our group to get out there but let me know if your interested and go online to  register now  -  It's FREE!!  (to register anyways, you pay later!!) This week we'll be reading  A Drunk, like You p398-406 . This was the first time for me reading it and I got a lot out of it. Aside from the fact that I always love listening to another  Member of the Tribe  breaking barriers by showing that alcoholism is no respecter of race, religion or creed, proving you  jew *i mean too*  ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gutter Bravado p501-511

Good evening Folks, This week we will be reading & discussing  Gutter Bravado p501-511.   One of the great joys of my life is hosting this Wednesday night meeting of which I've had the privileged to serve for some time now. So it gives me a great sense of satisfaction whenever I hear someone, especially a new comer, say that there is  something  special about our meeting. To me it means that the same  something-ness  with which I fell in love with is still there.  Last week, Fred brought up an article originally written in the July 1976 issue of "24 Magazine". In the article, the unknown author compares the quality of someone's AA program to Strong/Medium/Week Coffee.  See the article here:  http://www. barefootsworld.net/ aagreshamslaw.html  It's a bit long but well worth the read (kind of like my e-mails!! lol).  Basically it describes how the rapid growth of AA in the early 40's created a situation in which y...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Perpetual Quest p388-397

Good evening everyone, Before I get to the weekly reminder, I wanted to inform everyone, if you didn't know already, that this years  Manual Antonio AA International Convention  is coming up. The convention will be May 6, 7 & 8th (Fri thru Sunday). I think it would be awesome if we could get a group of the wednesday night men's group to go. I even got a hall pass from my significant other already!! You can check out the convention and  register online here  . There are no upfront fees, you pay when you show up. You do need to reserve a hotel room ahead of time and I'd like to get a head count so maybe we can split some rooms between us. Go ahead and take a look at the website and we can discuss everything at the end of the meeting this week. This wednesday night we will be going over  The Perpetual Quest p388-397.  I thought this was a very interesting story, brought me back to a time early in recovery when things seemed more complicated and yet simpl...
Post a Comment
Read more