Wed Night AA Riverside Men's Group

Hi fellas, We had an interesting meeting last week... all five of us! Geez, you leave town for a week and everyone forgets about you!! lol This week we're reading  Chapt 6: Questions & Answers - p.157-191  Which brings me to a bit of business.  After the meeting I'm calling for a group conscious meeting to discuss two topics:  1- This weeks reading is the last chapter in "A New pair of Glasses" so we need to select our next book for reading. I actually apologize for waiting til now to bring this up but what what kind of alcoholic would I be if I didn't leave something for the last minute! 2 - It's come to my attention and to others that all great AA groups have great group names.... I heard some great names like the  Hair of the Dog  Group in West Chester, PA, the  Last Straw  Group in Covina, CA, or the  High we Cannot Buy  Group of LA....  On the other hand, our group's name is..... "The Big Book Study Group"  ...

Good Morning Costa Rica!! The prodigal son has returned and It's great to be back after an amazing journey in Atlanta!! The 2015 International Convention was my first ever and truthfully I can't wait for the next one! The feeling you get hearing the serenity prayer uttered by close to 70.000 people all at once is indescribably beautiful. Thank you to those that accompanied us for making the trip a memorable one. Take a look at some pics from the Georgia Dome while it was filling up.  It was an intense immersion in the AA history and the AA way of life to say the least. It's humbling to  know   that we stand on the shoulders of giants, that AA is a miraculous phenomenon and truly awesome to see the enormous power of that simple basic AA gesture; one drunk helping another drunk to achieve sobriety. If you couldn't make it to this one, start planning for the next one which will be in 2020 in Detroit. I know I will. Anyways, back to business as usual folks...

Hi Folks, This week we finish up  Chapt 4: Sobriety - A Spiritual Rest - p.127-142. I wanted to touch on something that I don't think we covered last week but that really struck me. On the last page of last week's reading (p127), Chuck C said in reference to the words of the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous: Every time I read them, every time I talk about them, they're new. The words remain the same, but we don't. And it depends entirely where we are what they mean. They will always be more meaningful. They always take a new meaning, depending on where WE are. And we'll be walking up this ladder forever. A world without end, Amen.  Sometimes we're at the ground level looking up at that enormous skyscraper and sometimes we're on the top floor looking down at the miniature city below. Our eyes see completely different things depending on our vantage point.   Likewise, our minds perceive  differently depending on where we are physically, emotionally...

Hello folks, This week we're continuing with "A New Pair of Glasses" by CHUCK C (some people were a bit confused *ejem* edwin!). We'll be reading  Chapt 4: Sobriety - A Spiritual Rest - p.111-127.  Lately we've sort of taken to reading pages 84-85 in the big book at the end of the meeting instead of the promises, which is fitting because this chapter is loosely based on the phrase " ... We have ceased fighting anything or anyone - even alcohol " (p84). Now this happens to be one of my friend Dave W's favorite phrases and I'm fortunate to hear him say it often; Sometimes slowly and sometimes  very  slowly, its started to sink in through the layers of my thick skull through the power of repetition (as I like to say, Practice makes Permanent!).  Just for today, I don't have to run the show. I don't have to out-think, out-perform, or out-maneuver  anyone or anything  in order to "eke out a miserable living out of an unfriendly uni...

Good evening my friends, Last week Omar P. shared his excellent story, we're all still wondering where to look for that expensive watch you left behind!! Congratulations on 12 years of sobriety brother!! This week we go back to our book, A New Pair of Glasses -  Chapt 3: The Power of Truth - p.95-110 .  The more I think about it, Truth is indeed a power, a force to be reckoned with. I happened to read a great article today published by "Psychology Today" about the  illusion of knowledge  (yeah, cuz' I read cool stuff like that ).   Basically, there are known-knows or things  we know  that  we  know   like our age or hair color and there are known-unknown or things  we  know  that  we  don't know  like the theory of particle physics in which point-like particles are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings ( wtf?? ).  But where we really get into trouble is with Unknown-Unknow...

Hello everyone, Sorry I'm late with the e-mail. I could tell you the internet or that the lights went out... or that I was occupied elsewhere with matter of  grave  importance that would otherwise impact the integrity of the time-space continuum.... or I could even suggest that I'm merely buckling under the extreme pressures of life and beg for your sympathy.... But the TRUTH IS.... I  only  have a progressive, incurable and potentially fatal disease called alcoholism and the only shot I have at grasping this thing called recovery is through RIGOROUS HONESTY.  That's all!  This week we read   Chapt 3: The Power of Truth - p.75-95. Happy 24hrs,  David t. 2015 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 ...

Hello folks,  Just your friendly reminder about this week's reading; we're on to the 2nd half of  Chapt 2: The Golden Key - p.56-73  - A New pair of Glasses by Chuck C. I gotta say I'm really enjoying this book the 2nd time around. The first time I read it I loved it too but I was more impressed with the things on the surface: The writing style, some of the catchy expressions and that sort of stuff. What I find really fascinating today is that this book, a transcript of a share he gave at an AA retreat in 1975, is really a condensation of the tons of knowledge accumulated here in AA. That accumulated knowledge has been hard to come by; Chuck talks about losing friends to the disease and I'm sure many can relate. The passing of this accumulated knowledge from one generation to the next is such a crucial part of AA,  be it through sponsorship, fellowship or even just sharing at meetings. So I'm just amazed & grateful to be part of something that has been as...

Good evening, Hope everyone had a good weekend. I know those that went to the Manuel Antonio round-up sure seemed to enjoy it! I went last year and it was great fun, sorry I couldn't be there with you this year, but there's always next year! Wanted to thank Russ W. for sharing his experience, strength and hope with us. Totally different story from mine, which just serves to illustrate to me clearly that the disease of alcoholism manifests itself in as many ways as there are different personalities. Better to identify than to compare. This week we delve into the  2nd chapter of  A New Pair of Glasses  by Chuck C: The Golden Key pages 35-55.  I think we can all agree that the program of AA isn't meant to be worked cafeteria style, but is there any one thing I could point out as the "Golden Key." That's a tough call...  Still, I remember when I was first "experimenting" with AA that I had one thought going through my mind and its the one bit of ...

Good evening my friends, As the old saying goes; Better Late than Never!! I got a little caught up in the wackiness of the day-to-day living of a sober alcoholic but anywho..... My Apologies! Tomorrow we'll be continuing this excellent book by Chuck C - A New Pair of Glasses -  The Problem - p.20-34.  I personally think none have described the problem better than The Big Book. If you had the time to read the preface though, Chuck sums up the argument pretty well: The most baffling characteristic of alcoholism - both to the alcoholic and to those who must deal with him - is the paradox in which the conflict of sober reality eventually always becomes untenable, leading to the return to alcohol and/or drugs for relief. Then the relief presents an obvious problem.... [so] Neither Sobriety nor its chemical counterpoint can provide a meaningful cessation of the conflict.  p.viii I have in the past, as many others have as well, made the mistake of thinking my problem...

Hello everyone, This week we will be starting on a new book:  A New Pair of Glasses by Chuck C.  I wanted to start by giving a big THANK YOU to Todd P for making a bunch of copies available to everyone in the group.  If you don't have a copy you can buy one from Todd for only $7!! (~¢3.700)  And as an added bonus, if you call now, Todd will gift wrap it, include a box of assorted chocolates and personally hand deliver the book to you at a time & place of your choosing... Just Kidding!!  At the bottom of the e-mail you will see the new schedule for the book. I've tried to break it down into smaller parts so that It'll take us about 3 months to get through all ~190 pages. I tried breaking it on pages where it made sense to take a break but If the paragraph doesn't end neatly on that page just read until the end of that paragraph. I'm looking forward to trading in my Faux kleys & Ray- Bons for a new pair!! See everyone soon, David t 2015 ...