Posted by Jim on 8/7/2005, 8:04 pm, in reply to "Re: About addictions and Linda M's response" --Previous Message--
4.255.45.0
The Big Book of AA is actually a wonderful piece of writing and obviously spiritually inspired (Bill W may have been bipolar-I recognize the spontaneous output of profundity). Anyway, I do recognize the danger of sweeping criticisms about the organization. Doing so is fanatical, just like I'm accusing "them" of being. I actually see AA as THE framework within witch occurs national discussion and national consciousness about addiction.
: I resonate and identify in many ways.
: I'm more like you.
:
: I will say that just because many
: people in AA or other 12-step groups
: are compulsive about the perameters
: of recovery, I think there's room in
: the spirit of the program for very
: out of the box interpretations. That
: is not to say that most people
: approach it in this manner. There's
: something in the original AA
: material that was so healing, so
: radical that it still works on some
: level today.
:
: But the real pioneers will be
: pushing the envelope and learning
: new ways. Sounds like you are a
: pioneer.
:
:
:
:
: --Previous Message--
: :
: Hi This is very apt and shows
: profound insight, Insights that can
: be transferred to many situations
: beyond traditional addictions. Also
: how inner strength and self belief
: promote /assists the self healing
: process.
: Angela.
:
: Previous Message--
: My experience with other addictions
: is
: that (contrary to popular belief) It
: is possible to focus on personal
: work and let success in addiction
: reduction follow. In AA and in most
: psychological counseling situations,
: I was always told that my behaviors
: had to change before I could begin
: personal growth work. But I was not
: stopping the behaviors and felt that
: I needed help/counseling anyway. Bit
: by bit I pieced together some mental
: health while remaining a practicing
: addict and eventually most of my
: problem behaviors reduced. I believe
: this is the result of self
: acceptance including acceptance of
: my addicted self.
:
: This is a difficult course because
: everyone told me I was using the
: above ideas as an excuse to just do
: whatever the hell I wanted. Of
: course partially that was true. Now
: I feel that my partial recovery is
: stronger than the "full"
: recovery of many addicts who have
: stopped all the behaviors but remain
: prone to a full relapse. When I've
: been sober for a year and have one
: beer, I've still got that one year.
: Nothing can take it away. In AA we
: are taught that the one beer wipes
: away that year. We are then a
: complete failure who may easily
: enter full relapse to assuage the
: guilt. When I have one beer, it is
: merely evidence to me that I am
: probably getting on shaky ground
: with my personal work. That is
: helpful info for me.
:
: I think it is significant that I
: have found success by going my own
: way that I thought of myself. It
: means that we don't have to be
: afraid to think for ourselves. I
: suppose it could be said that we do
: need to fear not thinking for
: ourselves. Popular wisdom does not
: always exist because of its
: rightness. Sometimes it just exists
: because it took hold in a way (often
: religious like AA) that people are
: afraid to question.
:
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