Position of Neutrality

In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, it says, ‘You will soon have your friend admitting he has many if not all the traits of an alcoholic.’ If I’m properly armed with the facts about myself, I can match your experiences if you want to match them. If you don’t, if you’re just finding the differences, then we just aren’t ready, or I’m not a competent enough messenger. I can admit my incompetence...

In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, it says, ‘Helping others is the foundation stone of your recovery.’ Who wants a recovery foundation that is filled with stone? All of us, right? That’s how important these people are to us. A kindly act once in a while isn’t enough. I always tell my new ones, if it’s so newsworthy that you need to post your acts of kindness on Facebook, you’re not doing it...

In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, it says, ‘It may mean the loss of many nights’ sleep, great interference with your pleasures, interruptions to your business. It may mean sharing your money and your home, counseling frantic wives and relatives, innumerable trips to police courts, sanitariums, hospitals, jails, and asylums. Your telephone may jangle at any time of the day or night. Your wif...

In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, on page 98, it says, ‘It’s not the matter of giving that’s in question, but when and how to give.’ Last week, we discussed the importance of growing in understanding and effectiveness. I promised we’d talk about what we’re growing in effectiveness at this week. We need to be in conscious relation because we don’t want our giving to be a detriment to someone...

Position of Neutrality is a study of the manner of living suggested by the founders of A.A. which was recorded in the book Alcoholics Anonymous. The story of how many thousands of men and women have recovered from alcoholism.

In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, it says, ‘Practical experience shows that nothing will so much ensure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other activities fail.’ Intensive work with others ensures immunity when other activities fail. Sean likes to point out that, in the authors experience, other activities will fail. Join us as we explore the rest...

In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, it says, ‘Show him from your own experience how the queer mental condition surrounding that first drink prevents normal functioning of the willpower.’ I need to be armed with the facts about myself. How many of you had some clean time, knew it probably wasn’t a good idea to do any more of whatever tripped your trigger, yet something happened in your thinkin...

It works when other activities fail. If you’ve tried everything else and you think AA doesn’t work, try helping somebody. You can be uniquely useful if you’ve utilized the process that’s proven to arm you with the facts about yourself, so you’re a proper witness to the power in and through you. Does that make sense? Join us as we explore the transformative power of Step 12 from the Big Book of Alc...

What are the conditions of body and mind? Having a mental obsession that’s beyond my control—I just can’t get out of the loop. And then, when I finally do ingest it, I have a physical craving. So what should sedate me energizes me, and I need more. How many of you are opiate addicts? Had some clean time and then just went off the rails, OD’d first right out the rip because the craving doesn’t know...

Search out another alcoholic and try again if you’re sure to find someone desperate enough to accept with eagerness what you offer. It’s a waste of time to keep chasing a man who cannot or will not work with you. If you leave such a person alone, he may soon become convinced that he cannot recover by himself. Spending too much time on any one situation denies another alcoholic the opportunity to l...

“It’s above your pay grade. Notice how these authors talk about going from Step 3 to Step 4, and they say, ‘next we launched.’ Everyone here will have to admit when they went down to write their inventory for the first time, they did not launch. What happened is they accessed power that enabled them to launch. It wasn’t because I made them do it or took them through it—they desperately wanted free...

You’re going to feel this way and worse. You may not be drug sick, but you’ll be life sick. And that’s when you’re going to know that you need to claim the promises of this power you’ve gained access to. Because the trick isn’t getting sober, it’s staying sober and living spiritually awakened. If he’s not interested in your solution, if he expects you to act only as a banker for his financial diff...

f I’m worried about how you’re thinking about me, I’m worried about the wrong thing because I cannot control how you think about me. I can’t even control how I think about me. But we must be careful not to drift into worry, remorse, or morbid reflection, for that would diminish our usefulness to others. If I drift into worry, remorse, or morbid reflection, I’m less likely to reach out to you and h...

How many of you have had the experience of your thoughts actually working for you and things sort of went all right? How many of you have had the experience of you working for your thoughts and things didn’t go as well? ‘You’re not good enough. I bet he doesn’t like you. I bet they’re going to fire you anyway. Why go to work? You should stay home. You should just go get another bag. You’re ten dol...

We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we’ve harmed anyone. If you are suffering from an outburst, making it right sooner is better. Challenge yourself—not as a condemnation, but because you want to be free. How free do you want to be? Instant freedom is possible. When I take captive that thought, I am not that thought. I am the experiencer of that thought, and I’m goi...

We’re all children of the living God. We have ceased fighting anything or anyone, even alcohol. So, go to any meeting and when someone tells you how they’re just struggling and struggling, there’s the one you need to help. Because if you’re struggling, you’re doing it wrong. We’ve ceased fighting anything or anyone—even alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl. I will lose that fight. I...

So have we kept something to ourselves which should be discussed with another person at once? Sean talks about it. He’s been doing this a long time. He’s heard a lot of phone calls. And many of you, if you’re working with people, you’ve heard them too. We’ve got to find somebody that we can tell them about our frailties because you’re going to need to at times overcome those frailties. And the onl...

After making our review, we ask God’s forgiveness and inquire what corrective measures should be taken. I hear a lot of people saying, ‘Why would I ask for forgiveness from this power I don’t believe in?’ Well, first of all, you’re coming to believe. And second, you’re going to learn that forgiveness is a divine act, so it’s going to have to come from the divinity within me. Because the flesh says...

I’m going to turn my thoughts to another, discuss them with another, and then turn my thoughts. Yes. And hopefully, that’s going to teach you to grow in conscious relation because you’re not going to talk to another person every time if you can settle it with you and the Creator. And if you can’t get out of the loop, then talk to a human that’s going to help you out. That’s why we have peer models...

Guys, we’ve got to tell people the truth. We’re not fighting it; we’re not ‘not picking up no matter what.’ It takes no power to not do. I’m walking as the hands and feet of the creator of the universe. Why would I want to do that crap? I didn’t used to eat when I was drinking because I didn’t want to wreck the buzz. I’m not going to eat of that realm because I don’t want to wreck the buzz. Does t...

We will do the same thing with our addictive disorders and our other behaviors if we just stay in it. We react sanely and normally, and we’ll find that this has happened automatically. How many of you over time didn’t know how different your thoughts and actions had become until someone else called your attention to it? Yeah, that’s how you know it happened automatically. I wasn’t looking for that...

Yet we believe we can make some definite and valuable suggestions. When we retire at night, we constructively review our day. So maybe the very first change in the way you think and act will be a constructive review instead of a destructive review. How many of you didn’t even know that you were destructively reviewing your day when you laid there growling at everybody or yourself and couldn’t slee...

How many of you have started having strategies for doing better and surprised yourself? I hear that a lot. Man, I just know I should have done better. I said, yeah, but 2 years ago, you didn’t know that. You’re growing. Now you’re going to have to ask for power because it takes power to do better. So, were we thinking of ourselves most of the time, or were we thinking of what we could do for other...

For those of you joining us for the first time tonight, welcome! Let us warn you in advance, you’re liable to experience us just a little differently than other meetings of other fellowships you may have attended. The primary reason for this is that we intend for you to have a different experience here. What we do here we’ve been doing for lots of years now. We take a look at the suggested instruc...

Does it make sense? Somewhere in that walk, we’re going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. Whoo! Yeah, we should get a bigger yell for new freedom than that! You know, New Freedom has a really good reputation, and it’s entirely because of you people. You hear things about us from naysayers, but the thing you hear most is that we’re hard to kill, and our efficacy is better than anyone else...