Alcoholics Anonymous

5 Top Lessons from The Big Book of AA

There are many resources that provide help to people who are addicted to alcohol. While some people are able to overcome an addiction on their own, others need as much help as they can get. Once a person makes his or her way through a treatment program, they may wish to continue with a similar ….

Are the 12 Steps of Al-Anon the Same as the Others?

The basic concepts behind the 12 steps are the same as other 12 step meetings. Each Al-Anon group is separate from the organization. The 12 traditions explain how this works. Most 12 step programs change the wording of the 12 steps but not the meaning behind them. Although Al-Anon mirrors the 12 step concept, it ….

Alateen Meetings

One of the difficulties young people face with an alcoholic family member are different than adults face. But just like adults they can benefit by talking to peers about the situation. Alateen meetings are meant to address this need. If they are drinking themselves, AA will accept them, but Alateen meetings are a branch of ….

Non-Religious Alcoholics Anonymous

There’s an old argument about whether Alcoholics Anonymous is a religion (or cult!) or not. The response to the charges is usually to stress that it’s spiritual instead of religious. The difference being the lack of a worship element. In any case, there is no denying that the founders had religious principles in mind and ….

Is Alcoholics Anonymous A Cult?

In 1998, Charles Bufe wrote a book that criticized AA called, “AA: Cult or Cure?” The book is available online. He does a pretty good job of laying out the history of AA, its links to religion, and how AA is practiced today. But, in the end, Mr. Bufe cannot come to a solid, unambiguous conclusion. ….

12 Step Spirituality

The entire program of Alcoholics Anonymous, and by extension, other 12 step programs, is based on spiritual principles. Addiction in these models may have physical and psychological components, but primarily, help is sought in the spiritual realm. This doesn’t mean that 12 step spirituality is the only offering – the steps are meant to give practical ….

What Is Thirteenth Stepping?

Originally, the term didn’t have a negative meaning at all. The twelfth step is: “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.” It’s open-ended and was intended to be continued throughout one’s lifetime. In this context, ….

AA Sayings And Quotes

I like to think of them as little nuggets of wisdom. They are the distilled, hard-won knowledge of more than 70 years of struggle with alcohol. Some are short and precise, some general purpose. Most of us have our favorites – those sayings that got us past a critical hump, or the quote that sounded ….

AA Sayings

Alcoholics Anonymous has been around for more than 75 years (it was started shortly after Prohibition was repealed). In that time a great deal of wisdom has accumulated. Much of it is captured in the sayings, or slogans of AA. There are five sayings that are considered “original”. Easy Does It. First Things First. Think, Think, ….

What Is A ‘Friend Of Bill’?

Organizations tend to create and use their own code phrases. Not in a nefarious way, but just as a matter of course. So you have the, “Occam’s razor” of the scientist, the “quod erat demonstratum” saying for lawyers and, for those in Alcoholics Anonymous, the “friend of Bill.” Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith founded ….

Alcoholics Anonymous

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