A.A. Preamble

[Dallas]

The A.A. Preamble that is read at the beginning of many A.A. Meetings:

A.A. Preamble

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.

The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions.

A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

[DebbieV]

Webster Dictionary
Preamble:
The introductory part of a statute, deed, or the like, stating the reasons and intent of what follows.


Wouldn't it be great to have every meeting, every member, every recovering alcoholic follow this? I know I dont always, and it is something I hear almost everyday and need to always put into practice.

A.A. Preamble
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.

The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions.

A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

My thoughts for the day.

Debbie

[Dallas]

Thank you for sharing Debbie!!!

Here are some of the things that I think about -- each time the Preamble is read before the start of an A.A. meeting:

Paragraph 1: to recover from alcoholism --

The primary purpose that we are having the Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting --
to talk about recovery
to talk about how we have recovered
using the recovery program
of Alcoholics Anonymous -- (A.A.'s 12 Steps).


a) Only alcoholics have alcoholism
b) A.A. is for alcoholics -- to recover from ... alcohol-ism
c) to recover from -- from alcohol-ism (and not alcohol-wasim)
d) Fear of picking up the next drink -- is powerful -- but it IS NOT powerful enough to keep the alcoholic away from picking up the next first drink.


Paragraph 3: to achieve sobriety --

a) to achieve -- implies work and effort. "taking" the Steps -- implies work and effort.

b) While it may take some effort -- to get to a meeting, and effort to stay in the chair at the meeting -- sitting in the chair -- is not the same as working -- the Steps.

c) The Steps must be "taken" before they can be worked.

c) listening is not the same as working.


I was in a meeting last night, when a guy who has been sober for over 20 years -- said that "sitting in the chair listening" and "reading the book" --- were the actions necessary to recover! He went on to say that "If I had been told that I had to do more than sit in the chair and keep coming back and just read the book and keep coming back -- I would have went back to drinking!

(I was always told that -- if working for sobriety runs you out of the meeting -- the bottle will eventually run you back in! Tell them the truth the first time -- let them know that sobriety has conditions and requirements -- and what the requirements are. Let them know that they are going to have to work for it -- that's why we read Chapter 5, at each meeting).

I listened to each of the alcoholics share -- that this person sponsors -- not one of his sponsees mentioned taking the Steps -- but, at least each one did share that "I need to keep coming to the meetings to stay sober, and I need to read the book more."

I guess -- a sponsor -- always leads by example.

If the sponsor doesn't take the Steps -- why would his sponsees want to take the Steps?

If a sponsor has not taken the Steps -- why would his sponsees think it was important to take the Steps?

If a sponsor has not taken the Steps -- how can the sponsor lead his sponsees through the Steps?

The 12 Steps -- is -- the Program of Recovery!

Dallas

[ROBERT]

YEA I QUIT DRINKING MANY TIMES--I WAS MISERABLE,WOULD ACT AS THOUGH EVERY THING WAS PEACHY--BUT THE ALCOHOLIC MORE THAN MOST PEOPLE LEADS A DOUBLE LIFE,HE PRESENTS HIS STAGE CHARACTURE--BUT DEEP INSIDE KNOWS THE TRUTH,AND I DID AND I COULD NOT GET IT TOGETHER-<<LACK OF POWER>> THE POWER NEEDED CAME THRU TAKING THE 12 STEPS, A MIRACLE INDEED.I TRIED EVERY THING I COULD TO "FIX" ME,BUT IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS,THRU THE 12 STEPS, THE NEEDED POWER WAS THERE ALL ALONG, DEEP DOWN IN EVERY ONE IS THE FUNDEMENTAL IDEA OF GOD IT MAY BE OBSCURED BY CALAMITY,POMP,WORSHIP OF OTHER THINGS BUT IT IS THERE,AND IN THE LAST ANALYSIS,AFTER I'VE TRIED EVERY IMAGINABLE WAY TO FIND THE GREAT REALITY-HE WAS THEIR ALL ALONG.THE 12 STEPS UN-OBSCURED ME-AND CONTINUE TO DO SO.....ROBERT,A REAL ALCOHOLIC!

[Dallas]

I believe that when they read pg 83/84 to newcomers at a meeting -- and tell them "these are the promises" they are doing a severe injustice to the newcomers.

Sobriety MUST come first. Without sobriety -- there is no hope of there being ANYTHING else that's positive. Without sobriety -- there will be nothing.

I used to get so frustrated as a newcomer because I wanted to know "how can I stay sober? Will someone PLEASE tell me HOW to stay sober? Will someone PLEASE tell me HOW to not take that first drink?"

I kept coming back -- and I didn't hear how to do it. I heard quirky things like "Go to a lot of meetings and don't drink between the meetings."

Someone else would say something like "Get God!" And, I'd want to puke all over them. I had already tried God and religion -- to the MAX. There had even been times when people would bring sick people to me to pray for them and I prayed for people -- and they were actually healed. But, God and religion could not seem to keep me sober.

I got to the jumping off place. I was determined to not drink until it killed me to not drink. Drinking would kill me and not drinking would kill me. That's where I got to. Not drinking was NOT making my life or anything else any better -- and it got so bad SOBER -- that I had decided to drive my car into the side of a train -- to end the pain of being SOBER -- so that it could be said of me "at least he died sober." This was AFTER weeks of literally ripping hand fulls of hair out of my head and beating myself with a tire iron -- to try and distract my thinking and feeling of BEING SOBER.

On the final day that I was headed down to the train tracks which were a short drive from my house -- I called every AA number that I had been given. No one answered. It was all voice mail answering machines when there was an answer. Finally -- my last call -- to a lady AA, that I disliked so much -- that I would rather have died than to call HER!

Looking back on it -- I probably called her, thinking that the results would be the same -- she wouldn't answer -- and then I could go drive myself into the side of the train and feel at peace saying "I did what I was told to do and I called ALL the numbers -- so here I am going to end this misery of being sober!"

Wouldn't you know it? The b**ch answered her phone!



She said "wait right there -- don't go anywhere -- I'll be right over!"

Damn!

She took me for coffee, had a girl friend AA show up, called her boyfriend, and he agreed to talk w/ me after work -- and we'd go to a meeting together.

I still didn't feel any better -- I was trying to be numb so that I could do the one last thing -- and then go find my train.

We stopped in a place, they referred to as "a serenity shop". It was a store that sold chips, medallions, books, tapes, t-shirts and things like that.

My eyes locked onto a set of tapes... in a display case, that had two guys names on it, and said something about recovery and workshop and some type of program being in the Big Book. The set of tapes was about $25. Something deep inside me persuaded me with "buy this set of tapes first and listen to them -- and then, go find the train." Those tapes were my LAST hope.

I listened to each of the tapes and read my Big Book as I went along with the speakers on the tapes. I stopped to do the things they had laid out to do, that we read from the book.

I wasn't about to get my HOPES up -- just to be let down again!

The first things the guys on the tapes started saying was: I understand. Sobriety was killing me. It was more painful to be sober than it was painful to die drunk. And, that sobriety had been MISERY and SUFFERING!

And, then, they said "THAT'S WHY THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN! IT WAS WRITTEN FOR 'OUR TYPES' of alcoholism and alcoholics and THEY GAVE US A PROGRAM OF ACTIONS THAT WE COULD TAKE -- TO CHANGE IT!"

Wow? REALLY? You mean -- out of ALL these hundreds of AA meetings that I've been to... that there is REALLY an OFFICIAL PROGRAM OF RECOVERY and it works for people like me -- and it's in this same book that everyone keeps talking about -- and I keep reading?

The only thing that had kept me sober up to that point was: one alcoholic talking to another. And, that does work! It worked for me.

But, how about getting better? How about NOT suffering while sober? You mean to tell me -- there is a WAY to do this?

Yes. And, that's what THIS BOOK is all about!

[dp101129]

our pre amble is in general of an intro and description of the fellowship

But there is another Alcoholics Anonymous...

[dp101129]

that darn big and blue book

Dung P.

[Toast]

Our preamble also tells us what AA is not.

[Dallas]

Yep. There's two Alcoholics Anonymous.
1. The Big Book - Alcoholics Anonymous.
2. The Fellowship - Alcoholics Anonymous.

And... out of the Fellowship...

there is TWO Fellowships in AA, too!

[dp101129]

sweeet.....A.A. bussiness!!!!
Dung