It wasnt a question of those alcoholics giving me anything. Many agree working a good program is vital to emotional sobriety. Convincing testimony must surely come from medical men who have had experience with the sufferings of our members and have witnessed our return to health. Choosing emotional sobriety through selfawareness and right action is the best resource i know for developing an understanding of emotional sobriety and obtaining a set of useful tools that plug directly into the 12 step recovery program. Emotional sobriety the next frontier selected stories from the aa grapevine. Emotional sobriety many oldsters who have put our aa booze cure to. Search 164 and more the book 164 and more about recovery press. Emotional in big book alcoholics anonymous, 12 steps and. Many tried everythinghospitals, special treatments, sanitariums, asylums, and jails. Emotional sobriety alcoholics anonymous aotearoanew zealand. We know that a spiritual experience is the key to survival from alcoholism.
The original manuscript of a l c o h o l i c s a n o n y m o u s this is an electronic reproduction of the 1938 original manuscript of alcoholics anonymous. Emotional sobriety bringing the twelve steps and the. Aa big book with questions for discussion emotional. When i am trapped in thoughts about what i want and what should be coming to me, i am in a state of fear or anxious anticipation and this is not conducive to emotional sobriety. Emotional sobriety polly p conducting a workshop on emotional sobriety in 2006 she got sober in 1977. Being sober versus being in recovery psychology today.
I think that many oldsters who have put our aa booze cure to severe but successful tests still find they often lack emotional sobriety. The fifteen stories in this group tell of alcoholism at its miserable worst. Time for rejoicing fewer and fewer approvalseeking behaviors. Aa anonymity statement anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions. The next step emotional sobriety in a working retreat format with dave f. Tom did not use the name of the person addressedperhaps because he was still living. Read it, study it, live with it, loan it, scatter it, and then learn from it what it means to be an a.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The next frontier alcoholics anonymous 12 step program 12 steps of aa akron ohio aa new york the big book of aa 2nd edition. When the twelfth step is seen in its full implication, it is really talking about the kind of love that has no price tag on it. There is an important distinction between being sober and being in recovery. What the founders of aa recognized and that is important to anyone with a substance use disorder today is that simply stopping use of a substance and avoiding relapse is not enough. My names archer, and im a grateful recovering drug addict and alcoholic.
Today i feel totally protected by my higher power who loves me just as i am and asks no more than i be the best me i can be today. The history of alcoholics anonymous beginners classes. Illustrating that emotional sobriety is a mindbody phenomenon, dr. There may be three reasons for this, all intimately related. Using a program like the 12 steps can help some people develop emotional sobriety. Sorting and rendering passages in the proprietary format of the 164 and more concordance does not in any way imply affiliation with or endorsement by either alcoholics anonymous. The relationship between spiritual recovery and emotional sobriety is probably a gray area for most of us.
Kathy berman, am the sole author and publisher of this page i started 1112011. Most had taken shattering losses on nearly every front of life. Emotional sobriety is about bringing the twelve steps of aa and the enneagram together. I get to do loads of individual service work and have the pleasure of studying the aa.
I like to say i am a condemned man, condemned to be happy, joyous and. Why would bill capitalize the word fellowship here and not anywhere else in the big book. Aa big book with questions for discussion hi everyone. Emotional sobriety mildred f emotional sobriety disc 1 mildred f emotional sobriety disc 2 mildred f emotional sobriety disc 3 mildred f emotional sobriety disc 4 mildred f emotional sobriety disc 5 wilson house super bowl. The next frontier alcoholics anonymous 12 step program 12 steps of aa akron ohio aa new york the big book of aa 2nd edition alcohol allergy rehabilitation of alcoholics dr. Just what exactly is emotional sobriety and how do we attain it is a question most of us have whether we are new to recovery or have a few twentyfour hours under our belts. Alcoholics anonymous cleveland district office is a nonprofit organization serving the counties of cuyahoga. Sharing 39 years of experience with the big book in a big book oriented retreat weekend. Probably the most powerful piece of aa literature i have read i love the big book and 12 x 12 but this book really met a need for mehaving almost 25 years of. We live in a codependent society that refuses to accept what codependency really is.
Emotional sobriety i kindle edition by aa grapevine inc. The 164 and more book, ebook, and web site are all concordances which display passages from the big book alcoholics anonymous, the twelve steps and twelve traditions, and the a. Aa speakers how to be happy, content, and have emotional sobriety part 1. Eternal sobriety chapter two aa a process that works in the book as bill sees it, on page 95, bill wilson, a cofounder of alcoholics anonymous said we are only operating a spiritual kindergarten in which people are enabled to get over drinking and find the grace to go on living to better effect. As ods people, we stand on our own feet, we dont crawl before anyone. Emotional sobriety the next frontier selected stories. This was the version of the big book distributed to friends and colleagues of aas founders. Sorting and rendering passages in the proprietary format of the 164 and more concordance does not in any way imply affiliation with or endorsement by either alcoholics.
The book 12 smart things to do when the booze and the drugs are gone. The original manuscript of emotional sobriety and food. Some might think that it means being happy, joyous, and free, a common adage in 12step meetings, taken from aa literature. Find all uses of this word in the big book alcoholics anonymous and the. The doctors opinion w e ofalcoholics anonymous believe that the reader will be interested in the medical esti mate of the plan of recovery described in this book. Emotional sobriety is a concept that originated with alcoholics anonymous aa, the 12step support group program for those who struggle with drinking.
Pauls lesson in the big book regarding expectations being inversely proportional to serenity. He did fear that the 12 steps alone might not be enough to ensure emotional sobriety but believed it would bring people a long way along the path. The concept of emotional sobriety is not limited to aait is useful for anyone struggling with addiction. Find all uses of this word in the big book alcoholics anonymous and the twelve steps and twelve traditions of a. Home read the big book and twelve steps and twelve traditions alcoholics anonymous alcoholics anonymous this is the fourth edition of the big book, the basic text for alcoholics anonymous. When we stop worrying about unimportant matters, we can devote so much more of ourselves to what is truly important. The big book of alcoholics anonymous including twelve steps and twelve traditions. In emotional sobriety the next frontier, sober women and men describe the transformations sobriety can bring. Emotional sobriety the next frontier selected stories from the aa grapevine aa grapevine on. For the record, bills essay on emotional sobriety was written long before dr. The next frontier emotional sobriety aa grapevine, january, 1958 by bill w. Dayton shares compelling, honest tales of her life experiences and case studies of those she has counseled.
The very idea of the spiritual being practical sounds like a contradiction in. How then does aa understand the emotions, and how is it that a spiritual awakening and the practice of the principles work to shape and transform them so that we. Sobriety in big book alcoholics anonymous, 12 steps and 12. For many years in sobriety, i have heard people voice the same lament. That article will give you a comprehensive view of es and will inform future browsing on this site. Allen berger is a talented psychotherapist, lecturer, and popular recovery author who has written extensively about the experience of recovery, the important topic of emotional sobriety, integrating modern psychotherapy and the 12 steps, and the psychological forces operating in the twelve steps. In emotional sobriety ii, bill w tells us that emotional sobriety is our next frontier. One, we are not clear on what, practically speaking, a spiritual awakening is.
If youre new here, start by reading the blog post entitled this what i learned. These ideas are similar to buddhist teachings that our happiness and serenity depends on how we respond to desires, cravings, or circumstances in life. Pauls story appeared in the third edition of the big book in 1975. This is not a discussion podcast, simply speaker meetings and workshops in a podcast format.
Emotional sobriety workshop of alcoholics anonymous. Loneliness, great physical and mental agonythese were the common lot. My stability came out of trying to give, not out of demanding that i receive. Emotional in big book alcoholics anonymous, 12 steps and 12. Thus i think it can work out with emotional sobriety. If you dont have a big book, its time you bought one. An unofficial alcoholics anonymous podcast featuring aa speaker meetings and workshops. The differences are clear to those who have experienced both phases in their healing process from alcoholism. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading emotional sobriety i. They had even fewer alcoholic lapses or emotional binges than a. I must surrenderover and overto the reality of my dependence on god, for then i find peace, gratitude, and spiritual security. The 12 steps of alcoholics anonymous have proven to be an effective therapy in achieving personal, physical, mental and emotional sobriety if taken as directed, and then continued as a design for living that works.
The nook book ebook of the emotional sobriety i by aa grapevine, inc. During our weekly meetings, we read and discuss the aa big book and other program recovery literature, in order to deepen our knowledge and apply the spiritual principles embodied in each of the 12 steps to our lives. In the first six months of my own sobriety, i worked hard with many alcoholics. This is the original study guide to the big book, alcoholics anonymous.