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I had no training or education in religion or spirituality when new to the Program of AA in 1976. Quickly, I was introduced to the teachings of Emmet Fox. He was an early leader in the New Thought movement of spirituality. Also for the founders of the AA Program. His book, The Sermon on the… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Learn From It’s Utilization

If you are new or returning to the AA Program, you are on the right page. If you are an “old timer,” you are on the right page. That’s right! New and trying to just figure out what this program is all about. Or if you have been around a while and some of the… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Best Employ Steps 1-3

“I always feel so good when I leave a meeting but then things seem to slip back into chaos.” “Why do I have to go to a meeting in order to feel good and then it all goes out the window when I am not at a meeting?” We have talked about this before and… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Best Use It Daily

When I was in the madness, I don’t believe that this was one of my thoughts. Why, you may wonder? Because any time that I had time off, or on for that matter, I drank and let the chips fall wherever they may. My plans were very short lived and rarely accomplished because they always… Continue reading Spirituality and How to Make Tomorrow Great

Like many other people, I always thought that many things happened by coincidence or by luck. “Man, you were sure lucky when that truck missed you by inches.” “Hey, you are sure lucky that guy was not a better shot and you wore a vest for the first time.” “That was a real coincidence that… Continue reading Spirituality and How to Remove “Luck” and “Coincidence” From Our Thinking!

Today, I seem to have a gratitude list that is almost too long to be able to count. One of the most important rewards of sobriety for me, if not the greatest reward, was my introduction to Spirituality. My Higher Power, who I now choose to call God, was always in and with me. But… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Stay Grateful For Your Life

Bill W. Says in As Bill Sees it: “Years ago I used to commiserate with all people who suffered. Now I commiserate only with those who suffer in ignorance, who do not understand the purpose and ultimate utility of pain.” “Someone once remarked that pain is the touchstone of spiritual progress. How heartily we A.A.’s… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Replace Pain With Peace

Bill W. says in As Bill Sees It: “It has often been said of A.A. that we are interested only in alcoholism. That is not true. We have to get over drinking in order to stay alive. But anyone who knows the alcoholic personality by firsthand contact knows that no true alky ever stops drinking… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Change Your Thinking And Change Your Life

The monthly theme at the Flint Life Enrichment Center recently was The Power of Trust. Just what is trust, anyway? I’m glad you asked! Trust is just another word for Faith. Faith is just another way of saying Belief. How do we get this Trust/Faith/Belief? This is where CBA come into play. We first CONCEIVE… Continue reading Spirituality How To Be Serene In Today’s Mad World

Reverend Stephanie Sorensen said recently at the Life Enrichment Center in Flint, MI: “Someone said the other day: “’I love waking up to the smell of the Universe conspiring on my behalf.’ Life is good when we let it be. We’re here to enjoy it and bring our joy to it. We’re not here to… Continue reading Spirituality and How to Know What To Ask AA For

Signigicant loss can be felt while dealing with losing anything of personal value. Most common is the loss of a loved one. But also, there are any number of things that are of vital importance to us that, if we lose, it is significant to us. Losing a pet, a job, moving from one place… Continue reading Spirituality and How to Carry On After Significant Loss

We hear a lot about serenity but it seems like a lot of people never achieve a serene, peaceful life. What really is Serenity? Webster says it is “marked by or suggestive of utter calm and unruffled repose or quietude.” I remember when I was very new to the program and white knuckling it people… Continue reading Spirituality and How to Finally Attain True Serenity

Many newcomers to the AA Program have a disdain or fear for any references to religious thoughts or ideas and, so, shut themselves off from listening to anything related to religion. Even after being told that this is not a religious program but is a spiritual program, I wondered what is the difference? And why… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Use Faith Not Fear

Step 1 states “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol. That our lives had become unmanageable.” When I came into AA, I did not know the phraseology that was used but I did know for certain that something was very wrong. I was scared because I didn’t know just what it was. I would wake… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Understand Step 1

Recently, we discussed Spirituality and Fear. Now that we know that fear is the foundation of ALL of our character defects and shortcomings, what can we do about them? “If you had, coming up, the same thing that I do, you would be fearful, too.” “If you did what I did, you would be fearful,… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Best Utilize CBA

One of my early sponsors, 3 Finger Freddie, used to wave his stubs under my nose and say “Utilize, not analyze, Red.” At first I didn’t appreciate his putting his hand in my face but he was working such a great program. One that I wanted very much. So, I asked him what he meant… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Utilize, Not Analyze

Step 11 states: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. How simple can this get, huh? To pray ONLY for the knowledge of His will for us and the power… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Effectively Pray Using Step 11

The term “Unconditional Love” is expressed a lot. It has been so for ages. The first question is just what is love? Webster states: strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties. Attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers. The object of attachment, devotion, or admiration. These definitions many… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Express Unconditional Love

During this podcast, we had a discussion with Reverend Stephanie Sorensen, a New Thought minister with the Life Enrichment Center in Flint, MI.

I had a reminder recently of all that I have to be grateful for. I was reminded that, since I have joined AA and began working the Program to the best of my ability, I now have choices. Looking back, I don’t think that I had choices before the Program showed me that there was… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Attain and Truly Feel Gratitude

We talked briefly yesterday about the ripple effect and how it applies to our everyday thoughts and actions. Everything in the Universe, every atom, object, living thing, is in constant motion. It is vibrating at a specific frequency. We learned this in high school science. The spiritual writer, Tanya Carrroll Richardson states, “Someone’s energy, or… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Best Utilize Law of Vibration

Recently before one of our meetings here, I heard a short discussion on admitting and accepting. This started me thinking. Then, later the daily reading in one of my Spiritual readings, the Guide for Spiritual Living, discussed the same thing. The mention of this topic twice in a day or so reminds me that there… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Differentiate Admitting From Accepting

There are many educated, very knowledgeable people who come into AA, proving that academic prowess alone will not keep us away from our addictions. Much of this is because knowing something well enough to take a test or exam in school is only one way to learn. This type of learning many times is fleeting… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Appreciate Heart Vs. Head Learning

Step 6 states “We were ready to have God remove all these defects of character.” Notice that this step says remove ALL these defects of character. Not some. Not “I am going to save a few otherwise I just wouldn’t be me.” Yes, I have heard this said too and sometimes by people who have… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Understand Step 6

Reverend Stephanie Sorensen reminds us that we all are Spiritual Beings. We are living in a Spiritual universe. This Spiritual universe is governed by Spiritual law. And, as Divine beings, we are individual expressions of God and One with ALL that exists. As soon as this is realized, you will see that it works for… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Know That It Works For You

Step 4 states “Made a searching and fearless inventory of ourselves.” I have attended closed AA meetings seating from 75-100 people to much smaller numbers. Many of the meetings would concentrate on the steps. They had signs on the tables signifying the number of the step to be discussed there. Most of the time the… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Work Your Inventory, Step 4

Step 3 states “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.” As those of you who have attended this meeting for a while know, the 3rd Step is a very basic, important part of our program of practicing these principles in all our… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Surrender To Win, Step 3

Step 2 states “Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” At first I balked at this step because I didn’t want to think that I was insane. Then I thought of the kind of person I had become so that I was brought to my knees. I thought… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Understand And Believe Step 2

A paraphrase from the teachings of Eckhart Tolle is: The more that you devote to the past or future robs you of the only real time that there is and that is right now. Reverend Stephanie Sorensen reminds us that this helps us to believe that the only time one can express himself is now.… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Live In The Now

When I was in school, whether it was grade school or grad school, learning was pretty much the same. I would cram before a test or exam and, as soon as the test was over, “Poof” the new knowledge many times disappeared. This repeated itself with most of life’s experiences right up until I was… Continue reading Spirituality and How To Choose Heart Learning Over Head Learning