We will be studying the program of action outlined in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. We will learn exactly why this information was and still is so effective in producing a spiritual awakening which solved the hopeless condition in which we found ourselves. The “program” is different from the “fellowship.” What we study here—the course of action leading to a spiritual awakening—is the program. The fellowship is the people and the meetings; the camaraderie we share before, during, and after meetings; and helping each other recover. All are important but it is the program that guarantees freedom from sex addiction; leading to a whole new way of life.
We want to emphasize a few points before we begin our study tonight. Powerlessness, simply defined, is a loss of choice. The literature we read drives home the reality of the obsession--the reality that our thinking was anything but sane just before we acted out. This is not easily dismissed. The insane idea is the idea that acting out won’t hurt us and those around us; that it won’t destroy our lives, rob us of our freedom and dignity, the list goes on and on. This is why willpower, self-knowledge, other people, and length of abstinence were futile in stopping the destructive behavior. Did this insanity always trump everything else? Of course it did! It was how we thought. This insanity was impossible to unlearn, turn off, or otherwise stop using our own willpower. Over time we sought more intensity, more extreme escapades, until finally we could tolerate it no longer. It had to be stopped. How we stopped it is exactly the same as any addict stops: we either died a lonely death or accepted spiritual help.
We may have entered SAA thinking the Twelve Steps of AA certainly helped alcoholics. We knew sex was an instinct and drinking was not. But still, we wondered whether sex addiction could be remedied by the solution offered by AA. Happily, we found that this difference was irrelevant. The AA Big Book clearly outlines the underlying problem of ANY addict. It explains that our problem is ultimately spiritual in nature and the result of a craving beyond mental control. That is something we can certainly identify with. The physical allergy to alcohol would seem to be irrelevant if the alcoholic has no alcohol in his system, and yet still he returns to drinking when stone cold sober. The problem, therefore, centers in the mind! Just prior to acting out, sex addicts are unable to recall with sufficient force—as a sane person would—the pain, suffering, and humiliation of a week, a month, or a year ago.
Sex addicts act out without knowing they are insane until the climax is achieved, emerging full of guilt, shame, fear, and remorse. All addictions have the same consequences, destroying the lives of addicts and those closest to them. Addictions lead to despairing families, damaged children, loss of career, an ever-worsening withdrawal from life. They leave the addict hopeless and helpless with no escape other than the ephemeral high. Insane thinking: this is the foundation of the addiction. We have tried many, many remedies and in desperation, sought out what has proven to be THE most effective therapy of all: a spiritual awakening!
The Big Book includes very simple instructions for attaining this spiritual awakening. The first 100 AAs recovered from a hopeless condition and worked with Bill Wilson to author the practical program of action outlined in the first 164 pages of the Big Book. When followed, these instructions produce without fail a personality change or spiritual awakening, which is the only thing sufficient to overcome insane thinking. In other words, the instructions which we study tonight tell you precisely how we recovered. We found that, to do this, we must lay aside our prejudices against spiritual principles and seek a new relationship with the Higher Power of our understanding.
Finally, we want to discuss what recovery looks like. Recovery is not merely abstaining from acting out; that would certainly be a miserable existence for most of us. We need to re-create our lives, re-set our priorities, renew our relationships with God and our fellows, and enjoy new experiences with a sense of peace, joy, and purpose many of us have never known. This is what is required to stay sober and live life to its fullest; this is what is guaranteed if the steps are followed as written and if we live our lives in Steps 10, 11, and 12.
The content of this website has not been approved by and may not reflect the opinions or policies of the ISO of SAA, Inc.
Disclaimer: This group is not affiliated with the host of the web site.
We want to emphasize a few points before we begin our study tonight. Powerlessness, simply defined, is a loss of choice. The literature we read drives home the reality of the obsession--the reality that our thinking was anything but sane just before we acted out. This is not easily dismissed. The insane idea is the idea that acting out won’t hurt us and those around us; that it won’t destroy our lives, rob us of our freedom and dignity, the list goes on and on. This is why willpower, self-knowledge, other people, and length of abstinence were futile in stopping the destructive behavior. Did this insanity always trump everything else? Of course it did! It was how we thought. This insanity was impossible to unlearn, turn off, or otherwise stop using our own willpower. Over time we sought more intensity, more extreme escapades, until finally we could tolerate it no longer. It had to be stopped. How we stopped it is exactly the same as any addict stops: we either died a lonely death or accepted spiritual help.
We may have entered SAA thinking the Twelve Steps of AA certainly helped alcoholics. We knew sex was an instinct and drinking was not. But still, we wondered whether sex addiction could be remedied by the solution offered by AA. Happily, we found that this difference was irrelevant. The AA Big Book clearly outlines the underlying problem of ANY addict. It explains that our problem is ultimately spiritual in nature and the result of a craving beyond mental control. That is something we can certainly identify with. The physical allergy to alcohol would seem to be irrelevant if the alcoholic has no alcohol in his system, and yet still he returns to drinking when stone cold sober. The problem, therefore, centers in the mind! Just prior to acting out, sex addicts are unable to recall with sufficient force—as a sane person would—the pain, suffering, and humiliation of a week, a month, or a year ago.
Sex addicts act out without knowing they are insane until the climax is achieved, emerging full of guilt, shame, fear, and remorse. All addictions have the same consequences, destroying the lives of addicts and those closest to them. Addictions lead to despairing families, damaged children, loss of career, an ever-worsening withdrawal from life. They leave the addict hopeless and helpless with no escape other than the ephemeral high. Insane thinking: this is the foundation of the addiction. We have tried many, many remedies and in desperation, sought out what has proven to be THE most effective therapy of all: a spiritual awakening!
The Big Book includes very simple instructions for attaining this spiritual awakening. The first 100 AAs recovered from a hopeless condition and worked with Bill Wilson to author the practical program of action outlined in the first 164 pages of the Big Book. When followed, these instructions produce without fail a personality change or spiritual awakening, which is the only thing sufficient to overcome insane thinking. In other words, the instructions which we study tonight tell you precisely how we recovered. We found that, to do this, we must lay aside our prejudices against spiritual principles and seek a new relationship with the Higher Power of our understanding.
Finally, we want to discuss what recovery looks like. Recovery is not merely abstaining from acting out; that would certainly be a miserable existence for most of us. We need to re-create our lives, re-set our priorities, renew our relationships with God and our fellows, and enjoy new experiences with a sense of peace, joy, and purpose many of us have never known. This is what is required to stay sober and live life to its fullest; this is what is guaranteed if the steps are followed as written and if we live our lives in Steps 10, 11, and 12.
The content of this website has not been approved by and may not reflect the opinions or policies of the ISO of SAA, Inc.
Disclaimer: This group is not affiliated with the host of the web site.