
 Anonymous (AA) and the alt.recovery.aa newsgroup. It might be
 helpful to read this before posting to alt.recovery.aa


Archive-name: alt-recovery/alcoholics-anonymous-faq


   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   Suggestions/corrections/comments are welcome and appreciated.
   Send me email to dhawk@netcom.com or dhawk@well.sf.ca.us OR post in
   alt.recovery.aa with 'FAQ' on the Subject line.
   
   
   This FAQ is now available on the WWW.
   The URL is ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/dh/dhawk/AA.FAQ.html
   with a more accessible copy at
   http://www.moscow.com/Resources/SelfHelp/AA/
   
   DISCLAIMER: This file is not intended to be a complete description of
   Alcoholics Anonymous. If you want to learn more about AA, it
   recommended to
     * Attend meetings, if possible
     * Get and read the book, "Alcoholics Anonymous"
     * Read other AA literature
     * Talk with AA members
       
   
  TABLE OF CONTENTS:
   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   I. Alt.Recovery.AA, the Newsgroup
   
    1. What is Alt.Recovery.AA?
    2. Is Alt.Recovery.AA a group or meeting?
    3. How do I get sober through AA and can Alt.Recovery.AA help?
    4. Discussion, Hot Debate, and Flaming
    5. Does discussion here influence GSO or AA as a whole?
    6. What about anonymity? Is Alt.Recovery.AA public?
       
   
   II. Alcoholics Anonymous
    1. What is AA?
    2. What does AA do?
    3. What doesn't AA do?
    4. What literature is available?
    5. What are meetings, groups, conventions?
    6. Twelve Steps
    7. Twelve Traditions
    8. Twelve Concepts
    9. Overview of the History of Alcoholics Anonymous
       
   
   III. Actual Frequently Asked Questions about Alcoholics Anonymous
    1. What do the Steps mean by 'God'?
    2. What's a spiritual awakening?
    3. Why do people keep going to meetings after they're sober?
    4. The Lord's prayer, is that in line with the Traditions?
    5. I hear Bill W. used LSD. Is that true?
    6. How can I get an online copy of the Big Book?
    7. Is AA the only way to get sober?
    8. What does AA say about drugs? Aren't they all basically the same 
thing?
    9. Should AA Change?
   10. If you don't like AA why don't you leave?
   11. But AA Works!
   12. Explain that Flame Section back at the start, please.
       
   IV. Miscellaneous
   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   I. Alt.Recovery.AA, the Newsgroup
   
    1. What is Alt.Recovery.AA?
       
       Alt.Recovery.AA is a USENET newsgroup. Its purpose is to discuss
       Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and the AA program of recovery from
       alcoholism. Note that 'Alt.Recovery' is also a valid USENET
       newsgroup name and sometimes articles are cross-posted between 
the
       two newsgroups, so watch the Newsgroups and Followup-To header
       lines both when you read and when you respond or post.
       
       One of the customs of USENET is the FAQ, or Frequently Asked
       Questions document. Normally the FAQ provides information about
       the newsgroup and the subject matter of the newsgroup. This is 
the
       FAQ for Alt.Recovery.AA. There is a separate FAQ for 
Alt.Recovery.
       
       If you are unfamiliar with USENET then some of the postings in
       news.announce.newusers might be handy in explaining the customs.
       
    2. Is Alt.Recovery.AA a group or meeting?
       
       Alt.Recovery.AA lacks a few things common to many "live" groups
       and meetings.

        (a) Non-alcoholics can read and post here
        (b) Anti-AA folks can do likewise
        (c) People can and will "shout" you down no matter what you
            say or how nicely you say it. This can be intimidating.
        (d) Alt.Recovery.AA is public (see question below)
       with these caveats, call Alt.Recovery.AA what you will.
       [philw@moscow.com]
       
       Note also that Alt.Recovery.AA was not proposed and discussed in
       alt.config as a meeting or group, but simply as a newsgroup and 
is
       listed as being about 'Recovery and Alcoholics Anonymous.' 
Posting
       to the rest of the net that alt.recovery.aa was a group and under
       special rules would probably be counter-productive. Also, check a
       following section about what a meeting or group is.
       [dhawk]
       
    3. How do I get sober through AA and can Alt.Recovery.AA help?
       

        "In our experience, the people who recover in A.A. are those 
who:
                (a) stay away from the first drink;
                (b) attend A.A. meetings regularly;
                (c) seek out the people in A.A. who have successfully 
stayed
                        sober for some time;
                (d) try to put into practice the A.A. program of 
recovery."
                        -- the A.A. leaflet "a Newcomer asks..."
   
       
       Alt.Recovery.AA can help with the above in a variety of ways. 
Some
       participants may know of good meetings to go to, or may even be
       available to take you to a meeting. They may also know specific
       ways that worked for them in avoiding taking a drink. They may
       also be online for a live chat session when you really need to
       talk to someone. It may also be that you'll see participants
       demonstrating the A.A. program of recovery.
       
       Alt.Recovery.AA can be a good place to ask for help.
       
       Also, as you learn more about the AA Program you can incorporate
       more information you get on the net with what you learn from your
       meetings and your reading.
       
    4. Discussion, Hot Debate, and Flaming
       
       There are people on the net who like to go into newsgroups and
       stir things up. If you want to stir things up in Alt.Recovery.AA
       here's what to post:
          + AA is a religion [leaving 'religion' undefined]
          + I recovered from alcoholism and can still drink
          + AA is just a bandaid and doesn't handle the root problem
          + There would have to be some changes in AA before I'd join
          + I'm not powerless
          + Derisive comments about the newsgroup itself
          + Cross-link in posts from other newsgroups, like alt.atheism
          + Post about non-recovery related items
          + I'm an atheist, so AA's not for me!
          + Non-alcoholic beer/wine helps me stay sober
          + You're not really recovered if you're still smoking.
          + Probably any post that's a judgment about 'you'
       Alternatively, you can wait for a post like one of the above and
       respond to it. (Note: some of those items will be covered in 
later
       sections of the FAQ.)
       
       If you do not find the debates and flaming helpful, then you can
          + put the articles in a kill file as they show up
          + set your newsreader to not show you cross-postings
          + find something helpful and post about that.
          + remember that you are not required to read every posting
          + quit reading the newsgroup.
       Keep a sense of humor. There's little room for self-righteous 
stuffed
       shirts in the world of network news.
       
       "... we cannot and should not enter into public controversy, even
       in self-defense." -- Bill W. in the Twelve Concepts
       
       "Let us suppose that A.A. does fall under sharp public attack or
       heavy ridicule; and let us take the particular case where such
       pronouncements happen to have little or no justification in fact.
       ... Almost without exception it can be confidently estimated that
       our best defense in these situations would be no defense
       whatever--namely, complete silence at the public level.
       Unreasonable people are stimulated all the more by opposition. If
       in good humor we leave them strictly alone, they are apt to
       subside the more quickly." -- Bill W. in the Twelve Concepts
       
    5. Does discussion here influence GSO or AA as a whole?
       
       AA as a whole is guided by the Twelve Concepts (discussed in a
       later section). Normally that's a process of input from groups,
       districts and areas, which leads to a flow of information to GSO.
       GSO or AA as a whole cannot control individual groups. Sometimes
       the information coming back from GSO leads groups to change how
       they do things, but a counter-reaction can also occur.
       
       If there is something you'd like to see changed about AA, then 
the
       most effective course of action might be to get a group consensus
       (at a local group that has a General Service Representative
       [GSR]), which could be carried to the district and area meetings
       and then on to GSO. I doubt GSO will be monitoring this newsgroup
       as a means of obtaining feedback. I have never heard anyone get 
up
       at a Area meeting and pass along a viewpoint found on a newsgroup
       or bulletin board system. Since anyone can post here there is no
       way for a service person to know that the idea came from a member
       of AA. The people who really know you're a member of AA are at
       your local meeting.
       
       It may be that sharing here about your opinion will lead others 
to
       get their groups to examine the issues as well. At the same time
       the Traditions and Concepts are pretty clear [at least to me,
       dhawk] as to avoiding public controversy. It may be that a 
mailing
       list of members of AA would be a more effective and 'Traditional'
       means of expressing your views if you want to do so
       electronically.
       
    6. What about anonymity? Is Alt.Recovery.AA public?
       
       AA has a Tradition that states that we should remain anonymous at
       the level of press, radio, and film. Use of full names does 
happen
       within various meetings -- in the AA service meetings I've been 
to
       it is common to use one's full name. But -- this is a broadcast
       medium. So you might want to consider what anonymity means to you
       before you post. So what does anonymity mean on a computer
       network? That's for you to decide.
       
       There are anonymous reposters and email services out there.
       For details send email to help@anon.penet.fi
       German text available from german@anon.penet.fi
       (deutsch@anon.penet.fi)
       Italian text available from italian@anon.penet.fi
       (italiano@anon.penet.fi)
       
       
   II. Alcoholics Anonymous
   
    1. What is Alcoholics Anonymous?
       

        Alcoholics Anonymous is an international fellowship of men and
        women who have had a drinking problem. It is nonprofessional,
        self-supporting, non-denominational, multiracial, apolitical,
        and available almost everywhere. There are no age or education
        requirements. Membership is open to anyone who wants to do
        something about his or her drinking problem.
                -- "Info on A.A." leaflet
   
       
    2. What does AA do?
       
         1. A.A. members share their experience with anyone seeking help
            with a drinking problem; they give person-to-person service
            or "sponsorship" to the alcoholic coming to A.A. from any
            source.
         2. The A.A. program, set forth in our Twelve Steps, offers the
            alcoholic a way to develop a satisfying life without 
alcohol.
         3. This program is discussed at A.A. group meetings.
           -- "Info on A.A." leaflet
       
    3. What doesn't AA do?
       
       A.A. does not:
         1. Furnish initial motivation for alcoholics to recover
         2. Solicit members
         3. Engage in or sponsor research
         4. Keep attendance records or case histories
         5. Join "councils" of social agencies
         6. Follow up or try to control its members
         7. Make medical or psychological diagnoses or prognoses
         8. Provide drying-out or nursing services, hospitalization,
            drugs, or any medical or psychiatric treatment
         9. Offer religious services
        10. Engage in education about alcohol
        11. Provide housing, food, clothing, jobs, money, or any other
            welfare or social services
        12. Provide domestic or vocational counseling
        13. Accept any money for its services, or any contributions from
            non-A.A. sources
        14. Provide letters of reference to parole boards, lawyers, 
court
            officials
        -- "Info on A.A." leaflet
       
    4. What literature is available?
       
       The books include:
       From AAWS:
          + "Alcoholics Anonymous", the 'Big Book', 3rd edition
          + "Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions", the '12x12'
          + "Pass It On", the story of Bill W., AA co-founder
          + "Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers", the story the other
            co-founder
          + "AA Comes of Age", more AA history from Bill W.'s 
perspective
          + "As Bill Sees It", selected quotations from Bill W.
          + Daily Reflections, a daily devotional book written by AA
            members
       From GSO (and updated yearly):
          + The AA Service Manual, with Twelve Concepts for World 
Service
       From the Grapevine:
          + There are two "Best of the Grapevine" books
          + "Language of the Heart", Bill W.'s writings for the 
Grapevine
   
       Magazines:
       The Grapevine is AA's monthly meeting in print. It includes
       stories from all over the world, some humor, a list of
       conventions, some AA history, and an article in Spanish. The
       monthly focus is usually on the Step for that month, since there
       are 12 Steps and 12 months.
       To subscribe to the Grapevine, send check or money order to:
       The Grapevine, PO Box 1980, Grand Central Station, NY, NY
       10163-1980

                Subscriptions are       1 year          2 year
                United States           $12             $23
                Canada                  $16[Canadian]   $31[Canadian]
                Foreign                 $14[US]         $27[US]
       and GSO (the General Service Office) has a monthly magazine: Box
       4-5-9. It includes news and notes from GSO, items about AA around
       the world, sharing stories, and a bulletin board of AA events.
       Individual subscription for one year is $3.50 (US) and there is a
       special bulk rate for groups of ten of $6.00 (US). To subscribe 
to
       Box 4-5-9, send check or money order to:

                A.A. World Services, Inc.
                P.O.Box 459
                Grand Central Station
                New York, NY 10163
   
       
       There is also the L.I.M., the "Loners-Internationalists Meeting,"
       distributed bimonthly by GSO as an AA meeting for those who 
cannot
       attend meetings. Write to GSO at the Box 459 address for more
       information.
       
       There are three booklets from AAWS:
          + Came to Believe
          + Living Sober
          + A.A. in Prison: Inmate to Inmate
       and two booklets from the Grapevine:
          + AA Today (a booklet for the 25th anniversary of AA in 1960)
          + The Home Group
   
       
       The pamphlets cover a wide variety of topics. This is a partial 
list:
          + 44 Questions
          + Is A.A. For You?
          + Is A.A. For Me?
          + This is A.A.
          + Questions and Answers on Sponsorship
          + A.A. for the Woman
          + A.A. for the Native North American
          + A.A. for the Gay/Lesbian Alcoholic
          + A.A. and the Armed Services
          + Is There An Alcoholic in Your Life?
          + Inside A.A.
          + The A.A. Group
          + A Newcomer Asks
          + Understanding Anonymity
          + A Member's-Eye View of Alcoholics Anonymous
          + Too Young? [cartoon for teenagers]
          + Speaking an non-A.A. Meetings
   
       
       Videos include:
          + A.A.--An Inside View
          + A.A.--Rap With Us
          + Hope: Alcoholics Anonymous
          + It Sure Beats Sitting In A Cell
          + Young People and A.A.
   
       
       Order forms for most of the above can be obtained from
       General Service Office of Alcoholics Anonymous
       Box 459, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163
       or you can check your local Central Office or Intergroup.
       The Grapevine stuff is available from the Grapevine.
       
       There is sometimes some confusion as to the purpose of AA
       literature. Here's what Bill W. had to say:

                The Literature Committee: This body is charged with the
                revision of existing books and pamphlets; also with the
                creation of fresh pamphlet material to meet new needs or
                changing conditions. Broadly speaking, its mission is to
                see that an adequate and comprehensive view of A.A.  in 
its
                every aspect is held up in writing to our members, 
friends,

_
                                                                                                      

                and to the world at large.  Our literature is a 
principal
                means by which A.A. recovery, unity, and service are
                facilitated.
                -- Concept XI
       If you have a WWW browser (mosaic, lynx, netscape, etc.) then a 
full
       list of literature is available at the following URL:
       http://www.moscow.com/Resources/SelfHelp/AA/
       
    5. What are meetings, groups, and conventions?
       
       A meeting is when one or more alcoholics get together. It can be
       informal, sporadic, and one time only -- or it can be ongoing and
       structured. An example of a meeting that is not a group is one
       held at an institution, like a jail or hospital, even though the
       meeting is not self-supporting, but accepts contributions from
       other groups.
       
       A group is when a group of alcoholics agrees to operate under the
       Twelve Traditions (see below). The difference between a meeting
       and a group is explained in the pamphlet, "The AA Group" -- and
       you'd better get the revised edition, since that's what changed
       when they revised it. Roughly, a meeting can become a group if it
       agrees to accept all who have a desire to stop drinking and has 
no
       outside affiliation. Some Central Offices and/or Intergroups will
       not list meetings that don't meet the 'group' criteria.
       
       "As we see it, an A.A. convention is almost any A.A. get-together
       beyond the group-meeting level." (The GSO in the A.A. Guidelines
       on 'Conferences and Conventions.') There is a list of some of the
       conventions in the monthly magazines: the Grapevine and Box 4-5-
9.
       The 1995 Internation Convention will be held in San Diego, CA,
       USA, June 29 to July 2, 1995.
       
    6. The Twelve Steps
       
       "A.A.'s Twelve Steps are a group of principles, spiritual in
       nature, which, if practiced as a way of life, can expel the
       obsession to drink and enable the sufferer to become happily and
       usefully whole." (Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 15)
       
       The steps are:
         1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol -- that our lives
            had become unmanageable.
         2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could
            restore us to sanity.
         3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the
            care of God *as we understood Him*.
         4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
         5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being 
the
            exact nature of our wrongs.
         6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of
            character.
         7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
         8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing
            to make amends to them all.
         9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except
            when to do so would injure them or others.
        10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong
            promptly admitted it.
        11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our
            conscience contact with God *as we understood Him*, praying
            only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry
            that out.
        12. 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.
       Source: Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd edition, pages 59 and 60
       Italics in Steps Three and Eleven are in original text
       
       "Many people, nonalcoholics, report that as a result of the
       practice of A.A.'s Twelve Steps, they have been able to meet 
other
       difficulties of life. They see in them a way to happy and
       effective living for many, alcoholic or not." (Twelve Steps and
       Twelve Traditions, pp. 15-16)
       
    7. The Twelve Traditions [short form]
       
         1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery
            depends upon AA unity.
         2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority--a
            loving God as He may express Himself in our group 
conscience.
            Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
         3. The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop
            drinking.
         4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting
            other groups or AA as a whole.
         5. Each group has but one primary purpose--to carry its message
            to the alcoholic who still suffers.
         6. An AA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA 
name
            to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems
            of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary
            purpose.
         7. Every AA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining
            outside contributions.
         8. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional,
            but out service centers may employ special workers.
         9. AA, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create
            service board or committees directly responsible to those
            they serve.
        10. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence
            the AA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
        11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather
            than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity 
at
            the level of press, radio, and films.
        12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions,
            ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
       The above is how they are found in the Big Book, page 564, and is
       known as the 'short form.' The 'long form' is on pages 565 and
       following. Note that Tradition Two is longer in the 'short form.'
       
       The Twelve Traditions are the guidelines that AA groups are
       encouraged to follow.
       
    8. The Twelve Concepts
       
       The Twelve Concepts are too long to type in here. They have
       traditionally been printed with the AA Service Manual and are
       called 'Twelve Concepts for World Service' and are the guidelines
       for AA as a whole to follow. The Concepts are printed at the back
       of "The AA Group" pamphlet, with this footnote:

                Note: The A.A. General Service Conference has 
recommended that
                the "long form" of the Concepts be studied in detail. 
"Twelve
                Concepts for World Service", in which A.A. co-founder 
Bill W.
                closely examines all these principles of A.A. service, 
may be
                ordered from G.S.O.
   
       
    9. Overview of the History of Alcoholics Anonymous
       
       The fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous dates its inception from
       June 10, 1935, when a 6-month sober (at the time) Wall Street
       hustler helped an Akron rectal surgeon through his last binge. 
The
       New Yorker had been relieved of his obsession to drink through a
       sudden spiritual awakening while hospitalized for acute
       alcoholism. He realized, however, that to maintain his sobriety,
       he needed to help others. The two men set out to carry this
       message: that a spiritual way of life could arrest the chronic,
       progressive and fatal condition known as alcoholism. The man from
       New York is commonly referred to as Bill W., and the surgeon was
       Dr. Bob.
       
       By 1937, after approximately 40 solid successes and many 
failures,
       a decision was made to spread the message as widely as possible.
       Work began on a book that would "Of necessity ... have ..
       discussion of matters medical, psychiatric, social, and
       religious." (Alcoholics Anonymous, Third Edition, p.19). In
       addition to broadcasting the message of recovery, the book also
       served to codify what had been until then a "word-of-mouth"
       program. In the spring of 1938, the principal author of the book,
       Bill Wilson, took the six principles in use at that time and
       expanded them, in his words, "to break this program up into small
       pieces so they can't wiggle out" (remarks in Fort Worth, Texas,
       1954). Thus were born the original Twelve Steps.
       
       A revolutionary document for its time, "Alcoholics Anonymous"
       (from which the Fellowship took its name) presented for the first
       time in print the concept that alcoholism was an illness of both
       mind and body. The first edition (5,000 copies) was set in fairly
       large type and on the thickest possible paper (so that people
       would feel they were getting their money's worth) hence the
       nickname, "Big Book". The first 179 (then, 164 in second and 
third
       editions) pages including a section titled "The Doctor's Opinion"
       describe the problems of alcoholism and the accompanying
       "personality disorder", the program of recovery, and some of the
       expected results. The first section has had only minor changes
       through three editions, mostly dealing with estimates of the
       number of people who have used the program. The balance of the
       book set out personal stories by members of the Fellowship. These
       have changed to reflect the wider nature of the fellowship 
through
       its growth.
       
       On page vii in "A.A. Comes of Age" is the start of a list called
       "Landmarks in A.A. History." It only goes up to 1981.
       
   III. Actual Frequently Asked Questions about Alcoholics Anonymous
   
    1. What do the Steps mean by 'God'?
       
       Well, what the Steps say is "God as you understand Him." The 
added
       phrase is to help folks use their own perception of a "Higher
       Power." There are people in AA who use various Higher Powers,
       including a rock, a tree, a rose bush, a light bulb, the Grateful
       Dead, the sun, the earth, ... well, the list just goes on and on.
       Buddhists have been known to substitute 'Good' for 'God'. The
       "12x12" (Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions) has the following on
       pages 26 and 27:
       First, Alcoholics Anonymous does not demand that you believe
       anything. All of its Twelve Steps are but suggestions. ... You
       can, if you wish, make A.A. itself your 'higher power.' Here's a
       very large group of people who have solved their alcohol problem.
       In this respect they are certainly a power greater than you ...
       
       Also, from the Big Book:

        "When, therefore, we speak to you of God, we mean your own
        conception of God. This applies, too, to other spiritual
        expressions which you find in this book. Do not let any
        prejudice you may have against spiritual terms deter you from
        honestly asking yourself what they mean to you. [...]
        We needed to ask ourselves but one short question. 'Do I now
        believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power
        greater than myself?'" (Alcoholics Anonymous, p.47)
   
       
    2. What's a spiritual awakening?
       
       "The terms 'spiritual experience' and 'spiritual awakening' are
       used many times in this book which, upon careful reading, shows
       that the personality change sufficient to bring about recovery
       from alcoholism has manifested itself among us in many different
       forms.
       
       Quite often friends of the newcomer are aware of the difference
       long before he is himself. He finally realizes that he has
       undergone a profound alteration in his reaction to life; that 
such
       a change could hardly have been brought about by himself alone.
       What often takes place in a few months could seldom have been
       accomplished by years of self discipline. With few exceptions our
       members find that they have tapped an unsuspected inner resource
       which they presently identify with their own conception of a 
Power
       greater than themselves.
       
       Most of us think this awareness of a Power greater than ourselves
       is the essence of spiritual experience. Our more religious 
members
       call it 'God-consciousness'. (Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 569-570)
       
    3. Why do people keep going to meetings after they're sober?
       
       "To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch
       loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have
       a host of friends---this is an experience you must not miss. We
       know you will not want to miss it. Frequent contact with 
newcomers
       and with each other is the bright spot of our lives." (Alcoholics
       Anonymous, p. 89)
       
       "We sit in A.A. meetings and listen, not only to receive 
something
       ourselves, but to give the reassurance and support which our
       presence can bring. If our turn comes to speak at a meeting, we
       again try to carry A.A.'s message." (Twelve Steps and Twelve
       Traditions, pg. 110)
       
    4. What about the Lord's prayer? Is it in line with the Traditions?
       
       Some AA members think so. Some don't.
       Some AA groups use it. Some don't.
       Decide for yourself.
       The pamphlet, "The AA Group", under 'Suggested Meeting 
Procedures'
       has a paragraph that says, "Many meetings close with members
       reciting the Lord's Prayer or the Serenity Prayer."
       However, experience has shown that extended discussion on
       alt.recovery and other newsgroups hasn't solved the conflict yet.
       
    5. I hear Bill W used LSD. Is that true?
       
       There's a chapter about this in "Pass It On", the AA published
       biography of Bill W. The short answer is Yes. Rumor has it that 
he
       also drank heavily prior to 1935. ;-) Seriously, LSD was still
       legal and Bill was using it under clinical conditions. The time
       period was 1955 to 1959.
       
    6. How do I get an online copy of the Big Book?
       
       philw@moscow.com maintains a WWW page which contains the 1st
       edition of the Big Book. You will need to have a WWW browser to
       read this: Mosaic, Netscape, Lynx, etc. The URL is:
       http://www.moscow.com/Resources/SelfHelp/AA/
       If you do not have a WWW browser, send mail to
       listproc@www0.cern.ch with a body containing "www
       http://www.moscow.com/Resources/SelfHelp/AA/" to obtain a copy by
       email. You will have to send another message to obtain each
       chapter.
       Copyright on the 1st and 2nd editions has expired in the U.S.
       because A.A. forgot to renew it. In all other countries, the
       copyright is still in force. Because of this I will not email
       copies individually.
       I have requested permission from A.A. World Services, Inc., and
       the A.A. Grapevine, Inc., to place current items on that WWW 
site.
       Permission may or may not be granted.
       [philw@moscow.com]
       
    7. Is AA the only way to get sober?
       
       "It would be a product of false pride to claim that A.A. is a
       cure-all, even for alcoholism." (Bill W. in "A.A. Comes of Age",
       page 232.) Bill W. repeatedly said that "our hats are off to you
       if you can find a better way" and "If [those seeking a different
       cure] can do better by other means, we are glad." (Bill W. in
       Concept XII).
       
    8. What does A.A. say about drugs?
       
       [check the pamphlet "The AA Member - Medications and other 
Drugs"]
       
    9. Should AA Change?
       

           Perhaps our very first realization should be that we can't 
stand
        still. Now that our basic principles seem established, now that 
our
        functioning is fairly effective and widespread, it would be 
temptingly
        easy to settle down as merely one more useful agency on the 
world
        scene. We could conclude that "AA is fine, just the way it is."
        ... We have to grow or deteriorate. For us, the 'status quo' can 
only
        be for today, never for tomorrow. Change we must; we cannot 
stand
        still.
           So then, if our basics [Steps and Traditions] are so firmly 
fixed
        as all this, what is there left to change or to improve? The 
answer
        will immediately occur to us. While we need not alter our 
truths, we
        can surely improve their application to ourselves, to AA as a 
whole,
        and to our relation with the world around us. We can 
consistently step
        up "the practice of these principles in all our affairs."
           ... Let us continue to take our inventory as a Fellowship,
        searching out our flaws and confessing them freely. Let us 
devote
        ourselves to the repair of all faulty relations that may exist,
whether
        within or without.
                -- Bill W., "The Shape of Things to Come", reprinted in
                        "The Language of the Heart"
   
       
   10. If you don't like AA why don't you leave?
       
         1. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop
            drinking. Or to state the Third Tradition in its long form:
            "Our membership ought to include all who suffer from
            alcoholism. Hence we may refuse none who wish to recovery.
            Nor ought A.A. membership ever depend on money or
            conformity."
         2. Then there's the matter of inventories. See page 64 of the
            Big Book. AA has to be serious about inventories at the
            individual, group, and overall levels. Saying "We dare not
            look" (12x12) isn't going to cut it.
         3. Bill W. welcomed criticism:

                "Thanks much for your letter of criticism. I'm certain
                that had it not been for its strong critics, A.A. would
                have made slower progress.

                "For myself, I have come to set a high value on the
                people who have criticized me, whether they have seemed
                reasonable critics or unreasonable ones. Both have
                often restrained me from doing much worse than I
                actually have done. The unreasonable ones have taught
                me, I hop, a little patience. But the reasonable ones
                have always done a great job for all of A.A.--and have
                taught me many a valuable lesson.

                        -- As Bill Sees It, page 326
   
       
   11. But AA Works!
       
       AA works for the people it has worked for. But there is no way,
       short of experimentation, to know if a change will make AA more
       effective or less. Quoting Bill W. again: "Though three hundred
       thousand did recover in the last twenty-five years, maybe half a
       million more have walked into our midst, and then out again. No
       doubt some were too sick to make even a start. Others couldn't or
       wouldn't admit their alcoholism. Still others couldn't face up to
       their underlying personality defects. Numbers departed for other
       reasons. ... Yet we can't well content ourselves with the view
       that all these recovery failures were entirely the fault of the
       newcomers themselves. Perhaps a great many didn't receive the 
kind
       and amount of sponsorship they so sorely needed. We didn't
       communicate when we might have done so. So we AAs failed them."
       (The Language of the Heart, page 252).
       
   12. Explain that Flame Section back at the start, please.
       
       OK, up in Section I, part 4, "Discussion, Hot Debate, and 
Flaming"
       it says that people sometimes come to the newsgroup and

_
                                                                                  

       (intentionally or unintentionally) stir things up with statements 
like
          + AA is a religion [leaving 'religion' undefined],
          + I recovered from alcoholism and can still drink
          + AA is just a bandaid and doesn't handle the root problem
          + There would have to be some changes in AA before I'd join
          + I'm not powerless
          + Derisive comments about the newsgroup itself
          + Cross-link in posts from other newsgroups, like alt.atheism
          + Post about non-recovery related items
          + I'm an atheist, so AA's not for me!
          + Non-alcoholic beer/wine helps me stay sober
          + You're not really recovered if you're still smoking.
       If this happens intentionally, then it's known as 'trolling.'
       So, what to do? Well, what Bill W. would have suggested is not
       replying, not even in defense of AA. That public controversy 
isn't
       worth it. If I always react to a prod, then that makes me
       reactionary, which I don't think falls on the 'attraction' side
       of public relations. Pages 66 and 67 in the Big Book are
       appropriate in this context, I think -- "We avoid retaliation or
       argument."
       
       If all else fails, I will post what I know is true for me. I do
       not speak for AA as a whole. Likewise, I do not have to defend AA
       as a whole.
       
   IV. Miscellaneous
   
     * The following really didn't fit in the outline form, so I'm
       putting it here.
       
     * If you are willing to sponsor or correspond with someone behind
       bars, GSO maintains a list of inmates who've requested
       correspondents. The May 1994 Grapevine said there were 150 
inmates
       waiting to matched with an outside "sponsor." You can get more
       information from the corrections desk at GSO, Box 459, Grand
       Central Station, New York, NY 10163.
       
     * Quote for the month:
       ".. I was painfully learning how not to communicate. No matter 
how
       truthful the words of my message, there could be no deep
       communication if what I said and did was colored by pride,
       arrogance, intolerance, resentment, imprudence, or a desire for
       personal acclaim.." -- Bill W., "Language of the Heart" (p. 246)
       
   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   Contributors:
   philw@moscow.com
   jimcrust@hooked.net
   dhawk@netcom.com
   plus stuff downloaded from the net over the years.
   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
Alt.Recovery.AA FAQ / Frequently Asked Questions about AA / 
dhawk@netcom.com

                                        
