From the books ... Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book) and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (12 & 12)
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... because a
great many of us have ...
12&12 p.89,
Step Ten
The emphasis on inventory is heavy only
because a great many of us have never really acquired the habit of accurate self-appraisal.
2.
Because A.A.'s
Twelve Traditions repeatedly ask us ...
12&12 p.184,
Tradition Twelve
Because A.A.'s Twelve Traditions repeatedly ask us to give up personal desires for the
common good, we realize that the sacrificial spirit -- well symbolized by anonymity -- is the foundation of them all.
3.
... because all
people are fallible, and even ...
12&12 p.115,
Step Twelve
We had refused to learn
the very hard lesson that overdependence upon people is unsuccessful
because all people are fallible, and even the best of them will sometimes let us down, especially when our
demands for attention
become unreasonable.
4.
... because although
he was not an alcoholic ...
12&12 p.99,
Step Eleven
We won't be biased or scared off by that fact, because although he was not an
alcoholic he did, like
us, go through the emotional wringer.
5.
... because at
home we were smothered with ...
12&12 p.47,
Step Four
6.
... because at
work we were great successes ...
12&12 p.47,
Step Four
7.
... because each
wants to play the lead?
BB p.122,
The Family Afterward
8.
... Because every
time I do it I ...
BB p.181,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
4. Because every time I do it I take out a little more insurance for myself against a possible slip.
9.
... because God
deserted us.
12&12 p.31,
Step Two
More often, though, we had met up with some major calamity, and to our way of thinking lost out because God deserted us.
10.
... because God
has failed to fulfill their ...
12&12 p.28,
Step Two
There will be those who have
drifted into indifference, those filled with self-sufficiency who have cut themselves off, those who
have become prejudiced
against religion, and
those who are downright
defiant because God has failed to fulfill their demands.
11.
... because God
has not delivered us the ...
12&12 p.31,
Step Two
Sometimes it's because God has not delivered us the
good things of life which we specified, as
a greedy child makes an impossible list for Santa Claus.
12.
... because he
can now see and accept ...
12&12 p.122,
Step Twelve
13.
... because he
cannot use alcohol to kill ...
12&12 p.39,
Step Three
He relies upon the assurance that his many troubles, now made more acute because he cannot use alcohol to kill the pain, can be solved, too.
14.
... because he
drank heavily yesterday, he cannot ...
12&12 p.88,
Step Ten
15.
... because he
had picked them up in ...
BB p.180,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
16.
... because he
has laid hold of a ...
12&12 p.107,
Step Twelve
In a very real sense he has been transformed, because he
has laid hold of a source of strength which,
in one way or another, he had hitherto
denied himself.
17.
... because he
is alcoholic.
BB p.148,
To Employers
18.
... because he
is warped and sickened that ...
BB p.108,
To Wives
Of course, there is such a
thing as incompatibility, but in nearly every instance the alcoholic
only seems to be unloving
and inconsiderate; it is usually because he is warped and sickened that he
says and does these appalling things.
19.
... because he
must, but later he discovers ...
12&12 p.130,
Tradition One
At first he goes along because he must, but later he discovers a way of life he really wants to live.
20.
... because here
and there members had tried ...
12&12 p.161,
Tradition Seven
We took this violent new tack because here and there members had tried to make money out of their A.A. connections, and we feared we'd be exploited.
21.
... because hundreds
may be suffering within reach ...
12&12 p.133,
Tradition Two
He feels a spiritual and
ethical compulsion,
because hundreds may be suffering within reach of his help.
22.
... because I
did not understand alcoholism as ...
BB p.137,
To Employers
Here were three exceptional men lost to this world because I did not understand
alcoholism as I do now.
23.
... because I
find some person, place, thing ...
BB p.417(449),
Acceptance
When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation -- some
fact of my life -- unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.
24.
... because I
would surely get tight, and ...
BB p.177,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
We could not be invited out
because I would surely get tight, and my wife dared not invite people in for the same reason.
25.
... because if
I did not drink my ...
BB p.175,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
I was between Scylla and
Charybdis now, because if I did not drink my stomach tortured me, and
if I did my nerves did the same thing.
26.
... Because in
so doing I am paying ...
BB p.181,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
27.
... because it
had been humbly willing to ...
12&12 p.149,
Tradition Four
Moreover, it had performed a great service for Alcoholics
Anonymous, because it had
been humbly willing to apply the lessons it learned.
28.
... because it
had to.
12&12 p.160,
Tradition Seven
29.
... because it
is impossible to explain what ...
BB p.48,
We Agnostics
Simply because it is impossible to explain
what we see, feel, direct, and use, without a reasonable assumption as a starting point.
30.
... because it
seemed inadequate.
BB p.45,
We Agnostics
31.
... because many
alcoholics, being warped and drugged, ...
BB p.142,
To Employers
32.
... because none
will really want to stop, ...
BB p.33,
More About Alcoholism
We doubt if many of them can
do it, because none will really want to stop, and hardly one of them, because of the peculiar mental twist already acquired, will find he can win out.
33.
... because of
an overpowering desire to do ...
BB p.32,
More About Alcoholism
We have heard of a few instances where people,
who showed definite signs of alcoholism, were
able to stop for a long period because of an overpowering
desire to do so.
34.
... because of
his public relations ability and ...
12&12 p.158,
Tradition Six
Of course, there couldn't be the slightest objection if
such an association hired an A.A. member solely because of his public relations ability and his
knowledge of alcoholism.
35.
... because of
misunderstanding.
BB p.142,
To Employers
Next he can be assured that
you do not intend to lecture, moralize, or condemn; that if this was done
formerly, it was because
of misunderstanding.
36.
... because of
my jitters, not daring to ...
BB p.173,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
Many mornings I have gone to classes, and even though fully prepared, would turn and walk back to the fraternity house because of my jitters, not daring to enter the classroom for fear of making a scene should I be called on
for recitation.
37.
Because of
resentment and drinking, he had ...
BB p.79,
Into Action
38.
... because of
selfishness or unreasonable demands?
12&12 p.52,
Step Four
39.
... because of
sheer self-righteousness while trying to ...
12&12 p.176,
Tradition Ten
Others fell apart because of sheer self-righteousness while trying to enforce upon the rest of mankind some millennium
of their own specification.
40.
... because of
such conversations.
12&12 p.186,
Tradition Twelve
41.
Because of
the employee's special ability, or ...
BB p.137,
To Employers
Because of the employee's
special ability, or of
his own strong personal attachment to
him, the employer has sometimes kept such a man at work long beyond a reasonable period.
42.
... because of
the extraordinary possibilities of rapid ...
BB xxv(xxiii),
The Doctor's Opinion
These facts appear to be of
extreme medical importance; because of the
extraordinary possibilities of rapid
growth inherent in this
group they may mark a new epoch in the annals of alcoholism.
43.
... because of
the peculiar mental twist already ...
BB p.33,
More About Alcoholism
We doubt if many of them can
do it, because none will really want to stop, and hardly one of them, because of the peculiar mental twist already acquired, will find he can win out.
44.
... because of
their seeming poise, health, and ...
BB p.178,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
About the time of the beer experiment I was thrown
in with a crowd of people
who attracted me because
of their seeming poise, health, and happiness.
45.
... because of
your own drinking experience you ...
BB p.89,
Working With Others
Ministers and doctors
are competent and you can learn much from them if you wish, but it happens that
because of your own drinking experience you
can be uniquely useful
to other alcoholics.
46.
... because our
nation had won a war ...
12&12 p.47,
Step Four
47.
Because our
surface record hasn't looked too ...
12&12 p.53,
Step Four
Because our surface record hasn't looked too bad, we have frequently been
abashed to find that this
is so simply because we have
buried these selfsame defects deep down in us under thick layers of self-justification.
48.
... because people
who are driven by pride ...
12&12 p.46,
Step Four
This is because people who
are driven by pride of self unconsciously blind themselves to their
liabilities.
49.
... because self-reliance
failed us?
BB p.68,
How It Works
50.
... because that
looked too easy.
BB p.176,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
51.
... because the
Fellowship stood high in public ...
12&12 p.157,
Tradition Six
His connection with A.A.
would be valuable, because
the Fellowship stood high in public favor and hadn't an enemy in
the world.
52.
Because the
"long form" is more explicit ...
BB p.561(563),
Appendix I, The A.A. Tradition
53.
... because their
brains and bodies have not ...
BB p.39,
More About Alcoholism
That may be true of certain
nonalcoholic people
who, though drinking foolishly and heavily at
the present time, are able to stop or moderate, because their brains and bodies have not
been damaged as ours were.
54.
... because there
is no other way.
12&12 p.133,
Tradition Two
These are the growing group's hierarchy of service -- self-appointed, of course,
because there is no other way.
55.
... because they
could not make the admission ...
12&12 p.23,
Step One
Many less desperate alcoholics
tried A.A., but did not succeed because they could not
make the admission of hopelessness.
56.
... because they
develop slowly over a period ...
BB p.567(569),
Appendix II, Spiritual Experience
Most of our experiences are what the psychologist William
James calls the "educational variety"
because they develop slowly over a period of time.
57.
... because they
don't believe in it, or ...
12&12 p.105,
Step Eleven
All this should be very encouraging news for those who recoil from prayer because they don't believe in it, or because they
feel themselves cut off from God's help and direction.
58.
... because they
feel themselves cut off from ...
12&12 p.105,
Step Eleven
All this should be very encouraging news for those who recoil from prayer because they don't believe in it, or because they
feel themselves cut off from God's help and direction.
59.
... because they
like the effect produced by ...
BB xxviii(xxvi),
The Doctor's Opinion
60.
... because they
need to be "taught a ...
12&12 p.94,
Step Ten
We sometimes hurt those we love because they need to be "taught a lesson," when we really want to punish.
61.
... because they
think their own character defects ...
12&12 p.53,
Step Four
Some will object to many of the questions posed, because they think their own character defects have
not been so glaring.
62.
... because they
were, as their critics angrily ...
12&12 p.167,
Tradition Eight
Caretakers who swept floors, cooks who fried hamburgers, secretaries in offices,
authors writing books -- all these we have seen
hotly assailed because they were, as their critics angrily remarked, "making money out of A.A."
63.
... because they
were designed for, or tempted ...
12&12 p.176,
Tradition Ten
All history affords us
the spectacle of striving nations and groups finally torn asunder because they were designed for,
or tempted into, controversy.
64.
... because they
were "making money out of ...
12&12 p.168,
Tradition Eight
65.
... because they
would not know how to ...
BB p.154,
A Vision For You
But what about his responsibilities --
his family and the men who
would die because they would
not know how to get well, ah -- yes, those other alcoholics?
66.
Because this
book has become the basic ...
BB xi,
Preface
Because this book has become the basic text for our Society and has
helped such large numbers of alcoholic men and women to recovery, there exists strong sentiment against any radical changes being made in it.
67.
... because times
were hard or times were ...
12&12 p.47,
Step Four
68.
... because we
always paid the bills and ...
12&12 p.79,
Step Eight
69.
... because we
are afraid.
12&12 p.87,
Step Nine
70.
... because we
are problem people who have ...
12&12 p.125,
Step Twelve
We have been talking about problems because we are problem people who have found a way up and out, and who wish to share our knowledge of that way with
all who can use it.
71.
... because we
are too few, at present, ...
12&12 p.184,
Tradition Twelve
Its foreword made this revealing statement: "It is important that we remain
anonymous because we are
too few, at present, to handle the overwhelming
number of personal appeals which may result
from this publication.
72.
... because we
are too few, at present ...
BB xiii,
Foreword to First Edition
It is important that we remain anonymous because we are too few, at present to handle the overwhelming number of
personal appeals which
may result from this publication.
73.
... because we
are very anxious that we ...
BB p.74,
Into Action
74.
... because we
feel satisfied that there is ...
12&12 p.113,
Step Twelve
We temporarily cease
to grow because we feel satisfied that there is
no need for all of A.A.'s Twelve Steps for us.
75.
... because we
felt our lives and homes ...
12&12 p.140,
Tradition Three
76.
... because we
have buried these selfsame defects ...
12&12 p.54,
Step Four
Because our surface record hasn't looked too bad, we have frequently been
abashed to find that this
is so simply because we have
buried these selfsame defects deep down in us under thick layers of self-justification.
77.
... because we
honestly wanted to, and were ...
BB p.26,
There Is A Solution
78.
... because we
know that our Society will ...
12&12 p.177,
Tradition Ten
In this respect, we do not enter into public controversy, because we know that our Society will perish if it does.
79.
... because we
love the kind of life ...
12&12 p.174,
Tradition Nine
So we of A.A. do obey spiritual principles,
first because we must, and ultimately because we love the kind of life such obedience brings.
80.
... because we
must, and ultimately because we ...
12&12 p.174,
Tradition Nine
So we of A.A. do obey spiritual principles,
first because we must, and ultimately because we love the kind of life such obedience brings.
81.
... because we
see monotony, pain, and even ...
12&12 p.112,
Step Twelve
We know this because we see monotony, pain, and even calamity turned to good use by those who keep on trying to practice A.A.'s Twelve Steps.
82.
... because we
seem to have been successful.
12&12 p.111,
Step Twelve
Or we may encounter the reverse situation, in
which we are highly elated
because we seem to have been
successful.
83.
... because we
still enjoy them too much.
12&12 p.73,
Step Seven
And we cling with a passionate persistence to others
which are just as disturbing to our equilibrium, because we still enjoy them too much.
84.
... because we
still loved some of them ...
12&12 p.108,
Step Twelve
At Step Six, many of us balked -- for the practical reason that we
did not wish to have all our defects of character removed, because we still loved some of them too much.
85.
... because we
were certain few knew of ...
12&12 p.79,
Step Eight
86.
... because we
were diverted by the ugliness ...
BB p.50,
We Agnostics
We missed the reality and
the beauty of the forest
because we were diverted
by the ugliness of some of its trees.
87.
... because we
were maladjusted to life, that ...
BB xxvi(xxiv),
The Doctor's Opinion
It did not satisfy us to be told that we could not control
our drinking just because we were maladjusted
to life, that we were in full
flight from reality, or
were outright mental defectives.
88.
Because we
were still bothered by fear, ...
12&12 p.59,
Step Five
Because we were still bothered by fear, self-pity, and hurt feelings, it was probable we couldn't appraise ourselves fairly at all.
89.
... because we
were still trying to play ...
12&12 p.72,
Step Seven
We could actually have earnest religious beliefs which remained barren because we were still trying to play God ourselves.
90.
... because we
were usually on the job.
12&12 p.79,
Step Eight
91.
... because you
cannot put an A.A. group ...
12&12 p.156,
Tradition Six
Whereupon we tried A.A. hospitals -- they all bogged down because you cannot put an A.A. group into business; too many busybody cooks spoil the broth.
92.
... because you
offer a solution.
BB p.92,
Working With Others
93.
... because your
friends drink liquor.
BB p.102,
Working With Others
Passages from the Big Book Alcoholics Anonymous
and the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
are reprinted with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.
The A.A. Preamble, copyright ©
The A.A. Grapevine, Inc., is reprinted with permission.
Permission to reprint does not in any way imply affiliation with or
endorsement by either Alcoholics Anonymous or The A.A. Grapevine, Inc.
Copyright © 2005-2012, Recovery Press LLC; All Rights Reserved.