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Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book) and
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (12 & 12)
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1.
... better.
12&12 p.30,
Step Two
But finally,
driven to
A.A.,
we
learned better.
2.
... better.
12&12 p.38,
Step Three
Each of us has had his
own near-
fatal encounter with the
juggernaut of
self-will,
and has
suffered enough
under
its weight to be
willing to
look for something
better.
3.
... better.
12&12 p.137,
Tradition Two
Sure, it's
ethical, but
what we've got won't
run on
ethics only; it has to be
better.
4.
... better.
BB p.30,
More About Alcoholism
Over any
considerable period we get
worse,
never better.
5.
... better.
BB p.75,
Into Action
We
thank God from the
bottom of our
heart that we
know Him
better.
6.
... better?
BB p.86,
Into Action
What could we have done better?
7.
... better.
BB p.92,
Working With Others
If his
own doctor is
willing to tell him that he is
alcoholic, so much the
better.
8.
... better.
BB p.94,
Working With Others
The more
hopeless he
feels, the
better.
9.
... better.
BB p.109,
To Wives
He
admits this is
true, but
is
positive that he will do
better.
10.
... better.
BB p.120,
To Wives
You will
lose the
old life to find one much
better.
11.
... better.
BB p.141,
To Employers
If you are
sure your
man does
not
want to
stop, he may as
well be
discharged, the
sooner the
better.
12.
... better.
BB p.147,
To Employers
So, for one
reason or another, they
cover these
men,
hoping matters will take a
turn for the
better.
13.
... better able
to understand Him.
12&12 p.109,
Step Twelve
The
persistent use of
meditation and
prayer, we
found, did
open the
channel so that where there had been a
trickle, there now was a
river which
led to
sure power and
safe guidance from
God as we were
increasingly better able
to
understand Him.
14.
... better and
happier.
12&12 p.90,
Step Ten
For these
minutes and sometimes
hours spent in
self-
examination are
bound to make all the other
hours of our
day better and
happier.
15.
... better, and
his wife would leave him ...
12&12 p.152,
Tradition Five
He
shouts that if his
partner would
treat him
better, and his
wife would
leave him alone, he'd soon
solve his
alcohol problem.
16.
... better, and
resolve with God's help to ...
12&12 p.94,
Step Ten
Here we
need only
recognize that we did
act or
think badly,
try to
visualize how we might
have done
better, and
resolve with
God's
help to
carry these
lessons over into
tomorrow,
making, of
course, any
amends still
neglected.
17.
... better, as
everyone should have a clear ...
BB p.112,
To Wives
You
think he ought to
know
the
subject better, as
everyone should have a
clear
understanding of the
risk he
takes if he
drinks too much.
18.
... better as
he tried to improve his ...
12&12 p.105,
Step Eleven
Almost any
experienced A.A. will tell how his
affairs
have
taken remarkable
and
unexpected turns
for the
better as he
tried to
improve his
conscious
contact with
God.
19.
... better attitude
toward him, we are still ...
BB p.77,
Into Action
It may be he has done us more
harm than we have done
him and, though we may have
acquired a
better attitude toward him, we are still not too
keen about
admitting our
faults.
20.
... better basis,
since the former did not ...
BB p.99,
Working With Others
If their
old relationship is to be
resumed it
must be on a
better basis, since the
former did not
work.
21.
... better be
found out right away.
BB p.120,
To Wives
If not, it had
better be
found out
right away.
22.
... better be
postponed, when possible, to times ...
12&12 p.91,
Step Ten
23.
... better bet.
BB p.91,
Working With Others
Approach through a
doctor or an
institution
is a
better bet.
24.
... better, by
as direct contact as possible.
12&12 p.108,
Step Twelve
25.
... better Catholics."
BB p.572(574),
Appendix V, The Religious View on A.A.
26.
... better chance
of getting what we really ...
12&12 p.72,
Step Seven
With a
proper display of
honesty and
morality,
we'd
stand a
better chance of
getting what we
really
wanted.
27.
... better chance
of understanding and accepting what ...
BB xxvi(xxiv),
The Doctor's Opinion
More often than not, it is
imperative that a
man's
brain be
cleared before he is
approached, as he has then a
better chance of
understanding and
accepting what we have to
offer.
28.
... better chance
that the head of the ...
BB p.97,
Working With Others
Should they
accept and
practice spiritual principles, there is a much
better chance that the
head of the
family will
recover.
29.
... better do
one thing supremely well than ...
12&12 p.150,
Tradition Five
"
Shoemaker,
stick to
thy last!" ...
better do one thing
supremely
well than many
badly.
30.
... better do
some Twelfth Step work.
12&12 p.151,
Tradition Five
"
Restless one
day, I
felt I'd
better do some
Twelfth Step work.
31.
... better do
Thy will.
BB p.63,
How It Works
Relieve me of the
bondage of
self, that I may
better do
Thy will.
32.
... better for
him to feel fully responsible.
BB p.143,
To Employers
It is
better for him to
feel
fully responsible.
33.
... better for
us than some of our ...
12&12 p.182,
Tradition Eleven
There was
actually a
time
when the
press of
America
thought the
anonymity
of
A.A. was
better for us than
some of our
own members did.
34.
... better get
his brand of spirituality while ...
BB p.128,
The Family Afterward
He may tell
mother, who has been
religious all her
life, that
she doesn't
know what it's all about, and that she
had
better get his
brand of
spirituality while there is
yet time.
35.
... better go
to Canada.
BB p.4,
Bill's Story
He had
plenty of
money left and
thought I had
better go to
Canada.
36.
... better hang
on to it.
BB p.14,
Bill's Story
But you had
better hang on to
it.
37.
... better. Having
a better time."
BB p.151,
A Vision For You
Now and then a
serious drinker, being
dry at the
moment says, "I don't
miss it
at all.
Feel better.
Work better. Having a
better time."
38.
... better, however,
that one does not needlessly ...
BB p.82,
Into Action
It is
better, however, that one does not
needlessly name a
person upon whom she can
vent
jealousy.
39.
... better husbands
and fathers than ever before.
BB p.108,
To Wives
Today most of our
men are
better husbands and
fathers than ever before.
40.
... better idea
of how you ought to ...
BB p.91,
Working With Others
You will thus get a
better idea of how you ought to
proceed.
41.
... better if
placed in such physical condition ...
BB p.143,
To Employers
42.
... better in
order to keep our balance.
12&12 p.92,
Step Ten
Although these
attitudes are
common enough, we
A.A.'s find we
need something much
better in
order to
keep our
balance.
43.
... better, it
is usually safe to talk ...
12&12 p.85,
Step Nine
As soon as we
begin to
feel
confident in our new way of
life and have
begun, by our
behavior and
example, to
convince those about us that we are
indeed changing for the
better, it is usually
safe to
talk in
complete frankness with those who have been
seriously affected, even
those who may be only a
little or not at all
aware of what we have done to them.
44.
... better job
of living than he has.
12&12 p.118,
Step Twelve
She
naturally feels that
for
years she has made a far
better job of
living than he has.
45.
... better jobs
when we deserved them; we ...
12&12 p.121,
Step Twelve
46.
... better leave.
BB p.108,
To Wives
If you are
positive he is one of this
type you may
feel you had
better leave.
47.
... better life
is when lived on a ...
BB p.116,
To Wives
We have elsewhere
remarked how much
better life is when
lived on a
spiritual plane.
48.
Better men
than we are using it ...
BB p.85,
Into Action
Better men than we are
using it
constantly.
49.
... better motive,
had we not worshipfully beheld ...
BB p.54,
We Agnostics
And then, with a
better motive, had we not
worshipfully beheld the
sunset, the
sea, or a
flower?
50.
... better motive
than to be secure and ...
12&12 p.67,
Step Six
And how often we
work hard
with no
better motive than
to be
secure and
slothful later on -- only we
call that "
retiring."
51.
... better next
time, but I might as ...
BB p.6,
Bill's Story
As the
whisky rose to my
head I told myself I would
manage better next time, but I might as well
get
good and
drunk then.
52.
... better philosophy
of life were sufficient to ...
BB p.44,
We Agnostics
53.
... better position.
BB p.146,
To Employers
54.
... better practical
use of it.
BB p.130,
The Family Afterward
Nothing will
help the
man who is off on a
spiritual
tangent so much as the
wife
who
adopts a
sane spiritual program,
making a
better practical use of it.
55.
... better qualified
to handle it.
12&12 p.90,
Step Ten
We have
found that
justified anger ought to be
left to those
better qualified to
handle it.
56.
... better realization
of the gravity of the ...
BB p.103,
Working With Others
Some
day we
hope that
Alcoholics Anonymous
will
help the
public to a
better realization of
the
gravity of the
alcoholic problem, but we
shall be of
little use if our
attitude is one of
bitterness or
hostility.
57.
... better researcher,
educator, personnel officer, then why ...
12&12 p.171,
Tradition Eight
58.
... better self.
BB p.108,
To Wives
You can see that he really does
love you with his
better self.
59.
... better taught
in religious matters than I.
12&12 p.153,
Tradition Five
No
doubt you're
better taught in
religious matters than I.
60.
... better than
anything we could have planned.
BB p.100,
Working With Others
When we
look back, we
realize that the things which
came to us when we
put ourselves
in
God's
hands were
better than anything we could have
planned.
61.
... better than
gold.
BB p.129,
The Family Afterward
Father feels he has
struck something
better than
gold.
62.
... better than
the best he had ever ...
BB p.11,
Bill's Story
Then he had, in
effect, been
raised from the
dead,
suddenly taken from the
scrap heap to a
level of
life better than the
best he had ever
known!
63.
... better than
the way you were."
BB p.14,
Bill's Story
Anything is better than the way you were."
64.
... better that
he have no relapse at ...
BB p.120,
To Wives
Though it is
infinitely better that he have no
relapse at
all, as has been
true with many of our
men, it is by no
means a
bad thing in some
cases.
65.
... better, the
doctor might suggest a visit ...
BB p.91,
Working With Others
When your
man is
better, the
doctor might
suggest a
visit from you.
66.
... better things.
12&12 p.111,
Step Twelve
These will
appear as
big setbacks at the
time, but
will be seen
later as
stepping-
stones to
better things.
67.
... better things.
12&12 p.149,
Tradition Four
It had
picked itself up with a
laugh and
gone on to
better things.
68.
... better things
tomorrow will be the permanent ...
12&12 p.95,
Step Ten
69.
... better things,
we believe we will be ...
BB p.70,
How It Works
If we are
sorry for what we have done, and have the
honest desire to let
God take us to
better things, we
believe we will be
forgiven and will have
learned our
lesson.
70.
... better time."
BB p.151,
A Vision For You
Now and then a
serious drinker, being
dry at the
moment says, "I don't
miss it
at all.
Feel better.
Work better. Having a
better time."
71.
... better to
comfort than to be comforted, ...
12&12 p.103,
Step Eleven
At these
critical moments, if we
remind
ourselves that "it is
better to
comfort than to be
comforted, to
understand than to be
understood, to
love than to
be
loved," we will be
following the
intent of
Step Eleven.
72.
... better to
forgive than to be forgiven.
12&12 p.101,
Step Eleven
He
thought it
better to
give comfort than to
receive it;
better to
understand than to be
understood;
better to
forgive than to be
forgiven.
73.
... better to
give comfort than to receive ...
12&12 p.101,
Step Eleven
He
thought it
better to
give comfort than to
receive it;
better to
understand than to be
understood;
better to
forgive than to be
forgiven.
74.
... better to
let our friends do this ...
12&12 p.181,
Tradition Eleven
Obviously,
A.A. had to be
publicized somehow, so we
resorted to the
idea that it
would be far
better to let our
friends do this for us.
75.
... better to
let our friends recommend us.
12&12 p.192,
Tradition Eleven (Long)
We
feel it
better to let our
friends recommend us.
76.
... better to
let our friends recommend us.
BB p.565(567),
Appendix I, The A.A. Tradition
We
feel it
better to let our
friends recommend us.
77.
... better to
let someone outside the family ...
BB p.113,
To Wives
In some
cases it may be
better to let someone
outside the
family present the book.
78.
... better to
meet God alone than with ...
BB p.63,
How It Works
But it is
better to
meet God alone than with one who might
misunderstand.
79.
... better to
risk it.
BB p.90,
Working With Others
The
family may
object to
this, but
unless he is in a
dangerous physical condition, it is
better to
risk it.
80.
... better to
take those risks than to ...
BB p.80,
Into Action
After
consulting with his
wife and
partner he
came to the
conclusion that
it was
better to take those
risks than to
stand before his
Creator guilty of such
ruinous slander.
81.
... better to
understand than to be understood; ...
12&12 p.101,
Step Eleven
He
thought it
better to
give comfort than to
receive it;
better to
understand than to be
understood;
better to
forgive than to be
forgiven.
82.
... better understand
the alcoholic.
BB xiii,
Foreword to First Edition
83.
... better understanding
all around.
BB p.115,
To Wives
Use your
energies to
promote a
better understanding all around.
84.
... better understanding
all around.
BB p.137,
To Employers
We
think the
business fabric is
shot through with a
situation which might be
helped by
better understanding all around.
85.
... better use
everyday language to describe spiritual ...
BB p.93,
Working With Others
86.
... better way
of life will emerge when ...
BB p.117,
To Wives
A
better way of
life will
emerge when they are
overcome.
87.
... better way
-- we think so.
BB p.68,
How It Works
Perhaps there is a
better way -- we
think so.
88.
... better, we'd
be all right.
12&12 p.46,
Step Four
We
firmly believe that if
only they'd
treat us
better,
we'd be all
right.
89.
... better we'd
like it.
12&12 p.156,
Tradition Six
We'd
form groups of
depressive and
paranoid
folks; the
deeper the
neurosis, the
better we'd
like it.
90.
... better, when
possible, to stick to our ...
BB p.125,
The Family Afterward
We find it
better, when
possible, to
stick to our
own stories.
91.
... better without
its "God nonsense."
12&12 p.143,
Tradition Three
His
pet obsession was that
A.A. could get along
better
without
its "
God nonsense."
92.
... better. Work
better. Having a better time."
BB p.151,
A Vision For You
Now and then a
serious drinker, being
dry at the
moment says, "I don't
miss it
at all.
Feel better.
Work better. Having a
better time."
93.
... better work
with another alcoholic instead!
BB p.102,
Working With Others
But if you are
shaky, you had
better work with another
alcoholic instead!
94.
... better, you
may feel this feeling rising.
BB p.139,
To Employers
Even when you
understand the
malady better, you may
feel this
feeling rising.
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.
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