From the books ... Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book) and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (12 & 12)
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to display the full page from the Big Book1.
... ever.
12&12 p.55,
Step Five
If we have swept the searchlight of Step Four back and forth over our careers, and it has revealed in stark relief those experiences we'd rather
not remember, if we have come to know how wrong thinking and action have hurt us and others, then the need to quit living by ourselves with those tormenting ghosts of yesterday gets more urgent than ever.
2.
... ever.
12&12 p.75,
Step Seven
3.
... ever.
12&12 p.137,
Tradition Two
4.
... ever.
BB p.33,
More About Alcoholism
5.
... ever.
BB p.101,
Working With Others
If the alcoholic tries
to shield himself he may
succeed for a time, but he
usually winds up with a bigger explosion then ever.
6.
... ever.
BB p.134,
The Family Afterward
7.
... ever.
BB p.138,
To Employers
The only answer I could make
was that if the man followed the usual pattern, he would go on a bigger bust than ever.
8.
... ever advancing
Creation, we agnostics and atheists ...
BB p.49,
We Agnostics
Instead of regarding
ourselves as intelligent agents, spearheads of God's ever advancing Creation, we agnostics
and atheists chose to believe that our human intelligence was the last
word, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and end of all.
9.
... ever becoming
blacker.
BB p.151,
A Vision For You
10.
... ever been
brought about by the world's ...
12&12 p.166,
Tradition Eight
Almost no recovery from alcoholism has ever been brought about by the world's
best professionals,
whether medical or religious.
11.
... ever before.
BB p.108,
To Wives
12.
... ever cut
off the supply of current.
12&12 p.36,
Step Three
We are delighted with this dependence; our main hope is that nothing will ever cut off the supply of current.
13.
... ever depend
upon money or conformity.
12&12 p.189,
Tradition Three (Long)
14.
... ever depend
upon money or conformity.
BB p.563(565),
Appendix I, The A.A. Tradition
15.
... ever drank
again it would kill him, ...
BB p.20,
There Is A Solution
"The doctor told him that if
he ever drank again it would kill him, but
there he is all lit up again."
16.
... ever drink
again, even beer, he might ...
BB p.142,
To Employers
If he temporizes and still thinks he can ever drink again, even beer, he might as well be discharged after the next bender which, if an alcoholic, he is almost certain to have.
17.
... ever drunk
on the job, taking a ...
BB p.31,
More About Alcoholism
Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at
home, never having it in the
house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties,
switching from scotch
to brandy, drinking only
natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a
solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational
books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums --
we could increase the list
ad infinitum.
18.
... ever get
started again?"
BB p.24,
There Is A Solution
How often have some of us begun to drink in this nonchalant way, and after the third or fourth, pounded on the bar and said to ourselves, "For God's sake, how did I ever get started again?"
19.
... ever get
well on their own steam, ...
12&12 p.152,
Tradition Five
I insisted that few drunks could ever get well on their own steam, but that in our groups we could do together
what we could not do separately.
20.
... ever going
to be happy again.
12&12 p.119,
Step Twelve
21.
... ever got.
BB p.66,
How It Works
22.
... ever got
drunk on beer.
BB p.177,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
23.
... ever had.
BB p.137,
To Employers
24.
... ever had
a more urgent need for ...
BB p.561(563),
Appendix I, The A.A. Tradition
Therefore, no society of men and women ever had a more urgent need for continuous effectiveness and permanent unity.
25.
... ever had,
and that you were not ...
BB p.136,
To Employers
He left us a note saying you were the best boss he ever had, and that you
were not to blame in any way."
26.
... ever had,
that in the future he ...
BB xxxi(xxix),
The Doctor's Opinion
Following his physical rehabilitation, he had a talk with me in which he frankly stated he thought the treatment a
waste of effort, unless I could assure him,
which no one ever had, that in the future he
would have the "will power"
to resist the impulse to
drink.
27.
... ever had
to throw me down and ...
BB p.181,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
So it doesn't behoove me to squawk about it for, after
all, nobody ever had to throw me down and pour liquor down my throat.
28.
... ever have.
12&12 p.187,
Tradition Twelve
We are sure that humility,
expressed by anonymity, is the greatest safeguard that
Alcoholics Anonymous can ever have.
29.
... ever have
imagined.
BB xxiii,
Foreword to Fourth Edition
Like so much of A.A.'s basic text, those words have proved to be far more visionary than the founding members could
ever have imagined.
30.
... ever hear
of a nation, a church, ...
12&12 p.172,
Tradition Nine
Did anyone ever hear of a nation, a church, a political party, even a benevolent association that had no membership rules?
31.
... ever hear
of a society which couldn't ...
12&12 p.172,
Tradition Nine
Did anyone ever hear of a society which
couldn't somehow discipline its members and enforce obedience to necessary
rules and regulations?
32.
... ever heard
of such a thing?
12&12 p.160,
Tradition Seven
33.
... ever hoping
that one day our loved ...
BB p.105,
To Wives
Some of us veered from extreme to extreme, ever hoping that one day our loved ones would be themselves once more.
34.
... ever I
can't stop."
BB p.157,
A Vision For You
35.
... ever, in
such a way as to ...
12&12 p.192,
Tradition Ten (Long)
Ten -- No A.A. group or member should ever, in such a way as to implicate A.A., express any opinion on outside controversial issues
-- particularly those
of politics, alcohol reform, or sectarian religion.
36.
... ever, in
such a way as to ...
BB p.565(567),
Appendix I, The A.A. Tradition
10. No A.A.
group or member should
ever, in such a way as to implicate A.A., express any opinion on outside controversial
issues -- particularly those of politics, alcohol reform, or sectarian religion.
37.
... ever know.
12&12 p.56,
Step Five
38.
... ever know.
BB p.171,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
In this prodigy of service, he was well assisted by Sister Ignatia at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio, one of the greatest friends our Fellowship
will ever know.
39.
... ever known!
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!
40.
... ever known.
BB p.137,
To Employers
I had been obliged to discharge him for drinking, though he was brilliant, alert, and one of the best organizers I have ever known.
41.
... ever loved
personal triumphs more than we ...
12&12 p.91,
Step Ten
For no people have ever loved personal triumphs more than we have loved them; we
drank of success as of a
wine which could never fail to make us feel elated.
42.
... ever made
a worse mess of trying ...
12&12 p.71,
Step Seven
But we are sure that no class of people in the world ever made a worse mess of trying to live by this formula than alcoholics.
43.
... ever more
serious alcoholism, impending mental and ...
BB p.56,
We Agnostics
Post-war disillusionment, ever
more serious alcoholism, impending
mental and physical collapse, brought him to
the point of self-destruction.
44.
... ever publicly
taken sides on any question ...
12&12 p.176,
Tradition Ten
45.
... ever recovers
control.
BB p.30,
More About Alcoholism
46.
... ever reminding
us to place principles before ...
12&12 p.184,
Tradition Twelve
"Anonymity is the spiritual foundation
of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities."
47.
... ever reminding
us to place principles before ...
BB p.562(564),
Appendix I, The A.A. Tradition
Twelve -- Anonymity is
the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
48.
... ever since.
BB p.13,
Bill's Story
And so it had been ever since.
49.
... ever since
man had first crushed grapes.
12&12 p.22,
Step One
50.
Ever since,
these friends have reported A.A. ...
12&12 p.182,
Tradition Eleven
Ever since, these friends
have reported A.A. with an
enthusiasm which the most ardent members would find hard to match.
51.
... ever skillful
in separating justified from unjustified ...
12&12 p.90,
Step Ten
52.
... ever so
slightly open, we find that ...
12&12 p.35,
Step Three
Once we have placed the key of willingness in the
lock and have the door ever so slightly open, we find that we can always open it some more.
53.
... ever solving
them, suddenly finds himself easily ...
BB xxix(xxvii),
The Doctor's Opinion
On the other hand -- and strange as this may seem to those who do not understand -- once a psychic change has occurred, the very same person who seemed doomed, who had so many problems he despaired of ever solving them, suddenly finds himself easily able to control his desire for alcohol, the only effort necessary being that required to follow a few simple rules.
54.
... ever straighten
out that awful jam that ...
12&12 p.39,
Step Three
And how shall he ever straighten out that awful jam that cost him the affection of
his family and separated him from them?
55.
... ever take
any action that might greatly ...
12&12 p.189,
Tradition Four (Long)
And no group, regional committee, or
individual should ever
take any action that might greatly affect A.A. as a whole without conferring with the trustees of the General Service Board.
56.
... ever take
any action that might greatly ...
BB p.563(565),
Appendix I, The A.A. Tradition
And no group, regional committee, or
individual should ever
take any action that might greatly affect A.A. as a whole without conferring with the trustees of the General Service Board.
57.
... ever take
care of those awful debts, ...
12&12 p.121,
Step Twelve
How could we ever take care of those awful debts, possess a decent home, educate the kids, and set something by for old age?
58.
... ever taken
stock of ourselves, made amends ...
12&12 p.32,
Step Two
In no deep or meaningful sense had we
ever taken stock of ourselves, made amends to those we had harmed, or freely given to any other human being without any demand for reward.
59.
... ever talked,
who knew what he was ...
BB p.180,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
Of far more importance was the fact
that he was the first living human with whom I had
ever talked, who knew what he was talking about
in regard to alcoholism from actual experience.
60.
... ever there
was a successful business man, ...
BB p.39,
More About Alcoholism
61.
... ever-urgent questions,
"How can A.A. best function?" ...
BB p.561(563),
Appendix I, The A.A. Tradition
The "12 Traditions" of Alcoholics Anonymous
are, we A.A.'s believe, the
best answers that our experience has yet given to those ever-urgent questions, "How can A.A. best function?" and, "How can
A.A. best stay whole and so survive?"
62.
... ever were
to feel emotionally secure among ...
12&12 p.116,
Step Twelve
It became clear that if we
ever were to feel emotionally secure among grown-up people, we would have to put our lives on a give-and-take basis; we would have to develop the sense of being in partnership or
brotherhood with all those around us.
63.
... ever won
through in singlehanded combat.
12&12 p.22,
Step One
64.
... ever worked
the Twelfth Step for a ...
12&12 p.166,
Tradition Eight
This has always been so obvious that only a very few A.A.'s have ever worked the Twelfth Step for a fee.
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.
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