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From the books  ...  Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book) and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (12 & 12)


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1.
... means.   12&12 p.71, Step Seven
Quite characteristically, we had gone all out in confusing the ends with the means.

2.
... means.   12&12 p.92, Step Ten
Finally, we begin to see that all people, including ourselves, are to some extent emotionally ill as well as frequently wrong, and then we approach true tolerance and see what real love for our fellows actually means.


3.
... means a bad one, but I would ...   BB p.43, More About Alcoholism   Go to page 43 in the Big Book
My old manner of life was by no means a bad one, but I would not exchange its best moments for the worst I have now.


4.
... means a bad thing in some cases.   BB p.120, To Wives   Go to page 120 in the Big Book
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.


5.
... means a comprehensive picture of the true ...   BB p.22, There Is A Solution   Go to page 22 in the Big Book
This is by no means a comprehensive picture of the true alcoholic, as our behavior patterns vary.

6.
... means a full catalogue of the harms ...   12&12 p.81, Step Eight
Such gross misbehavior is not by any means a full catalogue of the harms we do.


7.
... means a great deal to his community, ...   BB p.156, A Vision For You   Go to page 156 in the Big Book
As we shall see, he now means a great deal to his community, and the major liabilities of thirty years of hard drinking have been repaired in four.


8.
... means a new attitude and spirit all ...   BB p.99, Working With Others   Go to page 99 in the Big Book
This means a new attitude and spirit all around.

9.
... means a perfect release from every other ...   12&12 p.64, Step Six
Having been granted a perfect release from alcoholism, why then shouldn't we be able to achieve by the same means a perfect release from every other difficulty or defect?


10.
... means another debacle with all its attendant ...   BB p.22, There Is A Solution   Go to page 22 in the Big Book
If hundreds of experiences have shown him that one drink means another debacle with all its attendant suffering and humiliation, why is it he takes that one drink?


11.
... means anything at all, it means that ...   BB p.28, There Is A Solution   Go to page 28 in the Big Book
If what we have learned and felt and seen means anything at all, it means that all of us, whatever our race, creed, or color are the children of a living Creator with whom we may form a relationship upon simple and understandable terms as soon as we are willing and honest enough to try.

12.
... means anything at all, this is not ...   12&12 p.56, Step Five
Yet if A.A.'s experience means anything at all, this is not only unwise, but is actually a perilous resolve.

13.
... means, are necessities for us.   12&12 p.88, Step Ten
A continuous look at our assets and liabilities, and a real desire to learn and grow by this means, are necessities for us.


14.
... means blind faith in the strange proposition ...   BB p.10, Bill's Story   Go to page 10 in the Big Book
Few people really are, for that means blind faith in the strange proposition that this universe originated in a cipher and aimlessly rushes nowhere.


15.
... means business.   BB p.161, A Vision For You   Go to page 161 in the Big Book
No one is too discredited or has sunk too low to be welcomed cordially -- if he means business.


16.
... means business, give him a chance to ...   BB p.114, To Wives   Go to page 114 in the Big Book
If he is already committed to an institution, but can convince you and your doctor that he means business, give him a chance to try our method, unless the doctor thinks his mental condition too abnormal or dangerous.

17.
... means by which A.A. maintains its unity ...   12&12 p.15, Foreword
They outline the means by which A.A. maintains its unity and relates itself to the world about it, the way it lives and grows.

18.
... means by which we began to get ...   12&12 p.57, Step Five
This vital Step was also the means by which we began to get the feeling that we could be forgiven, no matter what we had thought or done.

19.
... means by which we bring new vision, ...   12&12 p.98, Step Eleven
As we have seen, self-searching is the means by which we bring new vision, action, and grace to bear upon the dark and negative side of our natures.

20.
... means by which we could live and ...   12&12 p.71, Step Seven
Instead of regarding the satisfaction of our material desires as the means by which we could live and function as human beings, we had taken these satisfactions to be the final end and aim of life.

21.
... means can we improve our chances for ...   12&12 p.114, Step Twelve
Only by this means can we improve our chances for really happy and useful living.


22.
... means conviviality, companionship and colorful imagination.   BB p.151, A Vision For You   Go to page 151 in the Big Book
For most normal folks, drinking means conviviality, companionship and colorful imagination.


23.
... means courage.   BB p.68, How It Works   Go to page 68 in the Big Book
The verdict of the ages is that faith means courage.


24.
... means disaster, especially if he is an ...   BB p.44, We Agnostics   Go to page 44 in the Big Book
To one who feels he is an atheist or agnostic such an experience seems impossible, but to continue as he is means disaster, especially if he is an alcoholic of the hopeless variety.

25.
... means do so, for you ought to ...   12&12 p.61, Step Five
If this is the situation, by all means do so, for you ought to make a beginning as soon as you can.


26.
... means do we offer it as the ...   BB p.144, To Employers   Go to page 144 in the Big Book
By no means do we offer it as the last word on this subject, but so far as we are concerned, it has worked with us.

27.
... means everything to me.   12&12 p.153, Tradition Five
I belong to a great church that means everything to me.


28.
... means go along.   BB p.102, Working With Others   Go to page 102 in the Big Book
If you are with a person who wants to eat in a bar, by all means go along.


29.
... means I had been trying to employ, ...   BB p.180, Doctor Bob's Nightmare   Go to page 180 in the Big Book
But this was a man who had experienced many years of frightful drinking, who had had most all the drunkard's experiences known to man, but who had been cured by the very means I had been trying to employ, that is to say the spiritual approach.


30.
... means, I knew that if I did ...   BB p.176, Doctor Bob's Nightmare   Go to page 175 in the Big Book
Not being a man of means, I knew that if I did not stay sober enough to earn money, I would run out of liquor.

31.
... means infallible, it is likely to be ...   12&12 p.60, Step Five
While the comment or advice of others may be by no means infallible, it is likely to be far more specific than any direct guidance we may receive while we are still so inexperienced in establishing contact with a Power greater than ourselves.


32.
... means more action.   BB p.85, Into Action   Go to page 85 in the Big Book
But we must go further and that means more action.


33.
... means nothing, and proceeds nowhere.   BB p.49, We Agnostics   Go to page 49 in the Big Book
Were our contentions true, it would follow that life originated out of nothing, means nothing, and proceeds nowhere.


34.
... means of a rocket and he will ...   BB p.52, We Agnostics   Go to page 52 in the Big Book
Show any longshoreman a Sunday supplement describing a proposal to explore the moon by means of a rocket and he will say, "I bet they do it -- maybe not so long either."

35.
... means of bringing alcoholics into our Fellowship.   12&12 p.180, Tradition Eleven
Throughout the world, immense and favorable publicity of every description has been the principal means of bringing alcoholics into our Fellowship.

36.
... means of conscious contact with God.   12&12 p.96, Step Eleven
Prayer and meditation are our principal means of conscious contact with God.


37.
... means, of course, that we are going ...   BB p.45, We Agnostics   Go to page 45 in the Big Book
And it means, of course, that we are going to talk about God.


38.
... means of destroying the reputation of another.   BB p.80, Into Action   Go to page 80 in the Big Book
He thus used his own wrong-doing as a means of destroying the reputation of another.

39.
... means of exchanging love and service with ...   12&12 p.122, Step Twelve
It became a means of exchanging love and service with those about us.

40.
... means of gaining true independence of the ...   12&12 p.36, Step Three
Therefore dependence, as A.A. practices it, is really a means of gaining true independence of the spirit.

41.
... means of getting money rather than an ...   12&12 p.121, Step Twelve
When a job still looked like a mere means of getting money rather than an opportunity for service, when the acquisition of money for financial independence looked more important than a right dependence upon God, we were still the victims of unreasonable fears.


42.
... means of livelihood.   BB p.80, Into Action   Go to page 80 in the Big Book
If he opened that old affair, he was afraid it would destroy the reputation of his partner, disgrace his family and take away his means of livelihood.


43.
... means of moderating or staying dry.   BB p.109, To Wives   Go to page 109 in the Big Book
He has begun to try, with or without your cooperation, various means of moderating or staying dry.


44.
... means of recovery.   BB xxv(xxiii), The Doctor's Opinion   Display entire Doctor's Opinion
In the course of his third treatment he acquired certain ideas concerning a possible means of recovery.

45.
... means of reducing these demands.   12&12 p.76, Step Seven
Therefore, no peace was to be had unless we could find a means of reducing these demands.


46.
... means of solving his problem which money ...   BB p.32, More About Alcoholism   Go to page 32 in the Big Book
Every means of solving his problem which money could buy was at his disposal.

47.
... means of survival.   12&12 p.177, Tradition Ten
Since recovery from alcoholism is life itself to us, it is imperative that we preserve in full strength our means of survival.


48.
... means release from care, boredom and worry.   BB p.151, A Vision For You   Go to page 151 in the Big Book
It means release from care, boredom and worry.


49.
... means ruined everything.   BB p.109, To Wives   Go to page 109 in the Big Book
He has by no means ruined everything.

50.
... means shall we be able to let ...   12&12 p.34, Step Three
Therefore our problem now becomes just how and by what specific means shall we be able to let Him in?

51.
... means sure that such great numbers of ...   12&12 p.18, Foreword
But it was by no means sure that such great numbers of yet erratic people could live and work together with harmony and good effect.


52.
... means that all of us, whatever our ...   BB p.28, There Is A Solution   Go to page 28 in the Big Book
If what we have learned and felt and seen means anything at all, it means that all of us, whatever our race, creed, or color are the children of a living Creator with whom we may form a relationship upon simple and understandable terms as soon as we are willing and honest enough to try.

53.
... means that side by side with an ...   12&12 p.104, Step Eleven
This means that side by side with an earnest prayer there can be a certain amount of presumption and conceit in us.

54.
... means the adoption of attitudes and actions ...   12&12 p.24, Step One
For practicing A.A.'s remaining eleven Steps means the adoption of attitudes and actions that almost no alcoholic who is still drinking can dream of taking.


55.
... means the loss of his job.   BB p.146, To Employers   Go to page 146 in the Big Book
If he is, and is still trying to recover, he will tell you about it even if it means the loss of his job.


56.
... means the opposite.   BB p.122, The Family Afterward   Go to page 122 in the Big Book
Successful readjustment means the opposite.


57.
... means the rule.   BB p.567(569), Appendix II, Spiritual Experience   Display entire Appendix II
Among our rapidly growing membership of thousands of alcoholics such transformations, though frequent, are by no means the rule.

58.
... means the sole advocate of this saving ...   12&12 p.56, Step Five
But today religion is by no means the sole advocate of this saving principle.


59.
... means to get the jay-walking idea out ...   BB p.38, More About Alcoholism   Go to page 38 in the Big Book
He tries every known means to get the jay-walking idea out of his head.


60.
... means to give of yourself that others ...   BB p.153, A Vision For You   Go to page 153 in the Big Book
Then you will know what it means to give of yourself that others may survive and rediscover life.


61.
... means to resolve his alcoholic dilemma but ...   BB xvi, Foreword to Second Edition   Display entire Foreword to Second Edition
This physician had repeatedly tried spiritual means to resolve his alcoholic dilemma but had failed.


62.
... means to right his past wrongs, why ...   BB p.128, The Family Afterward   Go to page 128 in the Big Book
If he means to right his past wrongs, why all this concern for everyone in the world but his family?


63.
... means trouble, unless the family watches for ...   BB p.131, The Family Afterward   Go to page 131 in the Big Book
This means trouble, unless the family watches for these tendencies in each other and comes to a friendly agreement about them.

64.
... means very simply that every A.A. group ...   12&12 p.146, Tradition Four
But in relation to us, it means very simply that every A.A. group can manage its affairs exactly as it pleases, except when A.A. as a whole is threatened.


65.
... means we have written a book which ...   BB p.45, We Agnostics   Go to page 45 in the Big Book
That means we have written a book which we believe to be spiritual as well as moral.

66.
... means well and tries hard is a ...   12&12 p.32, Step Two
To clergymen, doctors, friends, and families, the alcoholic who means well and tries hard is a heartbreaking riddle.


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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