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.
... thought.
12&12 p.47,
Step Four
2.
... thought.
12&12 p.95,
Step Ten
3.
... thought.
BB p.6,
Bill's Story
That was a hard thought.
4.
... thought.
BB p.107,
To Wives
5.
... thought a
great deal about the relationship ...
BB p.569(571),
Appendix III, The Medical View on A.A.
Dr. Harry M. Tiebout, psychiatrist:
"As a psychiatrist, I have thought a great deal about the relationship of my specialty to A.A. and I have
come to the conclusion
that our particular function can very often lie in preparing the way for the patient to accept any sort of treatment or outside help.
6.
... thought a
lunacy commission should be appointed.
BB p.3,
Bill's Story
7.
... thought a
round earth preposterous.
BB p.51,
We Agnostics
8.
... thought all
alcoholics should constantly have chocolate ...
BB p.133,
The Family Afterward
He thought all alcoholics should constantly have chocolate available for
its quick energy value at times of fatigue.
9.
... thought an
overdose of religious education.
BB p.56,
We Agnostics
He attended church school, where he became rebellious at what he thought an overdose of religious education.
10.
... thought and
action.
BB p.575,
Appendix VII, Twelve Concepts (Short Form)
XII. The Conference shall observe the spirit of A.A. tradition, taking care that it never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power; that sufficient operating funds and reserve be its prudent financial principle; that it place none of its members in a position of
unqualified authority over others; that it reach all important decisions by
discussion, vote, and,
whenever possible, by
substantial unanimity; that its actions never be personally punitive nor an incitement to public controversy; that
it never perform acts of government, and
that, like the Society it
serves, it will always remain democratic in thought and
action.
11.
... thought and
attitude.
BB p.143,
To Employers
12.
... thought as
we did.
12&12 p.30,
Step Two
13.
... thought brings
us to Step Ten, which ...
BB p.84,
Into Action
This thought brings us to Step Ten, which suggests we continue to
take personal inventory and continue
to set right any new mistakes as we go along.
14.
... thought by
many of A.A.'s friends that ...
12&12 p.15,
Foreword
Though the essays which follow were written mainly for members, it is
thought by many of A.A.'s friends that these pieces might arouse interest and find application outside A.A. itself.
15.
... thought came.
BB p.56,
We Agnostics
16.
... thought came
that there were thousands of ...
BB p.14,
Bill's Story
While I lay in the hospital the thought came that there were thousands of hopeless alcoholics who might be glad to have what had been so freely given me.
17.
... thought came
to mind that it would ...
BB p.41,
More About Alcoholism
As I crossed the threshold of the dining room, the thought came to mind that it would be nice to have a couple of cocktails with dinner.
18.
... thought caused
it.
12&12 p.47,
Step Four
We learned that if we were seriously disturbed,
our first need was to quiet that disturbance,
regardless of who or what we thought caused it.
19.
... thought "conditions"
drove us to drink, and ...
12&12 p.47,
Step Four
We thought "conditions"
drove us to drink, and when
we tried to correct these
conditions and found
that we couldn't to our entire satisfaction, our drinking went out of hand and we became alcoholics.
20.
... thought, could
go into business, might finance ...
12&12 p.155,
Tradition Six
The A.A. groups, many thought, could go into business, might finance any enterprise whatever in
the total field of alcoholism.
21.
... thought crossed
my mind that if I ...
BB p.36,
More About Alcoholism
"Suddenly the thought crossed my mind that if I were
to put an ounce of whiskey in my milk it couldn't
hurt me on a full stomach.
22.
... thought during
the period of premeditation of ...
BB p.37,
More About Alcoholism
We now see that when we began to drink deliberately, instead
of casually, there was little serious or effective thought during the period of premeditation of what the terrific consequences
might be.
23.
... thought, for
blasphemy.
12&12 p.143,
Tradition Three
24.
... thought God
was looking after becomes a ...
12&12 p.113,
Step Twelve
Maybe there are serious domestic or romantic difficulties, or perhaps that boy we thought God was looking after becomes a military casualty.
25.
... thought good
character was desirable, but obviously ...
12&12 p.71,
Step Seven
True, most of us thought good character was desirable, but obviously good character was something
one needed to get on with the business of being self-satisfied.
26.
... thought he
had neatly evaded or entirely ...
BB p.45,
We Agnostics
But his face falls when we speak of spiritual matters, especially when
we mention God, for we have
re-opened a subject which our man thought he had neatly evaded or entirely ignored.
27.
... thought he
ought to be willing to ...
BB p.79,
Into Action
We thought he ought to be willing to do that if necessary, but if he were in jail he could provide nothing for either family.
28.
... thought he
was an atheist.
BB p.55,
We Agnostics
29.
... thought he
was getting control of his ...
BB p.155,
A Vision For You
Some time later, and just as he thought he was getting control of his liquor situation, he went on a roaring bender.
30.
... thought himself
quite incapable.
12&12 p.107,
Step Twelve
He finds himself in possession of a degree of
honesty, tolerance, unselfishness, peace of
mind, and love of which he had
thought himself quite incapable.
31.
... thought I
could control the situation, and ...
BB p.5,
Bill's Story
Nevertheless, I still
thought I could control the
situation, and there were periods of sobriety which
renewed my wife's hope.
32.
... thought I
had better go to Canada.
BB p.4,
Bill's Story
33.
... thought I
would get a sandwich.
BB p.36,
More About Alcoholism
34.
... thought, if
they worked for A.A. real ...
12&12 p.168,
Tradition Eight
35.
... thought is
that you should never tell ...
BB p.111,
To Wives
36.
... thought, is
totally unscientific.
12&12 p.27,
Step Two
37.
... thought it
better to give comfort than ...
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.
38.
... thought it
could do no harm.
BB p.178,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
I learned that it was something of a spiritual nature, which
did not appeal to me very much, but I thought it could do
no harm.
39.
... thought it
necessary to go much further.
BB p.72,
Into Action
40.
... thought it
was.
12&12 p.124,
Step Twelve
41.
... thought it
was crackpot stuff, but I've ...
12&12 p.136,
Tradition Two
Three years ago, when my head doctor, Silkworth, began to tell me of the idea of helping drunks by spirituality,
I thought it was crackpot
stuff, but I've changed my
mind.
42.
... thought knew
anything about it.
BB p.178,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
43.
... thought-life will
be placed on a much ...
BB p.86,
Into Action
Our thought-life will be placed on a much higher plane when our thinking is
cleared of wrong motives.
44.
... thought myself
alcoholic and if I were ...
BB p.42,
More About Alcoholism
They grinned, which I didn't like so much, and then asked me if I thought myself alcoholic and if I
were really licked this time.
45.
... thought of
a Czar of the Heavens, ...
BB p.12,
Bill's Story
I could go for such conceptions as Creative Intelligence, Universal Mind or Spirit of Nature but I resisted the thought of a Czar of the Heavens, however
loving His sway might be.
46.
... thought of
a drastic housecleaning which requires ...
BB p.94,
Working With Others
47.
... thought of
a few of my alcoholic ...
12&12 p.136,
Tradition Two
48.
... thought of
Alcoholics Anonymous.
12&12 p.157,
Tradition Six
49.
... thought of
all the ex-drunks who wouldn't ...
12&12 p.162,
Tradition Seven
I felt especially virtuous as I thought of all
the ex-drunks who wouldn't even send the Foundation a dollar apiece, and here I was gladly making a five-dollar investment to fix a hangover.
50.
... thought of
charge.
BB p.171,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
To 1950, the year of his death, he carried the A.A. message to more than 5,000 alcoholic men and women, and to all these he gave
his medical services without thought of charge.
51.
... thought of
drink has never returned; and ...
BB p.57,
We Agnostics
Save for a few brief moments of temptation the thought of
drink has never returned; and at such times a great revulsion has risen up in him.
52.
... thought of
drinking.
BB p.36,
More About Alcoholism
53.
... thought of
Lois coming home exhausted from ...
12&12 p.136,
Tradition Two
I thought of Lois coming home exhausted from the department store each day, only to cook supper for a houseful of drunks who weren't paying board.
54.
... thought of
making honesty, tolerance, and true ...
12&12 p.72,
Step Seven
We never thought of making honesty, tolerance, and true love of man and God the daily basis of living.
55.
... thought of
my poor wife.
BB p.8,
Bill's Story
56.
... thought of
others and how we may ...
BB p.20,
There Is A Solution
Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may
help meet their needs.
57.
... thought of
rewriting the laws of the ...
12&12 p.155,
Tradition Six
We seriously thought of
rewriting the laws of the
land, and having it declared that alcoholics are sick people.
58.
... thought of
the consequences at all.
BB p.41,
More About Alcoholism
59.
... thought of
the large sum of money ...
12&12 p.136,
Tradition Two
60.
... thought of
what they could now do ...
BB p.161,
A Vision For You
He and his wife would leave
elated by the thought of
what they could now do for some stricken acquaintance
and his family.
61.
... thought, on
the whole, we were pretty ...
BB p.116,
To Wives
We thought, on the whole, we
were pretty good women, capable of being nicer if our husbands stopped drinking.
62.
... thought only
of recapturing the spirit of ...
BB p.9,
Bill's Story
63.
... thought or
a decision.
BB p.86,
Into Action
64.
... thought or
act that appears to be ...
12&12 p.94,
Step Ten
As we glance down the debit side of the day's ledger, we should carefully examine our motives in each thought or act that appears to be wrong.
65.
... thought or
action.
BB p.87,
Into Action
As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and
ask for the right thought or action.
66.
... thought or
done.
12&12 p.58,
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.
67.
... thought or
effort on our part.
BB p.85,
Into Action
We will see that our new attitude toward liquor has been given us without any thought or effort on our part.
68.
... thought otherwise.
12&12 p.160,
Tradition Seven
69.
... thought, our
Society of Alcoholics Anonymous might ...
12&12 p.156,
Tradition Six
Why, we thought, our Society of Alcoholics Anonymous might prove to be
the spearhead of a new spiritual advance!
70.
... thought ourselves
religious awoke to the limitations ...
12&12 p.75,
Step Seven
71.
... thought she
saw something different about her ...
BB p.158,
A Vision For You
His wife came, scarcely daring to be hopeful, though she thought she saw something different
about her husband already.
72.
... thought she
should be.
12&12 p.137,
Tradition Two
73.
... thought so
well of myself and my ...
BB p.8,
Bill's Story
I, who had thought so well of
myself and my abilities, of my capacity to surmount obstacles, was cornered
at last.
74.
... thought supplanted
by "Well, I'll stop with ...
BB p.24,
There Is A Solution
75.
... thought that
faith and dependence upon a ...
BB p.46,
We Agnostics
We were bothered with the thought that faith and dependence upon a Power beyond ourselves was somewhat
weak, even cowardly.
76.
... thought that
I was safe.
BB p.177,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
77.
... thought that,
in God's hands, the dark ...
BB p.124,
The Family Afterward
Cling to the thought that, in
God's hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you
have -- the key to life and happiness for others.
78.
... thought that
man, risen so majestically from ...
12&12 p.25,
Step Two
How he does cherish the thought that man, risen so majestically
from a single cell in the primordial ooze, is the spearhead of evolution
and therefore the only god
that his universe knows!
79.
... thought that
no alcoholic man or woman ...
BB xix,
Foreword to Second Edition
It was thought that no alcoholic man or woman could be excluded from
our Society; that our leaders might serve but never govern; that each group was to be autonomous and there was to be no professional class of therapy.
80.
... thought that
the contents of a book ...
BB p.118,
To Wives
We do not like the thought
that the contents of a book or the work of another alcoholic has accomplished in a few weeks that for which we struggled for years.
81.
... thought the
anonymity of A.A. was better ...
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.
82.
... thought the
isolation problem had been solved.
12&12 p.57,
Step Five
83.
... thought), the
spoils of victory would be ...
12&12 p.29,
Step Two
Since we were brighter than most folks (so we thought), the spoils of victory would be
ours for the thinking.
84.
... thought the
treatment a waste of effort, ...
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.
85.
... thought they
had humbled themselves.
BB p.73,
Into Action
They only thought they had lost their egoism and fear; they only thought they had
humbled themselves.
86.
... thought they
had lost their egoism and ...
BB p.73,
Into Action
They only thought they had lost their egoism and fear; they only thought they had
humbled themselves.
87.
... thought they
knew anything about the subject ...
BB p.180,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
It must be remembered
that I had read a great deal and talked to everyone who knew, or thought they knew anything about the subject
of alcoholism.
88.
... thought they
should be helped.
12&12 p.102,
Step Eleven
Our immediate temptation will be to ask for specific solutions to specific problems, and for the ability to help other people as we have already thought they should be
helped.
89.
... thought, to
place their message and unique ...
BB xvii,
Foreword to Second Edition
It was now time, the struggling groups thought, to place their message and unique experience before the world.
90.
... thought, to
rebuild our shattered fortunes.
12&12 p.121,
Step Twelve
91.
... thought to
the wives of his new ...
BB p.119,
To Wives
92.
... thought was
expressed that there might be ...
BB p.12,
Bill's Story
When the thought was expressed that there might be a God personal to me this feeling was intensified.
93.
... thought was
happiness.
12&12 p.72,
Step Seven
But whenever we had to choose between character and comfort,
the character-building was lost in the dust of our chase after what we thought was happiness.
94.
... thought was
leadership.
12&12 p.123,
Step Twelve
We have seen that we were prodded by unreasonable fears or anxieties into making a life business of winning fame, money, and what we thought was
leadership.
95.
... thought was
"Which of us may be ...
12&12 p.139,
Tradition Three
96.
... thought we
could find an easier, softer ...
BB p.58,
How It Works
97.
... thought we
deserved a pile of folding ...
12&12 p.160,
Tradition Seven
When you add to this the habitual supposition
that people ought to give money to alcoholics trying to stay sober, it can be understood why we thought we deserved a pile of folding money.
98.
... thought we
had to hide from public ...
12&12 p.184,
Tradition Twelve
99.
... thought we
led before the bottle cut ...
12&12 p.45,
Step Four
No doubt we shall point with pride to the good lives we thought we led before the bottle cut us down.
100.
... thought we
wanted.
12&12 p.71,
Step Seven
101.
... thought we
were atheists or agnostics.
BB p.44,
We Agnostics
102.
... thought we
were helping others to understand ...
12&12 p.94,
Step Ten
Or, the person concerned not being present, we thought we were helping others to understand him, when in actuality our true motive was to feel superior by pulling him down.
103.
... thought we
were so inhospitable.
BB p.106,
To Wives
The bill collectors, the
sheriffs, the angry taxi drivers, the policemen, the bums, the pals, and even the ladies they sometimes brought home -- our husbands thought we were so
inhospitable.
104.
... thought we'd
build a hospital chain of ...
12&12 p.155,
Tradition Six
105.
... thought well
before taking this step making ...
BB p.63,
How It Works
We thought well before taking this step making sure we were ready; that we
could at last abandon ourselves utterly to Him.
106.
... thought were
so derived.
BB p.2,
Bill's Story
We had long talks when I
would still her forebodings by telling
her that men of genius conceived their best projects when drunk; that
the most majestic constructions of philosophic thought were
so derived.
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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