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


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1.
... thought.   12&12 p.47, Step Four
Where other people were concerned, we had to drop the word "blame" from our speech and thought.

2.
... thought.   12&12 p.95, Step Ten
This subtle and elusive kind of self-righteousness can underlie the smallest act or thought.


3.
... thought.   BB p.6, Bill's Story   Go to page 6 in the Big Book
That was a hard thought.


4.
... thought.   BB p.107, To Wives   Go to page 107 in the Big Book
There could be no love in such persons, we thought.


5.
... thought a great deal about the relationship ...   BB p.569(571), Appendix III, The Medical View on A.A.   Display entire Appendix III
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   Go to page 3 in the Big Book
Our friends thought a lunacy commission should be appointed.


7.
... thought a round earth preposterous.   BB p.51, We Agnostics   Go to page 51 in the Big Book
Some of the contemporaries of Columbus thought a round earth preposterous.


8.
... thought all alcoholics should constantly have chocolate ...   BB p.133, The Family Afterward   Go to page 133 in the Big Book
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   Go to page 56 in the Big Book
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)   Display entire Appendix VII
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   Go to page 143 in the Big Book
To get over drinking will require a transformation of thought and attitude.

12.
... thought as we did.   12&12 p.30, Step Two
We found many in A.A. who once thought as we did.


13.
... thought brings us to Step Ten, which ...   BB p.84, Into Action   Go to page 84 in the Big Book
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   Go to page 56 in the Big Book
Then, like a thunderbolt, a great thought came.


16.
... thought came that there were thousands of ...   BB p.14, Bill's Story   Go to page 14 in the Big Book
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   Go to page 41 in the Big Book
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   Go to page 36 in the Big Book
"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   Go to page 37 in the Big Book
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
There must be a heavy penalty, it was thought, for blasphemy.

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   Go to page 45 in the Big Book
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   Go to page 79 in the Big Book
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   Go to page 55 in the Big Book
In this book you will read the experience of a man who thought he was an atheist.


29.
... thought he was getting control of his ...   BB p.155, A Vision For You   Go to page 155 in the Big Book
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   Go to page 5 in the Big Book
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   Go to page 4 in the Big Book
He had plenty of money left and thought I had better go to Canada.


33.
... thought I would get a sandwich.   BB p.36, More About Alcoholism   Go to page 36 in the Big Book
I just thought I would get a sandwich.

34.
... thought, if they worked for A.A. real ...   12&12 p.168, Tradition Eight
They could regain some measure of virtue, it was thought, if they worked for A.A. real cheap.


35.
... thought is that you should never tell ...   BB p.111, To Wives   Go to page 111 in the Big Book
Our next thought is that you should never tell him what he must do about his drinking.

36.
... thought, is totally unscientific.   12&12 p.27, Step Two
This A.A. business, I thought, is totally unscientific.

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 necessary to go much further.   BB p.72, Into Action   Go to page 72 in the Big Book
Many of us thought it necessary to go much further.

39.
... thought it was.   12&12 p.124, Step Twelve
True ambition is not what we thought it was.

40.
... 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.


41.
... thought-life will be placed on a much ...   BB p.86, Into Action   Go to page 86 in the Big Book
Our thought-life will be placed on a much higher plane when our thinking is cleared of wrong motives.


42.
... thought myself alcoholic and if I were ...   BB p.42, More About Alcoholism   Go to page 42 in the Big Book
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.


43.
... thought of a Czar of the Heavens, ...   BB p.12, Bill's Story   Go to page 12 in the Big Book
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.


44.
... thought of a drastic housecleaning which requires ...   BB p.94, Working With Others   Go to page 94 in the Big Book
He may rebel at the thought of a drastic housecleaning which requires discussion with other people.

45.
... thought of a few of my alcoholic ...   12&12 p.136, Tradition Two
I thought of a few of my alcoholic friends, who were making as much money as ever.

46.
... thought of Alcoholics Anonymous.   12&12 p.157, Tradition Six
They immediately thought of Alcoholics Anonymous.

47.
... 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.


48.
... thought of drink has never returned; and ...   BB p.57, We Agnostics   Go to page 57 in the Big Book
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.


49.
... thought of drinking.   BB p.36, More About Alcoholism   Go to page 36 in the Big Book
Still no thought of drinking.

50.
... 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.

51.
... 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.


52.
... thought of my poor wife.   BB p.8, Bill's Story   Go to page 8 in the Big Book
I thought of my poor wife.


53.
... thought of others and how we may ...   BB p.20, There Is A Solution   Go to page 20 in the Big Book
Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs.

54.
... 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.


55.
... thought of the consequences at all.   BB p.41, More About Alcoholism   Go to page 41 in the Big Book
This time I had not thought of the consequences at all.

56.
... thought of the large sum of money ...   12&12 p.136, Tradition Two
I thought of the large sum of money still owing my Wall Street creditors.


57.
... thought of what they could now do ...   BB p.161, A Vision For You   Go to page 160 in the Big Book
He and his wife would leave elated by the thought of what they could now do for some stricken acquaintance and his family.


58.
... thought, on the whole, we were pretty ...   BB p.116, To Wives   Go to page 116 in the Big Book
We thought, on the whole, we were pretty good women, capable of being nicer if our husbands stopped drinking.


59.
... thought only of recapturing the spirit of ...   BB p.9, Bill's Story   Go to page 9 in the Big Book
Unmindful of his welfare, I thought only of recapturing the spirit of other days.


60.
... thought or a decision.   BB p.86, Into Action   Go to page 86 in the Big Book
Here we ask God for inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision.

61.
... 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.


62.
... thought or action.   BB p.87, Into Action   Go to page 87 in the Big Book
As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action.

63.
... 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.


64.
... thought or effort on our part.   BB p.85, Into Action   Go to page 85 in the Big Book
We will see that our new attitude toward liquor has been given us without any thought or effort on our part.

65.
... thought otherwise.   12&12 p.160, Tradition Seven
But oddly enough, people who had money thought otherwise.

66.
... 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!

67.
... thought ourselves religious awoke to the limitations ...   12&12 p.75, Step Seven
Many of us who had thought ourselves religious awoke to the limitations of this attitude.


68.
... thought she saw something different about her ...   BB p.158, A Vision For You   Go to page 158 in the Big Book
His wife came, scarcely daring to be hopeful, though she thought she saw something different about her husband already.

69.
... thought she should be.   12&12 p.137, Tradition Two
She looked interested, but not as excited as I thought she should be.


70.
... thought so well of myself and my ...   BB p.8, Bill's Story   Go to page 8 in the Big Book
I, who had thought so well of myself and my abilities, of my capacity to surmount obstacles, was cornered at last.


71.
... thought supplanted by "Well, I'll stop with ...   BB p.24, There Is A Solution   Go to page 24 in the Big Book
Only to have that thought supplanted by "Well, I'll stop with the sixth drink."


72.
... thought that faith and dependence upon a ...   BB p.46, We Agnostics   Go to page 45 in the Big Book
We were bothered with the thought that faith and dependence upon a Power beyond ourselves was somewhat weak, even cowardly.


73.
... thought that, in God's hands, the dark ...   BB p.124, The Family Afterward   Go to page 124 in the Big Book
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.

74.
... 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!


75.
... thought that no alcoholic man or woman ...   BB xix, Foreword to Second Edition   Display entire 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.


76.
... thought that the contents of a book ...   BB p.118, To Wives   Go to page 118 in the Big Book
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.

77.
... 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.

78.
... thought the isolation problem had been solved.   12&12 p.57, Step Five
We thought the isolation problem had been solved.

79.
... 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.


80.
... thought the treatment a waste of effort, ...   BB xxxi(xxix), The Doctor's Opinion   Display entire 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.


81.
... thought they had humbled themselves.   BB p.73, Into Action   Go to page 73 in the Big Book
They only thought they had lost their egoism and fear; they only thought they had humbled themselves.


82.
... thought they had lost their egoism and ...   BB p.73, Into Action   Go to page 73 in the Big Book
They only thought they had lost their egoism and fear; they only thought they had humbled themselves.

83.
... 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.


84.
... thought, to place their message and unique ...   BB xvii, Foreword to Second Edition   Display entire Foreword to Second Edition
It was now time, the struggling groups thought, to place their message and unique experience before the world.

85.
... thought, to rebuild our shattered fortunes.   12&12 p.121, Step Twelve
There simply wouldn't be time, we thought, to rebuild our shattered fortunes.


86.
... thought to the wives of his new ...   BB p.119, To Wives   Go to page 119 in the Big Book
We suggest that you direct some of your thought to the wives of his new alcoholic friends.


87.
... thought was expressed that there might be ...   BB p.12, Bill's Story   Go to page 12 in the Big Book
When the thought was expressed that there might be a God personal to me this feeling was intensified.

88.
... 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.

89.
... 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.

90.
... thought was "Which of us may be ...   12&12 p.139, Tradition Three
Our unspoken, constant thought was "Which of us may be the next?"


91.
... thought we could find an easier, softer ...   BB p.58, How It Works   Go to page 58 in the Big Book
We thought we could find an easier, softer way.

92.
... 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.

93.
... thought we had to hide from public ...   12&12 p.184, Tradition Twelve
Though ex-drinkers, we still thought we had to hide from public distrust and contempt.

94.
... 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.

95.
... thought we wanted.   12&12 p.71, Step Seven
Never was there enough of what we thought we wanted.


96.
... thought we were atheists or agnostics.   BB p.44, We Agnostics   Go to page 44 in the Big Book
But cheer up, something like half of us thought we were atheists or agnostics.

97.
... 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.


98.
... thought we were so inhospitable.   BB p.106, To Wives   Go to page 106 in the Big Book
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.

99.
... thought we'd build a hospital chain of ...   12&12 p.155, Tradition Six
Hospitals didn't like alcoholics, so we thought we'd build a hospital chain of our own.


100.
... thought well before taking this step making ...   BB p.63, How It Works   Go to page 63 in the Big Book
We thought well before taking this step making sure we were ready; that we could at last abandon ourselves utterly to Him.


101.
... thought were so derived.   BB p.2, Bill's Story   Go to page 2 in the Big Book
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.  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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