Dan Dan's Big Book Study Podcast

02/06/2025

09/05/2025

This is in the cover of the Big Book I am using for tonight's study at The Cu***ng Group 8pm meeting.
The top number is my FBOP inmate number. I was in prison when I got this book, one of three I keep, and I am eternally grateful for what that time and this book showed about living life.

06/05/2024

Hello everybody..

I created a virtual recovery coach named Orbie. Let's train him right in the AA way.

Just ask Orbie questions about recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous and therapy models like cognitive behavioral therapy EVEN alanon.

And anything else you might be able to think of.

05/11/2023

# # The Golden Key
Inspired by Emmet Fox

The Golden Key is a simple but powerful technique that can help you overcome any problem, including alcoholism. Here's how it works:

1. **Stop thinking about the problem.** Instead of focusing on your addiction and the negative consequences it has brought into your life, shift your attention to something positive. This could be a happy memory, a beautiful scene in nature, or a spiritual concept that resonates with you.

2. **Focus on the positive.** Once you have found something positive to focus on, hold it in your mind and let it fill you with positive emotions. Feel the joy, peace, and love that come with this positive experience.

3. **Let go of the problem.** As you focus on the positive, let go of your addiction and the negative thoughts and emotions associated with it. Imagine yourself free from the grip of addiction and living a happy, healthy life.

By following these three steps, you can use the Golden Key to shift your focus from the problem of alcoholism to the solution of recovery. This approach can help you tap into your inner strength and motivation for change, which are essential for overcoming addiction.

But the Golden Key is not a magic solution that will work overnight. It requires practice and persistence to master. You may need to use it many times a day, especially when you feel tempted to drink or when you face challenges in your recovery journey.

Remember that you are not alone in your struggle with alcoholism. There are many recovering alcoholics who have used the Golden Key approach to achieve sobriety and build a fulfilling life in recovery. You can find support and inspiration from them, as well as from the many resources available to help you on your journey.

In conclusion, the Golden Key is a valuable tool for recovering alcoholics who want to break free from addiction and live a happy, healthy life. By focusing on the positive and letting go of the problem, you can tap into your inner strength and motivation for change, and achieve lasting recovery.

02/08/2023

From the SARCASTIC BIG BOOK by Clay E.
https://sarcasticbigbook.com

Meetings are a great place to judge people. And because of something called the Traditions, attacking a meeting is not unlike punching a blindfolded child from behind. It cannot defend itself or fight back. So we take comfort in that, and, momentarily, lift ourselves up a little simply by looking down at others in the room trying to better themselves. Besides, it is smart to go somewhere in order to receive free help, reject that help, and then criticize all of it. That just makes perfect sense.

The Story of How Thousands of Well-Intentioned Men and Women Have Totally Screwed Up The Original Message

24/04/2023

From The Big Book Comes Alive page..

How FAST should the newcomer be taken through the Twelve Steps?
One of the key concepts of A.A. in the 1940's: Get the newcomer to Step Twelve as quickly as possible, so he or she can experience the life-changing spiritual awakening that occurs as the direct result of taking the Steps. Assure the newcomer that our program of recovery will relieve his or her alcoholism. Show the newcomer that the process is simple, straightforward and that it really works.
Earl Treat founder of A.A. in Chicago "wished that every A.A. could have the benefit of this type of sponsorship today". In his story, "He Sold Himself Short" (p. 287 in 2nd and 3rd editions and p. 258 in 4th edition.) he explains how he was taken through the Steps.
"The day before I was due to go back to Chicago, a Wednesday and Dr. Bob's afternoon off, he had me down to the office, and we spent three or four hours formally going through the Six-Step program as it was at that time. The six steps were:"
1. Complete deflation. (Step 1)
2. Dependence and guidance from a Higher Power. (Steps 2, 3, 6, 7, 11)
3. Moral Inventory. (Steps 4, 10)
4. Confession. (Step 5)
5. Restitution. (Steps 8, 9)
6. Continued work with other alcoholics. (Step 12)
"Dr. Bob led me through all of these steps. At the moral inventory (Step 4), he brought up some of my bad personality traits or character defects, such as selfishness, conceit, jealousy, carelessness, intolerance, ill-temper, sarcasm and resentments. We went over these at great length and the he finally asked me if I wanted these defects of character removed. When I said yes (Step 6), we both knelt at this desk and prayed, each of us asking to have these defects taken away" (Step 7).
"This picture is still vivid. If I live to be a hundred, it will always stand out in my mind. It was very impressive and I wish that every A.A. could have the benefit of this type of sponsorship today. Dr. Bob always emphasized the religious angle very strongly, and I think it helped. I know it helped me, Dr. Bob then led me through the restitution step, in which I made a list of all the persons I had harmed (Step 8), and worked out ways and means of slowly making restitution (Step 9). I made several decisions at that time. One of them was that I would try to get a group started in Chicago (Step 12), the second was that I would have to return to Akron to attend meetings at least every two months until I did get a group started in Chicago, third, I decide I must place this program above everything else, even my family because if I did not maintain my sobriety I would lose my family anyway. If I did not maintain my sobriety, I would not have a job. If I did not maintain my sobriety, I would have no friends left."

Sponsorship (A.A. Grapevine, April 1961)
"Though three hundred thousand have recovered in the last twenty-five years, maybe half a million more have walked into our midst, and then out again."
"We can't well content ourselves with the view that all these recovery failures were entirely the fault of the newcomers themselves. Perhaps a great many didn't receive the kind and amount of sponsorship they so sorely needed. We didn't communicate when we might have done so. So we AA's failed them."
~ Bill W

22/02/2023

Gudstuf if you can make to this event you will certainly be glad you did 😊