The phrase “Before we are half way through” (page 83 of the Alcoholics Anonymous book) does not refer to Step Five. It refers to Step Nine that being the step where we make our amends. The full text reads: “If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through.” The term “this phase” is referring to Step Nine. The directions for doing Step Nine begin on page 76 of the Alcoholics Anonymous book and go through to page 84 of the Alcoholics Anonymous book.
Truly, if a person does not know this, then they would have not done the steps properly.
The best test of if an alcoholic has actually HAD a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps (Step Twelve, page 60 of the Alcoholics Anonymous book), is if they can give personal examples to another person of the actual thoughts they had which made them decide to take a drink, despite having decided to quit drinking. That is the benchmark of if they have actually “had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps…” (Step Twelve, page 60 of the Alcoholics Anonymous book).
In the Alcoholics Anonymous book, this is referred to as explaining the “mental twist” that phrase (“mental twist”) is stated on page 92 of the Alcoholics Anonymous book, from Chapter 7 ˜Working With Others (pages 89 to 103). The ˜Working with Others chapter is on how to do Step 12. The “mental twist” sentence reads in full: “Show him the mental twist which leads to the first drink of a spree.” It says to do this on the first visit with a still-sick alcoholic who sincerely wants to quit.
If a person cannot explain the mental twist then they would not themselves have had a spiritual awakening as “the” result of doing the 12 Steps, as laid out in the Alcoholics Anonymous textbook.
Alcoholism is a very powerful disease self-delusion being one of its strongest traits. The delusion that a person wrongly thinks they have had a “spiritual awakening” when they in reality have not, often arises from the deluded person having not themselves been properly presented the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous by the person who took them through the 12 Steps (that person also being deluded). Of course, another chief reason for such a delusion is that the person simply presumes they have done the 12 Steps because they have been around Alcoholics Anonymous for a while. As has already been said, delusion is a very powerful symptom of the disease of alcoholism.
I trust what I have written here will be taken in the spirit it is meant that of helpfulness, anonymously given.
Hi AG
I have heard that before as it does appear at step Nine, as all the Steps are connected considers the phrase “before we are half way through, this phase of our development” it is Step Nine.
If you look on page 75 Once we have taken this Step, (Step Five) withholding nothing, we are delighted.
We can look the world in the eye.
We can be alone at perfect peace and ease.
Our fears fall from us.
We begin to feel the nearness of our Creator.
We may have had certain spiritual beliefs, but now we begin to have a spiritual experience.
The feeling that the drink problem has disappeared will often come strongly.
We feel we are on the Broad Highway, walking hand in hand with the Spirit of the Universe
The spiritual promises come about as a result of working Step Five. Step five in the Twelve and Twelve states until we have spoken with complete candor with someone and they have done the same with us we still didn’t belong, Step Five was the answer it was the beginning of true kinship between God and man, therefore not only do we have to do a Fifth Step, we have to hear a Fifth Step and until then we still didn’t belong. You are NOW available to start to be a temporary sponsor after working Step Five so you can hear a Fifth Step so then now you too can belong. My experience if they had not gotten the spiritual experience in Step Five the sponsee will most certainly get it by doing an honest Ninth Step. I stand corrected, it is Step Nine,
If you get 15 alcoholics in a room you will get 20 opinions and there all right if not correct.
When we insist on a particular interpretation or a specific course of action it becomes dogma as the letter of the law bringeth death and the spirit of the law giveth life Our goal is to get the newcomer to a spiritual experience as soon as possible and staying into action. There was 2,000000Â A.A.’s in1981 (GSO) and in 2010 2,100,000 (GSO) the general population has increased more than a 1/3, we have lost ground and have lost lives, perhaps a look back to the past will insure a brighter future
Thank you for your comments.
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Joseph
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