02-12-2015, 10:06 PM
I see what you're saying in a lot of ways, but it seems like we're saying the same thing.
I would like to mention that my statements are not a reflection of AA as a whole, and is of my own opinion.
AA Is a bandaid that we need to apply every day.
Powerless? Yes. Diseased? Maybe. But not hopeless. In fact, every meeting is nothing but experience, strength and hope.
Brainwashed? Maybe it needs washing. As a mind programming expert yourself, you will understand that 10 years of programming myself to put substances in my body has made my brain dirty. It may be a tedious, monotonous, time consuming process, and I may have to do it for the rest of my life, but it's worth it to be happy and to make others happy.
The twelve steps are designed to make one a better person. In fact, the twelve steps only mentions alcohol once. You do not need to be an alcoholic to work the steps. Take, for instance, gamblind and sex addicts. The 12 steps are a recipe to be a good human being; one with principles and morals.
I agree many alcoholics, myself included begin their substance abuse due to a traumatic event, but eventualy, regardless as to whether or not they overcome said event, their brains are chemically and physically changed causing them to "require" the substance of choice, or cause the individual to seek it out. Some people do not require the process of going to aa for the rest of their lives. Take for instance, your mother. After just her first meeting, she never took a drink again, and after 5 years was able to maintain her sobriety on her own. was she not being programmed with aa for those 5 years? If she was being programmed to relapse, she would have.
AA is a bandaid which must be reapplied every so often. for some, the wounds heal quickly and do not require further application. But for others, we must continue to bandage up the damage, day in and day out since the wounds go much deeper.
Believing we have a disease is not a cop out, rather an obstacle we must overcome. Someone who has lung cancer does not use the disease as a cop out to act like a fool. They wouldnt use the cancer as a free pass to smoke like a chimney, with the conviction "i have cancer, i can smoke all i want". We do not believe that being drunk will magically solve our problems and make them disappear. In fact, we realized that the alcohol was itself a bandaid, and would only cause the pain to fade briefly.
We also agree that addicts and alcoholics act the way we do because of a lack of maturity. That is why we seek help through aa. Seeing as you're familiar with the steps, you already know about step four and five, the taking of personal inventory and personal house cleaning which goes along with what you said about identifying the cause and solutions to our ailments.
Indeed we are a cult. In fact, I'm attending a meeting tomorrow, in which you are cordially invited to partake in some non alcoholic punch
As for the can't do it attitude, I'm not convinced. The co founders Bill and Bob were successful stock broker in NYC and a prominent doctor respectively. They set their life purpose on passing on the solution to the suffering alcoholic and have in turn saved millions of lives around the world.
At the end of the day, I offered the AA suggestion to the OP as a form of help for his friend, to at least see immediate results in staying clean. Maybe he won't need it for the rest of his life, but at least it would be a good start.
I would like to mention that my statements are not a reflection of AA as a whole, and is of my own opinion.
AA Is a bandaid that we need to apply every day.
Powerless? Yes. Diseased? Maybe. But not hopeless. In fact, every meeting is nothing but experience, strength and hope.
Brainwashed? Maybe it needs washing. As a mind programming expert yourself, you will understand that 10 years of programming myself to put substances in my body has made my brain dirty. It may be a tedious, monotonous, time consuming process, and I may have to do it for the rest of my life, but it's worth it to be happy and to make others happy.
The twelve steps are designed to make one a better person. In fact, the twelve steps only mentions alcohol once. You do not need to be an alcoholic to work the steps. Take, for instance, gamblind and sex addicts. The 12 steps are a recipe to be a good human being; one with principles and morals.
I agree many alcoholics, myself included begin their substance abuse due to a traumatic event, but eventualy, regardless as to whether or not they overcome said event, their brains are chemically and physically changed causing them to "require" the substance of choice, or cause the individual to seek it out. Some people do not require the process of going to aa for the rest of their lives. Take for instance, your mother. After just her first meeting, she never took a drink again, and after 5 years was able to maintain her sobriety on her own. was she not being programmed with aa for those 5 years? If she was being programmed to relapse, she would have.
AA is a bandaid which must be reapplied every so often. for some, the wounds heal quickly and do not require further application. But for others, we must continue to bandage up the damage, day in and day out since the wounds go much deeper.
Believing we have a disease is not a cop out, rather an obstacle we must overcome. Someone who has lung cancer does not use the disease as a cop out to act like a fool. They wouldnt use the cancer as a free pass to smoke like a chimney, with the conviction "i have cancer, i can smoke all i want". We do not believe that being drunk will magically solve our problems and make them disappear. In fact, we realized that the alcohol was itself a bandaid, and would only cause the pain to fade briefly.
We also agree that addicts and alcoholics act the way we do because of a lack of maturity. That is why we seek help through aa. Seeing as you're familiar with the steps, you already know about step four and five, the taking of personal inventory and personal house cleaning which goes along with what you said about identifying the cause and solutions to our ailments.
Indeed we are a cult. In fact, I'm attending a meeting tomorrow, in which you are cordially invited to partake in some non alcoholic punch
As for the can't do it attitude, I'm not convinced. The co founders Bill and Bob were successful stock broker in NYC and a prominent doctor respectively. They set their life purpose on passing on the solution to the suffering alcoholic and have in turn saved millions of lives around the world.
At the end of the day, I offered the AA suggestion to the OP as a form of help for his friend, to at least see immediate results in staying clean. Maybe he won't need it for the rest of his life, but at least it would be a good start.
