The Explicit "Musts" Found In Alcoholics Anonymous 3rd. Edition


[ PLEASE NOTE: These are intended for further study and should not be  taken out of context; e.g. #45-51,78,79 etc. ]


THE DOCTOR'S OPINION
Link to The Doctor's Opinion

1) page xxiii:
As part of his rehabilitation he commenced to present his conceptions to other
alcoholics, impressing on them that they must do likewise with still others.
2) page xxiv:
In this statement he confirms what we who have suffered alcoholic torture must
believe -- that the body of the alcoholic is quite as abnormal as his mind.
3) page xxvi:
The message which can interest and hold these alcoholic people must have depth
and weight.
4) page xxvi:
In nearly all cases, their ideals must be grounded in a power greater then
themselves, if they are to re-create their lives.
5) page xxvii:
I must stop, but I cannot!
6) page xxvii:
You must help me!
7) page xxvii:
Faced with this problem, if a doctor is honest with himself, he must sometimes
feel his own inadequacy.
8) page xxvii:
Though the aggregate of recoveries resulting from psychiatric effort is
considerable, we physicians must admit we have made little impression upon the
problem as a whole.

CHAPTER 1 BILL'S STORY
Link to Bill's Story

9) page 10:
I could almost hear the sound of the preacher's voice as I sat,
on still Sundays, way over there on the hillside; there was that proffered
temperance pledge I never signed; my grandfather's good natured contempt
of some church folk and their doings; his insistence that the spheres really
had their own music; but his denial of the preacher's right to tell him how he
must listen; his fearlessness as he spoke of these things just before he died;
these recollections welled up from the past.

10) page 14:
I must turn in all things to the Father of Light who presides over us all.

CHAPTER 2 THERE IS A SOLUTION
Link to There is a Solution

11) page 20:
"His will power must be weak."

12) page 29:
Our hope is that many alcoholic men and women, desperately in need will see
these pages, and we believe that it is only by fully disclosing ourselves and
our problems that they will be persuaded to say, "Yes I am one of them too;
I must have this thing."

CHAPTER 3 MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM
Link to More About Alcoholism

13) page 33:
If we are planning to stop drinking, there must be no reservation of any kind,
nor any lurking notion that someday we will be immune to alcohol.

14) page 43:
His defense must come from a Higher Power.

CHAPTER 4 WE AGNOSTICS
Link to We Agnostics

15) page 44:
But after a while we had to face the fact that we must find a spiritual basis
of life -- or else.

CHAPTER 5 HOW IT WORKS
Link to How It Works

16) page 62:
Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness.

17) page 62:
We must, or it kills us!

18) page 66:
We saw that these resentments must be mastered, but how?

19) page 69:
Whatever our ideal turns out to be, we must be willing to grow toward it.

20) page 69:
We must be willing to make amends where we have done harm, provided that we do
not bring about still more harm in so doing.

CHAPTER 6 INTO ACTION
Link to Into Action

21) page 73:
We must be entirely honest with somebody if we expect to live long or happily
in this world.

22) page 74:
Those of us who belong to a religious denomination which requires confession
must, and of course, will want to go to the properly appointed authority whose duty is to receive it.

23) page 74:
The rule is we must be hard on our self, but always considerate of others.

24) page 75:
But we must not use this as a mere excuse to postpone.

25) page 78:
We must lose our fear of creditors no matter how far we have to go, for we are
liable to drink if we are afraid to face them.

26) page 79:
We must not shrink at anything.

27) page 80:
If we obtained permission, have consulted with others, asked God to help and
the drastic step is indicated we must not shrink.

28) page 81:
In fairness we must say that she may understand, but what are we going to do
about a thing like that?

29) page 82:
Certainly he must keep sober, for there will be no home if he doesn't.

30) page 83:
We must take the lead.

31) page 83:
We must remember that ten or twenty years of drunkenness would make a skeptic
out of anyone.

32) page 85:
Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our
activities.

33) page 85:
These are the thoughts which must go with us constantly.

34) page 85:
But we must go further and that means more action.

35) page 86:
But we must be careful not to drift into worry, remorse or morbid reflection,
for that would diminish our usefulness to others.

CHAPTER 7 WORKING WITH OTHERS
Link to Working With Others

36) page 89:
To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish,
to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends -- this is an
experience you must not miss.

37) page 90:
The family must decide these things.

38) page 93:
To be vital, faith must be accompanied by self sacrifice and unselfish,
constructive action.

39) page 95:
After doing that, he must decide for himself whether he wants to go on.

40) page 95:
If he is to find God, the desire must come from within him.

41) page 99:
In many homes this is a difficult thing to do, but it must be done if any
results are to be expected.

42) page 99:
But we must try to repair the damage immediately lest we pay the penalty by a
spree.

43) page 99:
If their old relationship is to be resumed it must be on a better basis, since
the former did not work.

44) page 100:
Both you and the new man must walk day by day in the path of spiritual progress.

45) page 100:
People have said we must not go where liquor is served; [continued]

46) page 101:
we must not have it in our homes; [continued]

47) page 101:
we must shun our friends who drink; [continued]

48) page 101:
we must avoid moving pictures which show drinking scenes; [continued]

49) page 101:
we must not go into bars; [continued]

50) page 101:
our friends must hide their bottles if we go to their houses;[continued]

51) page 101:
we mustn't think or be reminded about alcohol at all.

CHAPTER 8 TO WIVES
Link to To Wives

52) page 111:
Our next thought is that you should never tell him what he must do about his
drinking.

53) page 113:
Wait until repeated stumbling convinces him he must act, for the more you hurry
him the longer his recovery will be delayed.

54) page 114:
But sometimes you must start life anew.

55) page 115:
But you must be on guard not to embarrass of harm your husband.

56) page 115:
You will no longer be self-conscious or feel that you must apologize as though
your husband were a weak character.

57) page 117:
Often you must carry the burden of avoiding them or keeping them under control.

58) page 118:
Yet you must expect too much.

59) page 120:
Your husband will see at once that he must redouble his spiritual activities
if he expects to survive.

CHAPTER 9 THE FAMILY AFTERWARD
Link to The Family Afterward

60) page 127:
The family must realize that dad, though marvelously improved, is still
convalescing.

61) page 127:
But he must see the danger of over-concentration on financial success.

62) page 127:
We know there are difficult wives and families, but the man who is getting over
alcoholism must remember he did much to make them so.

63) page 130:
That is where our fellow travelers are, and that is where our work must be done.

64) page 135:
The others must be convinced of his new status beyond the shadow of a doubt.

CHAPTER 10 TO EMPLOYERS
Link to To Employers

65) page 141:
State that you know about his drinking, and that it must stop.

66) page 143:
Though you are providing him with the best possible medical attention, he
should understand that he must undergo a change of heart.

67) page 144:
When a man is presented with this volume it is best that no one tell him he
must abide by its suggestions.

68) page 144:
The man must decide for himself.

69) page 146:
For he knows he must be honest if he would live at all.

CHAPTER 11 A VISION FOR YOU
Link to A Vision For You

70) page 152:
"...I know I must get along without liquor, but how can I?..."

71) page 153:
They will approach still other sick ones and fellowships of Alcoholics
Anonymous may spring up in each city and hamlet, havens for those who must
find a way out.

72) page 154:
There must be many such in this town.

73) page 156:
Both saw that they must keep spiritually active.

74) page 159:
Though they knew they must help other alcoholics if they would remain sober,
that motive became secondary.

75) page 164:
God will determine that, so you must remember that your real reliance is always
upon Him.

APPENDIX I.....THE A.A. TRADITION

76) page 563:
We alcoholics see that we must work together and hang together, else most of us
will finally die alone.

THE TWELVE TRADITIONS (LONG FORM)

77) page 565:
A.A. must continue to live or most of us will surely die.

APPENDIX II....SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE

78) page 569:
Yet it is true that our first printing gave many readers the impression that
these personality changes, or religious experiences, must be in the nature of
sudden and spectacular upheavals.

79) page 569:
Though it was not our intention to create such an impression, many alcoholics
have nevertheless concluded that in order to recover they must acquire an
immediate and overwhelming "God-consciousness" followed at once by a vast
change in feeling and outlook.

APPENDIX III...THE MEDICAL VIEW ON A.A.

80) page 571:
"...I think our profession must take appreciative cognizance of this great
therapeutic weapon.

81) page 571:
Any therapeutic or philosophic procedure which can prove a recovery rate of
50% to 60% must merit our consideration."

82) page 572:
They know that they must never drink.

The Ten Practical Points Of Recovery found in Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd. Edition Pages 58-60

1. thoroughly followed our path." p.58 line 2
2. completely give themselves..." p.58 line 3
3. developing...rigorous honesty." p.58 line 9
4. willing to go to any length..." p.58 line 18
5. fearless and thorough..." p.58 line 23
6. let go absolutely." p.58 line 25
7. asked His protection and care with complete abandon." p.59 line 5
8. the steps we took..." p.59 line 7
9. Do not be discouraged." p.60 line 7
10. willing to grow along spiritual lines." p.60 line 10

The Suggested 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

From:
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
The Story of
How many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism
NEW AND REVISED EDITION
(Second Edition)
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS PUBLISHING, INC.
NEW YORK CITY
1955
pp. 59-60
 

The 12 Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.
2. For our group purpose, there is but one ultimate authority--a loving God as he may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
3. The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.
4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups of A.A. as a whole.
5. Each group has but one primary purpose--to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.
6. An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
7. Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
8. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
9. A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
10. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films.
12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

The Story of
How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism
NEW AND REVISED EDITION
(Second Edition)
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS PUBLISHING, INC.
NEW YORK CITY
1955
pp. 563-568
 

Our thanks to Wendy for the Beautiful Picture for the Serenity Prayer.

The Peace Prayer of St. Francis

by an anonymous Norman c. 1915 A.D. Peace Prayer

Lord make me an instrument of your peace

Where there is hatred,
Let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, Joy.

O Divine Master grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled
As to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Sung by: Sarah Mclachlan