Hi everyone,
I did my first step just the other day. Talk about liberating. Admitting that I'm powerless over alcohol took such a weight off.
I give it to my higher power every morning and give thanks at the end of my day for another day of sobriety.
It took having my worst fears realized and because of my best friend I am stronger and becoming the woman I yearned for and saw inside myself.

FIVE THINGS TO FREEDOM

There appear to be five things that I need to do consistently, in order to maintain an absolute instinctive knowledge in my heart, that there is a Power that I can depend upon that will allow me to not have to live my life driven by hundreds of forms of fear, which by default allows me to live my life driven by hundreds of forms of love. The steps in the Big Book are very clear that I am doing these things for one primary purpose…so that I can be of service to others. Everything else, including my own sobriety, seems to be a by-product of that primary purpose. All other activity that I have witnessed in my twenty+ years as an active member in AA, seem to only distract me from this primary purpose. I realize that this is just the way I see it today…I’m still growing; yet this is how I see it. I hope you will enjoy it and find it useful. Please feel free to contact me with your comments and experience.


1. I need to be reminded on a regular basis that the things of the world (human powers) will never be the source of my happiness, nor will they ever be the source of my problems. Examples of the “things of the world” which I am referring to include, but are not limited to:
a. material things (such as houses, cars, toys, etc.),
b. relationships of all kinds,
c. my physical health.

This does not mean that I cannot have all of these things…just the opposite is true. The only way I can have any of these things comfortably is when I am aware that I can be happy with or without them.

I believe this to be the spirit of the message of the first step of AA.


2. I need to be reminded on a regular basis that I am not capable of having an intellectual concept of what God is or what God’s will is. God is too big for a human mind to comprehend. As soon as I ever allow myself to believe that I intellectually know what God is or what God’s will is, I am shutting myself off from knowing Him with a certainty, in my heart. The heart has reason that reason knows nothing of. Every definition I have ever heard about what God is or what God’s will is, has turned out to be a self-imposed limitation on how big God can be in that person’s life.

I believe this to be the spirit of the message of the second step of AA.


3. I need to be reminded on a regular basis that I need to keep a current harms & amends list. As I grow, my perception of my experience changes and more gets revealed to me. I need to have these things recorded so that I can see what kind of person I am capable of being when driven by any form of fear. I also need to have these recorded so that I can, with the help of my sponsor, put a plan of action together to make amends. Steps 3 thru 10 guide me through this. Step 3 offers me the theory that all my problems are of my own making and that in everything that disturbs me, there is one common denominator…there is some element or factor of me thinking about me with no God, or a self-imposed limited God. Step 4 tells me to write down what I can see, which is what everyone else is doing to me. Step 5 shows me how to utilize my sponsor and principles to help me see that I have a part in all these things. Steps 6 & 7 show me how to go to God to get open-mindedness, fearlessness, honesty and thoroughness to write a thorough 8th Step harms list. Step 9 is my action items that my sponsor and I have put together. Step 10 shows me how to keep current with those action items as I grow.


4. I need to be reminded on a regular basis that I need regular communication with God, in order for our relationship to grow naturally. I believe that things like literal language and chronological time are man-made concepts that people have agreed upon, which the creator of everything really knows nothing of. In other words, if man goes extinct, so do the languages of the world, the calendar and the clock. So our communication with God is done from our hearts and our actions…prayer, mediation and action. Just like my relationship with any person or institution grows beautifully, simply and naturally when we have a common goal and consistent communication, my relationship with God grows the same when God and I have a common goal and consistent communication. The creator of everything, God, has made it extremely evident in the wisdom of the ages, that if I chose to be of service to me, the price will be self-destructive. If I chose to be of service to others, the price will be minimal and the rewards will be abundant. God obviously allows for either. It is my choice. If my goal is to be of service to me, expecting minimal price and abundant reward, than God and I no longer have a common goal…therefore I don’t care how much communication through prayer and mediation we have, God and I will be in conflict. This same principle applies to my relationships, on every level, with other people, animals and institutions of the world. When we have different goals in the relationship or when our communication is lacking, we have friction. One thing I always like to mention here is that the majority of communication is done with action, particularly our actions over time…not our words. God is not Santa Claus…He is our Director. The directions are very clear when we are following our hearts and using our minds for entertainment purposes only. Our reason for being here seems to be to help someone…at the very least, not to hurt anyone.

I believe this to be the spirit of the message of the eleventh step of AA.


5. I need to be reminded on a regular basis that I am to participate in service to others, while I am mentally and physically able to do so. I also need to remember that I need to allow others to help me when I am not mentally or physically able to help myself. The world knows this instinctively…we have incredible patience and tolerance for infants, the handicapped, the sick and the elderly. We do not have much patience for the physically and mentally able who are unwilling to be self-supporting and help others. It is a natural instinct, in my opinion. Sometimes due to my spiritual condition I cannot find the motivation to try and help others…I must do it anyway. We serve to love and then we love to serve. I do it anyway and I find freedom. That new man or new woman is my key to freedom…he or she will cause me to remember to do all five of these things consistently. I cannot tell them to do these things when I’m not doing them myself. This is why I will always need a sponsor who will nudge me back to God through the use of principles, not personalities. I cannot do it alone. I need you to remind me that I am to go to God for my direction for living.

I believe this to be the spirit of the message of the twelfth step of AA.


Jim Tyler POB 29469 Phila. PA.19125 Email: jamesptyler@hotmail.com Sobriety Date: 5/19/85.