Conference 2012 Discussion (contd)

Committee 1

Question 1: Would the Fellowship share experience and make recommendations on how to make AA more visible to the general public, particularly by increasing awareness and understanding of how the AA programme works?

Some extracts from the forum discussion:

"[Tradition] 11.—Our relations with the general public should be characterized by personal anonymity. We think A.A. ought to avoid sensational advertising. Our names and pictures as A.A. members ought not be broadcast, filmed, or publicly printed. Our public relations should be guided by the principle of attraction rather than promotion. There is never need to praise ourselves. We feel it better to let our friends recommend us."

and

"• 26% of adults (aged 16-64) have an alcohol use disorder, 38% of men and 16% of women. This is equivalent to approximately 8.2 million people in England.

• 21% of men and 9% of women are binge drinkers.

• 3.6% of adults are alcohol dependent; 6% of men and 2% of women. This equates to 1.1 million people in England.

• There is considerable regional variation in regard to both hazardous and harmful drinking and alcohol dependence.

• In 2003-4, about 167,000 people were referred to alcohol treatment and 63,000 people received treatment for their alcohol problems. This was a combination of inpatient services, residential rehabilitation and community treatments such as home detoxification, day treatment places and counselling services.

Therefore let us take the figure of 1.1 million for England - and round it up to 1.5 million for Great Britain - as a guide for possible candidates for AA. Firstly I believe the figure of 34,000 for the current membership is probably an underestimate (although by how much it is difficult to say) ie. it excludes those who either are non-responders, do not attend AA meetings any more or who attend relatively few. I know personally about half a dozen people who fit into the last two categories but all of whom would recommend AA to someone who might need it. So on that basis it would be a fairly safe bet that the figure of 34,000 could be doubled or even tripled. Moreover the way in which people actually access AA via personal referral is hardly ever random ie. bumping into a member in the street, but depends rather on social networks. eg. family, work situation, clubs, etc If you then factor in the other methods of referral (since they don't operate in isolation ie. website, media, various social care agencies ...) then I would suggest that the majority of potential candidates for AA have heard of us, or know directly someone who is in the Fellowship or know somebody who does etc. Therefore the problem in my estimation is not our lack of a profile but rather what kind of profile is being presented to the general public. In other words it is a matter of education and more importantly who precisely is doing the educating!

Now (and to which allusion has already been made) one of the key sources of information for most people in the UK (and increasingly so) is the internet. Here are presented literally thousands of pages about AA, its recovery programme, together with various study methods etc. Some of this is explicitly anti-AA and therefore can fairly easily be dismissed. They have their own agenda, and freedom of speech (or so I've heard) still exists! Good luck to them! However there is a considerable amount of misinformation being propagated on the net which derives from sites that supposedly support AA. Some use the name Alcoholics Anonymous explicitly on their sites but rather more do so implicitly. Some actually claim to be websites associated with AA groups (but not affiliated with AA?). Some sites clearly indicate a religious bias and some actually advertise completely unsubstantiated information about AA and its recovery rates (and not to our advantage I might add!)."

See here for the remainder of the discussion. Why not join in? It's free! Sign up and say your piece!

Cheerio

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

A Minority report (continued)(4)

“The advice given in David C’s Big Book Recovery website on professional counsellors, medication and step 5 are a direct contradiction with the Alcoholics Anonymous “Big Book” and the “Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions”:

“Those of us belonging to a religious denomination which requires confession must, and of course will want to go to the properly appointed authority, whose duty it is to receive it… … If we cannot or would rather not do this, we search for our acquaintance with a closed – mouthed, understanding friend. Perhaps our doctor or psychologist will be the friend. It may be one of our own family, but we cannot disclose anything to our wives or parents which will hurt them or make them unhappy.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, “Big Book” page 74,)

“This person may be one’s sponsor, but not necessarily so… … Perhaps, though, your relationship to him is such that you would care to reveal only a part of your story. If this is the situation, by all means do so… … It may turn out, however, that you’ll choose someone else for the more difficult and deeper revelations. This individual may be entirely outside of A.A. – for example, your clergyman or your doctor. For some of us, a complete stranger may prove the best bet.” (The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 62)

“An A.A. sponsor does not offer services such as those provided by counsellors, the legal, medical or social work communities, but may sometimes help the newcomer to access professional help if assistance outside the scope of A.A. is needed. (Questions and answers on sponsorship, page 14) http://www.aa.org/pdf/products/p-15_Q&AonSpon.pdf

“A.A. Does not….solicit members….follow up or try to control its members…. Make medical or psychological diagnoses or prognoses… … provide … … any medical or psychiatric treatment; offer religious services; engage in education about alcohol… … or any other welfare or social services; provide domestic or vocational counselling…” (Members of the clergy ask about Alcoholics Anonymous page 18) http://www.aa.org/pdf/products/p-25_membersoftheclergyaskaboutaa.pdf

“If we recognise religion is the province of the clergy and the practice of medicine is for doctors, then we can we can helpfully cooperate with both” (Concept 12, warranty five)

It is a sad day indeed, when victims of abuse in A.A. seek support elsewhere; when the safeguards and procedures already available are not being used; when professional alcoholism counsellors write to the A.A. Grapevine, asking A.A. to read its own literature.

It is a sad day when a District Committee Member (D.C.M.) in the USA, does not appear to be able to find important information from within the A.A. Service structure; but instead, the concerned A.A. member feels the need to source it from a non AA UK internet forum:

“In this USA area, about 2 1/2 years ago in 2008, a Yellow cover book - "Back to Basics " by Wally P., began to be passed around; soon many were buying it and some malcontented [sic] people from a few AA groups began to gather to discuss the book. They were generally outspoken and not recieved [sic] well by AA groups and the strong opposition seemed to bond the malcontents to each other. They had a fixed idea of how the 12 steps should be done, an out of balance view of AA history and statistics. Like claiming that AA once had 75% success rate; and futher [sic] claimed AA lost that sucess [sic] rate when AA became organized!

The movement has grown more active and now "seeds" meetings and discussion rooms with individuals who push their views. Now, there seems to be an organized effort for 6 to 10 "Back to Basics" people to meet before a target meeting - they split up a few small groups - go to various tables or each Meeting Room and steer discussions into issues which give them a format to present half truths and thier [sic] "sprituality" [sic] claims.

Many of us "regular" AA people are concerned. It seems to me that your experiences are similar and may be repeated here in this USA area. I found your "Cultwatch" site on the Bing search engine. The information is valuable and appreciated by me and I have passed the web address on to a DCM friend”. (aacultwatch forum; subject entitled “Back to Basics movement”) http://forums.delphiforums.com/aacultwatch/messages/?start=Start+Reading+%3E%3E

There needs to be better communication within the fellowship.

This is a statement at the bottom of the page on Wally P’s Back to Basics website:

“After receiving notification from the General Service Office about our mission statement, the Board of Directors of the Back to Basics Foundation met in a special session and voted to change the wording of the statement so it would be in compliance with the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The Board also voted to move all materials pertaining to other Twelve Step programs to separate web sites, so there would be no confusion about the primary purpose of the Back to Basics Foundation.

We ask for your patience in this matter because, at the present time, we have no means to accomplish this objective. We have no paid employees, and continue to operate with a negative cash flow. If it is God’s will, there will be sufficient individual donations to make the wishes of the Board of Directors a reality.

The Back to Basics Foundation is a 501 (C) 3, not-for-profit Corporation dedicated to saving the lives of alcoholics. Our modified mission statement is listed below” http://www.aabacktobasics.org/

Perhaps the A.A.W.S. Trustees ought to take note of Bill W’s leadership when passive negotiations fail with “Our promoter friend” turned “alarming poser” (A.A. Comes of Age page 130 -131), such as they have with Wally P; and when necessary, to call on support from the A.A. groups. If Wally P says his foundation “at the present time has no means to accomplish this objective,” then perhaps he needs some assistance. We are sure some two million A.A.s worldwide would be only too willing to help both another alcoholic and the Trustees as well.

“Strong letters … … … letters of a kind the sponsor might not like to receive” as Bill W. put it, is a powerful dissuasive tool for any Traditions violator. And as Bill W. recognised, the “right of petition” is recognised in any democratic society. It cuts both ways.

We wonder why warranties five and six have not been carried out to their full. Why information about Back to Basics has not been disseminated throughout the world service structure down to the G.S.Rs and a request to intergroup Public Information committees to inform the general public of misuses of the A.A. name.

“Privately, however we can inform Traditions violators that they are out of order. When they persist, we can follow up by using such other resources of persuasion as we may have, and these are often considerable…….. And to this end we shall need to maintain a continuous education of our public communication channels of all kinds concerning the nature and purpose of our Traditions……….. Whenever and however we can, we shall need to inform the general public also; especially upon misuses of the name Alcoholics Anonymous. This combination of counter forces can be very discouraging to violators or would be violators. Under these conditions they soon find their deviations to be unprofitable or unwise." (Concept 12, warranty five).

“Finally, any two or three alcoholics gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an A.A. group provided that, as a group, they have no other purpose or affiliation”. (Concept 12, warranty 6).””

Comment:

The AA Service Manual combined with the Twelve Concepts for World Service (2011-2012 edn). And see below for the relevant pages (Concept 12: Warranties 5 and 6 in full)

From the above it can clearly be seen that the Back to Basics movement is an entirely separately run organisation with its own financing, service structure, literature, meetings directory etc. As such it falls into the category of an “outside organisation” and under AA traditions an AA group which affiliate themselves with such are in breach of Tradition 3 (long form):

“—Our membership ought to include all who suffer from alcoholism. Hence we may refuse none who wish to recover. Nor ought A.A. membership ever depend upon money or conformity. Any two or three alcoholics gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an A.A. group, provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation.”

(our emphasis)

In our view, and in accordance with the above tradition, (and with reference to the above mentioned warranties) where such a group is listed in any AA directory (local and/or national) it should withdraw its listing immediately or be removed. Moreover any GSRs associated with Back to Basics groups should exclude themselves (or be excluded) from service at AA intergroup level (and indeed at any level in the service structure). Steps should also be taken to inform all relevant outside agencies e.g via PI, HL etc that these groups are not affiliated with AA and should not be taken as such. In this way a clear demarcation will be established between the two entities. The same principles apply with regard to the Primary Purpose movement, and on similar grounds eg. separate meeting directories (although they still represent themselves as being part of AA). Nevertheless their continued – and deliberate - misrepresentation of AA recovery rates, their abusive sponsorship methods and moreover the existence of commercial interests operating within this grouping further disqualify them from any claim to be associated with AA. The Visions/Road to Recovery groups are for their part not so easily identifiable as a collective (although there is an unofficial network of these groups in existence with the usual emphasis on abusive sponsorship practices, anti-prescribed medication/counselling policies etc). In this case each group should be treated individually and where they fail to mend their ways (which is usually the case) should similarly be excluded from the service structure with all outside agencies being notified accordingly. It is only by applying such admittedly drastic methods that we can ensure that these groups (and their members) no longer inflict harm on newcomers and thereby bring AA into disrepute. Inaction on our part is no longer an option

Cheerio

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS See our UK and US “Cult Where to Finds” for a preliminary listing of these groups. However we believe that these represent just the tip of the iceberg!

Conference 2012 Discussion

Extract (Committee 1, Question 1)

“There is also evidence that this exploitation of AA is leading to confusion and misrepresentation of AA history and of how the AA the programme works inside AA. Therefore, I think there is a need for AA to respond with statements to inform the general public of these exploitations and misrepresentations of AA. Possible avenues to explore are the placement of statements in national press, online press, on the GSO website and other sites. A more extensive official AA presence on other sites could be considered. Maybe all GSOs all over the world should be encouraged have an entry on other sites. This might go some way to minimise the current high impact of the organisations that are exploiting AA.

Concept 12, warranty five: “And at times the Conference will need to take certain protective actions especially in the area of Tradition violations.…….. Individuals, sometimes outside organisations may try to use the A.A. name for their own private purposes……..Whenever and however we can, we shall need to inform the general public also; especially upon misuses of the name Alcoholics Anonymous. This combination of counter forces can be very discouraging to violators or would be violators. Under these conditions they soon find their deviations to be unprofitable or unwise…”

“Of highest importance would be our relations with medicine and religion. Under no circumstances must we get into competition with either. If we appeared to be a new religious sect, we’d certainly be done for. And if we moved into the medical field, as such, the result would be the same.” (Bill W. AA Grapevine June 1955, The Language of the Heart page 150)”

For more see forum

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

Conference 2012 Discussion - Sign up! Have your say!

Conference 2012 Discussion

Committee No. 1

Question 1:

“Would the Fellowship share experience and make recommendations on how to make AA more visible to the general public, particularly by increasing awareness and understanding of how the AA programme works?

Background

1. According to the 2010 membership survey of AA in Great Britain, 31% of members heard of AA from an existing member. According to the AA Census published by the GSO in Great Britain, in 1997 4.1% of AA members reported that their point of entry into AA was media. By 2002, that number had dropped: only 1.6% of AA members listed media as their point of entry into AA. In 2005, 5% of members indicated that they came to AA because of radio, internet, newspaper adverts, or tv. In 2010, 4% of members first heard of AA through radio or newspaper (tv was not listed as a category). A further 6% listed the internet; however the internet may not be available to as many people as newspaper, radio or tv.

In figures taken from the GSO website for Great Britain (www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk), there are 34,000 AA members (from the 2005 AA Survey). (The 2005 survey was used because he 2010 survey online did not indicate numbers of members.) This means that 0.056, or nearly six-hundredths of a percent, of the population of Great Britain is a member of AA. According to the AA Fact File on the GSO website, there are "approximately 4,400" AA groups in Great Britain. Based on a population of 60,000,000 (source: ), that means there is one AA group for every 13,636 people.

Given the relatively low percentage of AA members in Great Britain (0.056 percent), the chances of a person with a drinking problem are also relatively low. (A person only has a six-in-ten-thousand chance of personally knowing an AA member), national-level press could be one vital means of ensuring that the public at large is aware of the existence of AA and that it offers a program of recovery from alcoholism that has worked for many.

Mindful of all the good work carried out by PI at all levels of the Fellowship, all too often the media tend to focus on the problem rather than the solutions. It is the hope of this question that Conference might consider whether there might be more that can be done at the national level of AA in Great Britain to reach out to national-level press in order to increase the awareness of AA among the public as a whole.

Establishing a committee to study this question, perhaps including outreach to GSOs in other regions of the world to learn about what methods they are using for press outreach and whether those have been beneficial, might be a prudent approach to examining whether additional public information efforts by GSO in Great Britain could be an effective means of ensuring that there is greater public awareness of the existence of AA in the UK.

2. Section 17, AA Service Handbook for Great Britain, ‘Public Information’.

3. “We believe that there are opportunities for all members to participate in PI activity,

and that carrying the message is every member's responsibility". (Conference 2011, Committee 4, Question 1).

Consider the contribution to the carrying of the message, financial and practical implications when deliberating each question."

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

A caution for “bleeding deacons” and “AA show-offs” everywhere!

A Message of Tolerance and Celebration: The Portrayal of Multiple Pathways of Recovery in the Writings of Alcoholics Anonymous Co-Founder Bill Wilson

William White, M.A. and Ernest Kurtz, Ph.D. 

Try this article on for size! 

Cheerio 

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

Words of wisdom from Ealing! The oracle Happy Dennis speaks!

Quotes of the week:

"We cannot control anyone or anything, except our sponsees"

"We must give our sponsors respect! Respect!"

"Suicide? We don't use words like that. We jump for joy."

Happy Dennis apparently had his sponsees play football on Christmas day morning after their morning Bayham Road home group, and then they had to all sing Xmas carols as a group on West Ealing Broadway, wearing their red and white 'jump for joy' badges. And they had to do it, or they weren't going to any lengths and haven't got Step One.

Comment: We're lost for words! Utterly speechless! You really could NOT make this stuff up!

Cheerio

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

AA: Is it only way alcoholics can go?

"Group's spiritual element troubles atheists, agnostics.

By Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje, mstoeltje@express-news.net

Michael is a recovering alcoholic. Though he attends Alcoholics Anonymous, Michael struggles with the program's spiritual element. He would prefer to join a support group without the religious overtones but one does not seem to exist in San Antonio.

As is tradition on this day, people are busy forming resolutions to make 2012 better than the year now receding in the rearview mirror.

For people with alcohol and drug problems, this might entail joining a group like Alcoholics Anonymous. According to AA doctrine and its 12-step program, redemption from the disease comes not from willpower but from reliance on a “higher power” — as Step Three puts it, “God as we understood him.”

This is where things get dicey for some alcoholics and addicts who are atheist or agnostic, especially if they've been mandated to attend 12-step groups by the courts. Why should they be forced to sit through meetings that violate their own secular beliefs?

In recent decades, mutual-help groups such as Smart Recovery, LifeRing and Secular Organization for Sobriety have formed across the nation to offer support without spiritual concepts, but they've yet to make their way to San Antonio.

Members of AA say their program isn't religious — it's spiritual. A member's higher power can be anything they choose — God, Jesus, Buddha, the power of love, even AA membership itself, which exceeds more than 1 million people in the U.S. alone.

At free meetings throughout San Antonio each week, there are generally no sectarian references, which are considered taboo since it violates AA's big-tent approach. Still, most meetings end with a group recitation of the Lord's Prayer, the provenance of which is Christian.

This practice alienates some nonreligious members and potential members, as does the whole higher-power concept and what can sometimes be a preponderance of generic “God talk” at meetings.

“It's a bit of a problem,” said Michael, 53, who is gay and an atheist. (In keeping with AA's tradition of anonymity, only first names are being used.) He attended his first AA meeting here in 1999, one aimed at gay and lesbian alcoholics. His drinking had become daily, which worried him.

“But people were talking about going to jail, having blackouts,” he said. “I thought, ‘I don't have these kinds of problems.'”

Still concerned about his drinking six years later, he returned to the meeting. When it ended with the Lord's Prayer, Michael vowed to never go back.

But then some mornings, he found he needed a drink to soften a hangover. Eventually, Michael returned to his old group but still felt out of place.

Recently, he found an AA group he likes, which he uses as his higher power. So far, though, he's only been able to go four months before relapsing. He admits he hasn't followed AA protocol, such as getting a sponsor, someone who guides a newcomer through the steps.

“If there were secular options, I think I absolutely would stick with it, and I believe a large number of people would as well,” he said. “But somebody has to start it.”

A different approach

In the 1980s, secular alternatives did begin to form. Smart Recovery, the most well-known with 2,000 members, is based largely on cognitive-behavioral therapy, a counseling approach that seeks to change maladaptive thoughts and behaviors. In the free SR support groups, which take place in person and online, members are taught ways to cope with cravings, stay motivated and live a balanced life.

Unlike at AA, they're told they can conquer alcohol or other addictions without help from above.

“Some people aren't comfortable with the idea of powerlessness,” said executive director Shari Allwood.

“Addiction can be overcome,” she said. “We don't expect you to attend meetings for the rest of your life. You can put these tools to use in your life and move on.”

Some SR members don't believe alcoholism is a disease — the prevailing medical view, given the role genetics plays in some, but not all, cases of alcoholism and for the physical changes in the brain that happen during addiction that never fully go away and make it hard to quit and stay sober. Personal choice plays a role as well.

Groups like Smart Recovery are minuscule compared with the mammoth AA. “It's a Catch-22,” said Dr. John F. Kelly, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “Because the alternatives to AA are so small, clinicians are reluctant to refer patients there. And most of the evidence so far (regarding effectiveness) has been about AA.”

Contrary to AA's critics, a growing body of research shows that for many people with alcohol use disorders, AA is effective. One study found that of patients who regularly attended AA after alcoholism treatment, about half remained abstinent after one year. Many who weren't at least cut their consumption.

“For those who want to change their drinking behavior, AA can be an important resource, as can other mutual-help organizations,” said Dr. Robert Huebner, acting director of the National Institute onAlcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Division of Treatment and Recovery Research.

At this point, there are few studies showing the efficacy of AA alternatives. Existing ones are of poor quality, mainly due to small sample sizes, Huebner said. But new studies are under way, including an NIAAA-funded one of Smart Recovery.

‘How it works'

Dedicated 12-step members don't need studies to convince them the philosophy works: Their redeemed lives are proof enough.

Still, AA may not be suitable for everyone, some experts believe.

“The single best predictor of whether or not someone will go to AA is the severity of their drinking problem,” said J. Scott Tonigan, a researcher at the University of New Mexico. “The more you've lost control of your life, the more the 12-step message resonates.”

But in the last 20 years, researchers have found that alcoholism — once considered an “all or nothing” disease that invariably worsens over time — actually lies along a continuum.

“People with alcohol use disorders have mild, moderate and severe forms of the disorder, with the majority of people experiencing problems in the mild-to-moderate range,” Huebner said. “This finding has major implications for our treatment system, because the focus traditionally has been on people with disorders at the most severe end of the continuum.”

So it's not a question of AA or Smart Recovery being better or worse, said Keith Humphreys, professor of psychiatry at Stanford School of Medicine. It's a question of fit.

“People in Smart Recovery tend to have more education, better jobs, less severe (drinking) problems,” he said. “The narrative of self-control resonates with them: They haven't been lying in the street. They go to an AA meeting and think, ‘That's way worse than anything that's happened to me!' This is true for a lot of people, particularly high-bottom drunks. They may be happier in Smart Recovery.”

A “bottom” refers to an incident, usually dramatic, that prompts an alcoholic to accept he or she must stop drinking.

But how does AA, which has its roots in religion, psychology and medicine, “work?”

Many recovering alcoholics say their higher power played the main role. Cathy, 61, a retired business executive, said she was a “hopeless” alcoholic who tried willpower, traditional psychotherapy and self-help books for years to no avail.

“I couldn't live without alcohol, period,” she said. “I didn't lose my house or my husband, I didn't have DUIs. But there was a complete emptiness inside, a spiritual malady. I had lost my soul. And only my relationship with my higher power, whom I choose to call God, was able to fill that hole.”

Scientists theorize that AA works mainly by using a layman's version of cognitive-behavioral therapy, complemented by social connection. They note the many parallels between AA's approach and the psychological one.

“(Members) say prayer and meditation help them; scientists call that a cognitive exercise in coping mechanisms,” Tonigan said. “You say the Serenity Prayer when you're angry; in cognitive-behavioral therapy we call that rehearsal training. Changing ‘playmates and playpens' in AA is called avoiding triggers in CBT.”

One large study found it is the social component of AA — going to meetings, having a sponsor — that is most beneficial to most alcoholics, more so than the spiritual practices, said Harvard's Kelly.

“Prayer and meditation only seemed to be an explanatory effect among the most severe members, although they also benefited from the social network,” he said.

The law has gotten involved in the debate. Federal courts across the country have ruled that judges can't mandate DUI or drug offenders to attend AA or related 12-step programs as part of probation if they object on religious grounds — a suitable secular alternative must be provided. It's a church-state thing.

Lisa Graybill, director of the ACLU of Texas, said her office regularly gets complaints from nonbelievers ticked off because they've been ordered to 12-step programs, but so far none have resulted in litigation.

In his 23 years at the Bexar County probation office, assistant chief Abel Salinas said he hasn't heard of a single probationer objecting to a 12-step mandate on religious grounds. When asked to provide a list of local secular alternatives, he offered fee-based drug-education classes at driving schools.

But 12-step waivers are rarely granted, said Salinas, and only to defendants who can prove beyond doubt they cannot attend meetings for legitimate reasons, such as work schedules. A defendant must ask for alternatives to 12-step; it's not offered by the courts.

“Everyone would try to get out of going,” he said.

The Center for Health Care Services offers nonspiritually-based support groups, but hey're open only to clients enrolled in its addiction-treatment programs.

One local criminal defense attorney who wished to remain nameless because he regularly appears before judges here, said those who object to AA on religious grounds are aware of the risk in voicing such concerns.

“The problem is judges hold so much power,” he said. “Are you going to tell the person who holds your fate in his hands that you don't want to go to AA? (Judges) can make your life really hard, and the goal of most people is to stay out of ... jail, no matter the cost.”

Interestingly, studies show atheists — if they commit to AA — tend to fare as well sobriety-wise as believers.

That's the tack Suzanne, 75, took four years ago, when she joined an AA group in Austin geared to atheists and agnostics. She said she keeps her focus on working the steps and practising the AA principles — humility, rigorous honesty, service to others — and lets the spiritual stuff work itself out.

“I realized that maybe my definition of spiritual was too narrow,” she said. “One meaning of spirituality is the immaterial. I mean, you can't see love.””

Source: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/AA-Is-it-only-way-alcoholics-can-go-2435378.php#ixzz1iLRSnwti

Comment: Just a reminder that we haven't cornered the market in alcoholism treatment! AA is not necessarily the most appropriate course for all who suffer from this condition

Moreover - How It DOESN'T Work:

• endorsement of (and participation in) any court mandated (chit system) attendance at AA meetings (a breach of our own traditions);
• overt sectarian religiosity exhibited by AA groups (but not by individual members) (yet another breach of our traditions);
• our failure to clarify the distinction between 'spiritual' and 'religious', and communicate this adequately to the general public. This is easily remedied viz:
  
  
  “Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop an individual's inner life; spiritual experience includes that of connectedness with a larger reality, yielding a more comprehensive self; with other individuals or the human community; with nature or the cosmos; or with the divine realm. Spirituality is often experienced as a source of inspiration or orientation in life. It can encompass belief in immaterial realities or experiences of the immanent or transcendent nature of the world.” [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituality]
  
  
  Cheerio
  
  The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)