"The Fellowship has profiteered from the alcohol industry......"

According to GSO: 

“The transfers did not happen in quite the way you suggest, Morgan Stanley decided to close its charity arm and sold it off to Credit Suisse, we were transferred in April 2014, some of the staff were transferred along with it and we had assumed that the existing investment policy would also be carried forward. At that time and until October 2014 that policy was that Investments should not include companies where alcohol is  the main commodity. 

We were very disappointed to discover that Investments had been made in Diageo plc and a meeting was held in December with a representative from Credit Suisse concerning our portfolio.

Since then the Executive met and has made a decision concerning our Investments which I am not able to divulge until it is taken to the GSB meeting at the end of this month. However I will let you know the outcome as soon as I can.”

A request for clarification of the above: 

“So, just to be clear :

· In April 2014 Credit Suisse were appointed to replace Morgan Stanley as the Fellowship’s investment managers and were given a mandate that ‘No Investments are held / managed in Districts that fall under the “Tax Avoidance” or “Politically Unstable” umbrellas.’

· Despite the acknowledged importance of such matters in light of Tradition 10, the implementation of this mandate was not checked by us, them or anyone else before the balance sheet date of 30 September 2014.

· You advised me on 9 December that a statement will appear in the audited accounts regarding the new Managers’ investment mandate and, when asked for clarification, affirmed that none of the investments disclosed in the accounts for the year to 30 September 2014 will trace back to Luxembourg.

· On 11 December accounts are filed at Companies House detailing our holding of Luxembourg-domiciled funds and a publicly traceable indirect investment in the shares of Diageo plc, the world’s largest distiller of alcoholic spirits.

· We continue to hold these investments, and have no definite timescale as to when they will be sold.

Is that correct?”

And so on and so forth. We won't bore you with the rest. We think you get the general idea!!

Now with regard to the current position see here 

You will observe from this the name of the previous fund managers (so-called “Brand Y”) has been omitted for fear of litigation. We would have thought if there was any litigation to take place it should be us versus them (incidentally “Brand Y” is Morgan Stanley just in case you didn't remember). But, of course, we don't get involved in such mucky issues and consequently companies such as these (blood sucking, amoral parasites that they are) think they can walk all over us.

We'd be interested to hear what steps the GSB and GSO are going to take to ensure the reputation of the fellowship is not tarnished by the negligent behaviour (yes we did say “NEGLIGENT”) of such companies as these in the future

See previous entries

Cheerio

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous …... and NO friends of fat cat, tax avoiding spongers!) 

PS Again our thanks to that small group of AA members who took the time and energy to try and protect our name when apparently neither the General Service Board nor the General Service Office could be bothered!

Alcohol research – LawCare

lawcare.org.uk

“Most professionals believe they should be able to handle their own problems, even when such problems are completely outside their professional training and experience. Lawyers, in particular, because they spend so much of their time sorting out other people's problems, find it difficult to acknowledge that they themselves sometimes need help. However, they usually find it easier to take this step with another lawyer and so our staff all have experience of life in practice as do most of our supporters.

Ignoring problems and hoping they will go away is no solution. The first step is to recognise the existence of the problem. The second step is to seek objective, expert support and advice in dealing with it.

That is where LawCare comes in. LawCare is here to help you to cope with the increasing number of problems facing the legal professions today, any of which could adversely affect your professional performance and family life”

See also Links and downloads

PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Alcohol research – The European FASD Alliance

eufasd.org

“The European FASD Alliance was founded in February 2011 to meet the growing need for European professionals and NGOs concerned with FASD to share ideas and work together. The European FASD Alliance is a nonprofit international organization registered in Sweden.

OUR GOALS
To support the member associations in their efforts
• To improve the quality of life for all people with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and their families
• To increase awareness of the risks of drinking alcoholic beverages during pregnancy.

The EUROPEAN FASD ALLIANCE will also act as a liaison centre
• To collate and disseminate information to its members
• To stimulate international collaboration on research projects on the origins management and prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
• To encourage national associations to exchange and share their projects and experiences
• To foster the foundation and development of new national FASD Associations”

See also Links and downloads

PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

'Mickey Mouse' recovery versus the real thing!

Well we're quite used to being told in mainstream AA (ie. the REAL thing) how deficient our own recovery is eg. AA 'lite', 'cafeteria' style recovery, “Beano readers” blah di blah di blah. But now we've come up with our very own designation for the quick fix, instant gratification, do it by the numbers brigade: 'Mickey Mouse' recovery. After all we can play this game as well!

Question: So how can you recognise Mickey Mouse recovery (Mickey Mouse - a slang expression meaning small-time, amateurish or trivial. In the UK and Ireland, it also means poor quality or counterfeit)? (interestingly - or not depending on your point of view - Mickey Mouse's (the cartoon character) body was originally designed out of circles in order to make the character simple to animate. There's got to be a message for the cult here somewhere!)

Answer: Mickey Mouse (or MM) recovery is usually nearly instantaneous! This miracle of transformation is achieved simply by: ringing up your sponsor every day, and doing EXACTLY what he or she says (of course); reading a passage from the Big Book (but only according to the aforementioned guru's current interpretation); ringing two newcomers (whether they want to be contacted or not) whose phone numbers you've contrived to extract, all the while mindlessly chanting the cult mantra – happy, joyous and free – as well as maintaining the fiction (as loudly as possible, and at every opportunity) of never having a bad day together with variations on this theme …. This type of recovery doesn't require any kind of belief in a Higher Power other than your sponsor nor is more than a superficial grasp of the Steps indicated. In line with the cult injunction viz. your best thinking got you drunk, reflection or insight are relegated to mere self-indulgence and the aforementioned mindlessness (open-mindedness is not quite the same thing) of the cult approach is very much de rigeur.

So imagine if you will a newcomer but recently arrived in the fellowship having just escaped from their personal alcoholic hell. This individual (whose concept of deferred gratification will necessarily be pretty weak especially when it comes to alcohol) has spent a large part of their life mostly sedated whilst seeking some kind of 'easy access' nirvana. On encountering the cult he or she will be “guaranteed” (yes folks – a cast iron guarantee!) a “life beyond their wildest dreams”, that they will almost inevitably be “rocketed into a fourth dimension” of bliss, and that never again will they EVER EVER have a bad day etc etc, and all this merely by following (mechanically) a few simple SUGGESTIONS (cult speak for orders!). Some of these suggestions might bear a passing resemblance to the recovery programme but hardly any will be in accordance with the principles of either the programme or the fellowship (Steps, Traditions, Concepts). The cult version is mostly counterfeit. Having been fast-forwarded to yet another set of 12 (remember the magical number!) 'Promises' via the largely 'assembly line' style of sponsorship so favoured by the cult they will then be mystically translated into this new reality. Let's face it! Any alcoholic (or addict for that matter) when confronted with this scenario is hardly likely to turn down the possibility. On the other hand if they're actually told the truth, that there are no guarantees of anything other than the fact that if you don't pick up the first drink you can't get drunk, that the steps are the work of a life time and require something more than superficial observance, that it is extremely unlikely you'll be entering any dimensions other than the rather humdrum one we currently occupy, and that bad and good days are the normal lot of humanity, well that's entirely another matter isn't it? So the cult starts and ends with a lie. There's really no other way of putting it! Mickey Mouse recovery needless to say rarely yields any lasting satisfaction - frothy emotional appeal rarely does! And for those of us who have been through the process, and then discovered the lie? Either abandon the cult (and AA) and look for other alternatives (an increasing number are available), begin attending REAL AA meetings where members share their experience of life in all its awful (and glorious) majesty, or stay with the cult and yell their ersatz message louder and louder in the forlorn hope that this will serve to drown out those oh so nagging doubts. Life's full of tough choices. But then it's that way for everyone. So take heart! Strive on – mindfully!

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous ….. and THE REAL THING!)

Alcohol research – Society for the Study of Addiction

addiction-ssa.org

See also Links and downloads

PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Alcohol research – The Alcohol Learning Centre

alcohollearningcentre.org.uk

“The Alcohol Learning Centre (ALC) was originally commissioned by the Department of Health under the Alcohol Improvement Programme (April 2008 - March 2011) to help reduce alcohol-related hospital admissions across the NHS. The ALC transferred to Public Health England on 1 April 2013 and is now part of Public Health England's alcohol learning resources”

See also Links and downloads

PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

It's OK to have a bad day!

Extract from old aacultwatch forum: 

“Hello again.

There have been various versions of the so-called "six suggestions" or "six things".  

As they existed around the early 1980's (when I came into the fellowship) they were as follows:

1) Pray for obsession with alcohol to be lifted.

2) Get to a meeting today

3) Ring another alcoholic if you feel like a drink.

4) Write a "Thank You" Gratitude List

5) Read the Just for Today Card

6) Say Serenity Prayer - if feeling anxious, afraid or wanting to drink.

I have these written in abbreviated form at the back in my first  London "Where to Find" (from 1984) together with a few telephone numbers from my first meeting.    The "Where to Find" in those days was much thinner compared to what it is now. Also it was printed on glossy paper.

When AA first came to the UK in there was no literature and no Big Book available here, so the members at that time had to improvise. There were various lists of "Things to do" for the newcomer circulating at the time. 

Some of these recommended reading the just for today card and cultivating an "attitude of Gratitude" by writing a Gratitude List. I once heard a chair by Dartmoor Bill, one of the founders of AA in this country and 47 years sober at time I heard him. He used to share that his "Big Book" was the Just For Today card, as there were no Big Books around when he was a newcomer. Incidently he was an atheist and did not believe in the Big Book at all. He died 52 years sober. 

The "Six Suggestions" underwent revision and change  throughout the 1980's and 1990's  and became more complicated and elaborate, until they became six paragraphs of suggestions, or rules. The Wednesday Vision for You meeting at Eaton Square started printing these  elaborated suggestions on small cards. I attended that meeting around the time this started to happen. A number of people left the Vision group because they felt David B (founder of the Vision cult) was  violating Traditions by printing his own literature and presenting it to Newcomers as AA. The original "six things" were not good enough for David, so he  substantially changed them-  for example he added that people should have 2 home groups, and ring 2 newcomers, pray on their knees, and other modifications.  He also added the non-AA slogan "misery is optional" and the hype "if you do these you will never have a bad day" to the cards. 

There were plenty of perfectly good AA meetings around London at the time this was going on. Most people got sober, and still get sober, in the mainstream of AA.

In hindsight, it is obvious that David B was really cultivating power and prestige - attractive, yes, but, as the Traditions tell us, deadly dangerous for the alcoholic and the fellowship.  Thus he set up his competitive cult group ( the Vision), and he denigrated the mainstream of AA as "sick"  labelling them "the walking wounded" He called his Vision cult the"real" AA, exhorting attendees to "go for Gold".

He gradually isolated himself and his cult within AA. The focus of recovery and sharing at Vision shifted from working 12 steps, to doing 6 things; and from talking about God or Higher Power, to promoting sponsors and sponsorship.  I remember there was a young man who attended the Vision around that time who earned the nickname "6 things" because that is all he shared about - doing the six things. He drank again, by the way, and I haven't seen him since.  

I used to consciously do the six things ( the simpler version) up until about 11 or 12 years ago. I eventually  found them a pointless burden to be honest. Reading the Just For Today card every day became a meaningless ritual. Around 1999 I stopped doing them altogether because my conscience didn't sit well with them, and I felt some of them were just plain superstition, and I was doing them out of fear, rather than Faith.  If you practice fear, in whatever form, you cultivate it within yourself.  

Today I am of a strong …..... Faith, and my Higher Powers don't want me on my knees, so the first of the "David B-amended" six suggestions is definitely out of the question for me. The original six suggestions never mentioned kneeling.  Nor did they mention "never having a bad day" if you did them. 

In my experience the "never have a bad day" prestige spin-phrase clouds the primary purpose of AA as contained in the Preamble, and puts unnecessary pressure on members to share that they "feel good all the time" even if they don't. 

My primary purpose today is not about "not having a bad day", it is about not having a DRINK today. That keeps AA simple for me, and for the newcomer. Also my Program and sharing today should be about honesty, not about presentation and spin. It is my capacity to be honest that will keep me sober, not my ability to put on a prestige performance in a meeting.  Again that keeps it nice and simple for me. 

It also keeps me humble. I have learned over the years that true humility is not a morning "pose" or body posture (easily feigned), but it is about how I interact with others and how true I am to my Higher Powers and myself.

Why complicate a simple Program ? 

If you take the steps then you have everything you need to stay sober.  My focus today is on practising the steps in my daily life according to my understanding of God and my understanding of spiritual expressions. This gives me far more freedom and flexibility of action,  and unburdens me of an arbitrary  list daily tasks and quotas largely invented by an AA personality who really had no authority to impose them on anyone else in the first place.”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

Alcohol research – Drugscience

drugscience.org.uk

“Founded in 2010 by Professor David Nutt following his removal from post as Chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, DrugScience is the only completely independent, science-led drugs charity, uniquely bringing together leading drugs experts from a wide range of specialisms to carry out groundbreaking original research into drug harms and effects.

Its highly cited papers on all aspects of drug effects and harms attract global coverage and considerable public interest. DrugScience reduces the harms of drugs to the public through providing objective information on drug effects, harms and potential medical uses to the public, professionals and decision makers”

See also Links and downloads

PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

A Pagan/Polytheistic Understanding of the Twelve Steps

skeptictank.org/files/aj/pgn12stp.htm

See also Links and downloads

PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Encounters with the Wimbledon Design for Living (cult) group (Sunday)

Extracts from old aacultwatch forum: 

“........ briefly (and on the basis of just one attendance) we were regaled at one point by the local "bleeding deacon" on the evils of medication (contrary to AA guidelines), got a lecture on "pseudo- spirituality" (addressed presumably at all those whose beliefs didn't quite conform to whatever norm was set by the local guru) and who then proceeded to make recommendations to the group on the disposal of group funds (which were themselves a breach of Tradition 7). Not a bad effort for just one meeting eh! And incidentally the group still displays non-conference approved literature through which I had a quick browse and some of which was recommended to me (and indeed thrust into my hands gratis) by that same bleeding deacon (and this after I had quite insouciantly indicated I had not seen this literature on display at other meetings).  Not much doubt who runs this group!” 

“Firstly, I am delighted to have found this site after a year of turning away from AA because of a sponsor from the Design for Living Group.

Discovering this site has spurred me to revisit the meetings in Wimbledon, excluding my previous home group.

I was a lucky recipient of rehab in …..... in October 2008 and three months later emerged committed to AA and furnished with the tools to remain sober.

Emotionally I was a soft-boiled egg without a shell, and experienced those inexplicable emotional trips and falls which AA enabled me to work through.

I spent another 3 months in ….... and I attended 2 meetings a week where you were effectively 'nailed' by the chair to identify every time. It was scary but empowering - especially an English middle-aged 'Sheila' amongst predominantly tough 'Bruces'. I made friends. 

Returning to my home in Wimbledon in the summer of 2009 I followed suggestions and attended many meetings whilst seeking a sponsor with many years clean. Unfortunately I fell in with a duo at Design for Living who demoralised me. One became my sponsor, although they operated as a pair. I was led to believe I had not even passed Step One and needed to attend 5 meetings weekly. I had plans to sell my home and move back to …...... but was advised by my sponsor to remain in my flat, draw back from my family, and cover my bosom!

I was thoroughly miserable and found myself questioning the enormous commitment I was being asked to make at the expense of my previously established new found confidence. Was I really just at the beginning again?

Visiting at one of the duo's homes, the sight of an industrial-sized Jesus on his cross hanging from the wall began to ring warning bells.

As I was driven to a meeting one Sunday the other side of town by the duo, instead of visiting my family, I was asked to read my daily journal aloud. I was questioned by the elder of the duo in a Spanish inquisition style at every sentence. I realised I was not being treated as an equal where we were sharing experience, strength and hope, but rather as a novice who needed to be shown the light. 

I found myself fighting for my right to be me and sharing about this at meetings. It felt contrary to the warmth the fellowship had first given me. 

I stopped going to meetings December 2009 and fell into a clinical depression for which I was prescribed medication. I withdrew and isolated and have just surfaced with renewed hope gained from quiet contemplation and rest. And having discovered this site and had my misgivings validated, I shall be going to a meeting tomorrow in Wimbledon, by my own design!

Thank you Fellas !”

Comment: None needed!

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous …. the real one!)

Alcohol research – LifeRing

lifering.org

“LifeRing Secular Recovery is an abstinence-based, worldwide network of individuals seeking to live in recovery from addiction to alcohol or to other non-medically indicated drugs. In LifeRing, we offer each other peer-to-peer support in ways that encourage personal growth and continued learning through personal empowerment. Our approach is based on developing, refining, and sharing our own personal strategies for continued abstinence and crafting a rewarding life in recovery. In short, we are sober, secular, and self-directed”

See also Links and downloads

PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Alcohol research – National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors

nasadad.org

“As stated in its by-laws, NASADAD’s objectives are:

• To facilitate the translation of research and knowledge into practice and identifies problems and issues that merit further study and research;
• To foster communication and collaboration with other organizations and national associations that interface with issues of substance abuse;
• To promote training within the field of substance abuse prevention and treatment as well as cross-training in other systems;
• To provide technical assistance to its membership;
• To promote the establishment of national standards for quality assurance, outcomes, and performance;
• To shape public policy positions that advance the provision of effective prevention and treatment services and increase funding for same; and
• To maintain a stable base of funding to ensure continued long-term financial viability”

See also Links and downloads

PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

And then there's AA (not the Mickey Mouse – cult - version!)

Extract from old aacultwatch forum:

“Hi ….... and thanks for raising this topic as it is quite emotive for me..I was bussed out to my very first meeting from a treatment centre in …..... and all I remember is not wanting to speak to anyone bar the guys I was with and getting this particular act of torture over with as quickly as possible...much to my delight no one came near me (baseball cap down and f-off written on the top of it)...To my utter disgust the rehab thought it might be good for me to go to 4 of these pointless meetings a week..It didn't take long before I opened up and started to get to know people and began the process of listening...Once I'd left treatment I moved back to my home town and started going to meetings on my own and this is where I noticed a huge difference in approach..Some meetings I was left completely alone..others I was welcomed warmly with polite inquires but one stood out...at this one I was jumped on by about 4 guys as i walked into the meeting..i was asked for my phone number without any explanation of why??(I was scared and didn't know how AA worked..plus a chronic people pleaser and unable to say no).. I was handed all sorts of literature and asked if I had a sponsor...if not get one quick at this meeting was the suggestion...The phone didn't stop after that as I became fresh meat for the "call 2 newcomers" a day check list. At first I loved this enthusiastic no nonsense approach..no boring sharing..living in the solution not the problem. I got a sponsor not from this meeting but from the same guys...What happened afterwards was pretty ugly..The enthusiasm turned into control..it was suggested i go to meetings that weren't sick...i was told (not suggested) to get 2 home groups and to get there an hour before they started..I was told not to share until I'd done my step 5 as I had nothing to say...when we started the steps 1 to 3 were done in 15 minutes and then we did step 4 and 10 at the same time..step 10 was writing down any resentment as it came up...I now know of course that this has got sweet fa to with step 10...I must call my sponsor between 9am and 6pm every day and when I missed the call by 1/2 an hour one night he refused to answer either call or txt...I was 2 months sober..The breaking point came when he turned up at the above meeting to check whether I'd got there an hour before the start..I couldn't because of work..he ignored me the whole evening then proceeded to explain to me the next day that my behaviour was unacceptable and that I only had a job because of AA...2 months sober I'll remind you..26 years working in ….... with an unblemished record...We parted company the next day and I stopped going to that meeting soon after.. I had no idea it was all Vision for you...no one told me especially my sponsor..I joined AA mainstream..got a sponsor ..started going to those "sick" meetings and have never looked back...If I see someone I don't recognize at a meeting I will go and say hello whether they are a newcomer or not...the hand of friendship in AA shouldn't be offered with any preconditions..just a polite hello can I help mate..not "I must get your number so I can add you to my newcomer call list"...when it comes to sharing I think you know my point of view..whatever keeps you sober...including any cult sharing..nowt to do with me...the newcomer will hear what the newcomer wants to hear period...I have found that honesty and humility coupled with a genuine love for my fellow sufferer and a willingness to help WHEN asked..are gifts from God...not my sponsor.

Tough one I know but my experience has taught me to treat any newcomer as a fellow human first..fellow alcoholic second..I try and treat them with the respect they deserve for making a brave and often terrifying decision not from some position of false wisdom or morality...I argue with my sponsor frequently and disagree with him often but with love for each other in the fellowship of the spirit..that's it really.

Take care and God Bless and keep you safe”

(our edits)

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

Alcohol research – Drug Scope

drugscope.org.uk

“DrugScope is the national membership organisation for the drug sector and the UK's leading independent centre of expertise on drugs and drug use. We are a registered and independent charity.

DrugScope incorporates the London Drug and Alcohol Network (LDAN), a membership organisation for drug and alcohol treatment providers in the capital. We are also partners, with the University of Glasgow, in STRADA (Scottish Training on Drugs and Alcohol), a national training organisation for Scotland funded by the Scottish Government”

See also Links and downloads

PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Alcohol research – National Association for Children of Alcoholics

 

nacoa.org

“The people hurt most by drugs and alcohol don't even use them; they are the CHILDREN of alcoholics and other drug dependent parents.

The National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NACoA) believes that none of these vulnerable children should grow up in isolation and without support. NACoA is the national nonprofit 501 (c) 3 membership and affiliate organization working on behalf of children of alcohol and drug dependent parents.

Our mission is to eliminate the adverse impact of alcohol and drug use on children and families.

• We work to raise public awareness.
• We provide leadership in public policy at the national, state, and local levels.
• We advocate for appropriate, effective and accessible education and prevention services.
• We facilitate and advance professional knowledge and understanding.

To help in these efforts, we: 

• have affiliate organizations throughout the country, and in Great Britain, Germany, and Canada
• publish periodic online and print newsletters
• create videos, booklets, posters and other educational materials to assist natural helpers to intervene and support children
• host this site on the Internet with information about and ways to help children of alcoholics and other drug dependent parents.
• send information packets to all who ask, and
• maintain a toll-free phone available to all”

See also Links and downloads

PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

How it Works …. and How it DOESN'T!

Extract from old aacultwatch forum:

"Regarding how I was treated as a newcomer.  Of course I speak only for myself and my own experience.  This takes me back to …..... 1984 in ….....

WHAT HAPPENED

Someone from the fellowship met me not far from a meeting venue and spoke to me for a while. He then took me to my first meeting. This was a small meeting of about 8 to 10 people. Bog standard AA as I have come to know it. I was introduced to members at that meeting and given a cup of tea and a newcomers pack I was given a "Where to Find" and some phone numbers.  I was told to relax and try to listen for the similarities and not the differences.  The part of the big book in chapter 5 about the actor trying to fit the scenery/lights etc to his satisfaction was read out.  The chair was done by the person who had met me and taken me to the meeting.

People were friendly without being over bearing. There was no coercion, rather I sensed a genuine feeling of concern for my welfare. I did not feel threatened. I was told I was the most important person in the room. ( Well, I knew that anyway ! )

After the meeting, I was introduced to a man who asked me if I would like to go to another meeting the next day and he would pick me up in his car and take me there. I agreed. I was taken to several meetings over a period of a few weeks by this person. At that time, my circumstances were that I was homeless and destitute - a so-called "low bottom" case. 

It was discerned that I may need medical help, and 2 …... AA members arranged to meet me and took me to see a doctor. This Doctor referred me to hospital for detox, which was sorely needed in my case.   In hospital I was visited by AA members and received many "get well" cards. I was touched by this. I had thought I had no friends. Clearly I was mistaken. I still have these cards today - 26 years later - I kept them as tokens of fellowship.

Once my head and body had cleared of alcohol, I returned to meetings and was able to absorb the message of recovery at my own pace. I was never impressed by those who preached and lectured but rather I was attracted to those who offered friendship and fellowship, and who seemed to be working the program rather than just preaching or talking about it.

I got to the stage of recovery where I was able to make my own decisions regarding who I wanted as a sponsor and how I wanted to work the steps. This took some time.

WHAT DID NOT HAPPEN 

I was not given a leaflet or a prompt card concocted by a personality doing their own thing in AA without any consultation with the rest of AA, and disregarding the consequences to the fellowship as a whole. I was not told that only certain groups had the "correct" message, or the "best" message. I was not told that the rest (mainstream) of AA was in some way defective or inferior. No part of AA was spoken about in a belittling or contemptuous way. I was not given misinformation and lies about the comparative "success rates" of AA. 

I was not coerced into doing "daily suggestions" or take the steps immediately, or assigned a sponsor without a careful prior consideration of the matter on my part. I was given some general suggestions regarding the serenity prayer, attending regular meetings and contact with AA members, but I was allowed to make my own mind up about what I was able to do and when I was able to do it. I did not encounter any meeting where everyone "sang from the same hymn sheet" (A nonsense I sometimes hear in meetings today - AA is a fellowship of the spirit, not Sunday "Songs Of Praise") 

There seemed always to be a diversity of experience strength and hope in the early meetings I attended. This allowed me to make choices - I was able to discern for myself what kind of sobriety I wanted and what I didn't want. 

I was not told that seeking out the advice of Doctors or therapists was "wrong" or "not on the program" etc. In fact I was very much encouraged to take "outside help" where necessary. I was rightly guided to a doctor and encouraged to follow his advice and referral. (This truly reflects the experience and practice of the founder members who took lots of "outside" help and advice. Read the Big Book and "Pass it On " for further details on this.) 

I was not told to "jump for joy" or "get on my knees" or perform any other body contortions. Nor was I told I should feel happy all the time, or what I should believe regarding a higher power, or how many times I should pray in a day etc. Nor was I given false assurances about never having a bad day, or that life would always be a bowl of cherries etc.

I was not given a fixed time to ring a sponsor, outside which they would slam the phone down and refuse to talk to me. People I experienced practised compassion and the AA responsibility card - "When anyone anywhere reaches out for help I want the hand of AA to be there... "   (Note: ANYone, ANYwhere.. the hand of AA. No mention of "exactly 7am only" or the "hand of a special cult Genius with a superior attitude")

I could say more, but I will leave it at this for now. I think you get the picture.

Regarding meetings where newcomers are ignored. Of course, this is to be regretted whenever or wherever it occurs. I cannot control what others do, or do not do. Only what I do. My personal recovery is insured by working with others. If I don't do that I risk a relapse. In general, if a meeting doesn't practice the Traditions, and help or reach out to the newcomer, that meeting will wither and die. Simple. In my experience cult groups are no exception to this phenomenon. I have seen several cult group meetings fade and die. For example, a "Vision" style step meeting in Ravenscourt Park, Hammersmith on Friday night wilted some years ago. Also a Visionary meeting in Edgeware on Monday night suffered the same fate. Mainstream meetings in those areas, however, are still going strong. Sometimes newcomers don't want to be swamped by chirpy young men in dress suits pushing DIY prompt cards, and the promise of Shangri-La if only you do everything they dictate without question. Many newcomers prefer a quieter, simpler, and more discreet approach. Not all alcoholics want to be the centre of attention. Although I admit that I am not one of that particular category! I'm the kind of alcoholic who, if I am sat in a meeting and someone walks in and says "Hi" to everyone, I automatically feel that I have been ignored, even though I haven't been. They should have said "Hi everyone and hi “......" Identify? 

Happy New Year"

Alcohol research – American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry

aaap.org

“We are psychiatrists, faculty, medical students, residents and fellows, non-psychiatrists and related health professionals helping those with substance use disorders and mental health disorders. Educating, influencing and encouraging excellence in practice, policy and prevention for the field of Addiction Psychiatry and beyond”

See also Links and downloads

PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Alcohol research – National Alcohol Beverage Control Association

nabca.org

“Founded in 1938, NABCA is the national association representing the Control State Systems - those jurisdictions that directly control the distribution and sale of beverage alcohol within their borders.

Headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area, NABCA serves its members as an information clearinghouse and as liaison to federal, state and local governments, research and advocacy groups, and other organizations impacting alcohol policy.

Management of NABCA is vested in its Board of Directors with one director from each of the voting member Control Jurisdictions and a Chairman elected by the Board annually. Day-to-day administration is the responsibility of a full-time President & CEO and staff”

See also Links and downloads

PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

My way …. AND your way!

Extract from old aacultwatch forum:

“You can do whatever spiritual practices you want my friend. Stand on your head and say the serenity prayer in Latin if it works for you. I'm serious!  I follow my own daily routine based upon my understanding of a Higher Power, the steps, and what is written in our Big Book. 

But what I don't have a right to do is to make stuff up and then make Fellowship and carrying the message of AA depend upon that.

For example - I personally don't write a gratitude list, BUT I do spend a few mins each day, at a certain fixed time, reflecting and meditating upon the Gifts of Life - the gifts of sobriety if you like. I find it very beneficial, a good spiritual exercise and a solid discipline. However I would not insist that newcomers, or others in AA, should do this exactly the way I do it. Nor make friendship, Fellowship or helping others depend on people doing things exactly my way. This is what is wrong with these Cults in AA, fellowship is made dependent and conditional on so many many "peripheral" things as you call it.  Worse, some of these peripheral things and "rules" clearly break the Traditions and contradict the conference approved literature.  

As I understand the program we each have a HP of our own understanding,  and our own understanding of spiritual expressions (see AA page 47).  That really does open the Gates wide to recovery for all, and customise the Program to each individual, according to their needs, experiences, circumstances and conscience.  We also have our conference approved literature for further clarity if we need it. Personally I rely mainly on the Big Book. I have never found it lacking in clarity.

It is not for me to tell others to kneel before their God.  I certainly don't, it would go against my conscience, my family upbringing, and my religious belief. Nor would it be right for me to set up a group within AA where everyone must become a reflection of one particular interpretation of the Program.  Wanting to micro-manage or control others, or trying to make them dependent upon, or "carbon copies" of oneself, are manifestations of the disease as I understand it and have experienced it.

Although I am a person of a particular and strong Faith, I have no problem with other faiths, or with atheists or agnostics in AA. They are following their path and trying to find Truth as they see it. If you read the Book "Varieties of Religious Experience" by William James, these possibilities are well discussed. Incidently the William James book is the only book mentioned in the Big Book for reference. And yet so many of our fellowship have not read it!! 

The wonderful thing about AA is that we are individuals. We share our experience strength and hope WITH each other (not AT each other) so that we may learn FROM each other. This does not happen with the Cult groups - especially for the puffed-up Old Timer entrenched there. He ends up just listening to reflections of himself, and, gradually, and sadly, becomes more and more narcissistic, dictatorial, intolerant and cut-off from the mainstream of AA. This is not only bad for him spiritually and mentally, it is also a tragic distortion of AA for the newcomer who, by mischance, should happen to venture there. I have been in AA for over 26 years now and have watched this happen. It nearly happened to me. But I have one helluva badass Higher Power and, I had a spiritual awakening !!”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

Alcohol research – Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation

prev.org

“The Prevention Research Centre is home to a group of scientists, including sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists and epidemiologists, who work collaboratively across disciplines on understanding how the environment (including laws, economies, social circumstances and normative settings) affects health behaviours. A primary focus is on the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs; and how such consumption results in short- and long-term harm. The goal of this research is to identify aspects of the environment that can be changed to improve health.

The Centre's emphasis on the environment places the focus on how a person’s health-related behaviour is shaped by family, school, work, and community policies, norms, and histories. Our research naturally leads to the development and testing of prevention programs and policies that can be implemented at local, state and national levels”

See also Links and downloads

PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here