You undoubtedly have character defects such as procrastination, sloth, laziness, denial and fear. So, USE THEM right now by postponing that drink. And, while you’re are delaying the destroyer, try these remedies:
Stay away from alcohol. If you are in a bar or a place where liquor is available, go somewhere else.
Pray. Ask God to keep alcohol from entering your body and to remove the obsession to drink.
Call sober people. Tell them that you want to take a drink. Give your sponsor a call. Or, call anybody who can help, even Central Office at [760-242-9292]. If you are in a strange town, Alcoholics Anonymous is usually in the white pages of the phone book.
Go to an A.A. place. Head for a meeting or an A.A. gathering place such as a clubhouse.
Read A.A. literature. Try Chapter 2 of the Big Book, the 12 X 12, pamphlets or other material.
Visit sober.org. Download and read step guides. Visit sobriety chat rooms. Go to Google.com and search “sobriety”. . . or “sober.
Write a gratitude list. We get so hung up on what we don’t have or want to get rid of, we fail to “count our blessings.”
Write a “harms” prediction. If you drink, who is going to get hurt? Besides yourself, how about your family, your work, and those who depend upon or respect you?
Write a “rewards” from relapse list. If you are gripped by the desire to drink, put the burden of proof on that drink. What is it going to do for you that is worthwhile? Are you really ready to throw away your sobriety for a drink?
Do an anonymous kindness.
Take a shower and go to bed.
All of the diversions above can be done within a short time
of having a serious thought about drinking alcohol.
via, “Unity,” Dayton, OH
Date Formed: 1986
With Number of Members: 12 – 14 which included some hospital patients.
Founder(s): Vern B., Barbara B., David Z., and Maren Z. Name of Early Members: Same as Founders
Location of First Meeting: Medical Conference Room in Medical Building across from Victor Valley Hospital
Time of First Meeting: 8:00 p.m.
Type of Meeting: Discussion
Current Meeting Location and Time:
Church of the Valley, 20700 Standing Rock Rd., Apple Valley
Approximate current number of members/attendees: 50 – 60
Has the meeting moved? If so, where and when:
The first move was from the Medical Building into the Hospital’s Conference Room, date unknown. The second move occurred in February 1994 to the Apple Valley Community Center on Navajo Rd. where the meeting took place at various locations within the Community Center. The last move was made February 29, 1996 to The Church of the Valley.
When the meeting moved from the Hospital to the Community Center, its name was changed to T.G.I.F.
Group History:
This was the first non-smoking meeting in the Victor Valley.
The duration of the meeting has always been [an hour and a half].
When the meeting first started in the Medical Building across from the Victor Valley Hospital, it did not have a name. The meeting became known as “Hospital Hill Meeting” once it moved into the Hospital.
When the meeting moved into [the Hospital], patients from the psyche ward with alcohol and drug problems would attend. The meeting only gave out chips for 30, 60 and 90 days of sobriety plus six months sobriety.
This lead the patient to believe that they only had to stay sober for six months and they could go back to drinking without any problems.
The A.A.ers at the meeting came up with the idea of going around the room and having each person give his or her years, months and days of sobriety to show the patients that they had to abstain from drinking longer than six months.
This practice lead to the “Count Down” which is still a part of the current agenda.
When the meeting moved into the Hospital it grew to about 100 participants. In order to allow everyone an opportunity to share the group initiated two things.
First, they established a lottery to give everyone an equal chance at sharing. Secondly, they limited sharing to 3 minutes to allow the maximum amount of people to share.
The first tickets were pieces of paper with handwritten numbers. Pre-printed tickets came into use because of left over 50/50 tickets.
Thanks are given to Craig B. of Central Office and Barbara B. for providing me with this information.
Submitted by Gaylene O.
Consumption of alcohol is a major factor in dancing like an [idiot].
Consumption of alcohol may cause you to roll over in the morning and see something really scary (whose species and/or name you can't remember).
Submitted by Ron L.
“Throughout our Conference, we ought to maintain at all levels a
traditional ‘right of participation,’ taking care that each classification or
group of our world servants shall be allowing a voting representation in
reasonable proportion to the responsibility that each must discharge.” From
the A.A. General Service Manual.
The Conference that Concept IV is referencing is the General Service Conference, which each area sends a delegate to vote and participate on matters affecting A.A. as a whole. This is the very concept [that] promotes not only the right for every member of A.A. to participate in these matters, but also gives voting rights to Delegates, Trustees, Directors and even Staff Members of A.A. World Services and the A.A. Grapevine. Essentially it supports Tradition 2, “there is no ultimate authority . . . ,” we may each have trusted servitude and responsibilities which we are trusted to carry out. Ultimately, any A.A. member can come to an Area Assembly and participate. The same as any General Service Representative, General Institution Representative, or Grapevine Representative. From the groups, all can attend Board Meetings with trustees or paid staff members in New York and freely participate.
The truth is, every A.A. member has an innate desire to belong. This Concept protects our general service structure, which carries the message of A.A. across the globe, from having any hierarchy. Bill said it best when he addressed Concept IV upon being challenged by Delegates to take away Trustee and Staff voting rights. “It is vital . . . to preserve the traditional ‘right of participation’ in the face of every tendency to whittle it down . . our trustees and service workers are not less conscientious, experienced and wise than our delegates.”
Twelve Concepts are often overlooked, but they are one-third of the principles that Bill wrote into our program – these Concepts are how we as A.A. [members] should carry out General Service Work. Bill passed the legacy onto the General Service Conference Board after the first conference in 1955. Above includes citations from 12 Concepts Illustrated. The Concepts can be found in the Big Book, 4th Edition and in detail in the General Service Manual.
via, The Coordinator, San Diego, CA
The Conference that Concept IV is referencing is the General Service Conference, which each area sends a delegate to vote and participate on matters affecting A.A. as a whole. This is the very concept [that] promotes not only the right for every member of A.A. to participate in these matters, but also gives voting rights to Delegates, Trustees, Directors and even Staff Members of A.A. World Services and the A.A. Grapevine. Essentially it supports Tradition 2, “there is no ultimate authority . . . ,” we may each have trusted servitude and responsibilities which we are trusted to carry out. Ultimately, any A.A. member can come to an Area Assembly and participate. The same as any General Service Representative, General Institution Representative, or Grapevine Representative. From the groups, all can attend Board Meetings with trustees or paid staff members in New York and freely participate.
The truth is, every A.A. member has an innate desire to belong. This Concept protects our general service structure, which carries the message of A.A. across the globe, from having any hierarchy. Bill said it best when he addressed Concept IV upon being challenged by Delegates to take away Trustee and Staff voting rights. “It is vital . . . to preserve the traditional ‘right of participation’ in the face of every tendency to whittle it down . . our trustees and service workers are not less conscientious, experienced and wise than our delegates.”
Twelve Concepts are often overlooked, but they are one-third of the principles that Bill wrote into our program – these Concepts are how we as A.A. [members] should carry out General Service Work. Bill passed the legacy onto the General Service Conference Board after the first conference in 1955. Above includes citations from 12 Concepts Illustrated. The Concepts can be found in the Big Book, 4th Edition and in detail in the General Service Manual.
via, The Coordinator, San Diego, CA
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