Page: 75
Chapter: 6 “Into Action”
Subject: Discussing ourselves with another person
Read Time: 2 min.
Read Time: 2 min.
- How do we feel about God now?
We begin to feel the nearness of our Creator.
- What of our spiritual beliefs?
We may have had certain spiritual beliefs, but now we begin to have a spiritual experience.
There is a difference between a belief and actually having a real-life experience. That experience may confirm the belief, but it may also invalidate it - depending upon what those beliefs are.
- Are we afraid of relapse?
The feeling that the drink problem has disappeared will often come strongly
- Is a relationship with God developing?
We feel we are on the Broad Highway, walking hand in hand with the Spirit of the Universe.
The “Spirit of the Universe.” Obviously, this is a reference to “God.” If you will recall, this term was first used by the co-authors on page 52, “When we saw others solve their problems by a simple reliance upon the Spirit of the Universe, . . .”
- What do we do immediately, upon completing a Fifth Step meeting – and for how long?
Returning home we find a place where we can be quiet for an hour,
- We very carefully do what?
carefully reviewing what we have done.
To “review” means going over anything again, to study, consider or examine. It is a general consideration.[1] The co-authors are going to show us how to conduct this "review." Stay tuned.
Some people have taken to referring to some of these ideas as “The Fifth Step Promises.” While this idea certainly is quaint, there are several serious problems with it.
Experience shows it can be dangerous to insert supplementary initiatives into the original Big Book presentation. We can’t speak for the co-authors. Unnecessary paraphrasing, as "The 5th Step Promises" does, is misleading.
They never said it. they never wrote it. They never so much as hinted at any such doctrinal guarantee. Its an ADD-ON. And it's erronoeus.
Placing personal confidence in the spiritual principles presented by these inspired men and women requires restraint from recreating this text out of personal annotations into formalized doctrine.
Even informal, clever adaptations can fast become religious-like dogma. Ideas not contained in the book, like “The Fifth Step Promises,” converts this book into a cultish manifesto of beliefs.
The Big Book is not a Bible.
While such devices may seem harmless tools, innocently designed merely to cue those studying this book, this is a spiritual, experiential presentation of directions made by some folks who just wanted to ensure we knew how they did it - not a “course in spirituality”. When intent has gone astray it can be quite an egregious trap.
While on the surface it seems a nice idea, perhaps even harmless – injecting inventions like “The Fifth Step Promises” is not harmless. It is more accurate to simply consider these observations as simple conveyances of the co-author's experiences.
No one is promising anything. If they were, they would have written: "We promise."
As a spiritual concept, fashioning expectations of God, creating a scorecard for Him, creates an anticipatory attitude opposite the spiritual principles that " . . we have been discussing,” not actually in this book.
Not only is not an inaccurate depiction of the author's description, it can also be an unhealthy practice. It contradicts the fundamental spiritual principles running through the 164 pages of this inspired work.
Experience shows it can be dangerous to insert supplementary initiatives into the original Big Book presentation. We can’t speak for the co-authors. Unnecessary paraphrasing, as "The 5th Step Promises" does, is misleading.
They never said it. they never wrote it. They never so much as hinted at any such doctrinal guarantee. Its an ADD-ON. And it's erronoeus.
Placing personal confidence in the spiritual principles presented by these inspired men and women requires restraint from recreating this text out of personal annotations into formalized doctrine.
Even informal, clever adaptations can fast become religious-like dogma. Ideas not contained in the book, like “The Fifth Step Promises,” converts this book into a cultish manifesto of beliefs.
The Big Book is not a Bible.
While such devices may seem harmless tools, innocently designed merely to cue those studying this book, this is a spiritual, experiential presentation of directions made by some folks who just wanted to ensure we knew how they did it - not a “course in spirituality”. When intent has gone astray it can be quite an egregious trap.
While on the surface it seems a nice idea, perhaps even harmless – injecting inventions like “The Fifth Step Promises” is not harmless. It is more accurate to simply consider these observations as simple conveyances of the co-author's experiences.
No one is promising anything. If they were, they would have written: "We promise."
As a spiritual concept, fashioning expectations of God, creating a scorecard for Him, creates an anticipatory attitude opposite the spiritual principles that " . . we have been discussing,” not actually in this book.
Not only is not an inaccurate depiction of the author's description, it can also be an unhealthy practice. It contradicts the fundamental spiritual principles running through the 164 pages of this inspired work.
Peace and Love,
Danny S – RLRA
Real Live Recovered Alcoholic
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