Alcoholics Are Failures

Step we are on: Four

Page: 64

Chapter: 5 "How It Works"

Subject: inventory, morality

• What is the main object of an inventory?

One object is to disclose damaged or unsalable goods, to get rid of them promptly and without regret.

• If the owner is to be successful, what is it he must not do?

If the owner of the business is to be successful, he cannot fool himself about values.

• What do we do?

We did exactly the same thing with our lives.

• How do we take stock of ourselves?

We took stock honestly.

• What are we looking for?

First, we searched out the flaws in our make-up which caused our failure

Flaw  - blemish, defect, weak spot, crack ~ The Winston Simplified Dictionary – 1938

Peace and Love,

Danny S – RLRA

Real Live Recovered Alcoholic

http://stepelevencomesalive.blogspot.com/

"This Was Step Four"

Step we are on: Four

Page: 64

Chapter: 5 "How It Works"

Subject: Inventory, morality

• What did we have to determine?

So we had to get down to causes and conditions.

 Not what caused us to drink, to create defects, but the causes and conditions of our bondage to self, blocking us off from God.

• What did we start?   Two sentences

Therefore, we started upon a personal inventory. This was Step Four.

Moral – pertaining to man’s conception of what is right and just, ethical; discriminating between right and wrong. Capable of being influenced by a sense of right. ~ The Winston Simplified Dictionary – 1938

          

• What happens to a business that fails to take a proper inventory?

A business which takes no regular inventory usually goes broke.

           Regular – 1. According to some established rule, order or custom – conducted in a proper manner.
~ The Winston Simplified Dictionary – 1938

Today some people see the word "regular" with regard to a Step 4 written inventory and take it to mean "repetitive."  There is a "business" allegory in the narrative and they know that businesses keep their inventories annually - so there is a stretch to make that connection too.

(Why not stretch it even further and "hire" a third party inventory auditing service to come in facilitate the alcoholic's Step 4 "annual" inventory?)

This unfortunate twist of words becomes a justification for the need of never-ending, multiple Fourth Steps. But it becomes just another POP-AA procedure, precipitated by an ongoing self-centered lifestyle, "un-removed" defects and continuous harms made to others.

This is not what the co-authors are here proposing.

“Regular” in 1938 does not mean recurring or annual and the co-authors did not engage in or propose multiple, written Fourth Steps.They recoverED and the character defects named in this book were removed.

And they remain "removed" for as long as the individual continues to improve conscious contact with God through prayer and meditation. (Step 11)  If they don't, then they go on living a defect-run life, suppressing anger, becoming sick and miserable from emotion-induced conditions.

There is no number of 4th Step inventories that can keep up with that for a whole lifetime. Premature death becomes imminent.

This popular reinvention of Big Book text has created an under-corp of inventory-worshiping, Step 4 addicted groups, and individuals - not to mention some very unattractive cult-like movements within the fellowship.

• What is a commercial inventory?

Taking a commercial inventory is a fact-finding and a fact-facing process.

• What is the purpose of an inventory?

It is an effort to discover the truth about the stock-in-trade

Stock in trade – marketable articles, the goods which a merchant wished to sell; hence the accomplishments of possessions which a man can turn into money. ~ The Winston Simplified Dictionary – 1938

Tomorrow

• What is the main object of an inventory?
• If the owner is to be successful, what is it he must not do?
• What do we do?
• How do we take stock of ourselves?
• What are we looking for?

Peace and  Love,

Danny S – RLRA

Real Live Recovered Alcoholic

http://stepelevencomesalive.blogspot.com/

The How and The Why Of It

Step we are on: Three

Chapter: 5 "How It Works"

Subject: Playing God, Selfishness, Self-centeredness, morality, philosophy

• We must have what?

We had to have God's help.

Page 62 - continued

• What is the first thing we must do?  First two sentences

This is the how and why of it. First of all, we had to quit playing God.

• Why?

It didn't work.

• What did we then decide?

Next, we decided that hereafter in this drama of life, God was going to be our Director.

• If He is the Principal, what are we?

He is the Principal; we are His agents.

• If He is the Father, what are we?

He is the Father, and we are His children

Peace and  Love,

Danny S – RLRA

Real Live Recovered Alcoholic

http://stepelevencomesalive.blogspot.com/

The Failure of Learning Morality and Philosophy

Step we are on: Three

Chapter: 5 "How It Works"

Subject: Playing God, The Actor, Selfishness, Self-centeredness, morality, philosophy

• How can we be rid of this selfishness?

God makes that possible.

• What alternatives are there?

And there often seems no way of entirely getting rid of self without His aid.

• Do many of us have a high standard of values?

Many of us had moral and philosophical convictions galore,

• How well do we live up to our own values?

but we could not live up to them even though we would have liked to.

Sometimes we hear folks say, "I came from a good family. I had a good upbringing," and yet still they do not know why it is they became alcoholic.

• What can we not reduce through our own willpower?

Neither could we reduce our self-centeredness much by wishing or trying on our own power.

Trying to install our own "goodness" is a futile effort. Learning in this “study” won’t do it. Reading spiritual books won't either. Multiple inventories, playing musical sponsors, switching groups, taking on more and more service work, amassing spiritual philosophy won't do it. These activities represent trying by our own willpower. 

While these things may give the impression we are doing something for our own good and for the good of others, ultimately they are all based on ambitious self-will. 

Such activities only mimic the 12 Step "into action" idea, while enlarging the dark nature inside us called Ego - all in the name of spirituality. Maybe even in the name of God. 

The shedding of selfishness is not something we can work out through our own willful actions. We cannot become good by acting good.

But the next line tells us how it does happen. 

We will do it tomorrow.

Peace and  Love,

Danny S – RLRA

Real Live Recovered Alcoholic

http://stepelevencomesalive.blogspot.com/

To Follow This Study on Facebook click here.