"A.A. is a spiritual program and a spiritual way of life. Even the first half of the First Step, 'We admitted we were powerless over alcohol,' is a spiritual experience. An A.A. member needs more than physical capabilities; he needs to use his full faculties as a human being to hear the message, to think about it, to review the effects of the past, to realize, to admit, and to accept. These processes are activities of the mind, which is part of the spirit."
c. 1973, Came to Believe..., page 3
Within from: "Source of Strength"
"I need power each day, because I get weary. But with A.A. as my structure and God as my source of strength, I can face life without taking a drink. I don't have to stare out my window in total despair any more. The ocean and the sun and the trees and all the fantastic beauty that God has created have finally become very real to me. I crave and need the presence of nature. But I must also bear in mind that it is the spirit within me, which comes from God, that is going to be the healing force."
© 1973, Came to Believe..., page 103
"We need each other's experience, strength, and hope, regardless of age or length of sobriety."
-- c. 1973, Came to Believe..., page 94
"By going to meetings and rubbing elbows with the new people in A.A., I find they have much to teach me. Their problems are a little different, and they haven't experienced the awful isolation that many of us older folks did. But they are better informed; they are more knowledgeable; and I suspect they are smarter, because they learn faster. Perhaps they don't have as far to go to get well as we did, but their path is more cluttered, and the way isn't as clear. So it is still the same struggle for all of us, and we need each other. We need each other's experience, strength, and hope, regardless of age or length of sobriety."
c. 1973, Came to Believe..., page 94
"It is strictly my opinion, based on my experience, that one becomes richer in spirit as one grows in spirit. The more I accept God, the more He gives me. As I become more appreciative of the benefits received, I try harder to show my appreciation. My capacity to be content with life as it is has greatly increased. Therefore, as time goes on, I become more able to be at peace with my fellowman, with God, and within myself."
c. 1973, Came to Believe..., page 87 From "How It Works:" - c. 1976, Alcoholics Anonymous, page 68
"Perhaps there is a better way -- we think so. For we are now on a different basis; the basis of trusting and relying upon God. We trust infinite God rather than our finite selves. We are in the world to play the role He assigns. Just to the extent that we do as we think He would have us, and humbly rely on Him, does He enable us to match calamity with serenity."
c. 1973, Came to Believe..., page 87
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