We talk to God—that is prayer; God talks to us—that is inspiration

“… We talk to God—that is prayer; God talks to us—that is inspiration. <br /> <br /> We go apart to get still, that new life, new inspiration, new power of thought, new supply … <br /> <br /> may flow in; and then we come forth to shed it on those around us, that they, too, may be lifted up.”

We talk to God—that is prayer; God talks to us—that is inspiration

“… We talk to God—that is prayer; God talks to us—that is inspiration. We go apart to get still, that new life, new inspiration, new power...

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Top Ten Practices of Enlightened Partners: Ask yourself, what would love do or say in this situation?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> 1. Write down the purpose and desired results for your partnership. <br /> <br /> A partnership without a stated purpose and intended results is like a ship setting sail without a chart or plotted course. The purpose should be stated in a way that lifts the spirit of all partners.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2. Make choices grounded in love rather than fear. <br /> <br /> Become aware of your automatic reactions that are based in fear and look for the love choice instead. Ask yourself, what would love do or say in this situation?<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 3. Mutually agree upon strategies for dealing with predictable breakdowns, such as miscommunications, upsets or disagreements and use them when needed.<br /> <br /> Have these strategies in place *before* the inevitable breakdowns occur. It is difficult, if not impossible, to create and implement them in the middle of a breakdown.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 4. Commit to win/win outcomes; don't settle for anyone being the loser.<br /> <br /> For the partnership to win, all partners need to win. If anyone in the partnership loses, the entire partnership loses. Keep asking questions that lead you to the win/win outcome.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 5. Communicate honestly from the heart and practice high performance listening.<br /> <br /> People respond positively to the expression of heart-felt truth because it builds trust. High performance listening is listening without judgment for the concerns of the other person that may be hidden behind their words.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 6. Assume personal responsibility for your emotional reality and refrain from blame.<br /> <br /> Blame and projection will pollute the emotional climate of a partnership faster than anything.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 7. Take the initiative for the satisfaction of your own needs and wants and make clear requests of others that inspire their cooperation.<br /> <br /> Don't wait for people to guess what will make you happy. Nobody likes to endure demands or covert manipulation.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 8. Share power rather than struggle for it.<br /> <br /> Let go of the need to be right all the time. Value others ideas and perceptions as being as valid as your own. Heal your unresolved power issues from the past.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 9. See problems as opportunities.<br /> <br /> Every problem contains the gift of spiritual development within it. Learn to unwrap the package.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 10. Nurture a conscious relationship with your Soul.<br /> <br /> The more spiritually attuned you are, the more enlightened you and your partnerships will be.<br /> <div class="zemanta-related" style="clear: both; margin-top: 20px; overflow: hidden;"> <h4 class="zemanta-related-title"> Related articles</h4> <ul class="zemanta-article-ul zemanta-article-ul-image" style="margin: 0; overflow: hidden; padding: 0;"> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/05/emotional-sobriety-is-less-about.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/noimg_123_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/05/emotional-sobriety-is-less-about.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Emotional sobriety is less about the quality of the feeling and more about the general ability to feel one's feelings.</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/05/of-being-and-becoming.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/172982645_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/05/of-being-and-becoming.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Of being and becoming, Evolutionary Enlightenment calls on us to awaken to both the timeless peace of Being and the relentless passion of the Evolutionary Impulse.</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/relationship-dependent-signs.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/noimg_8_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/relationship-dependent-signs.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Relationship Dependent Signs</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/relationship-dependents-are-often-no.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/noimg_17_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/relationship-dependents-are-often-no.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Relationship dependents are often no longer in love with their partners but still cannot let go.</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-most-difficult-problem-for.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/noimg_21_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-most-difficult-problem-for.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The most difficult problem for relationship dependent people to do is to extricate themselves from toxic relationships.</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; 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float: right;" /></a></div> </div>

Top Ten Practices of Enlightened Partners: Ask yourself, what would love do or say in this situation?

1. Write down the purpose and desired results for your partnership. A partnership without a stated purpose and intended results is like a...

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“Cuando te encuentras con alguien, recuerda que se trata de un encuentro santo. Tal como lo consideres a él, así te considerarás a ti mismo. Tal como lo trates, así te tratarás a ti mismo. Tal como pienses de él, así pensarás de ti mismo. Nunca te olvides de esto, pues en tus semejantes o bien te encuentras a ti mismo o bien te pierdes a ti mismo. Cada vez que dos Hijos de Dios se encuentran, se les proporciona una nueva oportunidad para salvarse. No dejes de darle la salvación a nadie, para que así la puedas recibir tú. Yo estoy siempre contigo, en memoria tuya.” UCDM T-8.III.4:1-5<br /><br />Tejamos redes de cariño, de apoyo, de aceptación. Emitamos rayos de luz hacia todos los seres. Nos veremos todos inundados de dicha y bendiciones.

“Cuando te encuentras con alguien, recuerda que se trata de un encuentro santo. Tal como lo consideres a él, así te considerarás a ti mismo....

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Bill Wilson and the Ouija Board,Bill W. Had Warts, Just Like the Rest of Us.(Updated)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container zemanta-img" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div class="zemanta-img"> <div class="zemanta-img"> <div class="zemanta-img"> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/My-Name-Bill-Wilson-His-Alcoholics/dp/0743405919%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Ddreawarreco-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0743405919" imageanchor="1" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: clear:left;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><img alt="Cover of "My Name Is Bill: Bill Wilson--H..." border="0" class="zemanta-img-inserted" height="300" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51B0yndQoqL._SL300_.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="189" /></span></a></div> </div> </div> </td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption zemanta-img-attribution" style="text-align: center; width: 189px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/My-Name-Bill-Wilson-His-Alcoholics/dp/0743405919%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Ddreawarreco-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0743405919" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">Cover via Amazon</span></a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br /><br />Ever since becoming enamored with A.A. in the early 90s (especially after really getting into AA circa 1980), I have thought of Bill W. as quite an interesting fellow.<br /><br />Unfortunately, some AAs tend to put certain people on pedestals<br /><br /> and this almost certainly applies more to Bill W. than anyone else as far as recovery personalities go. All of us are merely human, and I suppose this post serves as a reminder of just that. Knowing about what might be considered to be weaknesses of others — particularly those who tend to be glorified — can make the person seem more real, even closer to us. None of the comments in this post are meant to be disparaging; to me, they are not. These supposed facts can be found in the books of some of the most significant Bill W. biographers, most notably Susan Cheever.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I find Ouija boards to be pretty darn interesting, honestly, though I have seen too many horror movies to run out and buy one myself! And LSD? Well, I don’t think I’ll be going into much — or any — detail about possible acid experiences I may or may not have had in a previous era, but suffice to say that I agree with Bill on some aspects of the trippy hallucinogen. I believe most, if not all, of us can agree on the following: Thank God LSD did not become a standard treatment for alcoholism and addiction! You probably won’t hear too much about this in AA meetings, but Bill Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, often used a Ouija board to contact spirits. His wife Lois said that Bill would get messages directly from the spirit world without even using the Ouija board. For a while, his participation in AA was deeply affected by his involvement with the “witchboard.” Wilson claimed that he received the twelve step method directly from a spirit without the board and wrote it down. (Source: My Name Is Bill: Bill Wilson–His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous, by Susan Cheever)<br /><br />Personally, Wilson had a lifelong attraction towards mysticism and alternative religions. He was drawn — by its ritualism, not its theology — to Catholicism, and seriously contemplated converting. Later in life, Bill W. flirted with Gerald Heard’s and Aldous Huxley’s West Coast Vedanta and took LSD with the two trippy gurus. Bill was consistently a spiritualist, going through life with AA’s Big Book in one hand and a Ouija board in the other. In the basement, Bill W. had a “Spook Room” where he would communicate with the dead. (Source: My Name Is Bill: Bill Wilson–His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous, by Susan Cheever)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Bill W. Had Warts, Just Like the Rest of Us<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Cheever’s portrait of Wilson is generally reverent, although she parts company with those who, as she says, see him as a man “chosen by God to carry a message.” In the second half of her book, Cheever goes further and pastes a donkey tail or two on the minor “god” Bill Wilson. Despite his victory over alcohol, Wilson retained his addictive personality and compulsive traits. He chain-smoked himself to death, for one thing. Reportedly, even on his deathbed, Bill W. puffed away as he slowly suffocated. Although he supposedly drank no alcohol for the last thirty-seven years of his life, he always craved it. Those who were around Bill in his last moments know that as he lay dying, he repeatedly requested whiskey; but this request was steadfastly denied by his minions. (Source: My Name Is Bill: Bill Wilson–His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous, by Susan Cheever)<br /><br /><br />"Anyway you look at it", Wilson wrote in 1951, "it's a problem world." His most troublesome problem was sex . He was serially unfaithful to his long-suffering wife, Lois — a woman whose complaisance, as Cheever says, "seemed to constitute a disease of its own". Despite his programme's insistence on "rigorous honesty", Bill W. lived a lie. He had innumerable affairs and a long-term mistress with whom he contemplated eloping to Ireland (the scandal would probably have destroyed Alcoholics Anonymous). <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Bill W. and LSD<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Bill loved LSD. He urged everyone he knew to try it, including Lois, his secretary, Nell Wing, his friend Dr. Jack Norris, the Reverend Sam Shoemaker, and even Father Ed Dowling! He even thought his own mother might benefit. (Source: My Name Is Bill; Bill Wilson — His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous, by Susan Cheever, page 241.)Also see Francis Hartigan, Bill W.: A Biography of Alcoholics Anonymous Cofounder Bill Wilson, pages 176 to 179:<br /><br />When Bill took LSD, use of the drug was legal. He first took it as a participant in medically supervised experiments with Gerald Heard and Aldous Huxley in California in the 1950s. Lois also participated in the first LSD experiments in California. At Bill’s insistent urging, she took LSD herself but always claimed later not to have felt anything. Bill insisted that she did too feel something and that she in fact had a very pleasant time. Nell Wing, who took LSD herself during one of these sessions and was there when Lois tried it, tends to believe Lois. She explains LSD’s lack of impact on Lois by noting that she took much less than the others had. Father Ed Dowling was among the people who accepted Bill’s invitation to join him in these early experiments. Bill also invited Jack Norris, medical director for Eastman Kodak and long-serving nonalcoholic chair of AA’s General Service Board, but Norris declined.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />It is hard to appreciate today the enthusiasm with which LSD experimentation was initially greeted. Aldous Huxley wrote Father Thomas Merton that LSD might even be the SOMA he had written about in his futuristic novel, Brave New World, and that it was deserving of the most serious and thorough scientific research. Sam Shoemaker wrote to Bill about the wholehearted endorsement of LSD experimentation by an Episcopal bishop, and Wilson wrote to Carl Jung, praising the results obtained with LSD and recommending it as a validation of Jung’s spiritual work. (Word was received of Jung’s death, and the letter was never sent.)Wilson is thought to have continued experimenting with LSD well into the 1960s. Lib S., a longtime AA member who lived in New York for many years, told me that she participated in LSD experiments with Bill in the late 1950s in New York. Marty Mann, Helen Wynn, and others participated in the New York experiments, which were supervised by a psychiatrist from Roosevelt Hospital. Lib S. said that the alcoholic participants in the New York researches were all sober. The purpose was to determine whether the drug might produce insights that would serve to remove psychic blocks that were preventing people from feeling more spiritually alive. Each participant had to agree to undergo extensive debriefing, and all were urged to make detailed notes about what they were experiencing.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Bill agreed with Huxley’s assessment of LSD’s power to open the “doors of perception.” He described his first experiences of the substance’s effect as being akin to what he had experienced in Towns Hospital the night his obsession with alcohol was lifted. Nell Wing told me that her own LSD experiences were something that she had always valued. Although Nell denies that Bill ever went this far, other people who knew him during this period said that his initial enthusiasm for LSD was so great that he thought it should be available to all alcoholics. (Source: Bill W.: A Biography of Alcoholics Anonymous Cofounder Bill Wilson, by Francis Hartigan, pages 178 to 179.)<br /><br />References: Bill Wilson and the Ouija Board<br /><br /><br /> "Bill Wilson never held himself up as a model: he only hoped to help other people by sharing his own experience, strength and hope. He insisted again and again that he was just an ordinary man". An ordinary man who nonetheless did one extraordinary thing.</span><span class="GingerNoCheckEnd"></span><br /> <div class="zemanta-related" style="clear: both; margin-top: 20px; overflow: hidden;"> <h4 class="zemanta-related-title"> Related articles</h4> <ul class="zemanta-article-ul zemanta-article-ul-image" style="margin: 0; overflow: hidden; padding: 0;"> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-bill-wilson-legacy-and-dream.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/155803104_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-bill-wilson-legacy-and-dream.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Bill Wilson Legacy and The Dream Warrior Experience</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/04/bill-wilson-had-proof-that-nutritional.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/160563846_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/04/bill-wilson-had-proof-that-nutritional.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Bill Wilson had proof that nutritional treatment to stop alcohol cravings actually worked.</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/04/veteran-aas-still-suffering-under-lash.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/164099947_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/04/veteran-aas-still-suffering-under-lash.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Veteran AAs still suffering under the lash of their obsessive consumption of nicotine, sugar, caffeine or sexual addictions claim recovery from spiritual disease. They may be improving, gaining in spiritual knowledge and 'sober time; but recovered from sp</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/04/failing-to-offer-un-recovered-alcoholic.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/164205713_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/04/failing-to-offer-un-recovered-alcoholic.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">WE ARE RECOVERED Failing to offer the un-recovered alcoholic hope for recovery, is deadly.</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/04/bill-wilson-founder-of-aa-chose-to.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/160492040_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/04/bill-wilson-founder-of-aa-chose-to.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Bill Wilson founder of AA chose to start taking Niacin, which is also called vitamin B3.</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/04/bill-wilson-didn-see-b-3-as-cure-for.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/160863344_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/04/bill-wilson-didn-see-b-3-as-cure-for.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Bill Wilson didn't see B-3 as a cure for alcoholism, just a powerful aid in recovery...including his own.</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"> <a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/?px" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_h.png?x-id=b9172bd3-c0e3-42ef-aa0d-c05ff10d75e0" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div> </div>

Bill Wilson and the Ouija Board,Bill W. Had Warts, Just Like the Rest of Us.(Updated)

Cover via Amazon Ever since becoming enamored with A.A. in the early 90s (especially after really getting into AA circa 1980), I ...

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A larger than life figure, Wilson almost singlehandedly changed the prognosis for those suffering from alcoholism. But he was certainly no saint

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="zemanta-img" style="text-align: left;"> <div class="zemanta-img"> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/My-Name-Bill-Wilson-His-Alcoholics/dp/0743405919%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Ddreawarreco-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0743405919" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cover of "My Name Is Bill: Bill Wilson--H..." border="0" class="zemanta-img-inserted" height="200" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51B0yndQoqL._SL300_.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="126" /></a></div> </div> Offering a fascinating look at Bill Wilson, one of Time Magazine's 100 List of The Most Important People of the 20th Century, My Name is Bill is a must read for anyone attempting to understand the broader context of Alcoholics Anonymous. Susan Cheever does a marvelous job of capturing the essence of what made this man a pioneer in treating alcoholism and, long after his death, other forms of addiction. <br /> A larger than life figure, Wilson almost singlehandedly changed the prognosis for those suffering from alcoholism. But he was certainly no saint, and Cheever's portrayal is nicely balanced. We learn a great deal about what drove this uncommon individual and even a bit about some of his other struggles.<br /> <div class="zemanta-related" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: both; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin-top: 20px; orphans: auto; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </div> Wilson's 'Twelve Steps' approach is comparable to Dr. Albert Ellis's Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as a vehicle for assisting those struggling with personal demons find relief. Many (including this reader) believe Wilson's early recognition that this age-old problem requires a spiritual solution was divinely inspired. Bill's insights into the disease of alcoholism based on his own experience stirred in him an uncanny prescience. He predicted that many alcoholics would find deliverance from their debilitating condition if they could only follow a few simple steps. Included among those, and perhaps most crucial, is finding the wherewithal to get through the next 24 hours without a drink.<br /> Truly remarkable is how the man known simply as Bill W. transformed what can only be described as a life in precipitous decline - intractable alcoholism, unemployment, financial ruin, and a disintegrating marriage - into a beacon of hope for countless human beings. Ironically, while he struggled with his own implacable inner demons, most notably chronic depression, millions of alcoholics were clawing their way back from the brink of self-destruction. And those are just the ones who were alive during his lifetime!<br /> <br /> Cheever writes, "Bill Wilson never held himself up as a model: he only hoped to help other people by sharing his own experience, strength and hope. He insisted again and again that he was just an ordinary man." <br /> Wilson was anything but an "ordinary man."His elegantly simple prescription for battling one's way back from booze-abetted disaster reflects pure genius. Although Bill was a reluctant model of a recovering alcoholic, his presence still looms large over the many thousands of AA groups that now meet across the globe. It is difficult to imagine many enduring contributions to mankind that exceed that of Bill Wilson's. Truly an epic 20th century figure.Kudos to Susan Cheever for a well-researched, well-written biography. This book should be required reading for anyone who suffers from alcoholism or who seeks a path to spiritual growth.<br /> <br /> <span style="color: red;"></span><br /> <blockquote> Related articles</blockquote> <div class="zemanta-related" style="clear: both; margin-top: 20px; overflow: hidden;"> <ul class="zemanta-article-ul zemanta-article-ul-image" style="margin: 0; overflow: hidden; padding: 0;"> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-man-who-sponsored-bill-wilson.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/noimg_69_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; 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height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Alcoholics Anonymous of the millions of lives saved and transformed by this extraordinary organisation, just as many have failed to grasp its simple message and the result has been personal hell and untimely death.</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/05/we-learned-principle-of-honesty.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/173756297_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/05/we-learned-principle-of-honesty.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">In step one we learned the principle of honesty.</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-only-requirement-for-membership-is.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/171863654_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-only-requirement-for-membership-is.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; 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text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/04/veteran-aas-still-suffering-under-lash.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/164099947_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/04/veteran-aas-still-suffering-under-lash.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Veteran AAs still suffering under the lash of their obsessive consumption of nicotine, sugar, caffeine or sexual addictions claim recovery from spiritual disease. They may be improving, gaining in spiritual knowledge and 'sober time; but recovered from sp</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/there-are-many-suffering-codependents.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/noimg_43_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/there-are-many-suffering-codependents.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">There are many suffering codependents in AA who are not open minded enough to realize that Bill Wilson - one of the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous - would have loved to have had the tools we have available to us today.</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/in-his-last-years-bill-wilson-stopped.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/noimg_76_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/in-his-last-years-bill-wilson-stopped.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">In his last years Bill Wilson stopped going to meetings.</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/bill-w-spoke-about-his-transcendent.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/noimg_35_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/bill-w-spoke-about-his-transcendent.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Bill W. spoke about his transcendent spiritual experience in Towns Hospital, one which some believe may have actually been a near death experience due to its similarities to recorded NDE's</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/aa-spiritual-kindergarten-bill-wilson.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/noimg_72_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/aa-spiritual-kindergarten-bill-wilson.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">AA The Spiritual Kindergarten: Bill Wilson's attitude about spirituality is as refreshing today as it was back in the 30's.</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="zemanta-related" style="clear: both; margin-top: 20px; overflow: hidden;"> <h4 class="zemanta-related-title"> Related articles</h4> </div> <div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"> <a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/?px" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_h.png?x-id=3cf41fcb-cc47-4bb7-9d0d-707a55a007b1" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div> </div>

A larger than life figure, Wilson almost singlehandedly changed the prognosis for those suffering from alcoholism. But he was certainly no saint

Offering a fascinating look at Bill Wilson, one of Time Magazine's 100 List of The Most Important People of the 20th Century, My Na...

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''Clearly my job henceforth was to Let Go and Let God. Alcoholics Anonymous was safe - even from me.''

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HVljXNEeR6c/UlUYddaBHpI/AAAAAAAANH8/KlszH6JsLY0HGOgqztANAhMrl6mx0qoEACPcB/s1600/bill%2Bw%2Bcoffe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HVljXNEeR6c/UlUYddaBHpI/AAAAAAAANH8/KlszH6JsLY0HGOgqztANAhMrl6mx0qoEACPcB/s320/bill%2Bw%2Bcoffe.jpg" width="304" /></a></div> <span style="color: #20124d;"> </span><br /> <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">Bill's Wilsons Yankee temperament, lanky body, great gifts as a storyteller and childhood setbacks. A novelist and a journalist, she writes clearly; however, even more important are the insights and empathy so credibly her own as a reformed drinker who attended meetings of A.A. with her father, the novelist John Cheever. As she remarked in ''Note Found in a Bottle,'' his drinking ''wasn't hidden, it was completely visible. Because it was completely visible, the drinking was a secret that we kept from ourselves.''What she has related about her own religious sensibility coincides with what she has written about Wilson's. Belief in God became important to both of them, ''but it is intensely private and truly beyond my ability to describe. I don't understand God; I just believe in God.'' When Wilson handed over the leadership of A.A. at the St. Louis national convention in 1955, having provided the program with an enduring structure, he proclaimed: ''Clearly my job henceforth was to Let Go and Let God. Alcoholics Anonymous was safe - even from me.''</span><br /><em></em>

''Clearly my job henceforth was to Let Go and Let God. Alcoholics Anonymous was safe - even from me.''

Bill's Wilsons Yankee temperament, lanky body, great gifts as a storyteller and childhood setbacks. A novelist and a journalist, she...

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Bill W., A Biography of Alcoholics Anonymous Co-Founder Bill Wilson, Francis Hartigan, 2000, page 192.

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tFCXaCAmIGc/UeY-RKX3TcI/AAAAAAAANCA/GNzZrCoH7KY/s1600/BillW-240x180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tFCXaCAmIGc/UeY-RKX3TcI/AAAAAAAANCA/GNzZrCoH7KY/s200/BillW-240x180.jpg" width="200" /></a></div> <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">The impression that he was a ladies' man seems to have come from the way he sometimes behaved at AA gatherings. When Bill wasn't accompanied by Lois (or later, Helen), he could often be observed engaged in animated conversation with an attractive young newcomer. His interest in younger women seemed to grow more intense with age. Barry Leach, who knew Bill nearly thirty years, told me that in the 1960s he and other friends of Bill's formed what they came to refer to as the "Founder's Watch" committee. People were delegated to keep track of Bill during the socialising that usually accompanies AA functions. When they observed a certain gleam in his eye, they would tactfully steer Bill off in one direction and the dewy-eyed newcomer in another.<br /><br /><br /></span>Related articles<br /> <div class="zemanta-related" style="clear: both; margin-top: 20px; overflow: hidden;"> <ul class="zemanta-article-ul zemanta-article-ul-image" style="margin: 0; overflow: hidden; padding: 0;"> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/imagination-is-everything-it-is-preview.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/177150386_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/imagination-is-everything-it-is-preview.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Imagination is everything. 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margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/research-on-acquiring-skills-shows-that.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/noimg_44_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/research-on-acquiring-skills-shows-that.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Research on acquiring skills shows that</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/people-are-afraid-to-connect-with.html" style="border-radius: 2px; 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Fear of losing control and fear that they will be punished or judged by the powers that be, rather than loved and forgiven.</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/05/ways-to-let-go-and-move-on.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/173159472_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/05/ways-to-let-go-and-move-on.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">DETACHMENT: Ways to Let Go and Move On, letting go and moving on is knowing in your heart that there's a bright future ahead.</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"> <a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/?px" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_h.png?x-id=d61f1f8d-af7a-47d4-b3e2-567cf46cef31" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div> </div>

Bill W., A Biography of Alcoholics Anonymous Co-Founder Bill Wilson, Francis Hartigan, 2000, page 192.

The impression that he was a ladies' man seems to have come from the way he sometimes behaved at AA gatherings. When Bill wasn't ...

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Bill had let them know how badly he felt about his unfaithfulness to Lois.

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HVljXNEeR6c/UlUYddaBHpI/AAAAAAAANH4/Jo1zf9h_w9E/s1600/bill+w+coffe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HVljXNEeR6c/UlUYddaBHpI/AAAAAAAANH4/Jo1zf9h_w9E/s200/bill+w+coffe.jpg" width="190" /></a></div> <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">As the AA office staff expanded in the 1940s, Bill seemed to take an active part in its recruitment efforts. One longtime AA member told me that at first she didn't know why in 1946 Bill hired her and another young woman AA member. "Neither of us could type or take dictation," she told me. Then, one night soon after they were hired, Bill took both women to an AA meeting. He sat between them and, all during the meeting, he had a hand on one leg of each of the women.<br /><br />There was also a young woman Bill had begun an affair with whom he subsequently hired for the AA office. She worked at the office from about 1948-1950. She seems to have been very much like Bill's mother, a strong-willed, stubborn woman who was very insistent about having her way. Because everyone knew she was Bill's mistress, she expected to get it. Apparently, she did not appreciate the extent to which AA is a democracy. Bill's recommendation might have gotten her the job, but her behaviour became so disruptive that in 1950 the AA trustees told Bill that she could no longer work there.<br /><br /><br />While Bill often seemed to feel free to take advantage of whatever opportunities were available to him as AA's head man, a number of people who were close to him told me that there were times when he was painfully aware of the threat his philandering posed to everything he had worked for. Barry Leach, a longtime AA member who was a close friend of Bill's for more than twenty-five years, Jack Norris, and Nell Wing all said that Bill had let them know how badly he felt about his unfaithfulness to Lois. That he nevertheless was seemingly unable to control himself filled him with despair and self-loathing at times and left him feeling unworthy to lead AA.</span><div class="zemanta-related" style="clear: both; margin-top: 20px; overflow: hidden;"> <h4 class="zemanta-related-title"> Related articles</h4> <ul class="zemanta-article-ul zemanta-article-ul-image" style="margin: 0; overflow: hidden; padding: 0;"> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/05/this-is-why-we-see-people-with-10-years.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/noimg_7_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; 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vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://catholicalcoholic.com/2013/05/17/my-thoughts-on-why-aa-can-be-difficult-for-traditional-practicing-catholics/" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/169925098_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://catholicalcoholic.com/2013/05/17/my-thoughts-on-why-aa-can-be-difficult-for-traditional-practicing-catholics/" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">My Thoughts on Why AA Can Be Difficult for Traditional, Practicing Catholics</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/05/without-lois-wilson-founder-of-al-anon.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/170635613_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/05/without-lois-wilson-founder-of-al-anon.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Without Lois Wilson founder of Al-anon, there would not be more than 300 recovery groups around the world based on the Twelve-Step program.</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/many-people-do-not-know-that-bill-and.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/noimg_100_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/many-people-do-not-know-that-bill-and.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Solution Based Recovery: Many people do not know that Bill and Dr. Bob met because they were both members of a spiritual program that was popular at that time, the Oxford Group.</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/in-his-last-years-bill-wilson-stopped.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/noimg_76_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2013/06/in-his-last-years-bill-wilson-stopped.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">In his last years Bill Wilson stopped going to meetings.</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"> <a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/?px" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_h.png?x-id=00a12119-4451-420f-901c-997edb785257" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div> </div>

Bill had let them know how badly he felt about his unfaithfulness to Lois.

As the AA office staff expanded in the 1940s, Bill seemed to take an active part in its recruitment efforts. One longtime AA member tol...

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