We talked about Alcoholism, the disease, today. Not a medical convention by any means. But there was a lot of relating to the disease concept, which we learned from what the BB, Dr. Silkworth, and Dr. Jung said. After all taking the years into account, back when the program was opened, not much was known, except by those, who were exposed to this disease.
I know for one thing that both Silkworth and Jung addressed it as chronic alcoholism. And their experience and exposure to it brought out that there was no cure. In fact little or no stopping from drinking. Silkworth wasn’t all that much into a spiritual solution. However Jung was the man who introduced the spiritual solution to that young man and eventually everyone else.
That’s because the young man had a spiritual experience, got sober, and came back to the United States. When he got here he had already been introduced to the Oxford Group. He also was a friend of Ebby T. And, when Ebby got into trouble with the court system, it was this young man, who stepped in and helped him. In the process he introduced him to the Oxford Group and told him what was working for him. Then Ebby, who was a friend of Bill W., visited Bill and told him what he had found. And the rest is history.
Bill and the early members took what they had learned from the Oxford Group, changed a number of things, added a lot more, and took their experiences in their struggles to get sober, and wrote them down into what we have come to know as the BB. Not a sudden transformation. The Steps had to be formulated into a workable solution. That included ridding the program of any question of religion from the Oxford Group and opened it to any system of belief or non belief. However there is still included the spiritual solution coming through the Twelve Steps. It’s up to each individual to have his or her concept of what that is.
One of the things, which has become clearer through the years is the confirmation that this is a genetic disease, passed down through families. Not everyone in the family will suffer from this disease, but it always pops up among the members. Several medical schools have been able to isolate and identify the genes responsible for this. At least I remember reading about them back a while ago. And of course the AMA has described and designated alcoholism as a disease.
There is no cure for alcoholism. Once it is activated in individuals it is there to stay until the end of each individuals life. What is a blessing for someone like me and those at the meeting today, in fact all over the earth, is that this disease may be arrested. Alcohol and the individual is placed in a position of neutrality. And the spiritual way of life found in the Twelve Steps changes the individuals like myself into an entirely different person. One free of the bondage of alcohol, who has been restored to sanity, as far as alcohol is concerned.
One of the things that is clear to me and most of us is how deadly this disease is. Like so many I have witnessed the lives it has taken. I certainly have seen this and don’t care to go there. My only thought is always how can someone like me help prevent this from happening? And that is what the Twelfth Step is all about. Yet it’s no guarantee. Surrender is right at the top of the list of what we all need to get sober and stay sober.
A number of people today said that they were glad that they had become alcoholics because it had introduced them to this way of life and changed them for the better, as well as relieving them from drinking alcohol. Almost everyone was familiar with the disease concept. What it was we all had in common. And what we had in common was not only the disease, but the solution we all have found in here.
A lot of talk today about the spiritual solution and the discovery of a Higher Power. A lot of gratitude expressed. I know that what changed me was that Second Step, which I always go back to with a grateful heart. That is a daily thing with me and all those who spoke today. We all realize we have only this day in which to stay sober. To make a commitment to do what is necessary to continue to stay sober. The Steps and prayer and meditation are right up front with all of us. That and going to meetings and having the reminders we need from each and everyone. The truth in the statement that we can’t stay sober by ourselves was clear. As was the statement that time takes time. And of course our need to have faith and trust in our Higher Power and turning all that is out of our individual control over to this power. And our reliance on each other for the help and support we all need.
When I got home I knew that I had to stop and think about all of this. It is so important to me and all those I know in here. And it gives me a chance to once again reinforce my thoughts and my connection with my Higher Power. Anyway it’s just another moment to think about sobriety. How important that is for me.