Andy F

Try Hope House in Bang Sarray. It's near Pattaya 

https://hopehousethailand.com/

Best wishes

Andy F

Thanks for sharing my friend and good luck on your sober journey 🤞☘️🤞

I got sober through AA but acknowledge that AA isn't for everyone

The bottom line is we are all alcoholics and we should all give each other the same level of support, irrespective of how we stay sober as individual drunks ☺️ 💟☺️

...........For anyone reading this thread, please be assured that atheists, agnostics, and freethinkers, from its very inception, have always been welcome in AA. It is by no means a requirement to believe in God to recover from alcoholism. All you need is a power greater than you. That could be AA itself, or any other positive power that will help you to stay sober and recreate your life. That's what AA is and has always been.

Let Bill Wilson, the co-founder of AA, and author of The Big Book, tell you himself.

Responsibility Is Our Theme

Newcomers are approaching AA at the rate of tens of thousands yearly. They represent almost every belief and attitude imaginable. We have atheists and agnostics. We have people of nearly every race, culture, and religion. In AA we are supposed to be bound together in the kinship of a common suffering. Consequently, the full individual liberty to practice any creed or principle or therapy whatever should be a first consideration for us all. Let us not, therefore, pressure anyone with our individual or even our collective views. Let us instead accord each other the respect and love that is due to every human being as he tries to make his way toward the light. Let us always try to be inclusive rather than exclusive; let us remember that each alcoholic among us is a member of AA, so long as he or she so declares.

Bill W.

Copyright © AA Grapevine, Inc. (July 1965)

According to the General Service Office of AA in New York, the Big Book and entire AA program is open to personal interpretation. If you have taken the Big Book literally, it speaks to your absolute terror of being more open-minded. Open-mindedness, is what gives AA it's all-inclusive quality. All-inclusiveness is a spiritual quality, rigid religious fundamentalism is not!

"This was the great contribution of our atheists and agnostics. They had widened our gateway so that all who suffer might pass through, regardless of belief or lack of belief."

Bill W.

Dear friends,

More and more atheists, agnostics, and freethinkers are coming into AA to get sober. However, this can prove to be a challenge given that the 12 Steps of the program strongly encourage a belief in God. In the past, too many alcoholics have walked away from AA because of the “God” word. I suspect that even more have avoided the program because they see it as some quasi-religion. Their reasons are understandable............

https://aaforagnostics.com/blog/secular-aa/

Disclaimer

The content of this blog is an AA member's personal experience. It does not necessarily represent the ideas, beliefs, or practices of Alcoholics Anonymous

This man clearly has mental health issues. Surely he should be admitted to a psychiatric unit for a psychiatric assessment before deporting him

Thank you brother. Point taken. Good luck with your recovery 🙏🌹🙏

Dear Friends

In the Chapter on Step 4 in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Bill W, the co-founder of AA, makes the following statement about alcoholics in relationships:

"The primary fact we fail to recognize is our total inability to form a true partnership with another human being." (p. 53)

Could it be true? I hope you enjoy the blog I wrote about it.

https://aaforagnostics.com/blog/recovering-alcoholics-in-relationships/

Recovering alcoholics in relationships.lnk

Disclaimer

The content of this blog is an AA member's personal experience. It does not necessarily represent the ideas, beliefs, or practices of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Jim B, AA's first atheist, convinced Bill to make changes to steps three and eleven in AA's twelve steps

We owe the clause "as we understand him" to Jim. Also, Jim got Bill to include the word "suggested" In chapter 5 of the Big Book.

"Here are the steps we took which are 'suggested' as a program of recovery."

AA is all-inclusive. There is room in AA for all alcoholics seeking a solution to their drinking problem. Atheists, Agnostics, and Freethinkers are just as welcome as those members who believe in God.

Have a great 24 hours, everyone!

Dear friends, A big part of my pattern as an active alcoholic was the "geographical cure."

I was in full flight from myself and reality. I hope you like the blog I wrote about it.

https://aaforagnostics.com/blog/the-geographical-cure/

Disclaimer

The content of this blog is a personal experience of recovery from alcoholism. The ideas expressed here do not necessarily reflect the beliefs held by AA as a whole

Atheist, agnostic or freethinker in AA?

Free online conference of Secular AA

7 - 8th of October 2023

Please pass it on

????????????

Dear friends.

Do some alcoholics in AA also suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

It can end very badly if you ask one to be your sponsor.

https://aaforagnostics.com/blog/twelve-step-sponsors-and-narcissism/

Disclaimer

The content of this blog is an AA member's personal experience. It is in no way representative of Alcoholics Anonymous

15 minutes ago, likerdup1 said:

Let's not stoop to being judgemental or slinging mud. I think we can both agree being judgemental of others is quite the opposite of spiritual behavior.

BTW, the big book was written in such as way as to leave very little up to interpretation. I highly suggest studying it. In the text itself they say thet strive to specifically and as precisely as possible show other alcoholics how they had recovered.

Look, I don't want what you have, so I'm stepping off this conversation. ????

3 minutes ago, likerdup1 said:

How am I supposed to know if I like it or not without reading it? It's not that I don't like it. It's that it's plain inaccurate. In this case you are writing material that you claim to be AA program and it's simply not. I'll I'm doing is pointing that out.

 

If you are going to write material that you claim is AA then back it up with actual program literature quotes.

 

Parroting things and ideas heard in the AA  fellowship doesn't necessarily make it part of the AA program.

You're interpretation of the AA program is so literal that it takes all the spirituality out of it. My interpretation of honesty, open-mindedess and willingness is spot on because it's based on my own personal experience and has led me to 26 years of content sobriety.

With your rigid and anal interpretation of the AA program, I certainly don't want what you have. I've never seen a positive side to your character. You neurotically stick to your interpretation of the program. I bet that in your addiction to rigid control, you never smile or have a good laugh about anything. You are terminally serious and miserable in your rigid fundamentalism. It has all the hallmarks of a dry drunk!

13 minutes ago, Andy F said:

If you don't like my material, may I suggest you don't read it. A lot of normal recovering alcoholics appreciate my blogs but you don't strike me as normal in any way! Keep coming back

In AA we speak the language of the heart. Stop being so anal about recovery!

19 hours ago, likerdup1 said:

Many AA's hove found that it is important to reference the 12 step program from AA literature when communicating ideas about AA. I find the fellowship a place where a lot of information get's talked about that does not necessarily line up with the  AA program described in it's literature. So repeating ideas kicked around the fellowship can perpetuate misinformation about the true program of AA as outlined in AA basic text literature.

 

Acronyms such as H.O.W. and G.O.D. are examples of ideas that have come from treatment centers or other recovery sources that claim to know the AA program but exist for profit. They embellish or write their own literature without careful study of the original AA basic texts. They give out information about AA that is in many cases not AA. 

 

For example. Open mindedness is referenced in Appendix II.  Nowhere in the program literature does it have anything to do with taking a sponsors advice or direction. The word is used to express an attitude one should have when looking at spiritual principles or considering the existence of a Higher Power or Power Greater than ourselves.

 

Appendix II AA Big Book:

Most emphatically we wish to say that any alcoholic capable of honestly facing his problems in the light of our experience can recover, provided he does not close his mind to all spiritual concepts. He can only be defeated by an attitude of intolerance or belligerent denial. We find that no one need have difficulty with the spirituality of the program. Willingness, honesty and open mindedness are the essentials of recovery. But these are indispensable.

 

Open mindedness is also used in "We Agnostics: (This chapter existing in the book to help persuade atheists or agnostics to be open minded and willing to believe there may be a Higher Power or God to help them with alcoholism)

 

Page 48 Big Book:

Faced with alcoholic destruction, we soon became as open minded on spiritual matters as we had tried to be on other questions. In this respect alcohol was a great persuader. It finally beat us into a state of reasonableness. Sometimes this was a tedious process; we hope no one else will be prejudiced for as long as some of us were. (the prejudice they are talking about is prejudice toward a Higher Power or God)

 

The AA Big Book concordance @ https://www.164andmore.com is an excellent source one can reference to see how words are used and in what context they are used in the AA fellowships text books "Alcoholics Anonymous" and "Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions".

 

If you don't like my material, may I suggest you don't read it. A lot of normal recovering alcoholics appreciate my blogs but you don't strike me as normal in any way! Keep coming back

On 9/23/2023 at 12:27 PM, Neeranam said:

Some great stuff in there,  ????

Thanks Neeranam! ????????????

15 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Met him in Pattaya of all places around 10 years ago.

A very clever man who understood alcoholism inside out! ????????????

Dear friends of Bill. Here is a blog I wrote a while ago. It may be helpful to AA newcomers. I've called it "Honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness."

https://aaforagnostics.com/blog/honesty-open-mindedness-willingness/

Disclaimer

The content of this blog is an AA member's personal experience. It is in no way representative of Alcoholics Anonymous

Dear friends

As an enquiring agnostic,  I became interested in exploring diverse spiritual systems to satisfy my thirst for a spiritual experience. In those early days of sobriety, I became something of a spiritual seeker. Well, at least I was in line with pertinent idea C  of the AA Big Book.

"God could and would if He were sought."

BB - Chapter 5 "How it works." p. 60

I hope you like the blog I wrote about it. I have called it "A Truth Seeker in Recovery"

https://aaforagnostics.com/blog/a-truth-seeker-in-recovery/

Dear friends in recovery

As a drunk, both in and out of AA, I suffered from a "total inability of forming a true partnership with another human being," (12&12 Step Four p.53)

Until, I got the Gift Of Desperation (GOD), and did the 12 steps, my relationships were chaotic and unmanageable. The AA program and the suggestions of a sponsor taught me what functional relationships were all about.

Here is a blog I wrote, about my relationships as an untreated alcoholic.

https://aaforagnostics.com/blog/rescuer-persecutor-victim-triangle/

When I was about five years sober, I became increasingly more addicted to sugary foods. So much so that I had to go to another twelve-step fellowship to overcome this problem. With the help of Overeaters Anonymous (OA), I managed to put down the sugar. Thinking I was now cured I stopped going to those meetings and just continued to treat my alcoholism in AA. This was a big mistake. Very soon an addiction to sugar became a problem again. Some years later, I went back to OA to find abstinence again. What came as a shock was how many alcoholics were dealing with an eating disorder in that fellowship. Well, at least I felt right at home. 

https://aaforagnostics.com/blog/eating-disorders-and-alcoholism/

Overeaters Anonymous – USA

Overeaters Anonymous – UK

Food Addicts Anonymous – USA

Food Addicts Anonymous - UK

Disclaimer

Please be advised that I mention four twelve-step fellowships in this blog. They are completely unaffiliated with each other. Moreover, the opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent the ideas, beliefs, and practices of the twelve-step programs mentioned. What I have shared with you are my own experiences of recovery from addiction; in all its different forms. The suggestions I remain willing to take are leading me, an agnostic alcoholic and addict, to a happy and contented life.

Dear friends,

When I came to AA, I had a burning desire to stay sober. Yet, I continued to relapse for years! I struggled with coming to believe in any concept of an unseen higher power. For this reason, I avoided working the steps. God and a higher power are mentioned in six of them. This was a mistake that almost cost me my life. Then one day, I was invited to a talk given by a psychiatrist specializing in the treatment of alcoholism. His talk was a game changer in my recovery. I hope you enjoy the blog.

https://aaforagnostics.com/blog/getting-to-grips-with-a-higher-power/

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in this blog do not necessarily represent AA's beliefs, opinions, and practices. What I have shared with you are my own experiences of recovery from alcoholism. The suggestions I became willing to take have led me, an agnostic alcoholic, to a contented and meaningful sobriety.