Burns B. – Step 4 – Three Step Program Vs 12 Step Program – 2013

About This Speaker Tape

Dr. Burns B., a physician and addictionologist, maps out the difference between a 'three-step program' of mere abstinence and the rigorous application of the 12 Steps. He describes a decade of 'sobriety without recovery,' where he remained an arrogant, controlling 'loose cannon' despite attending meetings and church.

He traces his internal wreckage back to a childhood of conditional love and the shadow of a town-drunk grandfather, admitting to a lifelong struggle with narcissism and a desperate need for approval. The turning point arrived when he nearly took his own life with a 12-gauge shotgun, stopped only by the thought of the pain it would cause his children. He dismantles the myth that drug addiction and alcoholism are different, arguing they are the same physical problem requiring a spiritual solution.

He concludes with his current work in homeless shelters, finding joy in the 'light coming on' in others' eyes.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Introduction by Jerry; Dr. Burns is introduced as a 'big book thumper' and a physician.
• 5:15 Burns discusses the 'spiritual solution for a physical problem' and the science of being bodily different.
• 12:40 Laughter: Burns describes his first ten years of sobriety as 'insanity with no alcohol' and a 'three-step program.'
• 18:20 Burns discusses the 'garbled message' in AA and the danger of prioritizing personalities over the Big Book.
• 25:10 Family history: The town-drunk grandfather and the trauma of his mother's abuse.
• 32:45 Discussion on 'Emotional Sobriety' and the lifelong compulsion for approval and perfection.
• 41:10 Burns describes his years of methamphetamine addiction and being kicked out of medical school.
• 52:15 The 'party boy' years: White Corvettes, leisure suits, and the collapse of his first marriage.
• 1:02:30 The suicide attempt: Putting a 12-gauge shotgun in his mouth and the decision to live for his children.
• 1:15:40 Mention of the 12 Steps: The importance of 'faith without works' and the role of the Big Book.
• 1:28:10 The 'peculiar mental twist' and the story of his affair with a nurse.
• 1:42:00 Closing thoughts on the joy of service in homeless shelters and prisons.