Grow Higher Power, Shrink Ralph

About This Speaker Tape

October 10, 1986, was the best worst day of Ralph W.’s life. He didn't enter the rooms of recovery as a surrendering man—he was a scoffer and a cynic who viewed the Baptist church of his youth as a collection of myths and fables. A high-achieving corporate professional who had spent fifteen years "going hard in the paint," Ralph describes the obsession that drove him to steal ten dollars from his mother just to feed the beast. He arrived at the Harbor Light Center on Skid Row not out of a desire for spirituality, but out of desperation.

For Ralph, the second step wasn't a sudden bolt of lightning but a slow accumulation of evidence. He watched a thousand different people in Los Angeles claim the same solution, and as a "smart ass" who wasn't stupid, he realized the math added up. He describes grace as an unearned birthright, comparing it to a baby receiving a bottle. By letting go of the need to be the "right answer guy," he found a Higher Power that allowed him to shrink so his li...

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Introduction by Tyler and Ralph's opening remarks on his 37 years of sobriety
• 6:45 Discussion on the 'best worst day' of October 10th, 1986 and entering the Harbor Light Center
• 11:50 Ralph's early drinking history at UCLA and the progressive nature of the disease
• 16:30 Reflection on growing up in the Baptist church and viewing religion as myths and fables
• 20:15 Analysis of the 'We Agnostics' chapter and the pragmatism of believing in a Higher Power
• 24:40 The 'two question test' for alcoholism and the diagnosis of a spiritual malady
• 30:50 Critique of 'share shaming' and the value of every voice in the fellowship
• 35:10 Discussion on the 'unearned gift' of grace and the relationship with a Higher Power
• 40:30 The formula for Step Two: 'Grow Higher Power, shrink Ralph'
• 45:20 Closing thoughts on the miracle of moving from drinking no matter what to not drinking no matter what