The Transformation from Self-Centeredness to Higher Power-Centered – Sandy B.

About This Speaker Tape

Florida State Convention - 2012

Sandy B. traces the trajectory of a life shaped by early physical trauma and a long career in the Marine Corps. After contracting polio as a child and navigating the rigid requirements of naval aviation he found that alcohol served as a temporary chemical fix for a deep-seated feeling of inadequacy and social anxiety. He maps out the slow dismantle of his self-centeredness moving from the delusion that he could 'fix' his own nature to the realization that he needed a Higher Power to change his internal condition. He recounts the wreckage of losing his military career to the bottle and the subsequent struggle to accept a spiritual solution when he felt the world was conspiring against him. Ultimately he argues that the goal of recovery is not mere sobriety but a spiritual awakening that removes the need for the 'fix' alcohol once provided allowing him to survive even the most devastating personal losses with a level of peace he once thought impossible.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Sandy B. opens by thanking the Florida State Convention attendees
• 4:15 Recounts childhood polio diagnosis and the bond formed in the quarantine ward
• 8:30 Discusses the 'chemical fix' of the first few drinks to solve social anxiety
• 12:45 Laughter: Discussion on the impossibility of fixing self-centeredness on one's own
• 16:20 Describes his time as a Marine Corps pilot and the opening of Disneyland
• 21:10 Discusses the wreckage of losing his military career to drinking
• 25:40 Explores the 'Chapter to the Agnostic' and the necessity of a spiritual experience
• 30:15 Describes the spiritual awakening as a shift from theory to certainty
• 34:00 Applause: Closing thoughts on the joy of living and avoiding the 'sad asses'