11th Step Workshop on Two – Way Prayer – Part 36 of 2 – 2020 – Father

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11th Step Workshop on Two - Way Prayer - 2020

A voice in his head tells 27-year-old Bill B. that his choices—either fleeing to Australia to stay drunk or joining an ashram in India—are a sign that something is fundamentally wrong. After hitting a spiritual bottom in Cleveland Bill B. is challenged by a counselor to live on Skid Row for a year checking into the Salvation Army to identify with the wreckage of others. Even twenty years into sobriety Bill B. hits a wall feeling 'dry' and mechanical. He discovers the 'Five Ms' of spiritual institutions—Man Message Movement Machine and Mausoleum—and realizes he has been living in the Machine. To find oxygen he returns to the roots of the program studying the Oxford Group and the 'Four Absolutes' (honesty purity unselfishness and love) to move from a self-centered ego to a Higher Power-centered life.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Bill B. describes hitting bottom in Cleveland and stealing gallons of wine.
• 3:15 The turning point: a voice in his head tells him his life choices are a sign of a deeper problem.
• 6:10 Laughter: The counselor asks 'Does it hurt more this time?' and tells him it's good that it does.
• 8:20 The assignment to live on Skid Row and check into the Salvation Army.
• 14:30 Bill B. discusses hitting a wall at 20 years sober and feeling 'dry'.
• 18:10 Explanation of the 'Five Ms' and the transition from Message to Machine.
• 23:40 The 'solitaire meeting' in Tennessee as an example of the Machine.
• 28:15 Discussion of the Oxford Group and the concept of 'Two-Way Prayer' as a version of Step 11.
• 34:50 The role of Carl J. in the development of the program and the need for a 'psychic change'.
• 42:10 Analysis of the 'divided self' and the process of relocating the center of personality from ego to Higher Power.
• 51:20 The history of Ebby T. and the 'hopeless' condition described in the Big Book.
• 1:02:15 The 'Four Absolutes' (honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love) and their role in removing blockages.