2nd March Through the Steps Workshop – Part 9 of 5 – 2022 – Peter M.

About This Speaker Tape

2nd March Through the Steps Workshop - 2022

June 23 1988 marks the day Peter M. was separated from alcohol. He describes a beginning rooted in sheer desperation where he was 'Looney Tunes' and forced into a humility forged on an anvil of pain. While he initially worshipped the mechanics of the Big Book and the rigidity of his sponsors he eventually shifted toward a lived experience of conscious contact with his Higher Power. He recounts a pivotal moment of spiritual hypocrisy where he slandered the Catholic Church while claiming to love his Higher Power a conflict resolved only through a raw confession and a return to Mass. Peter views his life now as a 'dash' between birth and death focusing on the daily reprieve of 'chopping wood and carrying water' to avoid the trap of ego and the false comfort of external things.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Opening moment of silence and Serenity Prayer.
• 2:15 Peter M. begins his talk, thanking the committee and discussing the transient nature of recovery in South Florida.
• 6:40 Discussion on the 'anvil of pain' and the desperation of the first six months of sobriety.
• 12:10 Peter discusses the importance of conscious contact with his Higher Power over mere sobriety.
• 17:45 Story about a devout man who cut his cross too short in a dream and missed heaven.
• 23:10 Step 5: Peter describes his resentment toward the Catholic Church and his sponsor's 'sponsor code' pushback.
• 30:20 The experience of returning to Mass and feeling the 'fist of Gulliver' rip the poison from his soul.
• 38:15 Warning against 'worshipping mechanics' and the danger of becoming a 'home group guru'.
• 45:50 The 'dash' metaphor: reflecting on the space between birth and death on a headstone.
• 52:10 Closing reflections on giving everything to his Higher Power and the wealth of a spiritual life.