Anonymity and the Tradition of Principles Before Personalities – Wakefield S.

About This Speaker Tape

Wakefield S. maps out the gap between wanting the promises of recovery and actually earning them through the grit of the steps. He dismantles the idea that simply showing up entitles one to a new life recounting a year spent with a 'cute' sponsor who had the car and the career Wakefield craved only to watch that man succumb to the bottle and die.

The narrative shifts to the practicalities of the Ninth Step where Wakefield describes using a red pen to strip selfishness out of amends letters. The session evolves into a collective exploration of the 'inside job,' with speakers like Christian and Irma P. discussing the terror of the 'dysfunctional playground' of the mind and the slow climb out of a fetal position into a life where economic insecurity no longer triggers a panic attack.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Jona opens the session with the AA preamble and anonymity guidelines.
• 2:30 Wakefield S. discusses the struggle with the Seventh Step and the willingness to let go of character defects.
• 5:15 Wakefield reads the Ninth Step promises from his phone.
• 7:45 Wakefield shares the story of his sponsor's relapse and death.
• 10:20 Discussion on the Ninth Step and the 'red pen' method for writing amends.
• 14:10 Irma P. describes hitting bottom at 22 and the desire to end her pain.
• 18:30 Irma P. discusses finding inner peace and acceptance of herself.
• 21:00 Laughter: Michael from Copenhagen shares about his 'hardcore' men's group and the pen-throwing incident.
• 25:40 Joel discusses the danger of 'resting on one's laurels' and the need for action over words.
• 30:15 Christian describes the 'dysfunctional playground' of his mind and the process of letting go.
• 34:50 Jusvina from Hawaii shares on the gradual realization of the promises.