Applying Spiritual Principles to Solve Problems in Early Recovery – Mary T.

About This Speaker Tape

New England, a world of money, property, and prestige. Mary T. grew up in a proper home where nursemaids raised her and emotions were for robots. She was a chameleon, a liar and a manipulator who stole scotch by popping pins out of liquor cabinet hinges. By the time she hit Southern California, she was "shaking and rattling and rolling" on a cocktail of booze and Valium, coming out of blackouts to scream at the only thing she loved: her daughter.

The shift happened in a Valley meeting when a woman named Sybil looked her in the eye and said, "Welcome home, honey." That look pierced the mask and went straight into her soul. Mary describes herself as a "seasoned beginner" who spent years as a "fish she's still trying to catch." Through the wreckage of a soul-sickness, she found a Higher Power not in religion, but in the energy of safety and the "wrong spirit" replaced by the right one.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Mary T. discusses her history of sponsoring others in the room and the 'family' feel of the conference.
• 3:12 Discussion of her career as a hospice social worker and the reality of terminal illness.
• 7:40 A story about a woman in a Florida meeting who lost her son, illustrating that the program works beyond one's biggest fears.
• 11:15 Mary T. describes her upbringing in Boston with 'money, property, and prestige' and the core scar of abandonment.
• 14:20 Childhood memories of stealing scotch by removing the pins from the liquor cabinet hinges.
• 18:50 Description of her marriage to a violent alcoholic and the subsequent move to Southern California.
• 22:10 The first AA meeting in California and the encounter with Sybil J.
• 26:45 Laughter: Mary T. describes her 'dry drink' phase with doctor-prescribed Valium.
• 31:10 The experience of having a temporary sponsor and the lesson of telling one's story in the first person.
• 36:20 Discussion of the 12 Steps as internal promises and the 'bondage of self'.
• 42:15 Reflection on the 'Higher Power of reason' versus the spiritual experience of the program.
• 47:30 Closing thoughts on the 'refiner's touch' and matching calamity with serenity.