Mike C. at the California FOTS Toronto Step 11 Speaker Series – 2022

About This Speaker Tape

California FOTS Toronto Step 11 Speaker Series - 2022

Blood clots in both lungs a lingering ghost of COVID nearly took Mike D. out a few months ago. He describes the intuition that drove him to the ER—not his primary doctor—as a direct line from his Higher Power. From the concrete pavements of Harlem in the 60s and 70s where he survived a hitman's pistol to the head because of a childhood connection Mike D. views his survival not as luck but as evidence of a spiritual architecture. He speaks of the 'club in the club,' a deeper level of recovery where the physical and spiritual merge. After 36 years of sobriety he balances the humility of a recovered man with the grit of a street survivor acknowledging that while he's had a hip replacement and needs two knees he's still here to serve as a vessel for others who are still suffering in the dark.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Mike D. opens with a joke about 'crumb snatchers' and the threefold disease of body, mind, and spirit.
• 3:15 Discussion of Step 11 and the physical intuition that led him to the ER.
• 5:20 Details on the blood clots in his lungs and the 'evidence of a Higher Power'.
• 7:40 Reflecting on his childhood in Harlem and the spiritual foundation laid by his mother and grandmother.
• 11:10 A harrowing story about a hitman named Alfred and the intervention of Big Jimmy.
• 14:30 Metaphor of oatmeal in winter: how the truth of recovery 'sticks to your bones' like the food his grandmother made.
• 17:10 Discussion of surrender and the importance of following a sponsor's directions over suggestions.
• 19:45 Mike D. discusses his upcoming surgeries for quality of life and his 'agnostic temperament'.
• 21:10 Closing appeal to 'tap in' and remain willing to believe.