Prayer and Meditation Built from Seven Books and One Rule — Help Others, Harm Nobody – James H.

About This Speaker Tape

James H. shares his story at the Napa club where he served as caretaker for six years. Born in 1945 in Chattanooga, he describes himself as a hustler and competitor from childhood — shining shoes downtown at age five, selling the most mints in the city at seven, and breezing through school without taking books home. At eleven he had his first drink, a pint of grain alcohol stolen from a car, and by fifteen he was drinking heavily. That same year, a devastating car accident killed his mother and left him pronounced dead at the scene. With his alcoholic father unable to hold the family together, James struck out on his own, quit school, and joined the Marines at seventeen.

He put himself through Georgia State driving a cab three nights a week, finishing four years of college in two and a half, earning degrees in psychology and later a Master's in Counseling and Psychological Services. He worked as a welfare worker, psychometrist, and accountant — but through five marriages, open-heart surgery at 49, mounting DUIs, and stretches in jail, his drinking never stopped. He describes the period from 1980 to 1997 as "pretty much a drunk," hustling odd jobs with a Mr. Fix-It business card while his intellect and ambition slowly burned away.

A court-ordered stay at the Turnaround residential program beginning July 8, 2000 became his sobriety date. He arrived stubborn and atheist but willing to give AA an honest shot. He took the group as his higher power, then began reading quantum physics, Buddhist writers like Thich Nhat Hanh, Eckhart Tolle, and Deepak Chopra — building a concept of Higher Power he could connect to reality. He compares Higher Power to a subatomic particle: you cannot see it, but you can see where it has been, especially watching newcomers transform in the rooms.

James spent six years as Napa's caretaker, restructuring the position and volunteering in the kitchen every Thursday. Even after moving out due to serious health problems — including being told he had a month to live and choosing chemotherapy — he continues to show up first and leave last at every club event. He closes with the serenity prayer and a simple request he learned in the program: Higher Power, help me help other people, and if I cannot help someone, please let me not harm them.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Introduction by Tim praising James's character and tireless service at the club even after moving out
• 3:00 James begins his story — born 1945 in Chattanooga, sobriety date July 8, 2000, and the reading that inspired his talk
• 6:00 Childhood as a hustler — shining shoes at five, selling mints at seven, breezing through school
• 9:00 First drink at eleven — grain alcohol stolen from a car in a parking lot, waking up on a grass strip
• 12:00 Car accident at 15 that killed his mother and pronounced him dead; family falls apart
• 18:00 Putting himself through Georgia State driving a cab, finishing four years in two and a half; first marriage and divorce
• 24:00 Master's degree, work as psychometrist doing prison evaluations; years of drinking from 1980 through the 90s
• 30:00 Open-heart surgery at 49, DUIs, jail, and the Turnaround residential program where sobriety began
• 38:00 Finding a higher power through quantum physics, Thich Nhat Hanh, Eckhart Tolle, and Deepak Chopra
• 43:00 Closing thoughts on acceptance, the cup always being full, and his daily prayer to help others without harming anyone