Sandy B. Discusses the Shift in Perception During Steps 5 Through 7

About This Speaker Tape

18th Spring Conference - 2008

Sandy B. dismantles the idea of the 'life story' as a collection of manufactured problems and illusions. Using the image of a sculptor carving Crazy Horse into a mountain with a crank-start compressor Sandy B. maps out how the Steps—specifically 5 6 and 7—act as an 'idea smasher' to erase the shame and false narratives we cling to. Sandy B. shares a visceral memory of a 1962 oxygen emergency in a radar plane and the decades of shame that followed only to have it rewritten by a former squadron mate. The talk moves from the wreckage of the ego to the 'broad highway' of spiritual awakening arguing that humility isn't a psychological exercise but a surrender of control that allows a person to stop being the author of their own misery.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Sandy B. opens with a joke about needing a bar stool to sit on due to painful knees.
• 4:15 The story of the Crazy Horse monument and the commitment of the sculptor.
• 11:20 Laughter: The 'Karnak' sketch and the 'frat house' joke.
• 16:40 Sandy B. recounts the 1962 oxygen emergency in the F-3T-2Q radar plane and the resulting shame.
• 24:10 Discussion of Step 5 and the role of the sponsor in changing the perception of the life story.
• 31:50 The 'Lucy and the football' metaphor for the con artist within.
• 41:10 Analysis of Step 6 and the tension between 'progress' and 'perfection'.
• 47:30 The story of the boy with the toothache and the fear of 'perfect help'.
• 54:20 Discussion of Step 7 and the definition of humility as an acknowledgement of inability.
• 1:01:10 The 'broad highway' image and the transition from pain to effort.
• 1:06:40 Closing thoughts on Step 11 and the surrender of the 'author' role in one's life.