Sandy B. Discussing Steps 10 and 11 and Entering the Higher Power’s Territory

About This Speaker Tape

Spring Conference - 2008

Sandy B. maps out the transition from the wreckage of the early steps into the 'world of the spirit' described in Step 10. Using the metaphor of a pilot switching from visual flight to 'flying the beam' in a storm Sandy B. argues that recovery requires abandoning the illusion of self-sufficiency for a total reliance on a Higher Power. The talk dismantles the ego—personified as 'Frank M.' the Wizard of Oz—and emphasizes the 'spiritual law of comedy,' where one must run ideas by others to see if they are actually funny or just crazy. Sandy B. describes the process of 'uncovering discovering and discarding' old ideas to reach a state of being undisturbed eventually moving from the role of a lighthouse to the realization that the recoveree is the light itself.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Sandy B. opens by discussing the 'modern miracle' of the AA fellowship.
• 3:15 Discussion of the 'world of the spirit' and the shift from self-sufficiency to Higher Power dependence.
• 6:20 Metaphor: Flying the beam (IFR) vs. Visual Flight (VFR) in recovery.
• 10:15 The 'Frank M.' ego and the necessity of checking guidance with others.
• 14:30 The 'Uncover, discover, discard' process of removing old ideas.
• 18:45 The concept of 'conscious separation' and the illusion of existing separate from the universe.
• 22:10 Step 11: Prayer, meditation, and the 'space between the thoughts'.
• 26:40 The 'Lighthouse' metaphor: the value of the old-timer who is simply always there.
• 30:00 Final realization: moving from being the lighthouse to being the light itself.