Step 4 , Fear & Sex at Woodstock of AA, Cocoa Beach FL – Bob D.

About This Speaker Tape

Bob D. recounts his journey from being owned by fear—a 'great trickster'—to finding freedom through the 12 Steps. He details how his early attempts at self-inventory failed until he worked through the fear section, realizing his anxiety was rooted in deep-seated fears of rejection and abandonment.

The turning point came when he was forced into a 'wheelbarrow' by a self-imposed crisis (a legal issue in Pennsylvania), which forced him to rely on a Higher Power. He concludes that true recovery isn't about feeling good, but about action, service, and realizing that the obsession with self is the root of all trouble.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Introduction: Bob D. states he owes his life and freedom to the 12 Steps and a Higher Power.
• 0:45 Discussion of AA fellowship and the vitality of the program: 'There's something works through him. And that's AA at its best.'
• 3:50 Discussion of the ego's self-justification, noting that 'Our book says that's the root of our troubles.'
• 12:00 The speaker describes the fear inventory, detailing the questions asked, such as 'Are you afraid of what people think about you?'
• 16:30 The speaker recounts the experience of being cornered by a sponsor regarding his pending legal case, forcing him to take action.
• 21:00 The speaker describes the feeling of relief after the call, calling it 'like a postcard from a Higher Power that, as of yet, I don't really, I don't really know for sure is there.'
• 26:00 Discussion on the 'wheelbarrow' metaphor, noting the difference between intellectual willingness and emotional inability to surrender.
• 33:00 The speaker discusses the 'bondage of self,' concluding that the only way out is through service: 'Forgetting myself and helping someone else.'