Step Workshop – Part 1 of 3 – 2022 – Mark T.

About This Speaker Tape

Mark T. - Step Workshop - 2022

The wreckage of a life is not cleared by a simple apology but by a surgical removal of the ego. Mark T. leads a workshop on Steps Six through Nine warning against the 'AA Trinity'—the delusion that a new truck a new job or a new relationship can fix an internal collapse. He dismantles the idea of 'my part' in amends arguing that a true amend requires owning 100% of one's own wreckage while disregarding the other person's faults entirely. Through a live demonstration with Dan Mark illustrates how to strip an amends letter of justification and length turning it into a concrete offer to make things right. He cautions against 'foolish martyrdom'—turning oneself in to the police in a way that destroys a family's stability—and insists that the only way to stop the self-hatred is to forgive those who are spiritually ill rather than evil.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Opening set-aside prayer and workshop disclaimers.
• 5:15 Discussion on the 'AA Trinity' and the three-part solution (Recovery, Unity, Service).
• 10:20 The relationship between forgiving others and releasing self-hatred.
• 14:45 Reference to Big Book page 133 regarding the use of professional doctors and psychologists.
• 21:10 Step Six: Addressing willingness and 'objectionable' character defects.
• 24:30 Laughter: The Seventh Step Prayer and the idea that Higher Power may leave some defects behind to help others.
• 31:15 Step Eight: Organizing amends into 'low-hanging fruit,' 'maybe,' and 'never' columns.
• 38:40 Step Nine: The danger of 'leading with the chin' and the importance of not blindsiding people.
• 46:10 Live Amend: Dan reads a drafted amends letter to his stepmother, Karen K.
• 54:20 Discussion on making amends to those who have passed away.
• 58:15 The Ninth Step Promises and the concept of 'access to power' over one's life.