The Difference Between Asking and Humbly Asking – Sandy B.

About This Speaker Tape

East Coast Convention - 2025

Sandy B. dismantles the mechanics of Step 7, framing it as the bridge between admitting a mess and actually clearing the channel to a Higher Power. He warns against the 'almost syndrome'—the dangerous belief that one's brand of alcoholism is slightly different or 'non-Skid Row'—which he views as a death warrant. Using the image of a horseshoe being hammered and heated to illustrate the pain of change, Sandy B. argues that humility isn't about being a doormat or lacking pride in one's work, but about the total absence of the ego-driven demand to control the universe. He maps out the transition from the 'three stages' of the alcoholic mind—excitement, depression, and anxiety—to a state of peace where one can simply sit on a park bench without the mental noise of survival and lack.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Welcome to the Saturday morning live group and greeting to newcomers.
• 5:12 Discussion on the 'spiritual game plan' and why the 12 Steps don't make intellectual sense.
• 8:45 Laughter: The 'wonderful promises of vodka' and dancing lessons in a glass.
• 13:20 The 'almost syndrome' and the danger of thinking one's case is different.
• 17:40 Analysis of the 'sobriety problem'—the mental obsession that exists when no alcohol is in the system.
• 22:15 Defining the Higher Power as a way to solve the 'powerless' situation.
• 27:30 Step 6 review: The dilemma of wanting to keep some character defects (lust, greed, anger).
• 31:10 Deep dive into humility vs. pride and the 'I did it my way' mentality.
• 35:45 Laughter: Attempting to 'look humble' in the mirror to satisfy Step 7.
• 38:20 The horseshoe metaphor for the process of removing self-centeredness.
• 40:10 Closing with the Lord's Prayer.