The Direct Pipeline to Being Undisturbed – Sandy B.

About This Speaker Tape

Atlanta Roundup - 1998

A childhood spent in a fog of anxiety and the feeling of being born on the wrong planet led Sandy B. to discover the 'secret of life' in a college bar at age 19. For twenty minutes whiskey transformed a room of hostile strangers into begging friends locking Sandy into a lifelong obsession. The wreckage followed: a career as a Marine Corps fighter pilot funded by a drinking habit a diagnosis of 'childhood fear of flying' despite reeks of alcohol and a final descent into a naval hospital nut ward in a blue bathrobe. Recovery began with a blunt 12-step call from a Marine Captain who refused to let Sandy study the literature from a distance. Now Sandy views spirituality as a direct pipeline to being 'undisturbed,' moving from a life of defending stupid ideas to the freedom of simply being wrong.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Laughter: Sandy B. jokes about 'losing' his first drink.
• 5:12 The first drink at 19 and the sudden shift in social perception.
• 11:30 Discussion of the Marine Corps and using a career as a fighter pilot to fund the drinking habit.
• 15:45 The medical absurdity of being diagnosed with a fear of flying while smelling of alcohol.
• 19:20 The 'nut ward' experience and the first contact with AA in a blue bathrobe.
• 23:10 The aggressive 12-step call from Bill, the Marine Captain.
• 27:45 The 'direct pipeline' to spirituality and the feeling of being 'undisturbed'.
• 32:10 Discussion of the 10th Step and the daily reprieve from the 'torture chamber'.
• 36:40 The 'resume' metaphor: shifting from pride to seeing skills as gifts from a Higher Power.
• 40:15 Mention of the 10th Tradition regarding outside issues and warning labels on alcohol.