The Higher Power Business You Can’t Ignore Forever – 1964 – Karen T.

About This Speaker Tape

St. Paul, Minnesota. A woman who is the least spiritual person in the room is asked, for pity's sake, to lead the spiritual discussion for new members. Karen T. spent years allergic to the word conversion, viewing the concept of a Higher Power as supernatural stuff or a barbershop quartet singing spirituals. She describes a life that was bottle-centered, admitting she never got plastered alone because it took a whole industry of farmers and distillers to pour the result down her gut.

She treats the Higher Power business as a practical necessity, comparing it to pushing a light switch without understanding electricity. To Karen T., spirituality is not a denomination but the cultivation of "finer qualities" to replace the seeds of chaos. She speaks of lifting her eyes to the tops of buildings to find strength, moving from the adolescent chip on her shoulder to the adult realization that she cannot manage herself.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Karen T. opens by distinguishing between spirituality and religion, noting her early 'allergy' to the word conversion.
• 4:15 Discussion on the 'adolescent' rebellion against spiritual concepts and the need to review childhood ideas of a Higher Power.
• 7:30 Laughter: The story of how she was recruited to teach the spiritual program in St. Paul because of Margaret M.'s baby.
• 10:45 Karen T. describes her early struggle to use the word 'Higher Power' without 'half choking to death' and her use of 'Good Orderly Direction' as a bridge.
• 14:20 Analysis of Step 7 and the fear of losing her personality or becoming a 'hymn singer' after asking for shortcomings to be removed.
• 18:10 The 'bottle-centered' life: Karen T. discusses how alcohol became her primary deity and the need for a fearless moral inventory.
• 22:40 Humility through astronomy: Karen T. talks about the distance to the nearest star and the scale of the universe to combat ego.
• 27:15 Defining spiritual qualities like tolerance, charity, and integrity as 'character building blocks' developed through the steps.
• 31:00 Practical application: Using the phrase 'I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills' while looking at city architecture to find quiet time.
• 35:40 The 'double cross' of alcohol and the decision to abandon the bottle in favor of the only power not sacrificed to it.
• 39:10 The three stages of human growth: moving from childhood helplessness to adolescent defiance and finally to adult service.
• 43:00 Closing thoughts on the 'unseen world' and the inner assurance that she and her Higher Power can do more together than apart.