The Primary Purpose Group and the Sole Focus of Carrying the Message – Chris C.

About This Speaker Tape

September 28, 2020. A new date, and hopefully the last. Chris C. spent years as a "blackout drinker," a man whose stopping point was dictated only by when the liquor ran out or his pocketbook went dry

. He describes the physical allergy of being "off to the races" after one sip and the "god-shaped hole" of a spiritual malady that made alcohol his only solution. After a failed first attempt at sobriety in 2012—where he coasted through half the steps with a light-touch sponsor—Chris found himself mid-pandemic and desperate.

He shifted from "meeting production" and social fellowship to the gritty, page-by-page work of the Big Book. He describes the process of handing over his will, good and bad, to a Higher Power of his "non-understanding." Now, he focuses on the non-negotiable leg of the stool: carrying the message to the next alcoholic to ensure he doesn't end up back in a gutter or an institution.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Chris C. shares his sobriety date: September 28, 2020.
• 2:15 Discussion of the 'Primary Purpose Group' and the focus on carrying the message.
• 5:30 Description of being a 'blackout drinker' who only stopped when the liquor ran out.
• 8:10 The 'luscious' Malibu retreat and the trap of non-12-step recovery.
• 12:40 The 'Higher Power-shaped hole' and the spiritual malady.
• 16:15 Step 1: Powerlessness and the definition of an 'unmanageable' life.
• 21:30 Step 3: The struggle with 'turning the will over' and steering the ship.
• 26:45 Step 4 and 5: Moving past the 'confessional' to find character defects.
• 31:10 Step 7: The prayer for removing defects, good and bad.
• 35:20 Step 9: The liberation of clearing one's side of the street.
• 40:10 Steps 10 and 11: The 'maintenance' of daily prayer and meditation.
• 44:30 Step 12: The 'three legs of recovery' (unity, service, and recovery).