The Seventh Step Prayer and the Defect of Trying to Look Good – Mike S.

About This Speaker Tape

Payson Roundup - 2002

Mike S. traces a life of high-velocity chaos from a hyperactive childhood chewing through bunk bed rails to a career in construction where beer was the primary lubricant. He maps out a pattern of 'masochistic need to self-destruct,' moving from the surf culture of Huntington Beach to the frozen isolation of Fairbanks Alaska attempting a geographic cure that only delayed the inevitable. Mike dismantles the facade of the 'functioning' alcoholic admitting to stealing meeting funds and lying about his sobriety date—all while wearing rented Cadillacs to look the part. The turning point arrives through a series of brutal inventories and the guidance of a sponsor who told him to 'borrow his brain.' He concludes with the quiet victory of a stable relationship and the realization that the only way out of the dark is through the rigorous honesty of the 12 Steps.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Mike S. opens with a joke about the bake sale and establishes his reliance on the first 164 pages of the Big Book.
• 5:12 Laughter: Mike describes his childhood hyperactivity and chewing through the safety bar of his top bunk.
• 10:45 Mike discusses the 'masochistic need to self-destruct' and the importance of sponsorship for newcomers.
• 15:20 Story about a birthday party where an old-timer mocks a newcomer's 60 days of sobriety.
• 22:10 Mike describes the 'psychic change' of alcohol, moving from a shy kid to the school mascot.
• 32:40 The 'yellow' phase: Mike's liver failure and his attempt to lie to his brother about the doctor's advice on cocaine.
• 38:15 The geographic cure: Mike's time in Fairbanks, Alaska, and the reality of drinking in 65-below weather.
• 45:50 The 'shivering denizens' of King Alcohol and the story of the sponsor who yelled at the microphone.
• 52:10 The bottom: Living in a house with no gas or electricity, using birthday candles for light.
• 56:30 Step 1: The intervention and meeting Mac, the sponsor who told him he was simply sick.
• 65:15 Step 3: The story of the windshield wipers and finding a Higher Power.
• 78:40 Steps 6 and 7: Admitting to stealing meeting money and the struggle with the 'spiritual bleach' of honesty.