The Spirituality of Being Humble Enough for Higher Power – Ray V.

About This Speaker Tape

A Southern Baptist preacher and psychotherapist with a penchant for 'more-ism' recounts a life of wreckage and the absurdity of the alcoholic mind. He describes the chaos of living in his garage the delusion of confessing to an answering machine and the sheer terror of his first encounter with a sponsor who won the 'lost straw' to take him on. Through a gritty lens of 'puking in buckets' and 'naked grits,' he maps the shift from being a 'sorry mess' to a man who earned a PhD in psychology and regained the trust of a daughter who once slept in a bathtub to hide from him.

He balances the heavy weight of restoration with a sharp irreverent wit eventually trading the pulpit for a Harley and a guitar band that plays nursing homes—mostly because the audience is too immobile to escape.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Introduction and jokes about the 'speaker circuit' ego.
• 11:30 Discussion on 'more-ism' and the irony of the 12 Steps compared to the 10 Commandments.
• 18:40 The story of the 'single by choice' ladies and the condom on the piano.
• 24:10 The 'answering machine' confessions and the delusion of switching to white wine.
• 31:20 The 'puke bucket' detox and the first encounter with DJ.
• 36:10 The 'naked grits' and the country-western band in the bathroom during DTs.
• 44:30 Laughter: The 'lost straw' sponsorship and the struggle with the Irving Group.
• 52:10 The 'Niggie S. and Gunny S.' game of rationalization.
• 58:40 The psychiatrist's pills and the obsession with medicine cabinets.
• 1:05:20 The emotional turning point: regaining his daughter's trust and the birth of his grandchildren.
• 1:14:10 The philosophy of spirituality vs. religion.
• 1:18:30 Closing thoughts on the 'Old Geezer's Motorcycle Club' and one day at a time.