Tradition 10 and the Mistakes of the Washingtonians – Amy R.

About This Speaker Tape

12 Steps and Buddhism Retreat - 2010

Amy R. maps out the intersection of joy and surrender arguing that true happiness isn't a feeling to be chased but a byproduct of letting go. She dismantles the idea of 'fabulous change'—the high-energy shifts in career or relationships—and contrasts it with the quiet often painful process of shedding unhealthy dependencies. Drawing on Bill W.'s 1953 Grapevine article on emotional sobriety Amy R. describes the wreckage of clinging to a sponsor and a home group long after they ceased to serve her growth. She frames her recovery as a 'Scrooge experience,' moving from the terror and despair of the 'four hideous horsemen' to a state where she no longer envies others' lives because she finally owns her own.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:30 Amy R. discusses the irony of detox tea and defines joy as surrender.
• 2:15 Amy R. describes the feeling of finally owning her own life without envy.
• 4:10 Discussion of AA history, the Washingtonians, and Tradition 10 regarding outside issues.
• 6:20 Reading of Bill W.'s article on emotional sobriety and the 'adolescent urges' of the alcoholic.
• 9:45 Analysis of 'absolute dependencies' and the need to cut them away to find stability.
• 12:10 Amy R. shares her experience with changing home groups and the loss associated with it.
• 1:15 Laughter: Amy R. talks about the joy and laughter brought by her new sponsor.
• 15:30 The 'Scrooge experience' and the 'four hideous horsemen' of early sobriety.
• 18:10 Amy R. reads a poem about 'jagged rock' and the necessity of being ground and crumbled to grow.
• 21:00 Discussion of Anthony D.'s 'A Way to Love' and the nature of attachments.
• 23:45 Contrast between 'fabulous change' and the quiet, deep surrender of the current phase of recovery.
• 25:10 Closing thoughts on the truth of Step 1 and the resulting joy.