Why True Faith Is the Result of Action – Mike M.

About This Speaker Tape

Into Action - 2017

The ego is a parasite that doesn't die it just gets unplugged. Mike M. breaks down the mechanics of the steps as a process of ego deflation moving from the delusion of managing the world to a state of emotional sobriety. He describes the fourth step not as a confession of sins but as a tool to strip the power from resentments and fears that act as a dam in the mind. Through the lens of the Big Book and the influence of the Oxford Group he explains how the transition from belief to faith happens only through action. He warns that for an alcoholic returning to self-centeredness is a spiritual death sentence that eventually leads back to the bottle emphasizing that the only way out of the world's noise is to turn the attention toward a Higher Power and service to others.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Discussion on the destruction and deflation of the ego.
• 3:15 The relationship between the present moment, truth, and the Higher Power.
• 6:20 The role of Steps 4 through 9 in identifying the lies the ego tells.
• 10:10 The danger of living a non-spiritual life and the pursuit of emotional sobriety.
• 14:40 Analysis of the 'futility and fatality' of resentments.
• 18:20 The difference between belief and faith as a result of action.
• 22:15 The 'Higher Power box' and managing the cycle of fear and anger.
• 26:30 The influence of Emmett F. and the 'Golden Key' to prayer.
• 31:10 The philosophy of 'acting our way into right thinking' via the steps.
• 35:45 The shift from an old attitude of managing the world to a new attitude of service.
• 39:20 The 'wrong director' metaphor for forgiving oneself for past conduct.
• 44:10 The importance of the fifth step in seeing the truth and overcoming the urge to drink.