Worth More Than Ashes: Redemption by the Master’s Touch. – Speakers A – D

About This Speaker Tape

Aubrey Hayes recounts his descent from a principled youth to a degenerate liar, navigating a series of geographical cures and failed attempts at controlled drinking. He shares a pivotal moment of delirium tremens, which he initially perceived as the 'whim whims' or the devil, leading him to a desperate, heartfelt prayer. This surrender, influenced by a story of a man in a straitjacket who prayed and got sober, brought him immediate, profound relief and a spiritual awakening.

He describes the swift, tangible help he received from Alcoholics Anonymous and the profound changes he witnessed in himself and others. Hayes uses the metaphor of a scarred coin and a battered violin, given full value by the Master's Touch, to illustrate the program's ability to redeem even the most broken individual, demonstrating the Higher Power's presence through observable transformations in people rather than grand gestures.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:07 Aubrey introduces himself, reflects on five years in Orlando, and his Central Group.
• 0:09 Describes his youth: high principles, athlete aspirations, and early influences.
• 0:14 First drink at 17, rapid descent into lying and degeneracy.
• 0:21 Geographical cures: attempts to escape drinking by moving to Atlanta and New York.
• 0:25 Experiences blackouts and 'delirium trimmings,' which he called 'whim whims.'
• 0:29 A bar fight in Greenwich Village lands him in St. Vincent's Hospital, forcing him home.
• 0:33 First encounter with AA through a celebrity drunk, Lee Dixon, who recites the Serenity Prayer.
• 0:38 Luther, his first sponsor, arrives in a stake-bodied truck with tire cases.
• 0:43 Failed attempts at controlled drinking: tall glasses, sugar cubes, calisthenics.
• 0:52 Hits bottom in St. Petersburg, facing divorce, jail, and hopelessness.
• 0:55 The 'straitjacket' story from the Big Book inspires his first real prayer for relief.
• 0:59 Walter from AA arrives the next morning, providing immediate, tangible help.
• 1:06 The evidence of AA's power is in the 'changes that you see in people.'
• 1:10 The Master's Touch: metaphor of a battered coin and violin regaining full value.