Audio Clip of Jeb Discussion

Link to read the Preface & Forward

Forward To Second Addition - Jeb

Jan 25, 2023, Forward To Second Addition - Discussion Leader is The Ever Grateful Jeb

Snippets from participants (summarized unless " " are noted)

• Holy Crap! This forward is long.  It's like the things you see on books and movies - sneak peek of what is coming.  Starting to see a sneak peek of the 12 traditions & 12 steps and what you can expect.
• The 2nd Edition made the foundation of what AA is today.
• "despite having read the big book a few times, I had never paid much attention to the forwards. Last week's session really opened my eyes to how much great stuff is in there. In particular, the statement that we live together or we die alone was powerful." Also, seeing the foundation of the preamble in the forward to the 2nd edition was great
• "what stood out to me is that AA has to hang together or die separately. It's that serious.  Alot of my friendships now are with my sober friends and that is definitely something I need."  It's life or death for me and I enjoy the friendships. That really stood out for me  - Hang together or die separately.
• I think what of the most important parts of this reading is when he when he said that he suddenly realized in order to save himself he must carry his message to another alcoholic to another alcoholic and that person was Dr. Bob.
• "I like where they used the mushrooming period.  I think we're coming together in the mushrooming period of AA with secular zoom and I think Bill Wilson would think that is great too.  It think he would applaud that too."
• "I'm an alcoholic survivor. I didn't know any of this history"
• Where do all these statistics come from in the wording? How do they get all these stats of info in an anonymous group?
• Reading the Big Book in a secular group helps people reconcile all these doubts we have. "How do secular people interpret the Big Book without the obstacle of God"
• "It's stated in the book, not necessary to have religion"
• In 1955, a revivalist Christian time, they needed clergy approval. Which means it gave the green light for these meetings to happen in their basements. It was the power dynamic at the time.  It this time of secularism, not subscribing to Christian...
• Secular AA from my understanding is just the emphasis on the program and the things that work in the program within the program without the emphasis on God. It focuses on the practical pragmatic part. The thing I love about secular AA is that it is the most inclusive. It doesn't matter what you believe.
• Secular AA started with Bill Wilson in 1975. He found that many of the AA meetings struggled with the concept of God. Now globally there are more than 2,000 secular AA meetings. The principle behind most secular meetings is that you have to do the work. Try understand the concepts behind the steps and enourage you to find a way to manage these things for yourself. Most of the discussion in secular meetings is things that people encounter in daily life. Things that upset their inner peace and serenity and how to resolve those issues within themselves.

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