The Philosophy of Courage - Alcoholics Anonymous. AA, Meeting ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The Philosophyof Courage30
INTRODUCTIONThe world is going mad, we are all saying. We are all of us right. A tide ofhomicidal mania is rolling towards us.The men of ideas are sitting like Canutes* on their thrones, watching the tideand protesting, protesting, protesting. They are telling the empty skies that the seais a very naughty sea indeed.Slowly the men of arms are marching up. They lift each little Canute upon hislittle chair and quietly put him away. They themselves line up along the shore. Theyclench their mailed fists and fling them out towards the sea. With bloodcurdlingthreats they dare the tide to come on.A few months pass by. The men of ideas have nearly all been removed to therear. They are still protesting, this time, however, no longer against the sea butagainst the men of arms for not having dared it enough. For now, with their feetalmost wetted by the flood, the warriors themselves have recoiled in horror and arebusy raising up walls of steel and digging, digging, digging.What shall cure us of our mania?Religion?I and many like me have grown up to look upon religion as dope.Much of what passes under the name of religion is dope.The real thing, however, is not dope. It is an emetic. It makes us sick—sick ofourselves.Only self-sickness will cure us of our mania.I myself came upon the real thing just over three years ago.On July 8, 1935, I went straight from a philosophers’ congress to an afternoonmeeting of an Oxford Group house party held at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Icame prepared for the worst, and for the first fifteen minutes, during the preliminaryproceedings, I found what I was prepared for. I was filled with a vague but strongdistaste, which only my would be scientific caution and academic fear of falling shortof the standards of the impartial and impassive judge prevented from developinginto sheer horror. But, as speaker after speaker rose and spoke briefly about hisexperience of God, my attitude changed to a crescendo of approval. “What sanity!”“What humor!” “What power of self-criticism!” these were the exclamations whichrose up in my mind and which, in this order, corresponded to that crescendo. Thenfrom approval I passed to a deep absorption—a kind of listening which was withthe whole of my body as well as with the whole of my mind and heart. All I had ever* stepstudy’s note: Canutes the Great was a Viking king who died in 1035. His kingdom includedEngland, Denmark, Norway, and some of Sweden. A story is told of Canutes that he placed histhrone by the sea and commanded the tide to stop. As the story goes, he was upset when the sea didnot obey him. (All other footnotes, unless otherwise indicated, are those of the author.)31
Page 1 and 2: The Philosophyof Courageor The Oxfo
Page 3 and 4: fear of being creative and being ou
Page 5 and 6: truly were. There was also a spirit
Page 7 and 8: Comparison with Bill W. and A.A.on
Page 9 and 10: I must embrace my own feeling of so
Page 11 and 12: Alcoholism and addiction asforms of
Page 13 and 14: specifications as to how that is to
Page 15 and 16: perfect serenity. By shutting off a
Page 17 and 18: The act of total surrender allows t
Page 19 and 20: this. But you do not have to be any
Page 21 and 22: NOTES ON CHAPTER 3. SHARING OR SPRE
Page 23 and 24: [chapter 3, section II]If I am succ
Page 25 and 26: NOTES ON CHAPTER 4. CHANGING SOCIET
Page 27 and 28: The Oxford Group and Alcoholics Ano
Page 29: view Press, 2000) 28. “Sick origi
Page 33 and 34: TRUE RELIGIONWhy are you cowards, p
Page 35 and 36: CONTENTSIntroductionTrue Religion31
Page 37 and 38: to do the same for the term “pixi
Page 39 and 40: the power which is God or from God.
Page 41 and 42: God. The reader who is asked to con
Page 43 and 44: these qualities and on the relation
Page 45 and 46: y the power of God. But it is not n
Page 47 and 48: IIMYSELFI AM NOT GODThe objection l
Page 49 and 50: DISEASE OR FEAR: MANIAWhat is wrong
Page 51 and 52: impurity which is denoted by the si
Page 53 and 54: occasions when he is threatened wit
Page 55 and 56: IIIHEALTH OR PASSIONPURE DESIRESinc
Page 57 and 58: PASSION AND PARTICULAR DESIRESNot b
Page 59 and 60: Chapter 2DEMONSTRATION BY EXPERIMEN
Page 61 and 62: to desire passionately to be health
Page 63 and 64: Conformity with the commandment aga
Page 65 and 66: IITHE CRUCIAL EXPERIMENT ORTHE QUIE
Page 67 and 68: and hypocrisy, that judged by absol
Page 69 and 70: not meant; that the fool was not as
Page 71 and 72: hands I commit my spirit.”With th
Page 73 and 74: that God the Highwayman is really a
Page 75 and 76: I obey guidance to go and see a man
Page 77 and 78: foreseen or seen as I have represen
Page 79 and 80: AN ILLUSTRATIONBecause the checking
Page 81 and 82:
IVTHE QUITE TIME AND THEH WORKING D
Page 83 and 84:
NEED FOR AN ADEQUATE PSYCHOLOGY OF
Page 85 and 86:
only to poets. But to judge from on
Page 87 and 88:
For the first time passion or the r
Page 89 and 90:
HEAVENWhat I have come to is Heaven
Page 91 and 92:
For Heaven is now no longer a dream
Page 93 and 94:
I am contiguous with other selves i
Page 95 and 96:
expanses of self, seem to be experi
Page 97 and 98:
IITHE STRATEGY OF THE LARGER SELFGO
Page 99 and 100:
FEAR CONCEALS FEARNow the procedure
Page 101 and 102:
exposure of the “universe.” Tru
Page 103 and 104:
IIITHE STRATEGY AGAINST THE LARGER
Page 105 and 106:
his own. The miracle of self-consci
Page 107 and 108:
usiness, for government, for the na
Page 109 and 110:
and then make him follow its course
Page 111 and 112:
importance to the Company. However,
Page 113 and 114:
of smugness, self-satisfaction and
Page 115 and 116:
PREOCCUPATION WITH SYMPTOMSWhen “
Page 117 and 118:
channel through which collective gu
Page 119 and 120:
abyss and the area coincide. It is
Page 121 and 122:
IVTHE ECONOMIC PROBLEMTHE ECONOMIC
Page 123 and 124:
that need or greed, and not the cap
Page 125 and 126:
VPOLITICAL SCIENCEUNCHANGED POLITIC
Page 127 and 128:
it, by blaming other people instead
Page 129 and 130:
VIPHILOSOPHY AND ARTTHE SINS OF THE
Page 131 and 132:
For expression or projection is the
Page 133 and 134:
DENYING THE SEPARATION BETWEEN THE
Page 135 and 136:
which the errors are designed to pr
Page 137 and 138:
A PERSONAL NOTEThe philosophy given
Page 139 and 140:
the formation of sacred stereotypes
show all

The Philosophy of Courage - Alcoholics Anonymous. AA, Meeting ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?