Life Changers: Lessons from the Field

Women face unique challenges at the start of their recovery, but still other problems as well as blessings lay ahead. Father Bill’s guest is Diane Cameron, author of Out of the Woods: A Woman’s Guide to Long-Term Recovery. Diane addressesissues that include sex, family, work-life balance, the empty nest, caregiving, aging … and many more. In addition to authoring several books, Diane is a journalist, columnist, blogger, and a woman in long-term recovery herself. Gifted with a sense of humor and a passion for helping women, Diane draws on her long experience in 12-Step recovery to help women traveling on the road of recovery. In this first episode Diane shares some of her story and lays out the special challenges her book addresses.Show notes: Out of the Woods: A Woman’s Guide to Long-Term RecoveryWhat Can We Do to Help Our Addicted Communities? Diane’s website: https://www.dianecameron.info/

Tom Powers, Jr. grew up in the shadow of Bill Wilson but that didn’t keep him from descending into the pit of his ownalcoholism. To climb out of his illness he needed to find a ladder and climb it as if his life depended on it because it did. In this series, Father Bill interviews Matt D. archivist for All Addicts Anonymous, the 12-Step Fellowship Tom and his father founded to reflect the original and more spirituallygrounded pioneer program. They discuss a 1973 paper Tom wrote titled “The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.”  In this episode they discuss the danger of climbing only partially up the ladder.Show notes: “The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.” All Addicts Anonymous website: https://alladdictsanonymous.org/

Tom Powers, Jr. grew up in the shadow of Bill Wilson but that didn’t keep him from descending into the pit of his ownalcoholism. To climb out of his illness he needed to find a ladder and climb it as if his life depended on it because it did. In this series, Father Bill interviews Matt D. archivist for All Addicts Anonymous, the 12-Step Fellowship Tom and his father founded to reflect the original and more spirituallygrounded pioneer program. They discuss a 1973 paper Tom wrote titled “The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.”  In this episode the danger of being too smart to climb a stupid looking ladder. Show notes:     “The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.”  All Addicts Anonymous website: https://alladdictsanonymous.org/

Tom Powers, Jr. grew up in the shadow of Bill Wilson but that didn’t keep him from descending into the pit of his own alcoholism. To climb out of his illness he needed to find a ladder and climb it as if his life depended on it because it did. In this series, Father Bill interviews Matt D. archivist for All Addicts Anonymous, the 12-Step Fellowship Tom and his father founded to reflect the original and more spiritually grounded pioneer program. They discuss a 1973 paper Tom wrote titled “The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.”  In this episode some cautions for spiritual ladder climbing are discussed. The paper is available in the show notes below.Show notes:·      “The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.”  S·      All Addicts Anonymous website: https://alladdictsanonymous.org/·      The Fourth Way by Ouspensky – (Be sure to see the used book selections)·      Maurice Nichols: Best book recommended for an introduction to Ouspensky.

Tom Powers, Jr. grew up in the shadow of Bill Wilson but that didn’t keep him from descending into the pit of his own alcoholism. To climb out of his illness he needed to find a ladder and climb it as if his life depended on it because it did. In this series, Father Bill interviews Matt D. archivist for All Addicts Anonymous, the 12-Step Fellowship Tom and his father founded to reflect the original and more spiritually grounded pioneer program. They discuss a 1973 paper Tom wrote titled “The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.”  The paper is available in the show notes below. In this episode the 12-Steps are described as a spiritual ladder for the needs of modern men and women confronted with multiple addictions or those with a more serious need of a more spiritual solution.  Show notes: “The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.”  All Addicts Anonymous website: https://alladdictsanonymous.org/

Tom Powers, Jr. grew up in the shadow of Bill Wilson but that didn’t keep him from descending into the pit of his own alcoholism. To climb out of his illness he needed to find a ladder and climb it as if his life depended on it because it did. In this series, Father Bill interviews Matt D. archivist for All Addicts Anonymous, the 12-Step Fellowship Tom and his father founded to reflect the original and more spiritually grounded pioneer program. They discuss a 1973 paper Tom wrote titled “The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.”  The paper is available in the show notes below. In this episode the 12-Steps are described as a spiritual ladder for the needs of modern men and women confronted with multiple addictions or in need of a more powerful spiritual solution.  Show notes:·      “The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.”

After doing Two Way Prayer for many years, a friend encouraged me to try integrating it with Inner Child Work. This certainly wasn’t anything the Pioneers in AA had even done. And yet, Carl Jung who played such an important role in the beginnings of AA would no doubt have encouraged it. In this single episode, Fr. Bill shares some basics on what the process entails and how it integrates with Two Way Prayer. It includes portions of a chapter from Bill’s new book with sample inner child writings. Hope you’ll lighten up for a while and come join us in the sandbox!Your inner child awaits.

This series focuses on Harold Begbie’s book Life Changers. First published in 1922 it describes key elements in Frank Buchman’s program of radical change from which AA drew so many of its principles and practices. Studying the source material for the 12-Steps can give us insights into the transformational process the Group was trying to achieve both in individuals and in nations. They can prove invaluable to anyone whose recovery has lost its “zing” or to individuals unable to recover because of a “watered down” recovery approach. Fr. Bill focuses on the final chapter in the 13th edition. It is an article on the Groups written in 1929 by John McCook Roots and published in the Atlantic Monthly. Show notes: Life Changers: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Changers-13th-Harold-Begbie/dp/1439232067

This series focuses on Harold Begbie’s book Life Changers. Published in 1922 it describes key elements in Frank Buchman’s program of radical change from which AA drew so many of its principles and practices. Studying the source material for the 12-Steps can give us insights into the transformational process the Group was trying to achieve both in individuals and in nations. They can prove invaluable to anyone whose recovery has lost its “zing” or to individuals unable to recover because of a “watered down” recovery approach. Fr. Bill focuses on chapters 3 through 9 of Life Changers drawing broadly from the stories of some who attended the 1922 house party and the elements that helped bring about their change. Show notes: Life Changers:https://www.amazon.com/Life-Changers-13th-Harold-Begbie/dp/1439232067War of the Gods in Addiction by David Schoen:https://www.amazon.com/War-Gods-Addiction-David-Schoen/dp/1882670574Varieties of Religious Experience by William James (free / pdf version)https://csrs.nd.edu/assets/59930/williams_1902.pdf

 This series is focused on Harold Begbie’s book Life Changers. Published in 1922 it describes key elements in Frank Buchman’s program of radical change from which AA drew so much. Studying the source material for the 12-Steps can give us insights into the transformation process the Group was trying to achieve both in individuals and in nations. These can prove invaluable to anyone whose recovery has lost its “zing” or to individuals unable to recover because of a “watered down” recovery approach. Fr. Bill focuses on chapter two of Begbie’s book describing the founder of the Oxford Group as a “soul surgeon”- a man capable of cutting out anything that keeps a person from a full recovery. Show notes: Life Changers: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Changers-13th-Harold-Begbie/dp/1439232067