Welcome to An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA Episode 21! In this episode I cover the 2nd step from the 12 X 12: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.  To many (myself included) this can be a loaded step but I offer a different approach.  I also cover the 2nd tradition: For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority - a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience.  Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.  This step seems to leave little room for the atheist or non-believer but the work seems to be in the last sentence.  It also seems to be the start of the glue that helps hold the fellowship together. Do you find these to be difficult to accept?  

Join the conversation on Facebook at An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA and on Twitter at @anatheistin.

Welcome to An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA Episode 20! In this episode I begin the journey of going through the 12 X 12.  I will be covering each step and each corresponding tradition to further explore the meat of the AA program: the 12 steps and 12 traditions. It has been a long time since I've read this book and I'm exciting to cover what is inside.

In this day's stoic reading I talk about what it means to live inside reason and the flow of reason.

Join the conversation on Facebook at An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA and on Twitter at @anatheistin.

Welcome to An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA Episode 19! Before transitioning into reading from the 12 X 12 and onto the next phase of what this podcast has become I have decided to take a small intermission and read a letter that Bill Wilson wrote to a friend who was suffering from depression.  Bill himself had quite the battle with depression and his way of managing that was to work with others.  The letter reveals more about Bill's personal struggles with not only depression but with his place in AA and recovery in general.  It is a fantastic way to move towards the 12 X 12 (another piece of work that was the result of Bill working through one of his depression bouts).  

The stoic reading mirrors some of the message in this letter by asking that we don't harbor attachments as this removes our reasoned choice.  

Join the conversation on Facebook at An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA and on Twitter at @anatheistin.

Welcome to An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA Episode 18! We did it!  We finished the damn thing!  The first 164 pages are in the can and it's time to consider the next phase.  For some folks this may mean the end of the road and I'm grateful you have made it this far in the journey. For others it means coming along on wherever this path is going to take us.  For now, we wrap things up and put a fork in the Big Books of Alcoholics Anonymous.  Thank you for all the support!

Join the conversation on Facebook at An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA and on Twitter at @anatheistin.

Welcome to An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA Episode 17! In this episode I begin the last chapter of the first 164 pages of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous: A Vision For You.  I fell like over all they wrap this text up pretty well. In The Daily Stoic we have an interesting reading I did my best to interpret.  I came away with this question: if we rebuild ourselves only to rebuild it the way were before, did we rebuild at all?  Are we still the same person?

Join the conversation on Facebook at An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA and on Twitter at @anatheistin.

Welcome to An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA Episode Sixteen! In this episode I finish the chapter To Employers.  This is easily one of the weirdest chapters in the book but also has some interesting history.  While much of the book is attributed to Bill Wilson this chapter was for sure written by Hank Parkhurst and is seen by some as a true indicator that much of the first 164 pages are now outdated.  I'm inclined to agree.  

What does it mean to you to be prepared but to be ready to accept any outcome, even it isn't the one planned for?

Join the conversation on Facebook at An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA and on Twitter at @anatheistin.

Welcome to An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA Episode Fifteen! In this episode I go over the chapter To Employers.  This is easily one of the weirdest chapters in the book but also has some interesting history.  While much of the book is attributed to Bill Wilson this chapter was for sure written by Hank Parkhurst and is seen by some as a true indicator that much of the first 164 pages are now outdated.  I'm inclined to agree.  What are your thoughts on the controversial chapter?

Join the conversation on Facebook at An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA and on Twitter at @anatheistin.

Welcome to An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA Episode Fourteen! In this episode I go over the chapter The Family Afterwards.  This is a very odd chapter and but is a great showcase on where alcoholism was when the book was written versus where it is now.  The stoic reading is all about habits.  It's important to consider our habits and to consider how our bad habits are formed.  While it seems they are easier to come to reality and even can 'just appear' the same methods that create a bad habit can create a good one.  And learning how we reinforce bad habits can go a long way to changing the course of them or removing them altogether.  What habits are you struggling with?  What is a habit you would like to make stick but haven't yet?

Join the conversation on Facebook at An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA and on Twitter at @anatheistin.

Welcome to An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA Episode Thirteen! In this episode I go over the chapter To Wives.  I also talk about a recent break up and how that is affecting my sobriety.  This fits well with the Stoic reading which makes the claim that if you want to be loved then you should love.  Have you been through a break up in sobriety?  How did that go?

Join the conversation on Facebook at An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA and on Twitter at @anatheistin.

Welcome to An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA Episode Twelve! In this episode I finish off Working With Others in the Big Book of AA. Words have a lot of power.  They can do a lot of harm and they can do a lot of good.  They can inspire and they can bring someone down.  Some things just simply can't be unsaid.  And somethings that are said can leave an imprint in others that lasts decades.  How are you using your words?   

Join the conversation on Facebook at An Atheist Reads the Big Book of AA and on Twitter at @anatheistin.