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Prerequisites for the first surrender
Prerequisites for the first surrender: complete desperation
“Here was a prospect all right but, by the description, none too promising. The use of spiritual principles in such cases was not so well understood as it is now.” (Page 156, Big Book)
Prerequisites for the first surrender: desire
“If he is to find God, the desire must come from within.” (Page 95, Big Book)
Prerequisites for the first surrender: giving up self (direction of self and others)
“Simple, but not easy; a price had to be paid. It meant destruction of self-centeredness. I must turn in all things to the Father of Light who presides over us all.” (Page 14, Big Book)
“First of all, we had to quit playing God. It didn’t work.” (Page 62, Big Book)
Prerequisites for the first surrender: giving up dependence on the external
“Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: Job or no job—wife or no wife—we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God.” (Page 98, Big Book)
“Burn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can get well regardless of anyone. The only condition is that he trust in God and clean house.” (Page 98, Big Book)
“Remind the prospect that his recovery is not dependent upon people. It is dependent upon his relationship with God.” (Page 99, Big Book)
The absolute nature of what is on offer
“I saw that my friend was much more than inwardly reorganized. He was on a different footing. His roots grasped a new soil.” (Page 12, Big Book)
“When many hundreds of people are able to say that the consciousness of the Presence of God is today the most important fact of their lives, they present a powerful reason why one should have faith.” (Page 51, Big Book)
The two elements: care and direction
“There I humbly offered myself to God, as I then understood Him, to do with me as He would. I placed myself unreservedly under His care and direction. I admitted for the first time that of myself I was nothing; that without Him I was lost.” (Page 14, Big Book)
Care (conditional)
“We had a new Employer. Being all powerful, He provided what we needed, if we kept close to Him and performed His work well.” (Page 63, Big Book)
Direction
“I was to test my thinking by the new God-consciousness within. Common sense would thus become uncommon sense. I was to sit quietly when in doubt, asking only for direction and strength to meet my problems as He would have me.” (Page 13, Big Book)
“Here and there, once in a while, alcoholics have had what are called vital spiritual experiences. To me these occurrences are phenomena. They appear to be in the nature of huge emotional displacements and rearrangements. Ideas, emotions, and attitudes which were once the guiding forces of the lives of these men are suddenly cast to one side, and a completely new set of conceptions and motives begin to dominate them.” (Page 27, Big Book)
“Next, we decided that hereafter in this drama of life, God was going to be our Director. He is the Principal; we are His agents. He is the Father, and we are His children.” (Page 62, Big Book)
“Perhaps there is a better way—we think so. For we are now on a different basis; the basis of trusting and relying upon God. We trust infinite God rather than our finite selves. We are in the world to play the role He assigns. Just to the extent that we do as we think He would have us, and humbly rely on Him, does He enable us to match calamity with serenity.” (Page 68, Big Book)
Nature of the relationship: spiritual + practical
“Those of us who have spent much time in the world of spiritual make-believe have eventually seen the childishness of it. This dream world has been replaced by a great sense of purpose, accompanied by a growing consciousness of the power of God in our lives. We have come to believe He would like us to keep our heads in the clouds with Him, but that our feet ought to be firmly planted on earth. That is where our fellow travelers are, and that is where our work must be done.” (Page 130, Big Book)
“He will perceive that his spiritual growth is lopsided, that for an average man like himself, a spiritual life which does not include his family obligations may not be so perfect after all.” (Page 129, Big Book)
Terms
Terms: internal seeking
“We finally saw that faith in some kind of God was a part of our make-up, just as much as the feeling we have for a friend. Sometimes we had to search fearlessly, but He was there. He was as much a fact as we were. We found the Great Reality deep down within us. In the last analysis it is only there that He may be found. It was so with us.” (Page 55, Big Book)
Terms: completion of follow-up actions
“We found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him.” (Page 46, Big Book)
“The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it.” (Page 83, Big Book)
“My friend promised when these things were done I would enter upon a new relationship with my Creator; that I would have the elements of a way of living which answered all my problems.” (Page 13, Big Book)
“They flatly declare that since they have come to believe in a Power greater than themselves, to take a certain attitude toward that Power, and to do certain simple things, there has been a revolutionary change in their way of living and thinking. In the face of collapse and despair, in the face of the total failure of their human resources, they found that a new power, peace, happiness, and sense of direction flowed into them. This happened soon after they wholeheartedly met a few simple requirements.” (Page 50, Big Book)
Terms: ongoing work as agent
“Instead of regarding ourselves as intelligent agents, spearheads of God’s ever advancing Creation” (Page 49, Big Book)
“Faith without works was dead, he said. And how appallingly true for the alcoholic! For if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead.” (Page 14, Big Book)
“Father feels he has struck something better than gold. For a time he may try to hug the new treasure to himself. He may not see at once that he has barely scratched a limitless lode which will pay dividends only if he mines it for the rest of his life and insists on giving away the entire product.” (Page 129, Big Book)
The actual decision
The actual decision: the prayer
“‘God, I offer myself to Thee—to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of life. May I do Thy will always!’” (Page 63, Big Book)
The actual decision: the setting
“We found it very desirable to take this spiritual step with an understanding person, such as our wife, best friend, or spiritual adviser. But it is better to meet God alone than with one who might misunderstand.” (Page 63, Big Book)
The actual decision: the wording
“The wording was, of course, quite optional so long as we expressed the idea, voicing it without reservation.” (Page 63, Big Book)
The immediacy of follow-through
“Next we launched out …” (Page 63, Big Book)
Results
Results: answers to all problems: resentment, fear, behaviour, problems, trouble
“‘This is a sick man. How can I be helpful to him? God save me from being angry. Thy will be done.’” (Page 67, Big Book)
“All men of faith have courage. They trust their God. We never apologize for God. Instead we let Him demonstrate, through us, what He can do.” (Page 68, Big Book)
“We asked God to mold our ideals and help us to live up to them.” (Page 69, Big Book)
“place the problem, along with everything else, in God’s hands.” (Page 120, Big Book)
“Avoid then, the deliberate manufacture of misery, but if trouble comes, cheerfully capitalize it as an opportunity to demonstrate His omnipotence.” (Page 133, Big Book)
Results: philosophical structure (value, identity, purpose)
“We have learned that whatever the human frailties of various faiths may be, those faiths have given purpose and direction to millions. People of faith have a logical idea of what life is all about.” (Page 49, Big Book)
Results: OK-ness, no matter what
“When we look back, we realize that the things which came to us when we put ourselves in God’s hands were better than anything we could have planned. Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances!” (Page 100, Big Book)
Results: conversion of costs to assets
“Cling to the thought that, in God’s hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have—the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them.” (Page 124, Big Book)