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Big Book Study - Post #15

Good Morning Everyone!

Appendix II - "The Spiritual Experience" is found on page 567.

"The terms "spiritual experience" and "spiritual awakening" are used many
times in this book which, upon careful reading, shows that the personality
change sufficient to bring about recovery from alcoholism has manifested
itself among us in many different forms.

"Yet it is true that our first printing gave many readers the impression
that these personality changes, or religious experiences, must be in the
nature of sudden and spectacular upheavals. Happily for everyone, this
conclusion is erroneous."

This appendix was added after the first printing of the first edition of the
book. There was significant confusion regarding the transformation that Bill
experienced and the rest of the main text of the book. This appendix was
added to clear some of the confusion. Alot of people were expecting the
"white light experience" of the nature of what Bill had on December 11, 1934
at Towns Hospital. Here it goes on to explain that the "educational variety"
was no less important or vital.

The real gems here are the reinforcement of "change" as the central theme of
the experience. The following four terms mean essentially the same thing:

-Spiritual Experience
-Spiritual Awakening
-Personality Change
-Psychic Change

What we'll do here is identify how many times "change" or a synonym of
"change" appears in the text, it may surprise you!

-Paragraph 1 - "personality change..."

-Paragraph 2 - "personality changes..., spectacular upheavals."

-Paragraph 3 - "revolutionary changes..., immediate and overwhelming
'God-consciousness'..., a vast change in feeling and outlook."

-Paragraph 4 - "transformations,... the difference...a profound alteration
in his reaction to life."

So, let's see, that's eight "changes" on a single page. I guess they have
made a point - the people we bring to AA must change. Not drinking and going
to meetings is not enough. Through the 12 Steps we have the transformation,
in the guise of a spiritual awakening or experience or psychic change, etc.,
that is "...THE result of these steps..." (from Step 12, emphasis added).

With our next post we'll go further - Chapter 5 - How It Works (Not "how it
happens" or "how we get it through osmosis").

With love,
Karen H.