"Dumb Guy Approach to the 12 Steps" in San Diego, CA

By our self will. Not what our dad did to us 10 years ago. Not what happened at the treatment center. Not what that girl or that guy or that job or that boss, our self will blocks the power of God off. Let me finish this.

I ran out of energy yesterday, I think. If you've already made a decision, we done that? Yes, sir. And and inventory your grocery handicaps, you've done that. Yep.

Well then, you've done nothing more than make a good beginning. So now you're saying to yourself, wait a minute, I busted my hump on all of this stuff and it's nothing more than the beginning? You betcha. You betcha. If if that being so, you've swallowed and digested some big chunks of truth about yourself.

Do you understand this inventory as our inventory? You've understood, you've digested, you've you've you've come to some terms about what you are and your relationship to the world, and the creator of your own trouble, and how much we need God. Now, go ahead. Yes. And then you said something about faith will not do for us what we can do.

Can you explain that? Oh, sure. Hell, yeah. Hell, yeah. I didn't explain that.

I ain't got no problem with that. God, I don't know if I can step through this door because I'm too afraid. What do we do with the fear? You want to prove it. But I beg your pardon.

I just wanna say whatever's Say that again, Steve, a little louder. Ask god for movement, and you guys to You got that? We ask god to remove the fear and direct our attention to what he would have us be. God help me to walk through this door. What's the door?

5, 6, 7, 9. Whatever. Job. Relationship. Kids.

Kids? Nothing. I I got 3 of the best kids that I just love my kids. Okay. You got it?

So god's gonna I'm going to ask god to give me this. God can do this for me. I cannot do that. Alright? Over here is responsibility or growth or change, whatever it is, and I just don't want it.

I don't wanna go through that door. I don't care what I don't wanna help drunks. This is a big one. 12. I don't wanna help them.

They take my money. They take my time. God can't get me through that door because I have the power and the will and the desire to not do that. Self will. Self will.

It's exactly. God cannot, will not do for me what I can do for myself. Any other questions? Was that the question we we decided that you were gonna ask? Oh, how long?

That was the question. We were doing this yesterday. We had questions that I knew I'd never remember. How long should it take to do a 4th step? How long should it take to do a 4th step?

How long? Now, what? As long as it takes. Now, now, now as long as it takes gives everybody a lot of room. As the decision to do it is a lot of room.

Okay? Now we did the 4 step yesterday. Right? Yesterday. Right.

Right? Were you here yesterday? Did you hear the 4 step yesterday? Have you done the 4 step yet? I started it last night.

Oh, he started it last night. How long did it take you? Not that long, probably. Halfway. Halfway through, how long did it take you?

A few hours. A few hours. If you're 3 months still out of 4 step, I would say maybe you're not excited about it. I mean, if the guy really wants it, you follow what I'm trying to say? Where's Chiuju at?

In all the years that she's been in and out or the multiple of times she's been in and out, right, you would think that she would say, I got the directions now. Let's go. Right? Because we know if we don't do this, we're gonna come back again and again and again. You're past yeah.

See what I mean? So how long does it take really, intelligently, if you approach this with the idea you're gonna do it? It shouldn't take you. I mean, Bill Wilson did it in a couple of days, the whole 12th, the whole program. Still in the hospital.

Someone asked here in 10 day, can I do that? If Bill was here in 10 day, he'd already be in 10, 11, and 12. Yep. He'd already be in 10, 11, and 12. How do I know that?

What's that? How do I know that? Yes. Book tells you that. Book tells you that.

I didn't know the guy. I don't even know if he's in AA. I never seen him in a meeting. Any other questions? There was one more questions.

What was the other question? I asked you it. That was the other question. How how do you have to have some specific time in recovery to take the time Oh, I thought it was how long to do to force them. Both the webinars and then more people.

I I it just escaped me. Well, anyhow, any questions now on on 1, 2, 3, and 4? Any questions now on 1, 2, 3, and 4? 1, 2, 3, and 4. I think we did a pretty dumb guy approach for a very simple approach.

Let's go to step 5. Turn to page, page 72. 72. I'm missing something, Marty. Something is getting right behind me.

Something is getting behind me. 72. We on 72? Yep. Okay.

Now remember, all we're doing is following directions. All we're doing is following directions. The, the, if you don't read this book, you miss a lot. I please, please, please, please, please read the whole book. Please, please read the whole first four chapters, After you get done with the first four chapters, it's then it's only about 50 pages.

Yeah? You know what I'm saying? I mean, read the whole book. Please do that. But there's so much in between that's invaluable.

Chapter 6, top of the page, into action. Having made a personal inventory, we did that. What shall we do about it? Now now listen to what they're saying here, Because if you think you're here to to to get sobriety, if you think sobriety is the goal, here is the goal. What we have been trying to get is a new attitude and a new relationship with our creator.

And the reason we're doing this 4, 5, and 6, and 7, and 8, and 9 is to discover and get rid of the obstacles in our path. We've admitted certain defects. Yes. We've ascertained in a rough way what the trouble is. Yes.

We've put our fingers on the weak items in our personal inventory. Yes. Now these are about to be cast out. So up and oh. Oh.

Oh. Oh. How much recovery have we got in the first four steps? Hardly none. Hardly none at all.

The best you can hope for is we just read is we got a better attitude about our enemies. We got a better attitude about our about the people who hurt us, but recovery is yet to come. Now starts recovery right here. That was the other question. So if you stop at 4, yeah, you really know a lot of people been crapping all over you.

That's about it. No news here. No no news. Go down to the second paragraph. Halfway through the second paragraph, I mean, at the second paragraph, this is perhaps difficult.

They know that the 5th step is gonna be difficult, especially discussing your defects with another person. They know it's gonna be difficult. We think we have done well enough admitting these things to ourselves, and that might be true, but in actual practice, we usually find a solitary self appraisal insufficient. Many of us thought it necessary to go further. We will be more reconciled to discuss ourselves with another person when we see good reasons why we should do so.

So you might balk at this, and they tell you it's gonna be tough. They know it's gonna be tough. It could be difficult, but they give you, they tell you this, the best reason for doing a 5th step, the best reason first. If we skip this vital step, you may not overcome drinking. I don't need any more prompting than that.

I I don't really need another well, yeah, but what about a car? I I mean, I doesn't you understand that if I gotta do this to overcome drinking yeah? You see what I'm saying? Then hell, let's do that. We're on the assumption that lack of direction sometime is the most important thing that or the most or the most well, anyhow.

If we skip this vital step, we may not overcome drinking. And for those of you who have not read this book or haven't digested it completely or thoroughly to any degree, they never gave you a second reason. They say best reason first, they never say, and here's another reason. Okay? Any questions?

Trying to avoid dissembling your spirits as we've turned to easier methods. Give me another give me an easier method than working the steps. What? Becoming codependent. Joining a monastery.

Joining a monastery. Getting a job. Joining the navy. All those are pretty drastic. How about Alexa, I just I'll just go to meetings.

And if I feel I'm feeling bad, I'll go to more meetings. And if I'm feeling even not so better, I'll go to more meetings. I don't care about the wife, the kids, the family, the job, or anything else. I'm just gonna go to more meetings. Why do steps?

I go to meetings. Okay? You with me? That's another method. Not gonna do methods, we're gonna do directions.

Agreed? Agreed. Invariably, they got drunk. Having persevered with the rest of the program, now we need directions. Here's this is very important.

They took inventory alright, but hung on to some of the worst items in stock. They only thought, squiggly writing, very important, that they lost their egoism and fear. They only thought, squiggly writing, very important, that they humbled themselves. They humbled themselves just by doing an inventory and maybe even the rest of the steps. They only thought that.

But they had not learned enough humility, fearlessness, and honesty in the sense that we find it necessary until they told someone else squiggly writing all of your story. You're gonna tell someone all of your story. And when you tell someone all of your story, this is what you're gonna get. Humility, fearlessness, and honesty. That's what you're gonna get when you tell someone else all of your story.

Here's the directions. Here's the directions. It says this. It says that it says that At, bottom of the page, 73. 73.

You with me? Yes. We must be entirely honest with someone. This is gonna be your job. There are 2 5th steps here.

There are 2 5th steps, but this is your 5th step. You must be entirely I got you confused. We'll straighten it out before we close. You must be entirely honest with someone if you expect to live long and happily in in in this world. So you're gonna tell someone all your story, you're gonna be entirely honest with somebody.

Rightly and naturally, now here's your here's your 5th step. Rightly and naturally, you think well before you choose the person or persons with whom you're gonna take this intimate, confidential step. Who is doing the choosing? We do. And they are asking you to think, well, choose the person, take this intimate count rightly and naturally, you think well.

We want you, this book wants you to think well about you who you're gonna choose. They say here that if you belong to a rigid religious denomination that requires confession, you must go there and of course you will want to do that. And if you don't, you might wanna go to these people anyhow. You might wanna go to these people and talk to someone and establish religion for these people are quick to see our problems. But if you cannot or would rather not.

If you're Catholic and don't wanna take a confession, then don't do that. Then don't do that. They're telling you. If you cannot or would rather not do the search. This is your job.

Don't blame nobody for the bad guy you picked for your 5th step. We search our acquaintances. This is your job to find someone who's closed mouth, understanding friend. Perhaps you're doctor, psychologist, attorney, probation officer. It was a joke.

Alright. Just checking. Just checking. See if you're awake. Doctors, psychologists, wives, friends, families.

Here's what it says though. You may it may be one of your own family, but we cannot disclose anything to our wives or our parents, which will hurt them or make them unhappy. Remember that if you're gonna do an inventory with someone, make sure that what you tell them will not hurt them or make them unhappy, because we have no right to save our own skin at another person's expense. Remember that. So if I'm doing a 5th step with my woman, if I'm doing a 5th step with my dad, if I'm doing a 5th step with my with my, cousin or something, then I am going to tell them my whole 5th step, except the part that's gonna hurt them or make them unhappy.

That part, I will tell to someone else, and that's what it says. Such parts of our story, we tell to someone who will understand yet be unaffected. The rule is we're hotter than ourselves, but always considerate others. Any questions? Does that mean we can do a 5th step with more than 1 person?

Yes. Really? How do you know that? We just read it. We just we just read it.

That's exactly right. We just read it. We just read it. And it's our job to pick the closed mouth and understanding friend. Notwithstanding great necessity of discussing ourselves, it may be so situated that these are directions.

You see, we're just doing directions. If you can't find nobody that you can think of at the time, maybe the guy's in prison, you're waiting for him to get up, it's best this step may be postponed only if we hold ourselves in complete readiness to go through it at the first opportunity. And and what do we know for sure? If you don't do this, you're gonna get drunk, so we don't wanna postpone this any longer than necessary. You agree with that?

That's what we just read. It is important now remember this. It is important that your per the person you're picking is able to p keep a confidence, that he fully understand and approve what you were driving at, that he will not try to change your plans, and we but we don't use this as a mere excuse to postpone. We're gonna find somebody. We're gonna find somebody.

When we decide who's gonna hear our story, once again, it's our decision. Don't forget that. We waste no time. We have a written inventory. We got that.

Here we are using that inventory that they told that guy to burn, and we're prepared for a long talk. So whenever I do a 5th step, I sit down and I'm prepared for a lot of long talk. I've done 3 days of inventory. I have done guy 3 days, guys and girls, both. 3 days.

Where can how could you have that much to say? I used to think it was a woman thing, but I had a guy. 3 days. Well, maybe. I don't know.

We explained to the apartment that we're about to do. This is what you're gonna do. You're gonna explain to your partner. You wanna find somebody who understands. He should realize he's engaged upon a life and death, Aaron.

Most people approachful this way will be glad to help. They will be honored by our confidence. Now here is your directions. We are going to pocket our pride, and we're gonna go to it. We're gonna illuminate.

This is our job as we do our 5th step. We are gonna illuminate every twist of character, our every dark cranny of the past. Once we've taken that step and we're gonna withhold nothing, we will be delighted. Now we're gonna stop here. We didn't want you to get away over here.

Will you if you're gonna stand up and and and you know what I'm saying? No. We're gonna stop here. We're gonna stop here. We're gonna stop here because now it's the time for the telling.

Okay? The time for the telling. Telling. You're gonna be doing a 5th step with somebody, you're gonna be telling them what? All your life story, every nook and cranny of the past, every dark secret, every, give me another description of our job.

Withholding nothing, withholding nothing, entirely honest with somebody. Yeah. Stevie. So what we do is go through and actually read our forward steps to it. Go through the forward step and the afterwards and there's stuff that's not simply written in the very good.

Here's the deal. Here's the deal. The deal is this. You're gonna tell somebody all your life story, but you're gonna use the piece of paper you got in front of you. Now when I do a 5th step with someone, I try to make it as easy as I can.

Now we already talked about 2 5th steps. Remember the 2 5th steps, you give me that, what the hell is he saying now? Look. Here's the 2nd 5th step. The second, 5th step the first, 5th step is the one we're taking with somebody.

The the the one we're giving to somebody. The second, 5th step is the one we're receiving. Oh? What's our job as a sponsor? Offer to do a 3rd and 5th step, and if I'm gonna do a 5th step with you, then I must be sure that I am closed mouth.

I must be sure that I am understanding. I must be sure that what you tell me will be kept confident, and I must be sure that I will not attempt to change your plans. You got that? 2 5th steps. The one you're giving and the one you're receiving.

That's your job. If you can't keep your your mouth your mouth shut, if you can't keep your mouth shut, then please ask god to keep it shut. Don't deny yourself this pleasure of seeing another human being grow. I I I I just can't tell you. Any questions now?

What was your question? So when I do a 5th step with someone, when someone is talking to me about a 5th step, I try to put them as at much ease as I can because I understand what they're going through. I've had the same experience. I try to explain to them if you've got it written down, and they should have. If they don't have a 5th 4th step written down, I will not do a 5th step.

Or you can bullshit with me and you can talk my ear off. I don't care. But if you wanna do a 5th step, you gotta have a 4th step. Okay? I'll agree there's a lot of times just talking to somebody else, but don't call that a 5th step.

K. So if I got this written down, here they got this written down, here's what I say to them. You can do this a couple of ways. You can read me your inventory and fill in your life around your inventory, or you can tell me your whole life and put the inventory into pieces. So if you wanna talk about your dad, you can tell me your whole story about your dad and feeling the resentments and the fears and all the stuff you got.

And if you wanna just tell me about your whole life, feeling your dad is just part of it. Just whatever's best for you. Whatever is easiest for you. Whatever is most comfortable for you. That's my job as a sponsor to help that person because I've had that experience myself.

Oh, no. No. No. As a sponsor, I offer to do it. It's your choice as to who you do it with.

It's your choices to who you do it with. I have done 100 of 5th steps. 100. Poor Marty. Poor now that he's gone.

Poor poor Marty come over to my house on vacation, come up to Cleveland, thought he was some kind of, I don't know what, California guy. I don't know. Come down the basement. Let's see this AA. I said, okay.

Here's an AA. Do the 5th step with this guy. What what the hell? But they was both junkies, so it worked out really well. And I've done a fist up with this guy 2 or 3 times because he's been out for in and out for 10 years that I've known about.

Your buddy would never make amends. He can't stay sober if you don't do it all. Okay? So So, PowerMarty got there, cleaned them a couple days, got to do 5th step. That's Alcoholics Anonymous.

That, it's little to do with meetings, does it? That has little to do with meetings. If our purpose to go to meetings is to get help, we are misusing Alcoholics Anonymous because if our purpose to go to meetings is to help others, we are using it properly. Yes? Giving a 5th step is having them read their their inventory to you, and receiving a 5th step is talking about it.

No. Alright. No. If I'm gonna give a 5th step, it's I'm gonna take my 5th step with him. With him.

I'm gonna tell him what my whole life is. All in the darks and nooks and crannies of the past. His job is keep his mouth shut. Not try to persuade me from going on to go ahead. Receiving the good step is keeping your mouth shut.

Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Okay? Any questions?

Morgan. Morbid? Morgan. Oh oh, Morgan. Oh, you want Morgan to be my guy.

Okay. Morgan. Morgan's gonna do his 5th step. Morgan Morgan. Morgan's a hero.

Okay? We pocket our pride. This is what you gotta do. You gotta pocket your pride and go to eliminating every twisted character, every dark kind in your past. Once you're done with just taking a step, withholding nothing, you are delighted.

Now that's where we stopped and here's where we picked up. How long does it take to do a 5th step? How long it takes. However long it takes. But know this, be prepared be prepared for a long talk.

I don't never take a fist step if I gotta be somewhere in 3 or 4 hours. I don't I will just try to schedule it so that if they need whatever they need, I've had them stay at my house for days. Just days. Me and the guy was doing a fist dip. We both fell asleep together at the same time.

That's a true story. Him talking, me listening. We both went out. We both woke up. That felt good.

Taking a little nappy poo in the middle of a but you understand is that whatever needs to be done, let's do it. That's our job. Right? We read that. Yes.

Yes, my dear. You can do it in the attic. You can do it in the basement. You can do it in the garage. It doesn't matter where you wanna do it.

What The question is, do they have to be an AA? Do they have to have done Oh, no no no no. 5th step with anybody. A priest, a minister, your rabbi, your mother, your wife, your father, but they give you guidelines, they give you parameters to whoever it is you're gonna do with. Don't hurt them.

Don't take yourself off the hook and put them on the hook. K? No. Hell no. Hell, Given the choice, I'd rather not do it in AA, but but any questions?

Now here's what it says, and this is not directions. This is not directions. We will be delighted. We'll look to world in the eye. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Our fears will fall from us, very important thing, but no direction. We'll feel the nearest of our creator, very important thing, but no directions. Kick whether you feel like it's gonna be right or not.

All you gotta do is follow directions. Oh, la la la la la la la. What? I don't even have a zipper. Let's go down let's go down to 75.

Last paragraph. Last paragraph. More directions for the 5th step. Last paragraph. More directions.

Okay? So you've done the 5th step in my home, you've told me all your life story, you've told me every nook and cranny of the past, you've swallowed your pride, you've, you've been entirely honest with me, we got all of these directions we've been with. My job is to keep my mouth shut, be an understanding friend, to be closed mouth, not to try to dissuade you. We've done both 5 steps there. Now, you're gonna leave when you're done with your 5th step returning home.

Now, if you live here and you go to your room or wherever the case might be, it's a matter of semantics. We find a place where we can be quiet for an hour. So they're suggesting to you the directions are that you sit quiet for an hour. This is part of the 5th step. That you sit quiet for an hour and you carefully review what you have done.

Do you notice how important your thinking is and all it is? You're thinking as wacky as it might be. Trust me when I tell you that the desire the desire to work these steps to get closer to God to serve him is much more important than efficiency, than accuracy. The willingness to swallow pride or do whatever it is to get close to God is much more important than accuracy. And if you can do this, the faster you do this in your recovery, the closer you get to God quicker.

That just makes sense, doesn't it? So well well, I'll be more honest at a year than I will at 3 3 days. That's true. No one's denying that, but we are learning a procedure that we are gonna be able to use later on for the rest of our lives. And we have done the procedure here, and that's all we're looking for.

When you return home for an hour, carefully carefully reviewing what you have done. Here's what you're going to do. You're gonna review what you have done. We're gonna thank God from bottom of our hearts that we know him better. Gonna thank God for that.

Gonna take this book down from the shelf or underneath the couch, wherever it might be. You're gonna turn to the pages that contain the 12 steps. Do you understand that? They're giving you specific direction on what to do. Okay?

You're gonna turn to the 12 steps. You're gonna carefully read the first five proposals, and you're gonna ask yourself this. Have I omitted anything? Have I left anything up? For we're building an archway building an arch to which we shall walk to free men at last.

We're back to that 3rd step again, ain't it? We're back to that 3rd step again. This is what it said in that 3rd step. That's gonna be the foundation of our entire recovery, right here in this 3rd step. Here's the question we ask ourselves.

Is my work solid so far? In Cleveland, we refer to this as a tie in section, but I guess it doesn't matter out here. Are the stones properly in place? Have we skimped on a cement put into the foundation? Have we tried to make mortar without sand?

This is the questions we're asking ourselves. Have we done these things? This is our questions. Any questions about the questions? It's so simple, isn't it?

If you just take it one little at a time. Like the girl with the with the apple. Now, when you've asked yourself these questions, if you can answer to your satisfaction, then we're at step 6. Simple as that. Nothing done.

Nothing big deal. Any questions on 5? We've just done 5. We have went into great detail and great specifics on the directions for step 5. They're really very simple.

The hard part, again, is in the head and in the heart. That's the hard part. That's where the work is. Here's what it says. We have step 6.

Anybody? Questions? Nothing? 4, 5, 3, 5, nothing. We have emphasized willingness as being indispensable.

Where where have we emphasized that as being a necessary requirement? 3. 3. Oh, even before we got there, remember this. Do you want what we have?

Are you willing to go to any lengths to get it? Right there. You made this decision right here because it's gonna get tough now. We're gonna you made that decision to I'm gonna do this no matter what, to go to any lengths a long time ago. Right?

They're just reminding you that you meant that you said, yeah. I wanna do this. Go ahead. That's when I asked more the more mighty Morgan to read the first 103 pages and ask him those questions. You all we have?

Are you willing to go to Eddie Nikes to get at what he said? Hell, yeah, big boy. I'm ready to do that. Now it says, we are now ready to let God remove from us all the things which we have admitted are objectionable. Where have we got this list and the admittance?

4th step. I've got a list of the things that I find I don't like in my inventory. I got a list of the things that I want removed from me. All we're doing here is being ready to have God remove them. If we could remove them ourselves, we wouldn't have them on this list.

We do not want these things inside ourselves. Can he now take them all? That's a question. Everyone. Can guys can god have this stuff?

Can god have my dishonesty, my inconsiderate? Remember when we talked about the relationship being destroyed just because I was inconsiderate? Am I ready to have God remove dishonest Dishonesty that's caused me so much trouble in my life and everywhere else. Have I let God ready to remove this selfishness that I thought put a big wedge between me and my dad and me and everybody else on the face of the earth. Am I ready to join?

The question is yours, you see. The question is yours. Can he now take everyone? Them, everyone, all every take them all everyone. Yeah.

But if you took away all my defensive character, I won't have any character left. If right now if right now I could get rid of the defects of character that I know about because I got them. If right now if right now I could give orders to god, See, I'm gonna ask him, but if I could give him orders, get rid of this pride. Oh, god. I hate this pride, and I hate it with a passion.

I hate this filthy mouth I get sometimes. I I hate I hate the the the snide remarks. I'll I'll shoot at somebody sometimes. I hate it when these drivers get in my way, and I get so impatient. I mean, I take steps to contradict it.

If god could remove all of these things that I know about, yes, yes, then I would be able to see the ones that I don't see. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Then I would be able to see the ones that I don't see. If you think that the list of defects I have today are the same list that I had when I first started, you're damn near right.

But some of them have been removed, but other ones, I have seen because my thinking has raised to a higher plane, as it will in 10, 11, and 12. Okay? Does that answer your question? You're absolutely right. I will have no character left.

You're absolutely right, but I will always find more because that's the makeup of my being. Makeup of my being. Go ahead. Do you have a question? Yes.

Okay. You're gonna comment. No comments here. No comments except, hey. Shut the sit down.

Okay. If we still listen to this. Very important. Big time shoot a dime stuff because this will never be done again. Once we do this, we are done with this, this willingness.

You understand that? It says if we still cling to something that we will not let go, we ask God to help us to be willing. Remember back when we finished up when I said I missed something very important, and I said down here, you read his book again, faith in the faith did for us we could not do for ourselves, that's what we're gonna do. We're gonna ask God to do this. We're gonna ask God to do this.

We believe he can do this. We have found this to be true, and so what we've done so far So if you were not willing, Alphonse, to let go of these defects, then ask God to let that to to the if you still cling to something you will not, we will ask God to let us be willing. God, just let me be willing to get rid of this. I won't have no character. I will not have any character at all.

I will not and personally, between me and you, between me and you. It's it's a mixed group, so maybe we shouldn't even do this. But, I often felt that if I let go of this this right hand, let me look. I'd be some kind of half a sissy, and everybody would walk all over me, and then I'd be nothing but a punk tossed offs to the wayside. And you know what I found out when I let go of that?

I become more of a man than I ever was, and you couldn't have convinced me of that. But I had to pray for this willingness. God, I don't wanna hurt nobody no more. I don't wanna hit nobody no more. I don't wanna hurt none of your little kids no more.

I don't wanna beat up nobody no more. And that was one of those things that I had to pray about. K? When ready, and they're telling you that you gotta be ready. It's your decision, and we already know that if you drag your feet on this, you're gonna get drunk.

You already know that. When ready, this is a prayer, my creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, the good and the bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defective character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. And please keep that in mind, that the prayer we're not we're praying here is not, god, take this out of the way because I'm unhappy. The prayer is, god, take this out of the way because it's standing in my way of being of service to you and my fellows.

That's the prayer. 3rd step again, ain't it? That's the deal we made in that step 3. We're right back to it all. We're reaffirming that on a greater basis, on a higher plane than ever before.

I wanna be of service to you and my fellows and whatever stands in the way, remove it. Grant me strength as I go out from here to do your bidding. Strength. To do what? His bidding.

His bidding. His will. His work. Remember what I said we wrote down? We found out in that third step, not wrote down, but found out what we're not supposed to do?

And then later on, we'll find out what we are supposed to do? We're in that process right now. Faith and facts coming together. Us and God closer than we were just a few steps ago. And we're only talking a few hours because we're getting ourselves out of the way.

We're gaining humility and honesty in that 5th step. That's what we talked about, ain't it? Okay. Any questions? We're done with 7.

Done with 6, done with 7. 6 and 7 then actually is a change of thinking once again, a change of attitude once again, getting rid of ourselves once again. It's hardly any work, but it's crucial to what we're gonna do in the future. Crucial. Now we need more action.

Without which we find that these guys ain't asking no questions. You're standing here like I know what I'm talking about. I'm just a drunk. Don't don't don't you don't you start taking me for granted. Yeah.

He said so. No. Uh-uh. If I read it wrong out of the book, jump on me. Get deep in me.

Yeah. Put your hand on. I answer no questions. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.

Go ahead. This prayer that we just went through Yes. Step 6 and step 7. Step 6 is willing. Step 6 is willing.

Yes. I am willing to have god remove these things for me that stand in my way of service. And 7, we're gonna ask him to do it. 7, we're gonna ask him to do it. But we gotta know what we'll be willing to do when he tells us these things that are standing in the way.

Get rid of every one of these things that we've listed in this 4th step and 5th step, that we found out in this inventory that we don't want. Get rid of it. That's your question? Oh, no. No.

No. No. No. No. No.

No. No. No. No. No.

No. No. No. No. No.

No. No. No. Watch this. I am not willing.

I really want God to get rid of this pride. Get rid of everything that's gonna stand in my my way of service to you. I am just willing to let him do this. I have asked him to do this. What if No.

I I shouldn't do this. I don't wanna get into what ifs. But we are gonna be human beings for the rest of our lives. I don't know if you knew that. Yeah.

That ain't gonna change. Willingness to let this go in our lives will always be there. We will always have this in our lives. So when when whenever this thing pops up, whatever this thing might be, I'm not gonna say screw it. I don't care anymore.

I'm sober as I I you know what? I changed cars. I I was, standing at the trolley station, and I was going one way, and then he come up, and I got on another car, and I was going the other direction. What were we talking about? We got finished?

No. We didn't start. We didn't start? We're human beings. We're gonna be this way.

Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. The defects of character.

Yes. But when these defects of character arise, we will not no longer accept them. We We will be willing to do something about them. That's the deal. That's the deal.

We have identified these. We ask God to remove them. If I thought for 10 seconds that God wasn't just doing his job with my pride, I would lose my faith in God. But I believe that whatever is going on inside of me right now, whatever I'm facing right now, whether it's with my pride, whether it's with my vulgarity, whether it's whatever it's with, I will use it to benefit someone along the line. I will always use it to benefit someone along the line.

My mistakes are my greatest asset. I made a lot of them. Okay? Does that mean I don't have to work on my character defects and just have to ask them to do the trick? Now.

No. Now now, does that mean we don't have to work on our character defects, that god will remove them? God? What? Is that what you asked?

Oh, same thing. Oh, same thing. When these character defects arise up inside us, what do we do first? And what's our prayer? God, take this out of the way.

What's our action? We are going to no longer argue. We're no longer gonna fight. We're going to have, well, how do I know that? We cease fighting everything and everyone.

That's coming. See? What we're gonna do about what we're praying is coming very quickly. Where does that come? 10.

Where else? 11. That's exactly right. So if you stop here, you're asking you're, oh, you're hanging out in the wind here. Just a guy.

You're hanging out in the wind. You have to continue on further because they're gonna give us specific directions what to do about these things that interfere with god. Does that make sense? Why, sure. Hang in here.

Yes. Well, 10, 11, and 12 is gonna tell us that. Let us get there then. Okay? Let us not get too far ahead because I love 10, 11, and 12.

I love 10, and I love 11. She called me a wizard? No. And she's Exquisite. Oh, 10 is exquisite.

What? Oh, honey. We're not at 9 yet. We're not at we're we're at 6 and 7. Yeah.

We're at we're just finished 7. We're we're gonna do 8 now. We're gonna do 8 now. Okay? The the question was defensive character.

We offer ask God to remove them. Then what do we do about it when they pop up? Well, that's what 10 and 11 is for. We have a program of action. Program of action.

Okay. 89. We now have a list of all persons who we're willing to make amends to. Where did we do that? 4th steps.

4th steps. Simple as that. We subjected ourselves to a drastic we took away we we made it when we took inventory. We subjected ourselves to a drastic self appraisal. Now I'm gonna tell you right here, From what I can see, this is the vaguest part of the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Because I have known no one who has done a 4 step, and have listed everyone that they need to make amends to. Because not all the things I have done have fear connected to it. Not all the things that I have done have resentment connected to it. Not all the things that I have done have cell a sexual conduct connected to it. So, obviously, there is more that needs to be made amends for than what I've already written.