The Primary Purpose Group's 12 step weekend in Cannes, France

On a course of vigorous action, the first step in which is personal house cleaning, you'll follow, you'll get the visual there. We launched out on a course of vigorous action. There was no a man after the third step prayer, guys, this was intended to be worked all at one time. All of this in one little fell swoop. Third step prayer, 4th step, 5th step, six step, seven step. There's an Amen all at one time. Everybody wants to divide this up and this is how I think we're killing people. If I've got a guy I'm sponsoring, we talk about and I qualify this cat, he's an alcoholic.

Or I find out he's a drug addict and send him to that fellowship. Or he's both and I keep him with me. Either way,

we're going to get on with a stick here and within a couple of days we're going to do a second. We're going to talk about that same night and the third step prayer. Same. And then I'm going to give him a little notebook and let him start working on this four step. I'm going to give him the directions in pieces so that he doesn't get overwhelmed, but we're going to get through it. I'm going to give him one week to do this four step. You'll follow some of you been in here working on a four step for nine months. Oh my God, I just

you'll take what I got to say with a grain of salt, but this is what it was intended to be was not the all American novel. This is not the Great American writing here. This was a simple inventory. It's

it's a fact finding mission. It is not this long drawn out. The treatment centers over the years turn it into a therapeutic. We need to write a live story. You need to know every little area of your butt. They're taking things out of context of the book to make it sound like this needs to be a long winded deal and it doesn't have to be. Some people come to us in little better shape than others. And the first attempt through this, remember what we're talking about is getting a guy through the steps of the first time

little brother in the back that sober 10 years wants me to do the work with him. We're going to do a little different kind of force step you'll follow. And I'm going to let him take his time on this a little bit. We're going to go a little deeper maybe and look at some other things.

First time through, I want him to stop bleeding. Can you all get down with where we're going with it? I, I, I want the bleeding to stop. This is like going into an emergency room in triage. That's what this is all about. I don't have time for this guy to sit on his butt for six months and work on a four step because he may not remember the window we talked about earlier. This window may not stay open six months and if it closes while he's in the middle of this four step, he's going to drink again. Everybody's got the idea that this four step is just this gut grinding deal.

Go into it any AAA meeting and tell them I'm working on a four step and listen to everybody grown. Oh, you poor thing. I remember my four step. It was just shit. It was just hell. I don't understand that because if you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, there's nothing grindy about this. This is an inventory makes sense. I'm going to do an inventory about the the the resentment inventory of the people, institutions and principles that I'm pissed at. And I'm going to spend some time and I'm going to look at my truth over in the fourth column and then I'm going to go on to the next.

I'm not going to give the big bad thing that you can't seem to want to not ever let go of any more attention than I am. The cat that scratched up my chair. You understand this, this, this is not therapy. We're not going to say I don't. I don't think she's ready to do a four step yet. Why? She's not ready to relive the molestation. We're not asking her to do that. We're asking her to make a list of a person she's pissed at

and then look at why she's pissed at it,

and then look at how it's affected her and then look at her part.

Well, she didn't pay a part. Yes, she does

not as big a part as the person that did the bad thing. She still played a part. You'll follow. We can do these guys. We can do them all afternoon long and we can see this. This is about not being a victim. Marianne Williamson said this great, great little quote. I brought it and a little guy out of New York sent it to me. The spiritual meaning of every situation is not what happens to us, but who we decide to become because of what happens to us. They'll follow. That's the coolest things about getting to know you guys and watch and see what you walk through

and then what you use what you've been through to help other people. You can't help somebody else if you're still grinding about it. If you're not past it, if you're not through it, you can't help anybody with it. That's part of this force that business is to allow us to get through it. You know the idea of,

you know how they make steel, they put it in the fire and you ain't got to make steel by going around it. You got to go right straight through it. And that's what so many people want to avoid. Four step is not therapeutic in nature. It's an inventory where you make a list of the things that are you're still hanging on to, including the resentment to yourself. I was talking to somebody at break. Well my sponsor told me I shouldn't put my name on that inventory list.

My book says you should. Top of page 66 talks about remorse and then we restored ourselves. If your sort yourself, you need to put your name on that list. A lot of you guys,

I sponsor one guy, he's got 200 names on his inventory. You with us, Mr. Victim. He's he's, he's, he's hated everybody he's ever met in his entire life, you know, in his life. And then I sponsor somebody that's got 20 names on his inventory. You with us. Now people in the treatment center industry said, well, this guy hasn't done a thorough force step because he's only got 20 names. But the truth is some of us just didn't, weren't filled with a lot of hate. We just didn't learn to hang on to a lot of this stuff. You'll you'll follow. There's some of you in here that that's who you that's who you are. If I took the hate away from you, this is. This is your.

If I took that away from you, you'd implode because you wouldn't. You wouldn't have anything to grind your teeth about.

You follow and everybody in here knows who I'm talking about, you know, because because every meeting it's the same thing. You're always pissed. And it's like, do a good four step and get past this resentment. And I got to tell you, you'll think you're losing your mind because all of this hate and all of this, this anger and this, this just, it just disappears and all of a sudden you get taken to a different spot. It's a pretty cool place to be. Inventory work is the coolest and I do it and I do it often. And I'll give you the rundown.

I'm going to make a list of the. This is in a four column inventory. You can

combine these two. They do in the book. They combine it 4th and the 3rd in there. I'm gonna look at who I'm who I'm cranky at people, institutions, banks, cops, IRS. You with me, Institutions, principles you'll follow. I'm a big CNN junkie. I got a lot of stuff that pisses me off. Republicans, they piss me off. Democrats, they piss me off. I don't know. It's just everybody. I

and I can get a head of steam behind it. You know, I mean, I can get ahead of right to lifers. Don't even get me started. And either this is the stuff I got. Doesn't mean that you can't be excited about life and interested and involved. But when you're pissed, you got to you got to back up because you're losing your effectiveness. So I put the name down. I look at the reason I'm pissed. You got to be honest in here. One of the things that you guys have a problem with is honesty true. She's never there.

That's so not true. Often when I needed her, she was not there. You'll follow

avoid words like always and never in a four step because it's never right. You'll follow if I

the truth.

We never had sex. That's just not true

as often I was. I would like perhaps I never go here all right, but but look at the cause and we're trying to if I lie over here, then I'm going to be lost over here. I got to get really specific and this is a fact finding deal. I'm going to look at the how it affected me guys, just areas. We've got four step guides you can download on on somebody's websites. We give you all here. You can look in the book. There's seven areas that that are affected by self esteem, my pride, my pocketbook, my security, go with this. All of those areas that are affected

and I'm going to list those down. I'm not going to do a bunch of riding around there. There's people that have you do that. The book is pretty explicit. Just list the damn word and move on. Now I'm going to try to get to the source column. This is where the miracle takes place, folks. A lot of you cats, you spend so much time worried about all this up here. You never get to this. My part, my mistake is the 4th column. Now this is where I cease being a victim. You see what I'm doing here? Who are you pissed at? You know, Patty, why no pokey? Pokey?

How did that affect me? All seven areas,

guys, listen, y'all are laughing. Y'all look around this thing. If it's sex or chicks, it's going to affect every area of your life. You want to look at the one things, the two things that we get cranky about sex and money. Isn't that right? Sex and checks. The guys in Alabama, is it green or pink?

It's got it's way. It's women. Women are money. That's all that. I don't know what I don't know.

All right,

so I'm coming up to this and that's why we don't want you guys to take a long time doing this because you'll get heated up there and then you're going to stop and you can look at the 4th column and you're going to start looking at your part. There's there's four areas where have I been selfish and self-centered with a selfish and self centeredness is the root of the problem. Where have I been dishonest and where have I been afraid? Where is fear playing a part of this? Now look at these areas. Now, guys, if I can see

in this, I can get free of this resentment. Now, this is just a spiritual principle. This is a fact you'll follow. If I can't see my part, I'll remain a victim. And if I remain a victim, I ain't going to get this business. You'll follow. Victims don't get sober, folks. Victimized people get sober every day. But if you remain a victim, you will not get sober. You may get sober. You won't stay sober. You follow guys,

I got to say this again and so many times that people want to come up afterwards, but you couldn't talk like that from the podium. You don't know what it's like to be molested.

No I don't, but I do watch people that have been molested, that have gotten through it, that are able to help other people who have been molested. You think you're the only person you you you idiot that has ever been traumatized? Again, it's that selfish and self centeredness on steroids. Y'all understand that? I had my own dear. You know, you don't know what it's like being blind in one eye.

And I could laugh about it today, but I got to tell you guys, for years I milked this. You know, you don't know what it's like always in the patch and girls make fun of you and the pirate jokes and Oh my gosh, it's just

we can we can laugh about it today. But back in the day, we weren't laughing about it. You'll follow it. All right, all right, but but here's the deal. Let's see that person, let's say a person, let's say a person really, really hurts you. You got to speak huge in this is the bad thing that they did

and this is your little part.

Anytime, anytime, anytime you're judging somebody, you're being selfish. So selfish is going to show up at every damn deal because we're this program. Thank God, this program is about mercy and not justice because I mean, I am guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty. I'm just I'm a judge and jury. I've got you hung before you leave the room. You'll follow. And that's the that's what we always want to do. You know, he hurt me. Yes, he did.

Did you play a part in this?

Yes, you did. That's the hardest pill to swallow. That's the hardest pill to swallow. Yes, you did. Yes, you did. Did you place yourself in a position to be hurt? Yes. Were you drunk at the time? Yes. That didn't mean that you caused it. Didn't mean you set it up. Did you play a part? Yes. That's it. Stop looking for blame here. He's to blame. She's to blame. You'll follow. That's the

You're making it sound like everything that happened was my fault.

No, but you played a part in the in this experience. When did it happen? When I was 3. How old are you now? 15

and you're still grinding your teeth over it, aren't you?

How many days have you taken this cats inventory? You'll follow. We're not saying you're right. He's wrong. He's wrong,

but you played a part. You can get free if you can see it. Move on to the next week. You'll follow.

It's no, no different than that. We're not going to give any more time to this than we are some simple little resentment. He passed me over for a promotion. You'll understand that when you get to see your 4th column, you can get free and then we're going to move on to the next part of the inventory. So let's take an example of a three-year old

molested and the 50 year old is sinking back at it. What's the little part there that I've been grinding over for 5047 years? Did you tell anybody? No, it's dishonest. It's dishonest. You've been holding on to this yourself. You've been trying to walk through this all by yourself, selfish and self-centered. How many times have you assassinated this guys character?

Let me tell you something, for somebody that sponsored people that have been on both sides of the of the coin, I would rather be the molested than the molester. They live in a hell of their own. But everybody so quick to judge you see. But I didn't make that person and I can't cast the first stone. I can simply sit back and say God thank you that I'm not in that hot spot. Make sense? The bad thing that happened happened 50 years ago but I've kept it alive and allowed it to affect my life for 50 years. I am wrong to do that.

That is not who I am. This again is we talk about it, guys. I'm sorry if I'm irritating somebody. I realize I get pretty passionate about this, but we got too many victims out there that can't help anybody.

They can't get through this themselves. It's the trump card that everybody wants to hold on to.

The first time you get close to me, I'm going to throw the Trump car down and then everybody backs off. Now, isn't that wrong of me to do that? I'm not Chris Reimer, the man that was molested. I'm just Chris Reimer. But you want to remind me every time we turn around that I'm Chris Rammer the molested. Makes sense. That's wrong. I'm using this to hold you at Bay. I'll never let you get close. I'll never be able to go help you because of this.

You'll follow. And you guys don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying this is not not difficult and hard to do, but we as a society make this harder than it's supposed to be. You follow. Will you somehow think it's your right

to suffer? It's not because God didn't put you on this earth to suffer. God put you on this earth to help somebody else. But you can't help somebody else. You're still suffering. You can identify it and then move on and try to help them. Does that make sense? That's what this is about. The greatest gift God ever gave me was the my alcoholism. That's true because I not only suffered from it, I overcame it, came out the other side, and now I'm able to go help somebody else. You follow

the cats, the cats that I know in the Fellowship. That's one of the greatest things about the Fellowship is that I know so many people and I know parts of their story and I'll get a guy that will come to me that's suffering from post traumatic stress from the war. And I was never in the war, although I told people I was for a long time.

It was always good for a few, for a few drinks. But, but, but, but these people that are suffering from post acute withdrawal and post traumatic stress, I can't help because I've never been through it. But I know guys that have been in the war that have been traumatized, that have been through it, and I can connect them

and so I can help them with the steps, but I can also connect them to people in the program that can help them with this other business. You'll follow what we're saying. This is not therapy. This is an inventory. Follow

you're not going to give this bad stuff anymore power to harm you. It's going to it's going to cease affecting you at a certain point here. If you can see the truth going out the backside makes sense. Guys, Some of y'all are still grinding about it. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. It's your right to remain a victim till the day you die. What a waste, what a waste. You go on to the next piece and you move on. This can again, you can have sixty names on here. You can have 600. I don't care. But the deal is I'm going to give you a week to do it. So if you got 600, you

right quick, because Saturday night we're going to do a fifth step. You'll follow. I've got a little fear inventory Again. I've seen these these these little steps and step guide studies with these pages of of of how to do a fear inventory. There's two questions on a fear inventory. What was the fear and why do you think you got it? That's the inventory. You want to do an extended and try to analyze all of this. Go go ahead. But that's not what the big book is asking us to do. It's asking us to list the fear and why we think we've got it.

List that. I'm going to go through the other side. Those of us that think we don't have any fear or the ones that have the most, you'll follow in my sponsorship. Lynn, just the big joke. You know, by the time we finish listing what we think we got, which just would be easier to list things that we're not afraid of, you know, little Bunny rabbits. OK, I got that. When I'm not afraid of Little Bunny,

we do a sex inventory. After that, it's quick little sex inventory. Sex inventory has got nothing to do really with sex. It's got to do with my behavior towards the opposite sex.

I hear people all the time talking about it. If we all did a proper 4th and 5th step, we could all share our fifth steps together and there would be no sweaty Oh, I'm embarrassed to tell you about this because we're not talking about it. We're talking about my behavior. Where did I unjustifiably arouse jealousy, suspicion and bitterness? It's about my behavior towards the opposite. Say it ain't about pokey pokey you with me. If I got a guy that I'm sponsored, he sits down and says, oh goody, now we get to talk about that. I'm I'm sitting him on his way because he obviously didn't do it the way it was supposed to be done. You'll follow.

Sex inventory is not about the numbers of times you've had sex and what you did. It's your treatment of the opposite sex. You with us. I still do resentment inventory. When I do a sex inventory, I still have to write stuff down. I'm in a monogamous relationship with my mic. There's no wife, there's no extramarital sex, but there's flirting involved and I have to look at me because I'm a flirt and a half, a shy one, all being. But I'm a flirt and a half and I have to look at that. It may be fine for me. It may be fine for you, but it may be making Patty really uncomfortable. You'll follow. I have to

that and it shows up on my sex inventory. Makes sense, yeah.

It could be as simple as that.

I'm judging them. Never walked a day in their shoes. They're drug addicts. They probably need the money. I'm not going to rationalize it. You'll think this is about judging again. It's about trying to figure out why it happened. It's not. It says I just need to see my part. Why can another person be mugged and go, God, you know, that's just life. What the heck? I hope they needed the money more than me. And then me. I stay all tore up about it all day long because because of what happened. I just have to look at what's my truth you follow. The truth is that we allow these resentments to block us from the sunlight of the Spirit.

I know we have some of you in here. I've talked to that are Christians. You know, the Bible talks kind of specifically about this. I'm I'm going to go in 10 and 11 and I'm going to do some prayer and meditation. I'm going to try to talk to God every day. God, I want you to take care of my kids and my and my wife and my, my health and thank you God for you with me. I'm going to God petitioning for all this help. But the little guy over here that I was in business with that stole a couple $100 from me. I'm going to curse him on a daily basis.

I'm going to go to God and ask for His protection and care, but I'm not willing to grant my own brother on earth some mercy

Bible specific lay your offering down and go clean up your mess with the guys here on earth and then come back to me with that. You got hate in your heart and you expect to be blessed. I think not You follow. There's a lot of things in this world, buddies that I just don't like. I come in a in a country whose government just makes me want to scream sometimes I understand, but but I but I got to get it to a spot where I'm not judging everybody.

I cannot be the jury and the judge. I have to just be a passenger on this bus with everybody else. And I'm flawed too.

With me. It's what I hate sometimes about doing this is people start looking up at us. It's like we're some sort of some, you know, gurus, you know, we, we can't fail. Oh my gosh, we're so flawed. I mean, look at my he's as flawed as they come.

I know that's sad. That's sad. We do this little sex inventory. We dotted out like this guys combine the ones, if you don't remember their names, just put a little identification on there, a little quick brief story what happened and we're going to go in there. We're going to look at those nine areas in there that that that that we're affected. That's what we're looking at,

my truth, so I can stop doing the same thing. You with me. I came into the two Alcoholics Anonymous with a belief that all women were evil because everyone I picked was mean to me. What was the common denominator with all those women?

I love you. Who picked that woman? I did. Who picked that job? I did. Who picked that town to live in? I did. Why? When are you going to take some responsibility here? You want to blame everybody? Oh, OK. So

how about to do these three inventories and then I'm going to get somebody to do to do it with me to, to do the 5th step. The guys, the book is pretty explicit. We want somebody that understands what this process is about. I hear people in treatment all the time. You could do this first step with anybody. I went to the bus station and got to got to got just a just a person in the bus station and did my fist. Are you nuts?

One, why would you like to? No, I'm going to do my fist step with a priest. If the priest happens to be in the program, that's cool with me. If he's not in the program, it's not cool with me.

You, I don't want to be absolved of this because that's what people are going to do. You do it. I'm going to do it with my therapist. The therapist is just going to look at me and says you did what with what? That's no wonder you drank.

That'll be $75

you want to go find

drunk to do your four step with. If this step with guys, when I do a fifth step with it with a guy I'm working with, I do a little Peace of Mind with him so he gets to know what this is about. You follow. We're all bozos on this bus. I'm not Father Confessor, you know I'm not. I just I want to share some stuff with him. He's going to share some stuff with me, but I'm going to let him see his truth in the fourth column. If we can't get past

this, if you can't see your part, I'm going to help you see it. You can't see it. We're done.

The 5th step is completed. We're out of there. Goodbye. You'll follow because I'm not going to let somebody walk away still remaining a victim. We're going to move right on through this. We're going to get to the other side.

We are going to set some time for this. And I let it perfectly understood when I when I'm doing a fifth step, what we're expected to do, my job is to show you what what is in there. If you're not seeing it, if you're seeing it, it's going to go pretty fast. And we're going to laugh just like we're doing right now. You with me. I mean, I'm doing this fist step and I'm looking up and says, well, this is her, blah, blah, blah. And I'm afraid to look up because I know, Chris, you keep doing the same thing over and over and we're laughing. We're laughing, you know? Yeah, that's what it is

and it is a force. And a fifth step is a hilarious, if you're doing it right, you've asked God into the room, you're going to laugh your butts off. You with us because you can. You stop taking yourself so damn serious. It's a pretty cool thing. I'm going to dump a fifth step. We're going to go through all three inventories and then we're going to get quite. Book says we're going to get quite for an hour and I'm going to take the book down. It's a big joke as we put the book on the shelf and then we take it off the shelf. I don't know follow the directions exactly and we're going to sit down and we're going to go over the 1st

really believe I'm an alcoholic or a drug addict. Do I really believe that God can help me get through this? Have I been thorough? This is the point in time when I'm asking them point blank. Tell me now the thing that you weren't going to tell me when you walked in the door. Let's get this. Let's get this out. Tell me, tell me, tell me about the sheep and

and skip the details because I'm not interested.

And we're going to move on down there. You'll follow. We're going to go back over this. We're going to get quite for an hour guys. And I'm telling you, I've done four steps, fifth steps with guys and we've sat down and I go to eat and I watch them come in 15 minutes later,

going to get him a sandwich. Hey, you're supposed to be at home in quiet for an hour now.

I mean it, this is what we do follow the instructions. The closer that we can align ourselves with the truth of what this book says, the closer we're going to get the results. Would y'all agree? It's the further the the more interpretation that I do here, the less results I get that that aligns with the book. So I'm going to sit for an hour and then we're going to do the 7th step prayer. 6th step, we're going to look at our character defects. We got that from the 5th step. You all understand that when I do a I'm going to write on the back of this. When I do an inventory, I'm going to do.

I'm going to do

a list. I've got this in front of Maine, and as I'm doing a guy's fist step, I got this little list and one's character defects. And as I hear character defects come up in this 4th column. Judgmental bastard,

fearful anxiety, jealousy, all of the stuff that we look at. And I want to make a little note here. And then as I hear people that I think you might possibly owe amends to, I'm going to write their name down on this little eight step list you'll follow. So this is what the book says is that from this process I've got everything I need to finish the work on this fifth step. And I can show you later in the book where it says specifically that, but

where? OK, go ahead. I'm sorry I can't see you. The sponsor is sitting there with the list. Writing down.

Also gives you something to do to keep. Yeah, keep gives you something to keep you awake while you're listening to

guys. For some of you, they hadn't been around. For some of you, they haven't been around for a while. That's the that's the, that's the sponsors prayer. God, please keep me awake during this thing. You know, because I, I know this is fascinating information we're fixing to cover for you. It's just boring as spit to me,

guys, after you've heard a few fish steps, there's only so many ways to pokey pokey. There's only so many ways to kill somebody. There's only so many ways and you're not going to hear anything different after a while. It's all going to be the same. So that's what I'm doing. I'm listening because that's my job is to try to. That's why I don't want some total stranger to do this. They're just going to look says jeez, thanks for sharing

and people we teach this in treatment a lot in the states. The 5th step is a is a confession. This step is not confession and people that want to argue with me all the time. This step is an inventory Part of this is purging is getting it out off your chest finally telling another human being. I understand that guys, but if a fist, if all this was about confession, the Catholics would be sober

and they're not a lot of them are not. I mean, guys, we got we got we have treated thousands in our hospital, including the priests. This is not about just confession. This is about a fact finding information. And from this I get a list of the character defects I need to go to God with. Now guys, this is a deal and I'm going to flip it to Myers. The 6th and 7th

is is pretty simple.

It's two paragraphs. I've been to workshops where they wanted to spend all weekend doing 6:00 and 7:00 and it's like

Jesus, I hear people in meetings all I'm working on six and seven, I'm working on six and seven. It's, it's, it's two paragraphs. How much work can there be?

When ready, we say something like this? My Creator, I'm now willing to that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength as I go out from here to do your bidding. Amen. You'll follow. I'm asking God to remove these character defects. I'm not removing them.

You'll follow. He makes me conscious of them. I'll tell you how that works. For years and years and years, there were people that wouldn't let me speak from the podium because I cussed too much. The message was good. We appreciate the humor, but we don't like the cussing. I'd say the F word every every other word. And and there was a certain element of of our fellowship that really gravitated to that. Oh, you're the guy that cusses. Oh, how? But it offended a lot of people. So in the process of going to God with this, I said, God, I need to be a little gentler here. Can you, can you help me with this? This is a character defect. Where is this coming from? And God

period of time removed this need to do that As much you follow, I still cuss not as near as much. God's taken me to a different spot. My prayer always with God was that He would make me a gentler person. But you see, we have a fellowship full of gentle people

and some of us need to be horses butts. And I think that's why I haven't been completely changed. People listen to my stuff 15 years ago and they said, buddy, you have calmed down a lot. You're a lot gentler than you used to be. That surprises some of you, but it's the truth. You listen to some of my old stuff, but God in his own time is going to remove the character defects that are standing in in the way of

our usefulness. You'll follow. God's going to change you folks, and the change is going to be absolutely miraculous and you're not going to have to do a lot of practicing around this. What you're going to have to do is suit up and show up and want to be somebody different. I'll say this and quit. I hear it in meetings until I want to puke. Every time we talk about 6:00 and 7:00. I'm sure if I don't say it now and embarrass you, one of you will ask the questions. I don't know about 6:00 and 7:00. If God removes my character defects, who will I be?

Boom, better. That's

what do you mean who you've been? I don't know who I will be. You know, come on, guys, I don't know who you'll be either, but you're going to be better and next year you're going to be better and next you're going to be better because on the loneliness spiritual lines, we're going to try to grow. I come from a sponsorship lens that does this on a pretty regular basis, guys, at least once or twice a year I go back through this process myself. My inventories are quite small. I end up doing them with with on a on a couple of pieces of legal tablet. I do a four column resentment inventory, A2 column fair inventory and my little sex inventory has gotten kind of kind of

pathetic since I got married.

Consider the flirting and stuff that does involve. There's maybe a couple of more in there, but other than that and I dump it with one of the guys. I sponsor you with me, not my sponsor. He's heard it. I do it with a couple of guys that I sponsor. I let them know who we share mutual and then we move on down the road. You'll follow. And I'm touched and I'm blessed and I grow from every time I do that experience. And so you cats, you've been in this room for 20 years and you've done 1/4 step and you wonder why you can't sleep at night.

You wonder why your your conscious is driving you crazy and you're a little irritable, restless and discontent. Buddy, I'm encouraging you do another four step. Stop trying to live off a spiritual experience you had 20 years ago.

Let's bring this thing current. I'm excited about the spiritual experience I had in Monte Carlo yesterday. Pretty amazing place. You'll follow. That's what we're after. How about you?

Hey, you guys, all I'm going to do real quick. We're going to take a break here in just a minute. I just want to tie up some loose ends

getting more into the semantic end of the deal like this, just because we're, we're talking about sponsorship. Let me ask you this fast question. When you were sitting in that meeting and you shared and some little guy was giving you the eyeball and you knew he was going to come over and ask you and, and, and what was the one thing that you thought of first? When somebody says and start to ask me if, if, if I will sponsor them

for many, many years, the very first thing my head would do is draw a Direct Line to the fifth step. You see what I'm saying? I'm going, Oh no, here's 8 hours of pain and suffering listening to this guy go through this thing and it's just going to be a bloodbath and it's just going to be. And it, we paint this mental picture of something that is horrendous. Well, what's of interest is that finally it was brought to my attention that

if you look in the beginning of this thing, it says next we launched out on the course of vigorous action. So we're going to gather Andy up our little busted drunk du jour and we're going to we're going to gather him up and we're going to get him immediately from his third step into his fourth step inventory process so that we can get him clear of this thing. But look at the way Bill writes this thing. They talk about this thing.

How do they refer to it as a fact finding commercial inventory? Now, look,

we got any shopkeepers in here or anybody that's ever had to do a commercial inventory? I mean, it's it we, it's a commercial inventory. It's an inventory. What we're doing is we're counting things. We're looking at these things. I got a bunch of batteries that are sitting in the back of the shop and they're all dead in an inventory. I would look at those batteries and I'd go, they're all dead. You see, we have, there's nothing good there to sail. And so as a shopkeeper, what would I do? I'd throw the bastards away. I got to get rid of them. They're unsalable. They're no good. And this is what we're trying to, where we're trying

get. We're trying to get to point to where we can, what's worth saving and what's we need to get rid of.

This inventory is about,

it's about resolution of dispute, resolution of problems that have been built there.

Let me ask you this question. It'll give us a place to start this.

Have you has there ever been a time in your life when you realize that you were wrong about something, anything, anything you you did? I know there's some Saints down here. I had you pegged as a St. right off the IT. It's like

we thought we thought ill of somebody and then we realized finally that that that they didn't do what we thought they did and we had been judging them wrong all these years and stuff and we were just flat wrong about that situation. Well, stick with me a minute then. If if we do that, can we draw the parallel there that perhaps there are other things in our lives

which we are wrong about too, which we just have not seen. See, it's possible in my own arrogance, I want to say I'm never wrong. I'm never wrong. But if I can be wrong about one thing, I can also be wrong about other things. And So what this inventory begins to is clarify some of the areas where I could be about things in general, about the way my life is has been. It's the reason why Bill Wilson talks so thoroughly about this selfishness and self-centered just previous to this stuff. It's it's like he

trying to kind of raw us up little bit. He's trying to get us to what we're getting ready to look at in the inventory process. Where have I been? Selfish and self-centered.

It's a fairly amazing deal. But let's let's look back at this deal, what Chris was talking about, about this not being a confessional. There may be some confession involved to it, but that's not the basic premise. They always take it back to the inventory on this stuff. Now here's the way our inventory seemed to work as a general out there at a a land. This is the way they work.

Let's pretend I'm a store clerk and I got a bunch of milk that's gone sour in the back of the, in the, in the, in the, in the shop, in this inventory. The way I, the way I was taught originally, the way I want to do this is I want to tell you why the milk got sour. Well, see, we're supposed to get milk deliveries on Thursday, but we didn't get milk deliveries on Thursday. We got them on Saturday morning. Now, the coolers, this is the real problem of this thing. The coolers. They're not keeping the milk as cool as it needs to be. You see.