Articles

Self-Supporting Through Our Own Contributions Judy F., info@aascv.org Isn’t it amazing how the Traditions build on each other – how Tradition Eight relies on the Seventh Tradition to support our service centers. I don’t think many A.A. members think beyond their immediate meeting when it comes to...

My Illuminated Pocket By Kimberly C. kimberlycooperstudio@gmail.com When I first came into Alcoholics Anonymous a year and a half ago, I found myself clinging to one line in A Vision for You: “Abandon yourself to God as you understand God.” The words struck a tuning fork somewhere deep in my ribs....

Self-Pity & Selfishness: Twin Traps that Block the Sunlight By Douglas W., webservant@aascv.org Self-pity and selfishness keep me centered on myself and cut me off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The AA program gives me precise actions to move from “Why me?” and “What about me?” to “How can I be...

The Recovering Corker Column info@aascv.org Dear Recovering Corker, Recently at a meeting, a member was looking for people who might be interested in participating in a CPC Committee. Something about working with the professionals in our community. Who wants to go around breaking their anonymity...

Happy Holidays From Central Office Judy F., info@aascv.org Another year will soon be drawing to a close for Santa Clarita Valley Central Office and with heartfelt gratitude can say it is just the fiscal year that draws to a close and not the doors. Gratitude month, which has been the tradition of...

Hospitals & Institutions and Me By Andy G. Giesing72008@yahoo.com How has Hospitals & Institutions worked to strengthen my recovery? Like most of you when I started this journey of sobriety (second time around) October 25th, 2022, I was looking for a softer easier way. When I first heard someone...

White Knuckling: What I Learned in My First Year of Sobriety By Kimberly C. Before I took Step One, something in me constantly whispered what I already knew: “I can’t keep living like this.” I was becoming a living and breathing carbon copy of my favorite poet Charles Bukowski – emptying myself at...

Keeping Commitments by Douglas W., webservant@aascv.org Growing Up and Following-Through I didn’t come into Alcoholics Anonymous with an abundance of follow-through. I came in with intentions. Grand plans. Apologies that sounded like commitments but dissolved the moment life got loud. Alcoholism...

The Recovering Corker Column info@aascv.org Dear Recovering Corker, I recently attended our local AA Convention and was confused by everyone wearing name badges at a public venue. Based on our eleventh tradition – “our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need...

It Takes a Village Judy F., info@aascv.org Congratulations to Santa Clarita Valley Convention for another successful, fun-filled weekend, with lots of fellowship, AA marathon meetings and great speakers.  As many people know, our convention is a year in the planning, with lots of dedicated...

Hush Hush Sweet Sue By Susan C. Darkness came and wentMy life crippled with uneaseThe boogie man at every cornerTakes me to my knees A child of sickness, it was a sad beginning for sureNo family present to bring me a cureHush hush sweet Sue take a sip, she’d sayin the morning you’ll be better to...

The Unconditional Love of Tradition Nine By Kimberly C. “A.A., as such, ought never be organized…” begins the section on the 9th Tradition in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions book. This simple phrase is exactly the reason I am in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, and in fact the reason...

From Delusion to Clarity By Doug W., webservant@aascv.org A Dictionary Definition delusionnoun 1. A false belief or opinion that is strongly held despite clear evidence to the contrary. 2. (Psychiatry) A persistent false belief that is maintained in the face of indisputable evidence, often...

The Recovering Corker Column info@aascv.org Dear Recovering Corker, In meetings I hear people talk about their routines with morning meditation. They are always talking about reading from meditation books as part of their morning ritual but never mention the name of the book. I only ever hear...

Sometimes His Answer is “No” Judy F., info@aascv.org Bill W. said of acceptance, “essentially this is to ask for the resources of grace by which we may make spiritual progress under all conditions. Greatly emphasized in the “Serenity Prayer” is a need for the kind of wisdom that discriminates...

The Heart of Step Nine By Kimberly C. In Alcoholics Anonymous, the Ninth Step reads: “Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.” This step is often described as the spiritual hinge of the Twelve Steps, where intention begins to transform...

Accountability, Responsibility & Discipline Through Service By Anonymous Member In Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), we often hear that “we keep what we have by giving it away.” This phrase is more than just a poetic ideal; it reflects a deeper truth about recovery—that service is not just a way to help...

A Journey From Panic to Peace By Doug W., webservant@aascv.org I didn’t come to AA because I was brave. I came because fear had become the operating system of my life. Fear of getting caught. Fear of running out of alcohol. Fear I’d never stop drinking. Fear that if I did stop, I’d have to face...

The Recovering Corker Column info@aascv.org Dear Recovering Corker, I have been coming to meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous for about 7 months and staying sober. My sponsor has been taking me through the steps and I even have a coffee commitment at one of my meetings. I have sort of made a decision...

President of AA — I Think Not! Judy F., info@aascv.org With all my knowledge of worldly affairs and my many years of sobriety I have thought many times, “if they would only listen to this wise old-timer” maybe they would not have to experience the same pains of maturity in Alcoholics Anonymous at...

The Presents in Presence — Embracing Step Ten By Kimberly C. Step Ten states, “Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.” A few weeks after I delivered my last lingering amends for Step Nine, I sat down with my sponsor and told her I felt like a little baby,...

From the Gutter to Grace: A Journey of Surrender By a Grateful Member of Alcoholics Anonymous I grew up in a middle-class family with loving but strict parents. My mom was an educator, and my dad was a contractor. They were terrified of what had happened done in their lives before we were born. We...

The 10 Percent? By Doug W., webservant@aascv.org The Pareto Principle states that roughly 80% of outcomes come from 20% of the causes. A common example is that 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people. It’s named after Vilfredo Pareto. This pattern is frequently observed in real estate,...

The Recovering Corker Column info@aascv.org This is a question-and-answer column written by rotating guest contributors who respond with loving care, drawing from the wisdom of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. We speak not from personal opinion, but from the shared language and spiritual...

Faith Without Works Is Dead Judy F., info@aascv.org “Let’s look for a moment at a single AA member. Faith alone does not save him. He has to act, do something. He must carry his message to others, practice AA principles in all his affairs. We must realize, as never before, how perilous faith...

The Recovering Corker Column By The Recovering Corker info@aascv.org The phrase “He was a real corker” appears in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, in the personal story titled “Acceptance Was the Answer.” Here’s the quote with context: “The doctor said, ‘You’re not the kind of...

Feed the White Dog By Anonymous info@aascv.org They say “if you wonder why you drink, stop drinking.” Removal of alcohol is the first step in the recovery process, but our big book state that “Our liquor was but a symptom. So we had to get down to causes and ¬conditions.” “Therefore, the main...

What to Know in the First 30 Days By a Grateful Member of Alcoholics Anonymous Welcome! If you’re in your first 30 days of sobriety, you might feel overwhelmed, confused, or unsure about what’s going on in these AA meetings. That’s okay, we were, too. This guide is here to help you make sense of...

Emotional Sobriety: Taking Sobriety to a New Level By Doug W., webservant@aascv.org In the beginning, most of us in recovery just want the emotional and physical pain to stop. We couldn’t envision that there was spiritual pain manifesting in our drinking. Alcohol was a poor substitute for the...

Here’s to New Beginnings Judy F., info@aascv.org I hope everyone had a good time at the farewell celebration of the Rafters Group as they closed one chapter of their history to open a new chapter at a new location. As many know my dad was one of the first people to get sober at the Rafters. His...