In episode #128, Michael continues the Big Book Awakening series by reading from Chapter 5, How It Works, pages 61-63. "Selfishness—self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt ..read more

In episode #127, Luis continues the Big Book Awakening series by reading Chapter 5, How It Works, pages 58-61. "RARELY HAVE we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are ..read more

In episode #125, Joshua continues the Big Book Awakening series by reading from Chapter 4, We Agnostics, page 49 (paragraph 2) through page 57. "We, who have traveled this dubious path, beg you to lay aside prejudice, even against organized religion. We have learned that whatever the human frailties of various faiths may be, those faiths have given purpose and direction to millions ..read more

In episode #125, Oliver continues the Big Book Awakening series by reading from Chapter 4, We Agnostics, page 48, "The prosaic steel girder is a mass of electrons whirling around each other at incredible speed. These tiny bodies are governed by precise laws, and these laws hold true throughout the material world. Science tells us so. We have no reason to doubt it. When, however, the perfectly logical assumption is suggested that underneath the material world and life as we see it, there is an All Powerful, Guiding, Creative Intelligence, right there our perverse streak comes to the surface and ..read more

In episode #124, Joshua continues the Big Book Awakening series by reading from Chapter 4, We Agnostics. "IN THE PRECEDING chapters you have learned something of alcoholism. We hope we have made clear the distinction between the alcoholic and the non-alcoholic. If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit entirely, or if when drinking, you have little control over the amount you take, you are probably alcoholic. If that be the case, you may be suffering from an illness which only a spiritual experience will conquer ..read more

In episode #123, Patty continues the Big Book Awakening series by reading Chapter 3, More About Alcoholism, page 42, top paragraph. "They had said that though I did raise a defense, it would one day give way before some trivial reason for having a drink ..read more

In episode #122, Jesse continues the Big Book Awakening series by reading Chapter 3, More About Alcoholism, pages 41, paragraphs 1 and 2. “I went to my hotel and leisurely dressed for dinner. As I crossed the threshold of the dining room, the thought came to mind that it would be nice to have a couple of cocktails with dinner. That was all. Nothing more. I ordered a cocktail and my meal. Then I ordered another cocktail. After dinner I decided to take a walk. When I returned to the hotel it struck me a highball would be fine before going to bed, so I stepped into the bar and had one ..read more

In episode #121, Mary continues the Big Book Awakening series by reading Chapter 3, More About Alcoholism, pages 33-35. "Young people may be encouraged by this man’s experience to think that they can stop, as he did, on their own will power ..read more

In episode #119, Pastor Jose continues the Big Book Awakening series by reading Chapter 3, More About Alcoholism. "MOST OF US have been unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics. No person likes to think he is bodily and mentally different from his fellows. Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into ..read more

In episode #118, Sal continues the Big Book Awakening series by reading Chapter 2, There is a Solution, from pages 25 - 29. "There is a solution. Almost none of us liked the self-searching, the leveling of our pride, the confession of shortcomings which the process requires for its successful consummation. But we saw that it really worked in others, and we had come to believe in the hopelessness and futility of life as we had been living it. When, therefore, we were approached by those in whom the problem had been solved, there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual ..read more