Aa history Lovers 2006 moderators Nancy Olson and Glenn F. Chesnut page
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to contribute in whatever way I can-your contributions and this site have been so helpful to me. Dave Johnson See the following pdf: http://ijo.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/45/3/325.pdf It gives a historical review of psychopathology and on page 4 it first describes how Kraeplin saw it (a normative view for the first third of the 20th century). Later, on p. 10 of the pdf (corresponding to p. 333-334 in the book), there's a detailed description which I"ll put down here in its entirety. KRAEPELIN The approach to the disorder of psychopathy derived principally from somatic descriptors evolved from German theorists who explained it by utilizing massive typological systems (Craft, 1966). By 1915, Kraepelin expanded Koch's psychopathic inferiority terminology to contain categories essentially defined by the most vicious and wicked of disordered offenders (Ellard, 1988). Prior to Kraepelin, the categories of psychopathies contained various personality descriptions.
to only those characteristics that were the most devastating and most frequently detected by physicians working in institutions. His psychopathic personalities described in detail the "born criminal . . . the excitable, shiftless, impulsive types, the liars, swindlers, antisocial and troublemaking types" (Schneider, 1958, p. 23). Kraepelin portrayed "morbid liars and swindlers" as manipulative, glib, charming, and unconcerned for others (Millon et al., 1998, p. 19). Another category designated by Kraepelin included criminals by impulse, who were overcome by uncontrollable desires to commit offenses like arson or rape for purposes unrelated to material gain. A third classification included professional criminals, who acted out of cold, calculated self-interest rather than from uncontrollable impulse.
who wandered through life with neither self-confidence nor responsibility (Millon et al., 1998).
moved the focus of psychopathy back to one of moral judgment and social condemnation. Interestingly, as Millon et al. (1998, p. 19) note, his categories of psychopathic personalities more closely represent our conceptualization of psychopathy and ASPD today. This association is found in Kraepelin's statements on the classification of antisocial personalities. He described these disordered individuals as The Confusion Over Psychopathy 333 the enemies of society . . . characterized by a blunting of the moral elements. They are often destructive and threatening . . . there is a lack of deep emotional reaction; and of sympathy and affection they have little. They are apt to have been troublesome in school, given to truancy and running away. Early thievery is common among them and they commit crimes of various kinds. (quoted in Millon et al., 1998, p. 10). [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 3857. . . . . . . . . . . . Meditation From: Henrik Rue . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/13/2006 3:44:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Hi Does anyone have a a definition of what meditation was defined as, at the time of writing Alcoholics Anonymous?
meditation. Henrik Rue - - - FROM THE MODERATOR: "Meditation" in traditional western Christianity had always meant reading a text, commonly from a meditational book or pamphlet (like "The Upper Room" or "Twenty-Four Hours a Day" in AA), and then musing thoughtfully upon how the text helps me to understand my own life and problems, and my relationship to God.
for the traditional Catholic understanding: Meditation is "mental prayer in discursive form. It is the type of mental prayer appropriate to beginners and as such accounted its lowest stage; and it is commonly contrasted with Contemplation. Its method is the devout reflection on a chosen (often Biblical) theme, with a view to deepening spiritual insight and stimulating the will and affections. Among the many methods of meditation advocated by modern schools of spirituality, that expounded by St. Ignatius of Loyola in the 'Spiritual Exercises' ... is widely used."
during her early spiritual formation, and would often give little books composed of excerpts from that work to AA people who went through her program at St. Thomas Hospital.]
traditional western definition when he talks about meditation in his Golden Books. He was one of the four most-read early AA authors, so his ideas are extremely important for the understanding of what AA people meant by meditation.] It is important to note that "meditation" was a thoughtful process, NOT the blanking out of all conscious thought (which was called "contemplation" instead in traditional western terminology -- see St. Bonaventura's "The Mind's Path to God," St. Teresa of Avila, and St. John of the Cross for more on the subject of western techniques for contemplation). In AA circles however, "meditation" also took on some of the characteristics of what the Oxford Group called "having a morning quiet time." So AA members might in fact spend a short time blanking out all their conscious thoughts and just remaining still and quiet in God's presence, while waiting for God's "guidance" to give them instructions for the day.
best introduction to what the concept of meditation meant in early AA. He refers to the period of Quiet Time as "entering the divine Silence" and recommends it as a way to restore our spirit of peace and calm, and as a way to obtain the power of the divine grace for changing our lives.
and the eleventh step gives instructions for quiet time and seeking guidance. By the time he wrote the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Bill W. had become convinced however that too many AA members were getting into trouble by assuming that their own screwiest thoughts were in fact "God's guidance," so we can see him trying to steer AA members away from doing that too much. - - - Modern AA confusion about the meaning of the term "meditation" arose during the 1960's and 1970's, and we've never totally recovered from this.
Yogi began teaching what he called Transcendental Meditation, based on a technique going back to Shankara. We recite a mantra (a simple word like "Om") over and over in our minds as we attempt to remove all conscious thoughts from our minds, and attempt to merge ourselves into the impersonal divine reality which is all that truly exists (this material world is an illusion, and even our feeling of being individuals is an illusion). In the 1960's and 1970's this kind of Transcendental Meditation was popularized in the United States by a number of prominent entertainers and other public figures, above all the rock music group called the Beatles.
football player Joe Namath also preached Transcendental Meditation, along with the music group called the Beach Boys, comedian Andy Kaufman, and stage magician Doug Henning. Clint Eastwood, famous for shooting people without qualms in so many of his movies ("make my day"), also started preaching the virtues of transcendental meditation! As a result, Henrik, as you have pointed out, to this day newcomers to AA read the eleventh step, and immediately come to the false conclusion that they are expected to sit crosslegged and start chanting "Om." In traditional western terminology, this is "contemplation," not meditation. Hindu and Buddhist techniques are perfectly O.K. for AA people who want to use them. Many AA members today come from one of those Asian traditions.
while listening to Beatles' records does not do anyone any real harm. But if we ask the historical question of what the earliest AA people did, and we look at what the eleventh step actually says, it is NOT telling us to try to shut off all conscious thought while we try to become "one with All," but to do something very different: - - - "Sought through prayer and meditation [a] to improve our CONSCIOUS contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for [b] knowledge of His will for us and [c] the power to carry that out." Summed up, this means: [a] Thinking about spiritual texts to help us develop our God CONSCIOUSNESS. [b] Seeking guidance (in the Oxford Group sense). [c] Having a brief Quiet Time because when we finish our prayer and meditation, we will find that during this Quiet Time, God's grace has quietly entered our souls, so that we will have new power and strength (God's power and strength dwelling in our souls) enabling us to do that which we could never do before. - - - The fine print sections at the bottom of each page in Richmond Walker's Twenty-Four Hours a Day tell you how to do that, and do it very effectively. That is the reason why Rich was the second most-read early AA author, second only to Bill Wilson himself.
on spirituality (East or West, from any century) which has ever been written. People who read that book every morning make more spiritual progress, far more quickly, than with any other meditational work I have ever seen. If you go though the fine print sections of Twenty-Four Hours a Day carefully, you can see the whole theory and practice of meditation laid out in great detail.
course) the best way of understanding what meditation meant to early AA people is to go back to the Oxford Group literature and see what they had to say about quiet time and guidance.
that one also look at St. Ignatius Loyola's Spiritual Exercises for further guidance on the subject of meditation. Glenn C., South Bend, Indiana IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 3859. . . . . . . . . . . . Irwin Meyerson From: Tommy . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/11/2006 2:46:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I recently heard a talk given by Jimmy Burwell in 1957. He states that a big Jewish fellow named Meyerson from Cleveland was responsible for starting AA meetings all over the South. He just went around planting AA seeds and helping AA to get started.
can find more information on this subject. thanks Tommy H.
Oakboro,NC IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 3860. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: The reading of "How it Works" at the beginning of meetings From: Charles Grotts . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/9/2006 9:27:00 AM
Angeles, which is still in existence. This was where reading "How It Works" at the beginning of AA meetings first began: The Hotel Cecil, where the first AA meeting (that didn't fold right away) in Los Angeles took place, in 1940, is at 640 South Main Street (about a block from Skid Row). It was built in 1927 and it's been remodeled. The mezzanine, where the meeting took place, is gone. Here are two recent reviews: "This place is terrible for anyone capable of looking up this review. The hotel is dirty, stained carpets, 12x10 rooms IF you get a shower-included room, brown water, just disgusting. I highly suggest staying somewhere else if you value your life or things. " travelocity.com - negative - traveler comment "Great Value" - Alex Devito "For $45.00 I wasnt expecting it to be that nice. My room was great with nice view of LA, staff very friendly and I liked going to the new art galleries in the area. This reminds me of NY SOHO before it changed. Couldnt beat..." --- Robert Stonebraker wrote:
> --- from Bob S., tom2cor134@yahoo.com>, James R., > and Debbie U. > > Greg asked: " Can someone point me in the right > direction as to the origin of the custom (at least > for some groups) of reading "How It Works" at the > beginning of meetings. > > From: "Robert Stonebraker" > > (rstonebraker212 at insightbb.com) > > Please read page 93 of AA COMES OF AGE. The year > seems to be 1940 and a member named Mort J. insisted > on reading Chapter 5 at the start of every session. > This took place at the Cecil Hotel in downtown > Los Angeles. I think that hotel was on Hill Street > or perhaps Broadway (Near Pershing Sq. Park). It > is probably torn down now, but it was still there > in the 1960s. > > Bob S., Indiana IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 3861. . . . . . . . . . . . Who wrote the preface to the 3rd edition of the Big Book? From: dano5551212 . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/13/2006 12:44:00 PM
edition of "Alcoholics Anonymous." Specifically the part that states on page xii: "If you have a drinking problem, we hope you may pause in reading one of the forty-four personal stories and think: 'Yes, that happened to me'; or more important, 'Yes, I've felt like that' ...."
does not give this suggestion (specifically) and the 4th edition does, what is the history of who wrote this preface and why, including any possible special motive?
Dano
NOTE FROM THE MODERATOR: In other words, if I understand the question correctly, were there things going on in AA circa 1976 that prompted the writers of the preface to put a special emphasis on the stories at the end of the book?
the justification for changing the stories at the back of the book yet again, to make them (hopefully) easier to identify with for a greater number of alcoholics?
From: Corwyn G Billard . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/13/2006 7:47:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII On Thu (11/2) jlobdell54 mentioned that: > Yev G was a founder in Bethlehem PA and Granden City NY. As a member here in Nassau county, Long Island, NY - I believe you meant Garden City. I have been involved here in Intergroup in Nassau (after a stint in General Service) and Yev is very much a part of the expansion of AA into Nassau county (half way out toward Montauk Point from NYC). Local "tradition" has it that he had started a meeting by 45/46 in his home in Garden City. Other early meetings were in Glen Head, Manhasset, Freeport and Baldwin, all dating from 45/46 or earlier. Members prior to that time, had to head in to Forest Hills in Queens, where Bill supposedly did stop in upon occasion. Got to the point with gas rationing (guess this was 43/44?), that people could not make the trip even with car pooling. It has recently come to my attention (through this group), that Sgt Bill, also got his start in Yev's Garden City group of the time.
groups here in Nassau to this day with 11 meetings spaced over 3 nights a week. There are times that they conduct 3 different meetings at the same time. I am aware that Yev, who got sober in 41, served as Marty Mann's assistant, but would love to hear more of his PA connection, how he came to be involved with Marty, was he one of those who worked on the early Grapevine. Have seen a couple of secondary references to him (in material about Marty), but have not been able to find much information about him directly. Especially interested since he resided here in Nassau. He was also affiliated with a historic Episcopal church in the middle of Hempstead. Was quite surprised a number of years ago, when on a visit to the Wilson House, saw a photograph of Bill on the wall that had been inscribed by Bill "To Yev...".
be able to find out more about Yev, Sgt Bill or other information concerning early AA here in Nassau county. Thanx Cory B Please Note: No trees were destroyed in the sending of this contaminant free message. We do concede however, that a significant number of electrons may have been inconvenienced. - - - NOTE FROM THE MODERATOR: Sgt. Bill S., "On the Military Firing Line in the Alcoholism Treatment Program: The Air Force Sergeant Who Beat Alcoholism and Taught Others to Do the Same" -- see http://hindsfoot.org/kBS1.html -- tells the story of the way that Yev Gardner (and Mrs. Marty Mann) helped Sgt. Bill set up the first officially recognized alcoholism treatment program in the U.S. military at Mitchel Air Force Base on Long Island in 1948. Glenn C., South Bend, Indiana IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 3863. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: How did Bill W. annual dinner begin in New York? From: James Blair . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/13/2006 8:31:00 PM
historical event, and I wondered what you all know about it."
gathering of 1500 people, most of them drunks at the Hotel Commodore to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of AA. Bill gave a report on the first 10 years of AA and a female member also shared. Fulton Oursler of the Reader's Digest was the non-AA speaker.
annual Metropolitan group dinner is November 7, at the Commodore Hotel.
on Bill's talk at the dinner to over 1500 persons. The October 1946 issue announces the annual dinner of Alcoholics Anonymous to be held November 7 at the Commodore Hotel.
banquet held November 6 at the Hotel Commodore and sponsored by the New York Intergroup Assocation.
From: Shakey1aa@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/13/2006 6:42:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII You may be thinking of the venetian blind salesman Irwin M who was from Cleveland. He was a big man, over 250 lbs. He went to Atlanta, and Jacksonville, New Orleans etc. He had an unorthodox style of 12 stepping and started many AA groups.
Shakey Mike Gwirtz [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 3866. . . . . . . . . . . . Irwin Meyerson: started AA in Birmingham and Indianapolis From: TBaerMojo@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/13/2006 8:23:00 PM
large, and he came on the train to start AA in Birmingham.
From: Mitchell K. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/13/2006 11:14:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Meyerson was sponsored by Clarence Snyder. Irwin was responsible for starting many meetings throughout the US and 12 Stepping lots of other "founding" members from states he traveled through as a salesperson. Irwin had a very difficult time staying sober for any continuous length of sobriety during his travels but always carried the message wherever he went even though he couldn't "get it" himself for much of his time in AA.
From: Robert Stonebraker . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/13/2006 8:25:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Tommy H. asked: Does anyone here know about Meyerson and where I can find more information on this subject. - - - Dear Tommy, Here follows an excerpt from a recent AA history of Indianapolis written by Neil S., who is the current Inter-group Archivist.
http://hindsfoot.org/nIndy1.html and http://hindsfoot.org/nindy2.html]
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