An Insight Into the Science, Spirituality, and
Discipline of How They Work
Burns M. Brady, MD, FASAM
I.
History of the factors that influenced
their writing
II.
Shared common problem
III.
Shared common solution
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Oxford Group
Richard Peabody
Emmanuel Movement
Father Ed Dowling
Other Sources
Frank Buckman
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1878 – Lutheran background
Ordained as minister in 1905
Serious resentment and rebuff at orphanage
where he was director
1908 – Keswick Convention
Keswick, England – where he had a rapture
experience of Jesus while listening to a
sermon by a little-known minister, Jessie
Penn-Lewis
(spiritual awakening of the sudden “light
experience”) vs (educational experience)


He talked of sin and acceptance of Christ
Alcoholics Anonymous, 27 years later, talked
of resentment and a spiritual awakening as
the result of these steps

He spent 6 years at Penn State as a YMCA
secretary where he developed his philosophy
of the Oxford Group, which was primarily the
“Key Man and Abstinence” position
(alcohol and smoking)
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Initially, from 1920 to 1928, the group was
called “First Century Christian Fellowship”
From 1928 to 1938 it was known as the
“Oxford Group” - (first called by South African
press when a group from Oxford came there
to preach)

In this 10-year period were developed the
concepts of:
A.
B.
C.
D.
House parties
Change
Guidance
Maximum
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Attempts to refer to the 6 steps of the Oxford
Group (as precursors of the 12 Steps of AA)
were only loosely connected since the Oxford
Group referred to the “four absolutes”, not
the 6 steps:
Honesty
Unselfishness
Love
Purity
Derived from Robert Speer in his 1902 book
“The Principles of Jesus”
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The Oxford Group did have some critical
points that were emphasized
Men are sinners
Men can be changed
Confession is prerequisite to change
The changed soul has direct access to God
The age of miracles has returned
Those who have been changed must change
others

These absolutes and 6 points were the
foundation of anecdotal communication prior
to the writing of the book “Alcoholics
Anonymous” with its Twelve Step Program

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Bill Wilson related that the steps, in essence,
which came from these 6 points were:
We admitted we were licked, that we were
powerless over alcohol
We made a moral inventory of our defects
We confessed or shared our shortcomings
with another person in confidence
We made restitution to all those we had
harmed by our drinking
We tried to help other alcoholics with no
thought of reward in money or prestige
We prayed to whatever God we thought there
was for power to practice these precepts


In 1908 Harold Begbie wrote
“Twice-Born Men” – a report of the Salvation
Army results using religious methods
In 1923 he wrote “More Twice-Born Men” – a
report of Buckman and the first century
Christian movement
His report focused on:
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Anonymity
Chaos
Conviction
Commitment
Conversion based on inventory, amends,
restitution and continuance
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Reports pro and con developed with
suggestions of “cult”, “dangerous delusion”,
“inculcating morbid introspection”,
“discontinuing use of one’s intelligence and
substituting a purely emotional subconscious
guidance from God”
Many churchmen had given their blessing as
a “spiritualizing influence”
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In 1936, a huge June meeting (10,000)
occurred of the Oxford Group in Stockbridge,
Mass.
It was international in attendance and flags
from countries represented were flown.
This procedure exists today in AA’s
international conferences, which began in
Cleveland in 1950 and occur every 5 years in
various locations

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Bill and Lois Wilson were in attendance at this
conference.
Bill and New York withdrew from the Oxford
Group in 1937.
Dr. Bob and Akron would later withdraw in
1939.

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History has told us that Bill had great
reservation about the “public” awareness of
Buckman and the entire Oxford Group.
He also had noted that public opinion had
deteriorated about Buckman due to what was
seen as Nazi support (not true, but reported)
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In 1938, the Oxford Group became known as
MRA – Moral Rearmament
It still exists with its headquarters in Caux,
Switzerland
Its membership and support declined greatly
after Buckman’s death in 1961
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
In 1935-1936, Peabody was treating
alcoholics one block away from Calvary
Episcopal Church where Bill and Lois were
attending Oxford Group meetings
Peabody had written a book, “The Common
Sense of Drinking”. Bill did not know this
man, but would have read this book since it
was high profile at that time
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Peabody believed completely in abstinence
and powerlessness over alcohol.
He believed deeply in honesty.

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Contents of the book referred to “halfway
measures are of no avail”.
This book also contained a story of a man
who, after years of abstinence and getting his
business in order, picked up again and died
within 3 years

While he believed the alcoholic was born
different in regard to alcohol (disease), he did
not focus on resentment, fear, and self-pity;
nor did he develop the group support idea or
the spiritual roots of surrender and
responsibility.

His primary focus was in the belief that
therapy and cognitive behavioral adjustment
of self-knowledge, retraining, discipline, and
cultivation of new habits were enough to
establish and maintain sobriety

This movement was started in 1905 – 1906
by two Episcopal ministers in Boston at the
Boston Emmanuel Church

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Initial efforts were directed for the
establishment of a clinic for TB to be used by
the indigent population.
It expanded naturally into a clinic for the
treatment of alcoholics, or ‘nervous sufferers’
as they were called

This was the first successful effort to bring
medicine and clergy into the primary
treatment of alcoholism. Thus, a medical
problem with a spiritual solution.

Peabody had recovered in this movement, but
subsequently dropped the spiritual solution
in favor of self-based cognitive power.
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A Jesuit priest from St. Louis who befriended
Bill Wilson in 1940
He was Bill’s most cherished and spiritual
confidant from 1940 until 1960 when
Dowling died

His contribution was huge as he reminded
Wilson of his “divine dissatisfaction” as Bill’s
great gift from God
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Dowling also noted the significant similarity
of the Jesuits “Ignatian spiritual exercises”
and the twelve steps
“The common property of all mankind”

He helped Bill see the “divine guidance” that
Dr. Bob, his wife Anne, and Bill had received
when they were led in the summer of 1935 to
read the Bible books of James and Paul’s
letter to the Corinthians on love.
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Finally Dowling interjected the Jesuit
discipline of daily spiritual preparation,
execution, and closure to the AA miracle

Multiple other sources such as old time
revivalist, i.e. Moody, Finney & Booth
(Salvation Army), and more modern preachers
such as Sam Shoemaker and Emmet Fox were
all significant contributors to Bill Wilson’s
thinking as he constructed the 12 Steps.

Major influences by Carl Jung, William James,
William Silkworth, Roland Hazard and Ebby
Thatcher were of inestimable value to Bill’s
“moment of clarity”.

While we love to marvel at Bill’s report of
putting the steps together in a few
minutes to a few hours, history reports
clearly that Bill experienced and
researched voraciously multiple sources
for that defining moment.
A.
The population to which Wilson was
appealing:
1)
“A condition of pitiful and
incomprehensible demoralization”
2)
“The old pleasures were gone. They were
but memories. Never could we recapture
the great moments of the past. There
was always one more attempt - and one
more failure.”
3)
“The less people tolerated us, the more
we withdrew from society, from life itself.
As we became subjects of King Alcohol,
the chilling vapor that is loneliness
settled down. It thickened, ever
becoming blacker.”
4)
“Now and then a serious drinker, being dry
at the moment, says, ‘I don’t miss it at all.
Feel better’.
He fools himself. He isn’t happy with his
sobriety. He cannot picture life without
alcohol. Some day he will be unable to
imagine life either with alcohol or without it.
Then he will know loneliness such as few
do. He will be at the jumping-off place. He
will wish for the end.”

Wilson experienced complete hopelessness.
He painted a picture of hopelessness. He
appealed to those who had been defeated, to
those who were going to make a decision to
live or die.
B.
1)
Real Alcoholic (William D. Silkworth, MD)
Bodily and mentally different
Bodily
Genetics
2)
Mentally
Thinking
a)
Brain
b)
Gut
the thinking that leads
to the drinking
c)
Liver
unresolved character
defects
“peculiar mental twist”
Brain:
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Absolute or down regulated Dopamine
system in both Type I (Adult) and Type II
(Adolescent) alcoholism.
Up regulated serotonin system in Type II and
down regulated serotonin system Type I.
This involves the neurotransmittor, reuptake,
and receptor sites.
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The condition produced from this in AA
terminology is “irritable, restless,
discontented”.
In mental health terminology anxiety,
depression, mood disorders, ADD and ADHD.

The individual genetically so programmed can
correct (or even overcorrect) these chemical
conditions with alcohol and essentially all
common drugs of reward, i.e., opiates,
stimulants, marijuana, nicotine.
Gut:

Deficient Alcohol Dehydrogenase (ADH) in the
gut leads to higher concentrations of alcohol
upon absorption with greater exposure of
organ systems to the toxic effects of alcohol.

The female alcoholic is more deficient in ADH
than the male – thus resulting in more rapid
physical deterioration for the female -vs- the
male
Liver:

Abnormal metabolism resulting from
acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) function
in the alcoholic.
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Both the gut and liver are peculiar for alcohol
metabolism and not other drugs of reward.
Summary:
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The alcoholic drinks for the effect – for relief.
The drug addict uses for the effect – for
relief.
Bodily Different
Genetics
Brain
Dopamine
Serotonin
irritable
restless
discontent
Gut
ADH
Liver
ALDH
effect
drink
relief
drug

Peculiar mental twist

Alcoholic thinking

Delusional thinking that rationalizes the drink
or drug with little or no insight into the
consequences –relief at all cost.

This type of thinking, according to the text
book of Alcoholics Anonymous, arises out of
unrecognized or unresolved character defects
which the individual has.
So named by Wilson, they are:
 Resentment
 Fear
 Harms
to others
 Sex conduct
 Dishonesty
 Self-centered (Reliance on personal power
rather than a higher power. Alcohol and
drugs serve as great teachers in illustrating
this paradigm failure)

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The irritable, restless, and discontented
condition which occurs when the alcoholic
leaves unresolved the feelings and behavior
of these defects can lead to “Jim’s” famous
example of no harm if “scotch is put in milk”.
Crazy thinking – but “relief” if he is not too
far in his brain resetting.

Jim’s Story
~from the text book
Mentally Different thinking
Character Defects
 Resentment
 Fear
 Harms to others (shame)
 Sex conduct (shame)
 Dishonesty – anybody can recover if they are
honest. Nobody can recover if they are
dishonest.
 Self-centered – source of power

An established and maintained spiritual
condition to deal with these defects is the
mandatory basis of the twelve step solution.
A)
Fred’s story
1)
Spiritual Answer
Steps 1, 2, 3
2)
Program of Action
Steps 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
B)
Faith alone is insufficient; it must be
followed by
1)
Self sacrifice
Steps 1, 2, 3
2)
Unselfish constructive action
Steps 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
“Faith without works is dead”
C)
Spiritual answer – self sacrifice
Step 1: “We admitted we were powerless over
alcohol, that our lives had become
unmanageable”
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Powerless over alcohol (compulsivity)
Life is unmanageable (planning necessary –
control outcome deadly)
Step 2: “Came to believe that a power greater
than ourselves could restore us to sanity”
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Lack of power is our dilemma
Believe or be willing to believe in power
greater than self (abandon survival skills – all
based on self power)
Own concept of greater power
Step 3: “Made a decision to turn our will and
our lives over to the care of God as we
understood him”
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This is only the beginning.
Note Third Step Prayer – And it’s lead into the
program of action.

With these 3 steps we have admitted the
chaos, solidified our conviction, and made
the commitment to our limitations and
therefore our humility.
D)
Program of Action
Step 4: “We made a searching and fearless
moral inventory of ourselves”
Character Defects
 Resentment
 Fear
 Harms to others
 Sex conduct
 Dishonesty
 Self-centered – source of power
We have identified and swallowed huge chunks
of truth about ourselves
Step 5: “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to
another human being the exact nature of our
wrongs”
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We are only as sick as our secrets.
We must be honest with somebody.
“Confession”
Step 6: “Were entirely ready to have God
remove all these defects of character”

Willing, Work, Want
Step 7: “Humbly ask him to remove our
shortcomings”

A prayer for unconditional love and a spiritual
condition dedicated to helping others.
Step 8: “Made a list of all persons we had
harmed, and became willing to make amends
to them all”

This list came from our inventory Step 4 and
was spiritually dedicated in Step 6 and Step 7
Step 9: “Made direct amends to such people
wherever possible, except when to do so
would injure them or others”

This step is delivered only following
completion of the first 8 steps, consultation
with a sponsor, and much prayer.
Step 10: “Continued to take personal inventory
and when we were wrong promptly admitted it”
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An insight into progress rather than perfection,
the staples of prayer, share, inventory, and
service, and finally the 6th sense or God
awareness. “How can I best serve thee.”
This step is clear in its promise of a daily
reprieve and the admonition for a life-time
discipline of the step process
How to live each day
Step 11: “Sought through prayer and
meditation to improve our conscious contact
with God, as we understood him, praying only
for knowledge of his will for us and the power
to carry that out”

How to begin each day and how to end each
day. – Discipline
Step 12:
A)
B)
C)
“Having had a spiritual awakening as the
result of these steps”
We tried to carry this message to alcoholics
(experience, strength, hope)
Practice these principles in all our affairs”
(Design for living)
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“Those of us who have spent much time in
the world of spiritual make-believe have
eventually seen the childishness of it. This
dream world has been replaced by a great
sense of purpose, accompanied by a growing
consciousness of the power of God in our
lives.”
“Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of
maximum service to God and the people
about us”
In summary:
Trust a Higher Power
Clean House
Help Others
The Great Mystery
The total is greater than the sum of its parts