I picked this up in the AA history thread. I think its interesting and I will call into one of their meetings soon.

http://www.self-centerednessanonymous.org/meetings


Hi,

I recently went onto

http://www.self- centerednessanon ymous.org/ meeting-formats

and noticed this statement in their meeting format:

Good Morning; welcome to the 11th Step guidance meeting offered by Self Centeredness Anonymous as a service to the entire 12 step community. This format is inspired by the Guidance Meetings run by Dr. Bob, Ann Smith and Bill W during the summer of 1935.

Does anyone know where to find references to guidance meetings in the summer of 1935? I would love to have any and all references on this topic.

Thanks, Amelia




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1b.
Re: Seeking guidance -- summer 1935 -- Dr. Bob's house




Dear Amelia,

"Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers" p. 71 says the three of them would sometimes
have a quiet time in the morning in which they sought guidance, but does not say
whether or not they used pencil and paper.

Past that point, all I could suggest would be to read the standard Oxford Group
literature on the subject: I suspect that the SCA people are simply assuming
that Dr. Bob, Anne, and Bill W. were following the common Oxford Group methods
for obtaining guidance. I don't know for a fact, however, that all three of them
were taking out pencil and paper in their morning prayer sessions, nor do I know
in fact whether anybody at all in early AA meetings ever employed pencil and
paper -- Oxford Group people knew how to obtain guidance without using the
pencil and paper "automatic writing" method.

For more on the Oxford Group methods of seeking guidance (including references to other books which talk about this) see Glenn F. Chesnut, Changed by Grace pp. 38, 43, 52-54, 58, page 149 notes 57-58, page 152 notes 62-63, and pages 157-8 note 76. And especially see the long discussions on pages 60-66 and 68-72.
http://hindsfoot. org/kchange1. html
http://hindsfoot. org/kchange2. html
http://hindsfoot. org/kchange3. html

I hope there are others who can flesh this out with a bit more detail and perhaps a few more references.

Glenn