SESSION 4

Listen to Joe Hawk's fourth tape.

The first half of the second step - "Came to believe."
How do I come to believe?

Three simple truths of this disease are that:

1. Regardless of how much knowledge I have, I don't really fight the idea of drinking.
2. Once I decide to drink, no Power on earth can stop me.
3. The craziest thing I ever did was to drink after there was absolutely no alcohol in my body.

Questions to think about:

If I have been asking and answering questions about myself up to this point:

• Have I learned something about my alcoholism?
• Can I see the difference between me and a non-alcoholic?
• Can I stay stopped by myself?
• Once I start drinking, can I control how much I take?

The Assignment

At this point, re-read everything I have written.
Ask myself these questions while I am reading:

• Is there an action I have not taken in the past to stop drinking or control my drinking that I think might now work?
• Is there anything that I can now think of that I haven't tried that I think might work?

If the answer is "yes", if I think there is something else that will keep me sober, I might want to go out and try it at this point. Only when there are no other options before me have I really taken the first step.

The first step is not a good place to be. All by itself, it paints a fairly bleak picture of my future. I have just looked at my life and found myself powerless. I cannot control how much I drink once I start. I have not been able to stay stopped on my own Power.
And now, I am coming out from behind the bottle and starting to realize that by just not drinking I am not going to cure this disease.

What are we doing?

We are getting ready to become willing to take the second step.
We are not being asked to take anything on faith alone.
We are being asked to commit to taking some actions and observing the results.

Do I now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power greater than myself?