Your best thinking got you here...

October 7, 2001

This is a slogan I didn't hear. Maybe it hadn't been invented yet. But Cool

Guy is the

latest person to mention it,

" In AA they say " your best thinking got you here " (to AA).

They lied, it was your drugged, stupidest thinking, and very

likely the demands of a judge that got you there. "

I can interpret this slogan in two ways:

(1) Because you're an alcoholic, you can't think worth a damn. Your thoughts

are

alcoholic thoughts, and your decision to come to AA is the only good decision

you've ever

made, the only good thought you've ever had. Your best thinking got you here.

(2) Because you're an alcoholic, you can't think worth a damn. Your thoughts

are

alcoholic thoughts, and even your best thinking is alcoholic thinking. That's

why you're

here (whether by choice, or by coercion by the judge).

In either case, we're being told we don't think worth a damn.

Cheers,

nz

October 7, 2001

At 08:01 AM 10/7/01 -0400, wrote:

>This is a slogan I didn't hear. Maybe it hadn't been invented yet. But

Cool Guy is the

>latest person to mention it,

>

> " In AA they say " your best thinking got you here " (to AA).

> They lied, it was your drugged, stupidest thinking, and very

>likely the demands of a judge that got you there. "

>

>I can interpret this slogan in two ways:

>

>(1) Because you're an alcoholic, you can't think worth a damn. Your

thoughts are

>alcoholic thoughts, and your decision to come to AA is the only good

decision you've ever

>made, the only good thought you've ever had. Your best thinking got you

here.

>

>(2) Because you're an alcoholic, you can't think worth a damn. Your

thoughts are

>alcoholic thoughts, and even your best thinking is alcoholic thinking.

That's why you're

>here (whether by choice, or by coercion by the judge).

>

>In either case, we're being told we don't think worth a damn.

I'd say the " correct " interpretation is 2), because 1) presumes that

thinking actually at one point did something good for you, and that

is totally against the AA belief system.

>Cheers,

>

>nz

----------

http://listen.to/benbradley

October 7, 2001

>

> " In AA they say " your best thinking got you here " (to AA).

>

Hi ,

Heard that shit all the time. When ever i would say 'know what',

or 'what about' or 'i was thinking', 'have this idea'.....

then i would always get - 'there you go thinking again',that's

how you got into this mess. And then top it off with - 'did

you ask 'god' about that'. And if i would say 'sure did and He

thinks it's cool, ok, right, whatever.' Their answer would be,

with concern of course, 'you might want to get that confirmed',

God doesn't rush into anything and he will always confirm His

answers at least 3 times. Also had to tell em how He confirmed

these things...the answers i would come up with and believe them

to be true...just makes me laugh and shake my head...what a trip.

Everything else is either my stinking

thinking or the tricks of the adversary. How this all got so

bizarre, still baffels me...

Totally strange shit.

netty

October 7, 2001

Yeah, that line is rich rich rich. I've heard it

in California and COlorado (those wacky and endearing

AA regionalisms). I remember forming a fully formed

argument against that one the first time I heard it in

a meeting in Sacramento - similar to the ones I've

heard on this post. I'm not sure exactly what these

AA folks were thinking. Perhaps they thought that

had come down in all his feathery glory and

carried me into my first meeting, bleeding and crying

wondering where all my thinking had gone to all of the

sudden. Last time I checked I made a DECISION to go

to AA. Granted, under INCREDIBLE duress...but a

decision nevertheless. And perhaps I'm way out of

line here...but last time I checked a decision implies

at least one act of thinking. A very weird sort of

slogan indeed...one that, on the face of it, would

seem to refute the whole AA project from the get go,

or at least provide promising seeds for its later

rejection. Certain folks in AA must maintain that at

least ONE fragment of our thinking prior to taking the

steps was right on the money. My question was always

" Okay...if that ONE piece of thinking was good...then

what else am I capable of doing? Perhaps my decision

to leave AA is also right on the money. " AA

completely lacked the conceptual requrements for

helping me along that route. It effectively

short-circuited that all important virtue called

" self-trust " , one that is going to take some time to

develop again (if I ever had it). Typical Lutheran

behavior, I guess. Hee Hee.

Cool topic.

--- caenemy@... wrote:

>

> >

> > " In AA they say " your best thinking got you here "

> (to AA).

> >

> Hi ,

> Heard that shit all the time. When ever i would

> say 'know what',

> or 'what about' or 'i was thinking', 'have this

> idea'.....

> then i would always get - 'there you go

> thinking again',that's

> how you got into this mess. And then top it off

> with - 'did

> you ask 'god' about that'. And if i would say

> 'sure did and He

> thinks it's cool, ok, right, whatever.' Their

> answer would be,

> with concern of course, 'you might want to get

> that confirmed',

> God doesn't rush into anything and he will

> always confirm His

> answers at least 3 times. Also had to tell em

> how He confirmed

> these things...the answers i would come up with

> and believe them

> to be true...just makes me laugh and shake my

> head...what a trip.

> Everything else is either my stinking

> thinking or the tricks of the adversary. How

> this all got so

> bizarre, still baffels me...

> Totally strange shit.

> netty

>

October 7, 2001

Yeah, that line is rich rich rich. I've heard it

in California and COlorado (those wacky and endearing

AA regionalisms). I remember forming a fully formed

argument against that one the first time I heard it in

a meeting in Sacramento - similar to the ones I've

heard on this post. I'm not sure exactly what these

AA folks were thinking. Perhaps they thought that

had come down in all his feathery glory and

carried me into my first meeting, bleeding and crying

wondering where all my thinking had gone to all of the

sudden. Last time I checked I made a DECISION to go

to AA. Granted, under INCREDIBLE duress...but a

decision nevertheless. And perhaps I'm way out of

line here...but last time I checked a decision implies

at least one act of thinking. A very weird sort of

slogan indeed...one that, on the face of it, would

seem to refute the whole AA project from the get go,

or at least provide promising seeds for its later

rejection. Certain folks in AA must maintain that at

least ONE fragment of our thinking prior to taking the

steps was right on the money. My question was always

" Okay...if that ONE piece of thinking was good...then

what else am I capable of doing? Perhaps my decision

to leave AA is also right on the money. " AA

completely lacked the conceptual requrements for

helping me along that route. It effectively

short-circuited that all important virtue called

" self-trust " , one that is going to take some time to

develop again (if I ever had it). Typical Lutheran

behavior, I guess. Hee Hee.

Cool topic.

--- caenemy@... wrote:

>

> >

> > " In AA they say " your best thinking got you here "

> (to AA).

> >

> Hi ,

> Heard that shit all the time. When ever i would

> say 'know what',

> or 'what about' or 'i was thinking', 'have this

> idea'.....

> then i would always get - 'there you go

> thinking again',that's

> how you got into this mess. And then top it off

> with - 'did

> you ask 'god' about that'. And if i would say

> 'sure did and He

> thinks it's cool, ok, right, whatever.' Their

> answer would be,

> with concern of course, 'you might want to get

> that confirmed',

> God doesn't rush into anything and he will

> always confirm His

> answers at least 3 times. Also had to tell em

> how He confirmed

> these things...the answers i would come up with

> and believe them

> to be true...just makes me laugh and shake my

> head...what a trip.

> Everything else is either my stinking

> thinking or the tricks of the adversary. How

> this all got so

> bizarre, still baffels me...

> Totally strange shit.

> netty

>

October 7, 2001

Yeah, that line is rich rich rich. I've heard it

in California and COlorado (those wacky and endearing

AA regionalisms). I remember forming a fully formed

argument against that one the first time I heard it in

a meeting in Sacramento - similar to the ones I've

heard on this post. I'm not sure exactly what these

AA folks were thinking. Perhaps they thought that

had come down in all his feathery glory and

carried me into my first meeting, bleeding and crying

wondering where all my thinking had gone to all of the

sudden. Last time I checked I made a DECISION to go

to AA. Granted, under INCREDIBLE duress...but a

decision nevertheless. And perhaps I'm way out of

line here...but last time I checked a decision implies

at least one act of thinking. A very weird sort of

slogan indeed...one that, on the face of it, would

seem to refute the whole AA project from the get go,

or at least provide promising seeds for its later

rejection. Certain folks in AA must maintain that at

least ONE fragment of our thinking prior to taking the

steps was right on the money. My question was always

" Okay...if that ONE piece of thinking was good...then

what else am I capable of doing? Perhaps my decision

to leave AA is also right on the money. " AA

completely lacked the conceptual requrements for

helping me along that route. It effectively

short-circuited that all important virtue called

" self-trust " , one that is going to take some time to

develop again (if I ever had it). Typical Lutheran

behavior, I guess. Hee Hee.

Cool topic.

--- caenemy@... wrote:

>

> >

> > " In AA they say " your best thinking got you here "

> (to AA).

> >

> Hi ,

> Heard that shit all the time. When ever i would

> say 'know what',

> or 'what about' or 'i was thinking', 'have this

> idea'.....

> then i would always get - 'there you go

> thinking again',that's

> how you got into this mess. And then top it off

> with - 'did

> you ask 'god' about that'. And if i would say

> 'sure did and He

> thinks it's cool, ok, right, whatever.' Their

> answer would be,

> with concern of course, 'you might want to get

> that confirmed',

> God doesn't rush into anything and he will

> always confirm His

> answers at least 3 times. Also had to tell em

> how He confirmed

> these things...the answers i would come up with

> and believe them

> to be true...just makes me laugh and shake my

> head...what a trip.

> Everything else is either my stinking

> thinking or the tricks of the adversary. How

> this all got so

> bizarre, still baffels me...

> Totally strange shit.

> netty

>

October 7, 2001

> This is a slogan I didn't hear. Maybe it hadn't been invented

yet. But Cool Guy is the

> latest person to mention it,

>

> " In AA they say " your best thinking got you here " (to AA).

> They lied, it was your drugged, stupidest thinking, and very

> likely the demands of a judge that got you there. "

>

> I can interpret this slogan in two ways:

>

> (1) Because you're an alcoholic, you can't think worth a damn.

Your thoughts are

> alcoholic thoughts, and your decision to come to AA is the only

good decision you've ever

> made, the only good thought you've ever had. Your best thinking

got you here.

>

> (2) Because you're an alcoholic, you can't think worth a damn.

Your thoughts are

> alcoholic thoughts, and even your best thinking is alcoholic

thinking. That's why you're

> here (whether by choice, or by coercion by the judge).

>

> In either case, we're being told we don't think worth a damn.

I think it meant that no matter how well you think, your thinking

is not good enough to survive as an alcoholic/addict/defective human

without the guidance of XA and a higher power. But it is an absurd

notion, like many in XA and religion, that the weeks or months or

years of out of control drug or alcohol addiction/abuse that led up

to one's joining XA should be considered the highest and best

thinking that person has ever been or ever will be capable of. For

after 3 months and more so after 6 months, and even more so nearly

every day since, I realize how much more functional my brain is now

than it was at any other time in my life, including: my formative

years, my years of alcoholic behaviour, and my years of " recovery. "

October 7, 2001