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Hello, fellow Prime Timers! Don’t be shy. Please share your thoughts about the new site, Prime Time meetings, speakers, the 12 Steps & Alcoholism, Ego & Self.
Happy New Year, wow! great meeting, and a wonderful place to be New Years Eve, on many levels. It was my 1st N.Y.E. not with family and I really felt good about being there, with so many good folks and friends. Maybe it will become not just a P.T. tradition, but one for me also, God willing.
I was mailed a nice saying,and thought I’d share it “INSTEAD OF TELLING GOD HOW BIG MY PROBLEMS ARE, TRY TELLING MY PROBLEMS HOW BIG MY GOD IS”
Thanks for getting this site together, it really helps me when I’m losing my mind @ work and in self! Bob was angry and hostile at work and so am I some days, I need the help of PrimeTime in my life and this site is really nice to have!
So great to have experienced PT whilst i was in LA.
Am bringing the message of this wonderful website to fellow members in Melbourne, Australia.
Miss you all!
meeegs
Hi everyone I was wondering if maybe the phone list might be added to this site
Hi Megan!
It was a pleasure to get to know you and spending time with you. Please come visit us again soon!
Blessings,
John
Hi Brian
We considered that but most members preferred to keep the phone list private.
Warm wishes,
John
Hi, I have a friend who is an addict in the NYC area and goes to a small and new PT meeting Wednesday nights. He is looking for a sponsor and cannot find one locally. Can anyone help?
Can anyone tell me how to find PT meetings in NY? Thanks!
Does Primetime AA still consider itself part of Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole? It seems to me that it has become an offshoot of AA that is a hybrid of Alcoholics Anonymous and a “self help,” or motivational group. I am not a fan of Drunkalogs, but in my experience, people who work a strong program soon learn that they are not the point. Drunkalogs are useful only in helping a newcomer identify, but that is crucial. Our stories describe what we were like, what happened, and what we are like now. That is how a newcomer first realizes he has common ground with the people in AA, through shared experience. I have not read his book, but in all the summations I have read, Bob Anderson’s revelations are simply reiterations of ideas already laid out very clearly in the Book. The point of the twelve steps is to produce a personality change which will allow for a happy, usefull, fulfilling life without alcohol. If someone has an inflated Ego they are probably not applying the 12 steps to their daily life. And instead of breaking away from AA, why not bring this focus on the present moment into mainstream AA meetings? Why not be an example to those who still think an AA meeting is a place to complain about their boss, or to tell stories about their drinking without using them to illustrate how alcoholism functions and what the solution is? I worry about newcomers who stumble into a Primetime meeting with no context. If my first meeting had been Primetime is Now, I don’t know that I would be sober today. I understand thet people who have been sober a while and are unsatisfied seem to find an answer in these meetings, but I know that if I had come in fresh of the street I would have turned an ran.
From Astrid H:
Dear Friend of Bill’s,
Thank you for your comments and ideas on The Prime Time AA meetings. Yes, we are definitely AA and consider ourselves very involved in AA. Our format is a little different and we tend to focus on the mental aspects of the disease of alcoholism. This meeting and format isn’t for everyone and that’s whats so great about AA. There are so many meetings to choose from. As a Prime Time AA sponsor I can say I have great success with old timers and newcomers. I feel so much more is in the hands of God than my eyes can see. I came to Prime Time AA with 3 days and never left ..my life has been saved and I have a lot of gratitude today. Thank you for checking out Prime Time and God bless your journey.
Love Astrid
astridhowe@gmail.com
From Ron G:
To Agonized:
I would like to share that the Prime Time meetings absolutely are part of Alcoholics Anonymous. The principles that we discuss at Prime Time meetings are from the literature of Alcoholics Anonymous, and quite often never discussed at A/A meetings. Prime Time is a focus – that is all. It is a focus on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous and a focus on recovery; living a life that is happily and usefully whole. The principles of the program, coupled with a relationship with a Power greater than ourselves are the solution to all of the problems that we face, and Prime time focuses on the solution, not the problems.
It is true that people who work a strong problem soon learn that drunkalogs are not the point, but why bother with them in the first place? Anyone who raises their hand in an A/A meeting and identifies as an alcoholic likely has a PhD in drinking and bad behavior while drunk. We have little to learn about drinking debauchery, and what solutions to life’s problems are offered in drunkalogs anyway? There are an abundance of A/A meetings in the Southern California area that will help the newcomer identify. Prime Time is about recovery NOW – we seek something different. Real Recovery is not about complaining and whining about bosses, and the problems of the outside world, because recovery is an inside job. When we began to understand that all issues of restlessness, irritability and discontent stem from separation from the Power that created us, we lost interest in complaining about problems, and sought the solution. That Power is God, may we find him now.
Peace and blessings,
Ron G Ron
rgoode@earthlink.net
I attended your meetings and all I heard was the Why? This just stays in the problem. I understand newcomers relating to “the more info the better ” However if I am trying to figure out why I am an Alcoholic and why my mind works the way it does, according to some academic, I am in the problem ! I am an Alcoholic and will always be Alcoholic ! Why DOES NOT MATTER. How WE Have recovered and How WE can be of maximum service to OUR fellows is OUR new purpose. IT”S NOT ABOUT ME, NEVER WAS. It is about WE< US AND OUR PROGRAM. God Bless.
Pete,
I’m not sure which meeting(s) you attended, but the Primetime meetings I attend on a regular basis focus on the solution rather than the problem. We discuss alcoholism not just as a word, but as a living, mind-powered disease in the day we are in. The “ism” is alive and well, drunk or sober, and needs to be recognized and treated with a spiritual program of recovery as outlined in the 12 Steps of Alcoholic Anonymous. It is useless to discuss “why” we are alcoholics, but it is important to recognize the symptoms of our disease in the day we are in (our thinking) and know what we are up against before we can embrace a program of recovery based on spiritual principles and live happily and usefully whole.
Peace and blessings,
John S
Just wanted to say a HUGE thankyou for posting this info. I am in Connecticut and cannot find this message out here! I first received it in Colorado 10 years ago, went to one San Lorenzo retreat, and have been on the East Coast ever since, missing it tremendously so am THRILLED to find all this info here, downloads, etc! Anyone in the New ENgland/CT area please feel free to contact me clintmorg@yahoo.com would love to have some others out here to talk with! thanks again
You are very welcome, Clint. Keep spreading the word!
Blessings,
John S
Thanks to all for a wonderful website. Through it was started the first PrimeTime meeting in Nortern CA, “Peninsula Prime Time AA” meeting on Saturday Night at 7:30 PM in Buringame, CA. I found PT in ’02 while living in Sherman Oaks on a work assignment. The PT message has changed me forever. We are very grateful to all of the Pioneers of PT, as well as Bob A. and the creator of this website. Keep up the good work!
In Joy,
Nor Cal PrimeTimers
Thanks, Nor Cal PrimeTimers! We were very gratified to hear about your new meeting and wish it much success. PrimeTime has changed me forever too and today I have a completely new outlook on sobriety and the spiritual way of life.
Blessings,
John S
i just want to thank you for having the prime time meeting recorded and on the website. i’ve been having a rough couple of days and listening to them here while at my desk at work has really helped me out today. great tool thanks very much
Thank you for this web site:) Jonas from sweden
There are a few things I am finding confusing about your website. The legal disclaimer on your home page states, “This site is not associated with or connected to or related to/with Alcoholics Anonymous, to/with Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc. or represent Alcoholics Anonymous in any way shape or form. Makes no claims or statement of facts and in general is not responsible for the content and any ramifications thereof. The materials presented here are for research and information purposes only.” However, your audio recordings claim to be AA meetings, your directories list AA meetings, you reference the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, the 12-steps, the 12-traditions. Your “About Prime Time Meetings” tab states, “There are over 20 Prime Time AA meetings in…” Your web administrators say things like, “Dear Friend of Bill’s,
Thank you for your comments and ideas on The Prime Time AA meetings. Yes, we are definitely AA and consider ourselves very involved in AA.”
From what I can gather, your legal disclaimer is simple verbiage at the bottom of your page to absolve you from your utter destruction and disregard of the 12 traditions of AA.
I also notice that Bob Anderson (first and last name) seems to be quite iconic, and a leader of PT/Prime Time/AA/Not AA movement-thing. In Bob Anderson’s story it reads, “Nobody ever explained to him the disease of alcoholism and that lack of power is the dilemma. They would say, “keep coming back, eventually you’ll become a winner.” They would talk about how they lost their house, their jobs or whatever they lost and how they got a new house, their job back and whatever else, but nobody would talk about the in between. Nobody would describe how the alcoholic mind functioned and how untreated alcoholism manifested into an unmanageable life.” I find it quite ironic that part of PT/Prime Time/AA/Not AA movement-thing’s purpose is to “not blame other people” when your fearless leader’s story does just that. Who are these terrible nobodies? And who is “they”? And I guess those same nobodies forgot to tell Bob that “it’s not them.” It sounds, maybe, possibly, that Bob Anderson is referring to AA meetings. It also sounds like Bob Anderson’s “dilemma” he refers to in his story came about from “nobody in AA doing it right.” It sounds to me like Bob Anderson decided he was better than AA.
I’ve always heard that a resentment and a coffee pot is a great way to start a new meeting. What I haven’t heard before, is starting a new movement. One that includes separation from AA as a whole, an entirely new movement and a non-AA book that one can purchase on Amazon.com.
I think what frightens me the most, is the constant reference to Prime Time with capitalization. Since this sight is not affiliated with AA, I’ll enlighten you. In the REAL AA Big Book, capitalized words usually reference a Higher Power. For example, on pg. 49 in the middle of the sentence, there are three capitalized words: “When, however, the perfectly logical assumption is suggested that underneath the material world and life as we see it, there is an All Powerful, Guiding, Creative Intelligence, right there our perverse streak comes to the surface and we laboriously set out to convince ourselves it isn’t so.” Also, in the forwards to the Big Book, the word “Society” is often capitalized. This is because the Fellowship and the Unity of the Fellowship are of paramount Spiritual Importance. I sincerely hope that Prime Time is only capitalized because it is seen as a proper noun, like Wednesday or Egypt. And not because, Prime Time, is supremely Spiritual. One reader commented, “Thanks to all for a wonderful website. Through it was started the first PrimeTime meeting in Nortern CA, “Peninsula Prime Time AA” meeting on Saturday Night at 7:30 PM in Buringame, CA. I found PT in ’02 while living in Sherman Oaks on a work assignment. The PT message has changed me forever. We are very grateful to all of the Pioneers of PT, as well as Bob A. and the creator of this website. Keep up the good work!
In Joy,
Nor Cal PrimeTimers” What is the PT message?! And why is Bob Anderson trying to steal Bill Wilson’s thunder by pioneering some new movement with a new message, new website, new literature and new acronym?!?! PT??!?!
It’s unfortunate that AA is being divided. It’s unfortunate that meetings are being labeled and judged. It’s unfortunate that the Traditions are being bulldozed and spat on in the name of PT. It’s unfortunate that this may confuse people about the real message and matter of Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s unfortunate that Bob Anderson, started to cop a resentment, judge AA meetings, obviously not seek out the guidance of a sponsor of any kind or a spiritual advisor and decided to create a Prime Time/PT/AA/Not AA movement-thing that divides the fellowship. There is no such thing as a bad meeting; there are only bad perspectives. Prime Time/PT sounds amazing, helpful, insightful, provocative and great! It sounds like it can really change the lives of those suffering from alcoholism. What Prime Time/ PT doesn’t sound like, is Alcoholics Anonymous. For a website that identifies ego in the title, there sure does seem to be a lot of it flying around.
Thank your for your comments. You make a lot of assumptions about Prime Time (yes, it is capitalized because all AA meetings are capitalized in the AA meeting directory). I have to wonder, have you ever attended a Prime Time meeting? The Big Book says, “There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance –
that principle is contempt prior to investigation.”
I will let others who visit this website offer their experiences with Prime Time which may prove helpful to you.
In the meantime, please note that since this site does not originate from AA World Services, we must include a legal disclaimer. This holds true for all AA and 12 Step-related sites that do not originate from AA World Services.
Peace and Blessings,
John
“They are restless, irritable and discontented, unless they can again experience the sense of ease and comfort which comes at once by taking a few drinks-drinks which they see others taking with impunity.”
As an interesting side note, here’s what some people think of AA in general.
http://www.landoverbaptist.net/showthread.php?t=20451
Here are some principles in action, and my public force feeding of humble pie. I certainly owe an amends here. As the author of the above comment (the long, rambling, really judgmental one), I hope that I can offer sincerest apologies for any toxicity or negativity that I may have spread to the administrators or readers of this page. After sleeping on it, and re-reading my post, I can see that my tone, my feelings and my rude opinions were really the center of my comments. This is very embarrassing and very wrong. My concern for AA, questions, and inquiries were hidden by my judgment and opinion. I certainly don’t want to participate in anything that steers someone away from a meeting or the message of recovery, and I’m afraid that is what this post has done. I hope you will consider removing these posts. They are very negative, and I’m truly sorry for that. And in the spirit of the steps, please let me know what I can do to make this right.
Ouch, sometimes character building smarts a bit.
Sincerely,
Member
I love the honesty of the last person who apologized . I have been there so many times .God wants us to admit our faults so that sunlight can shine into our house. I love AA so much and the spiritual awakening is broad and roomy. Each person gets a very personal and unique experience with the steps and their creator. I know God wants me to accept peoples opinions even if they aren’t mine. What a gift it is to be alive and struggle for the truth inside. Thank you AA thanks to my home group ( Prime Time ) and most of all thank you Creative Intelligence for saving me from a seemingly hopeless state of body and mind.
Love and Tolerance to my fellows
Astrid
Hello Y’ All – getting ready to redesign and livin’ up this place – suggestions are welcome – John let me know if there is any thing in particular you need…Christopher…fearnoart62.com
HELLO!! It’s Christopher and I have the pleasure of encoding and editing and reformatting the ‘Bob’ videos. I had stopped because the time factor but I have bulk batched and will be begin putting them up again this week so check back. The videos are more than helpful they are full of experience which for me is where any wisdom if at all, derives from, for me, not ‘knowing.’
Greetings. I had the pleasure of attending the Primetime meetings while I was in treatment in the San Fernando Valley from April to July. I love the message I heard and it truly changed the way I think about my disease. I have come to realize that if I am living for the outcome or result of a situation, that I am living in self-obsession and I am able to bring myself in to the present.
Thank you for this format and message.
It’s funny, not really funny ha ha, but funny peculiar, how, the more some people TALK a lotta big talk about being ”free from the bondage of self” and so on, the more they seem to display an insane egotism and sense of entitlement in their inappropriate actions. I got news for these guys. There are no gurus on the recovery path. But there’s a lot of sick people trying to get better. Sometimes they find themselves being bullied and berated by even sicker ‘bleeding deacons’ who think they got some sorta VIP pass in the rooms. God help us! This is not the AA way, guys. Whatever happened to Live and Let Live? Just sayin’…
Can’t wait! There’s three near me.
I was loaned a copy of the Astrid (I think 1-2-3) CD and WOW! I found a local group (burlingame, ca) – bought a copy of EF SOTM and downloaded the papers; I can’t wait to get to my first PT meeting. I have been in AA for almost nine years – this is an invigorating new way to look at treating my alcoholic mind- thanks!
I have been attending meetings now – PT burlingame meeting is awesome; and have downloaded speakers (Astrid Emotional Sobriety – I love it!). Question: As I was not sponsored originally using the Tiebout papers (I have found them to be extremely helpful) – I am wondering what is the best way to introduce them to my newcomer sponsees (it seems my sponsees with 5+ years have all been finding PT the same time as me!). I am not used to introducing literature that is not “AA Approved” – I usually use the big book and the 12S&12T. Any suggestions?
I live in Liberty Hill, TX. I am 25 yrs sober and am struggling with fear. I have worked the steps many times over the years as outlined in the Big Book and with a sponsor who is 39 yrs sober. I am still attending 1 meeting a week and feel like an outsider if I dare delve into what my ego is currently throughing my way. It seems as if the folks I am in meetings with took the steps when they first got sober and everything they reference is in the past tense. “When I used to be angry, when I used to frightened”, etc. Since I am currently loaded with fear and am applying page 68 as best as I can, and I mean pen to paper, actually asking God to remove it, but seem to not be making any head way, does anyone have any suggestions? I am a true blue, alkie, so self knowledge avails me nothing. Also wondered if you have any ties in Texas? I appreciate your time.
Hey so glad you are brave or desperate enough to reach out. The application of these principals are in today not yesterday. Its great to know that there are somr folks out there who did the steps 30 years ago and are still reaping the benefits today. Unfortuni tly thats not my experience. I have to be in constant contact with a power that is more powerful than my fears. I need a living relationship with God and I need to practice the principals in ALL my affairs. I need and expanding relationship with this God. I need to relate my crazy thought life to him.Its an on going process and im never finished. I continue to grow along spiritual lines. If you want to talk more about this feel free to call. Astrid 818-314-6168…May you find him NOW
WOW! Loved that last audio sample of Astrid’s titled Astrid #2. I can’t find it in the library. Is there a way to download it? Love, love your web site. Bless YOU! Jill
Thank you Jill!
Yes, that share you’re talking about was killer. You can now download it for free in the Primetime Library. Go to the file near the bottom labeled 2.12.12 Astrid PT Thus
Blessings,
John
I just want to say that the Primetime message has truly saved my life. I have been sober (dry) for 15 years. Hence I have struggled with the fact of whether I be a true alcoholic.
I attended a Primetime is Now meeting in Burlingame, CA and heard Kay speak. I was flabbergasted at what she said and how she described my mind to a tee. It really excited me.
Then, I recently listened to Astrid’s share in Danville, CA in Nov. 2011. She absolutely told my story of the demons inside my head, sober or drunk. I am now able to reconcile that I am a true alcoholic of the most pathetic type. Every description of the mental obsession rings true with me as she shares it in Danville. Thank you Primetime and Astrid for giving me the facts so that I can deal with this cunning and baffling disease on a daily basis. I have now been able to have some moments of peace and am truly excited about my continuing journey of life. Primetime is Now is awesome and I am truly forever grateful for this message.
Marsha
What a beautiful post. Thank you, Marsha, and our blessings!
John,
I’m starting a Prime Time based meeting Wednesday’s in Santa Monica at 3:00PM at the Unurban and we were thinking of occasionally playing some of the recordings from the site’s library at the meeting, would this be okay?
Mike D.
Hi Mike,
Primetimeisnow.com is a public site so feel free to use whatever recordings you like.
Blessings,
John
Hello,
There doesn’t seem to be a non-public contact area so I will post my question here.
I am in my second month of sobriety. My sponsor is in his 4th year. I am just now starting step 4.
He found Primetime last week and it has stopped us in our tracks. (He’s been to one of your meetings and I have listened to Astrid on this site.) We are both very taken back and attracted to the Prime Time group along with it’s ideologies. It has changed our thinking on just about everything, so much so that my sponsor even said to me, “I’m doing you an injustice as a sponsor in light of this discovery.” I’m pretty sure he is going to be searching out a new sponsor in your circle. We are most likely going to make Prime Time our home group.
My question is – what do I(we) do? I feel a loyalty toward my sponsor and don’t just want to drop him. But even he admits, his approach is antiquated. We both want to join up with you – yet do we keep our sponsee-sponsor relationship intact – and let him find a new guy while I wait in a holding pattern for him to start his steps over – or do we both need to start fresh with new direction?
Thank you!