Master Manipulator

I have a friend in my morning meeting who was quite dismissive of anything that she didn't agree with . . . which was everything I said, more or less.  I learned quickly not to suggest that she do anything that she didn't want to do . . .  which was everything, once again.  When I did the pushback was immediate.  My response to this was that I could barely keep a straight face listening to her justifications.  One time she said: "Nah, that wouldn't work for me" when I wasn't even giving any  advice - all I did was share what I did in a similar situation.  I didn't even say that it would work for her although I probably implied that it would.  I'm sneaky that way.  I'm a Master Manipulator like most recovering alcoholics.  How do I get you to do what I want you to do while making you think it's what you wanted to do, anyway, and the idea was yours to begin with?

Here's another example of our Founders repeating themselves because they know we're not really paying attention - this is from two contiguous pages in Step Twelve: ". . . still more spiritual development."  ". . . as we grow spiritually . . . "  ". . . when we are willing to place spiritual growth first . . . "  ". . . if we go on growing . . . "  "As we made spiritual progress . . . "

Here's another interesting fact: Step Twelve has three parts - Carrying the message, experiencing a spiritual awakening, and practicing these spiritual principles in our daily lives.  This, our longest chapter in the 12 & 12, runs twenty pages.  Care to guess how many pages are devoted to each part?  Two on carrying the message; three on the spiritual awakening (which, in fairness, has been flogged half to death in most of the preceding Steps); and fifteen on practicing these principles in our daily life.  Fifteen!  Three times as many pages as the first two combined!