Topic: The Symptoms of a Spiritual Awakening

Topic: The Symptoms of a Spiritual Awakening

What drives someone to seek a deeper kind of sobriety, long after the last drink is gone? This AA speaker meeting with Russell S from the Coral Gables Group in Florida zeroes in on what he calls "emotional sobriety" and the symptoms of a spiritual awakening, after 29 years dry.

Russell shares how a simple Al‑Anon handout on the "12 symptoms of a spiritual awakening" turned into his own 24-point list, including both awakening and what he jokingly calls "spiritual numbness". He keeps it honest and funny, talking about control, fear, self-pity and that very alcoholic knack for gossiping and character assassination.

As he puts it bluntly, "Selfishness, self-centered, that's the root of our problem." You’ll hear him unpack signs of spiritual growth like an increased tendency to let things happen instead of forcing them, a growing ability to live in the present, and losing the taste for worry and resentment. He contrasts this with long-term sobriety that stays stuck at "dry"—physically sober but spiritually miserable, the kind of person the Big Book describes as "dry for the moment".

Russell weaves in AA literature, the "guy in the glass" poem, and stories about sponsors, Marines, stage 4 cancer, and a tough Jesuit priest who told him, "I think you're full of shit"—a line that, paradoxically, helped shift a fear that had haunted him for months. This talk is especially relatable for anyone with some time sober who’s thinking, "Is this all there is?" and suspects the real work now sits in the heart, not the bottle.

If alcohol is down but self-pity, control, fear and gossip are still running the show, this one might hit close to home and give you a few symptoms to watch for in your own spiritual journey. Where do you see yourself—spiritually waking up, or just spiritually numb and dry?