"idea" in the Big Book

I knew, and almost welcomed the idea.

They had told of a simple religious idea and a practical program of action.

I didn’t like the idea.

My friend suggested what then seemed a novel idea.

My wife and I abandoned ourselves with enthusiasm to the idea of helping other alcoholics to a solution of their problems.

And the truth, strange to say, is usually that he has no more idea why he took that first drink than you have.

If these thoughts occur, they are hazy and readily supplanted with the old threadbare idea that this time we shall handle ourselves like other people.

These give a fair cross section of our membership and a clearcut idea of what has actually happened in their lives.

The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker.

easily pushed aside in favor of the foolish idea that he could take whiskey if only he mixed it with milk!

The insane idea won out.

He tries every known means to get the jaywalking idea out of his head.

To others, the word “God’’ brought up a particular idea of Him with which someone had tried to impress them during childhood.

With that rejection we imagined we had abandoned the God idea entirely.

People of faith have a logical idea of what life is all about.

But the God idea did.

We agnostics and atheists were sticking to the idea that self-sufficiency would solve our problems.

Actually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man, woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God.

The wording was, of course, quite optional so long as we expressed the idea, voicing it without reservation.

Get an idea of his behavior, his problems, his background, the seriousness of his condition, and his religious leanings.

You will thus get a better idea of how you ought to proceed.

If he sticks to the idea that he can still control his drinking, tell him that possibly he can—if he is not too alcoholic.

Burn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can get well regardless of anyone.

If he gets the idea that you are a nag or a killjoy, your chance of accomplishing anything useful may be zero.

But it was a silly idea that we were too good to need God.

The family may be possessed by the idea

While grateful that he drinks no more, they may not like the idea that God has accomplished the miracle where they failed.

Sometimes we alcoholics have an idea that people are trying to pull us down.

We believe that managers of large enterprises often have little idea how prevalent this problem is.

In the chapter “Working With Others” you gathered an idea of how we approach and aid others to health.