This image references a significant historical chain of events related to the origins of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). The names mentioned—Dr. Carl Jung, Rowland Hazard, Ebby Thacher, Bill Wilson, and Dr. Robert Smith—are central to the story of AA’s founding.
What Dr. Jung Told Rowland
Dr. Carl Jung, a renowned Swiss psychiatrist, had a pivotal conversation with Rowland Hazard, a wealthy American businessman who struggled with alcoholism. Rowland sought help from Dr. Jung after other treatments had failed. Dr. Jung, recognizing the depth of Rowland’s alcoholism, told him that his condition was essentially hopeless from a medical standpoint. He informed Rowland that only a spiritual or religious experience could provide a true solution to his alcoholism. This realization—that nothing less than a profound spiritual transformation could rescue him—was the foundation for what would later evolve into AA’s emphasis on spirituality.
In detail:
- Dr. Jung’s Advice: He told Rowland that he had no medical cure for his alcoholism, and that his only hope lay in a complete spiritual experience or “conversion” of the type described by religious traditions throughout history.
Rowland took this advice to heart and sought out a spiritual solution, which eventually led him to the Oxford Group, a Christian movement that emphasized personal transformation through faith. Rowland, in turn, passed this message on to Ebby Thacher, who later shared it with Bill Wilson, one of the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous.
The “chain of sharing” depicted in the image reflects how the message of spiritual recovery was passed down from one person to another, ultimately forming the basis of the principles behind AA. The phrase “Thank God someone told me” emphasizes the gratitude felt by those who have been helped by the message of recovery through AA.
-ChatGPT