Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. The joy of living is the theme of A.A.’s Twelfth Step, and action is its key word. Here we turn outward toward our fellow alcoholics who are… Continue reading Step Twelve
Category: Steps
Step Eleven
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. Prayer and meditation are our principal means of conscious contact with God. We A.A.’s are active folk, enjoying the satisfactions of dealing with… Continue reading Step Eleven
Step Ten
Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. As we work the first nine Steps, we prepare ourselves for the adventure of a new life. But when we approach Step Ten we commence to put our A.A. way of living to practical use, day by day, in fair weather or… Continue reading Step Ten
Step Nine
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. Good judgment, a careful sense of timing, courage, and prudence—these are the qualities we shall need when we take Step Nine. After we have made the list of people we have harmed, have reflected carefully upon each… Continue reading Step Nine
Step Eight
Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all. Steps Eight and Nine are concerned with personal relations. First, we take a look backward and try to discover where we have been at fault; next we make a vigorous attempt to repair the damage we have… Continue reading Step Eight
Step Six
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. “This is the Step that separates the men from the boys.” So declares a well-loved clergyman who happens to be one of A.A.’s greatest friends. He goes on to explain that any person capable of enough willingness and honesty to try repeatedly Step… Continue reading Step Six
Step Five
Step Five Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. All of A.A.’s Twelve Steps ask us to go contrary to our natural desires . . . they all deflate our egos. When it comes to ego deflation, few Steps are harder to take than Five. But… Continue reading Step Five
Step Four
Made a searching and fearless moral inventoryof ourselves. Creation gave us instincts for a purpose. Without them we wouldn’t be complete human beings. If men and women didn’t exert themselves to be secure in their persons, made no effort to harvest food or construct shelter, there would be no survival. If they didn’t reproduce, the… Continue reading Step Four
Step Three
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood Him. Practicing Step Three is like the opening of a door which to all appearances is still closed and locked. All we need is a key, and the decision to swing the door open. There is… Continue reading Step Three
Step Two
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity The moment they read Step Two, most A.A. newcomers are confronted with a dilemma, sometimes a serious one. How often have we heard them cry out, “Look what you people have done to us! You have convinced us that we are… Continue reading Step Two