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A Fresh Look At The 12 Steps
1. |
We Admitted That We Were Powerless Over
Alcohol - That Our Lives Had Become Unmanagable. |
This is a statement of recognition that
our little will, driven by our ego, which in turn is driven by
fear, has been controlling
our lives. With this awareness comes the realization that our
ego is not the best guide to have. When our lives don't look
the way we would like them to, we know that our ego is responsible.
2. |
We Came To Believe That A Power Greater
Than Ourselves Could Restore Us To Sanity. |
We now are aware of the small, quiet
voice which has been consistently speaking to us from deep within
our Hearts. This
is the "voice" of Soul.
Soul is the communicator between our little self, and our highest
Self - our God Self.
The wisdom and larger
perspective which our Soul offers us is always for our highest
good. The Soul is based in Love,
not fear.
3. |
We Made A Decision To Turn Our Will And
Our Lives Over To The Care Of God,
As We Understand Him/Her/It. |
This is a declaration of surrender.
Giving up the control
of ego for the guidance of Soul.
When we remember ourselves as God,
as creator of our every experience, we can take responsibility
for our lives. This is the opportunity to listen only
to Soul. There is always the challenge of the ego's influence
over us. But if we stay committed and focused on Soul, it will
always guide us impeccably through all situations. This is an
action of extreme Trust and Faith.
It takes patience and persistence to practice this surrender
to our highest guidance, Soul.
4. |
We Made A Searching And Fearless Moral
Inventory Of Ourselves. |
This is a commitment to clear out all
unfinished
"mommy/daddy" business. To thoroughly and deeply
search for times in which we followed our ego in harmful ways;
in greedy ways; in destructive ways. It is an opportunity to
understand the ego's role in our lives and gain greater clarity
as to why we choose not to be under its control
any longer.
5. |
We Admitted To God,
To Ourselves, And To Another Human Being The Exact Nature Of
Our Wrongs. |
This important step of admitting to the
harm we've done to ourselves and others is vital in clearing
away the old egoic energy. The use of the word "wrongs"
implies judgment.
God, (which we are)
never judges us for our actions, thoughts, or feelings.
If we can move into a non-judgmental mode of examining our past,
we can clearly see where we want to make changes
from this time forward. It does not serve us to move into guilt,
remorse, or shame.
We can simply move into clarity and the higher Consciousness
of Soul. It is with Soul's guidance that we choose how we will
be from now on.
6. |
We Were Entirely Ready To Have God
Remove All These Defects Of Character. |
Again, this is a step of surrender
to that higher wisdom
of our Souls. "Defects"
once again implies judgment.
We are not here to judge ourselves. We simply want to make changes that
feel better and work better in our lives. This is a step of forgiveness,
as well. To forgive ourselves for our past and to vow to ourselves
that we will not repeat it.
7. |
We Humbly Asked God
(Him/Her/It), To Remove Our Shortcomings. |
This reaching out for help goes along
with our ability to receive that help. Our Soul
has never judged us in any way. It simply watches our progression
through life and the decisions we make for ourselves. The word
"shortcomings" (just as in earlier wording) implies
judgment. The
truth is, we have neither defects nor shortcomings. We do have
an ego that thrives on drama.
We also have a Soul
that gives us every opportunity to change
our decisions. To make new decisions which will better serve
us. Therefore, this step is asking for recognition of those parts
of ourselves we would like to release and replace with other
choices.
8. |
We Made A List Of All Persons We Had Harmed,
And Became Willing To Make Amends. |
This important step allows us to release
guilt and take responsibility for ourselves. It gives us the
opportunity to humble ourselves and be very honest in our dealings
with others. It encourages rigorous honesty with ourselves, as
well, and gives us a tool for releasing guilt, shame,
and blame. To clean the slate, so to speak, so that we can move
forward, without holding onto the past.
9. |
We Made Direct Amends To Such People Whenever
Possible, Except When To Do So Would Injure Them Or Others. |
Once again, a clearing step. To actively
"make right" that which was out of integrity. All actions
we have ever taken are in Divine
Order. They all had great purpose, just the way they were
enacted, for our Awakening. In our vow toward greater
integrity and impeccability in every moment,
we are asked to clearly communicate with others our sorrow for
our harm. We pledge to live our lives differently, more consciously,
from now on.
10. |
We Continued To Take Personal Inventory
And When We Were Wrong, Promptly Admitted It. |
This step encourages us to continue,
relentlessly, our in-depth introspection of our egoic energies.
"When do we come from that place
of fear?"
"Why do we not stay lovingly present, no matter what it
looks like out there, or inside of ourselves?"
This step allows us to create even greater
awareness and recognition of when we are out of alignment
with our Soul guidance
(pure Love and Wisdom).
11. |
We Sought Through Prayer
And Meditation To Improve Our Conscious
Contact With God, As We Understood Him/Her/It, Praying Only For Knowledge Of His/Her/Its
Will For Us And The Power To Carry That Out. |
This step brings it all together for
us. A reminder to keep that connection to Soul
open and active. In full Trust and Faith
listening to Soul's guidance and following without hesitation
what we are told. Soul IS our connection with God,
(which we are). We are encouraged to release our little will
(ego) and follow our God Will (Soul). Just as the Bible passage
suggests, "Thy Will Be Done".
12. |
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. |
We are encouraged here to "walk
the talk" and through our Soul/Being, role model another
way to live our lives. In honesty, from that authentic place
of our true nature, Love.
We carry this message through our thoughts, words, feelings,
actions, energy, and Being.
This does not mean to preach or use coercion to get converts.
We simply exemplify these principles by example. We consistently
demonstrate the Truth
of our Being, Love.
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