Currently viewing the category: "Steps & Traditions"

Step Three.

On December 3, 2009 By

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 [...]

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Step Twelve.

On November 24, 2009 By

Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of those steps we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all of our affairs.

The 12th Step is the climax of the other 11. Without the 12th Step, the conception formulated in the other 11 would be like faith [...]

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Tradition Eleven.

On October 25, 2009 By

Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.

I HAVEN’T MADE a good old-fashioned sweeping statement in a long time. I would like to make one now and say that nothing on earth could ever have promoted me [...]

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Step Eleven.

On October 25, 2009 By

Sought through prayer 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.

WHEN I WAS SMALL, my parents sent me to several different Sunday schools, but I don’t think they ever went to church themselves. My [...]

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Step One.

On October 8, 2009 By

We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.

“Who care to admit complete defeat? Practically no one, of course. Every natural instinct cries out against the idea of personal powerlessness. It is truly awful to admit that, glass in hand, we have warped our minds into such an obsession [...]

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Tradition Ten.

On September 24, 2009 By

Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the AA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.

Sobriety in AA is the first thing in my life that has really worked. I’m grateful to fellow AAs who’ve shown me how not to drink on a daily basis, and to alcoholics I’ve never met [...]

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Step Eight.

On August 23, 2009 By

Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

I CHOSE this Step to write about because it’s the toughest one for me. I’ve had one hell of a time with the state of willingness. For, in order to be willing to make amends to others, [...]

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Step Six.

On August 16, 2009 By

Were entirely ready to have God remove all defects of character.”

“This is the Step that separates the men from the boys. Any person capable of enough willingness and honestly to try repeatedly Step Six on all his faults – without any reservations whatever – has indeed come a long way spiritually.

He is therefore [...]

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Step Two.

On August 15, 2009 By

Came to believe a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

“Few indeed are the practicing alcoholics who have any idea how irrational they are, or seeing their irrationality can bear to face it. Some will be willing to term themselves “problem drinkers,” but cannot endure the suggestion they are in fact [...]

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Step One.

On August 8, 2009 By

We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.

“Why all this insistence that every AA must hit bottom first? The answer is that few people will sincerely try to practice the AA program unless they have hit bottom. For practicing AA’s remaining eleven Steps means the adoption of attitudes [...]

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