How to Work the 12 Step Program

In the early days of my sobriety I didn't think well. There was no way I could handle 12 of anything, aside from the 12 Steps of Recovery, so my sponsor broke them on to what he called, "bite-sized bits." Steps 1-3, he said, will be the "attitude steps." Here is where I change my head about myself and my place in the universe - where I quit being my very own Higher Power. Steps 4-9, he was quoted saying, will be the "action steps." Here is where what I think actually starts to make any difference in what I do--where I set out to live differently than I did when I was caught inside the sewer of my disease. Cocaine rehab -12, he explained, include the "continuing action steps." This is where recovery gets a lifestyle. We continued to adopt personal inventory, and, when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
I absolutely hated this step when I first encountered it. You see, when I was drinking and drugging, I was never wrong--at least that I'd admit! And now here I was up against the daunting task of still kicking it Step 4 (one step, mind you, that I had spent the very first forty years of my well being desperately trying NOT to complete) and Step 5! What I learned from my sponsor, however, is the fact that when taking and sharing your own inventory turns into a regular, (and, for me early in recovery, a day-to-day) exercise, it becomes manageable, and, before long, even enjoyable; because I get to rehearse the rigorous honesty my program requires. Now, I want to editorialize here just a bit. Although I think it is necessary to me to consider my "wrongs" on a day-to-day basis, and to admit them; I also think Step 10 is around a day-to-day contemplation on my "rights." You see, recovery it not just about discovering our mistakes and seeking to improve them; it's really down to discovering what we've done well and celebrating it. If all I get to perform in Step 10 is focus on the negative, I might just start drinking or drugging again; when I understand Step 10 being an possiblity to celebrate the excellent in my entire life and character, that offers me impetus to "keep on keeping on" in recovery.
Step 11: We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious experience of God even as understood Him, praying limited to expertise in His will for individuals as well as the capability to carry that out.
"Conscious contact" is one kind of those activities most of us don't do well. It's as if, following being married, the pastor says, "I now pronounce you couple. You may disregard the bride." I hope you all know that a marriage doesn't end once the wedding concludes--it begins; and also the remaining time we spend in that marriage, we stand trying to improve our conscious contact with our mate! I can't tell you the quantity of young partners I've counseled as a pastor where usually, and not always, the wife will say, "My spouse just doesn't appreciate me! We never talk anymore!" Conscious contact is a few utmost importance, and it centers on the situation of communication--of talking and listening in a manner that we can share and learn. As it is in marriage, so it is in recovery. If we do not work this step on a regular basis, our relationship with God actually starts to deteriorate, and the danger of relapse multiplies. So, exactly how should we communicate with God? We talk and that we listen. We pray so we meditate.
Prayer is what comes about when I talk to the understanding that God is listening to me (take into consideration THAT for any minute!) If you do not think you are aware how to pray, there are tons of prayers within the Big Book you need to use to begin with; but there really isn't "right" way to pray. Just talk. Share. Open up!
Meditation is the thing that occurs I listen with all the knowing that God is conversing with me (take into consideration THAT for a minute!) Meditation is the complete opposite of worry. When I worry, I target the problem; when I meditate, I target the solution. I can meditate by reading the numerous books written by and then for recovering people (One Day at a Time, Just for Today, and 24 Hours a Day, just to name a few), or I can browse the books my religion espouses (the Bible or Koran, as an example). But listening implies action. If my mom tells me to mow the lawn and I do not do it, I may be familiar with her, but I didn't really hear her. Meditation implies willingness to do what I'm told. Reading the directions is something; following directions is something else. And following the directions is what leads straight away to the promise within step 12. Do you view it?
Step 12: Having had a spiritual awakening like a result of these steps, we experimented with carry this message to other alcoholics (and addicts), and to apply these principles in most our affairs.
A lot of people think they need to experience a "spiritual awakening" before they're able to work Step 3, nevertheless the promise of a brand new spirituality actually will come in Step 12--like a direct result of working the first sort 11 Steps. I believe it is often a spiritual law that understanding always follows obedience. We don't say, "Keep returning, it really works if you understand it." We say, "Keep returning, it functions in the event you work it." For me, "carrying the content" is merely living a recovering lifestyle, twenty-four hours a day, some day at the same time. My sponsor told me a few times, "You may be the only Big Book some alcoholics ever read." The way I carry the content is to practice the principles of honesty, open mindedness and willingness in all of the my affairs. The evangelist Billy Graham once said, "Too a lot of people spend Saturday night sowing wild oats and then spend all day long Sunday praying for a crop failure." True sobriety is measured inside way I behave when I don't believe anybody is looking.
So, that's Alcohol rehab centers on these "continuing action" steps. Working these steps month after month, some day during a period, has had me the kind of peace I thought was just offered to others: In them I have found the serenity, courage and wisdom for which I prayed way too long. This is my desire you.