STEP TWELVE

"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".

(From the 12 & 12)

1. The joy of living is the theme of A.A.'s Twelfth Step, and action is its key word.

2. Our Twelfth Step also says that as a result of PRACTICING ALL the steps, we have each found something called a spiritual awakening.

3. When a man or woman has a spiritual awakening, the most important meaning of it is that he now has become able to do, feel, and believe that which he could not do before on his unaided strength and resources alone.

4. He finds himself in possession of a degree of honesty, tolerance, unselfishness, peace of mind, and love of which he had thought himself quite incapable.

5. A.A.'s manner of making ready to receive this gift lives in the PRACTICE of the Twelve Steps in our program.

6. Even the newest of newcomers finds undreamed rewards as he tries to help his brother alcoholic, the one who is even blinder than he.

7. Other kinds of Twelfth Step work:

a) We sit in A.A. meetings and listen.
b) If our turn comes to speak at a meeting, we again try to carry A.A.'s message.
c) We can take on the unspectacular but important tasks of arranging for the coffee and cake after the meeting.

8. "Freely ye have received; freely give..." is the core of this part of Step Twelve.

9. We temporarily cease to grow because we feel satisfied that there is no need for ALL of A.A.'s Twelve Steps for us.

10. Our basic troubles are the same as everyone else's, but when an honest effort is made "to PRACTICE these principles in all our affairs", well grounded A.A.'s seem to have the ability, by God's grace, to take these troubles in stride and turn them into demon¬strations of faith.

11. But also like others, we often discover a greater challenge in the lesser and more continuous problems of life.

12. Our ANSWER IS in still more SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT.

13. As we grow spiritually, we find that our old attitudes toward our instincts need to undergo drastic revisions.

14. Either we had tried to play God and dominate those about us, or we had insisted on being overdependent upon them.

15. It became clear that if we were ever to feel emotionally secure among grown-up people, we would have to put our lives on a "give-and-take basis"; we would have to develop the sense of being in partnership or brotherhood with all those around us.

16. When we developed still more, we discovered the best possible source of emotional stability to be God Himself.

17. If we really depended upon God, we couldn't very well play God to our fellows nor would we feel the urge wholly to rely on human protection and care.

18. Prospective partners (whether A.A.'s or not) need to be long enough acquainted to know that their compatibility at spiritual, mental, and emotional levels is a fact and not wishful thinking.

19. They need to be as sure as possible that no deep-lying emotional handicap in either will be likely to rise up under later pres¬sures to cripple them.

20. Money gradually became our servant and not our master.

21. We found that freedom from fear was more important than freedom from want.

(From the Big Book)


1. Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure
immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics.

2. If the alcoholic does not want to stop drinking, don't waste time trying to persuade him.

3. Don't deal with him when he is very drunk, unless he is ugly and
the family needs your help. Wait for the end of the spree, or at
least for a lucid interval.

4. If he does not want to see you, never force yourself upon him.

5. See your man alone, if possible.

6. If you are satisfied that he is a real alcoholic, begin to dwell on the hopeless feature of the malady.

7. Keep his attention focused mainly on your personal experience.

8. If he is curious to know how you got well, tell him exactly what
happened to you!

9. Stress the spiritual feature freely. The main thing is that he be
willing to believe in a Power greater than himself and that he
lives by spiritual principles.

10. To be vital, faith must be accompanied by self-sacrifice and
unselfish, constructive action.

11. Call to his attention the fact that however deep his faith and
knowledge, he could not have applied it or he would not drink.

12. Outline the program of action, explaining how you made a self-
appraisal, how you straightened out your past and why you are now
endeavoring to be helpful to him.

13. He may rebel at the thought of a drastic housecleaning which
requires discussion with other people.

14. Suggest how important it is that he place the welfare of other
people ahead of his own.

15. You will be most successful with alcoholics if you do not exhibit
any passion for crusade or reform.

16. Offer him friendship and fellowship. Tell him that if he wants to
get well you will do anything to help.

17. If he is to find God, the desire must come from within.

18. We find it a waste of time to keep chasing a man who cannot or will not work with you. To spend too
much time on any one situation is to deny some other alcoholic an opportunity to live and be happy.

19. Helping others is the foundation stone of your recovery.


20. Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: Job or no job, wife or no wife, we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God.

21. Burn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can get
well regardless of anyone. The only condition is that he trust in
God and clean house.

22. Remind the prospect that his recovery is not dependent upon peo¬
ple. It is dependent upon his relationship with God.

23. Both you and the new man must walk day by day in the path of spiritual progress.

24. Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live
in a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circum¬
stances!

25. Our rule is not to avoid a place where there is drinking, if we
have a legitimate reason for being there. But be sure you are on
solid spiritual ground before you start and that your motive in
going is thoroughly good.

26. Let your friends know they are not to change their habits on your account.

27. Your job now is to be at the place where you may be of maximum helpful¬ness to others, so never hesitate to go anywhere if you can be helpful.

28. We are careful never to show intolerance or hatred of drinking as an institution.

29. A spirit of intolerance might repel alcoholics whose lives could have been saved, had it not been for such stupidity.

30. After all, our problems were of our own making. Bottles were only a symbol. Besides, we have stopped fighting anybody or anything. We have to!

RECOMMENDED READING

1) Alcoholics Anonymous (big book), Chapter 7.

2) Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions, Step Twelve.

TWELFTH STEP GUIDE


"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".

If we have worked and lived the previous steps in a thorough and honest manner, then the following is apparent:

Step 1 -- We admit that we are powerless over not only alcohol but also others, and that our lives have been, are now and shall remain unmanageable by us alone.

Step 2 -- We are coming to believe that God can restore us to sanity as we rightly relate ourselves to Him.

Step 3 -- We make a daily decision to turn our lives and our will over to the care of God, as we understand Him.

Step 4 -- We made a searching and fear-less moral inventory of ourselves by uncovering the acquired character defects as well as our assets.

Step 5 -- We admitted to God, ourselves and another person the exact nature of our wrongs. We started to clean our house.

Step 6 -- We became entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character as we practice to correct them daily.

Step 7 -- We humbly ask Him to remove our shortcomings as we became more aware of the fact -- "I, of myself, am nothing, the Father doeth the works"!

Step 8 -- We made a list of all those we had harmed, and became willing to make amends.

Step 9 -- We made direct amends to such people wherever possible except when to do so would injure them or others. Finally, we put the past in the past!

Step 10 - We continue to take personal inventory and when we are wrong promptly admit it. Thus, we are cleaning up the wreckage of the present, NOW.

Step 11 - We are seeking through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact of God within and without by praying only for His guidance and the power to carry it out.

At this point in our recovery process, we must be practicing the first two maintenance steps, Steps Ten and Eleven, to the best of our ability. In addition, we constantly check to make sure that Steps One through Three are evident in our lives on a daily basis. If this is true, then we are ready for Step Twelve, the last maintenance step.


Step Twelve can easily be grouped into three areas. The first area concerns a spiritual awakening. The second asks us to carry this message to all alcoholics. The last suggests we practice these principles in all our affairs. What an order, but we can carry it out if we look at these three areas and what they mean.

The first portion of Step Twelve is -- "Having had a spiritual awakening as the RESULT of these steps,...". This implies, in no uncertain terms, that as a result of practicing all the steps, we have each found something called a spiritual awakening. This spiritual awakening, which has come slowly and sometimes painfully as we were living each step in sequence, is nothing more than a transformation to a new state of con¬sciousness and being. At this point, we find ourselves in possession of a degree of honesty, tolerance, unselfishness, peace of mind, and love of which we had thought ourselves incapable of attaining. In addition, we are now aware of the havoc that the false self has caused us and are now determined to keep the "thinking mind" in its proper role as our servant instead of our master. Each time that we gained deeper and deeper awareness of God's presence within, our consciousness was raised. This program asks for progress, not perfection. So we must now continue daily to realize a deeper awareness of God's presence within us, or we will once again sepa¬rate ourselves from Him. We are on a lifetime spiritual path. But at this point our spiritual growth is fragile and we should guard it closely. Seek truth and then live it. Truth shall set us free. Therefore, in order to allow this gift of a spiritual awakening to grow, we should look at the remainder of Step Twelve and find out what we should be doing.

The second part of Step Twelve is -- "... we tried to carry this message to alcoholics,...". As we carry the message to the next suffering alcoholic, this finally translates the Twelve Steps into action. In order for us to properly "twelve-step" other alcoholics, we should have a thor¬ough foundation of this program and make sure that our own recovery process is in order. The message we carry is one that shows how the Steps trans¬formed our lives --- from what we used to be like, to what happened, and how this transformation occurred. In other words, we must practice this pro¬gram daily before we can have a message to give away. Those of us who have done the Steps and are living them, are in a unique position to carry this message of hope with love, never forgetting that this program is a spiritual program, period!

Many A.A. members declare that no satisfaction has been deeper and no joy greater than in a twelfth step well done. The unconditional giving and helping of others to move from darkness into light, to see their lives filled with new purpose and meaning, and above all to watch these people awaken to the presence of a loving God in their lives -- these things are the benefits that we receive as we carry the message. For those who are interested in "twelve-step" work, it is suggested that we (1) read the chapter on "Working With Others" in the Big Book; (2) become an apprentice of someone who does "twelve-stepping" regularly; and (3) remember -- "we carry the message, not the drunk".

There are other kinds of "twelfth step" work. We sit in A.A. meetings and listen, not only to receive, but to give the reassurance and support which our presence can bring. If called upon to speak, we again try to carry the message. We can also give of service to A.A. by making coffee, being a group secretary/treasurer, cleaning up and in general doing whatever the traditions suggest that needs to be done to keep A.A. together. Then there is always the need for competent sponsors in A.A. Sponsorship if approached rightly, can be a very rewarding experience. This is the ulti¬mate reward. "Freely have ye received; freely give..." is the core part of this part of Step Twelve.

The third part of Step Twelve -- "... and to practice these principals in all our affairs" -- is the final section of Step Twelve. The program of recovery that each of us has developed in the doing of the steps, means absolutely nothing if we do not PRACTICE these principles in all of our affairs. At this place in time, many things may be going well for us. BEWARE -- we temporarily cease to grow because we feel satisfied there is no need for ALL of A.A.'s Twelve Steps for us. Maybe we are doing fine on the first half of the First Step and that part of the Twelfth Step where we "carry the message". If this is the case, then we are "two-stepping". But, if we are again willing to receive from God that grace which can sustain and strengthen us in any catastrophe, then we switch from "two-stepping" back to "twelve-stepping".

Our troubles are the same as everyone else's, but when an honest effort is made "to practice these principles in all our affairs", well grounded A.A.'s seem to have the ability, by God's grace to take these troubles in stride and turn them into a demonstration of faith. If we find ourselves still challenged by the lesser and more continuous problems of life, our answer is still more spiritual development. As we grow spiritu¬ally, we find that the old ideas and negative thinking associated with the false self slowly disappear. So in order to grow, we must continue to practice the A.A. principles in all our affairs.

It is only by accepting and solving our problems that we can begin to get right with ourselves and with the world about us, and with Him who presides over us all. Understanding is the key to right principles and attitudes, and right action is the key to good living; therefore, the joy of good living is the theme of A.A.'s Twelfth Step.

In summary, we have had a spiritual awakening, in some sense, by doing and living the previous eleven steps. If we have done our job thoroughly and honestly, then we will have a message to carry. In addition, if we have been practicing the steps as we completed them, and continue to do so, then it is easy to practice these principles in all our affairs.

The purpose of writing the Twelfth Step is to help us identify which areas of our own personal program need to be strengthened. In each of the three areas -- spiritual growth, carrying the message, and practicing the principles in all our affairs, we need to take a long hard look and see how they can be improved upon.

The following examples are to help you improve your program by recog¬nizing the areas that still need honest and thorough practice. Remember, your program of recovery does not end with the Twelfth Step --

IT IS JUST THE BEGINNING!



RECOMMENDED READING
1) Alcoholics Anonymous (big book), Chapter 7.
2) Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions, Step Twelve.

RIGHT ACTION TOWARD RIGHT LIVING

1. What does "Having had a spiritual awakening as a RESULT of these steps..." mean to you?

2. In what ways have you had a spiritual awakening?

3. Has your awareness of God's presence within increased since you have started to PRACTICE this program? How?

4. What does "... we tried to carry this message to alcoholics ..." mean to you?

5. What IS the message that you are trying to carry? In what ways are you carrying it?

6. What is meant by "two-stepping"?

7. What does "... to practice these principles in all our affairs" mean to you?

8. What are these principles that you should practice?

9. Why is PRACTICE so important to your continued spiritual growth?

10. If you are still having problems with life, what is the answer? Why?
(See the 12th Step in 12 & 12).

11. What is meant by "twelfth stepping"? How can you successfully do this?

12. Explain why you HAVE to stop fighting anybody or anything!

13. What does "Understanding is the key to right principles and attitudes, and right action is the key to good living..." mean to you?

14. Describe the "essence" of each of the twelve steps!

15. How does this program of recovery work?

16. Why does it work?

17. Now that you have finished doing the twelve steps once, how are you going to expand your program from this point on?


18. Has this program changed your life? In what ways?

19. Describe your view of yourself at this point.


BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD...



WITH LOVE
from the Top of the Hill group
840 17th St.
San Diego, CA 92101

Shared with love,
Candy Smith, Oak Harbor, Washington June 4, 1980
Phyllis Brett, Coupeville, Washington June 21, 1987