We now reach the final article in our series on the Twelve Steps. This is the point at which we should experience our spiritual awakening, assuming that we haven’t already. By the time we reach Step Twelve, our spiritual principles will rise to new levels. In most cases, we found ourselves to be happier and…
Up to this point, the Twelve Steps focused on teaching us the right principles to embody in recovery. Now, it’s time to put those principles into action on a daily basis. There is no point in working so hard to establish a decent moral compass if we intend to toss it by the wayside later…
It’s time for us to continue our usual series on the Twelve Steps. This time, we turn our attention toward Step Nine. At this point, we reach the last step in our initial plan of action. The last few steps concentrate on continuous action, but Step Nine focuses on what we can do today in…
Our series on the Twelve Promises offers something interesting that you won’t get from our series on the Twelve Steps or the Twelve Traditions. While each of those other series focuses on things you must do in order to maintain a principled way of life, this series focuses on the benefits of living in such…
In its fifth chapter (“How It Works”), Alcoholics Anonymous begins explaining the Twelve Steps in a fair amount of detail. Continuing this discussion, “Into Action” covers all of the remaining steps except for Step Twelve. You’ll want to read it in full, as there’s a lot of great information in here. But for those who’d…
One of the hardest things to overcome after years of addiction is our guilt. For quite some time, we remain convinced that our disease hurt no one but ourselves. Eventually, however, we come to realize that this isn’t quite true. In many cases, this realization leaves us devastated. Tortured by the pain of our own…
When we first start drinking or abusing drugs, it might take some time before we see any real consequences. Many of us begin with simple experimentation, and everything appears just fine. But as our use continues to increase, we gradually find ourselves slipping downhill. Before we even realize what’s happening, our lives no longer resemble…
Now that July has begun, we can push past the halfway point in our monthly series on the Twelve Steps by focusing upon Step Seven. This step is in many ways an extension of Step Six, in which we became ready to remove our character defects. Now, much as we did with our addiction in…
Nobody can go through addiction recovery alone. If we are to remain sober, we need a healthy support network upon whom we can lean when we need help. But for some people, this will be difficult to attain. Some of us have found that our social skills were lacking while in active addiction. Maybe we…
It’s May, which means that summer is just around the corner. More importantly, it’s time for our fifth installment of our series on the Twelve Steps. Step Five is directly related to Step Four, so those who are either on Step Four or about to begin it should benefit quite a bit from the advice…