A Guide To The 12 Steps Of Alcoholics Anonymous

INTRODUCTION

     A  GUIDE   to  the  Twelve  Steps  of  Alcoholics
Anonymous  is  intended  as  a  simple,  short  and
concise    interpretation   of   the   rules   for   sober
living   as  compiled  by   the  earliest   members  of
the   organization.   Great  care   has  gone  into  the
preparation  of   the  pamphlet. Most  of   the  ideas
and   explanations   were  brought  out   in  a  series
of   instruction    classes   conducted    by   veteran
members  of  AA.

     The  Twelve   Steps  are  the logical   process  by
which  an  alcoholic  finds  and  maintains  sobriety
and  becomes  rehabilitated. It has been the history
of  AA  that  any alcoholic  who  has  followed  this
program   without   deviation   has  remained  sober.
Those  who  have  tried  to  cut  corners,  skip  over
steps, have eventually found themselves in trouble.
This has been the rule rather than the exception.
Upon  being  asked which  is  the most important
of   the  Twelve  Steps,   one of  the  early  members
once  replied   with   another  question:   “Which  is
the most important spoke of  a  wheel?”  If  a wheel
has  twelve spokes and one is  removed,  the wheel
will  probably continue to support  the vehicle,  but
it  will   have   lost   strength.   Removal  of  another
spoke  weakens  it even  more,  and  eventually  the
wheel  will collapse.  So it is with  AA.  Removal  of
any of the Steps will eventually result in a collapse.
It  is  important that the newcomer be introduced
to  the Twelve  Steps at as early a  date as possible.
On  these  rules  depend  his  full  recovery.  If  you
feel   that  the  Steps  are  a  bit  too  complicated  at
first,  you can  introduce them  to your “baby” in  a
simplified  form,  going  into  the complete program
later.  The condensed  form:
1.   We   honestly  admitted   we  were  powerless
over alcohol and sincerely wanted to do something
about   it.   In   other   word   we  admitted  we  were

   Made a searching and fearless
moral   inventory   of  ourselves.

 AGAIN   we   come  to  a   step   that   requires  cour-
age.   One  of  our   chief   reasons   for  drinking was
to  escape  from  ourselves.   We  were  afraid  of our
own   thoughts  and   knew   we  could   escape from
them through  alcohol.  We were afraid to face facts.
We   were   afraid  of  our   jobs,  afraid   of  our  fam-
ilies,  afraid  of  responsibility.   And  we  were afraid
of  thinking  about  them.
So having  fortified ourselves by taking  the major
hurdles  embodied  in  the  first  three steps,  we find
the    time   has   come   to   actually    do   something
definite  about  our   problem.   So very  much  like  a
bather  diving   into  an  icy  lake  we  plunge  into an
inventory  of  ourselves.
And  what do we find?  We have  been  dishonest.
We  have  lied.  We  have cheated.  We have broken
hearts.  We have stolen.  We have slandered others.
We  have  indulged   in  extra-martial   activities.  We
have  cursed  God  and  man.  We have broken  faith.
We  have  smashed   most  of  the  laws  of  God and
man.   In   all,   we   find   that   we  are   pretty   sorry,
miserable  individuals  and  every one of  these facts
can  be  traced  back  to  alcohol.

    Admitted to God, to ourselves and
to  another   human  being  the  exact
nature  of  our  wrongs.

 HERE   again   we   find  a  very   logical   sequence.
Having  analyzed  ourselves we find it makes sense
to  do  something   toward  righting  what  we  have
found  wrong.  If  we  have  taken  the  Fourth  Step
we  have already fulfilled the first and second parts
of  the  Fifth  Step  requirements.  For  a  calm  diag-
nosis of  ourselves brings our defects.  So we come
to   one   of   the  oldest   truths   in   the   world—a
trouble  shared  is  a  trouble  cut  in  half.
To a dmit  our  wrongs  to  another   person  may
sound   like  an   insurmountable  obstacle,  but  ac-
tually  it is  very  easy  if  we go about it in the right
way.  And  any  good  AA  can  show  the  path.  It
does  not   mean   that  we  formally  sit  down  with
someone  and  say:  “I  have done wrong  in the fol-
lowing  manner:   First,   I  have  been,  etc.  etc.”  If
that  were  the  method used,  AA would not be the
great  organization  it  is  today.
The   AA   member  will   pave  the  way  by  first
telling  his  story.  The  newcomer   will  be  amazed
at  his  frankness, at  the  ease with  which  he  tells
of   usually  unmentioned  escapades.   He  will  tell
how   rotten   he  has  acted   toward  his  family,  or
how  he  spent  weeks  of  his  life  in  jail  or institu-
tions;  of dishonesties; of lies and subterfuges; the
whole  sorry  picture.

    We’re  entirely  ready to have God
remove all these defects of character

     Humbly asked Him to remove our
shortcomings.

 IT   IS   VERY   likely    that   we   will    willingly   take
the  Sixth  Step.  As  we scan  the  faces  of  our  new
friends in  AA  we see something  we  want.  We see
contentedness,     freedom    from    fear,   happiness,
serenity   and   peace.  We  have  been  harassed  by
fear  of   losing  our   jobs,  fear  of  divorce,   fear  of
creditors,  in  fact,  fears  without  end.  We  want  to
be   like   our   new   friends.   And   so, remembering
back  that  no human agency  has  helped us  before,
are   willing   to  have   God   remove  all  defects
of  our  characters.
But  how  do  we  ask  Him  to  do  it?
In   the   first   place,    we   must   remember   at  all
times   that   we   cannot   bargain  with  God.  In  our
drinking  days  we  would get  into trouble and  pray
something  like  this:   “Oh  God,  if  you  will  get  me
out  of  this  jam  I’ll  never  get  in  trouble  again.”
But   whether   or   not   we   got  out  of   that  par-
ticular  jam,  you  were  right  back  into  another one.

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

    Made direct amends to such people
wherever possible, except when to do
so would injure them or others.

 THESE   TWO   steps   are   in   such   direct  relation
to  each  other  it  is simpler  to  discuss them as one.
It  is  at this point  that  we begin  the  physical act
of   rehabilitation.   Here  is  something  physical that
we  can  do.  It  is  where  we  clean  up  the  book  of
our  lives  and  start  a  brand  new  ledger.
Our   debts  are  of   two  kinds,   the  physical  and
the  moral.  A  very  satisfactory  way  to  square  ac-
counts  is  to  take  a  piece  of   paper  and  list  your
debts.
As  you  square  accounts check off  each  one.  It
is   comforting    process   to   watch   the   list   grow
smaller  and  smaller  until  it  disappears.  This is not
an  easy  step.  We would  prefer  to forget  the  past
and  its  debts.  But as  long  as  we  owe  them,  they
are impossible  to forget.  They come  back  to haunt
us.  And an alcoholic can’t afford  to be  haunted  by
the  past.
So we set about  paying  back our  physical debts.
There are  those  long-neglected  bar bills what have
driven  us  from some of  our  favorite haunts.  There
is  the doctor,  and  the butcher,  and  the baker,  and
the   friend   who   loaned   us  money.   There  is  the
vase   we  broke  on   a  drunken  party  at  a   friend’s
home.   Perhaps  our   financial  condition  does   not
permit  us   to  clean  up  our   debts  all  at  once.  Do
not   hesitate   to   pay  a   dollar   here  and  a   dollar
there.  It  is  remarkable  how  soon  they  are  cleared
up,  and  we  will  find  we  have  gained  new friends.
Or   perhaps  a  bank  or  other   financial   institution
will   lump  all   your  debts  together  and   pay  them
off,   taking  your  note.   By  all  means  pay  off  this
note  as  rapidly  as  possible.
It   is  not  so  easy  with   the  moral  debts.   Some
of  these  we  can  never  repay.   There  is  your  em-
ployer  who  has  given  you  chance  after chance—
many  more  than   you  actually  deserved.  It  would
be  well  to  let  him  know,  not only by  word  but by
deed  that  you  are doing  something  to  solve  your
drinking   problem.   He   will   be   skeptical   at   first,

    Continued to take personal inven-
tory   and   when   we   were   wrong
promptly  admitted  it.

 WE    FIND   in   AA   that   after   a   few   months  of
sobriety,   after   the   alcohol   is   completely  out  of
our  systems,   our   problems  are  more  mental  than
physical.   It   is  very   likely   that  a   psychic   quirk
scarred   us   on   our   drinking   careers   in  the  first
place.  It  has  been  the  rule  rather  than  the  excep-
tion  in  AA that as long as a person  thinks  straight
he  remains  sober.  When  he  goes  back  to  the old
alcoholic  way  of  thinking,  he  gets  drunk.
There  are   certain  luxuries  common  to  the  aver-
age   person   that  an   alcoholic  cannot   afford.  He
cannot  afford  resentment,  nor self  pity.  He cannot
afford envy  nor greed.  He cannot afford dishonesty
of any  kind.  He cannot afford  procrastination,  put-
ting off  till  tomorrow what  should  be  done  today.
He  cannot  afford   to  do  anything   that  will  cause
him  regret or  disturb  his  peace of  mind  later.  And
so  we  must  keep  our   thinking  straight  and  clear.
We  must  recognize  that our  enemy is alcohol,  and
that  enemy  is  lurking  to  slay  us  on  the  slightest
excuse,  at  the  slightest  opening.
And  so  it  is  important  that  we  continue to take
personal   inventory.    Perhaps   we   find   ourselves
criticizing  some other  member’s  method  of  staying
sober.   Instead,   admire  him  for  doing  a   fine  job,
whatever his method. Perhaps you resent something
a leader has said. Forget it, it will be your turn to lead
before  long,  and you will probably offend  someone
yourself.  Perhaps  you don’t  think  your  boss is ad-
vancing  you  fast enough.  Just how long  have you
deserved  to  be  advanced?
This   list  could  be  prolonged  by  thousands  of
words.   But  by  this  time  you   have  advanced  far
enough   in   this  new   way  of   living  to  recognize
what  is  good  and  what  is  harmful  to  you.
So,  take  time  off  occasionally  to check  up.  Are
you doing  your best?  If  you are,  don’t worry.  You
are  making  progress.

    Sought  through  prayer and  medi-
tation to improve our conscious con-
tact with God as we understood Him,
praying  only  for  knowledge  of  His
will   for  us  and  the  power  to  carry
it  out.

 WHAT   HAVE   I   to   meditate   about?   This  will
be  answered   within  a  very   few  days   after  you
have  become  associated   with  AA.   For  the  first
time  in  your  life  you  are giving  of  yourself,  and
for   the  first  time  in  your  life  you  will   find  that
good  is  repaid  with  good.  You  will waken in  the
morning  with  clear   head  and  eye.   You  will  not
be tortured  with  fears of  what  you  did  the  night
before.   People  will   go   out  of   their   way  to  be
cordial,   kind  and   helpful.   Happiness  will   shine
in  the  faces of  your  loved ones.  You  will  be free
from   fear,  each  day  will  add  to  your  contented-
ness, you will not be dodging into alleys and cross-
ing  streets  to avoid  moral and  physical  creditors,
you   are   beginning   to  have   the  power   to  help
others.  Surely,  you  have  much  for  meditation.
When  you  meditate on  this  new  way of  living
you  cannot  but  realize that there  is a  God  above,
guiding   you   through  each   successive  day  and
night.  As you become more conscious of  this you
will    seem    to   better   understand   this    Guiding
Power.   Before   long   you  will   find  it  is  easy  to
pray.   But   if   it  doesn’t  come  easily,   don’t  let  it
worry  you.
Even   churchmen  will  admit  that   prayer  as  we
commonly  hear   it  is  phrased  in  language  stilted
and  archaic.  The  Thee  and  Thou  form  has been
used since the days of  King  James  when the pres-
ent  version  of  the Bible was written.  If  you  don’t
like  it  don’t  use  it.   It  is  not  hard  to  say  before
retiring,  “Thank  you,  God,  for  keeping  me  sober
today.”   Nor   is   it  hard   to  say   in  the  morning,
“Please,   God,   guide  me  in  the  path  of  sobriety
and   decent   and  useful  living  this  coming  day.”
Make  your  talks  with  your Guiding  Power a  per-
sonal   thing.   Give   thanks  for   help  and  ask  for
assistance  as  though  you  were  addressing  your
earthly  father.  Your sincerity  is  what counts,  not

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

 NOW   YOU  ARE  on  your  own.  Your  AA  friends
have    given   you    your   tools   and   showed   you
how   to  use  them.   From  now  on  it  is  YOUR  job
to  fashion  YOUR  life.
In  the  first  place, don’t  be  thrown by  the phrase
“Spiritual  experience.”  It  may bring  to  mind  some-
thing   supernatural—perhaps   the  lightning   flash-
ing,  the  thunder  resounding.  Or  as  in  the case of
Saul  of  Tarsus,  a blinding  flash of light.  A sudden
spiritual    experience   or   awakening    is    extremely
uncommon.  Perhaps  a  score  out of  the thousands
in  AA  have experienced  it.  But it is a slow process
for   the  average  person.   We  are  inclined  to  con-
fuse  spirituality  with  theology,  dogma,  creed  and
ritual.   Just   remember  that  most  of   us  are  pretty
new  to  this  useful,   decent  way  of   living,  so  we
must learn the spiritual side of the picture slowly
and  simply.
Remember   this  simple  thing:   The   entire  struc-
ture  of    the   Christian   religion   is  built  on   Love.
The  word  has   many  synonyms,  such  as  Charity,
Grace,   Good-will,   Tenderness,   Generosity,   Kind-
ness,   Tolerance,   Sympathy,   Mercy,   and   others.
When  we  help  a  fellow  being,  when  we  are  kind
to   one  another   we  are   performing   a  completely
spiritual  act.  Spirituality  is simply  the  act of  being
selflessly  helpful.  If  you will  start  with this  simple
explanation  you  will  find  that  the  green  light  has
been  flashed on.  Christ  taught  that  there  are  two
great   commandments:   to  love  God;   and  to  love
your  neighbor as  yourself.  If  you can follow these
you  will  have  no  trouble.
What  you  don’t  understand  don’t  worry  about.
It  will  all   become  clear   in  a  short  while.   If  any-