The 12th step as defined by AA in their original text:
" 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."
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I am only one, yet I am one. I can't do everything, yet I can do something. And what I can do is what I ought to do. And what I ought to do is by the grace of God. I will do today what I can. Anonymous ~ Balboa Island, CA
OUR PRIMARY PURPOSE
To assist those whom still suffer.
Mike J. , Kansas
12th Stepping -
Working with Others
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
-Albert Einstein
"I have arrived after a meeting began but, the only meeting that I was really late for was the first one I attended - by at least thirty years."
"It's not what I KNOW in recovery that keeps me sober. It's what I DO."
The 12 steps are not for those that need them.
They are not for those that want them, either.
They are for those that DO them.
Winners DO what they have to.
Losers DO what they want to.
Favorite Recovery Quotes.
The results of working the steps are found here.
WHAT IS A QUALIFIED 12th STEPPER ?
A person whom has " been there done that", recovered, and is contacted for a prospect to visit with.
AS stated above, a 12th stepper is a person whom has throughly worked the 12 steps exactly as outlined in the aa Big Book, WITH a sponsor ( whom has their own sponsor) and as a result of doing so, has experienced a spiritual awakening. As a result, many have a desire to carry the message of hope, to others. This, because it helps them in their own personal recovery.
" 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." .
The entire family is, to some extent, ill." Let families realize, as they start their journey, that all will not be fair weather...
Suppose we tell you some of the obstacles a family will meet; suppose we suggest how they may be avoided even converted to good use for others.
COMMENT ( Mike J, Kansas )
Some sponsors have said:
There is no exact way to work the steps.
I disagree. 100 people whom had recovered got together and wrote a book, an instruction manual on how to recover from the sickness of alcoholism. This book, the AA Big Book, contains the collective wisdom of the first 100 successful candidates. It was written in 1935 and, the instruction portion of the Big Book has not changed since then. Not one comma, has been moved.
It worked then, and it still works today.
USE the Big Book as your primary guide, and stick to the BLACK stuff on the pages, it WORKS for you and your sponsees everytime, when DONE completely ( all 12 steps ) and throughly ( don't leave anything out of your inventories ).
COMMENT : If all there was to recovery was " Keep coming back, it works when you work it "; then the authors of the Big Book would have only needed one page !
Guides for the guide ( sponsor ).
Practical outlines and guides I have used that proved helpful in helping others.
Cling to the thought that, in God's hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have. The key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them.
Chap 9, aa BB
