Brushy Creek Serentiy Group

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Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our  path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not  completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women  who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves.  There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have  been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and  developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their  chances are less than average. There are those too, who suffer from  grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if  they have the capacity to be honest. 

Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what  happened, and what we are like now. If you have decided you want what we  have and are willing to go to any length to get it- then you are ready  to take certain steps. 

At some of these we balked. We thought we could find an easier,  softer way. But we could not. With all the earnestness at our command,  we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of  have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we  let go absolutely. 

Remember that we deal with alcohol- cunning, baffling, powerful!  Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power-  that one is God. May you find Him Now! 

Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon. 

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable. 

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. 

4. Made a fearless and thorough moral inventory of ourselves. 

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

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. 

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. 

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

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

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. 

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious  contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His  will for us and the power to carry that out. 

12. 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. 

Many of us exclaimed, “What an order I can’t go through with it.” Do  not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything  like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point  is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles  we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress  rather than spiritual perfection. 

Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter to the agnostic, and  out personal adventures before and after make clear three personal  ideas: 

(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives. 

(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.

(c) That God could and would if He were sought. Copyright 

© Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.