RE-TAKING THE STEPS

[sunlight]

I am interested in seeing how many have taken the steps more than once.
Do you recommend it, or have you found it necessary or helpful?

I remember asking my son's psychiatrist once, "How do you know when you need counseling?" He said, "When you're stuck." That made sense to me. Since my son refused to go anymore, I decided to use up the rest of his sessions.
I learned a lot about myself. The doctor had a way of helping me discover for myself what was going on with me. And yet, I did not change! Self-knowledge availed me nothing! The needed power to change was not there.

The only thing that enabled me to change was taking the steps.

I am currently taking them for the 4th time, and can honestly say I've experienced two miracles recently that I never thought would be. I'm hoping for a third ( dream BIG!) but God will determine that.

I need to see to it that my relationship with Him is right and great things come to pass.
The steps enable me to get right with God by removing what blocks me.

I now have a P.O. box in the 4th dimension!

[Dallas]

I can't imagine "just once" for anything! (Especially if it's good!) I don't do well with one's!

The 12 Steps are referred to in the BB, as a "tool-kit". A tool is most often something that's used -- more than once.

I first used the 12 Steps because of my alcohol-ism. They worked so well -- that I began to use them on all the other areas of my life.

The purpose of Step 10 is "to continue"... to do what we did in Step 4 through Step 9.

A spiritual awakening is a spiritual transformation. I can have an awakening on Monday -- simply observing my life -- I need rest. And, I need sleep. It's part of the living process. But, if I have my awakening on Monday -- and sleep for the rest of my life -- why awaken on Monday? Stay sleeping! Step 10 is like "Wake up on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, ad-infinitum." And, wake up not just once each day -- but after each nap or each dozing off -- during the day.

In the 12 & 12, Bill, refers to Steps 1 through 9, prepares us -- for daily living. When I have a problem show up that I'm unable to solve -- I apply the entire 12 Steps on that individual problem. Guess what? They work!

Dallas

[Sermon]

I'm with Dallas, I've never tried just one! Expecially if it made me feel good! I did the steps when I first got here, fell into a six month slump and the steps saved me! Mandatory (for me) to do the steps again after a year of sobriety, because I can promise you I didn't do the first year perfect! I screwed up alot!!! .

Make no dout about it, the steps are here to find GOD. The further we seek the more we reveil of what kind of person we are and what we need to work on. I've seen this program done a numerous amount of ways from others. The two ways that invlove actually working the steps are the people that have done the steps, got a sense of relief and decided that making coffee and sharing every once in awhile was their solution. This worked for sometime but sooner or later we forget where we came from and loose the sense of peace we got from the steps. Then we're lost again and just attending meetings.

Then there are the ones that do the steps get relieved and do'em again (me). I recieved a greater understanding and see stronger results. Honestly when I did my first 4th step I was still trying to play the victim. Even though I saw I had a part, deep down inside I still felt wronged... It was a releif to get the stuff out that was bothering me and I became less attatched to the situations because they weren't all mine anymore. I still had some deep down feelings of being victimized. Me personally redid my first inventory and I was able to see that my actions led up to the events which accured (I commenced to get results.... AKA Growth). Yea I know sometimes quickly sometimes slowly but that's how it came for me.

I'm currently on my 4th time around the steps and I love it! I'm a strong believer in reworking the steps. I haven't found an area in my life that hasn't needed improvement yet! By the Grace of God today I'M FREE!!! But this is my opininon on AA. AA is a p_ker game to me and I was delt an unbeatable hand (even though sometimes I don't think so), so I'm either ALL IN, or I'm folding and going back out!

Bless all the miricles in this wonderful program!

[Needshelp]

Where do I start???

[Dallas]

The first thing to do is to plug the jug.
It's probably easier for you if you try to attend some meetings and make some friends in AA, and find out which meetings you want to participate with. Then, get yourself a Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, the book, and start reading on the front cover and don't skip any pages. Then, you check back & let us know what you've discovered -- we let you know what we discovered. Then, we begin to use the tools in the book to solve our problems.