The Spiritual Principals Behind The Twelve Steps

How many times have I heard it said that if the world practiced The Twelve Step Program it would be a better world, a safer world, a more respectful world? Already different groups are being helped with what started as a program to help alcoholics. Here are just a few:

• Families and friends of alcoholics
• Survivors of incest and sexual abuse
• Gamblers
• Sex addicts
• Compulsive eaters
• Obsessive shoppers

And there are many other programs based upon The Twelve Steps.
Actually, because everyone in the world faces some problem or challenge, it would not be difficult to take The Twelve Steps and apply them.

Eg: We admit we were powerless over our rage –that our lives had become unmanageable.

And so, if you are reading this article but do not belong to a ‘specific Twelve Step Program’ you could still apply it to your life; or if you know somebody who is isolating or confused because of a challenge in their life share this article with them. It really is a simple formula; somebody with a challenge finds somebody with a similar challenge and they share and talk together. I truly don’t know anybody who need be excluded, from the racist to the kleptomaniac!

What are some of the spiritual principals that make Twelve Step such a healing and miraculous program?

We start to recover or heal when we are willing to admit that there’s something wrong. If a person is unwilling to face their particular issue it is next to impossible to help them.

What do we say? You can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. In my many years of working with addicts I’m convinced that healing begins when the person says, “Yes, I know I truly am an alcoholic”. Or “I’m ashamed to say this but I do have a sex addiction”. As fearful or shame-based as these statements might be, once the admittance has been articulated then ‘the program’ can begin working.

B. Discover a God...as we understand him: (Step Two & Three)

It is amazing to think that A.A. proclaimed, over sixty years ago, such a freeing and open concept. Our God, Higher Power or Source need not be religious. The Twelve Step Program does not belong to any one religion or denomination, it is absent of any dogma or creed, and in this powerful sense it becomes spiritual.

This is a most important principal because it confronts the issues of shame that were seeded by religious and judgmental morality. For years, alcoholics saw themselves as willful, irresponsible, selfish...sinners. They died trying to be righteous!

I’ve written extensively in this newspaper about religious abuse and it is my considered opinion that The Twelve Step Program is anything but a cult, rather does it embrace a spirituality that is based upon what we believe or affirm; for this reason you will meet every type of human being in a meeting and all are welcome.

C. Cleaning House: (Step Four – Step Nine)

Long before physicians and therapists began to talk about Wellness Programs, A.A. felt that it was necessary to direct alcoholics, who wished to recover, to free themselves of unhealthy attitudes or behavior that were related to their drinking escapades.

The arguments, lies, manipulations, sarcasm, violence...all need to be ‘cleaned up’ so that a new spiritual journey of living can begin. And it is certainly true that a new freedom is experienced when sincere amends are made and forgiveness is experienced. It just simply feels good.

D. The Journey Continues: (Step Ten & Eleven)

Most addictions, personality defects and life challenges cannot be removed permanently; it’s not like a flu-germ that we can get rid of. Also The Twelve Step Program, again ahead of it’s time, saw the value of utilizing prayer and meditation in the on-going healing process.

Today, statistical surveys suggest that people who pray on a regular basis or engage in the art of meditation are more serene, healthy and at peace in their world. A.A. was suggesting this years ago! Wellness is recovery and recovery surely requires wellness.

E. A Spiritual Awakening = Service: (Step Twelve)

The last principal that is reflected in The Twelve Step Program suggests that after practicing the principals of
(a) Admittance,
(b)Discovering a God...as we understand Him,
(c) Cleaning House,
(d) Continuing the Journey
...we then experience a spiritual awakening. Something happens to us; we recognize that we have changed, we feel better, we are living (in all areas of our lives) the spiritual life. And this experience we need to share in service. The recovery paradox is affirmed:

If you want to keep a thing then you must be willing to give it away!

One person shares, another listens. Stories are spoken and people identify. What we enjoy we want to give away. And all the above helps to keep us sober.

Now as I said at the beginning, this ‘simple program’ can be applied to any life situation and the result I believe, would be ‘a healing’. These spiritual principals are to be found in all the great religions and philosophies of the world...but nowhere are they quite so profoundly simple. And these principals lead to this Powerful Promise:

We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will nor regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. (Alcoholics Anonymous page 83-84)