• Fourth Step Aa

STEP FOUR 43 We want to fi nd exactly how, when, and where our natu-ral desires have warped us. We wish to look squarely at the unhappiness this has caused others and ourselves. 4th Step Inventory Guide. The 4th step inventory is perhaps one of the most well-known pieces of twelve-step programs. Originally introduced in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, the fourth step states that we ”Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.”. Jul 06, 2005  FOURTH STEP INVENTORY Introduction to the 4th Step Inventory Workshop WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE 12 STEPS? To help us discover and establish a conscious relationship with a Power greater than ourselves.

THE FOURTH STEP AND HOW TO DO IT by Jason Wittman If you would rather download this manual as a Word file, so you can work on it, off-line, it is available for download at the bottom of the page, which you can magically get to by clicking. THE FOURTH STEP AND HOW TO DO IT by Jason Wittman, MPS We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. This is the first of the cleansing steps. This is a wonderful opportunity to get out of the mind and onto paper, all of those guilty, resentments, fears, unthinkable thoughts (that are thought of continually), angers, feelings and thoughts about sex, your opinions of yourself, as well as an inventory of your assets. In short, this is a written word-picture of the status of your internal state. This step is most prone to procrastination.

Probably this is due to the anticipation of having to confront all of that accumulated emotional garbage. This is especially so if you have made a lifestyle out of consciously denying its existence and avoiding that confrontation. If you find you are putting off doing this step, you might find that doing it a little bit at a time will lessen the fearful massiveness of it. It is a lot easier to knock down a brick wall, one brick at a time, then by throwing one's body at it. I am about to present a rather complete guide to doing this inventory. It is in the form of questions to be answered. The easy way to do this is to decide to answer just the first part of the first question, the first time you sit down to do it.

Let that be the equivalent of the first brick. The most important thing is to get from stop to go. Just start writing. You might be pleasantly surprised to find that you end up answering more questions than you set out to do. Here are some basic guidelines and suggestions to keep in mind when doing this kind of writing:.

Get yourself a notebook to write in. I find that what works best for me is a 9 ½” X 6” college ruled spiral notebook. I usually pick one that has dividers for three subjects and start my writing in the second section, leaving the first section blank.

If I forget to put the notebook away and someone happens to see it, the chances are that after flipping through a number of blank pages in the front they will conclude that it is an unused notebook and put it down. For me this size spiral is really convenient to carry around, put in a briefcase, and have next to my place setting when I am eating, which, I find, is a good time for me to write (actually while waiting for and after my meal). If you do use a spiral notebook, I would suggest using only the right hand page. This way, if you should later think of any additional things about some previous writing, there is room to add it.

Also, if you should think about some information that is extraneous to the question you are currently answering, but important to a future question, it too can be jotted down on the left side. That will free it from your mind so you can get back to answering the current question.

This kind to writing is train-of-thought-writing. It is also called automatic writing. What your mind thinks, your hand records. Your conscious, critical mind ought to be an idle, non-participating spectator. The most important thing is to get the thoughts on paper.

Spelling is not important. Grammar is not important. You can use outline form, incomplete sentences, run-on sentences (my favorite), shorthand, hieroglyphics (as long as you know what they mean), what ever it takes to capture your thoughts on paper. If you feel that what you just wrote is inaccurate or incorrect and you just must change it, put a single line through the old version, do not erase or obliterate it,and write the corrected version next to it or above it.

I suggest doing it this way because much of the time the first version was quite accurate, with the new edited version emotionally more palatable. Reading it later, it will be the original version that will have the greater impact. Even though you know that in the next, the fifth, step, you will be reading this inventory to another human being, for right now make believe that you don't know that.

Write it as if you are only writing it for yourself, which is the truth, anyway. You want to be writing your thoughts and feelings as they are, rather than as You think You would like to have others hear them.

This is very important. If you write this step as truthfully as possible, there will be portions of it that won't be very pretty. If you pretty them up, you will be robbing yourself of the opportunity to grow, which is prosumedly why you are doing this.

Remember, the cheater cheats him/herself!. Some of the questions for this step will start off with “Write about each incident in your past that.” When answering this kind of question, you do not need to spend weeks gathering information to make the answer as complete as possible. What pops into your mind as you are answering the question is sufficient.

If later you think of more information, jot it down on the left hand page next to the original answer. (The left hand page will be blank if you followed my previous suggestion.). To help the person who will listen to your inventory in the next step, either put the question number in front of each answer or start off each answer by restating the question. For example: Question - What do you like least -about sex? Answer - What I like least about sex, is. Feelings are not rational.

There are no right or wrong feelings, there are just your feelings. When a question asks for you to write your feelings on a particular subject, just write it the way You feel it.

There are two categories of feelings and mental information; active and historical. Active feelings are those that are either on or just below the surface in your mind. They are the ones that you keep thinking about or which quickly surface when a similar incident occurs. Historical feelings are those that have been resolved in your mind and are now in the memory banks of completed events.

For example, let's suppose that you were having an argument with someone on the phone and that person restated his opinion and then before you could state your opinion, your phone went dead. Because you didn't get to express your opinion, what you would have said will continue to replay in your mind until you get to say it. That is active information. When you re-establish the call and get your message out and end the conversation, the whole event will be filed in the completed action (or historical) memory banks. When answering the questions in the following guide, only active feelings or information need be recorded.

Fourth Step Aa

Note that if you have never dealt with something that happened to you at age five, it is probably active information. THE FOURTH STEP GUIDE RESENTMENTS In this first section you have the opportunity to examine and record your resentments.

Resentments are caused by happenings in your past that did not turn out to your liking, especially where you felt an injustice was done. The resentment is directed at the person, place, or thing that caused or was responsible for the injustice.

The resentments that are important to this section are those that are still unresolved in your mind, where you still harbor ill feelings towards that which you perceive to be the cause of the situation. In other wards, active resentments. One last thought, don't forget to include resentments you have for yourself. Write about unresolved incidents in your life that have resulted in your having a resentment for the cause (persons, including yourself, places or things) of the unpleasantness or injustice. If you periodically replay the incident in your mind, or similar incidents in the present trigger a replay of the incident, you can bet it is still active and is unresolved and needs to be written down. For each on of these incidents that you are recording include the following:. Assuming that you had the ability to change the outcome of past events, would this one be important enough to change?.

Did this incident have a profound influence on the future course of your life? Write how it effected you and how it changed your life.

What part did you play in this incident? GUILT There is an old saying, “Guilt Kills!” It is true. Guilt is self-induced bad feelings.

It is the feeling of having done something that is wrong. Guilt has a direct effect on behavior. The two primary ways it shows up in behavior is through avoidance and through over-compensation. For example, if a person felt responsible for the collapse of the last relationship, he/she might avoid getting into another one. If that same person thought that the relationship's collapse was due to his/her not being there enough for the partner, he/she might over-compensate in the next relationship by paying so much attention to the partner that the partner gets smothered. I have found that until people are willing to deal with and resolve the feelings of guilt and resentments, they will stay stuck in their loser behaviors. Write about each of those events, omissions (things you neglected to do) that have resulted in your having unresolved guilt.

Include:. How each of these effected your life?.

If you could do it over again, what would you have done different?. What part did you play in the event? ANGER Anger is a legitimate feeling and as such it ought to be responsibly expressed. Anger, like all other negative feelings will stew and fester like a cancer if not resolved. When angry feeling are pushed aside or rationalized away, (“Oh, it's not important enough to get upset over.”), it doesn't go very far away. It just sits right below the surface. Each time a similarly caused bit of anger is dealt with in the same manner it adds to that which is already accumulated.

Eventually, it causes resentments and the ability to keep them unsaid and unimpressed diminishes. People who are said to have a “short fuse” are people with lots of unexpressed anger. This also accounts for “the straw that broke the camels back” phenomenon - that one little comment that got the full blast of a thousand accumulated mini-angers that were left unexpressed from a thousand previous such little comments. As with all other feelings, if you do not deal with them regularly, they will deal with You. The following is a partial list of things that people react to with anger.

Reading over it might jog your memory:. being talked down to. being the target of jokes. being the target of ridicule. being publicly embarrassed. not getting your way. being called demeaning things.

people with more power, money, fame, etc., than you. letting yourself down. the police.

the government. your procrastination. your computer. For each person, place, or thing that gets you angry or irritable, describe what happens. What actions, key statements, situations lead up to your getting angry and “setting you off”?. Which one of your “buttons” or “triggers” gets pushed?.

What part do you play in it? FEAR AND ANXIETY Fear is living in the past.

Anxiety is living (worrying about) the future. If we have had a bad experience in the past, reliving it in the mind produces fear and worrying about if it is going to happen again in the future produces anxiety.

The following are a list of fears or fear causing situations. It is all right if some of them do not apply to you. They are examples of what other people have experienced and are listed here to assist you to remember your fears:. Success. failure. relationships. Heights.

animals. insects. Crowds.

being alone. meeting new people. Parents. bosses. people of the opposite sex.

Sex. rejection. people of the same sex. Religion. drowning. flying.

Sickness. phobias. pain. Write about each of your fears. Write enough about each one so that it adequately describes it. For each one:. Name the fear, i.e.

“fear of”. Describe the fear;.

If you can remember the situation that started it or the first time it occurred - describe it;. What does it prevent you from doing?. What part do you play in it? SEX This is a subject that had given most people problems.

In this section you will have the opportunity to explore the feelings and emotions that are generated by, and associated with, the conflicts between your attitudes and beliefs towards sex and the actual ways you have sex. When the ways that you have sex, or fantasize having sex, is different from the ways you were brought up to believe sex should be practiced, the chances of acquiring unrealistic guilt and shame are great.

Remember when answering the following questions that there are no right and wrong answer. There are only your answers honestly written down from your experience. As the famous television detective, Jack Webb, used to say, “Just the facts!” Temporarily suspend your judgements - just record the feelings and the facts. When you dream about your “ideal” relationship, what is it. After you have described it, write how close your real life relationships have come to your “ideal” ones. Describe your sexual fantasies. Write about both the ones you have actually done and the ones that are only played out in your imagination.

What is preventing them from becoming realities?. The following is a list of ways that people have sex. Most likely you can relate to some of them because you have done them, fantasize about them, are threatened by them, or just have strong feelings about them. For the ones that you are attracted to but they make you feel uncomfortable, are threatening to you, are afraid of, or feel are unnatural, abnormal, or amoral write about your attraction to them and what prevents you from following through on your feelings and making them a reality.

If you actively engage in them, what gives you bad or guilty feelings of doing them? The list is not a complete one, so if there are other acts or things that you do or fantasize and feel negatively about them, include them in this writing. Prostitution indecent exposure hustling unsafe sex sex with animals heterosexuality bisexuality rape voyeurism homosexuality sadism anal sex masochism oral sex safe sex bare backing sex with children fetishes Pornography kinky sex slaves abortion masters venereal diseases public sex AIDS as it effects your sex incest sexual infatuations inter-racial sex phone sex adultery buying sex monogamy three-way (or group) sex. Are there things you have not yet written about that you have either done or fantasized about doing that you felt sorrow, shame, an/or guilt later on. What sexual situations have caused you to be upset, frustrated, anxious or sad? For each one describe what was your part in it and what part was caused by your sex partner(s). Did you have a problem accepting the way your partner(s) acted?

How did you feel about situations you couldn't control?. Have you pursued sex in a compulsive, addictive or obsessive manner? What effect has that had on you and the people around you? ASSETS Most of this inventory had been concerned with the negatives in your life. To get an accurate picture of yourself you need to also include the positives about you. List, with as much description as you feel necessary, your physical assets, such as your appearance, singing voice, strength, smile, etc. List and write about your abilities such as being a good actor/actress, good business-sense, a great mother/father, good sales person, great conversationalist, intelligent, etc.

List and write about the positive parts of your character such as; honesty, sense of humor open-minded, generous, loving, as well as, trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, true and reverent (where did I hear these before?). List and write about anything else about you that is positive. MISCELLANEOUS Write as much as you need to on the following questions:.

How do you think other people see you? Is that the same as you see you? If not how do you see yourself?.

Are you working? If so, what kind of work do you do? What do you like the most about your work?

If you could make a negative free change of professions today, would you? If yes, to what?.

Besides work, what else would you like to do with your life?. If you used to use drugs and /or alcohol, are there things that you could do better then than now? What about things that you can do better now than when you were under the influence?. To boost the image of oneself to others (as well as to oneself), people sometimes develop a set of lies about events from the past that are said so often they begin to seem like they actually happened. Have you included any of these pseudo-experiences in this inventory? If you don't know for sure, do you suspect any of your answers?. Another way people enhance their image to themselves and others is by conveniently forgetting to include unpleasant or ugly details of the past.

Are there things you have conveniently forgotten to include or purposefully left out of this inventory. You are doing this inventory solely for your growth, so the person who gets cheated by such omissions is you. has not been covered. In your answers so far, that you think is important to include to get a full picture of yourself?. For a lot of people, writing an inventory like this can be a scary process. What kinds of feelings and/or problems did you experience during your writing? SHORTCOMINGS AND CHARACTER DEFECTS Now that you have written most of your forth step it might have occurred to you that in some areas your life has not measured up to what and where, by your own definitions, it ought to be.

This area between where you feel you ought to be and where you actually are, is your shortcomings and character defects. I like to separate them into tangible and intangible ones or real world ones and ethical ones. The real world (tangible) ones are ones like not handling finances very well, procrastination, oversleeping, being too trusting of strangers or not trusting enough of friends and the like. Ethical (intangible) ones include honesty and spirituality (trusting your higher power). To jog your thinking, the following is a list of some other shortcomings or character defects: Tangible - Real World ones: Low self-confidence; self-centeredness; self-hate; poor business achievement; lack of Patience; gluttony; greed; people pleasing; striking out physically or verbally when you feel threatened or scared (i.e. The best defense is a good offence. Intangible - ethical ones: intolerance; false pride; not trusting your Higher Power to take care of the results.

Remember that these are only problems if they area problems for you. The judgement as to what is the optimum in any of these areas needs to be yours, not your mothers, your ministers, or your friends or associates. If you feel that where you are or what you are doing is what is right and you can't buy other peoples ideas on the subject, then this is not a shortcoming for you and therefore not a subject that needs to be written about in this step. List your shortcomings and character defects and for each one, describe what would be optimum (if you were operating at this level it wouldn't be a defect) and where you are presently in comparison to where you would like to be.

Congratulations for having completed your first inventory! Download Your Copy of This Guide Here If you want to download a copy so that you can work on it, off-line, on your computer, you can download it by clicking the 'download' link below. This download is written as an MS Word form. What that means is that you will not be able to change any of my text, but you will be able to type your answers to the questions by clicking anywhere in the body of the question. The curser will automatically move to the space where you can write your answer. Once you click on the link below, it will automatically download and open up as an MS Word document. Click on 'File'/'Save' and then save it to your hard drive and then if you close MS Word, will be right back here!

©1986, Jason Wittman My Coach Jason’s Tips for Winning at Life My monthly ezine of useful tips that will give you 'the winner's edge!' Sign up NOW and receive, as a gift from me, an mp3 download of my best selling program for achieving restful relaxation, 'Conditioning for Inner Learning.' Subscribe Here.

Click the link above to download the printable 12 Step Guide. There is no one set way that the founders and pioneers worked the steps. They intentionally avoided Dogma. This guide exemplifies, as close as possible, one of the strongest original ways of Alcoholics Anonymous.

All you need is a Big Book and this guide to go through the steps with someone in a way similar to what Dr Bob, Clarence S or Bill Wilson would have done. There is no obligation by any member of The Original Way Group to use this guide. We merely offer it for those who want it.

Our primary purpose is to carry the message and this guide helps our group to do that. A NOTE ON THE FOURTH STEP: The above 12 step guide includes an Assets and Liabilities list. This is a 'commercial inventory' style 4th step. This is in line with what the founders used. Just click it and print it. It's ready to go. But there are actually two main 4th step styles.

The Assets and Liabilities and the 3 Column Inventory. Both are great Moral Inventory formats and are worth doing. Both qualify as the original way since both formats were used. The list style was probably used more often than the 3 Column originally but that eventually changed as time went on. It is highly recommended to try both or to work directly from the Big Book. Of course it's also fine to pick one method and stick with it.

There are no rigid rules. Click to learn more about the 4th step and Moral Inventory in AA. FOURTH STEPS - PRINTABLE. AA THE ORIGINAL WAY 12 Step Guide A simple program for going through the twelve steps with a willing newcomer in approximately 4-6 hours. This Step Guide can be done all at once or in 1 to 4 sittings. Questions to ask the newcomer are in RED and passages to READ to the newcomer are in Blue.

Steps 1 thru 8 are actually worked. Steps 9 thru 12 are reviewed here with instructions given for how to learn and practice these steps. Once taken, all the steps should be worked more thoroughly, forever. There is a break after Step 6 & 7 which can also serve as a stopping point to divide the work into two- 2 hour periods. Four week beginner meeting schedule: Week One – Step 1, 2, 3. Week Two - Step 4 thru 9.

Week Three - 10 & 11. Week Four - Step 12. “ there was nothing left for us, but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet.” –AA pg 25. Our Goal: A Spiritual Experience That Can Conquer Alcoholism STEPS ONE, TWO AND THREE SURRENDER Before starting, promise confidentiality and ask the newcomer, “Do you want to quit drinking?

Are you willing to go to any lengths to stop? Do you want to work the steps together?” If yes. pick a special place to go to. Read page 58-63 in How It Worksthen ask the newcomer what is essentially the A, B, C’s posed as questions. A) Do you concede to your innermost self that you are powerless over alcohol? (step 1, Read pg 30) b) Do you now believe, or are you willing to believe in a Power Greater than yourself?

(Step 2, Read pg 47) c) Do you believe God could and would solve your alcohol problem if sought? (step 2) If the answer is yes., then read the paragraph that contains the third step prayer pg 63. Ask the last question in that paragraph, “Have you thought well about this step? Are you willing to abandon your life utterly to God?” If the answer is yes. to all of these questions then take the Third Step Prayer together on your knees. Abandon your life to God with the most self surrender you can possibly muster. Read from the Big Book or a prayer written for the occasion.

This completes 1, 2 & 3, however, this decision has “little permanent effect unless at once followed” by action. With this in mind, steps 4 thru 8 are about to be done right now, in one fell swoop.If the answer is NO read & explain the Big Book up to pg 63 to the newcomer and then try this step guide again. Stress the Hopelessness of Alcoholism. “The more hopeless he feels, the better.

He will be more likely to follow your suggestions.” –pg 94. This fuels the deep surrender required to break through into a deep spiritual experience. If the newcomer is unsure they are alcoholic you can suggest that they follow the simple “ controlled drinking” test method outlined in the Big Book on page 31 and 32.

We avoid diagnosing others as alcoholic. AA has no monopoly on recovery and is best for those with a desire to stop drinking.

It is unfair to expend time with someone who does not want it when that time could be offered to someone who does want it. If someone is drawn to another spiritual path kindly encourage them to “follow their conscience.” But tell them you would still like to stay in touch since as alcoholics we have “much in common”. Pg 95 STEP FOUR ( This guide refers to the included AA The Original Way 4 th Step Inventory. This is a thorough yet simple checklist format like Bob, Bill, Clarence and many AA pioneers used. It covers all the bases. However, this step guide works well with a 4 column inventory worksheet also.) Referring to our list, put an x or in the box that applies. Mark when in doubt.

Enter all the names and fill in the boxes. Save the discussion of details for step 5. The sponsor usually writes the 4 th Step Inventory; the newcomer speaks. THREE PARTS OF THE 4 th STEP There are three parts to the 4 th step. First, the “grudge list”; listing Resentments and filling rows 1a-f.

Second, the Fears. Third, the Harms, including sex and financial harms. This is what the founders focused on. Part #1- Resentment ( Row 1 a-f): “ What People, Institutions or Principles are you angry at?” After you get all the names down go back to the first name and Ask 1a “Did a decision based on Self later place you in a position to be hurt by this person?” (Row 1a.) Then do the Affects My: (Rows b-f). These are “our injuries”. What part of self was “threatened”, injured or “interfered” with? (Rows 1a-f apply to resentments only.

It is not necessary to ask these questions for the fears and harms). Part #2- Fear (Row 2): “ Who or what are you afraid of?” Write down the names of all fears then do harms Part #3- Harms (Row 3-16): “ Please, list all of the names of people you have harmed, include financial and sex harms.” Write all names first then go back and work your way down the list.

Start on (3) Selfishness and work down to (16) Sexual Selfishness for every person, including those listed for Resentments or Fears. Ask, “Did your “ ( rows 3-16) ” harm this person?” (More will be revealed; we only list what we remember now, deeper memories will become conscious later. Our inventory is left open for future additions.) The main point of 4 & 5 is to see where thoughts of self have defeated us.

P g 64 says, “Being convinced that self, manifested in various ways, had defeated us, we considered its common manifestations.” Our shortcomings stem directly from self. Self centered thinking separates us from others. It blocks the “sunlight of the spirit”.

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This is spiritual sickness. The founders showed us that thoughts of self block us from a spiritual experience.

4&5 show us the blocks. 6&7 help remove them.

STEP FIVE Read page 64-73 to lead into the Step 5 discussion. (Many sponsors share intimately about themselves as well.) Discuss Resentments: We are looking for ' causes and conditions.' Avoid wasting time complaining, arguing a point or psychotherapy. “We asked ourselves why we were angry’?” pg 64. Discuss the Resentment with the intention of discovering where we were at fault, disregarding the other person entirely.

We can only sweep up our side of the street. ”Where were we to blame?” pg 67.

Re-read pg 66-67. Discuss Fears: Ask “ Why do you have this fear? Isn’t it because self reliance fails you?” Re-read pg 68. Discuss Harms Including Sex & Financial: Rows 3 to 16 are harms.

The people we harmed can now be discussed including any debts & sex issues. For each relation or person harmed we ask, “Was it selfish or not?” When done Read page 75 then the first 5 steps. It says “Every dark cranny of the past.” Say, “If there are any secrets “omitted” now is the time to share them.” Sit quietly in meditation of what’s just been done (10-60 min). Then ask “ Is our work solid so far?” If the newcomer “can answer to (their) satisfaction”, do 6 th & 7 th steps. (The founders describe going immediately from the Moral Inventory into the deep surrender in 6 & 7.

A fluid string of events. They don’t mention doing an hour long review; although they paused briefly before the 6 & 7 th Step Surrender. Of course, it can be helpful for a newcomer to come back to this step after the initial step work has been done and take a full hour to review the Moral Inventory as it says in the Big Book.) STEP SIX AND SEVEN Still meditating on the 4 th and 5 th step ask, “Are you now willing to let God remove every one of these shortcomings you just admitted are objectionable? ” (Step 6) If there are shortcomings that you still cling to ask God for the willingness to let go. (Mark these shortcomings and include in 10 th & 11 th step work.) Steps 6 & 7 are surrender steps. Six prepares the mind and seven is a full on surrender of self“all of me, good and bad”.

We see the damage of self here in our 4 th and 5 th steps. Now we let go and let God. We let go of self willand commit to living in God’s Will. This is deep and powerful work. (Step 7) When ready we say the Seventh Step Prayer, pg 76, humbly, on our knees, holding nothing back. Coffee Break?

(Step work can be divided into two sections at this point if needed.) STEP EIGHT AND NINE AMENDS: Referring to the 4 th Step, If a name has more than 1 or 2 marks under harms they are likely due amends. Put an A in the column and ask “ How can you make amends to this person?” Make sure to review the amends being made to insure that they are appropriate. Plan to discuss the amends before and after they are made. Step Nine is an ongoing process.

Living in God’s will, cleaning up the wreckage of the past and helping others repays our debt, “we are reborn”. It is recommended that Pg 76-84 in AA and Step 8 & 9 in the 12 & 12 and Little Red Book be read by the newcomer before any amends are made.

ASSETS = GOD’S WILL ( IDEALS TO STRIVE FOR ): The assets are polar opposites of the shortcomings they run parallel to. The ones with the most marks to the left of them are the assets that can be worked on in the 10 th step and prayed for in the 11 th Step. For example, if there are a lot of people we have harmed with “Selfishness” there will be many marks in that row.

The corresponding Asset to selfishness is selflessness. We can highlight this asset and work on it in 10 and 11. Accordingly, if there are very few people we have harmed with “Dishonesty” then there will be very few marks along that row. This tells us that we have strength in the corresponding Asset which is “Honesty”. The pioneers often used the Four Absolutes as the opposites of Fear, Anger, Dishonesty and Selfishness (Self Will). So across from these “Liabilities” they used the “Assets” Love, Purity, Unselfishness and Honesty (God’s Will).

Self Will-God’s Will Fear- Love Anger-Purity Selfishness-Unselfishness Dishonesty-Honesty THE MAINTENANCE STEPS “What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.” Pg 85 STEP 10 Step Ten is for daily inventory and to stay current on new issues. The 10 th Step inventory can be done using your 4 th step inventory, a journal, a “balance sheet”, or it can be done right out of the Big Book pg 84-85. Regardless of how we do it the main thing is to watch for Fear, Anger, Dishonesty and Selfishness (F.A.D.S). The 10 th Step becomes our workhorse step all throughout the day. We use it to become vividly aware of our shortcomings and assets. This helps us utilize our strengths and stop hurting others with self centered thinking.

There is no self when fully present in this moment. “Thy will not mine be done.” or similar can help us surrender and stay present.

When disturbed take a spot check inventory, pray “ at once ” and “discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone.” To learn the tenth step Read Step 10 in LRB, 12&12 and Pages 84-85 in the Big Book. Steps 10, 11 & 12 are worked while the amends are being made. “It should continue for our lifetime.” pg 84. STEP 11 Pray and Meditate every morning and every night. Pray for help with the assets and shortcomings you found in your 4 th and 10 th step work.

The 11 th step can be taken a.m. By reading the Big Book 85-88 which suggests 10 questions and 5 prayers. Some people use The 24 Hours a Day book or some relevant spiritual material. Others find formal meditation practice helpful. Knowing that thoughts of Self often trigger Fear, Anger, Dishonesty and Selfishness, AA Pioneers created a test; a self will vs. God’s Will test: “Is this decision Fearful? Is it Selfish?

Is it Dishonest? “ After prayer, listening in meditation, I felt God’s guidance was telling me to quit my job because my boss is so abusive.

Is this really self will in disguise? Or is it God’s Will? Is it Fearful? Is it Dishonest?

Is it Selfish? ” Discussing this with AA friends can further reveal where self will is blocking us from God’s Will.

Love, Purity, Unselfishness and Honesty can be used here as well. Bob used these 4 Absolutes as “yardsticks, to measure decisions”. To learn this step read the 12 & 12 & LRB on Step 11 and Pg 84-88 in the Big Book.

STEP 12 - GIVE IT AWAY TO KEEP IT! Bob took Clarence S through the steps in 3-4 hours. He is believed to have written the following, “A spiritual awakening is THE RESULT of working, DOING, and LIVING, ALL of the 12 Steps! Then you have this message to carry to others. There is no message unless you have done the first 9 Steps and are living the last three. You can't give what you don't have.

You must practice these principles in ALL your affairs. Now it is your responsibility to give this message to others as you have received it. Not changed, watered down, or how others may want it in their lives.

If they want what you have, they must do what you did. It is now your legacy to hand down, AS IT WAS GIVEN TO YOU - NO OTHER WAY!!!! It is recommended that two people work with the newcomer through the steps whenever possible, so that both may learn as well as give. ” – Clarence S. “This is a GIVE program!” Father Ralph Pfau To learn this step, practice this 12 step guide, Read pg 89-164 and study the chapter Working With Others.

Even though you may not feel ready to pass it on, it is important to remember that working with others is a HUGE part of our program. As soon as you start to make amends and begin having a spiritual experience, it is time to start learning how to pass this on. You know you are beginning to have a spiritual experience when you are “able to do, feel and believe that which (you) could not do on (your) unaided strength and resources alone.” 12 & 12 pg 107. Which means, If you’re not drinking, have worked 1 thru 8, began making 9 th step amends and are living 10, 11 and 12 you are beginning to have a spiritual experience. Get out of self.

Feel the joy of living! “Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity as intensive work with others.” pg 89.

AWAKENINGS DEEPEN: Bob and Bill stressed that ALL the steps are to be worked over and over more thoroughly and we do this throughout our lifetime. Gradual Spiritual Awakenings deepen as we get better at this program of living. Sudden awakenings are more likely with sustained effort. If we use the steps to wear away at our thoughts of self and we let go absolutelyholding nothing backwell as Bill wrote about his sudden awakening, “I felt lifted up, as if a great clean wind of a mountain top blew through and through.” “I knew at once I was a free man!” BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SOURCES Original AA methods such as this realized a 72% success rate from 1934-1938. In Cleveland recorded a 93% success rate and the Tablemate four week beginners meetings are said to have 90% after one year.

Fellowship has a lot to do with success too. The old timers called and reached out to newcomers daily and that caring act certainly helps. With great respect we have attempted to exemplify the Strong Original Way; the SIMPLE program the AA pioneers used. There has never been one perfect way to find God or work the steps. The method outlined claims no rigid superiority over other methods. Autonomy is also part of the Strong Original Way of AA. Obviously, not everyone does things the same way.

Bill Wilson is said to have taken sponsees through the steps in 30 days. Bob Smith took 5,000 through the steps.

He did it in a day. Took newcomers through in two days or a weekend. Wally P did thorough historical research to re discover the actual inventory format passed on by AA pioneers.

We have laid out the 4 th step inventory here so that it follows the Big Book. By writing first, then doing the 5 th step we can look at resentment, fear and harm individually, the way it says in the Big Book. This step guide uses The Little Red Book and 12 & 12 as intended, as supporting accompaniments to the Big Book. SOURCES: God, The authors personal experience and sponsorship, Big Book 4 th ed., Dr.