Step 2: Faith
"We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."
It seems to be a spiritual truth, that before a higher power can begin to operate, you must first believe that it can.
Step 3: Surrender
"We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."
A lifetime of self-will run riot can come to a screeching halt, and change forever, by making a simple decision to turn it all over to a higher power.
Step 4: Soul Searching
"We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
There is a saying in the 12-step programs that recovery is a process, not an event. The same can be said for this step -- more will surely be revealed.
Step 5: Integrity
"We admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs."
Probably the most difficult of all the steps to face, Step 5 is also the one that provides the greatest opportunity for growth.
Step 6: Acceptance
"We were entirely ready to have God remove all our defects of character."
The key to Step 6 is acceptance -- accepting character defects exactly as they are and becoming entirely willing to let them go.
Step 7: Humility
"We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."
The spiritual focus of Step 7 is humility, asking a higher power to do something that cannot be done by self-will or mere determination.
Step 8: Willingness
"We made a list of all people we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all."
Making a list of those harmed before coming into recovery may sound simple. Becoming willing to actually make those amends is the difficult part.
Step 9: Forgiveness
"We made direct amends to such people wherever possible except when to do so would injure them or others."
Making amends may seem like a bitter pill to swallow, but for those serious about recovery it can be great medicine for the spirit and soul.
Step 10: Maintenance
"We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."
Nobody likes to admit to being wrong. But it is absolutely necessary to maintain spiritual progress in recovery.
Step 11: Making Contact
"We sought through prayer and meditation to omprove our consicous contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carrythat out."
The purpose of Step 11 is to discover the plan God as you understand Him has for your life.
Step 12: Service
"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."
For those in recovery programs, practicing Step 12 is simply "how it works."
