He also gives a very good example of a relapse prevention plan. 12 Steps - NYC CoDA and loving relationships. There is little black and white. But if you are committed to recovery from an addiction, it is always a lot of work. I will download and print the NA pamphlet and share it in Billings Montana. An awareness came to me doing my turnarounds in the resentment part of the 4th step. Following this formula, which has successfully worked for me over 42.5 years, my version of the steps would essentially be the following: 1. But Im not Christianyou may be thinking. Exercise. The first three brief chapters lay out the groundwork. We need to not just BE an alternative, we need to PROVIDE an alternative. Im a big fan of Tracys contribution to the addiction/recovery discussion. It is so eminently sensible in every respect that it almost could work for the god people too. How do I know? One major way in which the Proactive Twelve Steps differ from the traditional Twelve Steps is the notion of sin. Ill have to find out. We cant have it both ways. I still read this site and I appreciate it, and my sobriety is good, but I gave up trying to read between the lines, etc. They help members to develop positive relationships with themselves and others. I can self-edit and read the steps to suit my purpose; after all they are only a suggested program of recovery. Author, therapist and former addict Jeffrey Munn states the book's main purpose in its subtitle: The Practical 12 Steps to Long-Term Recovery from Alcoholism & Addictions.In the space of 160 pages, Munn offers a thorough . The most viewed essay on our sister website, AAbeyondbelief addressed the Sinclair method. Im glad we started our secular meetings without focusing on the steps. All listed on OA.org. He is very gentle about this and also states that he is not a doctor and that you should consult a physician, for example, regarding physical exercise, diet and mental health issues. Please keep sharing here, there and everywhere. And you can also say that this is essentially part of the human condition, and we experience it more acutely when were stuck. One old timer went with 6. Call us today for a free consultation with a counselor: Copyright 2023 Evolve Treatment Centers | All Rights Reserved, Alumni / Post Treatment & Aftercare for Teens, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). Theres nothing special about being hooked on any chemical(s), just different neighborhoods in Hell. I for one am done with all of that. The only difference being, Joplins spirit was wild and untamed, destructive, whereas Mother Teresas was clearly directed and under her control. Some only divert from the 12-steps in their absence of God, others don't include the word "alcoholic" or "powerless" at all. of people have gotten sober in AA using the original steps and belief in a God/Higher Power. Is this the Adam N who wrote the book Common Sense Recovery? Some dont use the word God in any of the readings. It is all about god doing for you that which you are too pitiful to do for yourself. Kind of like the Grateful Dead. We are alcoholics helping each other stay sober, and like all AA groups, we have a variety of experiences with recovery. Its sort of a hybrid between a Hollywood Late Night meeting an anarchic group of raucous folks where everyone talks during shares and a regular old AA meeting. Its turning into a growing movement since 2010, atheistic or agnostic meetings have doubled. A psychology-based guide through the practical 12 steps of recovery for anyone struggling with alcohol, drugs or behavioral addictions. Look at the patterns of thought and behavior that dont serve me and keep me angry, depressed, upset and lead me to drink. We each get our own path to walk. summary of the CoDA program As newer drugs became popular and more people became dually addicted, Im glad this distinction has faded. Co-Dependents Anonymous Promise 3: "I know a new freedom.". For example, theres Narcotics Anonymous, Heroin Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, Crystal Meth Anonymous, and Marijuana Anonymous. The human ability to grow and change when we stop getting in our own way. Anti-God, anti-medicine, anti-our recovery program, even anti-each other these rampant individuals are still an AA group if they think so! Atlanta 2015 We Agnostics Talk. But the rewards of recovery are immeasurable!! Seems limiting to me. Telling them they dont need god is not enough, but maybe god changed his mind, and has decided that the drunks should just help each other, and learn to rely on each other, and only bring important stuff to god, stuff we absolutely cant solve with each others help. Total awareness? I went to meetings, conventions and 12 stepped sick alcoholics. In this chapter he asks you to make a Recovery Maintenance Routine. often abbreviated as CoDA. There are three other in person (prior to COVID) OA meetings in the USA: upriver from NYC, near Boston and the Bay Area. For a liberating approach to AAs 12-Step program of recovery, you might want to consider The Little Book: A Collection of Alternative 12 Steps. My favorite AA publication is Living Sober, which is filled with practical ideas on how to stay sober and achieve emotional balance. Why do we want to? When I first came around, there was rigorous attention paid to the supposed differences among alkies and druggies, with separate treatment programs, separate certification for counselors, separate govt. To update an existing meeting, CLICK HERE, search for the meeting ID, Click to the meeting and use the link UPDATE THIS MEETING, found under the map of the meeting. I am both excited and happy to see the god issue given some thought. I hope everybody remembers not to pick up a drink and maybe not to take ANY of this stuff so effing seriously. When Roger first invited me to submit an article, I was hesitant about the other fellowship barrier. Growth means change and change can be uncomfortable as we all know. Writing a letter and reading it to God, or simply changing your behavior . Ive been sober 35 years and have read every book in the AA inventory of approved literature. We are exhorted to come up with our own idea of a higher power. Thank you so much for this review! When this was finally completed, we found a meeting space in a community centre in the Pointe-St-Charles neighbourhood, choosing the group name Get to the Point. Though I did not grow up with religion, my world still knew Mother Teresa to be the embodiment of all that is good and sacrificing in humanity. It is a tradition among us that the individual has the unlimited right to his own opinion on any subject under the sun. Whether its some supernatural being or their own actions, theyre getting better, and thats what its all about. Evolving beyond the god concept has been a growth experience and will continue. Contempt prior to investigation, I subscribe to the moral teaching. They are devoid of anything outside the realm of the natural world. Bill would have laughed at all this crazy, god/no god horseshit going on today, as if any of it is relevant to anything. I have been an avid reader of AA Agnostica for several years now and even attended the Toronto ICSAA conference in 2018. I've no experience with CoDA, but the original 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is explicitly open that you only . Chapter Five deals with Relapse and includes sections on How Relapse Happens; Relapse Prevention Tools; Accountability to Others; The Personal Craziness Index (PCI); and Cutting Out Toxic People, Places and Things. She was desperate to get and stay sober, which she has done since that first meeting. I think Ill try, one more time, printing out your review for possible use by the group for discussion this morning. Also two phone meetings. I love this! Made a decision to turn our will and lives over to the care of God as we understood God. And the site encourages people to share the word, because so many AAs dont even know WAAFT exists. I every so often think and share at meetings that I am and have been having a spiritual experience for over 66 years now. Better personal relationships, which for me still serves as the foundation for my 35 years of continuous sobriety. We start our own meetings, Bill. What a wonderful common-sense set of steps! For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. Imagine being without light, heat, hell, the computers that connect us to one another week after week. Become willing to surrender these negative patterns of thought, behavior and actions, including drinking or other addictive behavior, unhealthy romantic entanglements with douchebags, unhealthy job settings and unhealthy people. When my brothers try to draw a circle to exclude me, I shall draw a larger circle to include them. Thanks, Heather. I Don't Believe in God. Are the 12 Steps For Me? The traits presented are Honesty, Humility, Skepticism, Generosity, Assertiveness, Responsibility, Compassion and Self-Care. Our fellowship was created as is precisely so that there would be no problem with diverse personalities and perspectives. Made a decision to turn our will and lives over to the care of God as we understood God. God, any special sequence of steps and the number 12 bear no significance to me. The BB can stand on its own as an historical documentation of how we started but not, I hope, of where we finished. John B. Many dont open or close with any prayers. The Twelve Steps of Co-Dependents Anonymous. He goes on to explain that any person capable of enough willingness and honesty to try re- peatedly Step Six on all his faultswithout any reservations whateverhas indeed come a long way spiritually, and is therefore entitled to be called a man who is sincerely trying to grow in the image and likeness of his own Creator. All Rights Reserved. We here in NE Conn. and South Central Mass. The practical 12 Steps are just that, proactive and common sense. I am thinking of Hank P and Jim B. A breath of fresh air. It is an alternative version of the Twelve Steps, without God. Even more fascinating are the White Bison 12-steps, a Native American approach based on the Medicine Wheel that has the following succinct path to sobriety: Honesty Hope Faith Courage Integrity Willingness As Ive said before, traditional AA even with all its god stuff got me sober where all other methods failed. Take Care; Dan L. Yes, and I have heard of another meeting of our sort that uses the Serenity Affirmation, which I repeat under my breath at traditional meetings and at times get to lead us out with a prayer/or words of my choice. I have been making good progress with my therapist, and she said that I may be able to go further in my recovery by going to CoDA. In 1945 Pauli Murray, who would later become an influential black civil rights activist, wrote: I intend to destroy segregation by positive and embracing methods. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Im sure you can guess what happens next, and youre right. We are in the process of learning all of our lives. . I particularly found the section on communication very interesting and helpful. . For example, SMART Recovery groups, loosely styled after the 12-Step model, do not encourage any submission to a Higher Power. Defiantly Hitchens on the corporation and empire Mother Teresa built. I will have 40 years next month, and I expanded my horizons to be able to stay sober. In fact, there are about as many versions as there are alcoholics in AA who use the program to get sober and to maintain their sobriety.. Recently Ive been listening to an audible of 30+ guru types talking about the meaning of spiritual awakening. One theme I hear there is the distinction between living as awakened and the tastes of spiritual experiences that people get along their journey and then the natural mistake of trying to recreate that, now past, event (chasing the dragon? We saw them as we understood them. As someone once put it, Addiction is addiction is addiction. It all came together beautifully. That seems to be what happened in Montreal. I intend going back to meetings, and applying the alternative steps. So, even in long term recovery, this Step One is present-day project not a story long ago from a galaxy far away. The best and most powerful resource of all is to join Codependents Anonymous. In about fifty or seventy-five years, we may even see the chapter title TO SPOUSES!! Now that I am in AA, I agree with the valiant points made by Larry K. and Adam N. I want to remain a part of this (AA) recovery vessle for my own sake and those yet-sober atheists over the horizon (still in the drink). Thats for dogs! People Working We admitted we were powerless over others - that our lives had become unmanageable. Heather C. is a member of a secular group in Ontario. I read this post because I am an atheist who has been happily sober 8 years. Is there some merit to the 12 Steps as presented in the Big Book? We are not saints, even if there were such things, and I count myself among the intolerant and judgmental drunks that inhabit my world. To go a little bit, but not entirely in a sideways direction, several activists for the rights of women were also involved in the Temperance Movement. This liberty has made AA available to thousands who would never have tried at all, had we insisted on the Twelve Steps just as written. Updated March 18, 2023. I love the Pauli Murray quote shared in a comment by Dr. Ray Baker: I intend to destroy segregation by positive and embracing methods. 2. Review the questions on pages 21-23 of the "CoDA 12 Steps & 12 Traditions Workbook - Steps 4,5,6" . The newly sober kids are irreverent and the older folks are kind, open-minded and keep the meeting from veering into complete chaos. Beyond Belief: Agnostics & Freethinkers Group in Toronto meets three times a week. The 12 Steps - Codependent to CoCreator By the way, I intend to order the book later today as soon as my wife gets home and helps me with the computer. The article focuses on Archer's book The Five Keys. 11. Some come for a while, some are regulars. It sure is an enigma, but recent research is beginning to reveal that the opposite state of addiction is connection. Here are the two versions side-by-side: The Practical version of this step is refreshingly positive. You can access the Alternative 12 Steps Page by clicking on the above image. 2. Review the questions on page 11 of the "CoDA 12 Steps & 12 Traditions Workbook - Steps 7,8,9" . Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Connecting for real, personalizing. As a freethinker, or at least someone who values thoughtful inquiry and constant questioning, I decided to sit down and rewrite the 12 steps in language that I can tolerate and with a philosophy that resonates with me. All the religious person would need to do is continue to practice their chosen rituals and let Staying Sober Without God serve as chapter and verse for their recovery program. That is, electricity if it isnt contained and shielded can be a very destructive force. This is the 6th edition of the Proactive Twelve Steps. The Green Zone is home to the behaviors that lift you up, enhance your life and strengthen your recovery.. Although he was good for a few good Deepisms, as in claims devoid of actual content which sound profound. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could re-store us to sanity. Above all, we agnostics and atheists need to feel free to bounce our ideas around on websites like this without fear of censorship so that we can read nice essays like Tracys or even ones not so nice.

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