STAYING SOBER SMART Recovery. 4. Note: We are not recording 2023 meetings but will resume in 2024 when were using our updated 2024 Discussion Guide. The steps are the foundation of many peoples recovery. This version can be found on the AA AGNOSTICS of the San Francisco Bay Area website, which lists a number of area agnostic groups and Websupport group, recovery group, or Twelve Step group. 73 Issue 6, p. 603-609). Title. 12. Came to believe and to accept that we needed strengths beyond our awareness and resources to restore us to sanity. Click the downloadable pdf file. While the 12-step model is central to healing, Spero Recovery is willing to help pair patients with qualified therapists. Those who chose non-12-step-based methods (e.g., natural recovery, cognitive-behavioral therapy, or addiction energy A copy of the article is available here in PDF format: Alcoholics Anonymous and the Counseling Profession: Philosophies in Conflict. San Antonio, TX 78232. Secular atheists have come to reference themselves as friends of Jim B. instead of friends of Bill W. As an atheist considering a 12-step program, try to remember that these two men fought for your right to be in the sober community. Thousands of people are active in 12-Step recovery using Agnostic / Atheist versions of 12-Step Resources. It is an alternative version of the Twelve Steps, without God. The 12 Steps are: 9. Secular We made a decision to submit our will to the will of Allah. Trusted that a healthy lifestyle was attainable through social support and consistent self-improvement. I see how my behavior patterns have been ways of coping with what feels overwhelming. We honestly evaluated our lives, acknowledging both our strengths and our weaknesses. Well print new literature with the rewritten steps, the only substitutions being food for alcohol and compulsive overeater for alcoholic. Each group will still be free to interpret them and do what it wants.. Secular 12 Steps so-alternative-steps - Secular Overeaters Over the years, the 12 Steps have been adapted by other self-help and addiction recovery groups, such as Gamblers Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, to those struggling with other forms of addiction. Worksheets from 12Step.org for All Steps 10. 9. Step 10: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. I get it. Came to accept and to understand that we needed strengths beyond our Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of Gods mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God this is your spiritual act of worship. Below is a secular version of the steps used by the Beyond Belief Group in Toronto. 6. Content Use Policy. This is a chapter from the pioneering book: The Alternative Twelve Steps: A Secular Guide to Recovery. 12. An iBook version for the Mac or iPad is available via iTunes. Because the Fellowship was so eager for a workbook, the content was Alcoholics Anonymous Traditional 12 Steps. We humbly ask God (of our understanding) to help remove our shortcomings. When youre working the Steps, just swap these or another version out for the traditional versions. Write down all the things that are fucking you up or Rozanne had learned about Twelve-Step recovery from Gamblers Anonymous (GA). 1. Alcoholics Anonymous. Proactive Twelve Steps for Mindful Recovery . +. 5. We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. WebStep Three We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God. 12 Steps Sought to improve my conscious awareness of ethical principles and values, and to use them consistently as standards for my decisions and actions. Beyond Belief: Agnostic Musings for 12 Step -- From The A.A. Service Manual: Combined with Twelve Concepts for World Service, by Bill W., reprinted with permission of A.A. World Services Inc. We started meditating.12. WebIt is an alternative version of the Twelve Steps, without God. 63. (Secular= without religious or spiritual basis; humanist.) We admitted that we were alcoholics that we suffered from an addiction which is invariably fatal unless arrested. Twelve Steps WebThe book takes us on a journey through the Steps, examining critical Twelve Step ideas like Powerlessness, Higher Power, and Moral Inventory through the lens of Buddhism. Pathways to Healing and Recovery: Perspectives from Having made an effort to practice these principles in all our affairs, we shall try to carry this message to other compulsive overeaters. (A.A.W.S. If you cant get past the constant references to God or higher powers, the good news is that there are many variations to the 12-steps list. Additional information History of A.A. Online Archives Exhibits. Other suggestions for a secular higher power include: Any one of these options can be used to help an atheist work through the traditional 12 steps. 4. It is what I have used to guide my recovery and day to day living. He encourages others to use it or to create their own from the original template so that you have a process that you are comfortable with and that works for you.. In the past week, I have received two pieces of correspondence representing both ends of the spectrum. Additionally, A.A.W.S. 6. We became willing to admit those weaknesses to others, where appropriate, and to heed any advice that they might offer. Twelve Secular Steps: An Addiction Recovery Guide 2. In that era, public schools still included Christian prayers with the reciting of the U.S. WebIndividuals and groups adapt the 12 Steps. Continued to take personal ethical inventory, and when we were wrong promptly admitted it and corrected it. There are many versions of the 12-Step program of recovery. A Collection of Alternative 12 Steps Introduction There are many versions of the 12 Steps. . Other suggestions for a secular higher power include: The universe. 1. Came to accept and to understand that we needed strengths beyond our awareness and resources to restore us to sanity. TheAmerican Society of Addiction Medicine(ASAM) states that approximately 10% of the people who become part of a 12-Step program enjoy long-term success in their recovery.11 Yet, members also tend to drop out at a 40% rate during their first year, according to some studies, causing group attendance to change often.12, In 2014,AA reportedthat 27% of the 6,000 members who participated in an internal study were sober for less than a year; 24% retained their sobriety for up to five years, and 13% lasted for as long as a decade.8Fourteen percent of the studys participants stayed sober between 10 and 20 years, and 22% reported remaining sober for more than two decades.8, A long-term study conducted by theNational Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)found, at both one- and three-year follow-up interviews, that people with alcoholism who both received formal treatment and attended an AA group had a better chance of staying sober than those who only received formal treatment.13NIAAA concluded thatstronger connections between community-based meetings and professional treatment resources will equate to a more efficient systemic approach to managing alcohol use disorders.13, Alcohol.org is operated by Recovery Brands LLC, a subsidiary of American Addiction Centers, Inc. 2023 Alcohol.org. WebThe Twelve Steps are explained in the book . Eureka! What many people dont know is that there were atheists and agnostics in the first AA groups. They wanted it to omit references to God altogether. 2. Sought through action and meditation to improve our conscious knowledge and contact with the Divine Presence, seeking only to choose in harmony with the greatest good. WebSample Book. SPERO MEANS HOPE IN LATIN. 3. An atheist entering treatment can utilize this to find someone with a shared perspective on religiosity. 2. Some of the oldest atheists in AA centered themselves on their 12-step fellowship. They changed God into a crass acronym standing for group of drunks. This allowed them to move past the God issue. Tradition Nine: AA, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees di- The language is clear, engaging and personal. In 1991, two women were successfully working the 12-Step program and they were atheists. The 12-step group. 12. When we can do that, and accept that our lives have become unmanageable, we are ready for STEP TWO. We admit that we are compulsive overeaters . 4. Secular Known as the "Twelve and Twelve, the book dedicates a chapter to each Step and each Tradition. . The author can be contacted at the website above, but please feel free to distribute this PDF. This does not mean 12-step programs are in any way exclusive though. 4. Admitted to ourselves and another human being the exact moral nature of our past. List of all workbooks; WHERE DO YOU STAND (new) "Pay Forward" Twelve Secular Steps: An Addiction Recovery Guide 2. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. TWELVE STEPS 3. 12 Steps Come inside to our Social Lounge where the Seattle Freeze is just a myth and youll actually want to hang. Web12 Steps and 12 Traditions Book. Secular 3. This version was prepared for Native Americans by the Umatilla Tribal Alcohol Program. 7. 8. Some allude to spirituality more vaguely. This generic form of the 12 steps is adapted from the original 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous by the site administrator and is intended for general use for any addictive or dysfunctional behavior. 500 Free Printable Workbooks & Manuals for Therapists. Workbooks. See? Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. 3. Secular alternative 12 Steps: Proactive Twelve Steps Therefore, she went on, lets revise our Twelve Steps to read exactly like AAs Steps. 16607 Blanco Rd Suite 401. Self-help techniques. But in our individual dance of life, we choose our own music and dance our own dance. Humbly sought to have our shortcomings removed. Reviewed our inventory with another human being. She did include, in Step Seven, God (of our understanding) but as a helper rather than as a controlling entity. *The Rede is an ethical yardstick used by many Pagans, and especially Wiccans, and it means, If it harm none, do as you will. (The Recovery Spiral, Cynthia Jane Collins, M.Div., p. 9. A Secular 12 Step Recovery Guide Those attending AA make a commitment to join either voluntarily, as a continuation of therapy or via court-mandated rehab. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol that our lives had become unmanageable. Made a comprehensive list of our resentments, fears and harmful actions. 3. Luckily, there are many options that non-believers have used to fill in the gap. You have to. Alcoholics WebFind an secular convention; See OA meetings; Start a new meeting. b. 1. 12 Step Are you a bit fucked? We hoped for recovery from our addiction. 12. Rev. 6. AA Beyond Belief:A Secular AA web community and resource including recovery stories, addiction news, information and research. AA was founded by Bill Wilson and his physician, Doctor Bob Smith in 1935 and eventually grew to include two more groups by 1939.2 That same year, Wilson published Alcoholics Anonymous, a text which explained its philosophy and methods.2 We know it today as the 12 Steps of recovery. Became open to changes in how we approach and respond to life. Rozannes sponsor, Thelma, was the wife of an AA member, and Thelma emphasized reliance on and surrender to a Higher Power. We shall continue to take personal inventory, and when we are wrong, promptly admit it. We have admitted to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our difficulties. : A New Beginning (GA, 1989b). 2. We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. That is what the authors of the Big Book and millions before you did. Were ready to accept help in letting go of all our defects of character. We determined to live in the real world, here and now, whether pleasant or painful. Help the next poor fucker that walks through the door. SOURCE: There are some 21 Millati Islami groups across the United States who use this adaptation of the Steps. Now is the time to do the Steps. We will want the good that is in us all, even in the worst of us, to fl ower and to grow. Twelve Steps List of all workbooks; WHERE DO YOU STAND (new) "Pay Forward" WebThe Step Working Guides is a companion piece to It Works: How and Why. 16607 Blanco Rd Suite 401. This makes us different than any other 12 Step program. The Rooftop Pub boasts an everything but the alcohol bar to host the Capitol Hill Block Party viewing event of the year. We sought through Salaat (prayer service) and Iqraa (reading and studying) to improve our understanding of Taqwa (God consciousness; proper Love and respect for Allah) and Ihsan (though we cannot see Allah, he can see us). All our Steps begin with WE except the 12th, which has the word WE in the center. WebUpdated 12/22/20 12steppers.org 12-Step Worksheet with Questions A Guide to Working the 12 Steps To a newcomer, a 12-step program can be overwhelming. 7. I need to change. We accept the fact that all our efforts to stop drinking have failed. This allowed them to move past the God issue. . We admitted that we were neglectful of our higher selves and that our lives have become unmanageable. SOURCE: https://stoicrecovery.com/2018/02/04/12-stoic-steps/  1. This is a unique, inspiring and helpful book for anyone regardless of belief or lack of belief who would like to work the 12 Step program. There might be a way out of this fucking mess. After you log in or sign up and pay via credit card or PayPal you can download the eBook as an ePub or Mobi immediately. Through meditation and journaling we continually seek to clarify and improve our own judgment and to consider the best direction and purpose our lives can take. Made direct amends to all whenever possible, except when to do so would violate the Rede.*. 1. We are entirely ready to have these defects of character removed. Neil F. describes these Steps as my personal process. Pledge of Allegiance; non-Christians did not dare protest this. A chapter is devoted to each Step. 8. I realize I am not in control of my use. Women for Sobriety. Came to believe that through honesty and effort, combined with the help of others, I could recover from addiction. 4. 4. 4. WebA SEVENTH STEP DECISION: Innermost self (higher consciousness, great reality, true self, authentic self), I am now willing that you have all of me, good and bad.

Golf Resort, Nova Scotia, Articles S