THE TWELVE STEPS
OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
- We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had
become unmanageable.
- Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore
us to sanity.
- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care
of God as we understood Him.
- Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
- Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact
nature of our wrongs.
- Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
- Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
- Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to
make amends to them all.
- Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when
to do so would injure them or others.
- Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly
admitted it.
- 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.
- 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.
THE TWELVE TRADITIONS OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
- Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends
upon A.A. unity.
- For our group purpose, there is but one ultimate authority--a
loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our
leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
- The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.
- Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other
groups of A.A. as a whole.
- Each group has but one primary purpose--to carry its message to
the alcoholic who still suffers.
- An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance or lend the A.A. name
to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of
money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
- Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining
outside contributions.
- Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but
our service centers may employ special workers.
- A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service
boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
- Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the
A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
- Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than
promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level
of press, radio and films.
- Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever
reminding us to place principles before personalities.
The Serenity Prayer
God, grant me
The serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can, and
Wisdom to know the difference.
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