The Lies I tell – The 2nd Step

Step 2: Came to believe a power greater than myself can restore me to sanity.

The lies I tell myself so I can keep, keeping on are NOT SANE

• This time I will only have a one
• If I drink a glass of milk first it will coat my stomach, it will absorb slower and I won’t get drunk
• If I drink a glass of water between each drink it will flush my system and I won’t get drunk
• It’s not the booze that makes me sick it is all the orange juice. The sugar in it is giving me the hang overs.
• It’s not the drinking, It’s the drugs. If I quit getting high I won’t have any problems.
• I can’t quit with him around.
• Normal people live dull lives. I live on the edge.
• All good writers drink.
• It’s the vodka that gets to me. I’ll be ok with gin
• and on and on……………………………………..

All Bull Shit. Nobody believes it, not even me

Step 2 , Step 12 – The Dynamic Duo

Step 2 – Return me to sanity

A friend who has recently changed jobs shared how the insecurity that came with the new position made her  fat, stupid and ugly.
Now that is definitely insanity if I heard it.

Came to believe a power greater than myself

Our ego’s tell us we are what we do, we are what we have and we are what others think of me. Our spirit knows we are perfect, exactly as we are meant to be at this moment in time. To get away from the man-made thinking and align ourselves with the all is the solution.

Step 12 – Service to Others

Find a way to give of yourself however small.

• 25 smiles at strangers

• Buy a family size packet of snacks, peanut butter crackers, chocolate covered raisins, chewy vitamin C snacks…. something with nutrition and give one to every street-corner panhandler.

• Sneak a dollar under a strangers windshield wiper.

• Buy the guy behind you coffee

To me the real kicker is NOT to tell anybody what you’ve done. Break the “I am what others think about me” binding of the ego. I think you will be shocked how strong the pull is to brag how altruistic you are.

The Principles of the 12 Step Program

Bill W. considered each step to be a spiritual principle in and of itself, however, particularly in the 12 & 12, he outlined the spiritual principles behind each step. The most important of these is Humility.

Core Spiritual Principles of the 12 Step Program: Willingness, Open-mindedness, Honesty

AA’s Code:  Love and Tolerance of Others

1- We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable. Acceptance, Admission of Defeat, Open-mindedness, Willingness, Humility

2- Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.  Open-mindedness, Humility, Acceptance

3- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him. Willingness, Humility

4- Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.  Honesty Fearlessness Willingness Humility

5- Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Humility, Willingness, Honesty, Humility, Forgiveness, Open-mindedness, Acceptance, Prudence, Serenity

6- Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. Willingness, Honesty, Open-mindedness, Acceptance, Humility

7- Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. Humility, Willingness, Open-mindedness            

8- Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.             Forgiveness, Calmness, Brotherhood, Honesty, Thoroughness, Responsibility, Humility Acceptance Tolerance Objective

9- Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. Good Judgment, Courage, Humility, Sincerity, Forthright, Generous, Willingness, 

10- Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.                     Discipline, Acceptance, Humility, Patience, Persistence, Self-restraint, Honesty, Willingness, Forgiveness, Fair-minded, Tolerance, Love, Kindness,

11- 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.  Humility, Love, Forgiveness, Harmony, Truth, Faith, Hope, Compassion, Understanding, Self-forgetting, Willingness, Strength, Wisdom, Serenity,

12- 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. Gratitude, Acceptance, Love, Honesty, Tolerance, Unselfishness, Strength, Serenity, Giving, Fortitude, Faith, Brotherhood, Service, Understanding, Courage, Wisdom, Humility,