12 Steps of Sponsorship
Freedom lies just beyond the archway, of which the Cornerstone, (our belief in an all powerful and loving Creator) is the number one element. Without this Cornerstone, without this belief, and our surrender to it, and dependence in it, will will surely fail, and die spiritually. No life, run on self will, can hardly be a success. There’s only two doors to pass through; 1) self-dependency: a life run on self will. or, God-Dependency: a life run on God dependency.
Some say that there are NO MUSTS in AA… actually, if you are working the Program outlined within the AA Text Book; there are 96 Musts. I heard someone say at a meeting that they were falling short on working the “Spiritual Aspect” of the program. It was quickly pointed out to them that there is NO SPIRITUAL ASPECT of this program - and that this IS a Spiritual Program of Recovery. The entire Program is Spiritual in Nature. There is no “Aspect” to it. (aspect means portion, perspective, section) We must do this work or we will die, of course , unless, you are NOT an alcoholic of the hopeless variety.
In turning my will and my life over to the care of God (as I understood Him) isn’t always an easy thing to do. I keep taking back control - or did I never fully give it up to begin with?
The key is that I have to stop what it is I’m thinking of, engulfed in, and consumed by in order to begin to see, not to see, but to begin to see, then there is much work to be done to continue to see, and more to continue to see more.
As a bonified alcoholic, I know first hand that my ego is cunning, baffling and powerful. It doesn’t want to die and will do anything to stay alive and kicking. It manipulates me through my mind and drags me down by suplanting delussional thoughts into my head about anything good that is in my life. And if I do catch on to its game, it changes its mask so I only think its gone, as it resumes it assalt from an alternate angle.
Having no reservations or no lurking notions of any kind. The process that brings us to purpose of being free, the freedom from self, the bondage of self. The self is the selfish needs of a person living in fear, the fear of not getting what we want or what we think we need, a fear that a loving God won’t fulfill these needs if we were to have a faith that works in our life.
Two opposites cannot inhabit the same person simultaniously. Happy/Sad, Angry/Friendly, Depressed/Elated. So when we are working selflessly with another Alcoholic, and giving of ourselves, our time and our energy without any desired compensation, then the selfishness that used to encompass the whole of our character slowly begins to die off.
The AA Grapevine is the international journal of Alcoholics Anonymous. Written, edited, illustrated, and read by AA members and others interested in the AA program of recovery from alcoholism, the Grapevine is a lifeline linking one alcoholic to another.
The writing of the Big Book took several months to accomplish. Drafts were sent back and forth to and from New York and Akron. After the New York members had reviewed each chapter, Akron members were given a chance to give their input.