“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.” — Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Step 12
Note: In this blog post, we reference Step 12 as outlined in the Big Book of AA interchangeably with Step 12 as outlined in the Narcotics Anonymous (NA) Basic Text.
Below, we break down the meaning of Step 12 into three parts:
Spiritual Awakening: A transformation that occurs through working the Steps, the spiritual experience can be described as a new state of consciousness and being. It can be an “aha” moment or it can unfold over time. Either way, we have now come to recognize a major shift in our capabilities as we are now able—with the help of our higher power—to do what we could not do when relying on self-will in the past.
Carrying the Message: This embodies the philosophy that we’ve got to “give it away to keep it.” To stay sober, we must share what we’ve learned. “Carrying the message” could mean sharing our story at a lead meeting or commenting about our experience during a discussion meeting. It could mean getting involved in service work or volunteering at a treatment center. It could mean living by example.
Practicing the Principles: With each step we’ve worked thus far, and Step 12 that we are now pursuing, we’ve learned about and begun to practice the following principles:
- Step 1: Honesty
- Step 2: Hope
- Step 3: Surrender
- Step 4: Courage
- Step 5: Integrity
- Step 6: Willingness
- Step 7: Humility
- Step 8: Love
- Step 9: Responsibility
- Step10: Discipline
- Step 11: Awareness
- Step 12: Service
To effectively work Step 12, we cannot pick and choose to which areas of our lives the 12-Step principles will apply. We must practice—actively engaging and not just “thinking about”—the principles regularly and consistently.
Step 12 Tips
- Avoid labeling. We don’t refer to others as addicts or alcoholics. Instead, we share our experience and let the other person decide whether it resonates.
- Keep it simple. We don’t provide an entire “drunk-a-log” about all the disastrous mistakes we made when drinking/using. We briefly share about our spiritual experience and how we’re now sober as the result of these 12 Steps.
- Attraction, not promotion. An old AA adage states, “If you want what I have, you’ll do what I do.” This is about actively living as an example of a person in 12-Step recovery. By demonstrating how we are now happy, joyous and free, others begin to ask how we became so, and then want to do what we’ve done to get here (work the 12 Steps).
For further reading about Step 12 and the spiritual experience, check out the AA Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (pages 106-125), AA Big Book (pages 567-568) and NA Basic Text (pages 49-53).
