From the “Learning to Love Well” blog series on the Twelve Traditions “Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole.” There is something wonderfully liberating about Tradition Four. After Tradition One teaches us that our common welfare comes first, Tradition Two reminds us that no individual is …
In my almost four decades of attending AA meetings, I have been to some incredibly spiritually healthy meetings, and then some that felt like something very different from that. It’s been my experience that groups can develop dysfunctional cultures just like families and organizations can. We walk into Alcoholics Anonymous and often times find something …
From the “Learning to Love Well” blog series on the Twelve Traditions “The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.” There is something remarkable about Tradition Three. After Tradition One teaches us that our common welfare comes first, and Tradition Two reminds us that no individual gets to be the ultimate …
From the “Learning to Love Well” blog series on the Twelve Traditions “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.” Tradition One asked us to make a fundamental shift from “me” to …
Tonight, the man chairing the discussion meeting at my home group picked what I initially thought was a rather obscure topic: Routine. I have been sitting in A.A. meetings for a long time, and I honestly can’t remember routine coming up very often as the actual topic of a meeting. We talk about resentment. Fear. …
From the “Learning to Love Well” blog series on the Twelve Traditions “Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.” There is something almost counterintuitive about beginning the Twelve Traditions with unity. After all, most of us arrive in A.A. because of an individual problem. I can’t stop drinking. My life …
A new Take the 12 blog series about practicing spiritual principles at home, at work, in A.A., and with God. What happens when I bring the same principles that help A.A. live together into the relationships I navigate every day? I am excited to announce a new blog series where we will explore our second …
“Turn it over.” “Acceptance is the answer.” “More will be revealed.” “Just do the next right thing.” “Let go and let God.” Spend enough time around Alcoholics Anonymous and you will hear these phrases hundreds, maybe thousands, of times. And here’s the uncomfortable part: Most of them are true. That’s precisely why we need to be careful …
I was sitting in my home group last night when a woman with solid sobriety said something that stopped me. We were talking about the warning on page 85 of the Big Book: “It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels.” She said, essentially, “It’s not …
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“A.A.’s Twelve Steps are a group of principles, spiritual in their nature, which, if practiced as a way of life, can expel the obsession to drink and enable the sufferer to become happily and usefully whole.”
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“A.A.’s Twelve Traditions apply to the life of the Fellowship itself. They outline the means by which A.A. maintains its unity and relates itself to the world about it, the way it lives and grows.” - from the Foreword of the 12&12
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The Twelve Concepts for World Service were written by A.A.’s co-founder Bill W., and are an interpretation of A.A.’s world service structure as it emerged through A.A.’s early history and experience.
Get StartedThe primary purpose of this site is to share with those who have a desire to stop drinking, one individual A.A. member’s journey & experience (sober since November 17, 1987) of taking the 12 Steps, studying the 12 Traditions and 12 Concepts for World Service.
(DISCLAIMER: This site is not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous, nor does it speak for A.A. as a whole - just one member's experience.)
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I’m blessed by those who have shared how this site has helped them on their journey of recovery.
