mous with additional material as developed by various speakers available for free on http://xa-speakers.org. PRINTING 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 © 2010, All Rights Reserved The Anonymous Review http://anonyousreview.org Raleigh, NC 27603 Print edition through Oak & Lotus Publishing http://oakandlotus.com STEPS 4, 5, 6 and 7 Sources This guide is not the idea of one person. Simple Directions is published under a Creative “Circuit speakers” at conventions of Alcoholics Anonymous have add- Commons, Share Alike, No Commercial Use, No Alterations license. You ed their impact to the Inventory process. Dozens of excellent speakers are are free to print out these pages for use in personal recovery for individuals available for free download from xa-speakers.org. These represent hundreds or groups but may not reproduce the book for sale. of sober-years of experience in the process of 12-Step recovery and the pro- cess of working those Steps. Additional material was made available on the Quotes from the book “Alcoholics Anonymous” copyright by the Alcohol- internet through several excellent sources of documents, podcasts, work- ics Anonymous World Service Organization, All rights reserved. shop materials, speaker recordings and original essays to even more of our This guide may be downloaded without charge and in several formats from shared experience strength and hope. anonymousreview.org and may be shared with others provided no charge is A list of sites is included in the back of this book and you are encour- made other than costs of duplication and delivery. aged to explore these web sites, but not at the expense of postponing your Released through Creative Commons Non-Comemrcial, Share Alike, Full Fourth Step. Attribution license. Above all you will have the experience of your Sponsor to help you overcome your personal obstacles to the massive housecleaning and correc- tion that began when you accepted the truth of the First Step. Our Thanks to... If your Sponsor says anything that conflicts with this guide go with Ken D. of the One Way Group, Los Angeles, CA, what your Sponsor has to say for your personal program Barefoot Bob, barefootsworld.org, There is only one way to do the Inventory wrong, and that is to not The many speakers on 12-Step process who have spoken in meetings, con- do one! ventions, round-ups, workshops and classes (available for free download Joe A., Anonymous Review through xa-speakers.org), Raleigh, NC Cliff D., Copy Editor This is not presented as, nor intended to be, the only approach to a Fourth Step Inventory. It is based on Chapter Five of the book Alcoholics Anony- Recovery Reader – Second Edition Recovery Reader STUDIES IN AA, THE STEPS AND THE PROCESS OF THE PROGRAM SECOND EDITION WINTER 2016 – 1 – Recovery Reader – Second Edition EDITORS Joe A., Gary P., Rich T., and James W. CONTRIBUTORS Barefoot Bob H., Beth J., Fred S., Jack McC., Joe A., John H., Kate O., Kerry K., Steve L., Ted D., and contributors identifed within specifc articles, and those who asked to be left anonymous. Additional material drawn from from: sober.org standupoet.net barefootsworld.net primarypurposegroup.org Also see the list of suggested websites in Reference section for additional information. We would like to thank the estates of some contributors who have left a signifcant contribution to the lore of Recovery. We have been unable to contact the domain holders of some original websites and no claim against their work is intended by inclusion in this volume. If anyone from those websites can contact us, it would be much appreciated. Revised Edition published by sponsormagazine.info Winter 2016 Tis document is available for download without charge through Archive.org and through print-on-demand partners for hardcopy. sponsormagazine.info Details available from: sponsormagazine.info/reader.html Release 2a – 2 – Recovery Reader – Second Edition Tis book is released under a Creative Commons, Attribution, Non-Commercial Use, Share Alike license. Tis means that you are given permission to duplicate the PDF or make photocopies as you see ft, but may not alter the material. Individual articles may show the original copyright holder, who retains all rights to his/her work. Contents copyright 2016 by the individual authors. Te electronic (PDF) copy of this document may be shared without charge provided no charge is made and the notices of source and copyright are retained. Te print version may be photocopied and shared provided no charge is made other than the actual cost of making the copies. Quotes from the book “Alcoholics Anonymous” copyright by the Alcoholics Anonymous World Service Organization, All rights reserved. Tis guide may be downloaded without charge and in several formats from Sponsormagazine.info and may be shared with others provided that no fees are charged other than the cost of duplication and delivery. Pass it on. To honor the intent of many authors, living and dead, to keep this material available to anyone who wants it, all of the articles in this document remain available for free download as PDF documents. Downloads of the book as a whole and divided into its individual segments can be found at http://sponsormagazine.info – 3 – Recovery Reader – Second Edition Table of Contents How to Use Tis Book .........................................5 Te Original Six Steps ........................................77 Forward to the Second Edition ............................6 Looking at the First Tree Steps .........................78 Drunks: A Poem ...................................................9 Simple Directions ...............................................80 Newcomers 12 Your Fourth Step Inventory Notebook ...............85 Inventory Prompts ..............................................92 A Message to Newcomers ...................................13 Step Five .............................................................94 What Others Say About Us ................................15 Step Six ...............................................................96 Te Twenty Questions ........................................16 Step Seven ...........................................................98 Te Four Questions .............................................17 Step Seven With A Worksheet ..........................99 What is the Cost? ...............................................18 Inventory Summary ..........................................102 Te Words We Use ............................................20 Steps Eight and Nine ........................................104 Te Insanity of Alcoholism .................................25 Step Nine - Doing It! .......................................108 Te Steps and Program .......................................27 Forgiveness – Te Missing Step .......................111 Issues Other Tan Alcohol.................................. 32 Te Big Book on Forgiveness ...........................115 What Does “Going to Any Lengths” Mean? ......37 Forgiveness .......................................................118 Understanding Anonymity.................................. 39 Step Ten ...........................................................122 Looking at the First Tree Steps .........................41 Step Eleven .......................................................123 Spirituality 43 Steps Ten and Eleven Together .......................124 Religion and Alcoholism ....................................44 Step Twelve ......................................................126 Stop Playing God ...............................................46 AA Traditions ..................................................130 Approaches to a Higher Power ...........................47 Sponsorship 140 Prayers from the Big Book.................................. 49 Sponsorship ......................................................141 Problems with Prayer ..........................................51 Zen and the Art of Sponsorship .......................145 Te Peace Prayer of St. Francis ...........................54 Clancy’s Seven Questions.................................. 147 Te Lord’s Prayer ................................................57 To New Sponsors .............................................148 Tree & Seven: Te Full Prayer? ........................60 To New Speakers ..............................................150 Believer, Seeker, Agnostic, Atheist, Anti-Teist 61 Active Listening ...............................................154 Atheism, Moral Psychology, and the Deus Non Build Your Arch ...............................................157 Vocatus in Early Alcoholics Anonymous .....65 Why Carry Tis Message? ................................159 Alternatives to “God” ..........................................68 Tat Ain’t in the Book! .....................................160 Meditation for Beginners ....................................69 Steps & Traditions 72 Notes and Essays 166 How the Big Book Was Put Together .............167 An Overview of the Steps ...................................73 Early Recovery Rates ........................................178 Te Birth of the Twelve Steps ............................76 – 4 – Recovery Reader – Second Edition Stories in Different Editions .............................180 References 237 Te First 25 AA Groups ...................................181 AA Chronology ................................................238 Before AA ........................................................182 Bibliography ......................................................247 Birth of the