The Daily Reprieve By Singapore A.A. members January – March 2015 2 The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous 1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable. 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. 4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. 6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. 7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. 8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. 9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. 10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. 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. 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. Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous 4th Edition, pg 59 -60 with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.” 3 Intentionally Left Blank 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS LETTER FROM THE EDITOR BACK TO THE BASICS OF RECOVERY- STEP EIGHT AND NINE EXPERIENCE ON WORKING WITH “BACK TO BASICS” SURRENDERING IS THE ONLY WAY WISE WORDS FROM A VISITING FELLOW BACK TO THE BASICS OF RECOVERY- STEP TEN THE MONKEY IS OFF MY BACK BUT THE CIRCUS IS STILL IN TOWN SINGAPORE INTERGROUP NEWS THE PROMISES IN REVERSE HIPI – WHAT WE DO LIFE ISN’T TIED WITH A BOW, BUT IT IS STILL A GIFT 8,758 HOURS AND COUNTING THE EASIER SOFTER WAY - SURRENDER AND HUMILITY RELEASED FROM THE BONDAGE OF SELF CONDEMNATION ALCONYMS – INSPIRING & INSIGHTFUL RECOVERY CATCHPHRASES SINGAPORE SOCIAL AND EVENTS COMMITTEE UPCOMING REGIONAL EVENTS MEETING SCHEDULE For further assistance, call (+65)6475 0890 or email us at: [email protected] To contribute to the Daily Reprieve, please send your article or Announcement to: [email protected] See details and meeting schedules at: www.Singaporeaa.org 5 Dear Friends Another great issue crammed with Local Members own experiences. These include Experience on Working with “Back to Basics”, Surrendering is the Only Way, The Monkey is Off my Back but the Circus is Still in Town, 8,758 Hours and Counting …, The Easier Softer Way - Surrender and Humility and Released from the Bondage of Self Condemnation. I know it means a lot to our readers that we have so much local content. Thank you to all the Members who also contributed articles and quotes and as this has been shared before, this is YOUR newsletter, and is made possible by content from all our members, and all and any contributions are gratefully received. Please send any submissions to [email protected] Also included in this issue, is the continuation of Wally P’s “Back to Basics” articles on Steps 8,9 and 10 Entitled “Back to the Basics of Recovery,” this is the original action program used with newcomers by the first members of A.A.. Following on from the Last Edition, we have included some more information about The Hospitals & Institutions/Public Information Committee and what their role is. The Committee is looking for volunteers in the New Year. Please can you send an email to [email protected] to express your interest. Keep It Simple Singapore (KISS), a Weekend of Fun, Fellowship and Laughter is fast approaching (30th January – 1st February 2015) and volunteers are very welcome. If you would like further information or would like to offer your assistance to help on the Committee, please contact [email protected]. Wishing you all health, happiness, serenity and a safe holiday Season. The “New Year is the first blank page of a 365 page book, write a good one” Michelle K Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in articles submitted to the Daily Reprieve are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Alcoholics Anonymous. 6 Who is Wally P? Wally P. is an archivist, historian and author who, for more than twenty-three years, has been studying the origins and growth of the Twelve-step movement. He is the caretaker for the personal archives of Dr. Bob and Anne Smith. Wally conducts history presentations and recovery workshops, including “Back to the Basics of Recovery” in which he takes attendees through all Twelve Steps in four, one-hour sessions. More than 500,000 have taken the Steps using this powerful, time-tested, and highly successful “original” program of action. Back to the Basics of Recovery Amends: Steps Eight and Nine by Wally P. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. In our journey through the Twelve Steps, as they were taken during the early days of Alcoholics Anonymous, we have followed the ”Big Book” directions for our Surrender (Steps One, Two and Three) and our Sharing (Steps Four, Five, Six and Seven). As I mentioned in an earlier article, this process was usually completed in one sitting and took a couple of hours. We are now ready to make our Amends (Steps Eight and Nine). Amends is a two-part process: making restitution to those we have harmed and forgiving those who have harmed us. We start by reviewing our Fourth Step inventory. It contains our Eighth Step amends list. The Big Book authors confirm this in the third paragraph on page 76: “. Let=s look at Steps Eight and Nine. We have a list of all persons we have harmed and to whom we are willing to make amends. We made it when we took inventory.” If we used the Assets and Liabilities Checklist described on pages 64 to 69 of the Big Book, we have inventoried our resentments, fears and harms. Although there are no hard and fast rules, the “Big Book” authors explain that we overcome our resentments with forgiveness (page 67), our fears with faith (page 68), and our harms (selfishness, dishonesty, inconsideration, jealousy, suspicion and bitterness) with amends (page 69). 7 In order to forgive those we resent and to walk through our fears, we need to pray. The resentment prayer is at the top of page 67, and the fear prayer is in the third paragraph on page 68. These prayers are identified by the word “ask.” The Ninth Step is described on pages 76 to 83. On page 76, paragraph three, the “Big Book” authors tell us what we need to do: “. Now we go out to our fellows and repair the damage done in the past. We attempt to sweep away the debris which has accumulated out of our effort to live on self-will and run the show ourselves. If we haven’t the will to do this, we ask until it comes.” If needed, the sponsor and sponsee once again pray together. This time they pray for the sponsee to have the courage and conviction to approach those he or she is presently unwilling to face. The “Big Book” authors provide us with detailed information on each of the four types of amends. They are direct amends, living amends, amends-in-kind, and amends to those who cannot be seen. The sponsor and sponsee together decide which amends to make. They do this with a back-and- forth role play until the likely outcomes have been thoroughly examined. There are “Big Book” passages that describe each of these amends. Direct amends to those we dislike and to those we owe money are explained in the first paragraph on page 77 and the second paragraph on page 78. In the first paragraph on page 83, we learn about living amends. This type of amends is straightforward. We start acting like a person in recovery, someone who is living a life based on “humility, fearlessness and honesty.” This is one of the greatest amends we can make, especially to family and friends. The amends-in-kind is described on page 82, paragraph one. Some examples of this “in lieu of” or “indirect” amends are taking a meeting into a halfway house or prison; volunteering at a homeless shelter or assisted living facility; or serving a Twelve-Step group by accepting and fulfilling a service commitment. In the third paragraph on page 83, the “Big Book” authors give directions on what we do if we can’t make amends to someone face-to-face. Here, the sponsor and the sponsee sit down and write a letter to the person on the amends list. Then the sponsee reads it aloud and puts it into an envelope. Together, they go to the post office and mail it. The envelope has no name on it. It also has no address, no return name, no return address, and no stamp. 8 Another way to send the letter is to burn it. This is a relatively new phenomenon, but again, this is something the sponsor and sponsee do together. What is amazing is that the letter goes exactly where it needs to go in order for us to heal.