A. A. Preamble
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women
who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may
solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.
The only requirement for membership is a desire to
stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A. A. membership; we are
self-supporting through our own contributions. A. A. is not allied with any
sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to
engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our
primary purpose is to stay sober and and help other alcoholics to achieve
sobriety. ﻌ
ﻌReprinted
with permission of the A. A. Grapevine, Inc.
12 Steps of A. A.
-
We admitted we were powerless over
alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable.
-
Came to believe that a power greater
than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
-
Made a decision to turn our will and our
lives over to the care of God as we understood him.
-
Made a searching and fearless moral
inventory of ourselves.
-
Admitted to ourselves, to God, and to
another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
-
Were entirely ready to have God remove
all these defects of character.
-
Humbly asked Him to remove our
shortcomings.
-
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.
-
Continued to take personal inventory and
when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
-
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.
-
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.ﻌ
12 Traditions of A. A.
- Our common welfare should come first. Personal
recovery depends upon A. A. unity.
- 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.
- The only requirement for A. A. membership is a
desire to stop drinking.
- Each group should be autonomous excepting in
matters affecting other groups or A. A. as a whole.
- Each group has but one primary purpose -- to
carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.
- An A. A. group ought never endorse, finance, or
lend the A. A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest
problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
- Every A. A. group ought to be fully
self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
- Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever
nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
- A. A., as such, ought never be organized; but we
may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they
serve.
- Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside
issues; hence the A. A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
- Our public relations policy is based on
attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity
at the level of press, radio, and films.
- Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our
Traditions, every reminding us to place principles before personalities.
ﻌ
ﻌReprinted with
permission of A. A. World-Services, Inc.
12 Promises from pg.82 of the
Big Book of A. A.
If we are painstaking about this
phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We
are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the
past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and
we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see
how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and
self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain
interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and
outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will
leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to
baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not
do for ourselves. Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being
fulfilled among us--sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always
materialize if we work for them.
Page still under construction.

