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12-Step program

This Is NOT A Moral Issue!

Contained within this category of ‘things-I-wish-I-had-been-told-when-I-first-came-into-program’ are items which WERE told to me, whether directly or indirectly, but that I didn’t “hear” until years later.  Such is the case with this idea of morality. For whatever reason, my entire life was spent cowering beneath the shadow of the belief that I was a “bad” person because I could …Continue reading →

What is a “Higher Power?”

In the world of anonymous programs, “Higher Power” refers to anything that you can believe-in that is both outside of yourself and more powerful than yourself.  (Of course, it can be argued that your Higher Power dwells inside you, but that is a different topic for a different day.)  This Higher Power can be anything …Continue reading →

What are “The Promises?”

“The Promises” of all 12-Step programs come from “The Big Book” of Alcoholics Anonymous.  (You can read all of them by clicking on “The Promises” at the top of this page.)  They are the reason why we go through all the hard work of “doing” the 12 Steps.  Like myself, millions of people in recovery …Continue reading →

“Recovering,” “Recovered,” “Cured”: What’s the difference?

After you have a few meetings under your belt and you have listened to several different speakers, you will probably start to notice that some of them say they are “recovering,” others say they have “recovered,” and still others say they are completely “cured.”  Is there a difference?  To many in program, there actually is. It has been my …Continue reading →

Bad Sponsors

I hate to write the following, but it is a fact of 12-Step life.  Despite your best efforts, more likely than not, at some point in your recovery, one of your sponsors is bound to let you down.  Or worse.  Once again, you must never lose sight of the fact that sponsors are people in …Continue reading →

“That Still, Small Voice”

About a year ago, I started “hearing from God.”  Doesn’t that sound so crazy?  Like I think I am actually in communication with The Great Creator?!  If someone had told me the same thing only a few short months ago, I would have been the first to say there was something wrong with them.  After …Continue reading →

Stop “Measuring” Yourself!

One of the toughest things for food addicts to give-up is our impulse to measure ourselves, whether by getting on a scale, using a measuring tape, counting calories, monitoring our time at the gym, graphing our progress, projecting how long it will take us to lose a certain amount of weight, or marking the number …Continue reading →

What is a “food plan” and where can I get one?

A “food plan” is a written list of what you can and cannot eat.  It is what you will use to decide if you are abstinent or not.  Food plans can come from a doctor, a nutritionist, a book, a “diet club,” or from your food sponsor.  Some sponsors will tell you that they will …Continue reading →

What goes on at a 12-Step meeting?

If you have never set-foot in a 12-Step meeting, the whole thing can seem a little intimidating.  Following is a format that most anonymous meetings follow, more-or-less.  It is my hope that if you know what to expect ahead of time, you will be more likely to stop-by and check one out. When you first arrive.  …Continue reading →

What is “prayer?”

When I first started-out on my “spiritual quest,” I thought that prayer meant what I did when I got on my knees beside my bed and recited something I had memorized in CCD class but barely understood.  Wrong!  I have since learned that it is what I do any time that I talk to God …Continue reading →