What Are The 36 Spiritual Principles Of AA

Acceptance, hope, faith, courage, honesty, patience, humility, willingness, brotherly-love, integrity, self-discipline, and service are the 12 spiritual principles of recovery.

Before You Continue...

Do you know what is your soul number? Take this quick quiz to find out! Get a personalized numerology report, and discover how you can unlock your fullest spiritual potential. Start the quiz now!

How many spiritual principles are there in AA?

The spiritual principles are known in the AA rooms as the Twelve Steps. The 36 principles are divided into three categories: Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, and Twelve Concepts. There have been numerous alternative spiritual virtue lists released by other AA's over the years that refer to the Twelve Steps.

What are the spiritual principles of the 12 steps?

When one's challenges are overwhelmed by dread and anguish, the path to release from one's struggles is rarely evident. COVID-19 has caused great consternation, making this path appear hazy and dangerous. Let's clear some space for ourselves.

Spiritual principles lay out a road for us to live lives devoid of unnecessary suffering, with the fortitude and resilience to face the grief and terror that are unavoidable parts of life. At RCA, we use the 12 Step Model of addiction treatment to help patients work through the internal chaos and discover the strength they need to rise above and overcome their challenges.

While the 12 Step Model can assist those suffering from addiction discover the calm and power they need to heal, the principles that underpin it can be applied to any condition. Even in these moments of worry and anxiety, applying the principles can help to alleviate stress and promote overall wellbeing.

HTML tutorial

These principles, combined with a regular practice of pausing and thinking on them, can help us cope with anything life throws at us.

The Serenity Prayer is a prevalent theme in many recovery circles as a method to pause and allow oneself to return to the present moment and the serenity that is alight inside them, whether or not they recognize it at the time.

Let's make a version of this to think about and express (or even simply read) when we're feeling powerless in the face of the world's current conditions:

Please give me the peace of mind to accept the things I can't change, such as Nature's course.

Grant me the courage to make the changes I can, such as living by spiritual values and taking care of my health, despite how tough it may appear.

And give me the insight to recognize the difference, to understand that I have no control over my choices and that Love will guide me through any experience I may have.

Keep in mind what your life's mission is. It is not to be subjected to interminable suffering and to be at the mercy of life's events. It is to be free, to live in Love rather than fear, and to know that this experience is possible and available to you at any time and in any place, regardless of anything may obstruct your way. It is constantly present within you. Take your time to locate it, and you'll be able to bear nearly any “how” if you do.

What are spiritual principles in the Bible?

Spiritual principles are universally accepted underlying truths. If you throw a stone, for example, it will fall to the ground. That is a natural result governed by gravity. The same law applies to human behavior and activities.

What are the 3 legacies of AA?

The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous are Recovery, Unity, and Service, which are embodied by the Steps, Traditions, and Concepts when taken together.

HTML tutorial

Recovery has provided us with a second chance at happiness and freedom, as well as the opportunity to live useful and productive lives. Recovery is made up of the 12 steps and the Big Book, and it is the program's entire foundation. In the foreword to the book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Bill W. writes: “The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are a set of spiritual principles that, when followed as a way of life, can help people overcome their drinking addiction and become happy and helpful members of society.”

Unity has provided us with a community of people who share our common problem and who provide us with the love and support we need to be sober. The 12 Traditions of AA describe the concepts that promote the fellowship's unity at the group level. ” The 12 Traditions of AA apply to the Fellowship's own life. They describe how AA maintains its unity and interacts with the world around it, as well as how it lives and evolves.” AA co-founder Bill W.

Service allows us to carry out our principal goal of “delivering the message to the still-suffering alcoholic.” The 12 Concepts, which are included in the General Service Manual and the appendix of the Big Book of AA, provide the foundation for service in AA. “The basic service that the AA Fellowship provides is our Twelfth Step – delivering the word; this is our main goal and purpose for being. As a result, AA is more than a set of principles; it is a functioning society of alcoholics. We must deliver the message, or we will perish, and others who have not been told the truth will perish.” The AA Service Manual, from AA's Legacy of Service

” The Three Legacies – Recovery, Unity, and Service – provided to the entire membership of AA by its founders (Bill W. and Dr. Bob) and their fellow old-timers are the solution to our Alcoholism/Addiction. There are 12 guiding Spiritual concepts in each legacy, for a total of 36.”

What is an AA spiritual awakening?

While many people may claim to have experienced a spiritual awakening in the fellowship halls, their descriptions and stories of what that looked like may differ greatly. Bill W. recalled seeing a bright light that was accompanied by a sensation of pleasure in the Big Book of AA. For many others, though, the book warns that spiritual experiences can take a long time to develop. A “spiritual experience” or “awakening,” according to the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, is some degree of personality change that is adequate to support recovery. The word “spiritual awakening” is commonly used to describe this shift of the mind and spirit, as well as the process of being clean and sober. A person in early recovery can identify with and rely on a power larger than themselves after discovering a “unsuspected inner resource.” To put it another way, a person in early recovery would be guided by something other than a desire to drink or use drugs. What the real experience is like varies greatly from person to person.

What are the 7 principles of life?

The Nolan Principles (also known as the Seven Principles of Public Life) apply to everyone who holds a public position. All people assigned to work in the Civil Service, local government, the police, courts, and probation services, non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), and health, education, social, and care services are included. All public officials serve the public as both servants and stewards of public resources. The ideas also apply to people who provide public services in other fields.

What are the 4 absolutes?

The Oxford Group assisted many people with many difficulties before Bill Wilson and his colleagues created the book Alcoholics Anonymous and discovered a cure to their chronic alcoholism.

The Oxford Group attempted to improve members by teaching a spiritual growth method that was comparable to Alcoholics Anonymous' 12 Steps: inventory, admitting mistakes, making amends, praying and meditating, and spreading the gospel.

The Oxford Group was created in 1921 by Lutheran clergyman Frank Buchman as a Christian organization. The organization was then dubbed Moral Re-arrangement as they declared that their goal was to provide their members a moral rearrangement.

HTML tutorial

This is pretty similar to what Roland Hazard was told by Carl Jung. During the 1930s, Roland's rich family employed the best psychiatrist in the world. Roland learned what it took for a persistent alcoholic to get sober from Jung.

“They appear to be characterized by massive emotional shifts and rearrangements. Ideas, feelings, and attitudes that were once leading factors in these men's life are suddenly put aside, and a whole new set of conceptions and reasons take their place.”

The most significant distinction between the two organizations is that Alcoholics Anonymous, while founded on Christian values, is not affiliated with any religion. And, to be honest, relying alone on the Four Absolutes is unlikely to help many chronic relapsers.

Instead, A.A. focuses on spiritual concepts that will change how an alcoholic views life, thinks, behaves, and interacts with others. It does not claim to know what or who God is; rather, it asserts that a greater force exists.

You can create a new design for living by removing what is preventing you from connecting with a higher power. ‘The' “Moral re-arrangement” occurs as a result of following the procedures.

What are the 4 Absolutes

The Four Absolutes can be beneficial to a recovering alcoholic. They can help you figure out if you're treating others the way you should, as well as guiding your meditation and prayer.

The Four Absolutes, on the other hand, can be nearly impossible to follow for someone seeking a spiritual experience and a moral reorientation, especially if they are a frequent relapser.

“In the early days, before the Steps, the four absolutes, as we called them, were the only yardsticks we had.” I believe absolutes are still valid and can be incredibly useful. I've discovered that when a question occurs, I want to do the right thing, but the answer isn't obvious. If I verify my decision carefully against the yardsticks of extreme honesty, total unselfishness, pure purity, and absolute love, and it checks out quite well, then my answer can't be that far out of the way.”

These concepts were employed by the Oxford Group to make judgments based on God-consciousness. Let's take a look at how they're used by both groups.

HTML tutorial

On Honestly

Being honest, on the other hand, is a revolutionary trait among alcoholics. Honesty isn't something that happens. So many alcoholics lie and manipulate that it becomes second nature to them.

This is not to argue that alcoholics are inherently nasty or bad individuals. They suffer from a condition that forces them to consume alcohol at all costs. It becomes necessary to lie, manipulate, and take advantage of others.

On Unselfishness

Alcoholics are, by definition, self-centered. Their mental, physical, and spiritual health are all aberrant. An alcoholic is compelled to drink as a result of this disorder. They have no choice but to use alcohol.

As a result, they will drink regardless of the circumstances. Even if their child begs them to quit drinking, or if they are in difficulty at work or in court, they will continue to drink.

This is one of the key characteristics that the 12 Steps address; it takes you from being selfish and just thinking about oneself to being selfless and caring about others “I'm trying to fit into the flow of life.”

The Oxford Groups pose the following question: “What effect will this have on the other guy?”

This is a difficult issue to answer for an alcoholic who can't manage how much they drink or stay sober. It's also one that isn't considered during a binge, spree, or relapse.

On Purity

The first 164 pages of the Big Book include no mention of purity. “Is it right or not?” asks the Oxford Group.

Perhaps this is why Alcoholics Anonymous hasn't adopted it: chronic alcoholics can't tell the difference between what's true and what's not. They consider their boozy lifestyle to be normal.

It's incomprehensible to believe that an alcoholic can make the best option. Addicts have a three-fold dilemma that makes it impossible for them to make the best decision possible.

On Love

In chronic alcoholic partnerships, the action of consistent love is missing. Chronic alcoholics are, once again, dishonest and self-centered. It's difficult to find love.

You will be able to care for others, be more tolerant, and wish to be of service to others if you follow the stages, have a spiritual awakening, and have a “moral rearrangement.”

What is the spiritual principle of tradition 10?

By refraining from expressing thoughts on “outside concerns,” 12 step organizations strive to avoid public and intra-fellowship conflict. This policy also aids members in staying focused on their common goal.

Tradition 10: Alcoholics Anonymous (and Al-Anon) has no position on external problems; as a result, the A.A. name should never be associated with public debate.

As the preamble to Al-twelve Anon's steps and traditions states, “Al-Anon is independent of any sect, denomination, political party, organization, or institution. It does not get involved in any debates, nor does it support or oppose any cause.”