What Makes AA Meetings Work?
AA, an abbreviation for the “alcoholics anonymous” is a support group meeting the format of which has helped millions of alcoholics in dealing with their addiction issues! AA meetings are free. You can join in without any charges, or even having to disclose your identity. It is open to all and there aren’t any prerequisites for joining. It encourages members to go along with their own personal interpretations of the god almighty.
There are the 12 traditions of AA that this recovery program is based on. Whenever you are seeking an “AA meeting near me” it is highly advisable to find a sponsor. A sponsor is typically a member of this AA group who has stuck to the program for over a year and has succeeded in remaining sober for that period.
We take a closer look at these 12 steps.
The All-Important 12 Step Program
- Honesty: By honesty,it means confessing to the fact of being powerless over the influence of alcohol. The concept of honesty counters the attitude of living in denial.
- Hope: To hope that an external power can perhaps restore sanity in us. It is about allowing a positive power to influence us and help us move towards sobriety.
- Faith: This faith could be in any power that’s relevant to me. It could be the God almighty, the science behind recovery programs, AA meeting schedules,and just about anything!
- Courage: This courage is to soul search and look into the moral inventory we all possess.
- Integrity: This involves owning up to our wrongs. Integrity offers an inner strength that can help us emerge victorious from substance abuse and its negatives.
- Willingness: This is a willingness to allow the almighty power to make positive changes in ourselves. It is quite like subjecting ourselves to these cleansing powers and movingtowards holistic improvements.
- Love: This is a practicewhere we list out the names of people who have harmed us or hurt us in any way and develop a willingness to make it up to them with complete forgiveness and acceptance.
- Discipline: This is largely about engaging in self-discipline.
- Perseverance: This concerns assessing our personal inventory once again and admitting to all our mistakes, seeking redemption from them all.
- Spirituality: The idea here is to improve the quality of contact with the almighty and improveour consciousness with regard to it. Prayers should only be aimed at seeking the knowledge of his will and generating the power to carry it out.
- Service: Service involves bringing these principles into practice.
Next time you look for an AA meeting in Vermont, the interactions will make a great deal of sense with an understanding of the 12 traditions. Tray and be regular at AA meetings for reaping the true benefits.