HALT Recovery Central's Addiction Blog

A Study of Step 11
The 12 Steps of A.A. and Al-Anon
By Buddy T, About.com
“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.”

The purpose of Step 11 is to discover the plan God as you understand Him, has for your life and find the power to carry it out. Although the approaches and methods of doing this are as varied as the individuals who attend 12-step support groups, the end results are the same.

For many who come into the rooms of recovery, whether it is Alcoholics Anonymous or Al-Anon Family Groups, the concept of spirituality is an unfamiliar one. Let’s face it, many of those who make it into the program come in from bars, jails, broken marriages, and a life in turmoil. Even those who have a background in church find that their experience has been more “religious” rather than spiritual.

But if they are earnest in working the 12 steps, by the time they arrive at Step 11 they discover they have found a measure of spirituality at work in their lives. For the first time, many members discover their Higher Power and form a better understanding of that power.

Nothing happens by mistake

The approaches and methods of prayer and mediation suggested in Step 11 vary, but the purpose of the step is to make contact with that Higher Power, whether they refer to it as “God” or they use any means available to avoid the G-word. The point is they have discovered through participation in the program that there is a power greater than themselves and they have seen that power at work.

As members accept the principle from the oft-quoted Page 449 from the book Alcoholics Anonymous, that “Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in God’s world by mistake” they come to believe there is a Higher Power, and the God of their understanding has a plan for their lives. Through prayer and meditation members attempt to raise their consciousness of that power and draw on it to continue their personal journey of recovery.

Prayer and meditation? As it is suggested by the program, and is so typical of its members to do so, it is best to keep it simple. It doesn’t have to be complicated. As one old-timer says, “Prayer is talking to God. Meditation is listening!”

 Alcohol-related deaths among U.S. college students rose from 1,440 deaths in 1998 to 1,825 in 2005, along with increases in heavy drinking and drunk driving, according to an article in the July supplement of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 

 The special issue describes the results of a broad array of research-based programs to reduce and prevent alcohol-related problems at campuses across the country.  These studies resulted from the Rapid Response to College Drinking Problems Initiative, a grant program supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

 “This supplement is a valuable resource that underscores the growing number of research-driven strategies that college administrators and health officials can put in place to address serious student drinking problems,” says Acting NIAAA Director Kenneth Warren, Ph.D.

Reviewing the magnitude of the college alcohol problem, Ralph W. Hingson, Sc.D, M.P.H., director of NIAAA’s Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research, and colleagues analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other government sources. They found that serious problems persist, as indicated by the increase in drinking-related accidental deaths among 18- to 24-year-old students.  In this population, most unintentional alcohol-related injury deaths result from traffic-related incidents. In addition, the researchers found the proportion of students who reported recent heavy episodic drinking — sometimes called binge drinking, defined as five or more alcoholic drinks on any occasion in the past 30 days — rose from roughly 42 percent to 45 percent, and the proportion who admitted to drinking and driving in the past year increased from 26.5 percent to 29 percent.

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Definition

Alcoholism is a chronic disease that makes your body dependent on alcohol. You may be obsessed with alcohol and unable to control how much you drink, even though your drinking is causing serious problems with your relationships, health, work and finances.

It’s possible to have a problem with alcohol, but not display all the characteristics of alcoholism. This is known as “alcohol abuse,” which means you engage in excessive drinking that causes health or social problems, but you aren’t dependent on alcohol and haven’t fully lost control over the use of alcohol.

Although many people assume otherwise, alcoholism is a treatable disease. Medications, counseling and self-help groups are among the therapies that can provide ongoing support to help you recover from alcoholism.

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The following is from the About.com Alcoholism site:

Making amends may seem like a bitter pill to swallow, but for those serious about recovery it can be good medicine for the spirit and soul.

Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
 
Step 9 is another one of the 12 steps, that initially appears most difficult, but the rewards of putting this principle into practice can be immense. The spiritual principle involved is that of forgiveness, not only from others, but forgiveness of self, which can bring healing to both parties.

After completing Step 8 — made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all — the next logical step is to make those amends if possible, and the suggestion is to do so directly to those who have been harmed. By making direct amends to the person harmed the temptation to skirt the issue because of embarrassment or pain is avoided.

Simple but not easy!

But those making the amends find many times that the person to whom they have harmed is more than willing to accept those amends happily — and a healing process begins not only in the relationship, but in each individual. This is not always the case, however. Sometimes the injured party is not willing to forgive and forget. Regardless, spiritual progress for those in recovery depends upon doing their part right and making direct amends.

This step does carry a condition — except when to do so would injure them or others. If the act of making amends will open old wounds or create new harm, then making direct amends should be avoided. The benefit of making amends to the recovering person does not outweigh the need to do no more harm.

Of course, Alcoholics Anonymous (“The Big Book”) tops the list. For the other nine, click here.