What you will find in the 12 Step Companion
The 12 Step Companion is designed to be used as a guide to help you take someone (referred to as a sponsee) through the Twelve Steps as detailed in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.
The 12 Step Companion is formatted as a set of Sessions. Each Session could take a few hours or less. You can combine Sessions to complete the program over a few weeks. You can do the steps in several weeks, two Sessions per week. Or you can go at whatever pace works best for you and your sponsees.
Session 1a
The Beginning of a new and powerful lifelong spiritual journey!
“Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path.”
The beginning means opening the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous to the very first title page. Then there’s a page about other books. Then there is perhaps one of the most important and hope-filled pages you will ever read in your early sobriety.
Alcoholics Anonymous
The Story of How Many Thousands Of Men And Women
Have Recovered From Alcoholism.
Session 1 continues with the early outline of how to approach working through the steps.
Session 1b
Then reading through The Doctor’s Opinion and finishing with Bill’s Story.
“Although I wish only the best for you, I know that your happiness, or unhappiness, depends on your actions, not on my wishes for you.” ~Unknown
Session 2a
We have more encouraging language with the second chapter. There Is a Solution!
“The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution.” ~Bill W.
In the Big Book they define alcoholism as an illness, a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. What they have put together in their program is a solution to this hopeless state of mind and body.
They start outlining what the illness is, how it manifests in people’s lives, and exactly what you have to do to accomplish the miracle of solving the problem.
For myself, the miracle of working these steps in my life is; the obsession to drink alcohol has been removed and with that, I have recovered a life which I could have only imagined!
In the big book they use the word recover 26 times and recovered 27 times. So it may be useful here to look up what the word recover means.
Recover: Verb (used with object) To get back or regain (something lost or taken away): to recover a stolen phone or a wasted life. To make up for, or make good for (loss, damage, etc., to oneself). To regain the strength, composure, balance, or the like, of (oneself). Verb (used without object) To regain health after being sick, wounded, or the like (from…): to recover from an illness. To regain a former and better state or condition.
Session 2b
More About Alcoholism
We find that alcoholism is a progressive disease, even though we have tried many times to prove to ourselves that it is not, and even convincing ourselves that we are not real alcoholics.
People who are not alcoholics usually don’t spend a lot of time trying to find ways to convince themselves they are not alcoholics.
They give several great examples of people struggling with their alcohol addiction. They define the distinct parts of the disease.
We continue to learn what alcoholism is all about.
The spiritual program of action is talked about and a decision has to be made.
Session 3
“Lack of power is our dilemma.”
What shall we do about this? How can we get this power? There is a lot of ground covered in this session. First we read chapter four – We Agnostics
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Sandy B. says this chapter can be summed up in three words – Change your mind!
Another speaker says the title of this chapter should be – We Former Agnostics!
God works in mysterious ways. They don’t say we need to find God or even understand God. They simply say we need to seek a God of our own understanding.
Willingness is the key.
We then read chapter five – How It Works.
More great news for us, there is a plan and it does work. You will begin to realize that the Big Book is full of promises. The first sentence of this chapter is one of those promises: “Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed are path.”
There is a path to follow. Follow is an action word. You don’t go far on a path if you just sit and look at the path, or read about the path in a book. You have to put some effort in to move along the path. This action step is thoroughly outlined in How It Works and in this section you will start to put pen to paper as we begin to write out our Step Four.
Session 4a – through Session 5
These sessions are all about the rigorous and extensive work writing out our Step Four inventor.
“Any business that doesn’t take regular inventor is bound to go broke!”
Remember that darn question asked in the beginning of this journey;
“Are you willing to go to any lengths to find the solution to your alcohol dilemma?”
“How free are you willing to be?
The Inventory Continues with further instructions to complete our Step Four inventory.
Session 6
After a few more instructions and lists in Session 6, amazingly enough, the inventory is complete – for now.
The last paragraph of Chapter 5 has a funny sentence that reads;
“If you have already made a decision, and an inventory of your grosser handicaps, you have made a good beginning.” Wow, these guys just don’t let up.
After all of the solid work you have done from the start of the steps until now you may think to yourself;
“Well now I can take some time to reflect on my own magnificence.”
Take as long as you want – as long as you want to turn to the next page…
Session 7
Chapter 6 Into Action
Finally we completed our personal inventory. Now what shall we do about it?
This brings us to Step Five. Until we actually sit down and talk with someone about what we have so long kept hidden, our willingness to clean house is still largely theoretical. This requires action on our part!
When we are honest with another person, it confirms that we have been honest with ourselves and with God.
Session 7 gives some helpful instructions on how to prepare for and complete the Step Five process.
Session 8
This brings us to Step Six and Step Seven on the path.
Step Six and Step Seven are only two paragraphs in the Big Book and yet these two humble paragraphs are the foundation on which we build our new life. Bill has a great deal more to say about Step Six and Seven after fifteen years of experience working with alcoholics, and wrote two chapters in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions book about these steps. Drawing from his many years of understanding Bill expanded greatly on how to work these two steps.
There are whole books written on Step Six and Step Seven if you want to really get into it.
Session 9
Moving right along Session 9 continues with our action steps as we walk through Step Eight and Step Nine. This session completes the chapter Into Action. But it doesn’t end the action steps.
Session 10
Step Ten and Step Eleven
Continue to take Personal Inventory pg. 84. This step is the beginning of our daily disciplines. As my friend says:
“A.A. doesn’t get in the way, A.A. is the way.”
People often refer to this step as the daily inventory or the daily spot-check inventory. The simplest way to describe Step Ten is from pg. 90 of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions:
”Every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us.” –Bill W.
Session 11
Step Twelve and A Vision For You
Always be willing to work with others. You never know what part God wants you to play in someone else’s journey!
Session 12
It seems that every list and banner in Alcoholics Anonymous has 12 elements to it.
So you might be saying to yourself; “Why is there no Session 12 in the 12 Step Companion?”
Well, that’s because the Session is yours to write.
What will you be writing about for this Session?
I am hopeful that you will live a long and useful life in A.A. on this spiritual journey, sharing what you have learned. Using the Steps to build your own Session 12, and helping others as you travel the road of happy destiny.
May God bless you and keep you until then.