For nine months, I worked my way through the NA Step Study Guides [sic]
handwriting out my answers to a reputed 458 questions on the 12-steps. I finished that two weeks ago.
Since then, I have tried daily handwriting on the 10th step
via the NA’s International Pamphlet #9 which is a 10th step pamphlet
with 36 questions. That wasn’t the right
thing.
AA’s Big Book has explicit directions on the 11th step about
when we are selfish, dishonest, afraid, kind, loving, done better, thinking of
ourselves, or done for others. That was
also not the right thing for me to write about.
The problem with both of them is that there was a lot of focus on
negative behavior. I already have enough
morbid reflection. I need to develop a
positive practice with handwritten thoughts much like this gratitude blog with a
keyboard.
The NA IP9 did ask about having practiced “spiritual principles” in our
day. I did not know how to answer that
since I don’t know what the spiritual principles are beyond being kind and
loving.
It had occurred to us the so-called spiritual principles of AA which
appear nowhere in the official literature.
They are posted online, on the walls of some meeting rooms and
intermittently passed around on business cards or some other literature. This morning a woman referenced them during
a 15-minute speaker share and I was inspired to use them as the focus for a
nightly handwriting exercise.
The 12 Spiritual Principles are:
1. Honesty
2. Hope
3. Faith
4. Courage
5. Integrity
6. Willingness
7. Humility
8. Brotherly Love
9. Justice
10. Perseverance
11. Spirituality
12. Service
I am grateful for my new writing exercise, for great recovery and great meetings.
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