So I said I would post this a while ago but for all the people who don’t do spiritually here’s how AA can still work for you.
I like that better than the expletive filled Russell Brand version of the steps. Thanks.
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Lol I love this!
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This is fantastic! Do you mind if I put it in my toolbox to help others when the opportunity arises?
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By all means share away. However, I would always suggest getting a sponsor to anyone who is going to work the steps.
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Thanks for posting! Ive been feeling quietly confused about what the steps meant
This is just one drunk’s interpretation of them. It’s funny, even after over a year in the program, that if I didn’t have a sponsor I wouldn’t know what I was doing…
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What I wish I had was, not a sponsor, but a trusted friend who had been through the steps and had nothing better to do with his time than to hang out with me and talk about recovery.
I feel like it would be a waste of a sponsor’s time to work with me given my reticence. There are others who are more willing to make that commitment who would be more worthy of the investment of time.
Still, I am genuinely curious about a lot of aspects of the 12-Step approach. I’m reading about it as much as I can. I would see the value in being able to see it through the eyes of someone who had already walked the road.
I’m currently working on 10 and 11 so I am getting close. What you are looking for sounds a lot like my sponsor. We had actually been friends for a little while when I decided to ask him to take me through the big book. Sponsor’s come in all shapes and sizes. For me a sponsor is there to take me through the steps. I got to him as a friend in AA with other stuff, but when it comes to the sponsorship side we read the book and I do the work. As a result we have both stayed sober.
How do you build the trust necessary to be completely open with a sponsor?
I’ve been in therapy for years, so I am used to situations where there are actual legal protections in place to protect confidentiality.
There are things in my past that I would be extremely reluctant to share with anyone who could be compelled to testify against me by a subpoena. Just, you know, hypothetically speaking. Lol
That’s a lot of “what ifs” going on. I will say that most people in AA probably have some crimes for which the statute of limitations has not run out on. I know I do. I have yet to hear of a case where a sponsor was called to testify against a sponsee.
Interestingly, a quick Google search yielded an article about a shield law in Washington State that protects sponsors from being compelled to testify.
I knew I should have stayed in Seattle.
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I did not know that. Interesting. Just remember you can always do your 5th step with a clergyman or therapist if you still want the legal protections. In the book it’s actually suggested to do it with your spiritual adviser if you are practicing a religion.
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Zombie thread
Zombie thread again. Gaaarrrghh
I feel like I needed all 12 steps for my recovery. I have a few old timers in my home group with 40+ years of sobriety who “don’t do that God shit”. They still come to the regular meetings though.
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Really sticks the landing with step 12 there, lol.
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It’s kind of an “if we took 12 steps and made it exactly the opposite” what we would get 
What was funny is my addiction prior to my recovery work was just about 25 years and what is described in these “steps” is exactly what I got 
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