Twelve Steps to a Spiritual, Happy Life

I have heard it said, “If someone just gave me a guidebook, I would get a better grasp on this life business!”

Well, we have been given lots of ‘guidebooks.' They are our sacred texts. This week the Jewish festival of Shavuot will commemorate the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people. The Torah contains the 10 commandments and other Hebrew laws as guidelines for life.

Today there are millions of people using another guideline for life, the 12 Step programs. These programs which all revolve around the work of Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob in their efforts to find relief from alcoholism outline a program for living a spiritual life.

This weekend in upstate NY at the old home of Bill and Lois Wilson is the 60th celebration of AA and Alanon families coming together for a picnic but some Long Island groups are even older than that celebration. Bill and Bob published their book in 1939, which outlined these 12 steps.

This 12 Step program is exactly that, a program of 12 steps that can change one’s life. The steps were originally designed to relieve alcoholics of their obsession to drink and help guide them so they do not have to be plagued by the issues that perpetuated their problem. Alcoholics Anonymous’ (AA) book titled Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions states, “Many people, nonalcoholics, report that as a result of the practice of A.A.’s Twelve Steps, they have been able to meet other difficulties of life. They think that the Twelve Steps can mean more than sobriety for problem drinkers. They see in them a way to happy and effective living for many, alcoholic or not.”

In my 15 years of work in the field of addictions, I have never seen any solution that worked better. There are people suffering from all types of addictions that are being relieved due to these 12 steps. A google search can display more than 35 different types of groups. They cover everything from emotions to debtors, workaholics to sex addicts, even clutterers!

This is a powerful testimony. So what is it about these 12 steps that works? Well, they are powered by spiritual principles. Yes, and I believe that they are Divinely inspired to assist this century’s humanity. They begin with a process of breaking one down with the admission of powerlessness and a recognition of an unmanageability of one’s life.

Then one is asked to believe that a Higher Power can offer sanity. Einstein said that we can’t solve a problem with the same mind that created the problem. So the third step proclaims that a decision is made to turn our will and our lives over to the care of this Higher Power.

There are nine more steps. They require action. All change requires movement. But the fact remains that there are guidelines. We are not alone. There is so much help available for us if we choose to avail ourselves of it. If you are ever feeling alone or that you need some guidelines, reach out, help is here.