What are the first 5 proposals of AA?
Carefully reading the first five proposals we ask if we have omitted anything, for we are building an arch through which we shall walk a free man at last. Is our work solid so far? Are the stones properly in place? Have we skimped on the cement put into the foundation?
The Fifth Step promises (p. 75) tell us that we now begin to have a spiritual experience. Well, the realization that God is soon-to-remove the very things that blocked me from seeing and acting on the truth-in-drink indeed speaks to a radical inner transformation!
5th Step: Confessing to Yourself
Step 5 requires not only that one admit to themselves the exact nature of one's wrongs, but that they embark on an honest self-evaluation of their faults.
The Promises of AA
Promise 1: We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. Promise 2: We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. Promise 3: We will comprehend the word serenity. Promise 4: We will know peace.
Purpose of Step 5
It prepares members for the rest of the step. But by having that conversation with a personal higher power in a spirit of prayer, the things that need to be changed are revealed. The exact nature of our wrongs has been discovered along with the ways that they need to be changed.
Fifth Step Prayer
In admitting my wrongs to another person & to You. Assure me, & be with me, in this Step, For without this Step I cannot progress in my recovery. With Your help, I can do this, & I do it.
Often called the “confession” step, Step 5 “admit to a higher power (according to beliefs), to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrong.” Step 5 is where, in the recovery process, the Program turns from taking stock of the past to starting to build a new, healthier future, free from addiction ...
While the program is considered a suggested method for dealing with the disease of Alcoholism, there are places within the Big Book where the authors used the word 'MUST. ' The following is a list of the 40 Musts from the Big Book.
- I Know How You Feel. So many people make this mistake. ...
- I'm Sorry. ...
- How Many More Meetings Do You Have Until You're Cured? ...
- I Had No Idea. ...
- Can You Ever Try It Again? ...
- I Don't Think It Would Be Hard for Me to Stop. ...
- Be Our Designated Driver. ...
- What About Your Wedding?
“The Exact Nature of Our Wrongs” (2017) is a dramatic and provocative portrayal of family life and addiction in the American heartland by Janet Peery, an award winning and bestselling short story writer and novelist. Peery's debut “Alligator Dance: Stories” (1998) remains in print, this is her fourth book.
How long does a 5th step take?
Step 5 should last 2-3 hours: it is about the exact nature of our wrongs, not a catalogue either of the wrongs done to us or the wrongs we have done to others.
- Anger and Hatred.
- Selfishness and self-centeredness.
- Being dishonest and lying regularly.
- Defensiveness.
- Constantly playing the victim.
- Blaming self and others.
- Antagonistic.
- Close-mindedness.

As written in Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (also known as the 12&12), Tradition Five states: “Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.” We have noted in many of our articles that addicts and alcoholics must have a strong support system in order to stay sober.
Step 4: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Step 5: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Step 6: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. Step 7: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
A.A. PREAMBLE©
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.
Members of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous place a significant amount of emphasis on the Three Legacies of AA: Recovery, Unity, and Service. Over the years, these Legacies have proven to provide for effective recovery in a harmonious atmosphere that encourages selflessness.
The Promises of Recovery offers hope to the still struggling alcoholic. They are the experience of the first 100 sober members of AA. They promise freedom, happiness, and a life without regret. They promise an interest in other people and a changed attitude.
How Long Do 12-Step Programs Take? The average length of time it takes for someone to work through the 12 steps once can vary. Many 12-step sponsors encourage sponsees and newcomers in AA and other 12-step programs to attend 90 meetings in 90 days, or at least one meeting a day for three months.
- Just start. In truth, Step 4 is hard. ...
- Make a list of the ways fear or anger has taken over your actions. ...
- Write down the things you're ashamed of. ...
- Ask yourself how you've avoided taking personal responsibility. ...
- Think about the freedom you'll feel when you're done.
The Seventh Step is where we make the change in our attitude which permits us, with humility as our guide, to move out from ourselves toward others and toward God. The whole emphasis of Step Seven is on humility.
What's a good topic for an AA meeting?
- A. Acceptance, Amends, Anonymity, Anger.
- B. Behavior, Belonging, Blackouts.
- C. Conscience, Complacency, Complex.
- D. Desire, Decisions, Depression.
- E. Easy-Does-It, Emotions, Ego.
- F. Faith, Fear, Fellowship, Fatigue.
- G. Gratitude, God, Gossip.
- H. Humility, Hope, Honesty, Happiness.
Sixth Step Prayer
Dear God, I am ready for Your help in removing from me the defects of character which I now realize are obstacles to my recovery. Help me to continue being honest with myself and guide me toward spiritual and mental health.
The purpose of step 4 is to begin to become willing to move forward in recovery by honestly examining your past substance use and actions, and how it has affected you and others. It's a path toward learning to take more responsibility for yourself and your actions.
- Step 1: Admit your life has become unmanageable. ...
- Step 2: Accept that you need God to become sober. ...
- Step 3: Decide to turn over your life to God. ...
- Step 4: Honestly take stock of your life. ...
- Step 5: Admit your wrongs to yourself, God, and others.
There is a saying in the 12-step programs that recovery is a process, not an event. The same can be said for Step 4: "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
What are the 8 principles of Celebrate Recovery? The Celebrate Recovery 8 principles are based on the Beatitudes listed in Matthew 5. Realize I'm not God. I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable.
- Honesty.
- Unselfishness.
- Purity.
- Love.
Burning Desire: Usually, at the end of the meeting, the chair asks if anyone has a burning desire to use or drink or harm themselves or others. This is also an opportunity for anyone who hasn't had a chance to share, to share.
The word “God”, or another version of “Him”, is found 281 times in the first 164 pages of the Big Book.
- calm.
- restrained.
- sedate.
- serious.
- abstaining.
- controlled.
- dry.
- moderate.
What do you say to an alcoholic?
- Focus on your concern about your loved one's drinking. ...
- Explain that you're worried about your loved one's health. ...
- Avoid using labels like “alcoholic” or “addict.” Instead, focus on the person and their behavior instead of the label. ...
- Be empathic and understanding.
- “I'm so proud of you”
- “I'm so happy to see you taking care of yourself”
- “You are so strong”
- “I'm happy that you're doing well”
- “You are inspiring”
- “You deserve to be happy”
- “You are deserving of a happy and healthy life”
- “Keep on fighting”
- They're fully present. ...
- They don't listen to respond. ...
- They react in the moment. ...
- They don't have an agenda. ...
- They don't jump to give advice. ...
- They never interrupt. ...
- They ask follow-up questions. ...
- They listen as much (or more than) they speak.
Humility is simply having a realistic sense of oneself. A humble person accurately acknowledges both their strengths and limitations. These people have the capacity to be honest and without pretense in relation to themselves. They are “right-sized” and without false pride, arrogance, or importantly, low self-esteem.
Step 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. This step is described on pages 72-75.
As a participant shares their 5th step, a sponsor may interject as they discern necessary, ideally in the form of a probing question(s) in the cases where a participant has not thoroughly recognized character defects; their part, placing blame on others, or taking too much responsibility.
63. Step Six. “Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.” “THIS is the Step that separates the men from the boys.” So declares a well-loved clergyman who happens to be one of A.A.'s greatest friends.
The 4th Step in Alcoholics Anonymous asks members to make “a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.” This request is not an arbitrary one but has been proven to be essential in establishing a sound foundation for recovery.
- Greed.
- Anger.
- Fear.
- Cowardice.
- Egotism.
- Guilt.
- Dishonesty.
- Impatience.
Recognizing Jealousy as a Harmful Character Defect
Jealousy is another highly destructive character defect. It is often recognized specifically within romantic relationships.
Is fear a character defect in AA?
Some common character defects or shortcomings can include fear, dishonesty, greed, lust, jealousy, grandiosity, willfulness and anger.
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English singleness of purposeformal great determination when you are working to achieve something → singlenessExamples from the Corpussingleness of purpose• Fridays Pray for the Mission Board, that there might be unity and a singleness of purpose.
A.A. PREAMBLE©
A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety. Copyright © The AA Grapevine, Inc.
The relationship of the fifth step to the fifth tradition is that the fifth step taught me the exact nature of my wrongs, “I'm not in charge.” In the fifth tradition I learned just the opposite, I learned what my exact nature should be: my talent to carry the message to the alcoholic who still suffers, my primary ...
The fifth step of the 12 step recovery program states that we, “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.” This vital exercise begins to provide emotional, mental and spiritual relief. By sharing wrong with a trusted confidant, guilt and shame start to melt away.
Purpose of Step 5
It prepares members for the rest of the step. But by having that conversation with a personal higher power in a spirit of prayer, the things that need to be changed are revealed. The exact nature of our wrongs has been discovered along with the ways that they need to be changed.
NA emphasizes that Step 4 calls on you to be searching and fearless. You are asked to look carefully at yourself and to get beneath the self-deceptions you have used up to now to hide the truth from yourself. Search within, as if entering a dark house with a single candle to guide you.
C = Closed Meeting: Attendance is limited to self-identified alcoholics only.
A.A. PREAMBLE©
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.
intr.v. stagged, stag·ging, stags. To attend a social gathering unaccompanied by a partner. Used especially of men.
What are big book meetings?
The main text in A.A. is also called Alcoholics Anonymous, but is affectionately known as The Big Book. Groups often organize in order to read and discuss the book, hoping to give the newcomer an understanding of what the alcoholic's problem is and what solution is being presented.
- I Am Proud of Who You Are. It's easy to get entrenched in the glamor of alcohol with how effectively the industry has marketed itself. ...
- I Admire Your Strength. ...
- I Am Here. ...
- Keep It Up. ...
- Speak from the Heart. ...
- AA Sobriety Chips Are Worth Celebrating.
If you prefer, you can simply turn up at one of our meetings - click on this link to find one near you. We strongly suggest that when you arrive you let someone know that this is your first meeting, that way they will be able to provide you with information that most people new to AA find useful.
BB: This stands for 'Big Book' which is story of Alcoholics Anonymous and how it works. S: This stands for 'Steps' which is the 12 Steps of the AA Recovery Programme. T: This stands for 'Traditions' which is the 12 Traditions of AA which apply to the Fellowship.
A.A. PREAMBLE©
A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety. Copyright © The AA Grapevine, Inc.
The Responsibility Statement – “I am responsible – when anyone, anywhere reaches out for help, I want the hand of AA always to be there, and for that: I am responsible,” was first introduced to the Fellowship of A.A. in July 1965 to a crowd of 10,000 gathered at the 30th Anniversary Convention in Toronto.
Closed meetings are for A.A. members only, or for those who have a drinking problem and “have a desire to stop drinking.” Open meetings are available to anyone interested in Alcoholics Anonymous' program of recovery from alcoholism. Nonalcoholics may attend open meetings as observers.
One of the chips may be called a “white chip,” “surrender chip,” or “24-hour chip.” This chip is for anyone new or returning to A.A. interested in giving sobriety a chance for 24 hours. The meeting may also leave time to see who is available to sponsor by a show of hands.
A stag is another word for a buck, or a male deer. If you spot a family of deer in the woods, the stag is the one with the largest antlers. There are different terms for male deer, depending on the species, and stag usually describes the largest types of deer. Stags are also commonly seen in paintings of deer hunts.
During open discussion meetings, AA members will share their experiences with the rest of the group. They might talk about why they started attending AA and how the group has helped them. These open meetings may focus, in particular, on how non-members can help support their loved one who is a member of the group.
What do you say when chairing AA meetings?
My name is___________and I am an alcoholic and your Secretary. 2. Let us open the meeting with a moment of silence to do with as you wish followed by the Serenity Prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference.
(Open, Discussion, 12 Steps & 12 Traditions) In-person.