[royster]

6 of the 12 steps to overall recovery~

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become
unmanageable.

Replace "alcohol" with any number of obstacles. Because of our obsession with specific elements of our lives, we have made unreasonable provision for them, over time, to the point that basics get neglected, and indeed: our lives become unmanageable. Yet, because we refuse to see or admit these obsessions are doing the damage (denial) we procede with trying every quick-fix remedy that ultimately doesn't work. We have to come to grips that the real problem is how we think

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to
sanity.

And we think the way we do because our self-will has been bolstered by the society we live in: we're encouraged to "look out for #1", be "independent" and compete for unreasonable attention. When we start to understand that the universe has been here a lot longer than us little humans, we might consider trying to adjust to life on life's terms, not the latest trend or our ill-conceived concepts of "success"...corporation make their profits off of our futile attempts to "succeed" in amassing material possessions.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we
understood Him.

Many stop in their tracks..."WHAT! RELEASE MY FREE WILL!??" That's not what this step suggests. It translates that we retire our own self-willed behavior to that higher power we've come to accept. In other words, we summons the willingness to allow a higher power to act within our lives, and prove itself to us. To establish communication with the God of our understanding, we have to allow It time and space to do so. We also need to define what that higher power is, for ourselves, and in our own terms. Essentially, our minds need to agree with themselves before any progress can be made: the deliberate conflicts our belief systems have created need to be disassembled, and this cannot be done unbiasedly by ourselves. Spirit guides fit here perfectly.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Okay, fellow ascendants: this is where our impacted/discordant energies live. And it does take courage to go through every event and episode, taking responsibility for our own participation in them, regardless of the original prompt to the problem. The biggest obstacle most people have in this exercise is the loss of self-esteem. You might want to consider that "self-esteem" got you into 98% of the messes you need to clean up. By another definition, we call it "pride". Please note the ego is feeling very threatened, right now. It need not be, but it DOES need to stand accountable, and egos don't do that very easily.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature
of our wrongs.

Admitting is so important in getting any problem solved. Denial can be very subtle and ingrained, that after a while, we don't see it. The previous steps literally bring light into our dark cave, and as we seek to really tackle the problems, we need the illumination of responsibility. No need to over-do it: just what you are really responsible for. Part of your belief structure has been holding up that unnecessary weight of denial/guilt.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

This means we have been over the list again and again, thought it out, really looked to see if these are things we want to get rid of. Each time we add to and review our list, we begin to understand clearer what the events contained. While you may be entirely blameless for many things, those responsible are not to receive a list from you with accusing fingers, but instead, are simply to be forgiven. And forgiveness takes time. The key to forgiveness is seeing how you, yourself, have committed similar acts. The self-honesty will take you lightyears in life: do it with love for your world, and for you.