Multiple fellowships

Step One, and to a small extent Two and Three, differ in detail from fellowship to fellowship, although the principles are the same. Step Twelve differs a little, too.

But the Steps in between are the same.

Imagine a great river with multiple tributaries and a delta. Once the tributaries have merged in Step Three, there is one river, not many. Right at the end the river splits into the branches of the delta to reach the sea.

Note, also, that the sea is one.

Do I need multiple sets of concurrent or consecutive Steps?

No.

It also makes no sense. I can't do two sets of Steps at once. There's no such thing as the Steps from 'this point of view' or 'that point of view'. There are the Steps, and they cover everything. My AA Steps catch ALL of my Al-Anon stuff, all of my food stuff, all of my sex stuff, all of my romance stuff, all of my relationship craziness stuff. If it doesn't catch everything, either the method is wrong or I'm not being honest. I've often been slow to be honest. Character defects are character defects. Either I'm catching them or I'm not. There are lists. I tick them off.

My sponsor says: an honest person is someone who EVENTUALLY tells the truth.

But: it can help to cross-apply Steps One, Two, and Three to the other areas (e.g., for alcoholics, sex / romance / sick relationships, food, gambling), to get bottom lines in place, and to get an accountability network in place.

But even if you don't: if you don't catch the powerlessness in Step One, you'll catch it in Three, Six, and Seven: we need God's help to be rid of selfishness. By the time you get to the bottom of page 62, it does not matter whether the other stuff has been caught in a separate Step One or has been caught in the general observation of the utter failure of self and the failure of self to rid me of self. I'm at the same point: Being willing to give up the old way of life, which includes every element of that way of life.

In AA, as a courtesy, I offer the service to people who are alcoholic members of other fellowships where, for whatever reason, they're currently running through the Steps, to run through the first three Steps from an alcohol point of view, so that they're up to speed. Takes maybe half an hour to an hour. Not complicated. They've already taken Steps One to Three in, say, SLAA, so they understand the deal. But identification helps.