Twelve and Twelve

Twelve concrete instructions of Step Eleven and how they match up to the Twelve Steps

1.     On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day.	Step One—let’s start at the very beginning, right here, right now; rather than managing our lives, we show up each day asking only for the tasks of the day.
2.     Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.	Step Two—restoration from the insanity of self-pity, dishonesty, and self-seeking.
3.     [Indecision] Here we ask God for inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. We relax and take it easy. We don’t struggle.	Step Three—seeking God’s will; relaxing into God being in charge.
4.     … conclude … with a prayer that we be shown all through the day what our next step is to be, that we be given whatever we need to take care of such problems.	Step Four—next right action—the opposite of everything that was on our Step Four.
5.     We ask especially for freedom from self-will and are careful to make no request for ourselves only. We may ask for ourselves, however, if others will be helped.	Step Five—the archway to freedom: the switch from taking and receiving to giving.
6.     If circumstances warrant, we ask our wives or friends to join us in morning meditation.	Step Six—giving up our own thinking in favour of God’s thoughts; raising our thinking to a higher plane.
7.     If we belong to a religious denomination which requires a definite morning devotion, we attend to that also.	Step Seven—surrender to a way of life not of our own devising and not of the world’s devising: of God’s devising.
8.     If not members of religious bodies, we sometimes select and memorize a few set prayers which emphasize the principles we have been discussing.	Step Eight—spiritual principles not the principles of self: when we’re living inside our prayers, we are at our most harmless to others.
9.     There are many helpful books also. Suggestions about these may be obtained from one’s priest, minister, or rabbi. Be quick to see where religious people are right. Make use of what they offer.	Step Nine—learning how to act right in the world from people with a proven track record on how to act right.
10. As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action. We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day “Thy will be done.”	Step Ten—staying on track through the day and effecting necessary course corrections.
11. In meditation, we ask God what we should do about each specific matter.	Step Eleven—going straight to God with problems.
12. Ask Him in your morning meditation what you can do each day for the man who is still sick.	Step Twelve—the substance of our lives: helping others.