Originally Posted by
LaFemme 
Recovery for me is to live my life without alcohol or the temptation to drink alcohol. At this point the 12 steps aren't part of my equation.
The one thing I think is good about the 12 steps is that it helps people work on themselves. I believe life is a journey for alcoholics and non-alcoholics. Life is a great big classroom, but many people just coast. Alcoholics (in recovery), don't have that luxury. Whether you use the 12 steps or work on yourself in other way, it is a journey we are all supposed to take:-)
Thanks for your honesty, but please understand that Alcoholics Anonymous is about the 12 steps. When we suggest to the newcomer that they can stay sober without the 12 steps, we are talking about a different program. I'm not sure what it is called.
In the early days of AA, most people were taken through the 12 steps before they were even brought to a meeting. Bill Wilson said that the sole purpose of an AA meeting is the practice and sharing of the 12 steps. The first 164 pages of the Big Book are dedicated to them. The book is written to explain "precisely how we recover
ed."
The steps are not like the 10 Commandments-- to be reviewed and read and considered. They are an experience vital to the psychic change that the chronic, relapsing alcoholic requires to live.
Follow your path, but let's all at least agree as to what AA is-- as designed and created by our founders-- and what it is not.