Originally Posted by
freshstart57 
Maybe this can help, Riverbird.
1. We accept the fact that all our efforts to stop drinking have failed.
2. We believe that we must turn elsewhere for help.
3. We turn to our fellow men and women, particularly those who have struggled with the same problem.
4. We have made a list of the situations in which we are most likely to drink.
5. We ask our friends to help us avoid those situations.
6. We are ready to accept the help they give us.
7. We honestly hope they will help.
8. We have made a list of the persons we have harmed and to whom we hope to make amends.
9. We shall do all we can to make amends, in any way that will not cause further harm.
10. We will continue to make such lists and revise them as needed.
11. We appreciate what our friends have done and are doing to help us.
12. We, in turn, are ready to help others who may come to us in the same way.
B.F. Skinner
Is this what is meant by the secular 12 steps? I guess that's the part that really confuses me...since I thought that the 12 steps, by definition, are spiritual. I am definitely not a religious person, but I do have a higher power. The best I can describe my higher power without taking a ton of time is the spirit of nature...basically that feeling of awe that I feel when I go out somewhere especially beautiful, which to me shows me that there's so much more to this world than just me. Along with that, the idea that everything and everyone is made up of particles of various elements, that when you get right down to it are really just energy and electrical charges, shows me the spiritual element that connects us all. So I've always been a bit confused about where I "fit". I guess it doesn't matter in the big picture...mostly just a curiosity. I am looking at that link that was posted, but honestly that all confuses me even more!
Thanks everyone for your help.
