A person not familiar with spiritual principles of NA may have problems determining the amount of commitment or application they have to apply before getting results. Any reservations about doing the eighth step have a way of canceling out our spiritual actions.
To get results our amends must be strong and connected to an impulse of restitution or restoration to those we have harmed. Expectations of positive results are important, as is the willingness to take the necessary actions, and the ability to concentrate on what you're trying to do. These abilities combined with belief to trigger the spiritual shift or miracle we're praying for.
It may help to bear in mind that we are seeking help where all other efforts have failed and we are getting results. This is why NA is known as a spiritual program. The NA 8th Step frees us from others being able to push our buttons, thoughts of revenge or fear of revenge, fear of discovery, resentment, acts of sabotage, recrimination, justification, endless blame assessment, and incarceration, legal actions and physical harm.
Unless we are totally willing to make the amends, we will feel no relief and experience no positive change from the Eighth Step. The measure or our willingness is up to the individual for who can know the heart of another.
The Eighth Step is not easy, it demands a new kind of honesty about our relations with other people. The Eighth Step starts the procedure of forgiving others and possibly being forgiven by them, forgiving ourselves, and learning how to live in the world. By the time we reach this step, we have become ready to understand rather than to be understood. We can live and let live easier when we know the areas in which we owe amends. It seems hard now, but once we have done it, we will wonder why we did not do it long ago.
The final difficulty in working the Eighth Step is separating it from the Ninth Step. Projecting about actually making amends can be a major obstacle both in making the list and in becoming willing. We do this step as if there were no Ninth Step. We do not even think about making the amends but just concentrate on exactly what the Eighth Step says which is to make a list and to become willing. The main thing this step does for us is to help build an awareness that, little by little, we are gaining new attitudes about ourselves and how we deal with other people.
TB