Louise82

I'd forgotten about this but was reminded of it by something someone said yesterday. Just before Christmas I was at a meeting and an American who was visiting from Virginia was talking about how they'd worked the Traditions as well as the Steps, but it had been hard finding someone who had worked the Traditions to take them through it.

I'm just under 6 months sober and have worked the steps as my sponsor is one of those who takes sponsees through the steps really quickly the first time round. We'll be working the steps again and more in-depth once we've finished reading through the stories at the back of the BB. After I've worked the steps a second time, I would quite like to work the Traditions as well, after hearing what the American visitor had to say.

So to get to the point, have you worked the traditions as well as the steps? Have you sponsored other people through them? Is it common in whichever region/country you're in to work the traditions as well as the steps? What's working the traditions like? What did you take from the experience - what did it add to your recovery?

I'm seeing my sponsor later today so will try to remember to discuss all this with her but I was just interested to learn about all your experiences with the traditions and how they're worked in different places/by different sponsors.

Taking5

I have been in AA for 9 years and been in probably 20 different states in my travels, and I have never heard of this. The traditions, in my understanding, are to keep thee GROUPS in line.

safe2breathe

in my area we have 12 and 12 meetings - where we go over the steps as well as the traditions -- as groups i guess it could be important to all have an idea of each others' understanding of the traditions - we dont use any sponsors specifically for the traditions but it probably wouldnt be a bad thing to sit at talk about with your current sponsor or maybe do a little "reading club" type thing with a few people .... discuss view points etc on them.

GracieLou

While I feel most are, I think tradition three and twelve are very important to all AA members.

Three—The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking

This is something I have to remind myself of quite often. The "desire", not that they have stopped drinking, worked the steps, working the program or doing service work. It reminds me not to take another members inventory. That is not my job.

Twelve—Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

This one as well is something I need to practice more of. Tolerance and love. I am not there to judge another member because of their personality much less their program. Maintaining the principles is were I am a responsible AA member.

sugarbear1

My home group, which meets once a week, holds a semi-annual group inventory. We read a tradition and discuss how our group is doing in comparison. We get through 6 traditions in the Spring and 6 in the winter. Everyone present speaks on that tradition twice, with about 3 minutes to talk (when more people are present, it is limited to 2 minutes to talk-twice (we go around the group two times)....

It's a lovely 6 hour fellow shipping social/group activity.

I attend meetings where the traditions are discussed, one per week.

The steps help me, the traditions help the group, and the 12 concepts help with the entire fellowship......

Louise82

Thanks for your replies everyone. Based on what you've all said, I think I'll try to find a traditions/12x12 meeting to attend regularly and maybe ask my sponsor if we can read and discuss the traditions as they're written in the 12x12. Sounds like this is the done thing rather than working them in the same way as we work the steps.

Pete55

Keeping in mind the traditions on the long form are read out in some meetings I been to. Interesting read btw.

muvinon

Yes, traditions applied to relationships (groups) really works well. And sponsees have told me that they benefit alot.

safe2breathe

at the 12 and 12 meetings we have - we use a book The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions - and each month say Jan (month 1) we read/discuss the first step and first tradition, Feb the 2nd, Mar. 3rd - and so on.

paul99

Many groups here do Tradition readings and discussions as well. I love them, but it does confuse others and some just aren't interested. I have to admit early on I wasn't into them - I just wanted to stop drinking. But certainly the importance of them can't be overstated. I enjoy the long form readings as well - there is a big difference in some cases between the short and long forms.

There are some great talks / info about using the traditions in relationships.

Keith D. and Sue D. - AA Speakers - "Traditions in Relationships" - YouTube
http://www.eclectic.cc/wp-content/up...yRelations.pdf

Gal220

Wow, that sounds great! We don't really have groups here, just meetings at set times in clubs. Whenever someone tries to start a new group outside of a club, it just isn't well attended.

heath480

The 12 traditions are important to keep AA as a united worldwide fellowship.

I attend one meeting where they are read out at the beginning of the meeting,after the preamble,another meeting ,that has a step meeting once a months,the main share will be about the step and the corresponding tradition.

I have never known someone work the traditions so to speak,but a sponsor should be familiar with the traditions and able to talk a sponsee through them.

I think in some meetings the traditions get overlooked.

paulokes

"Practice these principles in all our affairs"...I believe there are a set of principles embodied in the Traditions that expand on what we learn from the steps. Stepwork is about my personal recovery. Traditions teach me a lot about relationships and relating to others. Yep they were written for the AA groups but I like to take that out in to the qider world too.

https://www.12stepcds.com/catalog/pr...roducts_id=355

P

Joe Nerv

In NY, step meetings often have a traditions meeting on a designated week (or day) of the month. My HG has one the last saturday of every month. Last week we discussed the 12th tradition. Don't know if any groups do that where you are, but you can usually find out by checking a meeting list. If not, it's something you could suggest if you become a member of group that has step meetings.

Best place to start with this stuff, as you know, is with the 12 and 12. If you want to take it a little further you can also pick up the book Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers. It used to be available at all AA meetings, but isn't as popular these days. I have it, yet never read it. I know it contains a lot of AA history though, and talks a lot about how the traditions came to be. I'm sure it's available on amazon.

KyrieEleison

The only experience that I have had with "working" the traditions was from a sponsor that had her sponsees read the corresponding tradition and step for the given month.

January was step one, and tradition one. The instruction was to read the tradition in long form and discuss.

This makes no sense in that the steps and traditions number for number have no relation, but if it works for her than fine.

This person has long term sobriety so it must be working for her.

I guess it it a way of reading about the traditions.

I have heard of one group on a speaker tape from Sandy B. where they meet and go through all steps, week after week, then do traditions, and aa history.

So, I believe many people after being in AA for awhile, decide to add other practices to broaden the experience.

I can't see anything wrong with it if a person has completed the steps, however...when I was new....to be told, hey, it's September, so read step 9, and tradition 9, when I was on day one, was nuts.

Gottalife

I have heard that the steps keep us from killing ourselves, and the traditions keep us from killing each other.

Seriously, the traditions are about the long term survival of the fellowship and its message for the still suffering alcoholic, as are the concepts.

These are the principles that have enabled our fellowship to grow and flourish, they enabled it to be there when I walked in the door.

Each AA member has a responsibility to learn at least a little about these things, and sponsors and groups have a responsibility to teach and encourage a working knowledge of traditions and concepts in those they send off to wider AA service.
It's just common sense that if your group wants to be represented at (say) area level, it should send someone who actually knows something about how it is all supposed to work.

Bob D gives a great talk on how he applies the traditions in his personal and business life well worth listening to.

safe2breathe

if you have any kind of interest in history i think the whole AA topic is an amazing one - and relevant to sobriety in general -- maybe not for the thin blood newcomer - but I encourage reading into it - if nothing else to pass time - but learning what this "group" you belong to came from and trials and so on is just enlightening.

Louise82

Thanks for sharing your experiences, views and resources everyone. It's all been so interesting to read.

Thanks for the links Paul and Paul. I'll look into them.

Joe Nerv - I've actually seen Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers on sale at my homegroup, so will pick up a copy.

Yeah, I am interested in general AA history as well as the traditions in particular. I'm thinking of retraining to become an archivist and a couple of people have said "oh, you could become the AA archivist!" Lol.

I have a copy of 12x12 but have only read the first few steps so far, I think. My sponsor and I just used the BB when I initially worked the steps. Mind you, I have read step 2 in the 12x12 about 7 times because after my last relapse my sponsor at the time suggested I read it every day for a week. One of my HP's ways of restoring me to sanity I guess! My current sponsor says we'll use the 12x12 when we do the steps again.