sahun00 step 6
 

"Were entirely ready to have god remove all these defects character"....

Given enough internal discomfort ..and im only too happy to make that decision....i feel entirely ready for him to have all of them BUT am i making this decision in my mind only?.....or on a gut level.?

History tells me i swing enormously in this step at times....sometimes the willingness to "remove all" isnt there.......sometimes im cripple with perfectionism .
Although that is a past experience.

I like reading the 12x12 with regards to this step.....p69.......Only step one, where we make the 100 per cent admission "we were powerless over alcohol" can be practiced with absolute perfection. The remaining 11 steps state perfect ideals They are goals towards which we look and the measuring sticks by which we estimate our progress
Seen in the light. Step six is still difficult, but not impossible.
The only urgent thing is that we make a beginning and keep trying.

i want to be right with my fellow man.....so im entirely ready .

The better my step 4, the more willingness I come to step 6 with. As I see how a particular defect blocks me from the sunlight of the spirit, I grow more willing for God to remove it. If my work in step 4 has not revealed what I need to see, I stumble blindly around in step 6.

Sometimes I am willing, but seemingly God isn't? That divergence tells me I have some more prayer and meditation to do. LOL.

expand mark.....what is a "better step 4"?

:)

If I have not been thorough... Let's see.

I had been judgmental about the way my oldest son was setting out on his life's journey after school. I didn't know it though. For some reason (LOLOLOL... I've heard something about being self centered...) I thought what was best for him was what I wanted for him.... I didn't inventory this, but looking back, I could have, should have... I didn't think it was important, I didn't see it as a resentment, or fear or whatever....

The wall of illusion came tumbling down recently. Fortunately in a non-damaging way, but I felt I had been kicked in the gut... I didn't see it... I was blind, I didn't know.

I was given the gift of awareness... I nearly cried. But I am relieved, I found the willingness to ask that my hopes and dreams for him will be his own and not mine. I am now at peace in this regard.

This was one of those spiritual awakenings that was an epiphany and the weight I was carrying was immediately lifted.

when I done step 5,I was sent home to get my big book and carefully go over the first 5 steps and spend a hour alone with God,the hour of grace....to thank Him,to see if I had omitted anything as we built a Archway to freedom.....then go to step 6 which for me is/was simple
2 questions
Can God remove the objectionable things in my life?
Will I let Him?

That put me at another turning point.Faith,to step ashore off the bridge, and quit trying to do it myself.Let God do it by following the simple directions in the book.My answer was yes to both questions.
the second question was,in reality,already made back in steps 2 and 3 for me.God is everything or nothing...I had made my choice earlier.In step 3 I had started to try and trust and relie in God and I wasn`t going to stop then

I then went on to step 7.....when I got up from my knees I stepped thru the Arch a free man,with all the tools to stay free-forever...the promises had come true.... I was reborn

I did my first fifth step with a Priest, face to face, during confession. For those not familiar with the sacrament, you sort of have to do Step 6 and 7 before you do it. That is for a Confession to be valid there has to be a "Firm Purpose of Amendment", which is a sincere desire to no longer succumb to the sin being confessed. The Act of Contrition, wherein the penitent more or less asks God for the grace to "sin no more" and expresses their contrite heart in having done so in the first place.

I've most recently been in a cycle of 6 and 7 as it pertains to SLOTH, which was revealed to me by a sponsor after going through some inventory. Progress has been made, I"m still willing, I'm still praying. I don't have much time to waste, so - whatever time I do have shouldn't be wasted. I"m willing, but I fall asleep sometimes - a lot.

Boy do I hear ya Shaun.

This step - particularly the word ALL - has been troublesome for me in the past. If I'm honest and objective about my actions, it would seem I'm not often working this step perfectly either. That's a real killer when I'm my own higher power and I believe me working the steps will keep me sober and happy - because when that's the case...I have to work them perfectly "or else."

Step 6 is, to me, like a cousin to step 1. In 1 I hit bottom (initially) with alcohol......in 6 I hit bottom with me - with the second half of step one albeit from a different angle. So, while they're numbered and we work them in order...6 had given me some additional 1st step experience.......which has led to a "better" 2nd step.....then to a better 3rd step......more complete 4th steps.......and so on with all the other steps, really. How much am I REALLY willing to give up? How much am I REALLY willing to rely upon God? How can I get by if I don't do "this" or "that" anymore? Tough questions for sure.

I too really like the 12&12 when it comes to this one and I use it regularly myself and with my sponsees. This step and the question it poses really does separate the men from the boys........ I'm hoping and working toward being more of a man and less of a boy some day :)

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

For me this really meant I'm ready to accept the consequences and responsibilities of my life changing "with out furthur notice" and to do so on a day to day basis of experiences.

It means I have signed onto not directing those changes. I'm not consulted of the when , or the where, or the how, or with who, or whatever. It is kinda of putting my self out there and really being *entirely ready*

It means all my strategies and dependencies, all my behaviors and directions, all my wants and desires are now on the chopping block.

Entirely ready.

Yeah, really means entirely ready to *accept change* at what could be in an instant of experience. One moment my defect is with me-- the next it is not. Or it could be a series of slow changes-- or anything inbetween. Or my defects even returned back to me to be re-worked and then changed out...

Entirely ready.

Yeah, means I don't get to make the call anymore on what goes on with my character defects. In a powerful serene way it becomes no longer my business to worry about any more. I'm very grateful for that unexpected blessing. Not my problem anymore...