“For many of us who came to Adult Children of Alcoholics, minding other people’s business had become a way of life. We might have been taught by well-meaning people that we really were responsible for the well-being of others and that our words and actions were powerful enough to change those with whom we interacted.”

Step One: “We admitted we were powerless over others – that our lives had become unmanageable.”
“In Step Two we learned our resources alone we not sufficient for recovery … we became willing to entertain the possibility there was Something that could do for us what we could not do for ourselves.”            
        
Step Two: “Came to believe a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”
“In Step Two we defined our higher power as being greater than we were … In working Step three we discovered this Power to be greater than our mistaken beliefs … greater than anything our human thinking could create.”

Step Three: “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God.”
“We could ask this God of our new understanding for release from the bondage of our old mistaken ideas [and behavior].”
“As we begin to let go of control, we are better able to accept the realities of being human. We find peace.”
Accepting the things I cannot change.

Many of us have experienced life as a series of maneuvers to avoid feelings of shame … Step Six offers us a beginning – to replace our ‘wall of shame’ with the painless protection of acceptance.”

My Past
“I release myself from worry, guilt and regret about my past. I am aware enough not to repeat it.”
“I am exactly where I am supposed to be.”

My Body
“I love my body just as it right now.”
“As I let go of all the negative thoughts I have held about my body, I feel at peace.”
“I accept my sexuality as a wonderful part of my wholeness.”

My Emotions
“I accept, own and experience all my feelings.”
“As I allow myself to grieve, I heal my sadness and create a space for joy.”

My Spirit
“I am an expression of my Higher Power.”
“I know a new love and acceptance of myself and others. I feel genuinely lovable, loving and loved.”

 “I gradually experience serenity, strength and spiritual growth in my daily life.”
“As I learn to trust God and to release my fear of others, love and acceptance fill my being.”

“In this moment, I am willing to see myself as I truly am, a growing unfolding spiritual being resting in the hands of a loving God. I can separate who I am from what I’ve done, knowing that the real me is emerging – loving, joyous and whole.”

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