Alcoholics Anonymous Working With Others Group

Our group holds an AA meeting at 7:30pm each Friday in the St John’s Church Hall, 1 Burgundy St Heidelberg.

If you think you have a problem with alcohol, you are welcome to attend the meeting.

At our meeting, we focus on AA’s 12 step program of recovery. The meeting is in the format of a ‘discussion’ with topics suggested by members. New members are encouraged to share and to suggest topics.

Here’s the full list of suggested topics we use:

Step One

1. How do I know I am an alcoholic?
2. What convinced us we were powerless over alcohol?
3. How is our drinking different from the average drinker?
4. What happened when we tried to control our drinking?
5. Did we try to avoid step one?
6. Did we yearn to drink normally?
7. What started us on our last bender?
8. What are some personal examples of having no defence against the first drink?
9. How has our drinking made our lives unmanageable?
10. What smashed the delusion we were like other people?
11. What excuses have we used to start drinking again?
12. When did we start to realise we drink differently to others?
13. Why were we unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics?
14. What made us pick up a drink after a period of sobriety?
15. How is alcohol cunning, baffling and powerful?
16. How did we know we had accepted step one?

Step Two

17. When did we find hope?
18. Why do we need a Higher Power?
19. What do I need to do to stay sober?
20. How did we choose our own conception of God?
21. What convinced us that the program could work for us?
22. How have we overcome prejudice against spiritual ideas?
23. What convinced us to try the steps?
24. What choices where available after steps one and two?
25. Why are we seeking a spiritual experience?
26. Has fear been able to keep us sober?
27. What was our reaction to the revolutionary and drastic proposals in the steps?
28. When did we realise that the drinking problem could be solved?
29. How do we seek a power greater than ourselves?
30. How do we keep an open mind on spiritual matters?

Step Three

31. When and how did we first take step three?
32. Why do I need a ‘new manager’?
33. What does the third step prayer mean to us?
34. What was the immediate effect of step three?
35. When were we ready to start the housecleaning steps?
36. Which steps caused us to balk?
37. What convinced us we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives?
38. How did we know we had taken step three?
39. How do we live on a spiritual basis?
40. What old ideas did we need to let go?
41. How do we get rid of selfishness?
42. What action is required after step three?

Step Four

43. Why is inventory necessary?
44. What made us balk at step four?
45. How did we take inventory?
46. How are resentments dangerous to us?
47. What did we learn about ourselves from step four?
48. What fears did we discover while taking step four?
49. How did we shape a sane and sound ideal for our future sex conduct?
50. What did we learn from analysing our resentments?
51. How do we ensure our fourth step is fearless thorough?
52. How did we feel about ourselves after completing step four?

Step Five

53. How did we choose the person or people to hear our fifth step?
54. How did we overcome our reluctance to share our defects?
55. Why is a solitary self-appraisal insufficient?
56. What did we discover about ourselves while sharing our fifth step?
57. What was our experience sharing our secrets with someone?
58. How do we carefully review what we have done so far?
59. What do we do if we discover we have omitted something from our inventory?
60. What was the effect felt in the days after taking step five?

Step Six

61. What defects of character have we identified?
62. What does it mean to be ‘entirely ready’ in step six?
63. How did we become willing to change?
64. What defects of character do we find hard to give up?
65. Are we entirely ready to have selfishness removed?
66. Are we willing to be free from anger?
67. Are we willing to be courageous?
68. What is our new attitude to life?

Step Seven

69. How did we find the humility to take step seven?
70. What spiritual qualities do we aspire to?
71. Which of our shortcomings have we seen removed?
72. What do we pray for in step seven?
73. What spiritual progress have we made?
74. What’s so great about humility?
75. How do we live up to our spiritual principles?

Step Eight

76. How did we become willing to make amends?
77. What does it mean to ‘go to any lengths’?
78. What amends did we balk at doing?
79. What selfish and inconsiderate habits did we have?
80. How did we overcome reluctance to make amends?
81. What are some examples of amends we can’t or shouldn’t make?
82. What do we do about wrongs we can never right?

Step Nine

83. How do we make amends to our loved ones?
84. What amends are the hardest?
85. How did we approach making amends to our creditors?
86. How did we make amends for crime?
87. What reaction surprised us when making amends?
88. How have we made amends to family?
89. How have we made amends to former or current spouses?
90. How do we make amends to people who don’t like us?
91. How do we ensure our amends are sensible, tactful, considerate and humble?
92. How does our experience benefit others?
93. How do we know when we are in ‘fit spiritual condition’?

Step Ten

94. What does it mean to be ‘rigorously honest’?
95. What is our daily routine for inventory?
96. How do we watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment and fear?
97. How do we deal with new resentments when they crop up?
98. How do we turn our thoughts to someone we can help?
99. Was sanity restored by the time we got to step ten?
100. If we are in fit spiritual condition, what happens if we are tempted to drink?
101. How do we constructively review our day?
102. When taking inventory, how do we avoid drifting into worry and remorse?
103. Once the housecleaning steps are done, what is the greatest danger to our sobriety?
104. How is the program a ‘design for living’?
105. When did we feel that the drink problem had been overcome?
106. What’s it like to be ‘restored to sanity’?
107. How do we grown in understanding and effectiveness?

Step Eleven

108. When did we start to try meditation and prayer?
109. How has our practice of prayer and meditation changed over time?
110. What do we ask for in prayer?
111. How do we enlarge on our spiritual life?
112. What is our morning spiritual routine?
113. In what way is our thinking on a higher plane?
114. Where have we seen that religious people are right?
115. Has there been a revolutionary change in our way of living and thinking?
116. How do we maintain our own discipline?

Step Twelve

117. Why do we do twelfth step work?
118. Where do we find twelfth step opportunities?
119. What do we get from being on a twelfth step roster?
120. How do we prepare for a twelfth step visit?
121. What has been our experience sharing at detoxes, re-habs and prisons?
122. How do we carry the message in Speaker/ID meetings?
123. How do we attract sponsees?
124. What are the joys of working with others?
125. What message do we pass on to newcomers in AA?
126. What are the components of ‘intensive work with other alcoholics’?
127. What prejudices have we encountered when trying to carry the message?
128. How have we dealt with someone who is looking for help but is drunk?
129. What parts of our stories do we need to tell to carry the message?
130. How do we describe alcoholism to newcomers and non-alcoholics?
131. How do we illustrate the mental twist that leads to a drink?
132. What do we tell newcomers about our struggles to stop?
133. How do we emphasise the hopeless nature of alcoholism to newcomers?
134. What solution are we offering to newcomers?
135. When should we stress the spiritual feature of the program to newcomers?
136. How do we use everyday language to describe spiritual principles to newcomers?
137. How do we outline the program of action to someone new?
138. What part does the twelfth step play in our sobriety?
139. How do we deal with sponsees who rebel against the program?
140. How do we describe the fellowship to someone who has never been to a meeting?
141. What practical advice do we offer to a newcomer?
142. What practical advice do we offer to families of a problem drinker?
143. How do we introduce our sponsees to twelfth step work?
144. How do we explain our alcoholic condition to friends and family?
145. How do we put ourselves where we can be of maximum help to others?
146. What is our motive for helping others?
147. Which of the steps where the most life changing for us?
148. How do we know we have had a ‘spiritual awakening’?
149. What are the principles we practice?
150. What can we do each day for the man who is still sick?