Beginners Steps Discussion Meeting – Heidelberg
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
- How do I know I am an alcoholic?
- What convinced us we were powerless over alcohol?
- How is our drinking different from the average drinker?
- What happened when we tried to control our drinking?
- Did we try to avoid step one?
- Did we yearn to drink normally?
- What started us on our last bender?
- What are some personal examples of having no defence against the first drink?
- How has our drinking made our lives unmanageable?
- What smashed the delusion we were like other people?
- What excuses have we used to start drinking again?
- When did we start to realise we drink differently to others?
- Why were we unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics?
- What made us pick up a drink after a period of sobriety?
- How is alcohol cunning, baffling and powerful?
- How did we know we had accepted step one?
Step Two
- When did we find hope?
- Why do we need a Higher Power?
- What do I need to do to stay sober?
- How did we choose our own conception of God?
- What convinced us that the program could work for us?
- How have we overcome prejudice against spiritual ideas?
- What convinced us to try the steps?
- What choices where available after steps one and two?
- Why are we seeking a spiritual experience?
- Has fear been able to keep us sober?
- What was our reaction to the revolutionary and drastic proposals in the steps?
- When did we realise that the drinking problem could be solved?
- How do we seek a power greater than ourselves?
- How do we keep an open mind on spiritual matters?
Step Three
- When and how did we first take step three?
- Why do I need a ‘new manager’?
- What does the third step prayer mean to us?
- What was the immediate effect of step three?
- When were we ready to start the housecleaning steps?
- Which steps caused us to balk?
- What convinced us we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives?
- How did we know we had taken step three?
- How do we live on a spiritual basis?
- What old ideas did we need to let go?
- How do we get rid of selfishness?
- What action is required after step three?
Step Four
- Why is inventory necessary?
- What made us balk at step four?
- How did we take inventory?
- How are resentments dangerous to us?
- What did we learn about ourselves from step four?
- What fears did we discover while taking step four?
- How did we shape a sane and sound ideal for our future sex conduct?
- What did we learn from analysing our resentments?
- How do we ensure our fourth step is fearless thorough?
- How did we feel about ourselves after completing step four?
Step Five
- How did we choose the person or people to hear our fifth step?
- How did we overcome our reluctance to share our defects?
- Why is a solitary self-appraisal insufficient?
- What did we discover about ourselves while sharing our fifth step?
- What was our experience sharing our secrets with someone?
- How do we carefully review what we have done so far?
- What do we do if we discover we have omitted something from our inventory?
- What was the effect felt in the days after taking step five?
Step Six
- What defects of character have we identified?
- What does it mean to be ‘entirely ready’ in step six?
- How did we become willing to change?
- What defects of character do we find hard to give up?
- Are we entirely ready to have selfishness removed?
- Are we willing to be free from anger?
- Are we willing to be courageous?
- What is our new attitude to life?
Step Seven
- How did we find the humility to take step seven?
- What spiritual qualities do we aspire to?
- Which of our shortcomings have we seen removed?
- What do we pray for in step seven?
- What spiritual progress have we made?
- What’s so great about humility?
- How do we live up to our spiritual principles?
Step Eight
- How did we become willing to make amends?
- What does it mean to ‘go to any lengths’?
- What amends did we balk at doing?
- What selfish and inconsiderate habits did we have?
- How did we overcome reluctance to make amends?
- What are some examples of amends we can’t or shouldn’t make?
- What do we do about wrongs we can never right?
Step Nine
- How do we make amends to our loved ones?
- What amends are the hardest?
- How did we approach making amends to our creditors?
- How did we make amends for crime?
- What reaction surprised us when making amends?
- How have we made amends to family?
- How have we made amends to former or current spouses?
- How do we make amends to people who don’t like us?
- How do we ensure our amends are sensible, tactful, considerate and humble?
- How does our experience benefit others?
- How do we know when we are in ‘fit spiritual condition’?
Step Ten
- What does it mean to be ‘rigorously honest’?
- What is our daily routine for inventory?
- How do we watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment and fear?
- How do we deal with new resentments when they crop up?
- How do we turn our thoughts to someone we can help?
- Was sanity restored by the time we got to step ten?
- If we are in fit spiritual condition, what happens if we are tempted to drink?
- How do we constructively review our day?
- When taking inventory, how do we avoid drifting into worry and remorse?
- Once the housecleaning steps are done, what is the greatest danger to our sobriety?
- How is the program a ‘design for living’?
- When did we feel that the drink problem had been overcome?
- What’s it like to be ‘restored to sanity’?
- How do we grown in understanding and effectiveness?
Step Eleven
- When did we start to try meditation and prayer?
- How has our practice of prayer and meditation changed over time?
- What do we ask for in prayer?
- How do we enlarge on our spiritual life?
- What is our morning spiritual routine?
- In what way is our thinking on a higher plane?
- Where have we seen that religious people are right?
- Has there been a revolutionary change in our way of living and thinking?
- How do we maintain our own discipline?
Step Twelve
- Why do we do twelfth step work?
- Where do we find twelfth step opportunities?
- What do we get from being on a twelfth step roster?
- How do we prepare for a twelfth step visit?
- What has been our experience sharing at detoxes, re-habs and prisons?
- How do we carry the message in Speaker/ID meetings?
- How do we attract sponsees?
- What are the joys of working with others?
- What message do we pass on to newcomers in AA?
- What are the components of ‘intensive work with other alcoholics’?
- What prejudices have we encountered when trying to carry the message?
- How have we dealt with someone who is looking for help but is drunk?
- What parts of our stories do we need to tell to carry the message?
- How do we describe alcoholism to newcomers and non-alcoholics?
- How do we illustrate the mental twist that leads to a drink?
- What do we tell newcomers about our struggles to stop?
- How do we emphasise the hopeless nature of alcoholism to newcomers?
- What solution are we offering to newcomers?
- When should we stress the spiritual feature of the program to newcomers?
- How do we use everyday language to describe spiritual principles to newcomers?
- How do we outline the program of action to someone new?
- What part does the twelfth step play in our sobriety?
- How do we deal with sponsees who rebel against the program?
- How do we describe the fellowship to someone who has never been to a meeting?
- What practical advice do we offer to a newcomer?
- What practical advice do we offer to families of a problem drinker?
- How do we introduce our sponsees to twelfth step work?
- How do we explain our alcoholic condition to friends and family?
- How do we put ourselves where we can be of maximum help to others?
- What is our motive for helping others?
- Which of the steps where the most life changing for us?
- How do we know we have had a ‘spiritual awakening’?
- What are the principles we practice?
- What can we do each day for the man who is still sick?