Convey respect Page 115
“When we treat each other with respect, we open the door to a different kind of communication.” Spiritual Principle A Day
Clean Living, Chapter 7, “Principles, Practices and Perspectives”
Outside of NA, in our particular cultures or neighborhoods, respect was often something we demanded from others or felt entitled to because of our status in society or our ego.
Our respectful communication had one goal: to assert our will. What mattered was how well we expressed our convictions, our willingness to go to war for all our views, and the sheer volume of our voices. And if we weren’t one of them with status or volume, we usually gave in to their demands.
In NA, practicing respect as a spiritual principle has nothing to do with enforcing our will or surrendering our power to those who enforce it.
Treating others with respect
means paying attention to how we communicate—with our voice, facial expressions, body language, or silence—and then honestly examining how people hear and respond to us.
Ideally, practicing respect leads to greater inclusion of views and greater equality of participation. When we express our respect, listening takes precedence over speech and our common good over selfishness. We try to create space for others instead of excluding them. In NA, respect creates trust, security and well-being, not fear, vulnerability and oversized egos.
This perspective requires a lot of work – and a lot of unlearning.
First, we must counteract our own feelings of superiority, inferiority, or indifference. . I don’t have to defend them as fiercely as I used to. And I don’t have to give my opinion on everything.”
Just because another person or group’s opinion differs from ours doesn’t mean they’re wrong. And if they’re wrong, there’s a battle to be fought, or can we make peace and be part of a solution? Spiritual Principle A Day
We free ourselves from chaos through spiritual principles
“When we have our own ‘why’ in life, we can handle almost any ‘how’.
–Friedrich Nietzsche
The path to freedom from our struggles almost never presents itself as an obvious path, especially when it is overshadowed by fear and suffering. COVID-19 has created great confusion and made this path unclear and unsettling. Let’s clear the way a bit.
Spiritual principles are the appointed path to experience our lives without unnecessary suffering, with the strength and resilience to endure the pain and fear that we must go through throughout life.
At RCA, we use the 12-step model of addiction treatment to help patients process the turmoil they are experiencing internally and find the strength necessary to rise up and overcome their difficulties.
While the 12-step model helps addicts find peace and strength toward recovery, this treatment model and the principles behind it can be essential and applicable to any problem. Spiritual Principle A Day
Applying the principles can reduce stress and promote well-being, even during the times of panic and fear we currently face.
The key principles in each of the 12 steps:
1. Acceptance
2. Hope
3. Faith
4. Mod
5. Honesty
6. Preparedness
1. Humility
2. Liability
3. Love
4. Discipline
5. Awareness/Growth
6. Service
These principles, along with the habit of pausing and reflecting, can give us the ability to deal with whatever we experience.
The Serenity Prayer is a common theme in many recovery circles as a way to pause and allow oneself to return to the moment and the peace that burns within them, whether they see it at the time or not.
Usually it looks like this:
God, give me the serenity to accept what I cannot change,
The courage to change what I can,
And the wisdom to see the difference.
Let’s formulate a version of this to think about and express (or even just read) when we feel helpless in dealing with the world’s current circumstances:
God (or higher power, universe, true self, love, etc.),
Give me the peace to accept what I cannot change, like nature taking its course.
Give me the courage to change the things I can, like living by spiritual principles and taking care of my health, even though it may seem difficult.
And give me the wisdom to know the difference, to realize that only I can control my actions and that love will guide me through every experience that comes my way.
After expressing or reading this, take a moment to pause and reflect on a principle we can focus on today, to keep life simple and peaceful.
Think about your purpose in this life.
It is not about suffering endlessly and being at the mercy of life’s events. This means being free to live in love rather than fear and knowing that this experience is possible and available to you wherever and whenever, no matter what darkens your path. It is always within you.
Take the time to find it, and as the first quote said, you will master almost all the “hows”.
What are the 12 Spiritual Principles?
As you complete the 12 steps in order from 1 to 12, you will learn and experience these spiritual principles : Honesty, Hope, Faith, Courage, Integrity, Willingness, Humility, Love, Discipline, Perseverance, Consciousness, and Service .
We apply the principles in all our cases
Apply the principles in all our affairs
Posted on December 13, 2020 by Bill Anuszewski for Alumni
Those of us who are alcoholics or addicts and beginners may be unaware of the spiritual principles behind the 12 steps. Hopefully, we have seen how effective the 12 steps are for people like us and know the life-saving value they provide.
Those of us who know recovery probably know how much the 12 steps can do for us. But even then, we may not be familiar with the underlying principles of spirituality expressed in each of the 12 steps and the recovery program as a whole.
There are spiritual principles that underlie and support each of the 12 Steps (as well as the 12 Traditions and 12 Concepts).
As you complete the 12 steps in order from 1 to 12, you will learn and experience these spiritual principles (in order): Honesty, Hope, Faith, Courage, Integrity, Willingness, Humility, Love, Discipline, Perseverance, Consciousness, and Service . These principles are the invisible currents that transform our lives and guide us on our path to recovery.
Why we put the principles into practice
The 12th step itself reads: “When we experienced a spiritual awakening through these steps, we tried to convey this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Practice is the first key word we will focus on.” We will never be perfect – no one is. Therefore, we would do well to forgive ourselves and others. When you practice, you make a lot of mistakes
. But as long as we learn from our mistakes and let them teach us and help us become better, they aren’t really mistakes. They are simply good practices.
Most of us were not aware of these spiritual principles in any real depth in our lives prior to recovery. So of course it will take practice. The program simply requires us to “put these principles into practice in all our affairs.” It means we try, but it also means we keep trying.
There are no exceptions and no stops if we hope to live happily ever after in recovery. We put the principles into practice by consistently working with the 12 steps.
Define “everything”.
We know that the 12th step calls us to put these principles into practice in all our affairs. Shouldn’t we just do repairs when working with the recovery program? It might be helpful to look at it this way: It is unlikely that there has been a part of our lives that has not been adversely affected by our alcoholism and addiction.
So it stands to reason that if our illness were to shape every part of our lives, so should our solution. We are not just alcoholics or addicts when we are in a meeting. We still have the disease whether we’re visiting family, shopping at the supermarket or going on a date.
In the same way, we receive daily relief from this devastating disease, which depends on us maintaining our spiritual condition. In addition to attending meetings and serving, we maintain our spiritual fitness by working the 12 steps.
Implementing these principles “in all our affairs” is literally part of the work of the 12 steps.
. A far more important demonstration of our principles lies before us in our respective homes, professions and businesses.” However, it is even more important to practice the spiritual principles outside of recovery settings. We demonstrate these principles by using the lessons, insights, and tools we gain from applying the 12 Steps to every part of our inner world and everything we do in our daily lives. click for more
