Steps to the Spirit

Send us Fan Mail I know, I know, once again this is supposed to be the summary of the influence of the Oxford group on the 12 step program. However I listen to a talk yesterday on the 12 steps and the Oxford group and I discovered some information that I had never, heard before. The speaker, who was anonymous because it was a talk hosted by an Alcoholics Anonymous group, describes what he referred...

Send us Fan Mail Yes, I realize that I was going to write a summary of these past episodes concerning the Oxford group and its connection to the 12 steps. However, the more I thought about it the more I realized that I needed to speak more about the last episode and the Four Absolutes we have inherited from the Oxford group. Whereas the 12 step program is not a direct continuation of the Oxford Gr...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is about a list of four items that I discovered as I was reading some information about the Oxford group. It is a list of four, I guess you might call them “ideas”, that I think is the most comprehensive and straightforward list of all of the lists in the Oxford group. This list is not included in the chart that you can find in my description of episode 24. The list i...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I will be speaking about the six basic assumptions. They are listed below:  The 6 basic assumptions 1. Men are sinners; 2. Men can be changed; 3. Confession is prerequisite to change; 4. The changed soul has direct access to God; 5. The ‘Age of Miracles’ has returned; 6. Those who have been “changed” must “change others.”    As you can see, although they are in lin...

Send us Fan Mail I know, I know, once again this is supposed to be the summary of the influence of the Oxford group on the 12 step program. However I listen to a talk yesterday on the 12 steps and the Oxford group and I discovered some information that I had never, heard before. The speaker, who was anonymous because it was a talk hosted by an Alcoholics Anonymous group, describes what he referred...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we shall be looking at the next list from the Oxford Group. This list has four items in it and is called 4 Spiritual Practices. They are as follows: 4 Spiritual Practices. (Expanded) 1¶. The sharing of our sins and temptations with another Christian. Life given all to God and sharing as witness to help others still unchanged, to recognize and acknowledge their sin...

Send us Fan Mail The 5 Procedures: 1.  Give in to God 2.  Listen to God’s direction 3.  Check Guidance 4.  Restitution 5.  Sharing – For witness and for confession  In this episode I’m going to speak about yet another list from the Oxford group. This one is called the five procedures and I’ve listed them above. As you can see, these procedures are also in line with the overall ideas of the 12 step...

Send us Fan Mail This week we’re going to talk about the next in a group of list tidbits that I have found connected to the Oxford group. This particular tidbit is called “The Five C’s”. Here is the list 1. Conviction 2. Confession 3. Contrition 4. Conversion 5. Continuing So, I believe the first thing we have to remember, is that this list was probably written in the early 1900s. In today’s langu...

Send us Fan Mail So, my friends, even though I have heard about the Oxford group in the past, I am learning so much more as I revisit it. A couple of years ago I created a chart that compares the different ideas of the Oxford group to the 12 step program. I was amazed then, and I am still amazed, that every single group of ideas from the Oxford group relate directly to the 12 step program. Of cour...

Send us Fan Mail I have been thinking about all of the information that I have been talking about in these podcasts. Of course, it is all about the 12 steps. However, lately I have been feeling like I haven’t given enough background on what the 12 steps are all about and how they got started. So I am going to use the next (few) episodes to talk about but I feel are the real origins of the 12 step...

Send us Fan Mail So, I feel that sometimes, okay, most of the time, I am sharing with you the wonderful connection I developed with my Spirit as a result of this 12 step program. I don’t think I am sharing the human part of me and all its foibles as much as I could. I really hope that I do not sound like I am pontificating. That is certainly not my intent. It would be so easy to suggest that you d...

Send us Fan Mail Now that we are done with the promises, there are a few things I have thought about in the past couple of weeks. They have to do with what happens to us in my day-to-day experiences. Everything I speak about in these podcasts has to do with my 12-step program. These steps are the guidance for my humanity. They are not my spiritual program. The spiritual me is the me that listens f...

Send us Fan Mail They will always materialize if I work for them. Once again, I humbly believe that these promises are, or may be directed to two different groups of people. If you recall the X and Y groups from the previous podcast, there are two groups who may, although approaching the 12 step program differently, get similar results. I believe that, while some of these promises will come true,...

Send us Fan Mail Are these extravagant promises? I think not. They are being fulfilled in me – sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if I work for them. So, for this question at the end of the promises, I really have to say that there is an X and Y group that I would be addressing at the same time. The X group are those that are doing or have done this beautiful, God-gi...

Send us Fan Mail Promise #12: I will suddenly realize that God is doing for me what I could not do for myself. So my friends, I think of this promise in terms of what we used to say in the Bronx when I was a kid, a no-brainer . No, I am not trying to be condescending at all. I suppose that some of you who have not chosen to use this 12-step program in its truest sense with its truest core values,...

Send us Fan Mail Promise #11: I will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle me  when I see this promise the first word that comes to my mind is fear. I personally believe that I knew how to handle many situations that seem to baffle me, but my self-esteem or self-worth was absolutely nowhere to be found. Without feeling confident, competent, or strong, i.e. powerful, I wasn...

Send us Fan Mail Promise #10: Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave me. I am sincerely not sure why these two aspects of the promises were listed together. However, the uncommon to nominate the Diaz linking them. It is the second step. As we form this new way of life, for me anyway, the second step always works in the back of my mind. I not only believe that I have been restored to...

Send us Fan Mail Promise #9: My whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Those of you who have found a new way of life as a result of this program will have no trouble in understanding this promise. Of course, I mean those of you who have truly this program. This means that it has not been simply a psychological exercise, but a way of connecting to God and your Spirit, and using God and y...

Send us Fan Mail Promise #8: Self-seeking will  slip away . So, what does it mean when promise number eight is that we will lose self-seeking? Does it mean that we will not be trying to accomplish anything? Does it mean that we will not try to provide for ourselves and our significant others? No, that is not the case at all. Let me rephrase this promise as far as what I believe that means we will...

Send us Fan Mail I will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in my fellows.  I believe that this promise, promise number seven, is closely tied to promise number six. Once I lose the feeling of uselessness, as I said in the last episode, the program steered me in the direction of looking for ways to share this beautiful way of life. At one time I was very much involved in meetings and...

Send us Fan Mail That feeling of uselessness and self- pity will disappear . So, once again, this promise really hit the nail on the head for me. Personally, I feel that most of us who have an addiction or a life problem of some kind, are above average in our abilities. I was fortunate to be born with an above average IQ. I believe they gave us IQ tests when we were in the sixth grade or so and Ca...

Send us Fan Mail No matter how far down the scale I have gone, I will see how my experience can benefit others . This promise is one of the promises that always felt was written specifically for me. If I only looked at myself, I know how far down the scale I really have gone. But when I have talked to others, I have realized that all of our scales are different. I realize that our bottom is what i...

Send us Fan Mail I will comprehend the word serenity and I will know peace . This promise is one of the best of the 12 promises. I know, I am likely to say each one is the best of the promises. Well they are also true and comforting that I can’t help myself. When I think of this promise, I think of what I considered to be serenity before my earnest association with the 12-step program. If you aske...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is about Promise number #3. Promise #3 is: I will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it . As you may know, I have written before about us becoming a “tabula rasa” in order to accept new powers and new thoughts that arrive from our Spirit. Becoming tabula rasa however, does not mean that all of our old experiences are gone. It means that I’m freeing my li...

Send us Fan Mail This week we will explore promise number two of the 12 promises. The second promise is as follows: I am going to know a new freedom and a new happiness . Wow, this sure seems like a huge promise. Well right off the bat, I will tell you that I am experiencing this promise. It has come true in my life and it manifests itself every day. I also must admit that sometimes I think it man...