The Twelve Steps & Traditions

Steps 1–6

• 1We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
• 2Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
• 3Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
• 4Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
• 5Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
• 6Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

Island tip: share honestly, listen gently, and ask for help—Biba unity.

Steps 7–12

• 7Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
• 8Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
• 9Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
• 10Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
• 11Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him.
• 12Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Stay connected—numbers, meetings, service. One day at a time.

Traditions 1–6

• 1Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.
• 2For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
• 3The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.
• 4Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole.
• 5Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.
• 6An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

Unity first—principles before personalities.

Traditions 7–12

• 7Every A.A. group ought to be fully self‑supporting, declining outside contributions.
• 8Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
• 9A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
• 10Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
• 11Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.
• 12Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

We safeguard privacy—no photos, no posts from meetings.