The Twelve Steps are the core of the Alcoholics Anonymous “spiritual program.” They are held as “spiritually inspired” so they are beyond question. It is normal, however, for the newcomer to ask how or why they work. The answer is, being “spiritually inspired,” they are above human logic and understanding but it is logical to work them because they have been “proven” to really work. The newcomer is surrounded by the proof; the other cult members.

Sooner or later the newcomer feels a need to work the Steps. He comes to understand, since it is so often pointed out, how much benefit comes from working them. Whenever he approaches an elder with a problem, he is likely to be reminded that he hasn't worked the Steps with the implication that this is the root of his problem.

The presumed benefits of working a spiritual program are formalized as “The Promises.” Taken from the Big Book, they often take a central position in meetings either as a sacred reading or as a topic of general discussion, “How have the Promises been fulfilled in your life?”

“If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can