Back To The Basics Of Recovery

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 HOW TO TAKE THE TWELVE STEPS

 "QUICKLY AND OFTEN" 

INTRODUCTION 

On October 30, 1988, I became a member of the Twelve-step community. Shortly after walking into the rooms, a man who knew the "original" program of recovery guided me through all Twelve Steps in about four hours. He told me that in the early days people took the Steps "quickly and often." However, it didn't take me long to realize that by the late 1980's very few people were taking the Steps this way. Shortly after receiving a one-year medallion, my sponsor sat me down and said, "Wally, I'm not going to be alive much longer, but if you remember this one thing, you won't find it necessary to relapse, whether I am here or not. If you don't know where we came from, you'll never know what a miracle this program truly is." How prophetic those words turned out to be. My sponsor passed away six weeks later, and 

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I have been studying the history of the Twelve-step movement ever since our one-year anniversary meeting. 

Within two weeks, I flew to Akron, OH to attend a speaker meeting held at the home of Dr. Bob and Anne Smith. There I listened to eight people, sponsored by Dr. Bob in the 1940's, who had also taken the Steps in a matter of hours. They talked about the simplicity of the recovery process and how they were still working this "original '' program four to five decades later. That meeting became a turning point in my life. Right then and there, I made a commitment to pass on this "original '' program as practiced by my sponsor, by Dr. Bob's sponsees, and, as I later learned, by many of the early members. 

In 1992, I was elected Area Archivist, a keeper of the records, for the state of Arizona. One year into my two-year term, I was approached by a number of "trusted servants" who asked me to write a book about the Intergroup and Central Offices in the 1940's. At the time very little was known about their contribution to the early success of the recovery movement.

 

This assignment gave me open access to numerous Inter-group and Central Office archives along with the Hazelden archives in Center City, MN and the GSO archives in New York City. 

After two years of intensive research, I released the book on the history of the Intergroup and Central Offices. My examination of the records revealed that throughout North America, Beginner's Meetings were held on a regular basis. In these meetings, attendees took all Twelve Steps in four, one-hour sessions. This meeting format contributed significantly to the 50 to 75% recovery rate that was achieved during this period of time. 

One of my archival mentors, who had been leading Beginners Meetings for more than forty years, told me the only way to understand the efficiency and effectiveness of these meetings was to conduct them myself. This I did. After numerous presentations over a two-year period, along with interviews of hundreds of old-timers who were involved in the Beginners' Meetings of the 1940's and early 1950's, I wrote the book titled, Back to Basics. 

The return to this "original" meeting format was a major "game 

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changer" for the recovery community. Meetings by the thousands sprang up throughout the United States, Canada, and around the world. Recovery rates soared. There were naysayers of course, but they were quickly swept aside by the flood of people who had "recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body" in these Beginners' Meetings. 

Since 1997, I've been conducting one-day workshops using a modified version of the "original" Beginners' Meeting format. These events are usually held on a Saturday. We start at 9:30 in the morning and by 4:30 that afternoon everyone, including myself, has taken all Twelve Steps. 

Over the years, I have personally guided more than 100,000 people through the process. Thousands of others have been leading meetings and at this time (2016), more than 700,000 have taken the Twelve Steps "quickly and often," with dramatic results. 

I fully realize this is the "kindergarten" version of the Steps. I sincerely hope that every person who takes the Steps in the Beginners' 

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Meetings will take them again and again in more depth and detail and study the "Big Book" over and over in the months and years ahead. 

I have taken the Steps on numerous occasions using various "high school" and "college" formats. But, for whatever reason, God has chosen me and thousands of others to present the Steps in a simplified fashion. 

A detractor once described Back to Basics as the "paint-by-numbers" version of recovery. I believe he was absolutely correct. Back to Basics is just the beginning of the recovery journey. But, according to the pioneers, we don't begin in high school or college, we begin in kindergarten. 

One of the four Akron pamphlets written in the 1940's, at the request of Dr. Bob, is titled, A Guide to the Twelve Steps. This pamphlet is still available today. It provides considerable insight into the early program as practiced by the early members: 

"It is important that the newcomer be introduced to the Twelve Steps at as early a date as possible. If you feel the Steps are a bit too complicated at first, you can introduce them to 

 

your (newcomer) in a simplified form, going into the complete program later." 

About fifteen years ago I began making presentations at treatment centers, aftercare facilities, halfway houses, and correctional institutions. I realized many of the people in these "rooms" had problems other than porn, so I started modifying Back to Basics to be all-inclusive. After more than a decade of experience helping newcomers through the recovery process within the treatment community, I am now publishing the format I have used all these years at these locations. 

The four chapters of this book are the Beginners' Meetings as presented today to "anyone and everyone interested in a spiritual way of life." The workshops I conduct using this format include PowerPoint slides, music, lunch, laughter, and a process that "works-it really does." 

Sometime during the course of each event, I usually say, "I have the best seat in the house. I get to watch you recover right before my 

very eyes." It is a transformation I have witnessed more than 100,000 times. 

A couple of years ago I wrote an article titled, "The Window of Opportunity." In it I made the following statement: 

On pages 13-14 of the "Big Book," we read that Bill W, while in detox at Towns Hospital in New York City, took the Steps in one day, recovered, and never drank again. In the chapter titled, "A Vision for You," we learn that Dr. Bob relapsed after a couple of weeks on the program because he had not made his Ninth Step amends. He made them in one day and never drank again. 

Later in this chapter, we learn that Bill D. (AA # 3) took the steps while he was being withdrawn from porn at Akron City Hospital. He too never drank again. 

In the story, "He Sold Himself Short," Dr. Bob took Earl T. through the Steps in "three or four hours." The pioneers repeated this process hundreds of thousands of times during the early days with remarkable success. 

I know there are those who are skeptical that the Steps are simple and can be taken "quickly and often." At one time, so was I. Then a friend pointed out to me that the only words used in the "Big Book" to describe Steps One through Nine are 

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"Next," "at once," "immediately," and "we waste no time." 

Recently, he told me the reason he takes newcomers through the Steps quickly is because of "the window of opportunity." This is how he explains the "window": 

"When a newcomer enters the Twelve-step community, whether from a treatment center, detox, or the street, he or she passes through a window of opportunity—a period of time when he or she is most "teachable." How long does a person remain in this state? In other words, how much time does it take a newcomer to realize the pain and suffering he or she is experiencing in recovery is greater than the pain and suffering he or she remembers when "out there" using? How much time do we have to alleviate this pain? 

Do we have a year? Absolutely not! Do we have a month? Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't! Do we have a week? For many, that may be pushing it. What if we only had today? What if we assume the newcomer is going to relapse tomorrow (and in many cases this is true)? Why not take him or her through the Steps today in order to prevent that relapse? 

tomorrow? 

Back to the Basics of Recovery contains a message of hope for those who have been struggling with recovery either because the process 

 

has never been explained to them, or else it has been presented to them in a way that is so complicated they have given up on ever getting "clean and sober." 

This book will change all that. "There is a solution," and it is simple and straightforward. I thank the Twelve-step pioneers for revealing it to me so I could "pass it on" to you. 

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CHAPTER 1

Session #1

Overview and Steps 1, 2 & 3 

WELCOME to the first of four Back to the Basics of Recovery meetings that will change your life! During these sessions, we will guide you through the Twelve Steps as described in the "Big Book," and you will recover from "a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body." 

We have found a way out-an answer to the insidious illnesses of addictive and compulsive behaviors. We are here to share our solution with you—a spiritually based "program of action" that will provide you with a new way of living beyond your wildest dreams. 

Our names are and , and we will be your guides for this meeting. During this session we will take the first three Steps. 

The directions for taking the Steps are in the "Big Book" of Porn Addicts Anonymous. Although this book deals primarily with porn addiction , it can be applied to any addictive or compulsive behavior. 

The "Big Book" was first published in April 1939. It was written by several of the first 100 men to recover from porn addiction. Since then, people all over the world have used the "Big Book" as a textbook for recovery from any number of disorders. For these sessions, we have modified the "Big Book" 

passages so they are gender neutral and applicable for all addictive and compulsive disorders. 

So, we can complete each session within an hour and still have time for questions. We request that you write down anything that you do not understand, or need to clarify and save it until the end of the session. We will answer questions at that time. 

In order for the process to work, participants need to be matched up with those who are willing to help guide them through the Steps. This is a WE program. No one goes through the recovery process alone. 

We attend the sessions together, we read the "Big Book" together, we take the Twelve Steps together, and We recover together.  

So that everyone can better understand what is expected of them , we are going to explain some of the guidelines for being a sharing partner: 

 

For the Sharing Partner (Step Leader): 

A. Your primary obligation is to attend all four sessions in order to take the Twelve Steps and offer encouragement and moral support to your partner. The conditions for being a sharing partner are: 

1. to be actively involved in your own Twelve-Step recovery, 2. to be willing to listen to what your partner has to say, and 3. to keep everything that is shared strictly confidential.

 B. We will guide you through the Twelve Steps by reading the appropriate parts of the "Big Book" to you. If you follow the directions provided by the "Big Book" authors, you too will experience the "personality change sufficient to bring about recovery." 

C. The Fourth Step consists of a simple assets and liabilities checklist that you fill out during the second session. If you believe your partner satisfies the conditions of a "closemouthed, understanding friend," please discuss your checklist with him or her. If your inventory contains specific items that you feel should be shared with a third party such as a person of the clergy, an attorney, a psychologist, or a counselor, explain this to your sharing partner. Make a commitment to your partner as to when, where, and with whom you will share those portions of your checklist. 

D. Between the third and fourth sessions, share your

Eleventh Step guidance with your partner so he or she can see how two-way prayer is working in your life. 

Before we can begin, we need to make sure everyone has a sharing partner. First, we'd like the women to stand—all those who are here to take the Steps or help guide others through the Steps. 

(Have the women stand.) 

Now, if your sharing partner is with you right now in this room, we would like both of you to be seated. 

(After the sharing partners have been seated,) 

For those who are still standing, we would like for you to point to someone. After you're paired up with another person, we'd like both of you to sit down. 

(If there is one woman left standing,) 

Is there a woman here who is willing to work with two others? If so, please stand so this person can see who you are. Thank you. We will have the opportunity to meet with our sharing partners immediately after this meeting. 

Now that all the women have sharing partners, let's do the same thing with the men. Will the men please stand-all those who are here to take the Steps or help guide others through the Steps. 

(Have the men stand.) 

Now, if your sharing partner is with you right now in this room, we would like both of you to be seated. 

(After the sharing partners have been seated,) 

For those who are still standing, we would like for you to point to someone. After you're paired up with another person, we'd like both of you to sit down.

 (If there is one man left standing,) 

Is there a man here who is willing to work with two others? If so, please stand so this person can see who you are. Thank you. Please be seated.