Step Three, Week Five: February 7th, 2024

This week’s reading assignment:

Yellow workbook pages 62 – 64 OR BRB pages 145 – 149

Red Book Chapters 5 and 8

Red Book page 73, the four paragraphs starting “While the alcoholic . . .”

Red Book pages 144-145, the six paragraphs starting “By making a decision . . .”

Red Book page 294

Red Book pages 454-456

Recommended weekly reading:

“The Laundry List” or “The Problem,” “The Solution,” and “The Promises” on pages 587-591 of the Red Book or in the first several pages of the yellow workbook;

“The Twelve Steps” on pages 91-92 of the Red Book (also on pages 1-2 of the workbook); and

“The Twelve Traditions” on page 592 of the Red Book

Suggested supplemental reading: 

Tradition Two (the tradition for the month of February) in depth starting on page 542 of the Red Book

Melody Beattie, “Codependents’ Guide To The Twelve Steps,” pages 49 – 57 starting with the heading “Turning It Over” in the Step Three chapter. See ACAWSO’s Literature Policy: “It has always been accepted that ACA should remain eclectic in choosing literature. That is, ACA meetings may draw from various sources without censorship.”

Suggested supplemental text for 3^rd and 4^th Step work:

The AlAnon workbook titled “Blueprint for Progress: Al-Anon’s Fourth Step Inventory,
Revised” (copyright date 2004, with the black text and deeper blue-and-white-checked cover; available from AlAnon or on Amazon.com.)   See ACAWSO’s Literature Policy: “It has always been accepted that ACA should remain eclectic in choosing literature. That is, ACA meetings may draw from various sources without censorship.”

The section on Control (pages 29-31) is especially useful for Third Step work.

This week’s step study questions are on pages 67-68 under the heading “Step Three Spiritual Principles: Willingness and Accepting Help:”

1. Am I willing to do whatever it takes to work my ACA program and to focus on myself? (What am I willing to do?)
2. What am I surrendering so that I can make ACA a priority in my life?
3. What actions can I take that show that I am surrendering and facing my childhood experiences?
4. Can I begin at the level of willingness? Can I be willing to be willing to surrender?
5. Can I begin by surrendering my self-hate and self-harming behavior?
6. Am I willing to ask for help?
7. Am I willing to accept help if I ask for help?
8. How is asking for help a form of giving up control?

“Copyrighted by Adult Children of Alcoholics World Service Organization.”

Deep Dive questions:

A. What keeps me from surrendering to the God of my understanding?

B. In what ways do I struggle with giving up my will?

C. What has been my experience when I have turned my will over to the God of my understanding?

D. When have I seen a Higher Power working in the lives of those around me?

© Al-Anon’s Reaching for Personal Freedom Workbook

E. How does your current mode of accepting help (dependent, counterdependent, independent, and interdependent) fit with your perception of God or your Higher Power?

© Patrick Carnes’ A Gentle Path Through The Twelve Steps