Dr. Patrick Carnes

Twelve Steps. Twelve Traditions. And yes, Twelve Principles. The Steps outline the actions that lead to extraordinary healing. The Traditions exist as guides to the functioning of the Fellowship. Embedded in both is a series of Principles by which to measure your progress.Anyone who lives a Twelve Step way of life will recognize the principles passed on in A Gentle Path through the Twelve Principles. They have existed among fellowships as a hidden curriculum of fundamental truths about recovery for decades, but never before have they been distilled into a succinct set of values that, when practiced, help each of us to develop an essential skill set for life. The principles--such universal touchstones for human self-realization as acceptance, awareness, responsibility, openness, honesty, courage, commitment, and meaning--are concepts that enable a deep inner study and focus to make a new life happen in recovery. Recovery means re-engineering your life with a focus on renewal. The Twelve Principles are designed to help you get there.

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Excerpt from the book:

"Most of us start a Twelve Step program as a way to stay sober or change a specific behavior. Over time, the Twelve Steps open us to support and awareness, and help us see that we're not able to make the necessary changes by ourselves. In order to swim upstream, we need to ask for help from other people and from our Higher Power. Only with this help, and through working our Twelve Step program every day, are we able to change our lives.

As we continue in recovery over the months and years, most of us also discover that we have more than one addiction, and that these addictions act together, triggering each other. As we work to establish sobriety, at times we feel like we're playing a game of Whack-a-Mole: once we successfully manage one addiction, another reasserts itself, demanding our attention. Day by day, however, through the power of the Twelve Steps, we re-engineer our life. We learn how to stay focused and how to keep our brain in balance. Working the Steps propels us into discovery and growth."