The Step 11 encourages us to keep our conscious contact with our spiritual side.  This is like a “check in” system which keep the spiritual process a priority and focus point for living.

This is powerful as it can keep ones “script” or “old programming” which can have negative and destructive parts in check.

Its worth remembering that no matter how long ago certain internal structures were formed.  The survival strategies of script that may be counter-productive in adult  remain sealed away in the unconscious.  These unconscious emotional learnings continue to influence the perception of reality.

Sealed of from awareness they are impervious to dis-confirming evidence in the here and now and will continue to operate throughout life.  This is regardless of the symptoms they engender and the conscious wishes of the individual.

This is why doing the Step 11 can cross transact over this script and the unwritten rules for life that it holds.  Its about listening to a different voice rather then “script”.

To listen to the voice of the higher power and not internal negative parent.

To connect with mother nature and not remain in isolation with destructive self talk.

To get peace with meditation rather then a harried struggle with script messages.

To connect with inner grace and comfort and hope with prayer rather then the voice of “script despair”.

The practise of Step 11 is a central mechanism of change which is about transformation and the maintaining of this.

It can cross over negative “schema” “script”.  The unconscious schema’s can be repeatedly at variance with reality.  What’s to be remembered is that the synapses that hold the script in place can be modified by the steps which are about transformation in a sequence and process that works.

We can hold “old stuff” “schema’s” “script” by the bucket load if we choose.  The old unconscious versions of reality which were uncomfortable and a struggle.  Or we engage and maintain a healthy wholesome self by the Step 11 instruction.

The old stuff and new way of life will bump together back and forth.  The two versions of reality will repeatedly happen and we can foster their meeting and still not act out destructively.

Over time and with working spiritual principles a process happens which is facilitated by the 12 steps that permanently transform or can dissolve or decontaminate the previously negative version of reality.

Neuroscience is showing us that it is through a process, or repeatedly  bumping into “script”. Together with a different path that the synaptic encoding of the old learning is replaced by the synaptic encoding of the “new learning”.

This is the significance of Step 11 as its the practise of the new learning which can have powerful impact neurally as one changes and maintains this.  You can take the action and instruction of step 11 even if it is contradictory with old “script”.  It is about choosing a path that is wholesome, healthy, spiritual and ultimately loving.

“Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out”.

The step invites us to keep connection with our spiritual and inner natural child.  It is about focus and priority to this process and using the structure of time to achieve this.

When we retire at night we constructively review our day.  This includes how we felt and how we behaved and if we could have done things differently.  It asks if we were thinking of ourselves most of the time and if we had the space for others. Its asks if corrective measures would be of benefit and if we were struggling did we reach out.

On awakening the step invites us to think about the day ahead.  To consider our plans and to ask for direction.  To use our principled way of living to guide us through the hours ahead.  Under these conditions we can employ our mental faculties with assurance, for after all God gave us brains to use.  Our thought-life will be placed on a much higher plane when our thinking is cleared of wrong motives.

Mid-day Focus is important to this process to check in where we are.  We may face indecision and may not always be able to determine which course to take.  We can ask for inspiration, direction, intuitive thought or a decision itself.  Its recognising that we don’t have to struggle alone and being able to relax with this.  With this connection its surprising how the right answers come, even if this is after a period of time.

As we go through the day we feel less isolated and alone.  Its relieves any agitation or doubt as we feel more and more as the days go on that we can ask for the right thoughts and actions.  We don’t have to run the show alone which in the past could have been overwhelming and frightening.

Through time we can feel much less in danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity or foolish decisions. There is a healing process when we become more efficient and we tire less easily with life.  Instead building our energy and getting a magical zest that had been missing for a long time.  This is about not burning up energy foolishly with the “Old Stuff”  and “Script” thoughts, feelings and behaviours that used to tire us out.

The Script was about trying to arrange life to suit ourselves which burns energy and leads to games with negative pay-off’s and often pain. Similarly addiction is about feeding the self for one’s own need which becomes destructive and painful.

Following the Step 11 keeps a connection to the healthy and wholesome part of self and the spiritual higher power.  This is where we feed off a different emotional diet which benefits the heart and soul.

The Step 10 of “continued to take personal inventory and when wrong promptly admitted it”. is part of the fabric of a reflective toolbox.  The core meaning is of rebounding, a casting back or returning.  Only in inventory it is a “returning to self” which is about attending to “you”. It allows you to see if there has been anything important that you may have missed in self assessment.  It is about self care as it is also about de-cluttering any toxic collection of emotion by promptly admitting wrongs.

If we look at the Step 10 this way its about fostering self compassion and developing helpful attitudes.   Its about being non-judgemental and engaging in behaviour that promotes our well being and those of others. Its about the observation of our experiences with the thoughts, feelings and sensations that go with being human.  It is about being open to maintaining the self by letting go of negativity.  All of this helps us stay in the here and now moment rather then script and the cycle of addiction.

The process of taking inventory and agreeing to prompt action with wrongs that have taken place engages us in learning to step back.  This is so useful as human beings have thoughts that are firing synapses.  We have loads of different thoughts passing through the mind from moment to moment,  Often its the unpleasant thoughts driven by our script programming that capture attention.  This is triggered in certain situations and with this we may act out emotionally on others in a negative way or we may experience intense emotions that impact us and we internalise this.  Either way whether holding or projecting emotions the step 10 engages us in processing what is going on which helps us keep our system in check.

So many problems can arise when we automatically believe our thoughts as fact especially when we have intense emotions attached to them.  People often treat them as the ultimate truths which can result in negative cycles and unhelpful ways of dealing with life.  The Step 10 crosses over the auto-pilot of this process which is effective as it then stops the reinforcing of negative programming.

We have no control over some of our programming but we do have a choice over how to respond to its once we are aware.  Its remembering that thoughts and feelings cant harm you but the actions you take can and they can harms others.

The process of stepping back and Step 10 strengthens the part of yourself that is called the “observing self”.  this part of you notices and accepts your experiences without negative judgement.  It is a form of mindfulness which is about self awareness and attention training .  Step 10 invites you into the present and paying attention on the purpose for this moment in a curious and willing way.  It can help us to retrain our minds to focus on what is important thereby taking back freedom to respond effectively rather then react automatically.

To continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along.  To continue to watch out for selfishness, resentment, dishonesty and fear and then take action to remove them.  The action is promptly admitting we are wrong.  This has such restorative qualities and powerful meanings attached to the process.  This is because its a step of empathy, love and tolerance where the world is not just about us.  It invites us into an adult frame of reference by asking us to be honest and if we hurt another or are wrong we take action.  This keeps us free from negative script, dysfunctional ways of dealing with life and keep individuals in healthy recovery.

The process before the action is about being honest which has the appeal of an emotionally literate life.  Recently widowed grandmother “Since I was a child I have known that life can be lived differently and I have always had the vague idea that it had to do with honesty about feelings and no compromise together with a strong love of people”.  The strong love of people means a want to take action when we have been wrong .    It can take determination and courage to reach this with a willing and open heart but the benefits far outweigh any discomfort.

It sets you free from being enslaved by negative process or collecting emotions that are heavy and wearing.

It can turn something that is difficult and negative into a source of freedom and joy.

You can heal trauma in a principled living way because it allows you to be real and express yourself.

It invites you into the heart of the problem and to deal with it rather then let it fester and grow.

It allows the potential to find a new emotional self and this means your relationships with others will be transformed.

It allows a truly productive life which includes the inventory which is about emotional information in our choices.

It is a path to a well rounded and effective approach to life.

It can be exciting as its about rediscovery daily with inventory.

It is about refinement with this as we take action by responsibility when wrong.

It can fuel us into being embracing of emotional resilience when caring about others.

We can use compassion with action to develop happiness, self acceptance and well-being.

The first part of step 10 is to continue to take personal inventory which is really important for self awareness and self regulation.  To maintain a principled way of life takes commitment to this step and the process of inventory.  Additionally you need to do the personal inventory to know when you were wrong.  This is the second part of the step to take responsibility when you are wrong by promptly admitting this.

This part of the step invites us into seeing the perspective of others.  A form of sitting at the other side of the fence.  It  invites us into being empathic which takes us out of ourselves and being stuck.  To be empathic builds your awareness of the emotions and feelings of others.  It can give an intellectual or conceptual grasping of the effect of another.  It is about moral development and emotional sophistication.  It is a prerequisite for the development of principled living which changes ones attitude and judgements and opens the mind.

It challenges our internal constructions and script process which stops us acting out emotionally.  Psychologist G Kelly developed construct theory which is about the internal systems developed about the world on beliefs, relationships and knowledge.  Some times these constructions have implications and major consequences because we tend to behave on them.  They are part of our script process and we can often feel powerless in their grip.

Empathy and seeing the perception of the other are great script challengers as they take us out of this cycle. In Psychotherapy often the work is about helping people to recognize the reality of “alternative constructions” “the consequences of script”.  To help explore the ones that are more conducive to their health and well-being.  This can be really powerful as people embark on this process of change which can be simultaneously destabilizing and liberating.

The same applies to the step 10 process as its about inviting you into a different perspective to the old frame of reference.  To the old way of looking at how you may impact others and not evaluate the effect.  To the old script which was once about self preservation but now parts can be counter-productive to ones development.    By even being invited into an inventory process which part of the action is about owning when wrong puts the position of this in a place where it is not all about self. The process of owning when you are wrong  crosses over the script which can be another form of self absorption if we get engulfed in the dynamics.

Human beings don’t mean to be so self absorbed.  Its something that happens due to unmet developmental needs and self preservation.   However what once worked as a child can end up as  dysfunctional strategies as an adult.  Humans spend their lives finding ways to keep safe. When they find these ways they create a script that works for them.  However, this often means recreating old patterns of behaviours, thinking, feeling and relationships that end up unsafe and counter-productive.

The invitation into the steps, self maintaining with inventory and using empathy for principled living can cross the very entrenched patterns that can keep someone stuck.  The step takes us out of the comfort zone and invites us into looking at how others may experience something that we did.  To even look at something that we have done wrong may be completely away from our script.  It can be really freeing from the script to look at our personal conduct and how this at times is “wrong”.  Once we see this we have a choice on what to do with this and if we want the principled changes that are required in recovery and a script free life.

To continue to take personal inventory is similar to doing a “reality check” and a “feelings check”.  These are two really important areas of self awareness where we can see whether we are in a script process or grounded in the hear and now.

If you are watching for resentments, arrogance, self-loathing, envy, dishonesty, selfishness, intolerance, hate, greed or impatience .  These can also relate to early dysfunctional survival strategies and feelings associated that we cannot deal with.  Without this check in they can be upon you before  any realisation which is why inventory is so important.  They can be upon you because of the dynamic unconscious which operates deep within our internal minds.

In simple terms its like people cannot help “acting out what they don’t know” .  This means emotionally they can be driven by very powerful forces that they are powerless to.  This creates a  reaction that usually involves dysfunctional ways of dealing with the world and the person is in a disruptive and rebellious  child place, or behaving with judgement which comes from contaminated belief systems.

The important point to note is that taking inventory gives you a better chance to see if you are into “stuff” which is script.  “If I am being arrogant and slandering someone I envy deep down”.  The pay=off down the line with this process will be negative as this is  toxic  even if short term is seems gratifying.      The taking of inventory allows you to check in with this destructive process.  Not only that there is a expectation to take responsibility for this process as it belongs to you.

This is emotional “acting out” because you are wearing your armour of arrogance because your sense of self is being impacted by someone you envy. Not only that this is being “acted out” and “projected” into the environment by the slander that is being used.  Whenever we voice something negative about another person it is usually about ourselves.  

The inventory gives the opportunity to explore this and to strive for assets instead of staying with really destructive script or uncomfortable feelings.  Perhaps if someone from the past hurt you and you envied their family life and material goods then striving for forgiveness is healthy. If this is not strived for and envy and resentment stays in place the only person who stays hurt is yourself.  It is always more comforting to live with humility then arrogance as we can connect then with integrity, acceptance and kindness which then allows intimacy and love.

We can always strive for “Looking for the Good In Others” and have patience with other peoples defects of character.  How about seeing that everyone is in this life finding their own way through it. This is even if they may have more then you or their family seems great.  This does not mean those individuals who seemingly have everything do not have any human suffering.  They do because they are emotionally driven like everyone else and have a script that once upon a time had the consequences of hurting them.  “We are all in it together” “We can always find the heart to see good in people” “We can find the patience to accept others with their script”.

This allows letting go of trying to control others and fit them into a frame of reference or mindset that we are more comfortable with.  Here we can see that often people do this so life is about the self and it really does not have to be that way.

Lastly, do not look at inventory  as something that means you have to be good.  It is a gift for you as it frees you from discomfort and discontentment.  It is about being grown up and not acting from a powerless child place.  The inventory gives you a chance to check in with yourself and see where you are .  It is a way of being kind to yourself.  It is a way of keeping safe and out of a painful script ;process.

The step 10 is about principled living because it asks that when one is wrong to promptly admit it.  This is about expecting you to take action rather then sit with uncomfortable feelings and situations.

Therefore, we look at being pro-active and not re-active. In being pro-active we can use all our senses to help us.  We can be sensitive, we can see and hear with our eyes, ears, intuition and care.  To be pro-active can also be about living with the intention of compassion and principle which can then guide what we hear and see.  To be re-active is like acting out emotionally and going into old ways of behaving and thinking.

The writer and organisational expert Steven Covey speaks a lot about principled based life in work and how to treat each other.  This is an application that is so useful in relation to life outside work .

Covey “People who exercise their embryonic freedom day after day will little by little expand that freedom”. ” People who do not will find that it wither’s until they are literally being lived”. In other words they are acting out the scripts written by parents, associates and society.

The word exercise is about maintaining a process which is about freedom from “stuff”.  This is  about addiction and the cycle of destruction and isolation if you don’t maintain recovery.  This is about script and going into old feelings thoughts and behaviours that relate to dysfunctional old patterns of survival.

Whatever way this exercise of embryonic freedom works for the individual is significant for a principled way of life that has many benefits.  The main one is being free from script “stuff” “painful old patterns”. “dysfunctional survival strategies”, “painful relations”  and much more.

However, to keep on a different path does require priority, commitment, maintaining, being willing and believing that this is the best option.  The best option for living life with freedom, joy and principle.  The best option for living life and not just acting out script processes which will eventually hook into addiction.

Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted to it.

This is about setting right any new mistakes as we go along.  This invites us into taking adult responsibility.  Additionally, we keep on processing emotional stamps so that our system does not get clogged up with “toxic emotion”.

What is the point in cleaning up the past as its  a vigorously intense process that takes courage and commitment if we then to do not continue to maintain this spiritual well-being. This is the step of really seeing that you have entered the world of the spirit.  To grow in understanding and effectiveness takes maintaining.

This is the step where you see that what you have learned has no stop gap and “its done”.  We are not done animals because of our level of emotional complexity, consciousness, imagination and attachment desires.  This is why its a commitment that is about evolving all through our lifetime.

If we continue to watch for resentment, fear, dishonesty , selfishness and greed we can catch ourselves in old “stuff” old”script” instead of the new which can be highly preventative in relapse.  When anything crops up that sounds like part of the old story we can ask for spiritual help, reach out to others, share, discuss, process and then let go.  This system keeps us well, connected, happy and taking responsibility.  We even have the opportunity to eventually find joy in making amends.

There is something spiritual and hearty when living with the principles of love and tolerance.  The fight stops and sanity returns and the way of living is a healthy framework to feed from rather than dysfunctional self soothing by using.  The using was because life was lacking in heart and meaning and we were spiritually unwell.

If at all tempted to go back to old ways give the self a reality check and know that you have the option to recoil from this and see it as the poisonous trap it was.  We can work with this by staying with the action programme and allowing it to help us stay on the right “script path” were we are feeding our soul good food.

The programme and maintaining a principled life means being safe and in a position of neutrality where we are protected.  This is what is meant my maintaining and enjoying the process.  Its important not to see it as a chore.

I use the analogy of a “dog is not just for Christmas”- look after it with welcoming , love and nurture and enjoy the attachment.  The same is of spiritual wellness, its not just about clean time but about truth, love, heart, compassion and nurture. LOOK AFTER YOUR SPIRITUAL WELLNESS ITS PRECIOUS.

Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. This is about contemplation and not just taking drastic action before thought. This is about connecting with the inner” Adult Ego” state when making an important decision

In our script process we are often reactive from the past or fear the future because of associated experiences.  In Transactional Analysis theory to be in adult is being with the real self.  This is to have appropriate executive power with thinking and behaviours.  Our psychic energy or cathexis needs to be used when making life decisions.

The step 9 is an important life decision therefore the energy needs to be in adult.  That is why thinking about potential injury is significant to the process of amends.  To be adult means responding in the here and now situation even if some amends relate to past incidents or relationships.  The adult part is about making a decision using your grown up resources to see if it would injure another human being.

The adult is like a filing compartment in which is placed the whole set of strategies for reality testing and problem solving which is now available as a grown up.  In addiction connecting with adult is so important for recovery and development.  By asking “who would I injure” has the connection to an important adult decision capacity which can be cathartic in itself.

This is why it is an important part of the fabric of step 9.  “If we have obtained permission, have consulted with others asked spiritually if the amend would help.  If the drastic step of amend is indicated we must not then shrink” .  To shrink would be going into script and child which is not developmental.

The step allows for a long period of reconstruction with individuals taking the lead and being in adult.  A remorseful mumbling of being sorry is not enough.  A amend from a victim position is not enough.  The point is to be in adult in our behaviours , thoughts and speak with feeling from the heart.  A spiritual life has to be lived and not just talked about.

If an individual is in adult then their behaviour will convince others more then words.  Its also about being adult enough to accept that there may be some wrongs that can never be put right fully.  This is where the concentration of the experience of the step is important and not just the outcome.  To force something with an unwillingness in exchange is harmful and not spiritually caring.

All in all being adult  with step 9 and considering others with  injury awareness is a good practise for life.  This is a life which engages consideration, being humble without being servile or scraping.  It is a life of being sensible when considering others and their feelings.  It is a life where we choose to stand on our feet and not crawl around aimless. This is in either our negative scripts or in the cycle of destructive addiction.  It is a life where we are tactful and loving of ourselves and others.  WELCOME TO A LIFE IN ADULT. WELCOME TO A LIFE THAT MINIMISES INJURY THROUGH CARE AND COMPASSION.

The action of Step 9 allows the releasing of the emotional stamps that people have collected over the years.  The word stamp is short for psychological trading stamp.  People over time collect stamps which can include resentment, grudges, anger, paranoia, envy and bitterness.  Generally its  any emotional unit that  relates to negativity.

People who genuinely live a principled and meaningful life don’t tend to collect emotional stamps.  This is because they don’t need to justify their life choices or hide themselves behind manipulation and games.

I do think its virtually impossible for one never to collect emotional stamps that have a pay-off.  Even if its minimal such as having a bit of  glee if someone who is rather unpleasant sets themselves up for being seen for who they are.  While before they may have conned everyone into believing they were someone who could be trusted and worthwhile.  However, this collecting of emotional stamps is much lighter weight and often does not have significant impact of ones life.

Anyway, the collecting of really damaging and damming emotional stamps is mainly related to individuals working towards a negative script pay-off.  People can save these emotions and they contribute to  episodes of their life that relate to something that is in the deeper parts of their script.

In addiction, we could look at individuals as collecting emotional stamps as this services the habit.  It allows manipulative games, it allows deception, destruction, denial, anger and many other defects of character. The short term- pay-off is the justification to use whatever is the drug of choice or behavioural stimulation.  The long term pay-off has much more dramatic consequences to the individual and anyone who is in their life.

Addiction is  a form of suicide to the heart, soul and life.  So many people die from this terrible illness. So many people are left broken hearted because of watching a loved one suffer and live in fear of their eventual demise.

Therefore we could look at this as the addicts script becomes so negative and they have collected so many emotional stamps to support and justify this destruction.  How many stories are told of dire consequences and how many shares in meetings hold episodes of pain and chaos.

The script can be hamartic , destructive , loosing or a banal.  All of these script processes have negative consequences for the individual.  They relate to being misunderstood and collecting resentment stamps because of that.  This then leaves the individual in the position of victim and feeling sorry for themselves which justify’s their addiction in coping with life.

You can collect depression stamps and  turn to drink.  You can then tell yourself that you need alcohol to feel better.  Eventually you may cash in these stamps  by  the suicide this path will eventually take you on.

The harmartic stamp collector can use the emotions that have stacked up to harm others and even justify homicide.  That they are only in the business of hurting others because they deserve it.  That nothing is their fault and that they are blameless.  I am pretty sure Henry the 8th was an addict with a hamartic script and the consequences were a lot of executions.  SCAREY

The loosing stamp collector may collect harassment emotions because of paranoia with using.  Then save these up to support their deluded case for being understood.  Really the game is about going  for retribution because one feels inadequate, negative and down.  Instead the individual sets themselves up to fail which results in pain and shame.

The banal stamp collector may quietly collect passive emotions of anger.  This can then fill someone up to the brim with anger, resentment, angst, pain and bitterness.  This can result in psychosomatic aliments, using  with the intention of getting obliterated because all the emotion stored is to much to hold.  Other pay-off’s can be about the dis-placement of all  this dark, dense and negative projection of emotion onto others.  This can be done with powerful quite anger, projection of vile abuse  onto someone or an explosion which can be seen as out of character.

The system of collecting emotional stamps towards a pay-off is diverse and vast.  Within addiction the individual could have several networks of emotional stamp collecting going on which justify’s their using .  They can carry anger and resentment and being misunderstood and the world is a horrible place in bucket loads.  On the path of addiction the individual is without a doubt working towards an ending which is sad and has consequences all round.

The step 9 is about taking the action and with this we can see its also about letting any stamp collection go.  Its seeing the option of a different life and thus different script.  To let go of these stamps you are changing any negative pay-off that you may be holding.  I see Step 9 as a form of disposing of these stamps by taking action which is different from cashing emotion in  for negative pay-off’s.  You are crossing over any negative system by  challenging denial and taking action which is positive.  This is what being willing to make amends and then taking action is all about.

To want to put wrongs to right is freeing of all this stuff collected over the years.  You no longer need any emotional stamps to cash in for a negative script pay-off.  You are swapping carrying this baggage for a more spiritually principled path.