Definition of Tradition: guideline for relationships between groups, members, other groups, the global fellowship, and society at large.
Synonyms of Tradition: guideline, principle, practice, etc.
These notes are from recovery in AA and/or related 12 step programs.
Readers are encouraged to click external links for more detail.
We hope you find them helpful.
Love in fellowship.
Tradition Twelve – Spirituality: Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities. | More…
One may say that anonymity is the spiritual base, the sure key to all the rest of our Traditions. In it we see the cornerstone of our security as a movement; at a deeper spiritual level it points us to still greater self-renunciation.
Tradition Twelve, in its mood of humble anonymity, plainly enough comprehends the preceding eleven. The Twelve Points of Tradition are little else than a specific application of the spirit of the Twelve Steps of recovery to our group life and to our relations with society in general.
The recovery steps would make each individual AA whole and one with God; the Twelve Points of Tradition would make us one with each other and whole with the world about us. Unity is our aim.
Our AA Traditions are, we trust, securely anchored in those wise precepts; charity, gratitude, and humility. Nor have we forgotten prudence.
May these virtues ever stand clear before us in our mediations; may Alcoholics Anonymous serve God in happy unison for so long as he may need us. -Bill W/Grapevine | More…
Principles before Personalities.
If we are having problems with what certain people have to share at meetings Our sponsor can help us concentrate on what’s being said rather than who’s saying it.
Our sponsor can also help us address the resentments that may be keeping us from acknowledging the value of some particular person’s recovery experience.
It is surprising how much more we can get out of meetings when we allow ourselves to do as our Twelfth Tradition suggests. Focus on recovery principles rather than personalities. –Just For Today | More…
Tradition Twelve checklist
Why is it a good idea for me to place the common welfare of all AA members before individual welfare? What would happen to me if AA as a whole disappeared?
When I do not trust AA’s current servants,
who do I wish had the authority to straighten them out?
In my opinions of and remarks about other AAs, am I implying membership requirements other than a desire to stay sober?
Do I ever try to get a certain AA group to conform to my standards, not its own? Have I a personal responsibility in helping an AA group fulfil its primary purpose? What is my part?
Does my personal behavior reflect the Sixth Tradition – or belie it? Do I do all I can to support AA financially? When is the last time I anonymously gave away a Grapevine subscription?
Do I complain about certain AAs’ behavior – especially if they are paid to work for AA?Who made me so smart?
Do I fulfil all AA responsibilities in such a way as to please privately even my own conscience? Really? Do my utterances always reflect the Tenth Tradition, or do I give AA critics real ammunition?
Should I keep my AA membership a secret, or reveal it in private conversation when that may help another alcoholic (and therefore me)? Is my brand of AA so attractive that other drunks want it? What is the real importance of me among more than a million AAs? | More…
The 12 Traditions of AA are a set of guidelines for how the organization should function.
They were developed by the early members in response to problems as they arose.
The 12 Traditions first appeared as a set of principles in 1946. It is unlikely that AA could have survived so many years without these guiding regulations. | More…
The Principles of the Twelve Traditions
Tradition One: Unity
Tradition Two: Trust
Tradition Three: Identity
Tradition Four: Autonomy
Tradition Five: Purpose
Tradition Six: Solidarity
Tradition Seven: Responsibility
Tradition Eight: Fellowship
Tradition Nine: Structure
Tradition Ten: Neutrality
Tradition Eleven: Anonymity
Tradition Twelve: Spirituality | More…
MORNING HELPERS 