Site by Jonathan Star, copyright (c) 2011
The Twelve Foundations:
A New Path of Wholeness and Recovery
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The Twelve Foundations is an integral path of growth and transformation based upon the highest principles of human and spiritual development. This program can also be used as a new paradigm of recovery which enables a person to overcome addictions and life-challenges in a positive, empowering way or as “the next step” for people who have been involved with traditional 12-Step programs and are now looking for a more expansive, transformative approach to life
This step-by-step program provides the foundational teachings and practices upon which we can overcome major life challenges, integrate ourselves as human beings, expand our creative power, and realize our spiritual nature. In sum, it is a means by which we can live a full and joyous life. The major areas of development and support upon which this program is founded, are :
1. Integral Involvement with a Group
This involves the integral involvement with a group of caring, supportive, like-minded individuals, all of whom have the same intention to positively improve their lives and support each other.
2. Fulfillment and Mastery of the Human Dimension
This involves understanding, empowering, and fulfilling our human dimension; it is about human mastery and living a full and joyous life.
3. Cultivation of our Creative Power
This involves the cultivation (and realization) of our creative power and one-with-Spirit qualities.
4. Meditation and Spiritual Realization
This involves the realization of our spiritual essence (and true nature) through a clear and informed practice of meditation and presence.
Transformation Comes through the Positive
The Spirit of Life and all its inherent qualities are positive. Love, fullness, freedom, creativity, aliveness, and beauty are positive. Life itself, and the growth which results from life, is positive. Likewise, we can only make lasting gains in life, and truly transform, through the expansion of our positive, one-with-life qualities.
The fundamental approach of the Twelve Foundations is to expand our positive center, increase our aliveness and joy, and move toward what we want; it is not about becoming powerless or fearfully avoiding that which we don't want. (Such a “negative-based” approach may be useful in appeasing, or keeping at bay, an unwanted condition but it can never lead to true transformation and growth).
The Twelve Foundations can be seen as a "positive" recovery program. It is a program that not only allows us to recover our “normal” life (before it was derailed by compulsive behavior and addiction) but to recover the fullness and glory of life itself, a life as it was truly meant to be, a life of love, power, abundance, and beauty.
The Twelve Foundations:
A New Path of Wholeness and Recovery
______________________________________________________________________
The Twelve Foundations is an integral path of growth and transformation based upon the highest principles of human and spiritual development. This program can also be used as a new paradigm of recovery which enables a person to overcome addictions and life-challenges in a positive, empowering way or as “the next step” for people who have been involved with traditional 12-Step programs and are now looking for a more expansive, transformative approach to life
This step-by-step program provides the foundational teachings and practices upon which we can overcome major life challenges, integrate ourselves as human beings, expand our creative power, and realize our spiritual nature. In sum, it is a means by which we can live a full and joyous life. The major areas of development and support upon which this program is founded, are :
1. Integral Involvement with a Group
This involves the integral involvement with a group of caring, supportive, like-minded individuals, all of whom have the same intention to positively improve their lives and support each other.
2. Fulfillment and Mastery of the Human Dimension
This involves understanding, empowering, and fulfilling our human dimension; it is about human mastery and living a full and joyous life.
3. Cultivation of our Creative Power
This involves the cultivation (and realization) of our creative power and one-with-Spirit qualities.
4. Meditation and Spiritual Realization
This involves the realization of our spiritual essence (and true nature) through a clear and informed practice of meditation and presence.
Transformation Comes through the Positive
The Spirit of Life and all its inherent qualities are positive. Love, fullness, freedom, creativity, aliveness, and beauty are positive. Life itself, and the growth which results from life, is positive. Likewise, we can only make lasting gains in life, and truly transform, through the expansion of our positive, one-with-life qualities.
The fundamental approach of the Twelve Foundations is to expand our positive center, increase our aliveness and joy, and move toward what we want; it is not about becoming powerless or fearfully avoiding that which we don't want. (Such a “negative-based” approach may be useful in appeasing, or keeping at bay, an unwanted condition but it can never lead to true transformation and growth).
The Twelve Foundations can be seen as a "positive" recovery program. It is a program that not only allows us to recover our “normal” life (before it was derailed by compulsive behavior and addiction) but to recover the fullness and glory of life itself, a life as it was truly meant to be, a life of love, power, abundance, and beauty.
The Twelve Foundations / The Twelve Steps
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Step 1: Affirmed that I am a creative center of Infinite Spirit, that I (in my conscious oneness with Spirit) have power and dominion over the conditions of my life.
We admitted we were powerless over our addictions, that our lives
had become unmanageable.
Step 2: Came to believe that the conscious power within myself, and my intelligent use of that power, is the very thing that could restore me to wholeness.
Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us
to sanity.
Step 3: Resolved to align my life (will, thoughts, and actions) with the ever-positive Spirit of Life.
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as
we understood him.
Step 4: Took steps to fully understand my beliefs, priorities, and true desires—and to live in accord with my highest ideals.
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Step 5: Dared to embrace (and revel in) my true humanity and joy.
Admitted to ourselves, to God, and to another human being the exact
nature of our wrongs.
Step 6: Accepted my role as a true co-creator with Spirit—never expecting Spirit to do for me what it can only do through me.
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Step 7: Was ready to have a healthy, balanced, and supportive relationship with my body and body image.
Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Step 8: Put forth the intention to have every relationship in my life be beneficial and supportive, to resolve negative emotions (such as anger, guilt, and regret), and to forgive others and myself as needed.
Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing
to make amends to them all.
Step 9: Took steps to put my house in order, to bring balance, peace, and stability to my life.
Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when
to do so would injure them or others.
Step 10: Was determined to live a true and noble life; to increase my power and aliveness by uncovering (and dissipating) deep-seated emotional blocks.
Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong
promptly admitted it.
Step 11: Resolved that through meditation (and the practice of presence) I would come to know my true self and illumine the qualities of my life.
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.
Step 12: Having realized my inseparable oneness with Spirit, my creative power, and a joyful sense of well-being, I was inspired to deepen my spiritual awareness and share my awakened state with others.
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried
to carry this message to other addicts and to practice these principles
in all our affairs.
Step One >>
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Note: The Twelve Foundations is in alignment with the philosophy and life-approach of New Thought, where the individual is honored as a creative center of Spirit. In this approach wholeness and fulfillment come about, to a large degree, through the intelligent use and direction of one's creative power. Many enlightenment traditions hold, however, that rather than directing one's own awareness and using one's power to change or manage external conditions one should simply "see" and accept Life as it is. Rather than mustering one's individual will to bring about some person-based gain, the individual's life becomes a seamless expression of Life Itself; one's will becomes a pure instrument of the Divine Will.
Living one's life (and overcoming addictions) can be approached from one of three levels, depending on one's identity and primary relationship to life. The first level is that of the individual who feels he is powerless and cannot manage his or her life, where he feels his only hope is to appeal to some Higher Power for rescuing. (This is the primary approach of the Twelve Steps). The second level (which overlaps to a large extent with the third level) is that of the individual who is in touch with his or her own power and is able to employ it in a meaningful and beneficial way. (This is the primary approach of the Twelve Foundations). The third level is that of the individual who has realized (at least to some degree) that his foundational identity is pure Spirit and that is it expressed through and as this individual person. This approach revolves around the pure seeing and acceptance of things, as they are, and the the seamless integration of one's individual life with the all of Life, rather than the application of consciousness to try and change things. The use of one's individual will can actuate changes within one's worldview and identity structure but only the realization of one's inherent unity with all of Life can lay the foundation for a complete transformation. (This is the underlying philosophy of The Twelve Spirits.)
>> The Twelve Spirits