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Step 6. "We were ready to have God remove all these defects of character."

(Adapted from the 12 steps of Alcohóliocs Anonymous)

"This is a step that separates the men from the boys ...". So think a cleric. Says the person who has enough good will and honesty to apply again and again to Step Six faults "without reservations of any kind", has come a long way spiritually, and therefore deserves to be said about it being a person is trying sincerely to grow in the image of his Creator.

course the frequently discussed question of whether God can remove these defects of character, and if done under certain conditions, will have a positive response from almost any member of the Community Love For him, this proposition is not a theory; for it will be perhaps the most important fact of life.

usually refer to it thus: "Surely he was defeated, utterly defeated. My willpower is not serving me at all to control my emotions. Changing environments, the best efforts of my family and friends, doctors and clerics, were ineffective against my ego. Simply could not handle and no one could get it done. But when I was ready to air and asked a Higher Power, God within me, to free me of my faults, my neurosis disappeared. I pulled it off. "

This kind of testimony is heard daily in Love Community meetings worldwide. Anyone can clearly see that each member of the Community Love has been released. So a literal fully and all members of the Community Love were willing to let God remove from their lives those aspects of ego. And God proceeded to do exactly that.

Once freed us from a perfect way to our main means of escape (drugs, pills, alcohol, masturbation, anger, etc..), why can not achieve the same means, a perfect release every one of our problems and shortcomings? This is a puzzle of our existence whose answer can only be in the mind of God. Yet we realize part of the answer at least.

When men and women are driven by their emotions to such an extent that destroy their lives, they are committing an unnatural act. Defying his survival instinct look like they are bent on destruction. Go against their deepest instincts. Being humiliated by the terrible beating they tip the uncontrolled emotions, Grace of God can reach them and set them free. Here, their powerful instinct to live can cooperate fully with the will of the Creator to give them a new life. Because both nature and God abhor suicide.

But most of the other difficulties that we not fall into this category at all. Every normal person wants, for example, eating and playing, someone in the company of their peers. And you want to be reasonably safe and secure while trying to achieve their ends. God certainly did so. Not designed to be destroyed. And yes I endowed with instincts to help him survive.

saw no evidence anywhere that our Creator expects us to remove completely our instinctual drives. To our knowledge, there is no evidence that God has removed a man all his natural impulses.

Like most of us is born with an abundance of natural desires, it is not uncommon that often leave to exceed its purpose. When we are blind, we demand that they voluntarily give us more satisfaction than it is possible or what is due, is the time when we depart the degree of perfection that God desires for us on earth. This is the measure of our character defects, or, if you will, sins.
If we ask God will surely forgive us negligence. But under no circumstances will we whites as snow if we bring our collaboration. That is something that assume that we are willing to strive to achieve. He only asks that we try, as best we can, to advance in the formation of our character.

So in the Sixth Step "became willing to let God remove these defects of character" is the way the Community Love expresses what is the best attitude can be assumed to begin this task of life . This does not mean you expect all our character defects will be eliminated as was our main means of escape. Maybe some other, but we must content ourselves with better patient with respect to most others. The key words "entirely ready" underline the fact that we aspire to the best of what we know or can know.

How many of us are willing to this degree? In an absolute sense, no. The best we can do, with all honesty that we can make is to try to be. Even then the best of us sadly discovered that there is always a critical time in which we pause and say, "Not that I can not leave yet." And often tread even more dangerous ground when we cry, "This will never leave you." Such is the force which our instincts molesters. Despite the progress made will wish to oppose the grace of God.

Some of those who think well maybe I did refute this, so let's go further. Almost anyone feels the desire to get rid of their most notorious and destructive impediments. Nobody wants to be so proud to be tittle of boastful or ambitious to be called a thief. Nobody wants to be angry to the degree of kill or be lewd until the rapture, and so greedy that ruins their health. Nobody wants to feel the chronic malaise that produces envy or remain paralyzed by sloth. Of course, most humans do not suffer from these defects in the exaggerated degree.

Those who have escaped to reach these ends we are likely to welcome this. However, can we do?, After all, what was not selfishness, pure and simple, which allowed us to avoid the extremes? No spiritual effort by trying to avoid excesses so we punish them anyway. But where we are when it comes to the least violent of the same kind of defects?.

What we recognize now is that we rejoice with some of our shortcomings. Actually want. For example, who does not like to feel a little bit higher and still far superior to those around you? Is not it true that we let greed put the mask of ambition? We like to think that lust seems impossible. However, there are many men and women who speak of love and believe what they say, in order to hide the lust in a dark corner of their minds. And while remaining within conventional limits, many people will have to admit that their imaginary sex excursions are sometimes disguised as romantic dreams.

We can even enjoy an angry state that we believe justified. In a perverse way may cause us welcome the fact that many people we may find annoying because it gives us a sense of superiority. A polite way to kill personalities, gossip is spurred by anger, has its satisfactions. In this case we are not trying to help those who criticize, we are trying to proclaim our hypocrisy.

When gluttony does not come to a ruinous degree, we use a milder term to describe it: comfort. We live in a world infected with envy. This affects everyone in varying degrees. Presumably this defect derive a twisted satisfaction. Otherwise, why do we spend so much time wanting what we have, instead of using that time trying to get it, or looking for attributes that you will never have clumsily rather than adapt to facts and accept them? And how many times we work hard to ensure that security and laziness, to what we call "retire from active life." Consider also the talent we have to take what we do and that is really lazy. Almost anyone can make a long list of these defects and few of us would think seriously give them at least until they start to make us very unhappy.

course, some conclude that they are ready for free from their defects. But even these people, if they make a list of less serious defects, they will be forced to admit that they prefer keep some of them. Therefore, it seems clear that few of us can come quickly or easily to be ready to claim a moral or spiritual perfection, we transact only with the degree of perfection necessary to get by. So the difference between boys and men, is the difference between fighting to achieve a limited objective of our ego and fight to get the goal which is God.

many questions in the act: "How can we accept anything that involves the Sixth Step? That would be perfection. " This seems a difficult question, but in reality it is not. Only you can practice to perfection the First Step where we made an absolute admission that we were powerless to fight our emotions out of control. The following eleven steps outlined perfect ideal. They are goals to which we aspire and instruments used to measure our progress. Seen from this point, the Sixth Step is still difficult, but by no means impossible. What is needed is to start and continue to persevere.

If the implementation of this step does not get any substantial benefit in addressing issues unrelated to our way of escape, need to start again with the mind more alert. Need to look perfectly and be prepared to go in that direction. It matters little that sometimes stumble. What matters is to be ready. Looking

again those defects that we have not let go, we must dispel the rigid boundaries we have set. In some cases it may even have to say: "This I can not leave yet ...", but we must never say:" That does not leave again! ". We

bridge what appears to be a dangerously open final. It suggests that we need to be fully prepared to aspire to perfection. However, we note that some degree of delay is excusable. The ego to seek a reasoned explanation of the word immediately, easily interpreted as the long term. Might say, "This is very easy. Surely I encaminaré to perfection but I have no reason to hurry. Maybe I can postpone having to face some of my problems. " Of course this does not give satisfactory results. This kind of deception alone does not lead anywhere. At least, we must fight against our worst character defects and take active steps to remove them as soon as possible.

When we say "no, never" our minds are closed to the Grace of God. The delay is dangerous and rebellion may be fatal. At this point leave limited objectives and headed to what is God's will for us.

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Step 5. "Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs"

AA Original text adapted to the Community Love

All Twelve Steps of Love Community ask us to go against our natural desires .... all deflate our ego. With regard to ego deflation, few Steps are harder us that the Fifth. But perhaps there is another step necessary to achieve lasting sobriety and peace of mind.

Community Experience has taught us that love can not live alone with our pressing problems and defects character that cause or worsen. If we examined our careers in light of the Fourth Step, and have been lit and highlighted those experiences we would rather not remember if we've come to realize how wrong ideas and actions we have hurt ourselves and others, then the need to stop living alone with the ghosts of the past tormentors is becoming increasingly urgent. We need to talk about them with someone.

However, such is the intensity of our fear and our unwillingness to do that at first many people try to skip the Fifth Step. We seek a more comfortable alternative - which is usually the support, generally and little annoyed, when not dominating ego sometimes were bad actors. So, to riveting, we added a dramatic descriptions of some aspects of our ego that conduct, however, our friends probably already know.

But of the things that really annoy us and make us angry, we say nothing. Certain memories distressing or humiliating, we say, not be shared with anyone. The must keep secret. No one should ever know. We hope to take him to the grave.

However, if the experience of the Community Love helps us anything, this decision not only is it sensible but also very dangerous. Little confused attitudes have caused us more problems than having reservations about the Fifth Step. Some people can not even stay sober for long ego, others will relapse periodically until they can put their houses in order. Even veterans of Love Community sober take many years certain aspects of the ego, often pay a heavy price for having spared no effort in this step. How will attempt to load this burden alone, how much they suffered from irritability, anxiety, remorse and depression, and how, unconsciously seeking relief, sometimes even accusing his best friends from the same defects character that they were trying to hide. I always found they never found relief by confessing the sins of other people. Everyone has to admit theirs.

This habit of recognizing the shortcomings of oneself to another is, of course, very old. Its value has been confirmed in every century, and is characteristic of people who center their lives spiritually and who are truly religious. But today not only religion that advocates for saving principle. Psychiatrists and psychologists emphasize the deep and practical need of every human being to know himself and recognize his defects of personality, and talk of them with a comprehensive and reliable person. As Community members would love further. Most of us would say that without fear, without admitting our faults to another human being, we could not stay sober ego. It seems clear that the grace of God does not enter into our lives to expel our destructive obsessions until we are willing to try.

What can we expect to receive from the Fifth Step?

Among other things, we get rid of that terrible sense of isolation that have always had. Almost without exception, spiritual students are tortured by loneliness. Even before our way of yielding to the impulses of the ego from worsening to the point that others stay away from us, most of us were suffering from the feeling of not fitting in anywhere. Either we were shy and did not dare to approach others, or were likely to be very outgoing, craving attention and companionship, without ever achieved - or at least in our opinion. There was always this mysterious bar that we could not overcome or understand. It was as if we were actors on stage who suddenly realize they can not remember a single line of his papers. This is one reason why we loved so much be driven by our ego. It allowed us to improvise. But even the ego turned against us and we were just defeated in terrifying isolation.

Community

When we love and for the first time in our lives we are among people who seemed to understand the feeling of belonging was tremendously exciting. We thought the isolation problem had been resolved. But we soon discovered that although we were not isolated in the social sense, we were still suffering the pangs of agonizing old insulation. Until I speak with perfect frankness of our conflicts and not hear another doing the same thing, we were still with the feeling not belong. In the fifth step was the solution. It was the beginning of a genuine relationship with God and our neighbors.

Through this vital step, we begin to feel we could be forgiven, no matter what had been our thoughts and our actions. Many times, as we practiced this step with the help of our sponsors or spiritual advisors, for the first time we are able to forgive others, whatever the damage that we thought we had caused. Our moral inventory left us convinced that it was desirable to the general pardon, but until he resolutely undertook the Fifth Step, we do not to know in ourselves that we could receive forgiveness and to grant it.

Another great benefit we can expect from confiding our defects to another person is humility - a word that is often misinterpreted. For those who have made progress in Love Community, amounts to a clear recognition of who we are and who we really are, followed by a sincere effort to become what we can be. Therefore, the first thing to do to move toward the humility to recognize our shortcomings. We can not correct any defect if we do not see clearly. But we have to do something more to do. The objective examination of ourselves that we done in Step Four was only, after all, a review. For example, we all saw that we lacked honesty and tolerance, sometimes we were besieged by attacks from self-pity and delusions of grandeur. However, although this was a humbling experience, not necessarily mean that we had achieved a measure of true humility. Despite having recognized, we still had these defects. Had to do something about it. And soon we realized that neither our desires and our will served, by themselves, to overcome them.

Being more realistic and therefore more honest about us these are the great benefits we enjoy under the influence of the Fifth Step. By making our inventory, we begin to see how many problems we had caused the deception. This caused us a bewildering reflection. If all our lives we had been fooling ourselves, how could we be sure not to keep doing it now? How could we be sure of having made a true catalog of our defects and having recognized frankly, even to ourselves? Since we were still in fear, of self-pity of hurt feelings, it was probable that we could not reach a fair assessment of our real state. Excessive feelings of guilt and remorse could lead to dramatize and exaggerate our shortcomings. Or the anger and hurt pride could be a smokescreen behind which hid some of our shortcomings, while others culpábamos them. It was also possible we were still handicapped by many weaknesses, large and small, did not even know we had.

Therefore, it seemed very obvious to do a solo test ourselves and recognize our shortcomings, based solely on this, it would not be enough. We should have outside help to be sure you know and admit the truth about ourselves - the help of God and another human being. Just to let us know fully and without reservations, only to be willing to listen to advice and accept direction, we could set foot in the way of straight thinking, rigorous honesty, and genuine humility.

However, many of us still hesitating. We said, "Why do not we can tell 'God as we understand' where we turn?" If the Creator was the one who gave us life, He will know in detail where we went wrong. Why not admit our faults directly to him? What We need to mix another person on this issue?.

At this stage, there are two obstacles in our attempt to deal with God as they should. Although it may that we remain astonished to realize that God knew everything about us, you may quickly get used to the idea. For some reason, being alone with God does not seem as embarrassing as his heart to another human being. Until we sit down to talk frankly about what we have so long hidden, our willingness to put our house in order remains a theoretical issue. Being honest with someone else confirms that we are honest with ourselves and with God.

The second obstacle is the following: it is possible that what we hear God say when we are alone is undermined by our own rationalizations and fantasies. The advantage of speaking with another person is that we can hear their immediate feedback and advice regarding our situation, and will not fit any doubt what these tips: In spiritual matters, it is dangerous to do things alone. How many times have we heard well-meaning people say that they had received guidance from God, when in fact it was very obvious that they were totally wrong. Lack of practice and humility, had misled them themselves, and could justify the most absurd nonsense, maintaining that this was what God had said. It is worth noting that people who have achieved a spiritual development almost always insist on confirming with friends and spiritual advisers the guidance they believe they have received from God. Clearly, then, that a beginner should not be exposed to the risk of making silly mistakes and perhaps tragic in this sense. Although the comments and advice of other people do not have to be infallible, are likely to be much more specific than any direct guidance we may receive while we have so little experience in making contact with a Higher Power within us themselves.

Our next problem is to discover the person in whom we will trust. This we must do it carefully, bearing in mind that prudence is a virtue very precious. Maybe we have to communicate to this person some facts of our life that no one else should know. It will be convenient to talk with an experienced person, who not only has remained sober, but has also been able to overcome serious difficulties. Difficulties, perhaps similar to ours. It may happen that this person will be our sponsor, but need not be so. If you got to have great confidence in him, and his temperament and their problems are similar to yours, then be a good choice. In addition, your sponsor and has the advantage of knowing something about your story.

However, it may be that your relationship with him is of a nature to want to reveal only a part of your history. If this is the case, do not hesitate to do it, because you make a start as soon as possible. However, it may be another person you choose to entrust the deeper revelations and more difficult. It may be that this guy is totally alien to the Community Love - for example, your confessor or your pastor or doctor. For some of us, a complete stranger may be the best.

What really matters is

your willingness to trust another person and the total trust you place in the one with whom you share your first inventory honest and thorough. Even after finding that person, often requires a high resolution to approach him or her. Let no one say that the Love Community program requires no willpower, this situation may require all you have. Fortunately, it is likely to come across a pleasant surprise. When you've carefully explained your intention and the repository of your trust to see what can be truly useful, I find it easy to start converting, and will soon be very busy. It is likely that the person who hears you did not take long to tell a few stories about himself, which will make you feel even more comfortable. Provided they do not hide anything, every minute you will leave feeling more relieved. The emotions have been repressed for so many years come to light and, once lit, miraculously vanish. According to the pain disappear, replaces a quiet healing. And when humility and serenity are combined in this way, you probably think of something of great significance. Many AA, which were once agnostic or atheist, tell us that at this stage of Step Five first felt God's presence. And even those who had already had faith, often manage to have a conscious contact with God more deeply than ever.

This sense of oneness with God and man, this out of isolation to share openly and honestly the terrible burden of our guilt, leads to a resting point where we can prepare to take the next steps to complete sobriety and meaningful.