Endigar 913
Step Four: “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.”
4th Step Principle: The most powerful act of strength in my life is to appraise my internal stock and find what is productive and what is predatory, what is connective and what is isolating, what is animal impulse and what is high intelligence and then become willing to assume responsibility for where it has been destructive and where it offers me greater freedom. (Principles after the First Step are constructed from personal reflection and acceptance. Use my version or formulate your own.)
AA Extracted Value: Courage
ACA Extracted Values: Self-honesty & Courage
Other Extracted Values: Responsibility
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“No one in A.A. ever told me to take the cotton out of my ears and put it in my mouth, but I understood the implication of the advice. For months I barely uttered more than my name at an A.A. meeting, but I paid close attention to what other members said. There were no distractions. My cell phone was off; I had no side conversations while others were speaking, and I took pen and paper to jot down key points. I stayed after meetings and spoke with newcomers and oldtimers alike, mostly asking them how I could make it through the rest of the day without drinking.
~ Practice These Principles by Alex M.
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I can remember when I started bringing paper with me, tucked away in my Big Book, so that I could remember what had been shared in the meetings. Just the act of writing it down seems to mark it in my brain as something important to remember. And those old scraps of paper provide ideas to review when I get stuck in the morbid self-reflection of isolated rumination.
I think it is also important to share at meetings if I am needing connection, or if I am being overwhelmed by the squirrels in my head and I need the light of the collective mind to scatter those obsessive thoughts.
Balance.
Daily Reprieve 
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