On Second Thought, 12 Steps May Be Too Many

In a prior post, 12 Steps for Recovering Materialists, I made my own version of the 12-step program created by Alcoholics Anonymous. On further reflection, it occurred to me that there was some duplication and that therefore some of the steps could be consolidated. So here's the second draft:

1. We admitted that we did not have control over our lives. What we thought we were doing of our own free will was actually driven by our desires, impulses and beliefs, most of which came from our genes or environment.


2. We decided to take seriously the idea that there was something out there besides the physical universe as we knew it.


3. We resolved to devote our lives toward personal experience of this Something Else (hereinafter referred to as "God").


4. We affirmed to God that we were willing to have a different perception of the world around us.


5. We corrected any deficiencies that were in our power to correct, that resulted from our limited perception.


6. We sought through meditation and study to experience God and perceive our world differently.


7. Having direct experience of God, and having perceived the world differently, we strove to spread the message to materialists everywhere, and to improve our lives with the knowledge gained.

I'm sure that this list will change at least once more. What I said before about the "Something Else" and the support groups still stands.