Fifth, the person admits his or her faults to the higher power and to others, usually through the group meetings of the twelve-step program. The sixth step simply asks the person to "become ready" to release the "defects of character" discovered through Step Four, while the seventh step entails humbly petitioning the higher power to remove the defects of character. Step Eight is similar to Step Four: the person makes another inventory, this time a list of persons he or she had wronged in the past. Included in step eight also is becoming willing to make amends to those people listed. While working through step nine the person actually makes amends, except in extreme circumstances when to do so would cause the other harm. In other words, making amends should not be done out of self-interest but out of a genuine need for forgiveness. Tenth, the individual commits to a continual self-evaluation that will in all likelihood last throughout the person's life. The eleventh step underscores the spiritual backbone of the twelve steps, referring to the need to use regular prayer and meditation as tools to maintain "conscious contact" with the higher power. The twelfth and final step refers to the program itself: the person commits to helping others through sharing and...
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