Edition Delayed

I've been worrying about getting the next edition of Steppers' Wisdom out on time. It's not going to happen. I have too much going on in my own life to put it all together - thus I am extending the deadline to submit posts to four weeks from now - to September 13th. I will put up the next edition on September fifteenth.

This edition is still in need of posts - please consider submitting any twelve-step related post you have written - up to five per blogger. If you come across a good post on another blog, mention the Steppers' Wisdom Blog Carnival. There is no advertising in twelve step programs, so this resource can only find its way to those who need it through word of mouth - that's your words.

I anticipate your patience and generosity, and thank you in advance

~Shen

Submissions for the Fifth Edition Now Being Accepted

The next edition of Steppers' Wisdom will be posted right here on Monday August 15th, 2011. Submissions will be accepted through August 12th.

Each carnival posted thus far has been better and more informative than the last. That is completely due to the amazing writing out there in blogland and readers who have thought to suggest their inclusion. Some of this is just too good to let it fall into obscurity! Let's share the wealth of knowledge and growth our hard work has brought us.

You can submit an origianl blog post about any aspect of twelve-step recovery by following THIS LINK or you can go directly to the blog carnival home page and find Steppers' Wisdom there. You can also suggest a blog post you've come across by leaving the link in the comments below, and I will then ask the blogger if they would like to be included.

Please do not submit anything you have not written yourself unless you have the explicit consent of the original author.

Thank you!

Steppers' Wisdom Blog Carnival: Fourth Edition

Steppers' Wisdom Blog Carnival #

Welcome to the May 15, 2011 edition of stepper's wisdom. I hope you have time to sample each entry because this is the best collection of recovery related posts we've had, yet.

I'm going to start with a few posts by returning blogger Kathy M. at Grace Was Calling and I Didn't Pick Up.
Kathy is a professional writer and an avid advocate of twelve-step recovery.

What the Grand Canyon Taught Me about Recovery offers true-life wisdom from Kathy's recent experiences on a writing assignment.

In Cunning, Baffling Kathy talks about the far-reaching aspects of Alcoholism.

Apples to Oranges is another great post, which speaks to being who we are and accepting ourselves and others.

The title of that last post leads in nicely to one on my blog, Reunited Selves. My post is entitled Oranges at the Hardware Store? I wrote this based on something I heard at a recent CoDA meeting. The concept brought me to a new understanding of acceptance.

A reader discovered THIS POST which was written by Martha Rosenburg, and shared it with me. In my opinion, this interview with Melodie Beattie is a must-read, so I'm sharing it with you.

How Can Recovery Addiction Work?  is one stepper's summation of the value of recovery. It comes from the Sex-Addiction-Symptoms website.

Relationship issues are the primary focus of Codependents Anonymous. While this post is not strictly a twelve step post, Katie from  Blended Family - An Ex Perspective  gives a perspective which is well worth examining. Please enjoy Blending Ex's... Stick that in your Cuisinart.

Returning blogger Sean Burrows submitted four posts this quarter. In his blog, Upgrade Complete, Sean shares his common-sense approach to many recovery-related issues.

About A Simple Way to Improve Your Day, Sean says, "...a very simple, yet powerful way you can improve your day right from the very moment you wake up."

He says,  "Each and every day presents new opportunities to grow and add positivity to the universe. What happened yesterday, or what may happen tomorrow is completely irrelevant to what you can do TODAY." in
 25 Ways to Empower Yourself on This Day.

Sean also presents 3 Tips to Help Overcome Impatience, saying, "The past couple weeks have been testing my patience in a lot of ways. Especially when it comes to working on the Internet. You want so bad to see the results of your hard work, but those results are taking longer than you want it too."

And finally, he gives us Dealing With Setbacks. "Let’s face it, setbacks suck. You’re happily moving along with your life, when something unexpected happens that completely takes you off track."

The following post really spoke to me. It's from the Inner Bonding Website, which is run by two therapists who deal with a lot of relationship issues. In Trying to Control Makes Us Miserable, Dr. Margaret Paul brings clarifies the crux of codependency, which many people believe to be the underlying issue behind all addictions.

Returning blogger Dawn Saros-Kirk presents her take on Step One posted at Megwetch, Gitchie Manito

And newcomer Debbie Owen presents How to Bring About Sustainable Change posted at Online Doctorate Degree.

Finally, here is another post from my own blog, Reunited Selves. This post covers my feelings about something a friend and mentor of mine, Ilene Wolf, wrote on her website, HEAL (Healing Emotionally Abused Lives). I believe the title of the post, More on Unconditional Love and Boundaries, is pretty self-explanatory.

That's it for this edition! Thank you to all who suggested and submitted posts to this quarter's carnival. This is the fullest and most on target Steppers' Wisdom to date and I couldn't have done it without you.

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The next edition of the Steppers' Wisdom Blog Carnival will be August 15th, 2011. I will be excepting submissions, soon. As always, you can submit by going directly to the Blog Carnival Website (search keyword "SteppersWisdom") or you can follow the link on the sidebar to the right of this post.

Steppers' Wisdom Vollume Three

Welcome to the third edition of the
 Stepper's Wisdom Blog Carnival

I know you'll find something to stir you're personal growth in the following submitted articles. I'm very excited to have some new bloggers to add to the mix, in this edition, but at the same time I am a little discouraged... I will explain that at the end of this post.

I'm going to start with a blog called what-is-Personal-Growth.com, and a prolific blogger named Sean Burrows. Sean submitted several articles. The first one I want to include is
 "Ten Benefits of Quitting Marijuana" 

This is his personal story of the improvements he's noticed in his life. 

In his article entitled

"How to Overcome All Types of Addictions" 

Sean outlines eight phases to personal growth.

Sean also gives some easy steps to self-soothing in

"How to Stay Calm and Relaxed When Feeling Angry."

Moving on to a blog simply called Carole Gold, you'll find a post entitled

 "Out of Control"

In this post, Carole talks about an issue common to those in twelve step programs.

Just like the words of the Serenity Prayer indicate, we all need to figure out

which things are within our control and which things aren't.

Get ready for an extremely honest account of one woman's struggle with alcoholism.

The blog is called, "Megwetch, Gitchie Manito" and the post is entitled:

 "My Love Affair."

At "Spritual Wisdom for Conscious People" Erin Pavlova writes:

"Fill Your Gas Tank"

a post about a common codependent trait - giving until it hurts.

And, finally, from my blog, Reunited Selves, 

"This Changes Everything"

a post about my process of learning healthy boundaries.   

There you have it - some very worthwhile reads on a variety of topics common to many of us. I hope you found something of value here, just as I did.

And - since we do have such wonderful entries, why would I feel discouraged? The reason is in the twelfth step:

Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message and to practice these principles in all our affairs. 

Step twelve is about sharing what we've learned in recovery. While all of these articles deal with issues common to those of us working the steps, very few come from bloggers who directly focus on step work. I've personally read dozens of blogs in which the main focus is twelve step recovery. That kind of experience strength and hope is exactly why I started this carnival in the first place.

Well over half of the people who pop in to read the posts here are "new visiters" (according to the log) and most of those go on to follow the links. Those who have been working their way through the steps have incredible wisdom to share with those who are just beginning their journey through recovery. I long to be able to include YOUR amazing articles, but I can't do that unless you submit.

The next edition of Stepper's Wisdom Blog Carnival will be released May 15th.
Submissions to that carnival are being accepted any time between now and May 10th.

Thank you to all of you who submitted to this carnival!

 I hope to see you again in the Spring.

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Steppers' Wisdom Second Edition

Welcome to the second edition of the
Steppers' Wisdom Blog Carnival!

We are lucky to have entries from several new blogs as well as some returning bloggers. Once again, the submissions covered a broad range of topics, styles and issues.. I'm confident readers and subscribers can find something helpful in the links below.

(To view the first edition of this carnival, click here)

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To begin with, here are two great posts by returning blogger Patricia Singleton. Everything I've seen at Patricia's blog, Spiritual Journey of a Lightworker, has been worth reading. Enjoy the following submissions:

In Let Go and Let God Patricia writes about Al-Anon and the well known twelve step slogan.

In There's a Hole in My Sidewalk Patricia covers a Portia Nelson Poem that speaks to any kind of recovery.

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The next post I'd like to include is one for which I can thank my sponsor. When I was doing my third step, she asked me a question that really got me to thinking. Click here to read "89,000" and contemplate this!

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Intimacy: Do it Afraid  is a really remarkable post that I am very happy to be able to include. I believe people in recovery of any kind can run into issues with intimacy.  In this post by psychologist Melissa Greene at Get to the Inside there are several simple and concrete examples of how one can begin to find intimacy in their most personal relationships. Take time to browse this website, if you can. There are many great finds within its pages.

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The next two posts deal with the first days of recovery:

Click here to read "Day Zero" from Jenny Menthol at Hey Man, Now You're Really Living. This submission is about the realization that there is more to life than addiction and avoidance.

Click here  to read "Learning about Codependency" at Reunited Selves. This post is about my realization that I really did fit into one of the twelve step programs.

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Finally, here are two more posts which touch on topics close to the heart of recovery for many of us.

In another post by Jenny Menthol, Trying Out Anger Management is a sometimes humorous account of anger and some ways to deal with it.

At Spiritual Wisdom for Conscious People, Erin Pavlina tells us about goals and achievement in her post entitled Believe It and Achieve It.

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That's it! Thank you to all who submitted this time around. I feel grateful to be able to run this carnival. Through this forum I've come to know several knew bloggers and all of them have a message worth reading.

This is a growing carnival and I hope to have even more submissions to choose from in the third edition,  which is due to come out in February.  If you are a blogger and you have written anything related to your twelve step recovery, please consider submitting a post for the next edition of Steppers' Wisdom. It doesn't have to be a new post, only an original post covering a topic twelve steppers might find helpful.

There is so much in blogland related to recovery. Some of the best, most informative and most interesting reads are yet to be discovered! If come across a post that would benefit this carnival, please let the author know about Steppers' Wisdom.

There were a few submitted posts that didn't quite fit the perameters of this carnival. If your submitted post was not accepted, please don't let it discourage you from submitting in the future. Any topic related to twelve step recovery would be welcomed.

Step Up to Steppers Wisdom

The deadline for submissions to the next edition of the Steppers' Wisdom Blog Carnival is coming up!

The second issue of Steppers' Wisdom is due to be released November 15th, 2010. If you would like to be part of this growing blog carnival, please have your submissions in by November 1st. There is a link to the submission page at the top of the sidebar.

Submissions can be about any aspect of any twelve step program.  Feel free to submit several or your own, original blog posts. Also, if you come across a post that you feel would add to the carnival, please let the author know about Steppers' Wisdom.

Sharing experience, strength and hope is key to personal growth. The more accessable these blog posts are, the better for everyone! I look forward to reading and putting up a link to your blog posts next month.

~Shen

Finding Strength and Hope in the Twelve Steps: The First Edition of Steppers' Wisdom

I am very happy with the the turn out for this very first edition of the Steppers Wisdom Blog Carnival. These kick-off posts include a broad range of styles, programs and issues and offer readers and subscribers to this carnival a wonderful array of information, strength and hope.

Several of the submitted posts address issues common to newcomers. I'm going to start out with three posts addressing the "God Question".

Our first entry was submitted by Recovering, creator of Stumbling Alcoholic , a blog about his experiences in AA. In a post entitled "Step 2" he describes his path to defining God.

Katie, at Sharing Our Spaces. wrote a post she simply called "12 step programs". This post addresses issues she's had with various twelve step programs, as well as the reasons she has not been able to work the steps, so far.

And Redefining God, is from my own blog, Reunited Selves.  It was written when I was trying to create and internalize a workable concept of my Higher Power.
 
Other posts that could be very helpful to newcomers include this one from Dan Hays. Dan is the author of the book, "Freedom's Just Another Word" and of a blog called Thoughts Along the Road to Healing. Both are full of insightful remembrances of his family-of-origin issues and his healing journey.  His submission, "Upon the New Year"  is a poem he wrote when he was first working the twelve steps.

Step Zero is a post written early in my CoDA recovery. It talks about getting ready for the first step.

I was thrilled to receive a submission from Patricia Singleton. Her blog, Spiritual Journey of a Lightworker, is an intuitive and perceptive account of her courageous work towards healing from childhood abuse. Please take the time to check out her post,  Al-Anon and ACoA Played Major Roles In My Recovery From Incest .

Another author graces us with her presense in this first edition of Steppers Wisdom. Kathy M's entire blog, Grace was Calling and I Didn't Pick Up, is dedicated to twelve step recovery. I've gained a lot of understanding from reading Kathy's blog, which focuses on Al-Anon, and am very glad she decided to share the following five posts, each with her particular flavor and style.

Standing on Ceremony  is about looking at our lives and ourselves in a new light.

In Thanks a Lot, Kathy talks about sponsorship.

Kathy gives a great explanation and example of why holding resentments can be a big problem in When Someone Else is My Problem.

Two Windows on My Life is about seeing progress... and so much more.

And the final post from Kathy, Seeing Green  is about an issue near and dear to me... well, near anyway. Like any good codependent, controll and manipulation are facets of my life I need to continually address.

What Motivates You, from my blog, runs along a similar vein.

While not specifically about twelve step programs, this list of blogs, submitted by Brown Sylvia, could be helpful for anyone who is challenged with food addictions.

Finally, here is one more post from my blog, Reunited Selves. The title DID and the Fifth Step explains it all.
Thank you to the bloggers who submitted to this carnival. All of you have so much experience, strength and hope to share with the world, your contributions are very worthwhile. These posts, filled with twelve-step wisdom, are offered to everyone in need of support and answers. I can imagine many new doors of understanding and growth opening as the following of this carnival continues to grow.

Please, spread the word!

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The next edition of the Steppers Wisdom Blog Carnival will be posted right here, November 15, 2010. Feel free to submit articles pertaining to twelve step work and programs, using the link at the top of the sidebar.

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Stepper's Wisdom Blog Carnival

Welcome to the homepage of the Stepper’s Wisdom Blog Carnival!

Millions of people all over the world have found help and peace in twelve-step programs. While we may struggle with the day-to-day issues that brought us into our programs, we each have wisdom to share about the growth and hope we've found.

Blogging is a wonderful way to say what we need to say, as well as to hear what we didn't even know we needed to hear. Blog Carnivals are a great way to find out what's out there in blogland, just waiting for us. So, imagine my surprise when I went to the Blog Carnival List and could not find one Blog Carnival dedicated to twelve-step recovery! To me, it seems the Stepper's Wisdom Blog Carnival is long overdue!

Right now, there is someone out there who needs to hear what you have to say. This quarterly compilation of posts is dedicated to promoting healing and recovery through sharing experience, strength and hope. If you have written a post about your twelve-step experience, please feel free to submit it to our next Carnival.

To submit a post, click here.

The first edition is posted here.
The second edition will be posted on November 15th, 2010
Submission deadline for the next edition is November 10th.

Contact me if you would like a link to your blog posted here.
Comments, questions and suggestions are welcome!

Spread the word! If you come across a post written about a twelve-step experience, please let the author know about this carnival. Feel free to post a link to this blog on your web page.