Steps to the Spirit

Chuck Lutz
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Steps to the spirit is about my search for, discovery of, and use of the Spirit to live my life according to the wishes and plans of God. I also call them gifts from God because I believe He has given us these tools to enable us to find a closer relationship with Him. I invite you to join me in this quest that is at times both difficult and extremely fulfilling. I will try to explain how and why it became necessary to surrender, thus enabling me to begin to live according to God's plan.I will post additional info on my blog: http://www.StepsToTheSpirit.com/blog To contact me, please use: Chuck@stepstothespirit.com

  1. 10h ago

    The 12 Step Program - Step 12 (Part 6)

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode I want to speak about the final phrase in step 12 which is, in all our affairs. To be consistent, here is the step with the underlined phrase that we will be speaking about: Having had a spiritual experience as a result of this course of action, we try to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. Basically, what we are saying is that this step does not have an on/off switch The step suggests that not just when possible, or when we feel like it, that we carry the message,or practice these principles. From the time I wake up in the morning, until I go to bed at night, I am working this 12th step and see if my life depended on it. Basically, I am talking about a new way of life.   NOTE: This episode, for some reason, did not get posted. It is part number six of the 12 step. I was in a quandary as to what to do. I decided to post it after part number seven because it really will stand on its own. In the next episode I will start a series about my spiritual jo during my experience with the 12 steps. Thank you! You may ask, “When did I decide on this new way of life?” Well, if you have been doing these steps, you made that decision in the third step. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God. Once again, in this decision, I have not made any reservations that say I will turn things over to God when it’s convenient for me. It doesn’t say that if I am making a business deal that may not be best for all of my employees, I can turn off this 12th step mandate until the deal is over. Then I can turn it back on for lunch and the afternoon schedule. That night I can work with my buddy rationalization,, and tell myself how well I am working the program. Sorry, it just does not work like that. What this program is telling me is that I cannot use it only when it is convenient for me. It is definitely a way of life, and I must fit my former lifestyle into the template forms by these 12 steps.

  2. Sep 27

    The 12 Step Program - Step 12 (Part 7)

    Send us Fan Mail For this episode, I'm not going to be putting much here in the way of description. This is mostly because this episode is going to be a rehash and overall talk about step number 12. This part seven (I can't believe I'm writing that) of step number 12. I never thought I would be doing 12 I never thought I would be doing seven parts to anything, no less one of the steps. However, the more I think about the 12th step the more I realize how important it is. As a matter of fact, I think I've told you that I am in the process of writing another book. This book is a redo of a book I wrote a few years ago and totally mucked it up. This new book, also called, Steps to the Spirit, will have three chapters devoted to one step. You guessed it, step 12!   All of the other steps in the book are split into two chapters each, except for steps six and seven. Only step 12 is three chapters long. So, this episode will and this series on the 12 steps. I will redo the 12 steps at some point because, after all, they are the main theme of what this podcast is all about. Even when I podcast about other things like the Oxford Group or the Promises of the serenity Prayer, it is still about the 12 step program.   I've been trying to think about the next podcast or group of podcasts and what they will be about. I would like to do a series on my spiritual preferences, and how they jive with my 12-step program. so, that’s how we will start episode number 40. See you then.

  3. Sep 13

    The 12 Step Program - Step 12 (Part 5)

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode I will continue to speak about the 12th  step. This is the fifth part or episode about the 12th step and there will be one more part. I have never done six parts to any topic in the past, so I am thinking that this 12th step has become very important to me. The part of the step I am referring to is underlined below: Having had a spiritual experience as a result of this course of action, we try to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. As you can see, I will be talking about these principles. Now, I do not often do this, but I thought it would be helpful to get some definitions from Gemini AI and Google. This first definition is an overview of what these principles are.          The principles referred to in the 12th step of a 12-step program are the spiritual and moral values embodied throughout all the preceding eleven steps. Each of the twelve steps corresponds to a core spiritual principle or virtue. When Step 12 mentions practicing "these principles," it refers to the entire cumulative set in my book, Gifts Fom God, I used similar attributes to each step, although not the same. However, these are the core principles that we have, (hopefully), both learned and absorbed into our personality. This is how those gifts are described by Google’s Gemini: •  Step 1: Honesty •  Step 2: Hope •  Step 3: Faith / Surrender • Step 4: Courage •  Step 5: Integrity •  Step 6: Willingness •  Step 7: Humility •  Step 8: Brotherly Love / Self-discipline •  Step 9: Justice / Love •  Step 10: Perseverance •  Step 11: Spiritual Awareness / Meditation •  Step 12: Service  Although these are not quite the same as my list of gifts, they are close enough. One thing I would like to remind you about is that both of the lists are really directly related to the Oxford Group’s spiritual principles.   I really think there is not much more to say other than suggest that you look at this list and think about how you are living your life according to it. Personally, I seem to fall short of these high ideals a lot of the time. That doesn’t matter! The point is that I’m really trying my best to apply them to my life. This 12th step, when we really understand what it means, certainly gives us high goals and standards by which to live our lives. However, they are also spiritual goals that, when achieved, (and even then as we are working on them), leads us to our way of life that is second to none.

  4. Sep 6

    The 12 Step Program - Step 12 (Part 4)

    Send us Fan Mail In this fourth part of my discussion about step number 12, I would like to focus on the phrase “to others”. As a reminder step number 12: Having had a spiritual experience as a result of this course of action, we try to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. For the moment, if you happen to be in an open meeting, and do not suffer from a problem with alcohol, I would like to forget the phrase in the 12 step, to alcoholics. New strips were originally written by Bill W., 12th step said, “to others”. I believe that God, when he ensured his steps would reach the ears of ordinary people, meant for them to reach the ears of all people. Much of these 12 steps was taken directly from the words and ideas of the Oxford Group. And, the Oxford Group, (although they were primarily concerned with the Christian faith), would never have differentiated amongst alcoholics, over users, substance abusers, etc. All would have been welcomed. All would have had the same goal which, in simple terms, which have been to get right with God. However, when Bill Wilson broke from the Oxford Group, he did it because he knew alcoholics. He knew that a particular religion, or even some religious thinking, could not be forced upon, nor accepted by, alcoholics. So he decided, in this case, to go the easier, softer way. He wanted the alcoholic to not feel pressure in any particular discipline. He hoped that they would be concerned mostly with the 12-Step program, and include God, (whatever they conceived God to be), in their program. I’m sure that many of the other 12-step members felt the same way. Hence, this change in the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 steps from “others” to “alcoholics”. So, if you have problems in any area of your life other than or even including, alcohol, I urge you to ignore the word alcoholics in the current 12 steps and remember that the original 12 step said “others”. This means everyone, and that to the 12 step program applies to, everyone!

  5. Aug 30

    The 12 Step Program - Step 12 (Part 3)

    Send us Fan Mail In part number three of this 12th step, I will be speaking about the phrase “carry the message”. In order to help some of you, here is the 12th step in its entirety: Having had a spiritual experience as a result of this course of action, we try to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. I am truly sorry to be so repetitive, but it seems I want to tell you why I am using this version of the 12 steps. I use, for the purposes of all my writing about the straps in the 12-step program, the version of the steps that was published in the first edition of the book Alcoholics Anonymous. I do not use it only because, as far as I know, it is copyright free, but because I really like and agree with this version of the steps. Better So, many folks in the program, especially those we refer to as “old-timers”, will lead you to believe that carrying the message is what the 12 step program is all about. I am here to tell you that in my estimation that is not true at all. The purpose of the 12 step program, as I believe it was given to us through the influence of God, is for each of us to discover a new way of life; a way of life that has God as its center. It is my personal belief that this program revolves around the third, versus the 12 steps. This The 12th step, and all it entails, especially carrying the message is here for two reasons. The first case is to keep ourselves in check, and to make sure we are living this new way of life. The second is equally important and that those who have come before us and realized that one of the best ways of living this new way of life is to share what we have gained from it with others.  Carrying the message is not the main activity of those who are involved in a 12-step program, but it is seriously necessary to preserve that spiritual knowledge that we have gained. It is also strongly suggested in order to keep what we have gained from the program by sharing this knowledge with others. What is the message, you may ask? Well, it is sharing these 12 steps with others while letting them know that by turning to their Higher Power, they can repair the wreckage of their past and embark on a new way of life. Better Who is it that shares this way of life? Part of the answer is given in the 12th step itself. Things like, “having had a spiritual experience as a result of this course of action”, or “trying to, practice these principles in all their affairs,”, are certainly good indications that one is ready to carry the message. I personally believe that those who were considered “changed” In the Old Oxford Group, were a good example of those who may be ready to “carry the message”. Remember however, those who do carry the message do so effectively because of that which has come into their hearts, not their heads.

  6. Aug 16

    The 12 Step Program - Step 12 (Part 1)

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode I will be speaking about one of my favorite steps. I have been doing step 12 for many years, first as I was a part of the 12 step program, and now just about all of my 12-step work is done via my podcast and my writing. It is certainly not quite as fulfilling as “going out in the field”, so to speak, I’m actually sharing my experience, strength and hope with a fellow sufferer. –In this episode I would like to speak about the first part of this 12th step. First, let me remind you about what the 12th step is please remember that the step I am quoting here is from the original edition of what is commonly called the Big Book. It is the first edition of the book titled, Alcoholics Anonymous. The original 12 steps were a bit different than those that you see on the walls of the meeting rooms today. Personally, I like to original of the 12 steps. There are actually three changes to this 12th step. The first change that we will be dealing with in this episode, is the change of the phrase spiritual experience, to spiritual awakening. I have also personalized the 12 steps in my version. The original producers of the 12-steps were explaining what they did to stay sober. So there steps contain the pronouns we, and us. I have changed the pronouns to the first person, i.e. I, me, and my. Section just that by doing this, the f program seems more personal to me. So, the first step is: “Having had a spiritual experience as a result of this course of action, I try to carry this message to others, and practice these principles in all my affairs.” The underlined parts are those that I would like to discuss the parts of this step. As you can see, I really have a lot to speak about concerning this 12th step. As a matter of fact, this step will have more parts than any of the other step episodes. At this point in time, I believe there will be six parts. This first part I am going to use just as a sort of precursor. I would like to explain the importance of the 12th step, as well as his origin in the Oxford Group. I hope you will find interesting. I’ve spoken extensively on the influences that the Oxford group had on the 12-steps I really haven’t said much about the influence that the Oxford group had on the 12th step. If you were a member of the Oxford group, you needed to be changed before giving witness to the events that happened in your life. When comparing this to the 12 step program, this would mean that a person would have to come complete all of the steps, up to and including step number nine, before they could be allowed to witness about their experiences. I realize that there are no rigid rules or mandates in the 12-step programs, but, being human, I often wish that persons in the 12- step programs could somehow be screened before making twelve-step calls. As you know, from hearing these podcasts, that I am absolutely certain that these 12 steps have been given to us from God, (in some way) and that we need to surrender our physical selves to God as part of our recovery. These are some of the things that I will be speaking about in this episode. I believe two things about this episode. 1 it is important to understand the origins of our 12 steps. 2. This is a spiritual program given to us through God.

  7. Aug 9

    The 12 Step Program - Step 11 (Part 3)

    Send us Fan Mail As a reminder, step 11 is: I sought through prayer and meditation to improve my contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for me and the power to carry that out. Well that was quick So, today I want to talk about the part of the 11th step that I’ve underlined. The first part of this step is about using prayer and/or meditation in order to dis cover what God’s will is for us. I mentioned, in the first part of this step, that over the years in which I’ve been taking these steps as a way of life, my prayer is not active, so to speak, but more of an act of listening. In this framework, I have learned that setting a specific time for my prayer is not necessary. The relationship that I have with God is both ongoing and constant. I don’t know how many times I connect my thought of God’s will in my day-to-day life. (Maybe I should have a clicker in my pocket and use it every time I think of God during the day.) Oh well, I would probably forget at the time.   I do, however, talk to and listen for God quite a bit. As I said before, most of my talking to God is not what we would call traditional prayer. It is 99.9% thanking God for something or another that I realize God gave me the power to do. This is where the part of the 11th step comes in, the power to carry that out. Exactly where do we get this power from? Usually unbeknown to us, we have never been without this power. Fortunately, I am reminded of this power that is given to me by God in the 2nd step. This is: I came to believe that a power greater than myself could restore me to sanity. Notice it doesn’t say I’ll get this power after I do “X” amount of steps, nor does it say after the “X” step. It doesn’t say those things because each and every one of us has had the power available to us forever. It is not a question of getting the power. What I needed to do was to become aware of the power.   Once again, this step is not say that we should ask God to give us the power. The step asks us to remember that we have this knowledge of all of the gifts that God has given us. The problem is that I humanity is so strong that it overrides or overshadows these gifts. We think that our humanity is the most important thing that we have to work with. This is wrong. The most important thing I have to work with is my spirit and the fact that God dwells within me, within you, yes, within everyone.

  8. Aug 2

    The 12 Step Program - Step 11 (Part 2

    Send us Fan Mail Today I would like to talk about step 11, and what I would call the second part. What I consider to be the second part is: praying only for knowledge of His will for us. Next episode we will deal with part three which is, you guessed it, the power to carry that out. So, last week I pretty much told you about my praying habits. I told you that my praying really has nothing to do with speaking to God. For me this is pretty much a misnomer because the word “praying” I think, indicates a back and forth conversation. I don’t have that. I really try to keep my mouth shut when I am in a prayer mode and listen for what my spirit/God has to say to me. I really want you to know that I don’t “hear” anything. I know there are people out there who seem to be a channel for God or Jesus, or what have you, but I am not one of them. My prayer to God is one of listening. I feel as though any response that I get as a result of this prayer is one that is intuitive. As I have often said, I believe that God is within myself as well as within everyone else. When I say everyone else I mean mostly four categories of people. There are those who say they absolutely do not believe there is a “God”. These are of course the atheists. The next group I would refer to as those who are unsure and cannot seem to make a definite decision as to whether God exists or not. These people we refer to as agnostics. The third group, (which I believe is the largest of the four groups), are those referred to as believers. I do not feel it matters what religion or denomination these people are in. The thing is that they mostly seem to worship a God that is outside of themselves. Granted, there are some non-dualistic folks who, of course, she God as one substance or to those of us in the fourth group one thing of which they are part. These folks are actually close (in a way), to those of us in the fourth group. The fourth group are folks who believe in a God that is a very personal God, one that is sensed as being an inch frantic part of oneself. I believe this fourth group to be the smallest of the groups, probably composed of 2% to 4% of our population. These are people who have decided to turn their lives over to God. They realize that, ultimately, their existence is one that is at the pleasure of God, as well as our correct use of His gift to us of free wil. L. We are those who choose to listen for God’s direction in our lives. We are not perfect! However, we strive for spiritual perfection. For me, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for me, means listening for inspiration from God. It means to follow God’s direction now, every second, every hour, and every year, until we passed from this earth, and beyond. I further believe that once I have said the eternal, wonderful “yes” to God, I am Hers/His forever. I will not be a creature that offends God. I will be a creature that belongs to God in every sense of the word. My humanity will necessarily keep me from being perfect. However, I will try my best to avoid allowing my humanity to have its way.

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About

Steps to the spirit is about my search for, discovery of, and use of the Spirit to live my life according to the wishes and plans of God. I also call them gifts from God because I believe He has given us these tools to enable us to find a closer relationship with Him. I invite you to join me in this quest that is at times both difficult and extremely fulfilling. I will try to explain how and why it became necessary to surrender, thus enabling me to begin to live according to God's plan.I will post additional info on my blog: http://www.StepsToTheSpirit.com/blog To contact me, please use: Chuck@stepstothespirit.com

Information

  • Creator
    Chuck Lutz
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    283
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 C. F. Lutz (steps To The Spirit}
  • Show Website
    Steps to the Spirit