Join Joe McDonald as he reads and expands on the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, offering deeper understanding and practical advice for those on their recovery journey. In Steps 5, 6, and 7, we begin to see that our experience of the world is a reflection of our inner state. The founders of AA understood that it’s not the world that shapes our thoughts and feelings, but our internal responses that shape how we see the world. This is the foundation of spiritual growth: recognizing that when we feel disconnected or powerless, it’s because we’ve lost our connection with a higher power.

In the Big Book, we’re guided to take a fearless moral inventory in Step 4, but it’s in Steps 5, 6, and 7 that we admit our shortcomings, become willing to let them go, and humbly ask God to remove them. These steps are crucial to clearing the wreckage  ...