"Beyond the 12 Steps"
List of Articles



The pages in this section of the site were created by a man known as Zentai to the online recovery community. He spent many years in Japan studying Zen, and even in recent years prior to his death in 2005, returned there periodically. He was a clinical psychologist who dealt primarily with addictions in his business life, incorporating a great deal of what he had learned "over there" into his efforts -----over here. You will see from his writings just how applicable a great deal of that actually is. And indeed that perhaps was his great passion, trying to "translate" both the Zen teaching and raison d'être into palatable, and transformative form for an alcoholic/addict. The pages that will be posted here are his works and his views on the subjects as he saw it, and backed up in most cases by public material throughout the world of recovery.

Zentai administered a closed recovery group on MSN containing these works until his passing in 2005 and the group site was kept open and run by a few of his assistants and friends in recovery. The group migrated to Multiply after the closing of MSN, but the support did not follow them to the new network and the managers have decided to close down that site. This material has been kept in closed groups and not made public until now. The people having the copyrights to this material have given me permission to publish this content on this site to give folks in recovery a deeper look into recovery .............. "Beyond the 12 Steps".

When I first got into recovery I became a member of that group and had brief email contact with Zentai. At the time I was new to recovery, new to the 12 step programs, and the subject matter was "over my head" and I wasn't able to comprehend the extent to which it entails. I feel that I am now at a point in my recovery to move forward at this time. I haven't read enough of the vast content to know to where it might lead, but having read and edited for publishing the first three topics and knowing the topics to come, I'm looking forward to continuing with this project and personal learning experience. I'm hoping that a lot of you will join me.

The first article is ETOH Addictions - ETOH = Alcohol and explains the addiction to alcohol in depth. Hope you get something from it as I did.

The following is what really got my attention and is from the second article "Recovery 7" that is also now available. I'm hoping that a few of you reading this will be of the same frame of mind as I, open-minded, willing to learn more, and willing to discuss and participate in discussions in recovery:

Limited Recovery: One of the primary beliefs held by members of AA (and some in the addictions treatment community) is that a person is never recovered. This belief is reinforced by the testimony of persons who have drifted away from meetings, relapsed, and returned to the fellowship to tell their tales of attempting to reestablish sobriety. This testimony is used to "prove" that alcoholic persons must remain vigilant and attend meetings "forever" to safeguard recovery. There is no room, within the AA consciousness, for a process of growth that moves a person up and out of the fellowship into a life of continuing sobriety without AA. Many AA members who have achieved "mature sobriety" have chosen to remain connected for the purpose of serving as sponsors - to giving back. These people, in my opinion, are serving a truly higher purpose. I think some say, "Give it away to keep it." (or something like that). Newly recovering people need to read and practice the "bold" print. Those in mature recovery read the "fine" print.

Many persons in recovery feel the need for "something more" after several years of stable AA-based sobriety. They know intuitively that there must be a "next step" yet are not able to find it within AA. Bound by the belief system supporting their recovery, they are uncomfortable with the feeling that recovery is not enough. When they discuss this feeling with others in the fellowship, they are told to get back to the basics and reestablish their serenity. What they find is not the "more" they are looking for, but more of the same old thing. Unfortunately, some therapists are also bound by the AA belief system. Unable to envision wellness beyond AA recovery, they collide in the process of inhibiting growth by prescribing the problem as the solution; i.e., continuing involvement with AA.

Alternatives: I have my own thoughts on "something more" which are based on autonomy. Autonomous thinking, loving, and living comprise a part of "completion recovery." There is a restlessness that may occur after sobriety that can be firmly established and suggests a spiritual "journey beyond the 12 steps" to the "unlimited." This journey is grounded in claiming one's divinity, reclaiming one's power, and exercising "mastery" - this promotes the exercise of a healthy will and self-authorship. Some professionals have approached the need for something more by stepping entirely away from the AA belief system into more exotic approaches. Some have promoted the induction of non drug-based altered states of consciousness, both as an adjunct to treatment and as a means of fostering authentic spiritual experience in recovery. So do I, but know that I am referring to those that have achieved mature recovery - not those in initial recovery.

I think we need a vision of growth beyond the limits experienced by many in AA. This has been provided on a high level here at Dynamics Of Recovery. Much thought went into the focus and intention of our site. I see "ongoing recovery" as a stage of expanding environmental interaction and widening interpretation of self and others that occurs after identification of oneself as an addict has taken root to serve as the cognitive-behavioral ground of Being. Our site includes "basic living problem" guidelines (primarily for the newly recovering person), moves to conscious determination, then subconscious and the super conscious levels of life.

Before this site was founded, visits were made to a wide array of sites. Following that, much thought was given to providing a recovery/support site that departs from the norm - one that enables a recovering person to move through recovery to the realms beyond; based in autonomy - to become holistically well. Much thought was given on what is needed once mature recovery is established. Such approaches clearly articulate the need for a vision of growth beyond the limits experienced by many in AA.

I believe that recovering people need to grow their ideas in the ground of AA recovery (or analogous group) but I rely on the mental and spiritual aspects of the person to continue the process of further growth. The sub- and super-conscious material and the Being model may not be easily embraced by the typical recovering person because they require the adoption of beliefs and engagement in practices quite different from those that have supported recovery as they know it and many may simply not be ready for it. It requires stretching beyond - moving away from the norm and becoming willing to engage in ways of thinking that can move someone to an awesome space.

So there you have it as I do. I have recently made some changes in my own life, to hopefully find some much needed balance, and I'm hoping those changes and the content that will be available here, along with discussions from those that wish to participate, will make a difference on how I live the rest of my life. I will supply links for each article that I publish, for those that wish to add to, comment on, or discuss subjects that the articles may bring to their minds in their own lives. You will need to be registered at the site to read and/or participate in the discussions from this section of the site.

With that being said, I will leave you with a partial list of the topics that will be published here. This will take some time, but I'm hoping it will be worth it.