May 17

We were entirely ready means that the First Five Steps qualified us for this Process, up till now. Being entirely ready to Surrender at this deeper level is another story. Up to now we know what our defects of character are.

We know that these tools of the disease don't work in Recovery of Narcotics Anonymous. The defects helped us survive in active addiction, but we must be Willing to let the God of Our Understanding remove them. The way we let our Higher Power remove our defects, is by Practicing the Spiritual Principles we learned up till now. We have new tools to replace our old tools.

The more we Practice the Spiritual Principles of Narcotics Anonymous, the less we will Practice shortcomings, which are defects in action. We make a list of the exact nature of our wrongs we learned about in our Fifth Step. We then learn about the opposite of that defect, or what activates that defect, and apply the Spiritual Principle instead.

The more we Practice Principles, the less we Practice defects. We start to feel better about ourselves as we Live the Program. Being Entirely Ready is just the beginning, our Willingness has to be followed by Surrendering, and then by Action.

The Sixth Step is like Spiritual surgery performed by our Higher Power. Letting go of defects is like saying goodbye to an old friend. Our Awareness can be followed by a feeling of grief.

We grow closer to our Higher Power as we rely on its Strength. Our Faith grows as we put this Belief into Action.