We
use our tools to work the A.R.T.S. program and bring our art into
the realm of reality. These positive disciplines are essential
for us to live every day as the artists we are.
Affirmations
We identify ourselves as the artists that we are. "My
name is ________ and I am a __________." This and other positive
statements affirm our commitment and offset old invalidating tapes.
Meetings
We attend meetings to learn how the program works. We share our
experience, strength and hope with each other.
Steps
We work the Twelve Steps of A.R.T.S. Anonymous.
Abstinence
We abstain from the compulsions which divert us from using our
creative energy productively.
Daily Action
We find a way to express, or at least nurture, our creativity
in every 24-hour time period, accepting what we can do now, beginning
each new day where we are that day.
Art
Buddy
An art buddy is a helpmate in recovery, someone we speak with
daily to turn over what we have done or will do for our art today.
This is an important step for many newcomers and worth the effort.
Our art buddy may be someone in our field or in a different one.
Telephone
We use the phone to maintain contact and share our feelings with
members of the fellowships between meetings. Talking on the phone
helps both artists.
Bookending
We bookend by making calls before and after actions for our art.
Verbalizing our thoughts and feelings clarifies our course of
action and allows us to move through the process.
Action Group
We form mutual support groups of fellowship members to help each
other develop an action plan and follow it through.
Action Plan
This is our personal roadmap for recovery. It includes specific
actions to take for the development of our art and of ourselves
as artists. It may also include a plan for realizing our professional
aspirations and achieving balance in the significant areas of
our lives.
Creative Inventory
We take a written inventory of our artistic efforts and accomplishments
since childhood. We also make a list of our creative goals, what
we want to do in our art.
Prayer and Meditation
We work out 11th. Step, seeking "through prayer and meditation
to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understand Him,
praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to
carry that out." We ask to become channels for God's infinite
creative process.
Literature
We use A.R.T.S. literature. We use A.A. and other Twelve Step
Program literature. We use inspirational material from many sources.
Service
We give service to the fellowship through holding office and participating
in committee work; by replacing chairs and doing cleanup detail.
Service expands our commitment to our A.R.T.S. recovery. Putting
the common welfare of the fellowship before our own needs helps
us maintain a humble spirit and heals us from grandiosity, low
self-esteem, isolation and self-indulgence. It teaches us how
to work with others, compromise, lead and work through problems.
A.R.T.S. could not exist without the service of its members.
Anonymity
We practice anonymity by respecting the confidential nature of
members' sharing. Who and what we see and hear at meetings is
not repeated outside the meeting. We also maintain anonymity on
the level of press, radio and TV.
