Mapping the 12 AA Steps to the Trinity Lens of Alcohol Recovery
The Trinity Lens of Alcohol Recovery is not intended as a replacement for the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Rather, it offers a focused lens—grouping the 12 Steps into three foundational principles—to help people understand the essence of recovery more clearly and to help individuals interpret and apply the 12 Steps in a way that resonates with their own journey.
Below is a mapping of the 12 Steps to the Trinity Lens. It a little different to what I came up with in 12 months ago. To quote a funny statement in English that Thai's get a kick out of
Its same same but different"
1. Powerlessness
Accepting that you are powerless over alcohol—and that no amount of willpower or help from another human being can fix it.
- Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
- Step 2: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
2. Inventory
You take inventory of your root-cause weaknesses—not just the justifications and excuses that alcohol once helped you mask. You take prayer-powered action to heal those weaknesses and build on your strengths.
- Step 4: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
- Step 10: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
3. Surrender
You turn your will and your life over to the care of God, accept the things you cannot change, find the courage to change the things you can, and seek the wisdom to know the difference.
- Step 3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
- Step 5: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
- Step 6: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
- Step 7: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
- Step 8: Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
- Step 9: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
- Step 11: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
- Step 12: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
About Jason Bresnehan
Jason is a fixer—of businesses, of broken momentum, and occasionally of entire spiritual frameworks gone sideways. He speaks fluent boardroom and AA, deploys Catholic doctrine with the subtlety of a scalpel, and isn’t afraid to lace his insights with both war-room metaphors and dad-sermon tenderness.
Founder of Evahan, a consultancy built on the idea that legacy and liquidity don’t need to fight, Jason draws on 30 years of commercial grit, tactical leadership, and emotional radar to help people rebuild what entropy took. He works with companies, communities, and recovery misfits alike—often using the same principles to sort both cap tables and chaotic lives.
Jason draws deep inspiration from historical figures who got results—especially those who led from the margins, built with scarce resources, and refused to be shackled by conventional wisdom. He’s known for assembling unorthodox teams of passionate experts to solve complex problems in chaotic environments. Whether in boardrooms, recovery communities, or legacy disputes, Jason’s approach is rooted in common purpose, tactical innovation, and the belief that clarity thrives when paradigms are challenged.
A strong advocate for freedom, limited government, and enterprise-driven progress, Jason also draws deeply from his personal recovery journey—an experience that reshaped his life and fuels his commitment to growth, contribution, and principled living. Through writing, speaking, and service, he continues to learn, share, and speak with purpose.
I can be engaged (on a remunerated or volunteer basis) to sit on Boards, Committees, Advisory and Reference Group Panels, and to speak to Business, Community, and Youth groups. I’m also open to providing comment to media on topics where I have relevant experience or insight. Please feel free to make contact.