Richard,
The 12-Steps do work, but only for people who have the belief that they are incapable of solving their own lives without the aid of the God of their understanding. Now, this can be anything from J.R. "BOB" Dobbs to Power vs. Force by David Hawkins, but it's still a soteriological approach that is dependant upon bringing a person into a state of absolute submission to an outside authority.
For rational humanists, such as myself, this supernatural approach (or spiritual, as they like to say), simply does not work. I'm not an atheist, or an agnostic. I am, however, utterly convinced that the Goddess of my understanding has already given me every inner resource I need without having to ask Her for a miracle.
To use Ambrose Bierce's classic definition of prayer: "To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy."
From what I've been able to gleen, the 12-Steps are a way to restore intuition - those subtle internal signals that let you know when you're doing something harmful to yourself, (e.g. the feeling of nausia that comes from eating well past the point of fullness). However, saying that it's God talking to you?
