The Marble Program for Addiction

“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”-Serenity Prayer

If you’ve been to AA or another 12-Step meeting, you’ve heard the Serenity Prayer. But no one really explains what we can’t change, what we can, and how that helps us get sober. The Marble Program does.

It’s a secular approach, built on Stoic philosophy. We won’t push you toward God or a Higher Power, and we’re not a replacement for AA. Many people use us alongside it. We do value spirituality, but you can find it anywhere: in nature, in philosophy, or in your own faith.

There are no steps to complete in order. Instead, we work on five topics we call Marbles: Reasoned Choice, Thought Control, Emotional Control, Purpose, and Spirituality. Each one builds the character, thinking, and choices it takes to climb out of rock bottom. And when we start to slip, we come back to them. That’s what we do when we “lose our marbles.”

The Stoics worked on themselves under marble roofs and columns thousands of years ago. Their wisdom still holds. Today we meet on Zoom, so all you need to get sober is your phone and the will to change.