In practicing Surrender, one must learn the difference between Virtues and Principles. It is essential to meditate and focus on specific Virtues at different times in order to abide and remain in Serenity. One must be able to recognize the presence of Negative Vices and identify the Positive Virtues to which one needs to surrender in order to operate in Principles of the Positive Realm. One cannot defeat a Vice simply by educating oneself, acquiring knowledge or self discipline. These exercises do not produce lasting change. As we have already seen, Change begins with Acceptance. Acceptance is a Virtue that operates in the Positive Realm. As a result, it attracts other Positive virtues and Principles.

Principles are broad, multifaceted systems which operate both in the Positive and Negative Realms. Positive Principles such as Health, Prosperity, Peace and Love contain thought patterns, behaviors, Virtues, laws and outcomes. The laws are more akin to the law of gravity than rules and regulations. Love operates on a set of laws such as sacrifice, kindness, respect, and protection among others. It is the nature of Love to operate in this fashion. Love also contains Positive Virtues such as Faithfulness, Humility, Compassion, Patience, Kindness and many more. Virtues could be considered characteristics or traits of the Positive Realm. These characteristics can only be found in the Positive arena. Negative characteristics are called Vices.

Principles exist in the Negative Realm as well. Some Principles of Negative Energy are Addiction, Poverty, Illness, Disease, Instability, Chaos and many more. Again, these are systems of operation containing thought patterns, behaviors, Vices, laws and outcomes. Vices such as Procrastination or Chemical Dependency operate under Principles. Vices, like Virtues may be included in numerous Principles and often come in clusters. For example, Procrastination and Avoidance are often found together, just as Humility and Teachableness go together.

One must remember that these Principles and characteristics exist in a particular stream or realm. Therefore, they are not "learned", rather they are acquired or obtained by moving into that realm or stream. They can be obtained by measure or degree, and one's understanding may increase the more one becomes "acquainted" with a particular Virtue or Principle. However, they are not mastered by intellectual prowess or thought. They are indeed spiritual in nature and must be acquired through spiritual discipline. The primary discipline of the Twelve Steps is Surrender. This is not a surrender to "reality" or circumstances, and it is more than a single, specific occurance. The Surrender of the Twelve Steps is a type of Acceptance. It is a Surrender to Truth. Truth dictates that if one chooses to allow his base, primal nature to dominate then he will remain in active addiction. Surrender means that one must accept this Truth as well as the Truth that change is inevitible. The failure to accept these irrefutable Truths among others guarantees that change will not occur.

Spending time in meditation, study, and in the presence of Virtues will produce their presence in one's life. One must learn to value Virtues in order to take the step toward acquiring them. If one does not see the benefit of acquiring Humility, or worse yet, views Humility as a type of weakness, one will ignore this Virtue and be deprived of its power. However, one may learn to appreciate its quality while pursuing a related Virtue such as Honesty or Teachableness.

Another benefit of meditation is that it takes one beyond the surface definition of a particular Virtue. One may gloss over or choose to ignore a Virtue such as Humility because one believes he already knows what it entails. However, in depth meditation can reveal hidden treasures and attributes of the most basic Virtue. Looking at Virtues from different angles such as through Totems, opposites, expressions in Nature and examples found in famous people allows one to become more fully acquainted with the Virtue and apply it to one's daily life.