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Posts Tagged ‘willingness’

God—as I am learning to understand God

25 Aug

GOD:  A Few Definitions

– First Known Use:  before 12th century
– The supreme or ultimate reality:  as the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe.
– DEITY:  the rank or essential nature of a god; one exalted or revered as supremely good or powerful.
– Absolute Being, alien force, All Knowing, All Powerful, Allah, Almighty, Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, Creator, Divine Being, Goddess, Father, Grandfather, Great Spirit, Guardian Spirit, Higher Power, Holy Spirit, incorporeal being, Infinite Spirit, Jehovah, King of Kings, Lord, Maker, demon, divinity, holiness, idol, Life and LOVE, master, not-of-this-earth, omnipotent, power, prime mover, providence, soul, spirit, spirit of the universe, supernatural being, Supreme Being, totem, tutelary, universal life force, world spirit.

A GOOD-LUCK CHARM?

A Good Luck Charm is “an object that protects a person from trouble.” It’s a game of chance; a gamble. Am I treating god as a good-luck charm?
– If I take God along with me as I go about my business—I’m treating God as my good-luck charm.
– If I ask Him each day to bless my projects and plans—I’m treating God as a magic genie.

A DESIGNER GOD …A “Do-It-Yourself Deity”?

There’s a lot of stuff tossed out in the fellowship and carried into meetings about ‘defining’ your own god—to make a list of what you WANT god to be. Sure, that’s the ticket, then It’s YOUR god, and nobody else’s.  This is SELF which means EGO!
These are the same people who tell you you’re TOO SICK to think for yourself–are saying that making up a god isn’t a big deal and apparently doesn’t need much consideration?

A widely-used MISQUOTE from the AA text is, “a god of my understanding.” This implies making up a god. This phrase is not in the Big Book. Nowhere in the AA textbook is it suggested to “make up our own god.”
Big Book cover–  Big Book, page 59: “…to the care of God, as we understood Him.”
–  Page 59: “Sought … to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, …”

This implies ‘however little we may understand Him at this point—today.’  It gives us the hope that as we practice conscious contact on a daily basis, and practice doing His will for us, that understanding will grow.
“Our own conception of God” also does not say that we just make something up. This phrase suggests that we let go of ‘our preconceived notions,’ our ‘touchiness,’ our ‘antagonism,’ and our close-mindedness about all spiritual things.
Big Book cover–  Big Book, page 568: “We can only be defeated by an attitude of intolerance or belligerent denial.” “Willingness, honesty, and open-mindedness are the essentials of recovery”
–  page 49: “We have learned that whatever the human frailties of various faiths may be, those faiths have given purpose and direction to millions.”

Our first recovery teachers discovered that THERE IS ONE WHO HAS ALL POWER

Big Book, page 59: “Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power—that One is God. May you find him now!”

For a beginner who is trying to “grasp the flimsy reed,” the appropriate phrase to start with may be, “God as I DON’T understand Him.”

Step 12 and A Spiritual Awakening

By this time, “most of us think this awareness of a Power greater than ourselves is the essence of spiritual experience.” (page 568). This is the first part of our Awakening. Another is “we have RECOVERED, and have been given the power to help others.” (page 132)

GOD IS A LIMITLESS GOD

So how can anyone understand all there is to know about The ONE?
There are various names for God …many religious options and sacred writings to explore …countless paths to enlightenment …many ways to describe God.
But, eleven of our steps are about building a relationship with this God. The many pioneers of our program of recovery found out that alcoholics ‘of our type’ needed a spiritual solution and they recommended continued religious study of your choice.

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ETC, a recovered alcoholic in Oregon—relieved of the obsession but not cured of the allergy.

 
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Posted in Higher Powered, Step 12, Step 3

 

Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness

13 Jun

“Honesty, open-mindedness, & willingness is the HOW of the Program.”
This slogan is often used in meetings to inform newcomers that THIS is how the program works.

What does the Big Book/AA Program tell us?

The phrase doesn’t show up in the textbook as part of our suggested program. It shows up in the “Spiritual Experience” pages IN THE APPENDIX to further explain what spiritual experience means!

Big Book coverBB p.25:
“The great fact is just this, and nothing less: That we have had deep and effective spiritual experiences* which have revolutionized our whole attitude toward life, toward our fellows and toward God’s universe.”
* Fully explained—Appendix II. (footnote)
BB p.568(570), Appendix II, Spiritual Experience
“Most emphatically we wish to say that any alcoholic capable of honestly facing his problems in the light of our experience can recover, provided he does not close his mind to all spiritual concepts. He can only be defeated by an attitude of intolerance or belligerent denial. We find that no one need have difficulty with the spirituality of the program. Willingness, honesty and open mindedness are the essentials of (our spiritual) recovery. But these are indispensable.”

H.O.W. helps us get started on our own, personal spiritual journey; it is what we need to be able to grasp onto that flimsy reed—to climb onto that broad, roomy highway (where all spiritual beliefs are accepted):
–To honestly face our problems and deal with any touchiness (p 48) or intolerance we may have on the subject of spiritual things;
–To open our minds to the possibility that there IS one who has all power and cares about us;
–To be willing to investigate and explore spiritual options, so that we may begin the journey toward daily conscious contact with the Higher Power (as you understand God—today).

The actual HOW of the Program is the chapter, “HOW IT WORKS.”

The AA pioneers suggested THE TWELVE STEPS as our PROGRAM OF RECOVERY: These are HOW we become recovered — IF we voluntarily and completely follow THEIR path. Chapter Five describes the real ‘HOW’ of The Program.

BB Chapter 5, HOW IT WORKS
Big Book cover“RARELY HAVE we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average. There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest.
…If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it-then you are ready to take certain steps. At some of these we balked. We thought we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not. With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely. Remember that we deal with alcohol-cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power-that One is God. May you find Him now! Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. we asked His protection and care with complete abandon.
Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program of recovery:”

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ETC, a recovered (but not cured) alcoholic in Oregon

 
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Posted in HOW it works, Spirituality

 

Are You Just Trying to Be a Better Person?

22 Apr

THE PRETENDERS

Are you learning to “play nice with others”
It IS important to get along with others in our community and society as a whole. This is a pretty good goal as long as it’s authentic. But if it’s manipulative, it’s got to go.
Are you trying to be ‘nice,’ a friend to everyone, well-liked, and non-offending?
Is that really all there is to it? It’s a bit codependent to be concerned how others think of me (been there). I have to ask myself: Does it really come from the heart or am I trying to impress my friends, my P.O. or S.O., parents, or therapist? …or so I can sit in meetings and boast about how awesomely ‘non-judgemental’ I am?
This sometimes is a sign of complacency and laziness… when honesty and the pursuit of truth is secondary to saying what someone wants to hear (that’s not guidance).
Are you just faking it ‘till you make it? Faking is pretending—acting, a counterfeit. Are you still trying to control the show? Try working Steps 1-3 again. If I am not thoroughly honest with myself and others, my  life will not change.
ALTHOUGH this is related to Therapists’ suggestions to “act as if” for awhile, if a new, healthier behavior is very uncomfortable at first. The motive for actual change is necessary. In addition, spiritual advisors often suggest it when someone doubts their love for God simply because they don’t FEEL IT.

From C.S. Lewis, pp.131-132 in Mere Christianity:
“Some Christian writers use the word charity to describe not only Christian love between human beings, but also God’s love for man and man’s love for God. About the second of these two, people are often worried. They are told they ought to love God. They cannot find any such feeling in themselves. The answer is the same as before. Act as if you did. Do not sit trying to manufacture feelings. Ask yourself, ‘If I were sure that I loved God, what would I do?’ When you have found the answer go and do it.”

Are you working on just changing outside appearances?
That’s still living a lie—another disguise. It’s creating a false reality.  People wear uniforms to make people believe they’re something they’re not: Rich, Macho, Hip, slick and cool, Tough as nails, Poor, Pathetic, etc. …manipulation, again. We can’t fake a new personality for too long. At some point the poop will hit the fan and we’re right back at that ‘turning point.’
…or have you fully surrendered your life (and EGO) to God (as you understand God)?

HONESTY, OPENMINDEDNESS, and WILLINGNESS

These are the requirements to enter into that new way of living on a spiritual basis. In living this new way of life, am I of maximum service to God and others, or am I concerned about how others perceive me?

BB p.77, Into Action “Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us.”

SURRENDER/Relinquish

When I tried to change ME before, I did a lousy job of it. That’s why I needed these 12 Steps—alcohol was only a symptom of my problem. God can do for me what I could not do myself. I can try and try and try to become a better person, but unless the change comes from within (where God is) I still fail… it’ll be a constant struggle. Like someone who is always recovering, never recovered. It is easy to hang on to what I THINK are the GOOD things about me and what I’ve done. What WE think He should let us keep (because we worked SO HARD for that). After all, look at the wonderful progress I’ve made! From THERE to HERE. Da-ang—I’m doin’ GOOD! I can rationalize all day on that. No. Sorry. Apparently God wants all that too. We need to be willing to give to Him/Her what we value the most.
(Surrender is a military term, and a Christian term)

Everything. NOW.
Are you willing to let go of your family, job, health, kids, spouse, friends, house, location, car, paycheck, good looks, time, etc. Unless we ARE willing, we have not made a FULL SURRENDER of everything we have… it’s His stuff anyway isn’t it? Trust infinite God rather than our finite selves. Then, all Heaven breaks loose! In our daily, morning quiet time and throughout the day, the Higher Power lets us know what to do, and where to go from here. It is a difficult path to follow sometimes, but we do get strength and guidance for each day.

And that’s another topic for another day, maybe.

ETC—a recovered (but not cured) alcoholic in Oregon
 
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Posted in Higher Powered, Service, Surrender