Having admitted that I was alcoholic, thereafter I soon found out that alcohol of itself was not my problem, that alcohol was but the manifestation of my problem. The real problem was self centered fear, afraid that I was not going to get what I wanted, afraid that I was going to lose what I had.
In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous it says " that when dealing with the fear problem or any other problem, perhaps there is a better way as we are now on a different basis , the basis of trusting and relying upon God. We trust infinite God rather than finite self. We are in the world to play the role God assigns. Just to the extent we do as we think God would have us do and humbly rely on God, does God enable us to match calamity with serenity. We never apologize to anyone for depending on our creator. We can laugh at those who think spirituality is the way of weakness. The verdict of the ages is that faith means courage All possessors of faith have courage. They trust their God. We let God demonstrate through us what God can do. We ask God to remove our fear and direct our attention to what we should be doing. At once, we commence to outgrow fear."
The integration of the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous into my life lead to a personal relationship with God, before that fear haunted all of my being in all of my moments driving all of my decisions in an attempt to satiate my instincts as I was afraid that I was not going to get what I wanted, afraid that I was going to lose what I had. Today in this moment that can change and will change for all of us if we are in alignment with the will of God for us. If so we will know a peace we have never before experienced.
For me, the notion of Fear versus Trust is directly related to being able to match calamity with serenity. Trust is something I can depend on whereas Fear enervated me to the point of complete disability. In the Second Step for the first time, the light shone away from Fear and on to Trust. The Step spelled out what I had to do to acquire a personal relationship with The Truth: simply stop fighting and practice the remaining Steps as enthusiastically as I could. Therein I was able to understand how to trust rather than to continue to be enslaved by fear. Trust has become the cornerstone of my growth toward peace and away from fear.
ReplyDeleteMichael there is power in the simplicity of your statement "simply stop fighting and practice the remaining steps as enthusiastically as I could."...Thank you so much...Armand
ReplyDeleteFear is an infection that sickens my heart and my mind and my entire inner being. This infection is one that must be treated by letting go...and giving "infinite" God my full trust. It's only when letting go of the delusion that I can control the fear that I can find and know Peace through Him.
ReplyDeleteCaitlin For someone whom I have just started to take through the Big Book you have sharp insights into the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. If I may add some depth. In the saying "let go and let God", we let go of our human nature and live in the will of God. None of this occurs because of our doing as it can only occur through the grace of God. In the will of God there is no delusion to let go of as we have been perfected by becoming the being God created.us to be...Thank you...Armand
ReplyDeleteThis comment Is From A Grateful Recovering Alcoholic
ReplyDeleteThe Healing of Fear
Armand,
Without God I wandered as a lost child through "a house of mirrors" only to eventually become the distorted image reflected in the wavy glass. The very instant I surrendered to God I passed not into a new world but an entirely new dimension. Prayerfully, In His presence, is an instantaneous awareness that the old familiar self taught survival skills and situational ethics once relied upon, and the false flag of two dimensional living must be forever abandoned. It is now my willingness to accept His divinely inspired seeds of faith that casts out fear as my imperfect apprehension of that faith is refined in practice through the fire of His perfect guidance and eternal love.
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic
A Grateful Recovering Alcoholic You spoke of your existence as an entirely new dimension. The Big book makes reference to a fourth dimension of life. In my experience this dimension is one where I am free of an exaggerated human experience manifesting itself in my emotions or behavior but rather experiencing a life of serenity guided by the will of God...Thanks so much for your thoughts...Armand
ReplyDeleteFear is a motivating tool used in the destruction of our Spirits. As is the same in guilt, shame, anger, and so forth, this counter production creates devastation in our lives. God shows us how to live our lives minus the fear. The 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous leads us on the path to righteousness and acceptance of the Grace of God. We live without the unhealthy fears that motivated our alcoholism for so long. In order to find the solution we must first get to the root, and it is there that we find self centered fear !
ReplyDeleteDon Alcohol is but a symptom of my true malady, my true malady is self centered fear, afraid that I am not going to get what I want, afraid that I will lose what I have...Thank you...Armand
ReplyDelete