The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous in the chapter The
Doctors Opinion features a letter given by Dr. William Silkworth,
Medical Director of Townes Hospital in New York City., a renowned
hospital in the care of alcoholism. One of the founders of AA and the
primary author of the Big Book Bill W., was under Dr. Silkworths care on
three separate occasions. In this letter he states "we Dr.'s have
realized for a long time that some form of MORAL PSYCHOLOGY was of
urgent importance to alcoholics and that unless the alcoholic can
experience an entire psychic change there is very little hope for
recovery." Dr. Silkworth and his colleagues believed that not only did
the thought processes of the mind have to be transformed but the source
of what powered the thought processes of the mind had to change. The
American Dictionary defines psychology as the science of the thought
processes and behavior. Further it defines moral as virtuous.
Therefore the thought processes of the mind had to become virtuous. In
order for this to occur, the mind of the alcoholic could no longer be
propelled by the human nature or human instinct but rather by the will
of God through inspiration. In the back half of the Eleventh Step we
are "praying only for the knowledge of God's will for us and the power
to carry that out."
This is the crux of the
solution to our alcoholism, a transformed thought process enabled by the
grace of God.
In the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous we are taking suggestions . We have found ourselves a sponsor who is making these suggestions . He or she is our guide, they have the proper qualifications , they have been through this . Alcoholism has charted thier voyage, and now recovery is thier destination. They are giving away what they have freely received! They guide us through these steps, we come to the 4th. Here we make a fearless and thourogh moral inventory.
ReplyDeleteWhen completed we come to the 5th, hopefully our sponsor will sugest that we take these steps as they are laid out in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous and we find that his or her suggestion in the 5th step tells us what we must do . On pg. 74 it states "Those of us belonging toa religious denomination which requires confession must, and of course, will want to go to the properly appointed authority whose duty it is to receive it. Though we have no religious connection , we may still do well to talk with someone ordained by an established religion." There should be a bar that we can establish on how to measure our moral standings ! We have been awakened, prayer is our key, now we know that faith without works is dead ! We move towards our real purpose and that is to be of service to God and our fellows. We can only be of service through total submission to a God that we worship and love! Do we create a concept of God in our own minds that is suited for ourselves or do we surrender to God ? Where does our moral psychology begin and end ? Do we really serve our God or do we set limitations on our relationship with Him? Returning to worship, does that help us to remain teachable as sugested by A.A. ?
Don just love when you wrote "do we create a concept of God in our own minds that is suited for ourselves or do we surrender to God."...well said my friend...Armand
ReplyDeleteI make things more complicated than necessary. I over-think and I over-process while undermining prayer and the power of God and my behavior - to no surprise - reflects this neglect. Asking God for knowledge of His will and the power to carry that out requires only that - asking Him, praying to Him, RELYING on Him, TRUSTING IN HIM. Without the steps of the program, my beloved sponsor, and God's all super-natural powers I would have emerged from my addiction into a blank oblivion - without guidance and without progress at my side. This journey I am on only exists and propells because I LET GO of me in order to HOLD ONTO HIM. My instincts, my thoughts and their processes, and the behaviors that result are no longer products of me but of the inspirational Omnipotence as long as I continue EVERY SINGLE DAY and every single moment to live His will, not mine. When I do not do this the consequences are always harsh and often inexplicably hurtful.
ReplyDeleteCaitlin thank you so much for sharing your experience with the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. Sure did love when you wrote "I LET GO of me in order to HOLD ONTO HIM." As you continue to come closer to God your behavior will reflect that relationship. Just a great comment Caitlin...Thank You....Armand
ReplyDeleteI completely believe that at the core of each of us lies a conviction of goodness and a belief in the power of good. Self-centered fear overwhelmed that basic truth and led me to damaged and damaging thinking which was manifested in my alcoholic behavior. Thus, an entire psychic change was essential and was possible for me only if my fear could be replaced with Trust in a Loving Power within me. Through The Twelve Steps, I understood that fear was blocking the spirit of good within me, and that the absence of a personal relationship with A Higher Power was the root of all of my problems. In living in His Will, I no longer had to live in fear, and all things became possible. My thinking has been elevated from fear-based to trust-based.
ReplyDeleteMichael you clearly describe from your on personal experience the transformation of thought that must occur if one is to recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. Fear exists in our human nature and trust in God brings us to a state of peace in the will of God...Thank you so much...Armand
ReplyDelete