The importance of Step Three is that a decision is made (a final
choice) for our thought process to no longer be propelled by our human
instincts (SELF WILL) but rather by the will of God through
inspiration. Inspiration is defined as the thoughts of God implanted in
the mind and soul of man.
The Third Step is
"made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God
as we understood Him." In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous in the
chapter How It Works it states "the first requirement for the taking of
the Third Step is that we be convinced, meaning that we have exhausted
all argument, that any life run on self will can hardly be a success.
"Remember that we deal with alcohol, cunning, baffling, powerful.
Without help it is to much for us. But there is One who has all power,
that One is God may you find Him now." It also says "selfishness-self
centeredness that we think is the root of our troubles. So our troubles
we think are of our own making. And the alcoholic is an extreme
example of self will run riot." Self will is our thought process
propelled by our human instincts. In the Big Book it says "above
everything we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness and there seems
no way of entirely getting rid of self without His aid."
I learned in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous that we have
three basic instincts, a social, sexual and security instinct. These
instincts are God given and necessary for life but in me I can never get
enough of what it is I think I need . The great psychiatrist Sigmund
Freud defines an instinct as a bodily need manifested in our thought
process. It is here that our character defects exist but these same
defects which will always exist to some extent in our human nature
cannot possibly be manifested in our behavior when our thought process
is propelled by GOD'S WILL through inspiration.
For me, the transformation needed for recovery had to occur in my mind, and that transformation could be enabled only by fully understanding The Twelve Steps and incorporating them into my life. Since peace of mind is my ultimate objective, I must be willing to surrender my will to God's in order to live a life that is not self-driven and, therefore, disturbed on some level. The process of attaining this inner peace is as direct as you've outlined it in today's writing. In my experience, there is no other way, at least not for me. I now understand that while AA enabled me to stop drinking, that was only the first step in leading me to its real promise of relieving me of the terrible bondage of self.
ReplyDeleteMichael as you said "peace of mind is the ultimate objective" which can only occur by letting go absolutely. I am incapable of letting go of my nature: therefore that which propels my thought process must change. The purpose of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, to live in the will of God at peace with myself and the world around than will occur...Thank you...Armand
ReplyDeleteThis comment is from A Grateful Recovering Alcoholic
ReplyDeleteAs Step's 1 & 2 imply, the initial catalyst for reaching out to the God of my understanding was simply that I had exhausted every other earthly option or avenue that would, or could, extricate me from the self imposed dilemma of my dreadful situation and the consequences thereof. I had deliberately chosen to live a life in direct opposition to the known will of God whenever my appetites beckoned. It is one thing to say a "fox hole prayer" on foreign soil and quite another to find myself, by my own design, on the precipice of eternity staring squarely into the bows of hell.
This time there was no employment of my well honed negotiating skills. No, "Lord if you get me out of this I promise to be a good boy" only to immediately fall back into my journey into debauchery once the immediate crisis had passed. This time was different. This alcoholic knew it was an ignominious and eternal death or complete surrender. And as I later learned; that revelation, like a white hot lightning bolt that burst into the core of my being, was a gift from a Loving Father that had not and will not ever give up on me.
My entire life of rebellion was instantaneously revealed in space and time. Yet, immersed in that encounter with Eternity was a love and compassion beyond telling. And as I pored my life out at His feet, all of the guilt and shame associated with my past was immediately washed away. I was, in the most profound sense reborn. From that point on following Steps was assured. Not easy... but assured, and has, together with study and inspired implementation of His Word brought me into a time of refreshment and joy of living that is well beyond my wildest dreams. Today, life is a bountiful continuous lyric of "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me... I was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see"..
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic.
A Grateful Recovering Alcoholic My surrender to the Loed came over time. I knew that I must and I wanted To, but the missing piece for me is that I didn't understand the pervasiveness of my human nature and how powerful it exerted its dominance of my mind. Once I understood that I began to seek God in a way I never had before, completely in an absolute way...Thank you so much for your experienc...Armand
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