In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous it says "we shall
describe some of the states that precede a relapse into drinking, for
obviously this is the crux of the problem. What sort of thinking
dominates an alcoholic who repeats time after time the experiment of the
first drink.....therefore the main problem of the alcoholic centers in
the mind rather than in the body."
If our thought
processes are propelled by the will of God rather than our human
instinct then we will not drink and our character defects cannot
manifest themselves in our behavior. Our character has been perfected
as we are now the human being God created us to be.
In THE FOURTH DIMENSION OF LIFE we become a human being that cares
about others in a genuine way and wants to help others. We think of
others needs before our own. In the Big Book of AA it states "our very
lives as ex problem drinkers depends upon our constant thoughts of
others and how we may help meet their needs."
We
use all the tools of recovery but above all we must turn from our human
nature and live in the will of God and by doing so we will live a human
life we could have only imagined as we will manifest THE FOURTH
DIMENSION OF LIFE. A life free of the bondage of self.
My alcoholic life weighed me down to the point of selfish exhaustion. I was completely drained of spirit with nowhere to turn, and the bottle was no longer an option. I simply could not drink another drop. In AA, I learned that by reaching out to another suffering alcoholic, I felt better. That my spirit was lightening, my energy returning like never before. The presence of The Power Within me elevated me to a new level of existence, The Fourth Dimension of living in accordance with His Will for me. But the Power to carry His Will out on a daily basis is the Dinension I had to find. I believe it is available to anyone who seeks recovery through The Big Book and follows the path precisely outlined within it.
ReplyDeleteMichael A life lived not to satisfy an insatiable desire but a life lived in peace with yourself and those around. A life of contribution free of the manifestation of self...Thank you...Armand
ReplyDeleteWhen in the bondage of myself I am tied and wrapped in vines ever growing and tightening - for I have created these in the dark world I live in without God. I wrestle in attempt for freedom but to no avail. I cannot be set free by my mere human power. I must stop all thinking and rest my mind and soul so as only to hear and feel my breath. Once I let go in this way I have become a vessel in which there is room for love and patience and guidance - all from and of God - to flow alongside and within me. My thoughts are then inevitably not my own in a sense that they are inspired with everlasting hope only a Higher Power can inject. In this state, a state not easily obtained without the willingness needed, but one that is unquestionably existent - there awaits a providence of divinity beside Him. In this, you are whole.
ReplyDeleteCaitlin You articulated well the problem and the solution. The solution for us is a vital spiritual experience which is conditioned by prayer and meditation. I encourage you to comment more often...Thank you so much...Armand
ReplyDeleteThe Fourth Dimension of Life is where we live when we have the relationship with God that He intends for us to have with Him . Prayer and Meditation does improve our concisous contact with our creator. It is through the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous that we may achieve a life of peacefulness, and look at things with good God given common sense. At many A.A. meetings we listen to the Promises being read at the start of these meetings. On pg. 84 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous it states "They will always materialize if we work for them." This comes in the part of the book where we are on the 9th step. When we work to make amends as must be done to insure sobriety, we also encounter these promises being fufilled in our lives. These promises are a gift from God . So as we strive for progress not perfection, the realization that we receive perfection in these perfect promises, because what God gives us is always perfect . God will always do for us what we can never do for ourselves !
ReplyDeleteDon A life of anger and resentment are deadly to an alcoholic for it shuts off the sunlight of the spirit. It is only when our relations are right with others that ourrelationship is right with God. Here we will know peace and live in The Fourth Dimension Of Life...Thank You...Armand
ReplyDeleteA Grateful Recovering Alcoholic the back half of the eleventh Step says "praying only for the knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry it out". My human nature will never do the will of God, my human nature will only try to satiate my human instinct. So the surrender that is necessary to perceive and live in the will of God begins with the decision made in Step Three and is brought to fruition in Step Eleven. Wish the process was a straight line but it is not for it takes some time to understand the pervasiveness of the human nature so as to fully experience the depth of the surrender needed...Thank you so much...Armand.
ReplyDeleteEvery step is in the order it is for a reason and Step 11 is no exception. All are written in the form of a testimony, a collective deposition if you will, of the journey on the road less traveled by those who have gone before with a simple clarity seldom encountered in secular writings. For in A.A. I have learned to abandon every personal effort to "work" of Step 11 as though it were a point on the "great check list of recovery" and simply surrender to His presence.
ReplyDeleteThe journey itself is the destination and through God's grace, fervently desired resting place. It is; in its entirety, God's gift to everyone who is willing to embrace the immutable truth of His word and the undeniable Presence of His Person and began the moment I made a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God as I understood Him. Life, once a shallow shadowy series of lessons best forgotten is transformed into a never ending manifestation of joy and peace, as moment by moment He graciously provides the ultimate gift of His divine calling, that is, that my entire life becomes His prayer.
Yes, I am thoroughly convinced that the Creator of All continues to lovingly conform every aspect of my life into His personal prayer and vision for me as I fervently seek His still small voice, in the limitless fullness of His presence...
A Grateful Recovering Alcoholic