A Beautiful Life

          The "Big Book" Alcoholics Anonymous states, in reference to the Ninth Step and the Promises, "If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are halfway through.  We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.  We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.  We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace.  No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others.  That feeling of uselessness and self pity will disappear.  We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows.  Self-seeking will slip away.  Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.  Fear of people and economic insecurity will leave us.  We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.  We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves."
            If we are willing to surrender to the will of God through the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous then we can be free of the manifestation of our character defects in our behavior.  Our self-centered life will begin its departure as we experience serenity and peace - peace which allows us to perceive life in a way that is joyful. We can then respond to that joy with love for others even though the circumstances of our lives may be unchanged. This love for others is the expression of us experiencing a beautiful life.

Written by Armand
Edited by Caitlin Alexandra

The Fourth Dimension Of Life

                 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.        

Experience The Third Step Prayer

Having admitted complete defeat; having admitted to our innermost self that we were alcoholic; having come to the understanding that human power could not overcome our alcoholism; having begun to trust in God as a solution to our problem -- we were now at Step Three. Step Three occurred when we decided, when we made a final choice, to turn our will (which is our thoughts) and our life (which is our behavior) over to the care of God.  Going forward from Step Three we make this final choice that our thought process will no longer be propelled by our human instinct but rather by the will of God. 

          We get down on our knees and bow our heads praying, "God I offer myself to thee - To build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of life. May I do Thy will always!"

          This is an important and critical step for the beginning of the transformation of our thought process, which is essential and must occur, if we are to recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.  However, this is only the beginning.  Now that we have taken a Third Step we must complete the remaining steps so that the transformation of our thought process is complete.  Once completed, we can receive the full benefits of the Third Step Prayer. We can trust in God for not only a solution to our addiction but as a solution to all of our problems.

Reliance Not Defiance

           In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous it says "When we encountered A.A., the fallacy of our defiance was revealed.  At no time had we asked what God's will was for us; instead we had been telling Him what it ought to be. No man, we saw, could believe in God and defy Him, too. Belief meant RELIANCE, NOT DEFIANCE. In A.A. we saw the fruits of this belief: men and women spared from alcohol's final catastrophe. We saw them meet and transcend their other pains and trials. We saw them calmly accept impossible situations, seeking neither to run nor to recriminate.  This was not only faith; it was faith that worked under all conditions. We soon concluded that whatever price in humility we must pay, we would pay."

               Reliance upon God is the basis of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous; humility is the key which unlocks the door to the grace of God.  The Twelve Steps of A.A. move us from developing a faith in God to trusting in God and finally a true reliance upon God in every area of our life.  This relationship with Him allows us to transcend the travails of life in such a way that we are not self-centered and caught in our own needs and problems. Rather, we are trusting in the will of God as it unfolds in our life - freeing us to be open to the world around us and sensitive to the needs of others.    

The Foundation For Progress

               Alcoholics Anonymous states, "the idea that somehow, someday, the alcoholic will control their drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker.  The persistence of this illusion is astonishing.  Many pursue it to the gates of insanity and death.  We learned, some of us through relapse, that we had to fully concede to our innermost self that we are alcoholic...The delusion that we are like other people has to be smashed."
The "Big Book"
                We learn through the program of Alcoholics Anonymous that we must admit powerlessness over alcohol and that our lives are unmanageable. We must concede to our innermost self that we are alcoholic and, yes, we must admit complete defeat. Once we have done this we have THE FOUNDATION FOR PROGRESS, in the actual program of Alcoholics Anonymous, upon which we can build a real and honest life.  This life of pure contribution allows us to be who we were created to be, thus restoring our self-esteem and allowing others to be themselves around us without any judgement on our part.  Our real and honest life will be ours to live, measured in and by the love we give away.  

Powerlessness Understood

                So much has been accomplished and a good portion of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous has been completed but now the personal relationship with and the dependence on God takes on a much deeper and all encompassing meaning.
               In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous in the chapter How It Works it says, "we are in the world to play the role God assigns."  I have learned through experience that this may be accomplished through the practice of the Twelve Steps and specifically by integrating Step Eleven into my life.   But it is the Tenth Step through daily examination where we uncover that our character defects continue to manifest themselves in our behavior, even though this reaction to life is not what we want.  It is here in the conflict of not wanting to manifest my character defects in my behavior but POWERLESS  not to have this occur that I am thrown back into Step One and I can now clearly see that I am not only powerless over my use of alcohol but I am powerless over every aspect of my life.  I had previously learned, at a cognitive level, that all my life must be given to the care and direction of God but now through personal experience I perceive this with more clarity and at a much deeper level.
               It is in the taking of the daily inventory that we begin to fully understand the power and pervasiveness of our character defects encoded in our human nature.  To overcome the manifestation of our character defects in our behavior we must subrogate our human nature too and we must abandon ourselves utterly to the will of God for it is in the infinite power and love of God that we are healed.

Self Will Or God's Will

             The 12th Step of Alcoholics Anonymous is "having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and practice these principles in all our affairs."  This step clearly places a responsibility upon me as I can't possibly give away that which I don't have.  The Big Book of AA says "we have recovered and been given the power to help others."  The power to help others is a direct result of the spiritual awakening, received in Step Twelve, and until that has occurred for us it is going to be pretty difficult for that to occur for other alcoholics that we may be helping.  But once the spirit has been awakened within us we can"t possibly be in the will of God without helping others.  Once the spirit has been awakened  and we now have the power we are asked to carry this message not only through our words, but also by incorporating the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous, the Twelve Steps, into our lives so that our behavior can be an example for others.  Once the spirit has been awakened in them they can then lead a recovered life.  They will then have the power to help others in the sense that is necessary so that others may recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body,  

Self - Centeredness

                 When I become angry or resentful, it is in that moment that I manifest my human SELF -  CENTEREDNESS.  In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous it says "that we think is the root of our troubles."  It also goes on to say "It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness.  To the precise point that we permit these do we squander the hours that might have been worthwhile.  But with the alcoholic whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave.  We found it fatal!  For when harboring such thoughts we cut ourselves off from the sunlight of the spirit."
                   The solution to our alcoholism is a vital spiritual experience.  We must give life to our relationship with God.  We accomplish this by turning from our human nature and living in the will of God.  We receive God's will through inspiration conditioned by prayer and meditation.  We can't possibly be in the will of God when we are manifesting SELF - CENTEREDNESS in our lives , but by sobrogating our human nature to the will of God we cannot possibly manifest the SELF - CENTEREDNESS of our human nature in our behavior     

The Twelfth Step: Can't Give Away That Which You Don't Have

          The 12th Step of Alcoholics Anonymous is, "Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs."  This step clearly places a responsibility upon us - but we cannot give away that which we don't have.  The "Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous states, "We have recovered and been given the power to help others."  The power to help others is a direct result of the spiritual awakening received in Step Twelve. Until one such spiritual awakening has occurred it is impossible for it to occur in other alcoholics that we may be helping. Furthermore, once the Spirit has been awakened within us we cannot be in the will of God without helping others.

          We are gifted the power to carry the message to other alcoholics not only through our words but by incorporating the principles of the Alcoholics Anonymous program (the Twelve Steps) right into our lives, displaying them through our behavior.  Once the spirit has been awakened in those we help then they themselves can lead a recovered life.  These recovered alcoholics will then have the power to help others in the way  necessary, so that still others may recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. Your gift can be a gift to others.