It is through all our experience with our character defects that we've realized and recognized, set boundaries and applied cognitive therapy and behavioral
modification but all to no avail - using these methods is like applying a band aid to a festering sore. What we really must do is get to the root of the problem. Our character defects exist in our human nature, not in the will of God. Therefore, if we are willing to perform the
work necessary for the Spirit to be awakened within us by living in the
back half of The Eleventh Step, "Praying only for knowledge of
God's will for us and the power to carry that out" (Alcoholics Anonymous) , our character
defects will not and cannot possibly manifest in our behaviors. The power to carry out such knowledge must come
from God, as our human nature will only try to sustain our selfish
desires. Once we have taken this step we have pulled the root of the problem from it's poisonous soils.
Some of us have learned through our experiences that we must do this - turn from our human
nature and live in the will of God - if our character defects are not to
exist in our behavior. Many of us have not. In Alcoholics Anonymous it is often said, "Let go and let God." The "let go" part is in the letting go of our thought process propelled by our human instincts. The "let God" part is thereafter, in which we surrender to the idea that
God will propel our thought process through His inspiration. Inspiration is
defined as "the thoughts of God implanted in the mind and soul of
man." When this transformation of thought has occurred, the root of the problem has truly been healed.
This post is especially vital to my understanding of what Recovery in AA means: I must live with but not within my human nature. I must live, instead, within my divine nature. My spirit must be awakened by the awareness that there is a Power Within me which exists beyond anything my mind is capable of thinking. This is The Great Reality referred to in the BB chapter We Agnostics. "It is only deep down within us that He may be found." I know the root is deep down within me, I've always known that. The explanation herein for how to have the root take root - " let go and let God," and its focus on the second part of Step 11 provides the basis for both transformation and peace of mind. To me, identifying the root of the problem resides in the soul of the solution.
ReplyDeleteMichael Great comment, "I must live with but not within my human nature. As a human being our character defects are encoded in our nature. If we are to be free of the manifestation of them than our thought piocess must be propelled by the will of God...Thank you...Armand
DeleteIf my human nature was a garden it would be an overgrown, weed-infested one with little to say for itself except that time has not been good to it. Beginning the steps of the Alcoholics Anonymous program made me look at the garden - first just acknowledging its presence and lack of beauty. The further along I progress in the program the more pain I see exuding from the neglect of the greens, the soils, the thirst of a deserted land so wanting to be watered and nurtured. My sponsor told me to pray to God, and in my own outlandish way I prayed for help in tearing me apart - taking out the dead, lonely eye sores of the garden in order that I break free from what terror I caused it in my diseased state. My character defects reigned over the plot for so long it is still hard to see the garden existing without them - but they are only there underneath the soil, like bad seeds that, without watering, will never manifest into anything. What God has helped me do is rediscover the rich soil beneath it all. With this soil a garden of which may be the likes of the grandeur of heaven - with beauty and divinity unlike anything else on earth. I want to be a part of the action - helping bring to life that which was shadowed from the light for so long. I must let go of what does me "no good". I must grasp the vines growing strong, growing toward something bigger...even if I don't know what and where that may lead.
ReplyDeleteCaitlin simply beautiful. Thank you for sharing your experience. Know that if you completely surrender your nature to the will of God that your garden will be treated with "miracle grow."...Thank you so much...Armand
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