For me, CONSCIOUS CONTACT is a personal relationship with
God in this moment and at this time. I do not look back in regret nor do I look forward in fear. Through the grace of God in this moment I
have relinquished my human nature. My human instincts are no longer
propelling my thought process, but rather my thought process is propelled
by the will of God through inspiration.
The "Big
Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous says, "We may face indecision, we might not
be able to determine which course to take. Here we ask God for
inspiration, an intuitive thought or decision. We are often surprised
how the right answers will come after we have tried this for awhile.
What used to be the hunch or the occasional inspiration gradually
becomes a working part of the mind. We find our thinking will be, as
time passes, more and more on the plane of inspiration. We come to rely
upon it." The dictionary defines inspiration as, "the thoughts of God
implanted upon the mind and soul of man." I do not need to run the
thoughts of God through my intellect - I instantaneously perceive them
as truth. The question becomes, will I be obedient? Is my behavior
going to be propelled by the will of God or by my human instincts? The back half of the Eleventh Step
says, "...praying only for the knowledge of God's will for us and the power
to carry that out", as my human nature will never do the will of God.
It is here that a recovered alcoholic lives, in the will of God, through CONSCIOUS CONTACT.
Written by Armand
Edited by Caitlin Alexandra
The less I think, the greater my peace of mind. The piece of my mind that belongs to my human nature is valuable in the competitive, material world of everyday motion and commotion. The peace of my mind that belongs to The Power Within me requires no thought and exists on a plane of non-competitive, non- motion. Conscious contact is the first benefit of the awareness of the presence of The Power Who has always been and will always be within me, and within all of us. To strike that awareness through The Steps of The Program of Recoveryvis to strike the brightest of gold. As the Big Book states, "he has just begin to scratch the surface of a limitless lode which will pay dividends only if he mines it for the rest of his life and insists on giving away the entire product." The Ultimate Gift!
ReplyDeleteMichael In the will of God the thoughts of an alcoholic, or for anyone who lives there are inspired. When inspiration is experienced there is no process to go through to to determine our next behavior. A recovered alcoholic simply acts on it trusting in God with no fear or anxiety attached...Thank You...Armand
ReplyDeleteThis Is From A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic
ReplyDeleteIn this modern and technological age, with it's confusing clatter of human pedagogy, situational ethics and moral relativism, there is yet a timeless and eternal call still being proclaimed by the Creator and Sustainer of all:
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me"...
When I became even the least bit willing to answer that call I soon discovered that the 12 Steps of AA are in the order they are for a reason and Step 11 is no exception. All are written in the past perfect tense and form the collective testimony of each personal journey taken by every one of the early writers on this divinely inspired road less traveled with a simple clarity seldom encountered in secular writings. For contained within the journey proclaimed, is Himself, the ultimate destination named, who can only be experienced when all other forms of mere human ingenuity are abandoned and surrendered to a fervently desired Person who is the only Faithful and True Author of Life.
The Steps, in their entirety, bear unimpeachable witness through a collective personal testimony to God's never ending outreach of grace to anyone who is willing to surrender and embrace the immutable truth of His Word that manifests the undeniable Presence of His Person the moment we make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to His care, and is the source of an ever increasing desire to understand Him and His ultimate reason for our creation.
It is He, who sweeps away the carnage of our past and our morbid dread of the future. It is He, who authors the Fruit of the Spirit as a never ending manifestation of the divinely desired relationship that, once barred from within, is now free to inspire our every consciousness moment. It is He, who provides the grace to yield myself to Him as my old desires are systematically swept away and it is He, who lovingly compels me to inwardly nurture and surrender to this ongoing and ever broadening relationship with the Creator, Sustainer and Lover of my soul.
Just as the 11th step bears witness that God Himself is the instigation and inspiration of my growing desire to commune with and please Him, Step 12 testifies that this once desperately lived life begins to bear the unmistakable witness of Gods presence and purpose through the Holy Spirit who now resides within to reveal Jesus, drawing those still suffering from the insatiable, desperate loneliness of a life without hope to true freedom. Yes, although we live In a world gone mad be of good cheer; for the Alpha and Omega, the only True Source of eternal peace, joy and hope still proclaims:
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" - Revelation 3:20 -
A Grateful Recovering Alcoholic
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A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic yes, if one, alcoholic or not, is willing to surrender their human nature and live in a conscious contact with God then the miracle of recovery can occur...Thank you so much...Armand
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