In the chapter Into Action in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous it says "In thinking about our day we may face indecision. We may not be able to determine which course to take. Here we ask God for INSPIRATION, an intuitive thought or decision. We don't struggle. We are often surprised how the right answers 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. Being still inexperienced and having just made conscious contact with God it is improbable that we are going to be inspired at all times. Nevertheless, we find that our thinking will, as time passes be more and more on the plane of INSPIRATION. We come to rely upon it."
It is in the conscious contact with God that INSPIRATION may be received. It is where a recovered alcoholic lives.
INSPIRATION is defined in the dictionary as the thoughts of God implanted in the mind and soul of man. When the thoughts of God is received in my soul I don't need to run them by my intellect, as I know immediately that they are the truth. The question becomes, is my human nature surrendered to the will of God in this moment so that I am capable of receiving God's thoughts or is my thought process propelled by my human instinct. A recovered alcoholic lives by INSPIRATION as their thought process is propelled by the will of God.
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ReplyDeleteTo define Inspiration in the material/mental world is a monumental undertaking. Is it purely an amplification of the senses, a temporary glow, an anomalous and fleeting feeling? Is it the result of hard work, is it a gift, is it transitory-only, how will I know it, how can I keep it? Philosophers and thinkers have spent centuries trying to define Inspiration, its cause and its effect. The Latin word "inspirae" means to "breathe into," but how? And why? My experience in Recovery is this: that over-definition of Inspiration is beside-the-point. For me, The incorporation of The Twelve Steps into my life - the work - has yielded a personal relationship with The Power Within me. And that personal relationship brings with it an underlying illumination which I had always sensed but had never before really known. The theological definition of the thoughts of God implanted, or breathed into, the mind and soul of man, offers something beyond understanding but worth pursuing. Because, as you point out, my daily life can be lived as inspired by trusting in The Power which has come to Light through The Twelve Steps. That understanding has the power to connect my human nature to my divine nature which, in a way, is the ultimate explanation of Inspiration.
ReplyDeleteMichael Many members of Alcoholics Anonymous are unaware of the value of living an inspired life. There is no exposure to it in many of the meetings. As alcoholics who have recovered and in concert with an inspired life our goal is to expose as many as we can to this life achieved only through love for others...Thank you so much...Armand
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