The program of Alcoholics Anonymous has in place the fabric necessary to weave through and heal our character defects - whether they surface in our daily or our spot check inventories. If and when necessary we use the Ninth Step which is, "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others." If we decide that an amend is necessary we immediately make it in an effort to live in the present. Only in the present can we be in the will of God, where His grace saves us from creating another past which we will need to extricate ourselves from. Once performed, we thread into the necessary fabric The Seventh Step, "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." If our actions cause us to have any shame or guilt, we then use the Fifth Step of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, "Admitted to God, to ourselves and another human being the exact nature of our wrongs" so that we may be living in the present with a clean slate and a serene mind.
If we are willing to take our inventories, make our amends, ask God to remove our defects, and share our wrongs with ourselves, God and another human being there will be NO NEED TO CREATE A PAST. We will have the freedom to exist in the present - in the will of God.
As alcoholics we have worked hard to free ourselves from our past. If we are willing to weave the program of Alcoholics Anonymous into our lives in such a way that it becomes our life than the creation of a past that, at least subconsciously, is having a negative effect on our present consciousness, will not occur. This is a critical tool in permanent recovery.
Written by Armand
To live in the past is a backward path to someone and something that disabled me from being me, and from being free. The Steps, once incorporated into my life until they gradually became my life, led to the conscious contact of the present. In the present, not only have I been able to find The Power Within me but I have found me in the process. Not being me kept me in the spiritual rut of make-believe, thrusting my empty self upon the world, even when not drinking. Living in the past is simply a counterfeit life for me, a place to hide while life passes by. The Program of Recovery yields a new happiness, a sense of purpose and belonging not possible without change. The Second Step uses the word "enthusiastically" in explaining how we should approach the remaining Steps. It reminds us that we are in a program of action in order to find the persons we were born to be. I can think of no greater gift than the gift of becoming me in this moment. And then giving the gift away in order to keep and cherish it.
ReplyDeleteMichael a recovered alcoholic lives in the present in the will of God neither looking back in regret or forward in fear. When we see our human nature manifested in our behavior than by simply applying the necessary Steps as outlined in the blog brings us back into the present and in the will of God...Thank you...Armand
DeleteThis comment Is From A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic
ReplyDeleteHaving been miraculously delivered from a self imposed prison of misdirected survival skills that fund me at the precipice of an ignominious death, my bow has now been broken and the bent and featherless arrows that once filled my quiver are now willingly abandoned. Yet, even as I pass the pen to the Master Planner the move from prisoner to pilgrim is not always without struggle. Life is not a consistent encounter with rainbows, pixie-dust and unicorns. I still must contend with the ever-present seductions of the world and although now graciously subdued, the ever present calling of the appetites of my flesh. But throughout every encounter His grace abounds. This new life is no longer dependent upon me. The eternal struggle is no longer encountered alone and the mystery for managing the transition has now been laid before me with a simple clarity that only comes through an ever expanding relationship with the only true source of Power, Light and Love.
That divine gift of willingness, that first "grain of a mustard seed of faith," spoken of in Matthew 19-20; is no longer light years away but now grows by every encounter with life's former problems and perplexities into a deep and abiding faith. They become desired gifts from above as they reveal the only true touchstones of faith, love and compassion that grows an unyielding devotion to the Author and Finisher of this new journey into the unspeakable and eternal richness of the mind and plan of God.
The Author provides the Holy Spirit who now resides within me. He reminds me of the simple steps that first brought me to this place. He teaches that truth without love is pride and that love without truth is mere sentimentality. That the purpose of life and all of His creation is an eternal relationship by, with and through Him. When all around seems vexed and troubled. When confusion and conflict abound. He compels the surrender of every encounter within life's lesson plan and gently reminds it has been lovingly written into eternity, just for me, that I may continue to discover Him as He truly is.
A Grat
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic upon arrival in Alcoholics Anonymous we learn that we are powerless and we had to find a Power by which we could live. In the chapter How It Works it says "that one is God may you find Him now." This is the purpose of the 12 Steps of AA to find that Power and by the use of the Steps maintaining that relationship...Thank you...Armand
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