Thereafter having admitted that I was alcoholic I soon found out that alcohol in and of itself was not my problem, but was the manifestation of my problem. The true problem was self-centered fear - afraid that I was not going to get what I want and afraid that I was going to lose what I had.In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous it says, "When dealing with the fear problem, or any other problem, perhaps there is a better way as we are now on a different basis, the basis of trusting and relying upon God. We trust infinite God rather than finite self. We are in the world to play the role God assigns. Just to the extent we do as we think God would have us do and humbly rely on God, does God enable us to match calamity with serenity. We never apologize to anyone for depending on our creator. We can laugh at those who think spirituality is the way of weakness. The verdict of the ages is that faith means courage. All possessors of faith have courage. They trust their God. We let God demonstrate through us what God can do. We ask God to remove our fear and direct our attention to what we should be doing. At once, we commence to outgrow fear."
The integration of the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous into our lives leads to a personal relationship with God. Prior to that occurring, fear haunted all of our being, was in all of our moments, driving all of our decisions in an attempt to satiate our instincts. We were afraid that we were not going to get what we wanted and afraid that we were going to lose what we had. Today, in this moment, that can change. That will change for all of us if we are in alignment with God's will for us. We will then know a peace we have never before experienced.
Written by Armand
To know a peace we have never before experienced is the non-thinking and ultimate gift of The Program of Recovery for me. I've learned through The Twelve Steps that fear is completely driven by my thinking. For the fear to go, my thinking had to go-counter-intuitive but true. But how do I replace my thinking, how do I find that Power? First, I had to learn where that Power was - deep within me. And then I had to know how to acquire it - to stop fighting it, and to apply the remaining Steps of the Program into my daily life. For me, that was the spiritual schematic that led me to me and to The Power Within me. It became personal and an unmistakable companionship resulted. My thinking no longer has to be laundered through my mind but can be replaced by Inspiration - literally implanted in my mind without the fatiguing effort of my mind. Peace of my mind has followed, enabling a view of my life that is colored with beauty instead of fear and doubt. I, of myself, cannot expel fear from my human nature. Thus, I simply cannot live there.
ReplyDeleteMichael loved when you wrote "i cannot expel fear from my human nature. Thus, I simply cannot live there. The essence of the program and what must occur if one is to recover....Thank you...Armand
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