What a beautiful program Alcoholics Anonymous is. Not only does it relieve our uncontrollable use of alcohol but is applicable to each and every problem in our lives.We come to A A because we desire to stop drinking alcohol and are unable to do so on our own. Alcohol severely impacts our lives, our minds, and our bodies. We discover through the program of Alcoholics Anonymous that alcohol, of itself, is not and was not the problem - it is but a symptom of the problem. The real problem with us as alcoholics (and addicts of any and all types) is self-centered fear. We are afraid we will not get what we want... and afraid to lose what we have.
When any of our human instincts are threatened we overreact until we make the decision in the Third Step of the program to turn our thoughts and our actions over to the care of God. Once we do this we are on our way to a serene and peaceful life. The integration of the remaining steps into our lives leads us to a life in which we are praying and meditating on a daily basis. When praying we ask only for the knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out. Remaining in that present state of mind, in the will of God, we do not drink. In God's hands all of our problems are solved.
God is the solution to the real problem. Once we are in His will we do not overreact when we think that our human instincts are threatened as we are trusting in His safety and serenity. May you find Him and his comfort now.
I learned in AA that I was oversensitive, immature and grandiose - all words which helped to identify and underscore my formerly unknown fears. As a result, I trusted no one, even the God of my misunderstanding. I had to carry the load of me by myself, a state in which fear pervaded. Though I instinctively knew alcohol was injurious to me, I drank with no regard for the consequences, or for the lives of others who were tinged by my alcoholic actions. In The Second Step, I found a way to trust, and in The Third Step, I came to understand that my dependence had to become personal. The remaining Steps introduced me to The Power Within me, which is as personal as it can be, and only where He may be found. In that Presence, and only in that Presence, am I able to manage my humanity without the fear that can paralyze everything I think and do, regardless of my intentions. So the real problem was absence, not Presence. Today, the presence of The Power Within me is the opportunity for peace for which I've always been longing, even in my darkest drinking days. I know that my life was meant to be lived without fear. That is possible only through the comfort and guidance of The Power Within, and the ultimate gift of giving it all away.
ReplyDeleteMichael self centered fear corrupted our thought process and to this day after all these years it still does. it is why the program demands that our thoughts are no longer propelled by our human instinct but rather by the will of God. We are inspired through the grace of God...Thank you...Armand
DeleteThis Comment Is From A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic
ReplyDeleteThanks for Sharing Armand,
Self centered fear and pride, together with covetousness exquisitely describe the motive force that propels every person who is absolutely inwardly convinced that the entire known universe was uniquely and exclusively created just for them. Yet, a casual glance at the world at large confirms that these regrettable characteristics are not the exclusive estate of the Alcoholic mind. Even the most sober minded and spiritual among us suffer the cravings of misdirected appetites and any denial of our true condition is the primal delusion that must be rooted out and tossed into the pit from which it originated for it is a core spiritual state that cannot even be recognized let alone overcome without Devine intervention. One of the greatest saints who ever lived wrote of this nearly 2000 years ago and I'll defer to the problem he identified and the solution he discovered.
Romans 7: 14 - 24
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
This gratefully recovering alcoholic has painfully proven in the past that even when I inwardly agree that the course I choose will ultimately lead to self destruction I will still "throw the dice" as my appetites demand hoping for a better outcome and that, my friend is insanity... Simple knowledge of my condition is of no avail until I fully accept that I'm completely, utterly and constitutionally incapable of overcoming my own will and, any self powered effort in that direction is tantamount to placing a hair net over the space shuttle with the expectation of preventing the launch.
Today I pray, dear God I respond now to Your invitation. You have called me to place into Your capable hands the trials and tribulations within me and about me. Help me to turn my cares over to You, and to rest in the assurance that Your solutions are greater than my problems. Give me a clear head and a trusting heart as I press onward on the path You have marked before me. You are the only one who can enter the tomb to breathe life into the fetid state of a long dead soul and provide a Damascus Road meeting with the Author of Light. Help me to continually uncover the peace, serenity and assurance that is the immutable fabric of a life lived in the arms of You, my Savior and Lord.
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic this is exactly what we decide in Step 3 anf pray only for in Step 11. The reason why we must integrate the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous into our life in such a way that it becomes our life...Thank you...Armand
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