Experience The Third Step Prayer

            Having admitted complete defeat; having admitted to our innermost self that we were alcoholic; having come to the understanding that human power could not overcome our alcoholism; having begun to trust in God as a solution to our problem -- we were now at Step Three.  Step Three occurs when we decide, (a final choice), to turn our will (which is our thoughts) and our life (which is our behavior) over to the care of God.  We decide that our thought process will no longer be propelled by our human instinct but rather by the will of God. 

          We get down on our knees and bow our heads praying, "God I offer myself to thee - To build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of life. May I do Thy will always!"

          This is an important and critical step for the beginning of the transformation of our thought process, which is essential and must occur, if we are to recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.  However, this is only the beginning.  Now that we have taken a Third Step we must complete the remaining steps so that the transformation of our thought process is complete.  Once completed, we can receive the full benefits of the Third Step Prayer. We can trust in God for not only   a solution to our addiction but as a solution to all of our problems.

Written by Armand

Can't Solve The Problem With The Problem

         A life lived to constantly fuel and satisfy desires; a protection of instincts that are warped by fear and self absorption; a life lived in defiance, self-centeredness, extreme sensitivity and grandiosity; a life, that never could initiate and sustain true and honest relations with other human beings; a life forever searching outside of myself and completely unaware that the solution to my problems lay within myself.  This life, fueled by fear and an insatiable desire in an attempt to appease my human instincts, became so intensely anxiety-filled that I increasingly sought escape as a way to experience ease and comfort within myself, a complete contradiction. One of the forms of this escape was an increasing use of alcohol which manifested in addiction-an addiction I continually sought control of and increasingly found myself unable to do so.  This inability to control created a series of negative consequences in my life driven by a self-will that knew no bounds.  I constantly tried to address the problem of  excessive alcohol use in my life with my internal drives.  I was trying to SOLVE THE  PROBLEM WITH THE PROBLEM.
         I was unaware that I have A unique disease in that it is two-fold.  I have a physical allergy which ensures that each and every time I put alcohol into my system I'll get sick, I'll get drunk,I'll get into all kinds of trouble but more importantly I have a Mental Obsession which ensures that even though I don't want to drink sooner or  later my mind will tell me it's okay, I'll put the alcohol into my system I'll trigger the physical allergy and I'll get drunk again.  Time after time, using my mind to create a way to control my use of alcohol and always failing to do so, has proven to me that I CAN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM WITH THE PROBLEM.
         The solution to our problem with alcohol and with every problem in our lives is a personal relationship with God through a Vital Spiritual Experience, honed and enlightened by Prayer and Meditation.  This experience will occur  through the integration of the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous into our lives in such a way that they become our life.  Then, THE PROBLEM WILL BE SOLVED. 
Written By Armand     

Self Will Or God's Will?

      The importance of Step Three is that a decision is made, a final choice, for our thought processes to no longer be propelled by our human instinct, or Self Will, but rather by God's Will through inspiration.  Inspiration is defined as "the thoughts of God implanted in the mind and soul of man."  The Third Step is, "made a decision to to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood Him."  In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous in the chapter How It Works it states "the first requirement for taking the Third Step is that we be convinced", meaning that we have exhausted all argument, "that any life run on Self Will can hardly be a success.  Remember that we deal with alcohol-cunning, baffling, powerful.  Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power, that One is God may you find Him now."  It also states "selfishness, self centeredness that, we think, is the root of our troubles.  So are troubles we think are of our own making.  And the alcoholic is an extreme example of Self -Will run riot though he usually doesn't think so."
      Again Self Will is our thoughts propelled by our human instincts.  The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous says "above everything we must be rid of this selfishness and there often seems no way of entirely getting rid of Self without His aid."
     I have learned through the program of Alcoholics Anonymous that I have three basic instincts, a social, a sexual and a security instinct.  These instincts are God given and necessary for life, but in me I can never get enough of what it is I think I need.  The great psychiatrist Sigmund Freud defines an instinct as a bodily need manifested   in our thought processes.  It is here that my character defects exist, but those same character defects which will always exist in my human nature to some extent cannot possibly be manifested in our behavior when our thought processes is propelled By God's Will through Inspiration.
Written By Armand

Unique Disease

       Alcoholism is a UNIQUE DISEASE in that it is twofold.  We have a physical allergy which ensures that each and every time we put alcohol into our system we will get sick, we will get drunk, we will get into all kinds of trouble.  But, even more important than the physical allergy, we have a mental obsession which ensures that even though we don't want to drink, sooner or later our mind will tell us it's ok-we'll put the alcohol into our system,  we'll trigger the physical allergy, and we'll get drunk again.  As Dr Silkworth, the great Medical benefactor of AA suggests, the thought processes of the mind have to be transformed.  The thought processes of the mind MUST undergo a physic change and this change is essential and must be complete.  As Dr. Silkworth states, "on the other hand, and strange as this may seem-once a physic change has occurred the very same person who seemed doomed, who has so many problems they despaired of ever solving them, is easily able to control their desire for alcohol, the only effort being required is to follow a few simple rules."
        The transformation of thought that is necessary to recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body occurs through the grace of God received by the practice of the Twelve Steps of  Alcoholics Anonymous.  Having admitted complete defeat, having admitted to our innermost self that we are alcoholic, understanding that no human power could overcome our alcoholism, having begun to trust in God as the solution to our problems we were now at Step Three-as we decided to turn our will,  which is our thoughts, and our life, which is our behavior, over to the care of God.  I knelt down on my knees and prayed THE THIRD STEP PRAYER.  "God I over myself to thee, to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt, relieve me of the bondage of self so that I may better do Thy will.  Take away from me my difficulties so that victory over them will bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love and Thy Way of Life, may I do Thy will always."
          A simple solution to a complicated and UNIQUE DISEASE.
Written By Armand

An Awakened Life

       We admitted complete defeat; we put our absolute trust in God; we made a decision for our thought process to be propelled by the will of God and not by our human instinct; we asked God to remove anything and everything objectionable from us; we made our amends; we learned through the program of Alcoholics Anonymous and through our life experiences that we must pray and meditate daily. Now, through the grace of God, we are living in this moment in His will and are the very living example of the power of the program of AA. This has and will occur for all of us in whom the Spirit has been awakened. Once the Spirit has been awakened we are then given the power to help others, not only through our words but more importantly, through our behavior. We are acutely aware that in our quest to help others we cannot possibly give away that which we don't have.

       As a result of integrating into our lives the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, we are given the power to help others. It is a wondrous event to see others live AN AWAKENED LIFE. We experience a fulfillment in our own lives as we watch them recover into loving and giving human beings.

Written by Armand

A Beautiful Life

  The "Big Book" Alcoholics Anonymous states, in reference to the Ninth Step and the Promises, "If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are halfway through.  We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.  We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.  We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace.  No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others.  That feeling of uselessness and self pity will disappear.  We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows.  Self-seeking will slip away.  Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.  Fear of people and economic insecurity will leave us.  We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.  We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves."

            If we are willing to surrender to the will of God through the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous then we can be free of the manifestation of our character defects in our behavior.  Our self-centered life will begin its departure as we experience serenity and peace - peace which allows us to perceive life in a way that is joyful. We can then respond to that joy with love for others even though the circumstances of our lives may be unchanged. This love for others is the expression of us experiencing a beautiful life.

Written by Armand

The Fourth Dimension Of Life

     In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous it says, "We shall describe some of the states that precede a relapse into drinking, for obviously this is the crux of the problem.  What sort of thinking dominates an alcoholic who repeats time after time the experiment of the first drink.....therefore the main problem of the alcoholic centers in the mind rather than in the body."
                If our thought processes are propelled by the will of God rather than our human instincts we will not drink. Our character defects cannot manifest themselves in our behavior if we are in His will.  Instead, our character has been perfected, as we are now the human being that God created us to be.
                In  THE FOURTH DIMENSION OF LIFE we become a human being that cares about others in such a genuine way. We become a human being that wants to help others.  We think of other's needs before our own.  In the Big Book it states, "Our very lives as ex-problem drinkers depends upon our constant thoughts of others and how we may help meet their needs."
                We benefit in using all tools of recovery but, above all, we must turn from our human nature and live in the will of God. By doing so we will live a human life we could have only imagined we would. We will manifest THE FOURTH DIMENSION OF LIFE - a life free from the bondage of ourselves.    

Written by Armand

To Know Peace

  In Chapter 4 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous it says, "...we had to fearlessly face the proposition that God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is, or He isn't. What was our choice to be?"  When I came to the very point in my recovery where I had no desire to turn back to my old life but I was fearful of letting go of my nature (and living in the will of God), the above statement had to be answered.   I may have answered in the affirmative earlier in my recovery but it wasn't until that precise moment that I fully understood what was being asked of me - or rather, required of me.
          If we are to recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body; if we are to be free of  manifesting our human defects in our behavior; if we are to live a life where we are tolerant and loving of all but never accepting of evil, if we are to live a life free from fear, anxiety and anger, if we are to be respected and loved and posses the spirit of charity forgiveness and  joy - not because everything in life is as our human nature thinks it ought to be but because God is with us.  Joy is not the absence of sorrow but the presence of God.
           For the first time in my life I had become fully alive as the Spirit was fully awakened within me. I became and am the human being that God created me to be, maximizing my human potential, free of conflict, and at peace.
           I am aware of what is required of me, and I have answered "Yes, God is everything." What will your answer be?
Written By Armand

Another Way To Look At Step Ten

  I like to think of the Tenth Step of the AA program as a hallway - a hallway that I must walk down in order to come into the room in which I can live with God. This hallway needs daily repair as the ceiling is leaking, there are holes in the walls and the floor is buckled. Fortunately, the program of Alcoholics Anonymous has given us an instructional manual so that we can pass through, although we may be encumbered at first.
         Another way to look at this is as if God is the light and my human defects are a clouded glass which no light can shine through.  As I begin to incorporate the program of AA into my life and begin to develop a relationship with God, some of the glass clears and some of the light shines through.  As I continue to incorporate the Twelve Steps into my life, the glass clears even more and even more of the light shines through.  Finally, the day arrives when the glass is transparent and all of the light shines through and it is in this moment that I am one with God and free of the manifestation of my character defects.
          Incorporate the Tenth Step into your daily existence and, eventually, into all your waking moments. We must be persistent. Persistence is the time between the promise of God and the provision of God. Thereafter, a life free of anxiety, fear and resentment can be experienced; cloaked in harmony, peace and serenity.

Written by Armand