When I become angry or resentful, it is in that moment that I manifest my human SELF-CENTEREDNESS. In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous it says "that we think is the root of our troubles." It also goes on to say "It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. To the precise point that we permit these do we squander the hours that might have been worthwhile. But with the alcoholic whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave. We found it fatal! For when harboring such thoughts we cut ourselves off from the sunlight of the spirit." The solution to our alcoholism is a vital spiritual experience. We must give life to our relationship with God. We accomplish this by turning from our human nature and living in the will of God. We receive God's will through inspiration conditioned by prayer and meditation. We can't possibly be in the will of God when we are manifesting SELF - CENTEREDNESS in our lives , but by sobrogating our human nature to the will of God we cannot possibly manifest the SELF - CENTEREDNESS of our human nature in our behavior.
Written By Armand
In The Big Book program of recovery, I learned that there is a a clear distinction between self-centeredness and being centered within self. I believe that, for me, the former was fear-based and the latter is trust-based. By integrating all Twelve Steps into my life, my resentments have been minimized and my tranquility has grown one day at a time. As with everything in the path to a loving relationship with myself, I had to find a relationship with The Power Within me. That Power is the center, I am merely the self. The sunlight of the spirit is the great gift of that conscious contact.
ReplyDeleteMichael as you say so well we can live in our fear based human nature or Our Trust based spiritual nature. The choice is ours...Thank you...Armand
ReplyDeleteArmand,
ReplyDeleteFor me the Big Book program of recovery clearly teaches that true humility simply cannot exist in the mind and heart of a self-centered thinker. Humility, is the state of being a God centered being and only occurs as we spend time; serious time, in the presence of the Master, prayerfully communing with Him, seeking out His will and guidance in every moment so that our very lives begin to become the essence of His prayer. Consider Jesus' words recorded in Matthew 11:28 - 30, "Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
It teaches that once we’ve surrendered the drug (drug’s) of our choice and have petitioned Him to forgive and sweep away the wreckage of our past we are compelled to surrender our limited understanding of true life on life's terms and begin to be inspired by the Master, think the Masters thoughts and begin to do the things the Master does as He progressively becomes the only object and destination of our journey.
At first, Gods will appears as the diametric opposite of my own, inconvenient, out of focus and certainly not driven by my schedule… It seems this well hidden self-centered pride has polluted everything I've touched. It stunts my spiritual growth, hobbles my relationships and causes me to miss the blessings only God can provide. When I allow pride to reign, life becomes bland, truth becomes relative and values become debased.
And so I pray: Lord, You only ask that I believe You and are willing to allow You to change my life and help me to avoid my sinful impulses and bear unimpeachable testimony to your miraculous intervention. Forgive me when I look away from You for even an instant and plummet into the all too threatening waves of life as did Peter in the Sea of Galilee when he took his eyes from you. For only when my mind is firmly planted upon Your Word and the gloriously sweet presence Of the Holy Spirit will I have the understanding, wisdom and power to face the ambiguities of today with the absolutes of Your truth, guidance, grace and love with all whom You place upon my path.
Lord, keep me mindful of the eight words of God-centered servanthood: "Without You, I can't; without me You won’t." Think Your thoughts through me, speak Your truth through my words, and enable Your best for others through what You lead me to do.
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic love the prayer...Thank you...Armand
DeleteOne of my earliest points of confusion about AA was thinking of it as a "self-help program." I thought I had tried several self-help programs and they hadn't worked, so what was the point of trying one more? When I finally got to AA because I had nowhere else to go, an old-timer told me AA is not a self-help program but a God-help program. And that I can't solve the problem with the problem. I need a Power greater than myself, and I need to focus on helping others-- then my problem goes away. "God is doing for me what I couldn't do for myself." That is the real message of AA-- a message with far more weight and depth than just "stop drinking."
ReplyDeleteDan love when yoy wrote "God is doing for me what i couldn't do for myself." Ain't it the truth. Thank you...Armand
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