As addicts we can become so focused on the outward form our addiction takes – whether that booze, drugs, sex, overeating, etc. – that we overlook its deep roots at the core of our being. You should also try to find other people in AA who share your beliefs and struggles; they can provide support and fellowship as well as offer helpful advice. Just remember, even if you don’t share the same beliefs, everyone in AA are united by their shared experience with addiction and their desire to stay sober. We become so fixated on it that almost everything we do leads us to think about getting intoxicated. The mind and alcoholism are so cunning, baffling, and powerful that we often cannot fathom how we ended up intoxicated when relying on our strong willpower to stay sober.
Finding a Higher Power is an essential part of Alcoholics Anonymous, but what if you don’t believe in God? You’re not alone – there are plenty of people in AA who don’t believe in God, or who have trouble with the concept of a higher power. Without a connection to a higher power, it can get quite ugly in sobriety. Spiritually, we have a difficult time connecting to a higher power. It is common to find yourself being angry at God or saying things like “if God was real this wouldn’t have happened to me” or not understanding why things are the way they are. “As we understood him” — which means when I speak about God, I am really referring to my own experience, which is all I know — it has been revealed to me individually.
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The BB study offered a supportive atmosphere in the safety of a group. The great psychiatrist Carl Jung called this a ‘low level thirst for wholeness – for union with God’. In our addictions, we tried to quench our soul-thirst with fleeting pleasures. The pursuit of them dominated our lives, spiritual malady destroyed relationships, and caused greater desperation than we ever thought possible. We became selfish and self-seeking, ever thirsting for more, and this lust warped us on every level. But we were never satisfied, because but the living presence of God can quench our parched souls.
I’m a dedicated advocate for patients, fostering cultural awareness and emphasizing the importance of quality healthcare. My commitment to continuous learning and collaboration makes me an asset to the healthcare community. Once you’ve found something that you can believe in, it’s important to remember that your Higher Power is there for you when you need it.
The Bedevilments Are The Measuring Stick For Spiritual Health
When things get tough, take a moment to pray, meditate, or just sit quietly and think about your Higher Power and what it means to you. Allow yourself to feel the strength and support that comes from knowing that there is something bigger than yourself out there rooting for your success. One of the great things about AA is that it’s flexible – you can make it work for you, even if you don’t believe in God. So, instead of fixating on the parts of the program that don’t work for you, focus on the things that do.
- So, instead of fixating on the parts of the program that don’t work for you, focus on the things that do.
- The spiritual malady is the result of my being out of order with my higher power who I choose to call God.
Thoughts like we can eventually manage our lives while in active addiction. Unlike normal people (whatever that means) alcoholics are unsettled to the core. After reading ‘The Doctor’s Opinion,’ ‘Bill’s Story,’ and ‘There is a Solution,’ in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, we came to an understanding that we have no control whatsoever over alcohol or drugs. As overwhelming as I’m sure this all may seem for someone who’s either never had a spiritual connection, or been disconnected for years, I’d like to assure you it’s not as formidable as it may seem.
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You are merely instructed to be open to the idea that you are not the end all be all, that there exists out in the universe something that is greater or more powerful than yourself. Whatever you designate that power to be is up to you. However, you choose to interact with that higher power is also up to you. Whether you seek to engage in formal prayer, informal https://ecosoberhouse.com/ mental conversations, or merely by doing good and putting positive energy into the universe, there is no right or wrong way to pray to your higher power. Once you open up to this idea and implement that spiritual connection, you will experience your long-awaited spiritual awakening, the answer to that pesky spiritual malady we suffer from as alcoholics.
It is the emptiness we feel on such a deep level that we turn to self-medication in order to alleviate the sadness and despair that go hand in hand with. But in our quest to fill this void with any and everything we can think of, we completely miss that the only thing that can actually fulfill us a spiritual connectedness to something greater than ourselves. On page 62 the text explains that “Selfishness-self-centeredness! Even if you don’t believe in God right now, it’s important to keep an open mind. Things may change over time, and you never know when or how your beliefs might evolve.
Cultivating Connections in Recovery: Fellowship and a Higher Power
It simply means we are spiritually blocked off from the Power of God, which enables us to remain sober, happy, joyous, and free. Thankfully, the “spiritual malady” is no longer a “missing piece” of Step One for me. It is a reality of my powerlessness and unmanageability and enables me to see why I so desperately need to seek a Power Greater than myself. And unless this malady is recognized, and a course of action (the Twelve Steps) is taken to enable God to remove it, the root of our alcoholic illness can lie dormant and burn us when we least expect it.
The practice of love and service to others has been the panacea that sets me free from the scourge of the eight bedevilments. It is important that when we embark upon this quest to alleviate our spiritual malady that we are not too harsh on ourselves. No one is perfect at first when attempting to live a spiritual life, especially when we are coming back from a long spiritual hiatus. What is important though is that we strive to be a little better every single day and never give up on our spiritual journey in recovery. Our spiritual malady never just goes away and stays away on its own, it requires a constant spiritual connectivity and effort on our parts in our programs to keep it and the subsequent alcohol and drug abuse at bay. So long as we make an active effort to address our spiritual malady every day, we will find relief from it, one day at a time.