This is a blog series that will be focusing on a tip every few days for newcomers. These tips are not a replacement for going to meetings and working the 12 steps. They are to be used in addition to meetings and steps. The first few months of sobriety are hard. These are some ways to help get you through it.
In the last article we talked about changing your environment by surrounding yourself with positive people, things and experiences. I hope these tips have been helpful so far. Today we are going to talk about getting Higher Powered.
We All Come in to Recovery Disconnected
This is a touchy subject for some people. Either they don’t believe in a Higher Power, they don’t believe that a Higher Power can help them with their addiction, they are mad at their Higher Power, they have Faith but their Faith hasn’t kept them sober yet, or they just don’t know what to believe. Do any of these sound familiar to you? Well, welcome to recovery then because we all come in with some sort of disconnection to a Higher Power. That’s why in the book *Alcoholics Anonymous they dedicated a whole chapter to this subject called We Agnostics.
Lack of power, that was our dilemma. We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves. Obviously. Alcoholics Anonymous pg. 45
Obviously, huh? When I was newly sober that wasn’t the obvious choice for me. I was thinking, “This is the 2000’s! Isn’t there a psychological method or something else? What, are we in the dark ages again?!?!” But the truth was I had tried all other methods and the spiritual approach was the only thing left.
Did I believe it would work? Somewhat. I did believe in my sponsor and if a Higher Power had removed his obsession to drink and use, maybe that Higher Power could do the same for me…maybe. What I didn’t know was that that slight belief, however small, was enough to move me from step two, Came to believe that a Power greater than myself could restore me to sanity, on to step three (we’ll discuss that in another blog). Our recovery literature says that if you have even a willingness to believe in a Power greater than yourself, you can move on.
How to Get Connected to a Higher Power
So how, how, HOW was I supposed to get connected to this Higher Power anyway? I had been attending 12 step meetings for almost a year, praying to air everyday, and the end result was another relapse and a rehab. I was starting to think my case was hopeless. Ha! Every alcoholic and addict I’ve sponsored thinks their case is hopeless. We love to be unique.
It turns out the answer to connecting with a Higher Power had been staring me in the face at those 12 step meetings I attended. They were hanging on the wall. The 12 steps. I actually had to WORK the 12 steps if I wanted to recover from my alcoholism and addiction. What a novel idea! Working the 12 steps while you are attending a 12 step meeting. Here I thought that going to meetings was the solution. It’s PART of the solution. You can’t work the 12 steps and not to meetings, and you can’t go to meetings and not work the 12 steps. The end result is the same. Relapse. “Half measures availed us nothing.” B.B. pg. 58
The Key is to Have an Open Mind
Even believing that the steps probably wouldn’t work for me, I did them anyway. Guess what? It worked! I had a spiritual awakening, the obsession to drink and drug was removed, my whole outlook on life changed, I was happy and comfortable sober and I was ON FIRE to tell anyone who would listen how amazing God, the 12 steps, the Big Book, and recovery was (many of us go through this evangelistic stage, lol).
Here’s the key, have an open mind. At two of my meetings we start off the meeting with “The Set Aside Prayer.” Get a sponsor who has worked all 12 steps to guide you through the process. Do it NOW and RAPIDLY. Your next relapse is around the corner waiting for you.
What has been your experiences with getting Higher Powered? What methods have you tried? What has worked? Failed? I look forward to hearing your experiences.
Next we will be discussing Tip 6: Getting Connected
Peace, Love & Sobriety
*A2WG is not affiliated with AA or any other organizations
