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We can laugh at those who think spirituality the way of weakness. The verdict of the ages is that faith means courage. Instead we let Him demonstrate, through us, what He can do. We ask Him to remove our fear and direct our attention to what He would have us be.
Who has been where you have been, felt how you have felt. Hence his first day of sobriety is taken as the first day of AA, although the AA organisation as we know it today took longer to come in to being. Today this would be termed “despite negative consequences”. Whether I stay in fear or shame is now my choice. Now at least I can see how I react and can take steps to deal with it.
Troy S. – NA Speaker – “Escaping from the Prison of Addiction”
We subjected each relation to this test -was it selfish or not? We asked God to mold our ideals and help us to live up to them. We remembered always that our sex powers were God-given and therefore good, neither to be used lightly or selfishly nor to be despised and loathed. We turned back to the list, for it held the key to the future. We were prepared to look for it from an entirely different angle.
I didn’t have to keep score with you any longer or resent anything that you said, did or didn’t do. Quite a few of my resentments had to do with what you did not do to suit me. I hung on to a few of these for a few years but spiritual malady I finally saw the folly in doing so. So once again taking out pen and paper I made my list. I then took this list to my sponsor for another long talk. I saw where I was at fault and that I had major expectations of you.
Ellen C. – Family Recovery Speaker – “Changing my attitude, changing my life” (Funny!)
From it stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we have been not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick. When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically. For me the “spiritual malady” is underpinned by an emotion disorder and makes us over reactive as you say. The Oxford Group said it was a sin disease just as real as any other physical malady, I intend to agree. Sins to me are negative emotions such as self centredness, intolerance, impatience, self pity that impact on my well bing and the well being of others etc.
- 2) I had to realize that, had THAT SET of resentments not resulted in me feeling trapped, then sulking, then drinking, the next set probably would have.
- Basically, the alcoholic, once they start they cannot control the amount they take.
- This has been borne out in millions of cases around the world.
- I do agree that 99.9% of human have a spiritual sickness and – IMHO – everybody could use what we learn here in the Steps of AA!
How do you prepare for life after treatment, and what kind of help do you need? Ever wonder what a chronic relapser is and how they can affect your family? If you are an alcoholic, then you know you cannot just put the plug in the jug and quit.
Inside The Alcoholic Brain
But first, it’s crucial that you understand the difference between a spiritual experience and a religious one. While I could go on forever on the differences between these two ideas, I’ll keep it as simple as possible. Taking a commercial inventory is a fact-finding and a fact-facing process. The practice of Christian Meditation offers a remedy to the spiritual malady. When we enter the silence with discipline and perseverance, we make space for the living presence of God to heal us from the inside out. The only thing I had to change was my drinking.
It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit these, do we squander the hours that might have been worth while. But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave. For when harboring such feeling we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity of alcohol returns and we drink again. What many people do not know is that the disease of alcoholism is deeper than an allergy and mental obsession.
Take Your First Step To Recovery
I’ve struggled with a consistent practice of steps with now 19 yrs of sobriety. I was reading last night in I Peter about living in a way that my prayers are not be hindered. And the book by Chuck C , A New Pair of Glasses, defining the SM as a feeling of consciously separated from God. https://ecosoberhouse.com/ Thats why when I work with people, i try to have them read the chapter More about alcoholism where it stresses more on the mental part of the disease. And thats what the authors of the big book also suggests. At this point, I usually explain that this program is all about Power!
