Spirituality and the 12 Steps by Jay Rau
Jay is a staff member who helps our clients by making them look at things differently. He is very creative and in this entry he steps out from his normal focus on Native American and Alternative Therapies and shares some thoughts about the "living the 12 Steps."
More than half of the twelve steps have something to do with God/Higher Power in one way or another. Here is a quick glimpse at these steps:
(2) Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
(3) Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
(5) Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
(6) Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
(7) Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
(11) Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
(12) Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principals in all our affairs.
The ending result is a spiritual awakening. Doesn’t that sound nice; a spiritual awakening? I’ve seen some miracles as a result of working these steps, but why only some?
Why doesn’t every single person that follows these steps have a wonderful experience such as a spiritual awakening?
Into Action
Many people might only “talk the talk” and not “walk the walk”. I believe this is very important and we should always be the best that we can be. If you say that you are a Christian shouldn’t you walk like Christ and live your life with love and compassion to all? If you are a Buddhist shouldn’t you walk like Buddha and be an enlightened person with self-awareness? Well then shouldn’t those of us in recovery walk like Bill Wilson and be shinning lights of sobriety? The answer is YES - Especially if we work at an exclusive recovery center like Sober Living by the Sea!
Some people only go through the motions and pretend to work the steps. Some even know the steps by heart and can recite the Big Book, but don’t apply the message in their daily lives. I’ve seen others go to meetings every day and tell their story at speaker meetings, but are still miserable with themselves, angry, sarcastic, resentful and downright mean. Why? Why do some people only want to wear a mask of sobriety and not shine the light sobriety can offer? People should look at everyone that works the steps and say, “WOW! I want what they have.”
Throw Yourself Into the Recovery
The first thing that may help is to believe in God or a Higher Power (it can be anything) that more powerful than you and your drug addiction. When doing the twelve steps you should do them with all of your heart and all of your soul. Lead by example and walk the walk. When doing a fourth step don’t just scratch the surface but dig deep into your childhood. Many of your problems may be way beyond what your sponsor can help you with. Don’t stop there. Seek professional help with a Therapist, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Clergy or Shaman. I believe that our drug of choice was our cure for what was really wrong with us. We started getting loaded to kill the pain of childhood trauma or other events that made us uncomfortable. Dig deep and hard enough and you will find the real problem.
And for those of us who think we have it all together and do not need to go any further - know that you are making a grave mistake. This is a life-long job. How well do you want to be? Do you only want to stay sober? I want to work on myself and keep becoming more spiritual until the day I die.
Do you smile throughout the day? Are you nice to people? Are you easily angered? Do you wake up in a bad mood and take it out on the world? Anyone can be spiritual around nice people, calm situations, in meetings or church and on a mountain top. The key is to be spiritual around difficult people, stressful situations or in a traffic jam. That is when the spirituality of the twelve steps needs to come into play. That is when God should be in control and not your ego! Walk tall and be a representative of recovery and not a two-bit actor trying to play the part. The new comer deserves the best that we can give.
- Jay Rau
Great Blog!!!
Lisa M.