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A bit of wisdom that was passed on to me by my uncle (a spiritual Elder) is that even if I do not share someone's beliefs, I must still respect those beliefs.
I do feel a bit uncomfortable when we read the Serenity Prayer and the Lords Prayer and when I am asked to read the preamble "But there is One who has all power—that One is God. May you find Him now.” It's not that I don't believe - it's that we read and talk about a "Higher Power of my understanding" yet the meetings open & close with very specific prayers & references.
I don't make a big deal out of it. I accept that meetings are what they are. For me, there is a bigger picture - the 12 steps, my sobriety, the fellowship. I'm certainly not going to let specific references stop me from going to AA or make meetings a negative experience. Also, I believe that when we are talking about our Higher Power in the context of AA, we are talking about the same thing.
Big Book references from the 1st Edition of the Big Book
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