How do I recover as an atheist in NA?
Recovering Addict
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Northern New York
Posts: 10
How do I recover as an atheist in NA?
I like the meetings, I love the people but I do not believe in a god or gods. So, how do I recover as an atheist in NA? I am from a small town. My sponsor, clean friends and support are all pretty christian based folks. this is NOT me. So, how do I do the steps and the program of recovery without feeling like a total hypocrite? Thanks.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,486
Welcome!
ANY power greater than me has a power greater than my own...I can tap into that with a willingness to get out of my own way. Doesn't have to be or be called "GOD" it can be anything I choose it to be.
I learned to step away from my own self-centeredness for the first time in the first step. I experienced an awakening as a result of accepting my powerlessness over my addiction. That awakening lead me to step two....and so on one at a time.
Recovery in NA has taught me to be openminded and tolerant of our differences. This tells me you can be different than me in several ways...yet have the similarity of myself and the other members in sharing the same goal to live clean principled lives without the use of drugs.
We do recover when we look for our similarities.
NA is inclusive and not at all exclusive. This also means we hope you don't exclude or disqualify yourself along your journey to find a mentor/sponsor with whom you can feel comfortable.
My search for a sponsor along this journey has proven invaluable! I have come to realize that we don't have the same higher power and we are just fine!
The twelve steps are very personal process and are shared by both believers in a God(s) and athiests alike who do recover in NA. NA is diverse! Keep doing what you are doing and you will find the winners.
Peace,
Missy
ANY power greater than me has a power greater than my own...I can tap into that with a willingness to get out of my own way. Doesn't have to be or be called "GOD" it can be anything I choose it to be.
I learned to step away from my own self-centeredness for the first time in the first step. I experienced an awakening as a result of accepting my powerlessness over my addiction. That awakening lead me to step two....and so on one at a time.
Recovery in NA has taught me to be openminded and tolerant of our differences. This tells me you can be different than me in several ways...yet have the similarity of myself and the other members in sharing the same goal to live clean principled lives without the use of drugs.
We do recover when we look for our similarities.
NA is inclusive and not at all exclusive. This also means we hope you don't exclude or disqualify yourself along your journey to find a mentor/sponsor with whom you can feel comfortable.
My search for a sponsor along this journey has proven invaluable! I have come to realize that we don't have the same higher power and we are just fine!
The twelve steps are very personal process and are shared by both believers in a God(s) and athiests alike who do recover in NA. NA is diverse! Keep doing what you are doing and you will find the winners.
Peace,
Missy
Evolving Addict
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New York State
Posts: 3,067
Originally Posted by Missybuns 
The twelve steps are very personal process and are shared by both believers in a God(s) and athiests alike who do recover in NA. NA is diverse! Keep doing what you are doing and you will find the winners.
Tommy,
As a newer member in NA, I struggled for quite a while with this same issue. In fact, at around 3 yrs clean, I began searching for an alternative program because I got sick and tired of other members (seemingly) forcing their beliefs down my throat. Then it dawned on me that the other members weren't really the problem...it was my intolerance.
You see, the program of NA states very simply that it is non-religious. Even in my step work I had failed to zero-in on the fact that I had a choice of what I called my "Higher Power" :
Step Two - "We can call it the group, the program, or we can call it God. The only suggested guidelines are that this Power be loving, caring and greater than ourselves."
Step Three - "Our concept of God comes not from dogma but from what we believe and from what works for us. Many of us understand God to be simply whatever force keeps us clean. The right to a God of your understanding is total and without any catches."
It is often said that NA is a society within a society. What we find in NA is very similar to what we'll find elsewhere. The US is predominately Christian, so it's natural that the rooms reflect the same. Atheists and Agnostics are a minority in NA, but they too have found recovery and fellowship in NA. As I continued to work the steps attend meetings, I found that I wasn't alone...I found comfort in the literature and other members who were like me. It's important to remember that the program isn't religious, but many of the members are...and I have to tolerate them as they tolerate me.
I suggest you read:
[1] "Up From Down Under" - the last story in the 5th edition Basic Text. It's written by an Atheist.
[2] "The 'G' Word" - Just For Today, pg. 198
[3] "Exploring Spiritual Options" - JFT, pg. 195
[4] "Difficult People" - JFT, pg. 235
I hope this helps.
G
2nd chance at a 1st cl*** life
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: San Jose, Ca
Posts: 492
I don't know how you feel about nature, but I've met people that hold the earth or nature as their higher power. Nature is a power greater than ourselves. As much as man tries to conquer nature, it truly can't be done. We humans are just a small piece in the whole puzzle of earth. Earth as a whole, IMO is greater than us. Just some food for thought.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: winton,ca
Posts: 119
My higher power is NA. It is the collective consciousness of all of us (WE) in NA. It is the power greater than me that has given me a blueprint for living. I do the program of NA and I engage in the fellowship. I can not deny that when I am in the company of addicts and we are clean that I am in the presence of a higher power. I mean who did that? Who took away my incessant using......I could not stop using no matter what! Who relieved that? That is my higher power! NA introduced me to this power. All I had to do was keep coming back, not pick up and use, get a sponsor and work the steps. Man, when the obsession to use left me, I was astonished. This stuff works! Amazing!
I knew NA was my higher power but never proclaimed it because I was born Catholic and a part of me thought that proclaiming NA as my higher power was sacrilegious. Then I heard these speaker tapes on spirituality where this Catholic priest/monk said to get rid of all your old ideas and to believe in the 12 step fellowiship. And it happened. He gave me permission to proclaim that NA is my higher power. I felt this warmth come over me. It was the love of my higher power. I made conscious contact and I cried. It is so beautiful and it has been right in front of me, of us, all the time. I felt the unconditioning love that I longed for. I still can't stop crying because its so overwhelming. When I am in a meeting this power is there too. Amazing.
Believe in NA. NA works. Believe in NA and your higher power will be revealed.
I knew NA was my higher power but never proclaimed it because I was born Catholic and a part of me thought that proclaiming NA as my higher power was sacrilegious. Then I heard these speaker tapes on spirituality where this Catholic priest/monk said to get rid of all your old ideas and to believe in the 12 step fellowiship. And it happened. He gave me permission to proclaim that NA is my higher power. I felt this warmth come over me. It was the love of my higher power. I made conscious contact and I cried. It is so beautiful and it has been right in front of me, of us, all the time. I felt the unconditioning love that I longed for. I still can't stop crying because its so overwhelming. When I am in a meeting this power is there too. Amazing.
Believe in NA. NA works. Believe in NA and your higher power will be revealed.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: New York, New York
Posts: 7
When I first started in the rooms, my God was a Group Of Druggies. Try to remember that it's a spiritual philosophy, not about religion or here..this is what I ask people I sponsor when they are unsure about what to believe in, "Can you just believe that I believe in something? Something that keeps me sober one day at a time?". If you focus too much on the RELIGION thing and how you are an atheist, the recovery will pass you by without your even knowing it.
Just fake it till you make it.....you'll get there.
Just fake it till you make it.....you'll get there.
Recovering Addict
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Northern New York
Posts: 10
Thanks for the great responses guys! I have really enjoeyed your sharing and what you have to say makes a lot of sense. I believe in love and the power of people. I believe in the strength of the group as a whole, and it has worked for me so far. G, thanks for the readings! I read my JFT everyday and sometimes feel disconnected with all the god talk. But I have a great sponsor and faith in Narcotics Anonymous. It works.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Tucson, AZ
Posts: 650
A friend of mine said his first higher power was Charmin because it kept his ass clean. lol!
Seriously though, whatever 'power greater than yourself' you can believe in will work to start out with. You might have to tweak the steps a bit (oh, I probably shouldn't call it tweaking on this site... *adjust* the steps) to fit your beliefs, but you will find that once you believe in a power greater than yourself (not necessarily God, but maybe the group, the program, or the collective conscience of mankind, etc *hint*- drugs are a power greater than you, or you wouldn't be here) your beliefs will begin to change (not saying you won't be an atheist, you just might be more aware of things and situations that are greater than yourself). Just take an idea and roll with it. If it doesn't work, you can change it later. I had to do that myself!
Atheists can and do recover in NA. Good luck!
Seriously though, whatever 'power greater than yourself' you can believe in will work to start out with. You might have to tweak the steps a bit (oh, I probably shouldn't call it tweaking on this site... *adjust* the steps) to fit your beliefs, but you will find that once you believe in a power greater than yourself (not necessarily God, but maybe the group, the program, or the collective conscience of mankind, etc *hint*- drugs are a power greater than you, or you wouldn't be here) your beliefs will begin to change (not saying you won't be an atheist, you just might be more aware of things and situations that are greater than yourself). Just take an idea and roll with it. If it doesn't work, you can change it later. I had to do that myself!
Atheists can and do recover in NA. Good luck!
Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Oxnard (The Nard), CA, USA.
Posts: 13,935
As a non-theist in the faith-based 12 Step fellowship, I have my understanding of a Higher Power to be a Helping Potential. The people, the program, the meetings all help me stay clean. Nothing spooky about that 
.
.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Akron, Ohio
Posts: 8
This is a great question, and one I have always wondered. At least in the AA Big Book there is a Chapter labeled just for you "For Atheists and Agnostics" and I know there are many things that can be found in the NA literature.
The quote that comes to mind is that sometimes we just begin to talk to what ever is there. Or the air or hope we feel in the room may be our first or only signs of a higher power.
I know a guy that explains step 2 (coming to believe) as 'it doesn't matter what you believe, just believe that we believe, and see that somehow that kept us clean and can therefore keep you clean.'
"There are many powers greater than ourselves. The Judge was a power greater than myself, The Police, sometimes my wife. . .and Helll THE DRUGS! The drugs were the greatest power of all so now I'm going to come to believe in a power that loves me and can save me rather than one that will ultimately kill me"
"We don't care what your beliefs were before you came into these rooms, but it obviously wasn't sufficient enough to keep you clean, let's find something that is."
I know many Atheists who have gotten clean without a belief in God, but I don't think it needs to be labeled what we believe in etc. I know Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, Wiccans, all faiths who have gotten clean, but the religion didn't matter, whether it was god, universe, pure hope didn't matter. I don't know if I'm helping, this is something I've pondered on but I have never had to sponsor an Atheist call that luck, forces at work, what ever.
Keep coming back, I'm sure you'll find your answer.
The quote that comes to mind is that sometimes we just begin to talk to what ever is there. Or the air or hope we feel in the room may be our first or only signs of a higher power.
I know a guy that explains step 2 (coming to believe) as 'it doesn't matter what you believe, just believe that we believe, and see that somehow that kept us clean and can therefore keep you clean.'
"There are many powers greater than ourselves. The Judge was a power greater than myself, The Police, sometimes my wife. . .and Helll THE DRUGS! The drugs were the greatest power of all so now I'm going to come to believe in a power that loves me and can save me rather than one that will ultimately kill me"
"We don't care what your beliefs were before you came into these rooms, but it obviously wasn't sufficient enough to keep you clean, let's find something that is."
I know many Atheists who have gotten clean without a belief in God, but I don't think it needs to be labeled what we believe in etc. I know Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, Wiccans, all faiths who have gotten clean, but the religion didn't matter, whether it was god, universe, pure hope didn't matter. I don't know if I'm helping, this is something I've pondered on but I have never had to sponsor an Atheist call that luck, forces at work, what ever.
Keep coming back, I'm sure you'll find your answer.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Posts: 5
Tommy:
Give this a whirl. I know it's an AA group, but I think you'll get some good guidance there.
http://groups.google.com/group/atheist-aa
Best wishes!
joe
Give this a whirl. I know it's an AA group, but I think you'll get some good guidance there.
http://groups.google.com/group/atheist-aa
Best wishes!
joe
Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Posts: 5
By the way, the Big Book's chapter "We Agnostics" is unadulterated ********. It's full of misrepresentation, false choices, circular logic, and typical cult-like arguments for why agnostics and atheists are misguided.
I tore it out of my book. You can do the same.
I have no belief whatsoever in any kind of supernatural god. I have been sober for over 20 years. Not believing in a god is not a reason to not find recovery.
You are not alone. I promise.
I tore it out of my book. You can do the same.
I have no belief whatsoever in any kind of supernatural god. I have been sober for over 20 years. Not believing in a god is not a reason to not find recovery.
You are not alone. I promise.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Orlando FL
Posts: 5
Wow, it's great I fell upon this site today. I'm an atheist and having quite a bit of trouble in my recovery. I have a great sponsor and he constantly tells me I can have the program fit my beliefs no matter what they are, but it does get tiring "translating" what everyone says in meetings to fit "my beliefs". I have my support group as my HP. I figured if I was alone with just me and my drug of choice I would be weak. But with my support system with me I'd be strong. Thus they are a greater power than myself. The problem I have is I come from a completely scientific/medical background. So when people talk about the miracles in their lives I usually can easily explain them to myself. Even the ability to stay clean isn't the miracle to me that it is to others. For me it's simply a region of by brain (the reasoning area) over taking the effected area (the reward area). I've been clean for over 7 months and I'm not sure I'm going to continue in NA. I think its a wonderful program but I'm not sure it's right for me. I don't believe in a "spirit" so I don't know if I belong in a spiritual program. I would welcome any help I can get because it is very frustrating.
Evolving Addict
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New York State
Posts: 3,067
Welcome to SR Flman,
Defining and redefining what I read and hear to fit my understanding or experience is challenging...sometimes, at the least...but often it is neccessary to maintain my sanity. I've got myself into conversations with other members about what "spirituality" means, and none of them could find the definition in NA literature. You know why?
Because NA does not tell us what spirituality means...we have to define it for ourselves!
The Basic Text refers to the "spirit" as a "spark of life." Our literature also refers to the bottom that most of us reach as "spiritual bankruptcy." It even talks about how, during active addiction, we lost the ability to "feel human" and refers to this as our spirits being "broken." For me, it wasn't too difficult to associate spirit and/or spirituality with disposition, mood, feelings, behavior and attitude....not belief or the supernatural.
Even our "spiritual principles" are no more than guidelines for happiness, hope, healing and harmonious interaction with the world we live in. For me, spirituality isn't about religion or worship...it's about living.
I'm coming up on 13 yrs clean in NA and I have no plans on leaving because of how others interpret the program. "During our recovery, each of us comes to our own understanding of the program." - BT, pg. 96
G
I don't believe in a "spirit" so I don't know if I belong in a spiritual program.
Because NA does not tell us what spirituality means...we have to define it for ourselves!
The Basic Text refers to the "spirit" as a "spark of life." Our literature also refers to the bottom that most of us reach as "spiritual bankruptcy." It even talks about how, during active addiction, we lost the ability to "feel human" and refers to this as our spirits being "broken." For me, it wasn't too difficult to associate spirit and/or spirituality with disposition, mood, feelings, behavior and attitude....not belief or the supernatural.
Even our "spiritual principles" are no more than guidelines for happiness, hope, healing and harmonious interaction with the world we live in. For me, spirituality isn't about religion or worship...it's about living.
I'm coming up on 13 yrs clean in NA and I have no plans on leaving because of how others interpret the program. "During our recovery, each of us comes to our own understanding of the program." - BT, pg. 96
G
Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,486
one of my treatment counselors informed us the latin root meaning of the word "spirit" means: to breathe or breath....so if we are breathing...we have spirit.
I looked up the dictionary definition of "spirit" and found 31 definitions. also found this to back up what that counselor said:
Origin:
1200–50; ME (n.) < L spīritus orig., a breathing, equiv. to spīri-, comb. form repr. spīrāre to breathe + -tus suffix of v. action
I looked up the dictionary definition of "spirit" and found 31 definitions. also found this to back up what that counselor said:
Origin:
1200–50; ME (n.) < L spīritus orig., a breathing, equiv. to spīri-, comb. form repr. spīrāre to breathe + -tus suffix of v. action
Ch5 HOW
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Queens, NY
Posts: 175
I go to AA. When I began the steps i was atheist. I was just like you-- loved the fellowship part-- meetings, hanging out etc...but my history showed that was never sufficient to get me sober. I saw a lot of truth in the 1st step and me made me willing to have an open mind to God (as I don't and never will understand Him) and that allowed me to go through with the rest of this process, which has given me a great life. I have freedom today-- something i never had in my life before. And that is from getting a conscience contact with God through the 12 steps. Today, I know that there is a God, and the fact that I can go anywhere on this earth a free man goes, and not have to worry about "people, places things" and "triggers" is a demonstration of power that only God could have given me-- not something I coulda gotten myself, or by attending a lot of meetings or calling a sponsor. God is there, my friend, and if you want you can have these great gifts too.
I wish you the best of luck.
I wish you the best of luck.
Evolving Addict
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New York State
Posts: 3,067
I don't mean to be a spoil-sport, but that's the kind of stuff that runs many addicts right out of the rooms...the testimony...or the insinuation type of sharing that basically says, "If you want the kind of recovery (or freedom) I have, you must believe in God!!" The thread was started by someone who was asking how they can recover as an atheist, not whether they should conform or be converted to the beliefs of others in order to experience the freedom NA's program promises.
NA offers us a program that has only one promise - freedom from active addiction...not simply freedom from drug use. Drugs are only a symptom of our disease and our ultimate problem is self. The steps provide us freedom from self, and with this freedom comes all the other promises some other fellowships claim. We don't have to be religious or believe in God to find freedom in Narcotics Anonymous.
NA offers us a program that has only one promise - freedom from active addiction...not simply freedom from drug use. Drugs are only a symptom of our disease and our ultimate problem is self. The steps provide us freedom from self, and with this freedom comes all the other promises some other fellowships claim. We don't have to be religious or believe in God to find freedom in Narcotics Anonymous.
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