Originally Posted by paulokes
^ One more point...there is a distinction in my mind between a "Power greater than myself" and a "Higher Power". The former has been a meaningful and powerful concept for me, the latter always feels wooly.
For me it has been recognizing the "power within me" that I had rendered useless with alcohol and drugs. Those of you familiar with the "chained elephant mindset" know that the grown elephant is not limited at all by his captors, but by his thinking.
AA does not say that any one higher power must be accepted, but the program as outlined does imply that the power is "not you". For those of us who believe that the power
is ourselves, that is where the disconnect comes in. I am certainly not one who thinks the program should be changed. I think it's works for those who embrace spirituality in some form and that's a good thing. My only problem comes in when people tell me that it simply cannot be done without an outside force, because that certainly isn't a universal truth.