Psychic Change
Adjusting my Sails
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,021
Psychic Change
Psychic change = Being honest with myself?
Is it that simple?
When I look back on my last day of drinking and think about that moment of clarity when I accepted I was powerless I see how that one moment of self honesty changed my thinking and it appears to be a solid change. One moment I was trying to figure out how I was going to get myself out of another bad spot (getting fired again and going back to jail because I violated probation.......and got caught) and the next moment.......I was powerless.
Bam.
I'm sure there is more to it then that. Can someone please explain what Psychic Change means to you?
Thanks.
Is it that simple?
When I look back on my last day of drinking and think about that moment of clarity when I accepted I was powerless I see how that one moment of self honesty changed my thinking and it appears to be a solid change. One moment I was trying to figure out how I was going to get myself out of another bad spot (getting fired again and going back to jail because I violated probation.......and got caught) and the next moment.......I was powerless.
Bam.
I'm sure there is more to it then that. Can someone please explain what Psychic Change means to you?
Thanks.
Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 700
I had a Psychic change every time I drank alcohol. I felt ease and comfort and was finally comfortable within my own skin. And it is the same being recovered. Having the spiritual experience has produced an identical Psychic change. I feel comfortable with who I am. I am OK being Me.
Nice Topic
Nice Topic
Om, Aum, Ohm...
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Punxsutawney/Pittsburgh
Posts: 4,797
Psychic change is synonymous with spiritual awakening or spiritual experience, the first equal to the either the second or the third--gradually (as in a spiritual awakening) or sudden and dramatic (as in a spiritual experience).
Joseph Campbell, not "one of us" that I'm aware, but a disciple of Jung, put it this way:
"First you think one way, then you think another."
(He was referring to the culmination of the hero's journey--a concept that has many parallels with "our" experiences, though I wouldn't want to throw the term "hero" about)
Peace & Love,
Sugah
Joseph Campbell, not "one of us" that I'm aware, but a disciple of Jung, put it this way:
"First you think one way, then you think another."
(He was referring to the culmination of the hero's journey--a concept that has many parallels with "our" experiences, though I wouldn't want to throw the term "hero" about)
Peace & Love,
Sugah
Member
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 1,861
The ability to think and act in a way I had previously been unable to do.
I put this on here because I think it is important to point to the answers. I think my personal definition relates to this directly
All BB quotes are from First Edition Big Book
“The great fact is just this and nothing less: That we have had deep and effective spiritual experiences which have revolutionized our whole attitude toward life, toward our fellows and toward God’s universe. The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us which we could never do by ourselves.”(BB, pg. 25)
All BB quotes are from First Edition Big Book
Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: in the present moment
Posts: 2,060
this is one of my favorite topics.
witnessing a newcomer surrendering at step one, who is in the midst of the primary psychic change of recovery, is nothing short of miraculous. It is awesome and often, wordless.
i don't often know about my own "psychic changes' per se, except for retrospection.
When I pause, look back to the hell that was my life and survey the immense spiritual and mental landscapes that I've been guided across, I am also in awe.
I did not "do" it, but its a new consciousness. I am IN it.
Quote:Alcoholics Anonymous
First Edition
witnessing a newcomer surrendering at step one, who is in the midst of the primary psychic change of recovery, is nothing short of miraculous. It is awesome and often, wordless.
i don't often know about my own "psychic changes' per se, except for retrospection.
When I pause, look back to the hell that was my life and survey the immense spiritual and mental landscapes that I've been guided across, I am also in awe.
I did not "do" it, but its a new consciousness. I am IN it.
Quote:Alcoholics Anonymous
First Edition
Last edited by CarolD; 12-06-2008 at 07:40 PM. Reason: Added Source
Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: The Swish Alps, SF CA
Posts: 2,144
What an incredible Topic
For me it's been a World without end, I have experienced so many "spiritual experiences" and "Spiritual Awakenings" in AA I don't even know where to begin.
Walking through the door of my first meeting and having the compulsion to drink lifted right then
The feeling as I completed my first Fifth step
The feeling as I heard my first fifth step
The absolute "shifting" of my entire being following a period of intense pain, literally "feeling" tectonic shifts in my chest as something would "drop from my head to my heart" as the pain i had experienced literally became a "growth experience" and I "changed" and then having five people walk up to me in the next week with the same issue and me being able to share my experience, strength and hope about it.
Changing from:
To the altruistic:
We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.
We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.
We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace.
No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others.
That feeling of uselessness and self pity will disappear.
We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows.
Self-seeking will slip away.
Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.
Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us.
We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.
We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. Driving down the freeway and realizing I would never feel that terrible loneliness again because I now had a God personal to me.
Having literal miracles occur in my life and having witnesses so I could ask, "Did that just happen? Am I insane?" and turning to look at them and seeing their jaws absolutely hanging open because they saw it too.
It has literally been so large and so pervasive as to be inconceivable, incomprehensible, yet absolute "bedrock" and "foundation" of my very self as a human being, where I believe because I have seen it in my own life with the same belief and firmness I know 2 + 2 = 4
I could go on for hours about this, what a great topic.
For me it's been a World without end, I have experienced so many "spiritual experiences" and "Spiritual Awakenings" in AA I don't even know where to begin.
Walking through the door of my first meeting and having the compulsion to drink lifted right then
The feeling as I completed my first Fifth step
The feeling as I heard my first fifth step
The absolute "shifting" of my entire being following a period of intense pain, literally "feeling" tectonic shifts in my chest as something would "drop from my head to my heart" as the pain i had experienced literally became a "growth experience" and I "changed" and then having five people walk up to me in the next week with the same issue and me being able to share my experience, strength and hope about it.
Changing from:
When I was drunk I knew a new freedom and a new happiness. When I was drunk did not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. When I was drunk I comprehended the word serenity and knew peace. When I was drunk No matter how far down the scale I had gone, I will see how our experience can benefit others. When I was drunk That feeling of uselessness and self pity disappeared. When I was drunk I lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellow (women). When I was drunk Self-seeking slipped away. When I was drunk my whole attitude and outlook upon life changed. When I was drunk my Fear of people and of economic insecurity will left me. When I was drunk I intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle me. I suddenly realized that Alcohol did for me what I could not do for myself.
We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.
We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.
We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace.
No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others.
That feeling of uselessness and self pity will disappear.
We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows.
Self-seeking will slip away.
Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.
Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us.
We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.
We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Having literal miracles occur in my life and having witnesses so I could ask, "Did that just happen? Am I insane?" and turning to look at them and seeing their jaws absolutely hanging open because they saw it too.
It has literally been so large and so pervasive as to be inconceivable, incomprehensible, yet absolute "bedrock" and "foundation" of my very self as a human being, where I believe because I have seen it in my own life with the same belief and firmness I know 2 + 2 = 4
I could go on for hours about this, what a great topic.
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
While I consider I have had many small Psychic changes ...
these were shifts in perception.
When God removed my compulsion to drink...
Zap! Bam!
that was my big time Psychic experience.
these were shifts in perception.
When God removed my compulsion to drink...
Zap! Bam!
that was my big time Psychic experience.
where the light is
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2,763
After they have succumbed to the desire again, as so many do, and the phenomenon of craving develops, they pass through the well-known stages of a spree, emerging remorseful, with a firm resolution not to drink again. This is repeated over and over, and unless this person can experience an entire psychic change there is very little hope of his recovery.
On the other hand-and strange as this may seem to those who do not understand-once a psychic change has occurred, the very same person who seemed doomed, who had so many problems he despaired of ever solving them, suddenly finds himself easily able to control his desire for alcohol, the only effort necessary being that required to follow a few simple rules.
Men have cried out to me in sincere and despairing appeal: "Doctor, I cannot go on like this! I have everything to live for! I must stop, but I cannot! You must help me!"
Faced with this problem, if a doctor is honest with himself, he must sometimes feel his own inadequacy. Although he gives all that is in him, it often is not enough. One feels that something more than human power is needed to produce the essential psychic change.
On the other hand-and strange as this may seem to those who do not understand-once a psychic change has occurred, the very same person who seemed doomed, who had so many problems he despaired of ever solving them, suddenly finds himself easily able to control his desire for alcohol, the only effort necessary being that required to follow a few simple rules.
Men have cried out to me in sincere and despairing appeal: "Doctor, I cannot go on like this! I have everything to live for! I must stop, but I cannot! You must help me!"
Faced with this problem, if a doctor is honest with himself, he must sometimes feel his own inadequacy. Although he gives all that is in him, it often is not enough. One feels that something more than human power is needed to produce the essential psychic change.
BB quote from the 1st edition of the BB.
Another Day in Paradise
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Upland, CA
Posts: 900
Latin, from Greek psychē: soul
If I start with this definition, then a “psychic change” is actually a change of my soul. After one faces the fact that life as one has been leading it while abusing alcohol is no longer acceptable, then the change can begin to take place.
Recognition is step one and following recognition comes resignation to the fact that we must change. Those changes for me were the famous willingness and then comes the last step, perspiration i.e. WORK. Work on attitude and abstinence from the bottle. As my head cleared, so did my soul, and with that willingness to be better and act better the PSYCHIC CHANGE began.
My psychic change is continuous, everyday is better than the last, if not in actuality, then at least in my understanding that growth will continue as long as I remain willing.
Jon
If I start with this definition, then a “psychic change” is actually a change of my soul. After one faces the fact that life as one has been leading it while abusing alcohol is no longer acceptable, then the change can begin to take place.
Recognition is step one and following recognition comes resignation to the fact that we must change. Those changes for me were the famous willingness and then comes the last step, perspiration i.e. WORK. Work on attitude and abstinence from the bottle. As my head cleared, so did my soul, and with that willingness to be better and act better the PSYCHIC CHANGE began.
My psychic change is continuous, everyday is better than the last, if not in actuality, then at least in my understanding that growth will continue as long as I remain willing.
Jon
It`s ok to stay sober
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Central NC
Posts: 20,902
I can call it a shift in my perceptions of life for the better
maybe I can call it finding and seeing more of the truth
I lived the big lie before,the lie I could drink successfully.Now I have had a physic chance and the desire to drink has been removed.I see clearly drinking is deadly for me.
maybe I can call it finding and seeing more of the truth
I lived the big lie before,the lie I could drink successfully.Now I have had a physic chance and the desire to drink has been removed.I see clearly drinking is deadly for me.
Follow Directions!
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Fredericksburg, Va.
Posts: 9,730
I have had both big and small physic changes, some I was aware of immediately, and others I just became aware of after they had happened.
1. My first one was that moment of clarity, I was in my garage drinking in celebration that my wife and kids would be gone at the end of the month and I could drink in the house all I wanted to and no one would b#tch at me, then the clarity came, I saw my future if I continued to drink, the lose of every person and material thing that mattered to me in less then a year.... followed by a slow death from alcoholism. This led to the phone call that got me into detox.
2. Getting out of detox and going to my first local AA meeting and learning that I never had to drink again, this was an awakeninig of hope for me.
3. Feeling the weight of the world lifted off of my shoulders and the promises of the 5th step fulfilled after I took it with my sponsor.
4. One day I suddenly became aware that it was no longer about me, I was part of the world, I was a part of the "We" spoken of in the BB.
5. My wife asking me as we were leaving a speakers meeting "Martin, if you found out you only had 3 months to live, would you drink again?", I replied honestly & without hesitation "No, I like being sober to much!" The answer shocked me even though I knew it was true..... some where along the line the osession had been lifted and I did not know it until then.
I have seen miracles all around me in and out of the rooms, I see and hear of miracles in my sponsee's lifes, above is just a few personal ones.
The way I think and act today has changed drastically, and it is natural as long as I keep doing the work.
1. My first one was that moment of clarity, I was in my garage drinking in celebration that my wife and kids would be gone at the end of the month and I could drink in the house all I wanted to and no one would b#tch at me, then the clarity came, I saw my future if I continued to drink, the lose of every person and material thing that mattered to me in less then a year.... followed by a slow death from alcoholism. This led to the phone call that got me into detox.
2. Getting out of detox and going to my first local AA meeting and learning that I never had to drink again, this was an awakeninig of hope for me.
3. Feeling the weight of the world lifted off of my shoulders and the promises of the 5th step fulfilled after I took it with my sponsor.
4. One day I suddenly became aware that it was no longer about me, I was part of the world, I was a part of the "We" spoken of in the BB.
5. My wife asking me as we were leaving a speakers meeting "Martin, if you found out you only had 3 months to live, would you drink again?", I replied honestly & without hesitation "No, I like being sober to much!" The answer shocked me even though I knew it was true..... some where along the line the osession had been lifted and I did not know it until then.
I have seen miracles all around me in and out of the rooms, I see and hear of miracles in my sponsee's lifes, above is just a few personal ones.
The way I think and act today has changed drastically, and it is natural as long as I keep doing the work.
Guest
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Birmingham, AL
Posts: 1,924
Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,697
What does psychic change mean to me?
I think the only thing that makes any sense are the observable changes. Those that I 'sense' are worthless when I use words to describe it.
I couldn't not drink - no matter what. Those who knew me as an active drinker could probably describe me better than I could myself. Why in the world would I drink when it could mean my life (I was literally near death, people were afraid that I wasn't gonna wake up many times)? Hmmm..
I haven't drank, or even had the serious thought of a drink in almost 2 years.
Something has changed.
I think the only thing that makes any sense are the observable changes. Those that I 'sense' are worthless when I use words to describe it.
I couldn't not drink - no matter what. Those who knew me as an active drinker could probably describe me better than I could myself. Why in the world would I drink when it could mean my life (I was literally near death, people were afraid that I wasn't gonna wake up many times)? Hmmm..
I haven't drank, or even had the serious thought of a drink in almost 2 years.
Something has changed.
12 Step Recovered Alcoholic
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 6,613
The OP looked more like a first step experience to me. There is plenty about the subject in the big book if you look in the right places. Through "step five we begin to have a spiritual experience" but it seems to be an ongoing thing which is stressed on page 66 "
"But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a
spiritual experience,..."
These are some of the ways I think of my spiritual experiences.
Felt the presence of my creator for the first time
Began acting and reacting in a completely different way without any thought or effort on my part.
Thoughts of drinking stopped coming.
I became very interested and gained great pleasure in helping others, and have continued on with that which also helps maintain the experience.
Had a change of personality sufficient to overcome drinking.
Was it initially an experience or an awakening? Not sure. It seems there was an awakening going on without me being aware of it. Others noticed changes before I did, and I was often pleasantly surprised at their change in attitude toward me. Then I SUDDENLY realised that things had changed. All is described in the promises with each of the steps. They were certainly prophetic of my experience.
"But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a
spiritual experience,..."
These are some of the ways I think of my spiritual experiences.
Felt the presence of my creator for the first time
Began acting and reacting in a completely different way without any thought or effort on my part.
Thoughts of drinking stopped coming.
I became very interested and gained great pleasure in helping others, and have continued on with that which also helps maintain the experience.
Had a change of personality sufficient to overcome drinking.
Was it initially an experience or an awakening? Not sure. It seems there was an awakening going on without me being aware of it. Others noticed changes before I did, and I was often pleasantly surprised at their change in attitude toward me. Then I SUDDENLY realised that things had changed. All is described in the promises with each of the steps. They were certainly prophetic of my experience.
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