Today I have the power to not take that first drink, but I remain and will always remain powerless over alcohool once I put it into my body.

As Pagekeeper already pointed out step one in AA is PAST TENSE, NOT PRESENT!

I DO HAVE POWER OVER ALCOHOL as long as I do not have that first drink!

Take note that the bolded words are PAST, not PRESENT tense.

Understanding step one is not hard at all if one is open minded enough to sit down with some one who has been through the steps and simply ask questions.

I believe in taking responsibility too. I have had over a year of sobriety a few times, and when I picked up again it was no one's fault but my own. I chose to do so. One time I chose to do so knowing full well that I was an alcoholic. That was not powerlessness. That was selfishness, plain and simple--selfish to my family who would have to deal with my irresponsible drunken behavior and anyone else who was so unfortunate as to come into contact with me while I was intoxicated, but what I wanted at the time was more important than all that.

Today it's my responsibility to stay sober. It's my responsibility to do something for my recovery--each and every day--whether it be going to a meeting or chatting on here with you fine folks. I am a member of AA, but I've never said AA was the only way. Each person needs to follow the path that makes sense to them. For me, recovery is not about bickering over which program's philosophy is more wrong or more right--it's about using the program you've chosen--whether it's already laid out for you like SMART or AA, or something more organic and personal to you.

A.A. works for me.. and i do not take my sobriety for granted.. i am only sober today by god's grace!

Another perspective on powerlessness & responsibility. It appears as a paradox. Perhaps this is why powerlessness as it applies to the AA program is so difficult for some to grasp.

For me, this reading makes it really simple: I can't drink, accept it, and get on with life.

I have no power, but I am free from bondage.

Everyone that's been through the program-AA-knows exactly what that statement means dk. Surprised that you're splitting hairs over words, what with your 'rational' approach to sobriety. Or are you someone that favors moderation as a treatment for alcoholism?

Are you saying that there is full agreement within 'the program' over what powerlessness means? I've seen quite a few threads that suggest otherwise.

No, I don't favor moderation, although I'm not 100% against it.

DK take a moment and slowly read step one paying real attention to the tense used.

Were & that are both PAST tense.

DK drink one beer today, drink one tomorrow, continue that every day for a month, can you say that you have enough POWER over alcohol to pull that off?

I will openly admit that I do not have that kind of power. Once I have a drink I become powerless over alcohol.

What I do have today is a Power greater then myself that grants me the power to not have that first drink as long as I maintain myself spiritually fit.

There is never full agreement on anything in life except death. Taxes used to be on the list, that is until the republicans made taxes a thing of the past.

Taz, at some point you stopped drinking. It may have been difficult, even excruciatingly so, but it didn't happen by magic.

I don't know if I could pull that off or not, not ready to try it. But if I did try and fail, I would again have to find the power to stop, and I believe I would if I wanted to bad enough.

I believe that you believe that.

I do trip a bit too much about: "which program's philosophy is more wrong or more right". Most times I don't see that happening when I do it. I glad you took the time to point this out to me. Thanks :)

Nope it did not happen by magic, it first took a medical detox to get me physically sober without going through the DTs, then it took more power then I alone was ever able to muster up alone to STAY sober.

DK I found a Power greater then myself to help me to stay sober, it was the same Power that granted me that moment of clarity that allowed me to see my future clearly enough to know that if I kept drinking I was going to die a lonely slow death from my alcoholism.

How do I know it took more power then I had alone?

Well I drank for 30 years before it became a regular problem for me, I spent the next 5 years using my power alone to either control or stop my drinking, during that 5 years there were times when using my power alone I could go as long as 2-3 months without drinking, but some how I always wound up drinking again.

Well at the end of those 5 years I was incapable of going even one day without a drink, I simply did not have the power to overcome that mental obsession, nor did I have the power to go through the physical withdrawals. For the next 5 years I had absolutely no power at all over my drinking, it was daily and it was heavy, it was needed just to funtion.

At the end of those 5 years I made the decision to quit even thinking about stopping, I simply surrendered to the fact that I was going to drink when I wanted and how I wanted and I did! This was the beginning of a rapid downward spiral, my marriage was falling apart because I was always smashed and I began to sneak drinks at work, there was no power I had alone to overcome the possesion that alcohol had over my mind and my inner being.

Very soon after I had surrendered to alcohol was when I had that moment of clarity that brought me back from the gates of hell.

Now some may say "Oh well that is because he is weak and has no will power." To that I will say BULL!!!!! Up until alcohol I was a man who could and did do ANYTHING I put my mind and my will to!!!!

Every job I ever had up until that point I rose through the ranks, not because of a superior education or any connections, but because I had the will power to do what ever it took to do a good job and excel at it. This self will also let me lead a group of people while I was in the Air Force to overcome what seemed to most to be insurmountable odds in fighting the Air Force for what was right for group of us.

I have great will power, I used it for many years to accomlish things many thought me incapable of, so a weak will was not my issue when it came to alcohol.

Today I use my will to daily to do the will of a Power greater then myself, a Power of my choosing that I understand, this has led to me being granted the power to escape the mental obsession I once had for alcohol.

For many years I thought I was all that!!! I could do anything without any help from anyone, basically I was my own Higher Power!!!

Once I was able to admit that I am not all that and a bag of chips, that I am not some kind of all powerful being, that there was something other then me that was more powerful then me that could help me if I was willing to trust Him, I began to regain what I had lost.

Zen focusing on what works for me is what has helped me stay sober, as I am sure you focusing on what works for you does as well.

I stratch my head and really do wonder why some folks even have a need to focus on what does not work for them, does that do any one any good?

Think about it, if you were a newcomer and you had several people saying this works for me and several other people saying well that didn't work for me would you not be confused and instead of trying what worked for someone else to see if it works for you, you simply did nothing!!!!

Doing nothing when it comes to alcoholism can & does kill people.

If we all simply shared what has worked for us then the newcomer would try what worked for some one else, if it doesn't work for them then they would try something different that worked for someone else.

A newcomer stands a far better chance doing something then they do doing nothing.

So true Taz.

I've been taught to explore: what works and what doesn't and why. Here in the forums I do the same. I do want to contrast opposing views when I see them, But I now want to avoid creating conflict with the various recovery program differences in a time when action in recovery is best for all.

Happily SR is a place where new behaviors can be practiced for all people in recovery. And getting personal feedback by other SR members like yourself is helping me a lot. Thanks buddy :)

IMO, the only reason why people get defensive about not using AA is because it gets pushed so hard and so many members are dogmatic about it being "The Solution". I've experienced this for many years, both on and offline.

AA or no AA

I sincerely hope everyone will find
what they need to be healthy and enjoy life.
:yup:

Paul,

You are sober and working what works for you. I have read many of your posts where your ESH is helping others and it appears successful. Getting out of the problem and into the solution has probably been more difficult for one who does not have a clear path and I applaud your work, but I enjoy your recovery more and look forward to the similarities and less of the defensive stance concerning the differences.

????????? Paul, your post is rather confusing, I did not mention a word about AA or any other program in the post you quoted of mine? Or do you just like stay on the offensive at all costs? LOL

yes i am powerless over alcohol, just to quantify what that means in laymans terms, i have no control over alcohol once i have one drink therefore i am powerless over alcohol. if i had power over alcohol i would be able to go to a bar and have 2 drinks and stop. took me a loooong time to stop being in denial!

I wasn't tryin' to be on the offensive. I was simply trying to explain why I believe something occurs. And AA is usually the program of contention, since it's by far the most prevalent. Honestly, I'll be tickled to death if/when other programs become salient enough to even provoke some debate and discussion. :)