43395

All the advice on quitting I have read thus far on this forum is undoubtdly good, sound advice, no question. The question for me is then having had a ,'spiritual experience', which I have already documented on this site,(see,'Where are yoy, Threads by 43395) is did I quit or was my desire for alcohol simply taken from me, I suspect the latter as even on the odd, and I do mean odd occasions I have attempted to drink, my mind , which hitherto was probably a bit apprehensive about what I was thinking of doing and my body go into overdrive and any intention just goes, I've never experienced anything like it. I will however admit that for the first 3 months after the ,'event', I lived off a supplement of soya milk, candy and cigarettes plus a lot of tea and modest, simple meals. I still though, take it easy and live my life as simply as I can, I would STRONGLY suggest this on the back of an attempted Open University course, I completed all the 6 written assignments at home and got good grades, I can't face a journey into the city and a 3hour written exam, similarly I even undertook a trip from the UK to Boston,US that I completed the round trip was something, the whole purpose of the journey was a waste of time, hard and costly lessons. Mike W.

CarolD

Welcome to our SR Alcoholism Forum.....

Glad to know your finding sobriety beneficial......
regardless of how it happened.

I have had spiritual awakening in my life.
All pointed me in the drection of healthy living.

Thanks for sharing here with us...

43395

To date I have been sober approx. 670days, many wonderful thingshave happened without me realising it, the most significant is realising now that I have to learn to walk before I can run. . . . . it's almost like hsaving to learn to be me again in spite of all my professional and academic accomplishments, but to wake up everyday, knowing where I am, who I've slept with (doesn't happen to often these days) and just let the day unfold is MAGIC!!!!!

Gypsy Feet

Haha!!!!!! I hate not knowing who I've slept with, but that never happens anymore!!

basIam

I haven't quit.

I just haven't started again.

By only exerting the trivial effort required to follow a few simple suggestions, my attitude and outlook on life has changed.

As a result, I don't have to choose not to drink, because my mind no longer considers it. Drinking is no longer an option... but not because, as others allude, the consequences are too much, but because the option no longer presents itself. And that is the true promise of AA.

I don't have to quit, because the need to continue has been removed!

barb dwyer

I know on a deep level that drinking is not an anwer.

There's no reason for me to drink today.

43395

Obviously, given some of the responses to this thread I realise that my communication skilss are somewhat limited. The point in entitling it,'Did I quit?' was the exact opposite to that, NO I didn't quit, when I had my spiritual experience, alone and unaided by human hand approximately two years ago the result was that my alcoholism without any effort from me other than prayers not just from my mouth but my whole consciousness to the God of my understanding resulted in an immediate,'psychic change' as Dr.Silkworth talks about in the,'Big Book' so that allowing for my recovery, which continues to this day and hopefully will go on ad infinitum. . . . . . quitting never came into it, 'handing my life and will to the God of my understanding ' did, continuing to make spiritual progress does, enlarging that spirituality does, but no,no, no there was no quitting on my part.
A much chastened, Mike W. I'll stay away in future, you're obviously all much more erudite than me.

basIam

I agree with you 100%

Gypsy Feet

Don't stay away!! I knew what you meant, I think everyone did. When you post, be ready for some misunderstandings and conflicting stories.


I have never craved a drink since the morning I woke up after making a train wreck of my life. I have no problem calling it a spiritual experience, or giving God/Goddess or the Universe credit. I did not pray for it to happen that I remember. I had not had any conscious contact with a HP for many years. This is the same experience I had quitting meth and cigs many long years ago.


That being said, the program, recovery and conscious contact helps me in my daily life today. I may not have needed it to quit drinking, but my life would have remained totally out of control had I not found my HP and SR, and learned from steppers and non-steppers alike.

McGowdog

This is exactly how I would have responded to the thread as it's true for me too... out of my experience.

I came to A.A. without much hope for recovery and although I didn't have much hope for what I was about to lose the way I was going... I don't really know why for sure, but I went to face the music yet one more time. I was devastated by the prospects of doing A.A. again because I had no reason to believe that they could do anything for me anyway. I'd tried A.A. before and was quite sure that I did A.A. as good as it could be done... yet I got drunk again.

So there I was, without much hope but I asked that dreaded question, "Can you help me?"

They said, "Yes, we can help you. Do you have a problem with booze?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to do something about it?"

"Yes."

And I did some things immediatedly, one of which included writing a 4th step inventory and being done in 22 days. I 5th stepped that, got on with 6, 7, and 8 and got all my amends done, then did a set of steps with the group yet again, then got on with 10, 11, and 12.

I haven't considered drinking booze ever since, but I think it's partly because of what I did do and what God did do that I don't even consider a drink of booze.

I absolutely did not quit anything with regards to drinking booze... or taking mind-altering drugs. The problem just does not exist for me.

Merry New Year, kiddies!

Nevertheless

Hello Mike
I must be honest. I didn't understand what you were trying to say. That is why I didn't respond.
Now I don't understand why you want to "stay away"
To me people not understanding is not a reason to stay away.
How can you grow along spiritual lines if you pack up your toys and go home, because someone didn't get your point?
I still don't understand.
And yes I had to look up the word erudite. That's one I never heard at the fine drinking establishments I used to attend <G>
Fred

Zencat

Even though I have a different approach to living sober than you, I can relate that drinking is not a consideration one way or the other for me.

43395

I won't stay away, I have developed a warm affection for this site and the people on it and of course people are entitled to their own views and opinions we each follow our own path and and follow our own spiritual journey wherever we are and no matter how low we've sunk, although that is open to interpretation.
Amazingly, to my complete amazement whilst still drinking and suffering what was diagnosed ,'mild' depression in 1996 I was formally assessed as ,'highly intelligent' (news to me) with that comes an equal level of empathy and sensitivity, I bet there's a few of you like me out there even more so.The consequences of this although I don't attend them as regularly as I once did was that I got fed up with being,'sniped at' after sharing at meetings when simple courtesy might have meant quietly taking me to one side(perhaps) by way of a private message) or offering a diplomatic approach NOT a head on attack in an attempt to embarass me , provoke an arguement or worst still stroke their own vanity.This like all other forums on this site is an,'open forum' that I engage in firstly to hear others experiences, secondly in the hope that I to can add something that will perhaps in some small way help others and if there is to be critism ensure that it is CONSTRUCTIVE not destructive so there is some benefit to all concerned NOT ,'look what a smartass' I am, any body can do that and let's face it, on this site as on others of a similar nature, you don't actually know they are telling the truth, so for the sake of the honesty and integrity (two things that are sacrosanct to me) of us all let a little bit of sound, common sense prevail and show a little bit of respect for others because until you do that how can you claim to be making any progress in sobriety whether you're still drinking or not. Mike W.

43395

Perhaps I should remind myself that in recovery there are only two sins,

to interfere with anothers recovery,

or to interfere with one's own recovery.

'As Bill Sees It' (formerly the AA way of life) Mike W.

yeahgr8

the latter in my case most definitely!

bugsworth

I agree with Zen...drinking is no longer a consideration...that is the true gift that sobriety brings regardless of method.

HideorSeek

I am not sure I understand this...For me, I came to the realization that drinking isn't an option for me...so yes, I did quit, I guess. Made a conscious decision, that is, and I make the same decision (albeit subconsciously at this point) every day. So when people say they didn't "quit", rather drinking "has been removed", I don't understand. I don't "fight it"..and yes, I have filled the potholes that drinking filled with a differnt way of living (ie the "stepping stones" of life)...is that what you are trying to say?

BTW, I have done the steps and I feel very connected spiritually to my HP. What am I missing here?

43395

The title to this thread was a,'rhetorical question, as opposed to the fact that on the 15th of February, 2008 whilst alone and unaided by human hand when I was so disabled by alcohol to the extent I could only crawl to my bed and in desperation at my plight, cry out to the God of my understanding after which I fell asleep. Then there were no white lights, mountain tops, Elijah in a flaming charoit but within a few days after trying to do what active alcoholics do, I attempted to drink, each occasion was fulminated by a case of reverse parasolsis, I vomited and found that physically and mentally my desire for alcohol had gone, the spirituality was already well in place for even when drinking I had clung to my Christian beliefs. After this experience I sought advice from doctors and alcoholo counsellors as to an explanation as to what had happened to me, no explanation has yet been forthcoming so it is reasonable I think for me to say that I was one of those rare people that had a spiritual experience, see William James's book ,'Varieties of Religious Experience' I think it's mentioned in the,'Big Book' along with what happened to Bill W. It seems to me ironic that nobody yet outside the Fellowship has a problem with this, not that I've made a point of broadcasting it, it certainly won't get mentioned again, not by me at least.

bugsworth

That is an amazing story Michael...thanks for sharing.

43395

Guess I'll just leave it to all you good, decent people who can apparently not only just quit but pay,'lip service' to spirituality, I'm clearly out of my depth on this site, bye,Mike W.