Not Religious-Day 2
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: NW NJ
Posts: 25
Not Religious-Day 2
:wtf2I finally admitted to myself Monday night what I had known for years, that I had a problem. So hear I am 2 days later notknowing what to do with myself. Anyway, I am not a religious person at all so I have 3 questions: Can I still try out AA? Do all of them bring God into it? And how did you get up the nerve to go there? Thanks for your answers in advance.
Bring Laughter Wherever You Go
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 357
Welcome. I too am new to sobriety. You've taken the first step. Congrats on your 2 days. You're to be commended!
You don't have to be a 'god' person to go to AA. There is some talk about your Higher Power...which can be anything...your inner strength, God....whatever. And when God is mentioned...again, it is the God of YOUR understanding. So again, that can simply be your inner strength or whatever you choose.
How do you get up the nerve? I found where my local meeting would be and just walked in. I grinded my teeth and clenched my fists and walked into the room not knowing a single soul. That lasted for about a minute. You will be made to feel welcome, people will introduce themselves, etc.. But you don't have to say a word if you don't want. And you don't have to talk. When it comes to your turn. All you have to say is 'I'm here to listen'. That's it.
Tay.
You don't have to be a 'god' person to go to AA. There is some talk about your Higher Power...which can be anything...your inner strength, God....whatever. And when God is mentioned...again, it is the God of YOUR understanding. So again, that can simply be your inner strength or whatever you choose.
How do you get up the nerve? I found where my local meeting would be and just walked in. I grinded my teeth and clenched my fists and walked into the room not knowing a single soul. That lasted for about a minute. You will be made to feel welcome, people will introduce themselves, etc.. But you don't have to say a word if you don't want. And you don't have to talk. When it comes to your turn. All you have to say is 'I'm here to listen'. That's it.
Tay.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Miamisburg, Ohio
Posts: 217
Welcome pi2,
Can you still try AA?
Yes, I recommend it. The people there have been right where you are now and they can help you!
Do all of them bring God into it? The people with solid sobriety all have some form "Higher Power", at least those I know. Some choose to call that power God, some don't. Some use the group as their "Higher Power". The concept is simple really. Alone I'm unable to stay sober, if a group of people help me it becomes easier and do-able, so as a group we are a "Higher Power". Whether they believe in God or not every AA'er I have ever met will treat you as an equal, because in terms of battling alcoholism, you are.
How did I get up the nerve to go?
Desperation. Now I wish I would have gone sooner, but I had to get to where I am by going through what I did. Good Luck, don't be afraid, keep an open mind, remember you won't always agree with everyone there but they're allowed to have their opinions as well.
Higher Power's Peace
Can you still try AA?
Yes, I recommend it. The people there have been right where you are now and they can help you!
Do all of them bring God into it? The people with solid sobriety all have some form "Higher Power", at least those I know. Some choose to call that power God, some don't. Some use the group as their "Higher Power". The concept is simple really. Alone I'm unable to stay sober, if a group of people help me it becomes easier and do-able, so as a group we are a "Higher Power". Whether they believe in God or not every AA'er I have ever met will treat you as an equal, because in terms of battling alcoholism, you are.
How did I get up the nerve to go?
Desperation. Now I wish I would have gone sooner, but I had to get to where I am by going through what I did. Good Luck, don't be afraid, keep an open mind, remember you won't always agree with everyone there but they're allowed to have their opinions as well.
Higher Power's Peace
homegroup: Mokena Fellowship
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: chicagoland
Posts: 6
my higher power is the combined compassion of all sentient beings - God or Allah or Great Spirit or the Great Pumpkin, --- whatever name is ok with me; the application of kindness & mercy in my daily life is more important to me than the combining & naming of these concepts. My friends in AA are as diverse a group as i have ever been around - everybody from daily mass catholics to folks who wear crystals to keep the evil alcohol spirits away - if a person has a desire to stop drinking they're welcome.
as far as having the nerve to go to my first meeting - that wasn't a problem-- the state offered me jail or AA, i chose AA and felt right at home from my first step meeting - the people around the table told me a bit about their drinking & now i saw they were sober - this gave me a great deal of comfort and hope, i learned that stopping drinking & repairing the harm i had done was possible - balance & happiness was possible.
as far as having the nerve to go to my first meeting - that wasn't a problem-- the state offered me jail or AA, i chose AA and felt right at home from my first step meeting - the people around the table told me a bit about their drinking & now i saw they were sober - this gave me a great deal of comfort and hope, i learned that stopping drinking & repairing the harm i had done was possible - balance & happiness was possible.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 137
If your faith is centered more towards agnosticism or atheism, the cosmos itself can be a higher power. To understand how intensively spiritual, the cosmos can be, go buy a copy of Cosmos by Carl Sagan. I found that show to be intensively spiritual to me.
It is a non-theist but allow you to be instensively spiritual and allow to meditate and reflect without require to believe in a theistic being.
And that is your higher power
It is a non-theist but allow you to be instensively spiritual and allow to meditate and reflect without require to believe in a theistic being.
And that is your higher power
FreeSpirit
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Inside My Spirit
Posts: 1,274
One,day,at,a,time
:codiepoliceHEY:what's up don't worry about u not been religion can't save u trust me I was born under a family with mad relgious believe where I met my GOD of my understanding wasn't in catholic school I wen't to catholic school my family want it me to be a nun could u believe that dude shoot but where I met my believe[or faith]was at the bottom's of the bottom's of my lowes't point in my life when u are sickand tire of been sick and tire so don't worry about religion or not having any believe or faith THE MAN ABOVE could take care of people far better of than me and u can so B-EASY one-day-at-a-time if u can't do one day at a time do one hour or one minute or one second just B still u are a miracle about to happen just stick around u got to really want this BLESS& B-BLESS:codiepolice
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,514
Hi Pi,
Welcome and good for acknowledging your problem with alcohol.
I am not an AA person, and I am more spiritual than religious. There are many paths to recovery and I hope you find one that works for you. SR is a lifeline for me and I hope you find yourself at home here.
Welcome and good for acknowledging your problem with alcohol.
I am not an AA person, and I am more spiritual than religious. There are many paths to recovery and I hope you find one that works for you. SR is a lifeline for me and I hope you find yourself at home here.
Life the gift of recovery!
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Home is where the heart is
Posts: 7,061
Congrats on 2 days and your decision to stop drinking.
My experience with deciding to stop drinking is that I did that many times during my drinking career. I even managed to stop for a year once. I did not know about AA or treatment centers when I was trying to quit druring those times. What my experience was when I tried to quit without a program to teach me the tools of how to live life without drinking I was miserable and ultimately wound up drinking again. I was not able to lose the obsession for alcohol; that constant thought about it, all the billboards, delivery trucks, grocery store aisles, restuarant wine lists, magazine ad, tv ads all made me crazy. My head would not stop spinning about alcohol.
I finally got to the point where I realized that my alcoholism was not only killing me but everyone around me that cared about me. It was then that I realized it had to stop one way or another. I do not consider myself a religious person in fact after my childhood I would consider myself anything but religious. But I did pray to any God that would listen to please either give me a way to live life without drinking or give me the courage to put a gun to my head. My prayer was answered (by the God of the Bible, Allah, Budda, the Energy of the world; I have no idea nor do I care to put a name to the power). The next morning I woke up and remembered a woman who gave me her number several months prior and said to call if I had a problem with alcohol. It took me two weeks to get the courage to call but I did and that day I went to my first AA meeting. I don't remember anything about that meeting except the hope that I felt for the first time in many years. Hope that I could live a happy, healthy life without being insane or drinking.
That is my story (experience).
Now to address your questions. You did an excellent job of voicing your questions and concerns about AA.
Of course you can. Although there are people who will claim AA is a religious organization it clearly states in the 12 Traditions that it is not allied with any sect denomination or religious organization. If AA were a religious organization I would have died drunk as I definately had a resentment and fear of religous people and organizations. To me religion meant church and church meant pedophiles and hypocrites. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with church or religion.
As I stated above AA is not religion. I have learned that there is a huge difference between religion and spirituality. Religion is about worshiping something and trying to be perfect. Religion is filled with judgements and "thou shalt nots". Spirituality is a personal and individual thing. It is about love and tolerance of others. It is about progress not perfection. It is about working on our own faults not judging the faults of others. I have learned through time that there are people who are both religious and spiritual but there are also many who are spiritual without being religious. I happen to be spiritual but not religious. I can not even describe the Power Greater than myself in words although I know that it keeps me sober. To some this power is the Power of a group of alcoholics who are recovering. To some this Power is the God of the Bible. It doesn't matter what picture you put to it what matters is the belief that you can be helped.
I was terrified. I could not even speak for the first 3 months of meetings I went to. I sat there with my hands folded in front of me not wanting to move or draw attention to myself as someone might talk to me and then I would have to open my mouth. That feeling does pass though. I just kept coming back as I did not want to lose that hope that my life could get better that there was a solution to my alcoholism other than an alcoholic death and destruction. I will have 7 years sober on the 13th of this month. Today my life is more than I could have wished for. I am glad I held onto the hope and kept coming back even when I was frightened and lost.
Hang in there. You can do this. If AA turns out to not be for you please go to our alcoholism forum and there is a listing of other recovery programs there. You might be able to find one that works for you.
My experience with deciding to stop drinking is that I did that many times during my drinking career. I even managed to stop for a year once. I did not know about AA or treatment centers when I was trying to quit druring those times. What my experience was when I tried to quit without a program to teach me the tools of how to live life without drinking I was miserable and ultimately wound up drinking again. I was not able to lose the obsession for alcohol; that constant thought about it, all the billboards, delivery trucks, grocery store aisles, restuarant wine lists, magazine ad, tv ads all made me crazy. My head would not stop spinning about alcohol.
I finally got to the point where I realized that my alcoholism was not only killing me but everyone around me that cared about me. It was then that I realized it had to stop one way or another. I do not consider myself a religious person in fact after my childhood I would consider myself anything but religious. But I did pray to any God that would listen to please either give me a way to live life without drinking or give me the courage to put a gun to my head. My prayer was answered (by the God of the Bible, Allah, Budda, the Energy of the world; I have no idea nor do I care to put a name to the power). The next morning I woke up and remembered a woman who gave me her number several months prior and said to call if I had a problem with alcohol. It took me two weeks to get the courage to call but I did and that day I went to my first AA meeting. I don't remember anything about that meeting except the hope that I felt for the first time in many years. Hope that I could live a happy, healthy life without being insane or drinking.
That is my story (experience).
Now to address your questions. You did an excellent job of voicing your questions and concerns about AA.
Can I still try out AA?
Do all of them bring God into it?
And how did you get up the nerve to go there?
Hang in there. You can do this. If AA turns out to not be for you please go to our alcoholism forum and there is a listing of other recovery programs there. You might be able to find one that works for you.
Don't get undies in a bunch
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: South Shore MA
Posts: 7,120
Yes a person can stop the drinking and not be religious
I stopped my drinking and became a Christian
BUT....
There were 20 years in between those two life changing actions.
I stopped my drinking and became a Christian
BUT....
There were 20 years in between those two life changing actions.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,445
It's your recovery - kinda makes sense to find something that makes sense to you 
but my advice is to be fair to yourself - be open minded, look at everything - give yourself the best chance to find that thing that's the best fit
welcome!
D
but my advice is to be fair to yourself - be open minded, look at everything - give yourself the best chance to find that thing that's the best fit
welcome!
D
Another Day in Paradise
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Upland, CA
Posts: 900
pi2,
Welcome and come on in to an AA meeting and have a seat. You are welcome to sit next to me, if I am not there sit down next to one of the several hundreds or even thousands just like me, or for that matter just like YOU. We are all there to get and stay sober, you see we all have at least one thing in common.
If my higher power isn't there "borrow" someone elses for just that meeting and you may find your own later on. If not just lean on the folks around you, they won't mind. We have all been to our own first meeting and we are actually waiting for someone just like you to keep reminding us that there is still magic in the room, just like the first day we came in
Thank you for keeping AA alive and well. I owe you debt that I will try and repay to you if you let me.
Jon
Welcome and come on in to an AA meeting and have a seat. You are welcome to sit next to me, if I am not there sit down next to one of the several hundreds or even thousands just like me, or for that matter just like YOU. We are all there to get and stay sober, you see we all have at least one thing in common.
If my higher power isn't there "borrow" someone elses for just that meeting and you may find your own later on. If not just lean on the folks around you, they won't mind. We have all been to our own first meeting and we are actually waiting for someone just like you to keep reminding us that there is still magic in the room, just like the first day we came in
Thank you for keeping AA alive and well. I owe you debt that I will try and repay to you if you let me.
Jon
Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Kansas
Posts: 10,182
My take is that religion is man-made to impress God.
Spirituality is God-given.
AA is a spiritual program.
I grew up in a staunch Catholic family, and still have not been able to reconcile my recovery with any particular religion.
I practice spirituality, and AA works very well for me
Spirituality is God-given.
AA is a spiritual program.
I grew up in a staunch Catholic family, and still have not been able to reconcile my recovery with any particular religion.
I practice spirituality, and AA works very well for me
Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 23
Originally Posted by pi2 
:wtf2I finally admitted to myself Monday night what I had known for years, that I had a problem. So hear I am 2 days later notknowing what to do with myself. Anyway, I am not a religious person at all so I have 3 questions: Can I still try out AA? Do all of them bring God into it? And how did you get up the nerve to go there? Thanks for your answers in advance.
Thats a good post.,,its hard to define the difference between a religious GOD and trying to identify with a higher power.,,,I dont know what it is,,,I know what my own beliefs are,,,but i like to look at some of the people i have known who were as die hard of a heroin and every other kind of drug the same as i was ,,but through what i call some kinda miracle these people quit it all and never looked back!!How in the hell did they do that,,and why cant it happen for me??,,Or hasnt yet anyway.,,I dont know ,,i just believe that miracles happen and just being open to that possibility might help you more than tryin to figure out all the GOD and higher power and all that,,maybe you know someone who has gotten clean and stayed there even though you never in your wildest dreams expected it to happen to this person.
My advice would be not to trip to hard on that aspect of the mettings right now,,forget the miracles,,GOD,,and higher power and see if just talking and listening while your in the meetings helps your situation.
Tattoo Tommy
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