The devil made me do it.
Powerless over Alcohol
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: Trudging the Road to Happy Destiny!
Posts: 4,018
The devil made me do it.
Some of us are fond of saying "the devil made me do it" when we've have done something we are not proud of . We might as well say "the ego made me do it " because the ego is our own personal "devil".
Sometimes I like to claim that we weren't in complete control of our actions, that I was overcome by an irresistable urge. I can't, however, say that with a clear conscience. At one time in my addictive and drunken past, maybe, but not today. Now I can be responsible. And urge can overcome me only to the extent that I let it ~ only I give it the power of believing in it and putting it into action.
I have a choice today, I can listen to the voice of my God, or to the voice of my ego. And I can tell which one is talking by how I feel inside. The ego's urgings always leave me with misgivings. My God's guidance always assures me..
"Do not be afraid of the ego. It depends on you mind, and as you made it by believing in it , so you can dispel it by withdrawling belief from it "...
Keep living the dream and stay on the beam.
Good love, Inda
Sometimes I like to claim that we weren't in complete control of our actions, that I was overcome by an irresistable urge. I can't, however, say that with a clear conscience. At one time in my addictive and drunken past, maybe, but not today. Now I can be responsible. And urge can overcome me only to the extent that I let it ~ only I give it the power of believing in it and putting it into action.
I have a choice today, I can listen to the voice of my God, or to the voice of my ego. And I can tell which one is talking by how I feel inside. The ego's urgings always leave me with misgivings. My God's guidance always assures me..
"Do not be afraid of the ego. It depends on you mind, and as you made it by believing in it , so you can dispel it by withdrawling belief from it "...
Keep living the dream and stay on the beam.
Good love, Inda
Sobriety is Traditional
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Orcas Island, Washington
Posts: 9,064
Thank you so much for the thoughtful post! I want to bump it up a bit, and am going to offer some comments.
I have thought a lot about impulses and reactions in the past 75 days. One memorable quote is from the AA Big Book (4th edition, p. 544): "I am the result of the way I reacted to what happened to me as a child." We tend to blame our impulses on our upbringing.
The other quote is from the Proactive Twelve Steps (something I found here at SR). The Proactive Twelve Steps (printable)
"Step 6:
I see that my knee-jerk reactions have to do with being in the grip of more or less conscious fears.
Original wording (AA):
Were entirely ready to have our Higher Power remove all these defects of character."
This implies that there are impulses we can't control. When the doctor hits our knee, our leg moves uncontrollably. I am having a little trouble embracing this... it kind of seems contrary to what Inda said.
I have thought a lot about impulses and reactions in the past 75 days. One memorable quote is from the AA Big Book (4th edition, p. 544): "I am the result of the way I reacted to what happened to me as a child." We tend to blame our impulses on our upbringing.
The other quote is from the Proactive Twelve Steps (something I found here at SR). The Proactive Twelve Steps (printable)
"Step 6:
I see that my knee-jerk reactions have to do with being in the grip of more or less conscious fears.
Original wording (AA):
Were entirely ready to have our Higher Power remove all these defects of character."
This implies that there are impulses we can't control. When the doctor hits our knee, our leg moves uncontrollably. I am having a little trouble embracing this... it kind of seems contrary to what Inda said.
Self recovered Self discovered
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Toronto Canada
Posts: 5,148
e·go (noun)
1). A person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance.
2). The part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity.
If ego means sense of self, it was my ego that finally got tired of being abused and disrespected and stood up for itself (meaning me) and said, 'Enough! I deserve a better life than this, I demand a better life than this, and I will have a better life than this, no matter what'.
A sense of personal identity and an ability to distinguish between fact and fiction or between reality and fantasy, are necessary for survival, I think. My ego is associated with my will to survive, and it enables me to achieve and maintain my sobriety.
1). A person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance.
2). The part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity.
If ego means sense of self, it was my ego that finally got tired of being abused and disrespected and stood up for itself (meaning me) and said, 'Enough! I deserve a better life than this, I demand a better life than this, and I will have a better life than this, no matter what'.
A sense of personal identity and an ability to distinguish between fact and fiction or between reality and fantasy, are necessary for survival, I think. My ego is associated with my will to survive, and it enables me to achieve and maintain my sobriety.
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: fort wayne, IN.
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I was reading Under the Influence last night and on page 152 it says that once an alcoholic understands his addiction he has a moral obligation to maintain his sobriety. Kind of like when a cop pulls you over because your tail light is out and he lets you go because you did'nt know. If he sees you a week later with the same issue you deserve to pay the full consequences.
Sobriety is Traditional
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Orcas Island, Washington
Posts: 9,064
Originally Posted by escapist 
Kind of like when a cop pulls you over because your tail light is out and he lets you go because you did'nt know. If he sees you a week later with the same issue you deserve to pay the full consequences.
"I had no rights . Society can do anything it chooses to do with me when I am drunk, and I can't lift a finger to stop it, for I forfeit my rights through the simple expedient of becoming a menace to myself and the people around me."
Sober since October
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: In the world in my eyes...Somewhere I've never been before...
Posts: 7,355
Inda, I like your posts, but I kind of disagree here.
"Sigmund Freud described the ego as the part of personality that strikes a balance between the basic urges of the id, the moralistic demands of the superego, and the realities of the world around us."
Ego seems to have a pretty busy job balancing all this) It embraces both positive and negative connotations, not only negative.
It also has to deal with subconsious that holds patterns adopted during the lifetime and a lot of other things, and it's not so easy to control. It takes time to say difference between "bad ago" and something that is not even part of your ego, like destructive sense of guilt.
My ego doesn't equal "devil". It's complicated, I'm responsible for it, but it's hard to deal with using "black and white" approach.
Anyway, whatever works for sobriety. Maybe, it's just my ego disagrees
Have a good day)
"Sigmund Freud described the ego as the part of personality that strikes a balance between the basic urges of the id, the moralistic demands of the superego, and the realities of the world around us."
Ego seems to have a pretty busy job balancing all this) It embraces both positive and negative connotations, not only negative.
It also has to deal with subconsious that holds patterns adopted during the lifetime and a lot of other things, and it's not so easy to control. It takes time to say difference between "bad ago" and something that is not even part of your ego, like destructive sense of guilt.
My ego doesn't equal "devil". It's complicated, I'm responsible for it, but it's hard to deal with using "black and white" approach.
Anyway, whatever works for sobriety. Maybe, it's just my ego disagrees
Have a good day)
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Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada. About as far south as you can get
Posts: 4,768
Google and watch the 4 episodes of the BBC documentaries (4 x 1hr) "Century of the self" and you won't see psychiatry in the same light again.
Inda,.... flip Wilson knows what you mean
Flip Wilson on The Ed Sullivan Show - YouTube
All the best.
Bob R
Inda,.... flip Wilson knows what you mean
Flip Wilson on The Ed Sullivan Show - YouTube
All the best.
Bob R
Sober since October
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: In the world in my eyes...Somewhere I've never been before...
Posts: 7,355
Originally Posted by 2granddaughters
Google and watch the 4 episodes of the BBC documentaries (4 x 1hr) "Century of the self" and you won't see psychiatry in the same light again.
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