ClosetCinephile

Hi everyone,

I'm coming up to my 4th Step, and I'm struggling with the "God thing." I'm a spiritual person, and I do believe things happen for a reason (fate), but I can't seem to let go of the not knowing for sure. I feel like I should have it down and I don't. I don't always remember to pray morning/night, etc.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

FreeOwl

Faith in 'fate' is still faith.

If you can bring yourself to believe that 'fate' is a higher power than yourself, then you've got 'the God Thing' nailed.

You don't have to believe in an omniscient bearded guy in the sky for the steps to work.

witchy

I've hear God referd to as the support and guidance you receive from the GroupOfDrunks!

IOAA2

Hi.
Try to give it time. I’m not religious but believe in a Higher Power and it’s not ME!
With time and osmosis from sober people at meetings it will be easier if we let it and Let Go.
It helped me when I came around to remember the expression “just believe that we believe.”

BE WELL

KeryJames

What about using Brian as your hp??

Kill two birds with one stone, as it puts things into perspective too.....I find this is a great "letting go" song...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlBiLNN1NhQ

isn't there a chapter in that group's book that talks to those silly agnostics?

Bubovski

I basically look on God as a universal force of wisdom.
One need not turn to any specific religion.
A universal force directed towards the good suits me.
A huge range of religions, all pushing different doctrines
can be very confusing-------

trachemys

If prayer is difficult, try meditation.

NestWasEmpty

I did AA a few times , I believe in a "God" as !0AA2 mentioned . Someone stronger than me that pulls me through the tough times . Yes Higher Power Is just the way they word it AA. Took me awhile than it finally clicked .
When you or them mention God think of your own I never did pray morning or night either . It's like you find yourself in a situation that you say to yourself Please "God" - someone give me strength ..
You can work through this give it time
I hope this made sense some how ..

tomsteve

All you need is a willingness to believe.
Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Came to believe....by working the rest of the steps. Not sat at waited for a revelation until we moved forward.
Do you have a sponsor? If so have you brought this up with your sponsor or even as a topic at a meeting?

BadCompany

You're doing just fine.

Dee74

Let's stick to the topic, please.

personal discussion/remarks are best made by PM.

Dee
Moderator
SR

murrill

I'm not sure that it is necessary to assign a name to one's faith. It took me a while to understand spirituality, and today I am comfortably non-theist. But as I worked through the steps, while I was trying to figure out where I stood, I relied on the wisdom of others in AA. They assured me everything would be OK, and I chose to believe them. They were right.

BobArctor

I used "reality" as my higher power and interpreted "came to believe" loosely, as the opposite of accepting that I know better than the reality of things. Or, I acquired a degree of faith that being willing to accept reality when I am wrong is something that I can do. My opinion is that it is good not to let go of being unsure of your conception of a higher power.

Tooshabby

Hi ClosetCinephile,

If you are looking to strengthen your spirituality, you might enjoy looking at 'near death experiences' on youtube. There are also websites with hundreds of written accounts of people who have died and been brought back to life. With the advances in technology these days it's an increasingly common occurrence. The reports are varied and yet strangely similar in many respects; some religious, others not at all so.
And yes, I've read all about the biological theories concerning near-death experiences. Why does anyone care what someone else believes for goodness sake? As long as no-one is forcing something down someone else's throat and is not being discriminatory in any sense, what does it matter? It seems to me that many religious people and atheists are equally guilty of that.

sg1970

As others have said, don't worry about it and just keep working the steps. It will work itself out.

FWIW I used nature to start. I rely on the earth to feed and water me. It has power that is greater than me and could kill me in a heartbeat. Looking at the sky always makes me feel small. It doesn't take much to start.

Best wishes.

Fly N Buy

Good for you on doing a 4th step - many do not!

It helped me to memorize the 3rd step prayer - I use it as part of my daily meditation. Do the best you can, that's all He asks of us.

Remember the 3 pertinent ideas??
A, B and

C. God could and would if He were sought.......
It's is in the seeking we find truth

You're doing great!

MIRecovery

The more I chased and tried to define the God thing the more elusive God became. The more I let the God thing happen and was open to God moments the closer I felt

Eddiebuckle

Do you know the stories of those in your home group that have the kind of sobriety you want? They got from there to here somehow. Is there anything to be lost by simply accepting that whatever it was that got them through the process is available to you?

You don't need to know how the watch works, you simply have to accept that it tracks time. More will be revealed.

If that doesn't work, consider this: the twelve steps can be boiled down to twelve principles:

1. Honesty
2. Hope
3. Faith
4. Courage
5. Integrity
6. Willingness
7. Humility
8. Discipline
9. Forgiveness
10. Acceptance
11. Awareness
12. Gratitude

If those principles defined how God worked in this world, would you be willing to move forward in the steps?

SoberLife90

You remind me of myself. I had to search and find what GOD was to me...it it sure didn't happen over night...but slow but surely i developed a relationship with my higher power. Keep it simple. GOD is good. GOD is literally all the good things in life. "Honesty, hope, trust, faith, courage, willingness, integrity, love, tolerance". Those are the spiritual principles that I live my life by but is also GOD. Again...keep it simple. God is all the good in life. I let GOD guide me (all the good things) by following all those spiritual principles i listed above. This is my conception though...yours may not be the same.

Anyways hope this helps.

Nick

Dee74

I removed some posts.

Getting the thread back on topic - again...

CC I'm a Christian now but when I quit I was a confirmed atheist, and even tho I wasn't an AA member I was drawn to the 12 steps because I managed to get hold of a Big Book.

For me then my higher power was my fellow alcoholics - I saw the power of community, belief, faith and trust with my own eyes.

Even for a cynical mistrusting fellow like I was then the existence and power of what you might call goodness was impossible to deny

D