Rehab Day 12 - so, like, let's talk (H.P.)
 

Last night at the closed AA meeting, 3 different people mentioned that they have no Higher Power, and they said they didn't think they could do the 12 Steps, or stay sober, because of this fact.

The chairperson said "Why don't you make the GROUP your higher power?"

That went over like a lead balloon - the 3 people were not impressed. They each said that "No, I need a real Higher Power, to keep me sober."

Thoughts?

K out

That maybe could be an excuse and I don't mean that to sound rude. I think we all at one time or another find loads of them as a safety net as to why we do this to ourselves. Or maybe they truly feel that way, that there is no hope because most people in AA are spiritual. Maybe AA isn't for them then...or they could find others in AA who have been successful and feel as they do.

There is a chapter in the book...Alcoholics Anonymous
"We Agnostics" that might interest them.

And the book also states....AA is not for everyone.
The key is to find something that enriches your sober life.

My recovery required being open to change...includeing
what I thought I knew all about.....:)

FrothyJay has a really good description of getting started with his HP: http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ml#post2952529

My other suggestion is to read the stories in the BB. Several of them relate how they came to find a higher power.

Carol is right, some programs don't fit where you are. But if you are looking for excuses why this or that program won't work for you, it is amazingly easy to find them.

I do believe AA could be the higher power. Just like SR is for me..Any group that comes together in positive thoughts and actions lift people that are in a struggle to quit. It is the ray of hope that some people need. I am afraid it seems the people that say they have no HP are still in the negative thinking mode..they will have a hard time staying sober.

Kelly you can't focus someone to change there believes when it comes to God. If they are atheist then AA will not keep them sober. The head person of the AA telling them that use the group as a higher power is really a slap in the face to their beliefs. But I don't know why those 3 people are in AA in the first place.

Are all the people in AA meet are in rehab too?

Rehab facilities don't normally screen for atheists, but they do usually make people go to AA meetings daily. They will drive them to meetings, and then prescribe the "90 meetings in 90 days" after their stay.

The reason the suggestion to use the group, or AA itself as a higher power is so common is because it is written in "Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions" under "Step Two" (page 27).

The underlying assumption is that this is only a beginning - that in time, the newcomer's faith will broaden, that the atheist will "come to believe" and ultimately, in effect, cease to be atheist.

You can read it on the official AA web site:

AA "Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions" Chapter on Step 2

[AA Literature on the official AA web site linked with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.]

Perhaps it might help if we hear from some people who went through the same thing as those three individuals you mentioned who don't have a higher power. People always seem to know of some atheist in AA, but it is always better to hear it directly from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

Are there any atheists of the following variety, as defined in the dictionary, here on SR that went to AA?

Atheist (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary):Atheist (Oxford Dictionaries Online):Atheist (Merriam-Webster Dictionary):(Do note that "Agnostic" does not mean the same thing as "Atheist")

If you are atheist, what was your experience?

Were you able to reconcile the program of AA with your atheism?

Did you work the 12-Step program of AA, as described in the Big Book, or merely attend meetings?

If you did work the steps, do you still consider yourself atheist after having worked the program?

I don't know how strong the atheist even if they were atheist at the group but saying that you need a High Power to stay sober is completely false. If someone is having a hard time staying sober will even have a more hard time if they are push to use a believe that does not follow they're own believe. High Power = God at the root of it. AA had to change for religious reason. Same thing with prayer in school to moment of silence but it's still prayer.

Beside the point. If they don't find help in AA believe the High Power then there are other program they may flow their boat like SMART or SOS.

Thats my two cents on it.