justinJustQuit

So I'm having a hard time with this.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to
sanity.

I know I may have asked questions before about AA, but that greater power part always seems to get me. Could the higher power be anything in your support system? I suppose it could be my family. It could definitely be a "Mother Nature" view of the world. I guess I just don't know if those seem ridiculous...

justinJustQuit

Oh and I'm not bashing AA or anything, I'm just not really religious. Spoiler alert for step five haha!

Tamerua

Hi Justin! It can absolutely be your family or Mother Nature, it is your HP so it is just for you.

Coldfusion

So you admit you are powerless over alcohol?

The "higher power" bit is actually the point of the whole Big Book, as well as the reason I joined SoberRecovery.

justinJustQuit

Oh absolutely. I've known it for months.

miamifella

I think one thing that determines if AA works for you is just this. The steps state that no person can help you against your addiction--only some higher power can. Others in the program can only help you find that higher power.

But for some, other people do have power to help and no specific "higher power" has that power.

A lot of people have told me that one can will which way one's belief goes. I do not know if I agree. For me my experience led me in one direction, but I can understand if others' experience has lead them in a different direction.

Eddiebuckle

I have heard in more than one meeting someone say that their higher power is "whatever it is that makes the grass grow and the wind blow." IMO the point of a higher power is to acknowledge that although I am an incurable alcoholic, I know that it is possible for me to not drink. I know this is true because I have met people who have no business being alive, much less happy, thanks to the 12 steps. Who or what they choose to have as their higher power is their business alone. I have the option to work the same steps they did with a "power of my own understanding". It is my responsibility to work the steps and seek the answers through working with a sponsor whom I trust. That in a nutshell are the first three steps.

My first sponsor was fond of saying that "alcoholism is a disease of loneliness that we try to cure with isolation." Nothing can be more isolating than those hours we spent with a bottle and our misery. There is a way out - it may not be AA, and it need not entail a "God" of the conventional sort, but the sad truth is that most of us are not able to do this alone. Your higher power is that bridge - how you define it and use it is up to you.

Kevin78

I struggle with the Higher Power, I believe I have one, I just don't fully understand what it is just now.

BadCompany

That is not ridiculous at all. That will work just fine.

BadCompany

That is just fine too. When you read the third step just use God as I don't understand God. That's what I still use at 23 years sober.

sugarbear1

step 2 is a willingness to believe, make a decision to work the steps (3), and then, at once write step 4, discuss 5, take one hour of deep reflection and say a prayerwith willingness to change with help from a ppower greater than you.

my step 2 "came to believe" as a result of working with my sponsor and working through step 7....

sugarbear1

as posted via cell phone

I still don't qualify my higher power, but something worked
something is keeping me alive
something has my at peace
something keeps me sober

StormiNormi

I was at an AA roundup today. One of the speakers spoke on step two, and how he walks his sponcees through it.
Put you fingers on the inside of your wrist.
What do you feel?
A pulse.
What is a pulse?
A heartbeat.
What makes the heart beat?
I don't know.
Do you make your heart beat?
No.
Can you control your heart beat?
No.
What controls your heart beat?
My higher power.

Taking5

I see people getting hung up on this all the time. There is no need to define or understand your higher power to do the steps. The book says "as we understand Him" in a couple of places. That understanding is, by definition, incomplete. After all, who in the heck could claim to understand God? Even devoutly religious people in AA, who immediately know who their HP is, cannot make this claim.

When you pray you can just start out "dear HP...". The fact that you may be unsure what that HP is, is irrelevant. Willingness is the key. Willingness to believe in a higher power - be it a deity, the force of nature, or the power of the group, or the unnamed HP in my example - and further believe that this higher power can set you on the right track.

As you work steps 3 thru 12, your understanding of yourself, your sobriety, other people, and your higher power will evolve greatly. Don't let your inability to perfectly articulate a definition of your HP keep you away from the great rewards this program can give you.

Db1105

In chapter 5 How It Works in The Big Book, it talk about Three pertinent ideas. (B) is "that probably no human power could of relieved our alcoholism." That word " probably" left the door open for me in Step 3 to turn my will over to the care of the Group Of Drunks. They were certainly a power greater than me. It also got me to start working on the remaining steps to start my spiritual journey.

justinJustQuit

Thanks for all the useful tips everyone!

MIRecovery

The first step is attending AA meetings and getting a sponsor that has worked the steps. Have you done that?

justinJustQuit

I'm still looking for AA meetings that fit. I am going to meetings but do not yet have a sponsor.

MIRecovery

IMO The steps can not be worked without a sponsor. SR is great for a lot of things but working the steps is not one of them. I worked on step one for hours with my sponsor before i was allowed to move foward. Step one is the foundation of AA and has to be done perfectly.

CodeJob

There are a lot of opinions Justin. But the most important thing is to start and keep the process going forward. The 12 steps are a simple guide to a spiritual transformation.

I spent 2 months on Steps 1-2. Step 3 took me 9 months. I started Step 4 without a sponsor but I felt secure in waiting until the right person came along. I am shy and a poor temp sponsor derailed my RAHs AA participation so I was unnerved about this lay person role. As it is I have a therapist and I have talked over bits of my step 4 in that setting with good results as well. I met my sponsor in the last month and I just asked her last week. Turns out she is a therapist ha ha! My HP knew my concerns! How reassuring is that!?

However I am Al Anon so take what you need....