Behappy1

Congrats!

Volshen

Thank you.

Gottalife

I am just wondering why an agnostic sponsor is so important. What bothers me is while you are looking for a characteristic in a sponsor which is completely irrelavent to recovery, you are not progressing in the program. Going to meetings is not the AA program of recovery.

I came into AA an agnostic. I was so desperate for the misery to stop I could care less about the religious or other beliefs or lifestyle of a sponsor. I needed someone who could speak in a way I could understand and lead me through the steps so I could recover.

Your posts got me thinking about my sponsor. I have no idea what his religious beliefs were. He was my sponsor for two years and in that time, as I worked through my steps, I formed my own conclusions on the subject based in my experience. He never tried to influence me at all in that area, just encouraged me to follow my conscience. As it happens I came out of the experience a gnostic. Gnostic means knowledge through experience. I had my own personal experience with the God of my understanding.

I am still not religious and often wonder if I should be posting in the secular section. But I have this belief based in experience. And the experience came through having an open mind.

Step two only requires a willingness to believe, and though I didn't believe I was willing, if I got some evidence.

My suggestion is to forget about an agnostic sponsor and look for one who has an open mind, will help you with the steps, and allow you to have your own experiences. There are plenty of them around.

Volshen

I think I will be able to understand an atheist / agnostic sponsor better. Many of the steps use the word god. But an atheist / agnostic who has succeeded in the program will know how to get through those steps in a way that would make sense to me.

I've been told to substitute the word god for "Group of Drunks" .. to make A.A itself my higher power, but even that doesn't make sense to me when it comes to certain steps.


Thank you for the response.

Volshen

Day 30.

Soberwolf

Volshen

Haven't posted but still doing well. Day 32.

Hevyn

Relieved to hear that, V.

Volshen

Day 34.

Things are getting better. I got the full time job I have been looking for. I will be able to get a new apartment and my girlfriend says she is ready to move in with me.

She should have waited longer ... but she doesn't understand addiction and thinks because I have never made it this long without a drink before that I'm okay now.

She's taking a risk and doesn't really realize it .. but I'm not going to say "Hey, maybe you should wait a while longer, see how things go."

Just going to have to make sure I continue on the sober road and then it won't matter.

Soberwolf

Congratulations Volshen

Stellar45

Wow, so good to see you break new ground in terms of sober time. Please be careful. I hope the relationship doesn't throw you. Good luck.

Volshen

Checking in .. everything is okay still.

Dee74

good to hear from you Volshen

D

sugarbear1

Can you attempt to work those steps and stop insisting there is no god or higher power? Those steps helped me see MY behavior patterns.....

Volshen

It is good to gain awareness of our behavior patterns, but I'm likely going to have to find another way to do that. I am unable to believe in a god or a higher power due to lack of evidence.

I still enjoy the A.A meetings and I hear really good things, but I just don't see the steps happening at this point. I thought I was going to have an agnostic sponsor but he is busy.

Hawkeye13

What about this?

AA Agnostica

Volshen

Thank you for the link.

It's a couple more weeks before I officially start my new job so I tried to make some extra money today at what was advertised as a recycling center. I assumed it was old canned food cans, cardboard, stuff like that.

Nope.. Turned out to be bags and bags of beer cans with beer splashing up on my face and arms as I emptied the bags on to the conveyer. I started getting very stressed out and wanting to drink.

I can't drink ever ... Left the job early.. Will not be going back.

The new job I start in 2 weeks is to do with shoes not beer lol.

tomsteve

theres evidence everywhere of a higher power, youre just not looking in the right places.
you think there isn't a higher power? isn't alcohol a higher power?

you think a higher power of any nature doesn't have a group of drunks sittin in a room trying to help another alcoholic? those drunks all just magically got sober?

you think its all you keeping you sober? think just coincidence there were bags of beer cans at your new job? that couldn't have been a higher power tellin ya something?

I read evidence of a higher power in this thread.

Volshen

I've been reading SR every day but not posting. I'm still doing good.

Soberwolf

Good to hear bud keep up the good work