"Is sobriety all that we are to
expect of a spiritual awakening? Again, the voice of A.A. speaks up. No,
sobriety is only a bare beginning, it is only the first gift of the first
awakening. If more gifts are to be received, our awakening has to go on.
And if it does go on, we find that bit by bit we can discard the old
life - the one that did not work - for a new life that can and does
work under any conditions whatever.
The wisdom of Native American spirituality is deeply centered on the natural world. It teaches us to respect the earth and all natural things. It teaches us, as many world religions do, that we are made of earth and live by the gifts of nature. Remember, the word humility comes from the word humus, meaning “of the earth.” When we become alienated or too far removed from nature, we become disconnected from ourselves. We lose our place and become willful.
Humility
is not the same as shame.
It seems as if we’re particularly immature, especially in the early stages of recovery. When we were using, we handled all of our problems the same way: When faced with difficult relationships, we used. When faced with responsibilities, we used. When faced with life, we used. Substances took the place of learning experiences.
Fortunately,
we’re in recovery now, and we can learn from our problems. We are more
mature now that we understand our strengths and
"The unique ability of each A.A. to
identify himself with, and bring recovery to, the newcomer in no way depends
upon his learning, his eloquence, or any special individual skills. The only
thing that matters is that he is an alcoholic who has found a key to sobriety."
"In my first conversation with Dr. Bob, I
bore down heavily on the medical hopelessness of his case, freely using Dr.
Silkworth's words describing the alcoholic's dilemma, the 'obsession plus
allergy' theme. Though Bob was a doctor, this was news to him, bad news. And the
fact that I was an alcoholic and knew what I was talking about from personal
experience made the blow a shattering one. You see, our talk was a completely
mutual thing. I had quit preaching. I knew that I needed this alcoholic as much
as he needed me."
1. TWELVE AND TWELVE,
pp. 150-151
2. A.A. COMES OF AGE, pp. 69-70
The profound inner truth of our life is that we have a lifelong partnership with God. As we strengthen our awareness of this constant, love-filled presence, we’ll be less able to cloud our mind with critical thoughts. Any thought we choose to hold that is not blessing someone harms us as much as the other person. Returning our thoughts to God, even when our ego is struggling to think mean thoughts, will release us from the bondage of negativity.
Our Twelve Step program offers us freedom from this bondage every time we contemplate the Third Step.
Working the Twelve Steps is the process of being and becoming. It is finding, knowing, and accepting who we are. It is having the willingness to fall down, stumble around, and make mistakes. It is being in tune with the constant process of death and rebirth that is part of life’s rhythm.
Each
of us has an internal timetable—the rhythm of our spirit. Discovering
what it is and living according to its direction can bring us untold
serenity and joy. It also brings us energy, because we’re not fighting
ourselves and reality. So often we are our own worst enemy. But to face
who we are and to learn from it is to be created anew. In the process,
we discover our own truths. Maybe that’s part of what a spiritual
awakening is: seeing the truth in a new way.
