Step 2 of the amazing Program of AA states: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. “Yeah, but I don’t wish death to people who disagree with me anymore. Serious injury maybe but not death. So what’s the problem?” The problem is that thoughts are THE most powerful ingredient of our entire makeup. When I get insane thinking about anyone or anything, it has a price. This is a price that I am no longer willing to pay. This is coming from someone who used to get sight pictures of people. Especially, those I disagreed with. A sight picture is what one sees when looking over or through the sights of a firearm. My world was one that was filled with madness, violence, and anger. This is what I knew.
After finding AA, I was introduced to Spirituality. Soon, I finally started believing Step 2. Then I began looking at my Higher Power as something completely different. Now, it was not the punishing and judgmental tyrant I had thought that God was. So, I turned to Step 3. I said “Take me, God. I surrender!” Since I had had so many years of insane thinking about God, this was not easy. I was defeated and down to a depth in life that saw no other choices. Only dying or surrendering to the Power that I was seeing transform so many others right in front of my eyes. I wanted what they had. I was willing to go to any lengths to get it!
WOW! I got the start of instant relief. The insane thinking was starting to leave. There was a difference between now and before the Program of AA entered my life. It was BELIEF and FAITH! I saw it in others and believed that if it could work for them, why not me too? Very quickly. Quickly, I grabbed onto the life preserver tossed by AA. I have not let go ever since. And am NOT the same deranged thinking person that I was before starting to work the Program of AA. Any more than a frog is a tadpole anymore or a butterfly is still a caterpillar. I do not entertain negative thoughts. This is simply because I do not wish to return to the madness ever again. If I entertain these negatives, I WILL drink and return to the madness.
Through my studies of Spirituality, I have learned that I am a Spiritual Being. I am living in a Spiritual Universe. I am governed by Spiritual Law. And, as a Divine Being, I am an individualized expression of God and one with ALL that exists. Since you folks are also extensions of the Higher Power, I thank you each and every day for your guidance. Your love. Your understanding. I simply say “Thank you, God!” This is what keeps the insane thoughts away from my mental doorstep.
We can be reached at Spiritualityandrecovery@gmail.com or 810-965-6140 usually within hours.
More can be found on our other pages. We have an AA Zoom meeting, blogs, and a podcast. Also our Facebook page. They are updated regularly. We hope that you will join us on these sites. And please comment so that we can share with each other our experiences, strengths, and hopes. The Zoom meeting is every Monday through Friday, 3:00 PM EST. Meeting ID is 6035280704. Password 399778. It is simple to locate the blogs and Facebook pages. Just search @Spiritualityandrecovery. For the podcast, search Spotify.com for Spiritualityandrecovery. On iPhone say “Hey Siri, Play the podcast Spiritualityandrecovery.” Or, “Hey, Google. Play the Jim Boylan podcast.”
