The phrase "God of our
Understanding" echoes the brilliance of the founders of our 12 step
programs.
They must have sensed that new members would be suspicious of a program that required them to believe in another alcoholic’s version of God - or to accept the strictures of a specific religious dogma. So they crafted steps that allowed the recovering to choose a Higher Power that would work for them.
Most successful 12 step members of my acquaintance eventually develop a spiritual life. And it's a life not necessarily connected to a church or special dogma – though some are members of organized religions.
Some say their spiritual lives flower as they see the dramatic changes that unfold as they live clean and sober. Success shows up in unexpected ways. Maybe they find a better job. Their bodies heal. The family begins to trust them again. Or legal problems go away.
They must have sensed that new members would be suspicious of a program that required them to believe in another alcoholic’s version of God - or to accept the strictures of a specific religious dogma. So they crafted steps that allowed the recovering to choose a Higher Power that would work for them.
Most successful 12 step members of my acquaintance eventually develop a spiritual life. And it's a life not necessarily connected to a church or special dogma – though some are members of organized religions.
Some say their spiritual lives flower as they see the dramatic changes that unfold as they live clean and sober. Success shows up in unexpected ways. Maybe they find a better job. Their bodies heal. The family begins to trust them again. Or legal problems go away.
At first they marvel at their
fortune. But then they realize that good
continues to occur without a rational explanation.
And in these blessings some
recognize a pattern they attribute to a higher power.
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