July 26, 2024
Content
The reader likely won’t be motivated to live in the solution the book offers unless they can first find their specific story in the problem. In fact, the book is laid out in such a manner as to help the reader identify the problem, the solution, and specifically how to implement this solution in their lives. If you are an alcoholic, then you know you cannot just put the plug in the jug and quit. If it were as easy as not eating a peanut anymore, then you would have stopped long ago. Traditionally trained medical doctors are trained to treat diseases.
However, in keeping with the 10th tradition of AA, the opinions I express in the book do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or positions held by AA as a whole. Quotations from Alcoholics Anonymous are from the first edition (1939) which is now in the public domain. Any quotations from sources other than the first edition of the Big Book are reprinted with permission. From my own experience as an alcoholic, I came to believe that Bill was right when he declared that alcoholism is a spiritual illness. I survived thirteen years as a mostly dry and yet untreated alcoholic in AA.
Addiction and alcoholism are both a 3 fold disease, meaning there are three distinct areas that alcoholism affects and the reason you cannot stop drinking and using. To show other alcoholics and addicts precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of the book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous advocates a spiritual-moral solution to the problem of alcoholism and addiction. As a result of this thought process, the spiritual illness they’re up against is at the core of their addiction. If you are suffering from symptoms of the spiritual malady, use these clarifying questions to ascertain where the problem lies.
It simply means we are spiritually blocked off from the Power of God, which enables us to remain sober, happy, joyous, and free. Many people are initially turned off to the idea of the program because they believe it preaches religion and God, and many addicts and alcoholics have no desire to pursue a religious answer. But the beauty of the 12-steps is that they are spiritually based as opposed to religious. What that means is that all that is required is the belief in a power greater than yourself. There is no church you must attend or strict practices you must adhere to in organized worship of said higher power, it is a completely individual and personal experience. Many of our previous attempts to achieve sobriety failed because we did not address anything other than the physical and mental aspects of addiction.
My troubles are of my own making and arise out my living a life run on self-will. I must be God centered instead of self centered https://ecosoberhouse.com/ and God directed rather than self directed . The specific directions in the first 102 pages of the book Alcoholic Anonymous.
Fear and resentment dominated my thoughts and I made decisions based on self which caused me harm and harmed others. Therefore my illness is a result of relying on self. On page 62 the text explains that “Selfishness-self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.” This “SELFISHNESS-self-centeredness” (or the “ego”, as some people refer to it) drives us to respond to life situations with the above “symptoms” as well as disorders and addictions other than alcoholism.
I felt pretty hopeless and I had “the gift of desperation.’ As an agnostic, I surrendered to the spiritual solution offered to me by David B. For me, that simply meant letting go of my belligerence and arrogance and becoming teachable. It is important that when we embark upon this quest to alleviate our spiritual malady that we are not too harsh on ourselves. No one is perfect at first when attempting to live a spiritual life, especially when we are coming back from a long spiritual hiatus. spiritual malady What is important though is that we strive to be a little better every single day and never give up on our spiritual journey in recovery. Our spiritual malady never just goes away and stays away on its own, it requires a constant spiritual connectivity and effort on our parts in our programs to keep it and the subsequent alcohol and drug abuse at bay. So long as we make an active effort to address our spiritual malady every day, we will find relief from it, one day at a time.
The untreated alcoholic/addict is a manifestation of varying degrees of irresponsibility. Though our decision was a vital and crucial step, it could have little permanent effect unless at once followed by a strenuous effort to face, and to be rid of, the things in ourselves which had been blocking us. For instance, when breaking free of their negative thoughts, they may come to realize a newfound appreciation of things before unseen – such as the beauty of a sunset or the feeling of freshness of a morning spring rain. These traits defy written or verbal description, as they convey an innate understanding of the cosmos and are also transient, meaning the experiences do not last forever. Also, they are passive, in the sense that people do not have an influence over the phenomenon.