2: Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Sometimes people who have problems with conventional religion or the concept of God have trouble with this step.
What the Yellow Workbook has to say on the subject.
A note to the atheist or agnositc:
The ACA progam is for you. If you do not believe in God or a Higher Power, select something to be a power greater than yourself so that you can work the ACA program and receive healing results. Example: your ACA group or therapy group is a power greater than you since it meets regularly, discusses ACA issues and produces progress for its participants. Meanwhile, we ask that you keep an open mind about the spiritual nature of ACA and enjoy the fellowship's acceptance.
What I said to an atheist who was struggling with this (who oddly asked me about it right when I was trying to figure out how to express this to an atheist):
While I am a man of faith, I can certainly understand why a person would have a problem with the concept of a directive consciousness over the universe. So much of the world is irrational and inexplicable. And bad things happen to good people with great regularity. So rejecting a beneficent deity, a "Santa Claus God" as you put it, makes a certain amount of sense.
However there is something that brought you to me today, that moved you to choose me to tell about your difficulty, that moved me over the course of the last few days to be thinking about this even though it is not my problem. And that was Not You.
You may want to give it the name Random Chance or Dumb Luck. You might want to be more positive and say it's the Natural Order of Things. But the key thing to remember is that it's Not You.
The ultimate purpose of Step 2 in my mind is a pairing with Step 1. Step 1 talks about how we as individuals cannot do it entirely ourselves. This is an evident fact. If we could have done it entirely ourselves, we would have already freed ourselves from our ACoA chaos.
Step 2 is telling us that we need help from Not Us, that we cannot do it alone and that it is okay to allow Not Us to help us. Step 2 does not absolve us from responsibility in us doing the work. It simply acknowledges we will need more help than we ourselves as individuals can provide.
Something makes the Earth spin on its axis and makes the Earth orbit the sun. Call it God or call it Newtonian Physics. But it is Not Us. And what the program is asking you to do is to believe that something that is Not You may and will help you.
If you're struggling here, I hope that either what the Yellow Workbook said or what I said may be of assistance to you.
-- Edited by JamesCT on Wednesday 7th of November 2012 04:41:47 PM
-- Edited by JamesCT on Friday 16th of November 2012 03:55:42 PM
Bea said
Nov 10, 2012
I am thankful and humble that I have a power higher than myself to resign to...it makes trying to navigate new thinking and new beliefs easier for me to handle. I am struggling with letting go of old patterns and habit and strengthening my relationship with my HP has had a tremendous impact on my recovery. I am struggling but I find comfort in what the Big Book, Yellow Book and these forums have to say...thank you...
flopadopilus said
Nov 15, 2012
At this point I am happy to hand things over to my HP. I did have a really hard time as a victimized child believing that God could let such things happen to me, but I now understand free will. So glad to have a Spiritual belief that was always deep down in me hidden by my anger. I can actually feel relief when I let go of the things beyond my control.
trisho said
Nov 20, 2012
I too am struggling. I turn over my contemplated divorce to my higher power and think I have the answer to what he desires for me but the next day my sick mind takes back over and tells me that maybe my alcoholic spouse will stay sober this time. I have heard the term "stinkin-thinking" and believe that is what I suffer from. Thanks for your post.
poppy18 said
Jan 3, 2013
This is the easiest step for me because I believe in a HP without question. I have had an experience that leaves no room for doubt. For me, it is an absolute certainty.
I'm also sure that he can restore me to sanity. I just keep getting in his way :$
JamesCT said
Feb 27, 2013
Your whole post, Oz, was wonderful, but I wanted to highlight this one sentence:
It is about learning to see things as they are and not how I want them to be.
This is so important, to not exaggerate either way and just see things as they are, without expectations or disappointment.
-- Edited by JamesCT on Wednesday 27th of February 2013 06:24:04 PM
lostinoz said
Feb 27, 2013
Step two Things that have helped me explore the second step: -Finding this site and reading the posts of others who have lived what Ive lived a nd hearing how they have found serenity, peace and healing -Attending face-to-face meetings and being open to what is said -Sharing my own experiences, thoughts and feelings with those who have been there -Receiving feedback from the things I share, and accepting guidance and suggestions with openness and gratitude -Reading books and literature concerning ACOA and co-dependency -Confiding in my true friends so they understand what I am trying to do -Praying to my HP (I call him God) to guide me and give me the strength and power to recover Thoughts on Recovery I originally thought that recovery was about the past, but I realise now it is about the present. It is about learning to sit with and accept myself. It is about learning to see things as they are and not how I want them to be. It is about accepting others as they are and understanding that I do not have the right to expect them to change or the power to change them It is about learning to like myself and making decisions in my own best interest (without ignoring the rights of others). It is about honouring my HP by being the best I can be. Thoughts on my HP I believe my HP is all knowing and all good. I believe he loves me unconditionally and wants me to be whole, happy and content. I believe that my HP has led me to the recovery I seek and it is through him that I will find my way. I believe that he hears my prayers and is answering them daily by giving me the strength and assistance I ask him for. Plan for recovery In order to progress in recovery, I plan to continue to attend face-to-face meetings and I will listen and learn, sharing my own thoughts and experiences along the way. I will continue to be an active part of this site, learning from others, and being open to their advice and suggestions. I will continue to read and explore literature that will assist me. I will pray and ask my HP to guide me. What I want from my recovery I want to be restored to sanity in my thinking. I want to be able to act in my own best interest and to trust myself to do that. I want to feel whole and complete, and accepting of myself and others. I want to feel confident and unafraid. I want to be able to identify and accept the things I cannot change, to be able to implement changes in the things that I do have control over, and to be able to know the difference between these things.
2: Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Sometimes people who have problems with conventional religion or the concept of God have trouble with this step.
What the Yellow Workbook has to say on the subject.
A note to the atheist or agnositc:
The ACA progam is for you. If you do not believe in God or a Higher Power, select something to be a power greater than yourself so that you can work the ACA program and receive healing results. Example: your ACA group or therapy group is a power greater than you since it meets regularly, discusses ACA issues and produces progress for its participants. Meanwhile, we ask that you keep an open mind about the spiritual nature of ACA and enjoy the fellowship's acceptance.
What I said to an atheist who was struggling with this (who oddly asked me about it right when I was trying to figure out how to express this to an atheist):
If you're struggling here, I hope that either what the Yellow Workbook said or what I said may be of assistance to you.
-- Edited by JamesCT on Wednesday 7th of November 2012 04:41:47 PM
-- Edited by JamesCT on Friday 16th of November 2012 03:55:42 PM
I too am struggling.
I turn over my contemplated divorce to my higher power and think I have the answer to what he desires for me but the next day my sick mind takes back over and tells me that maybe my alcoholic spouse will stay sober this time. I have heard the term "stinkin-thinking" and believe that is what I suffer from. Thanks for your post.
I'm also sure that he can restore me to sanity. I just keep getting in his way :$
Your whole post, Oz, was wonderful, but I wanted to highlight this one sentence:
This is so important, to not exaggerate either way and just see things as they are, without expectations or disappointment.
-- Edited by JamesCT on Wednesday 27th of February 2013 06:24:04 PM
Step two
Things that have helped me explore the second step:
-Finding this site and reading the posts of others who have lived what Ive lived a nd hearing how they have found serenity, peace and healing
-Attending face-to-face meetings and being open to what is said
-Sharing my own experiences, thoughts and feelings with those who have been there
-Receiving feedback from the things I share, and accepting guidance and suggestions with openness and gratitude
-Reading books and literature concerning ACOA and co-dependency
-Confiding in my true friends so they understand what I am trying to do
-Praying to my HP (I call him God) to guide me and give me the strength and power to recover
Thoughts on Recovery
I originally thought that recovery was about the past, but I realise now it is about the present. It is about learning to sit with and accept myself. It is about learning to see things as they are and not how I want them to be. It is about accepting others as they are and understanding that I do not have the right to expect them to change or the power to change them It is about learning to like myself and making decisions in my own best interest (without ignoring the rights of others). It is about honouring my HP by being the best I can be.
Thoughts on my HP
I believe my HP is all knowing and all good. I believe he loves me unconditionally and wants me to be whole, happy and content. I believe that my HP has led me to the recovery I seek and it is through him that I will find my way. I believe that he hears my prayers and is answering them daily by giving me the strength and assistance I ask him for.
Plan for recovery
In order to progress in recovery, I plan to continue to attend face-to-face meetings and I will listen and learn, sharing my own thoughts and experiences along the way. I will continue to be an active part of this site, learning from others, and being open to their advice and suggestions. I will continue to read and explore literature that will assist me. I will pray and ask my HP to guide me.
What I want from my recovery
I want to be restored to sanity in my thinking. I want to be able to act in my own best interest and to trust myself to do that. I want to feel whole and complete, and accepting of myself and others. I want to feel confident and unafraid. I want to be able to identify and accept the things I cannot change, to be able to implement changes in the things that I do have control over, and to be able to know the difference between these things.