From my time in AA, they focused more on the just admitting that you cannot pursue recovery alone and therefore need outside help. So long story short, just finding/cultivating a positive support system.
One guy summarized the higher power stuff in a way that always stuck with me. He just said that we cannot do this alone and need help from the outside. His “higher power” as he identified it was the doorknob that led in and out of his local AA group. He wasn’t religious/spiritual by any of his accounts but he always said thinking that way helped him in being comfortable with the fact that he couldn’t be sober without some form of help from the outside.
There sure are different approaches in AA, from the one that you mention to a rather strict theist one. The different groups have quite some freedom in their approach, although the 12 steps and the 12 traditions always are the leading principles.
God with a capital G features in 4 of the steps. The second of the 12 traditions speaks of “The only authority which is a Loving God”. I can’t handle that.
I know others who don’t believe in god can, and can make AA work for them. I honestly don’t quite understand how they do it but we’re all different. If it helps it helps. Good on them and good on you. All the best to you friend.
I’m here! Thanks for the shout out. Reading every day, just haven’t posted much. Heading to a Primus show and excited! A rare out of town trip, stay at a hotel, check out the city and see my favorite lake, Lake Michigan.
We bought these tickets pre-pandemic and they postponed twice. So good to see it through and actually have these plans coming to fruition! Couldn’t have done this to the full extent (or at all) while drinking. These events help me feel more strength in sobriety.
“A Tribute to Kings”, a tribute to Rush! I’ve seen Primus and they are a great show. This will be interesting…Rush is pretty wild stuff to cover. If anyone can do them justice it’s Primus.
I am atheist as well and my doctor reccomend all the same faith based stuff because that’s all there is in our town. I told her I wanted to try SMART. She said she had never heard of it and was happy that she had something to reccomend to her non religious patients.
I’m on day 5 of sobriety. Planning to do my first SMART zoom meeting this Friday!
