What can be a higher power? Can a specific person be a higher power?
Itās a deeply personal question.
In AA speak, itās anything that has a power we admit we do not have. Especially something we can put our trust in to help us find recovery as we find we cannot do it ourselves.
Iāve had many. Pizza. The fellowship itself. Tom Hanks (I swear, that guy has something figured out I donāt).
And eventually just called mine Lue. Life, the Universe and Everything.
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Big question. That has endless answers. Ultimately , your inner being is your higher power. Meditate and go within to connect to your inner being. Its pretty amazing 
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Iāve also heard it put another wayā¦
Thereās only two things I really need to understand about my higher power: 1) there is one and 2) Iām not it!
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Oh but you are ! 
Only in the sense Iām a very small part of something much bigger than me.
I may be part of Lue, but Iām done pretending I am Lue.
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For me it is my better, more enlightened future self, which is already in me. I have tried others, which I sacked and one turned out to be malevolent but thatās a crazy story. 
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Iām a recovering Catholic. Turned completely away from God. But now, after about 20 years plus, I believe my Triune God (Iām a Christian. I believe some of this religious stuff made by humans is bullshit.) is my higher power. Iāve seen Him work through me and others.
I feel some people try too hard to find God or their higher power. Sometimes you just got to have faith and believe.
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Right on Eric 
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Step 2
Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
Step 3
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand him
For me, step 2 is you coming to believe. I does not say you must or you shouldā¦ it says that we came.
Its of your understandingā¦ this step is where we come togetherā¦ no matter what religion, or agnostic beliefs it open the door for us all. I heard people using nature, their conscience, a dog (God spelled backwards), sponsers, the fellowship etc as the higher powerā¦ and it can change also as it statesā¦ ācame to believeā not have too. Play around with the idea of your higher powerā¦ its a hard aspect of the steps to grasp so donāt try too hardā¦ it will come.
In step 1 we admit we canāt manage our lives and we are powerless. Step 2 is we come to the understanding that there is a power that can restore us. Step 3 is now us making a decisionā¦ having faith and handing our will over. Time to action
Not to trample anyone elseās interpretation. Hope this helps
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Iāve heard this said often. I like it
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I struggled with this for some time because Iām a staunch atheist.
Someone told me once that making an individual person your higher power can be problematic. That person is only human after all and might not be able to perform in this elevated way that we might need or expect from a higher power.
Instead, my higher power shifts. Most the time it is the recovery community, whether that is AA or the fine people on these forums or whatever recovery podcast I am binging at the moment. By giving myself to a community and accepting it knows better for me than I do right now, it helps.
Other times my higher power is nature and the great outdoors. I find it humbling to be in some amazing outdoor space and realise how small I am. If the world can continue no matter what then I can drink no matter what you know?
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I have come to realise that my higher power is nature. As Kipper said the world continues no matter what. Iām working from home due to coronavirus, and my home office overlooks my garden. I found myself staring at the big tree in my garden which I have watched grow from a baby to a massive tree in the last 11 year. I was in wonder about all of my own personal ups and downs, significant moments and losses, and the fact that through all of that this tree just kept on growing and changing with the seasons. I felt a sense of calm and gratitude Iāve never felt beforeā¦maybe Iām just a hippy but it works for me.
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until I looked death in the eyes I didnāt believe in anything then one day I prayed to a god I didnāt believe in and had no right to ask for help. But my god whatever it might be answered me immediately, turns out I only had to be willing. I had a massive spiritual experience and have never quite been the same since. Still donāt know how why or what but I donāt want to know. I call mine god bc of the gift of desperation but It really has no description that man can comprehend.
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Likewise I was born & raised Catholic. The town I grew up in Bar on one Corner, church on the other. Most if not all of the town is of Irish, Polish or Italian immigrants descent. So we were guaranteed spaghetti and church. Welcome to NEPA.
Its something I personally struggle with faith. Mainly because of my catholic upbringing, believing in something abstract, I identified as an agnostic for many years partially to spite my parents partially because of man made religion partially because my extensive study in science.
The Catholic way, really took ti my parents the answer to everyones problems is just pray. No intervention on your behalf just pray. Needless to say that was a total turnoff,
Then the child molesting priests came out and I right away threw all the stops, about why there was a reason I wasnāt an altar boy,
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I did almost the same as you know. Raised Pentecostal, did everything I possibly could to make a possible god upset, and turned away hard. I still wouldnāt say Iām a believer, or a Christian or even religious at all nowdays. But the older I get, the more I adapt the idea that thereās something else. It might be magic, it might be our forefathers watching over us, it might be possible gods ir just whatever, but thereās definitely something above us that gives us hope. Wouldnāt put whatever it is charge, because weāre all in charge of our own lives, but as I just wrote the idea gives hope. Hope about the future l, hope about better times and hope about the world.
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I really love this topic. I hope it continues.
Caution this is gonna be a long one
@Fury
Sounds like we went to church in the same type of neighborhood. My grandmother use to walk me through āThe Projectsā to get to church. I was scared shit. But she was a tough old broad and no one was going to mess with her or get in her way of church. 
I got the Irish and Polish part. And they hated each other but loved church. WTF?
I like how anyone can ācherry pickā the Bible. Especially politicians. But if you read the whole thing a few times thereās actually a lot in there.
My turn to cherry pick 
James 2 14-17
What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, āDepart in peace, be warmed and filled,ā but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
And Tom. On the Nosy !!
@Tommo
I Just read this in Russell Brandās book Freedom From Our Addictions. I was going to find this thread and post it here.
Your share beat me to it. Well done mate.
āMaking a decision to āturn your life and your will overā means you have acknowledged that your previous attempts to run your own life have failed. That you have had to resort to addictive behaviour to cope and now you cannot stop on your own steam. In making a decision we are conceding mentally and, hopefully, spiritually that we cannot do this alone anymore. That for me was the beginning of humility. To say āI need helpā is not an easy thing for many people, weād prefer to manipulate people into meeting our needs or struggle along without them.ā
@MrsOdh
I wanted to tag you back in since you replied to me.
I do struggle with being a Christian because there are so many fanatics out there. Forcing the issue. Pisses me off. Not to mention the all mighty dollar. That gets in the way a bit. 
And Jesus also said if someone doesnāt receive your message then leave and wipe the dust off your feet. I donāt remember him saying to bludgeon you to death until you come to my side. I have Christian friends that do that. And I know others do that too.
I use to feel bad that I wasnāt such a great witness to or for Christ. Even my favorite church in Austin TX said thatās āOur Missionā. I loved my Pastor there he help us tremendously. I told him how I felt. Because I wasnāt bringing people into our church or even participating in church events. Pastor Knippa kept it so simple. He said to me. āYou Told your parents you came to see me because both your kids are addicts and you didnāt know where else to go.ā He said āThat there is witnessing.ā āYou donāt have to try so hard.ā
Which I believe was part of my original post on here. āI think I tried too hard to find God.ā
One last cherry picked quote in my own words. to wrap this up.
āI do believe. Jesus, Help me with my unbeliefā
Whatever works to keep us sober is what we should believe in.
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Higher Power is a term used in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other twelve-step programs. The same groups use the phrase āa power greater than ourselvesā synonymously. The term sometimes refers to a supreme being or deity, or other conceptions of God , in my early sobriety i didnt question this i just wanted to be sober and as time went on i got a sponsor and started the steps then i came to believe in a higher power , and the rest is history
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Lue is beautiful - thank you x
Do you recommend the Russell Brand book on Addiction? think I might order it for lockdown reading 
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