Step Two: We came to believe
The Courage to Change
July 29th
Al-Anon is a spiritual program based on no particular religion and no religious belief is required. To those of us who have had less than wonderful experiences with religion in the past, this freedom is important. Spirituality doesn’t have to imply a particular philosophy or moral code; it simply means that there is a Power greater than ourselves upon which we can rely. Whether we call this a Higher Power, God, good orderly direction, Allah, the universe, or another name, it is vital to our recovery that we come to believe in a Power greater than ourselves (Step Two). Until we do, the rest of the Steps will not make much sense.
The Higher Power might be likened to the electricity that operates the lights and machinery of our recovery. It’s not necessary to understand what electricity actually is to enjoy its use – all we need to do is turn on the switch!
I may be seeking a more loving God in Whom I can place my trust, or facing a challenge that puts my long established belief to a test, or struggling with the very idea of a Higher Power. Whatever I believe, I can pray for greater faith today. Just that little act of willingness can work miracles.
When I have at last realize that my problems are too big to solve by myself…I need not be alone with them if I am willing to accept help from a Higher Power.
Al-Anon’s Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
January 17th
Al-Anon was the first place where I ever thought to question my own sanity. I found that I couldn’t overcome the effects of this disease by force of will or reason....
I knew that I felt more rational in an Al-Anon meeting than I did at any other time, and so turned to the Power that seemed to flow through these meetings.
If we do not change our direction,
we are likely to end up where we are headed.
Ancient Chinese Proverb
June 4th
The second step is about possibility, about hope… We are asked to open our minds to the possibility that help is available…We don’t have to believe that it will happen, only that it could…
This little bit of hope, this chink in the armor of despair, is enough to show that we are willing to move in the direction healing…it seems worthwhile to explore a relationship with a Higher Power.
Finding inner strength is looking beyond the visible
and focusing life’s search on the unseen.
As We Understood Him
Considering that the source of our problems, as identified in Step One, is the trauma of our being abandoned by and separated from others – which in turn separated us from God and ourselves, Step Two is about restoring us to conscious contact with a higher Presence (Power), which restores us to conscious contact with ourselves and others. Our problem is a lack of power – Presence – which empowers our brain to begin to operate sanely – with emotional balance, and with healthy self-care.
So this step is about coming to believe – experience consciously -- connection with our higher power – who many call God. The result is being restored to sanity—the natural consciousness and wisdom we had as children – through consistent conscious intimacy with our God --and with ourselves and others. This intimacy with our God changes the programming of our brains, reconnects the conflicting parts, and begins to heal the damaged areas. This results in a transformation of our perceptions and reactions, and in the improving of the quality of our life experiences and relationships.
How do we improve our conscious contact with God –
come to believe?
The experience of Al-Anon and AA is that it can begin with reconnecting with others. Typically this occurs by talking and listening to others in meetings, as sponsors and recovering friends, and in reading the program literature.
An assumption that I was taught early in recovery was that my higher power will, and can speak through anyone, anything, and any situation that I am listening to. The Eleventh Step gives a sequence to this listening process. First there is prayer – personal self-disclosure; then one listens – or meditates; and then one has improved conscious with their God.
Self-disclosure takes two forms. Passively we express our need and powerlessness when we attend meetings, whether we talk or not. Actively, there is a need to verbally and emotionally express what we are experiencing, and have experienced. These two “actions” opens a communication channel to our higher power.
To begin opening this channel, we need to experience two aspects of what we are communicating:
1. Level of necessity: on a scale of 1-10, how great is our discomfort. This will determine what level of conscious contact – belief – we will need, and what level of intimate self-disclosure we need to make.
2. The Goal of Self-disclosure: the purpose of the self-disclosure is to become open to our God’s higher presence, which can give us relief and healing by restoring to us what we are missing as a result of others’ alcoholism.
This self disclosure is an expression of Step One, and the listening takes us into conscious intimate contact with our God – Step Two.
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