Spirituality & Mental Health
So much of my work is based on 12 Step spirituality, and not any one particular faith tradition. I struggle with this task sometimes because so much of my personal spiritual foundation began with Judeo-Christian theology that over time came to be filtered through the world in which I live and the experiences I have had. I attended an inter-religious seminary with most all faith traditions, denominations and branches represented. This exposure gave me the opportunity to look at the world and my relationship with the God of my Understanding through a variety of lenses. Add that opportunity to my life in recovery and many years later I have come to a few conclusions:
Every day the world sends messages to our egos telling us who and what we are. These messages also dictate who and what we should want to be, constantly encouraging us to:
fear that which we do not understand,
to judge one another, and
to compare ourselves to each other, no matter how different our circumstances may be.
This message-sending world is a human construct, material and subjective. These messages are not spiritual messages of love and tolerance. It’s no wonder we can feel so out of place in this world, especially in early recovery. Our program tells us a spirit of love and tolerance is our creed and yet our world tells our egos that an attitude of proud judgement and comparison is our way.
I strongly believe that the message-sending world is selfish and wrong. It can be difficult to see beyond the physical to the spiritual. When we are not spiritually alert, material conditions can control our lives. And in the message-sending world of ego, it becomes difficult to identify our spiritual selves as none of the messages we receive indicate the importance of this task.
If you come from a Judeo-Christian tradition like I do, then the notion that we are created in God’s image is familiar to you. And if God is the Great Spirit, then God’s children are spiritual beings. However, the message-sending world of ego, it is difficult to remain unimpressed by material things and it is even more difficult to believe that we are not who others say we are. Over time it becomes increasingly difficult to not believe the labels and names people give us. It is important to remember, no one can define us except ourselves. That’s why 12 Step work is so important and why it works for so many very different people. We are told on page 98 of the 12 & 12, “There is a direct linkage between self-examination, meditation and prayer… and when they are logically related and interwoven, the result is an unshakable foundation for life.”
The prayer that reforms the spirit and heals the sick is based in an absolute faith that all things are possible to God. As we come to believe in a Power greater than ourselves, we learn as it says in the Book of Jeremiah that Nothing is too hard for God.
Before we have found a Higher Power and begun to pray, we find ourselves making judgments based on what we think we know. This limited thought guarantees the repetition of human error. Limited thought tricks us into believing the lies of diseased thinking - including the voice that tells us we aren’t good enough or worthy of healing and recovery. For most of us, fear of the unknown and fear of rejection are the root of our diseased thinking and false selves. The fact is that this disease of addiction is a liar and it preys on our most intimate and vulnerable selves. Our human self is full of fear, ego and other human limitations. Spiritual practices can lead to the letting go of our limited sense of identity for a view that brings progress and healing.
Recovery is a miraculous spiritual transformation.
Before I was able to fully surrender to the will of God as I understand God, I sincerely believed my faith was strong enough to let go and let God, as the saying goes. When, the fact of the matter was, that I was still holding back parts of my life. I was still believing the lies in my mind that told me I had control over persons, places and things. That type of diseased thinking is the very reason why I now begin my morning prayer with a version of Step One and that is to admit to God I am powerless over persons, places and things and that when I forget that my life becomes unmanageable.
Higher Power works with us and in us; this relationship yields the very spiritual awakening that leads to transformation and right identification. This form of spiritual causation allows us to trust God as we understand God and become aware of our spiritual worthiness, free of mistakes of the past.
I have learned first hand that I am not too stubborn, too willful or too arrogant that God cannot reach me.
I have learned to resolve all circumstances and all conditions through prayer.
I deliberately and consistently make space in my life for spirituality.
God-good is the basis for everything. Good=God opens up an entirely new viewpoint.
The best way I know to develop an awareness of and a harmony with God is to discover the Power of God in stillness and in prayer.
"Ongoing recovery is dependent on our relationship with a
loving God who cares for us and will do for us what we find impossible to
do for ourselves."
Basic Text, p.96
What I know for sure is this: The God of my understanding is greater than all of your pain. The God of my understanding can handle your anger and your shame. Not only is God able to take those things away, God wants to relieve you of it. The God of 12-step spirituality is restorative and healing. That’s why the Third Step Prayer has us ask to be relieved of the bondage of self.
When we embrace our true selves and find the courage to be seen, we find that no problem is too great to overcome and no pain is too deep to be lessened. Each of us has a Higher Power who cares for us, no matter what we have done or left undone. With that knowledge I strive to have an attitude of courage today and every day.
Authored by Angela, LADAC-II