hello all, this is my first post on this message board. i am nearly 3 years into my sobriety and, so far, haven't made any use of virtual recovery. about time i did!
this is the reason for my post: the higher power.
i was one of the seemingly minority that came into AA with a higher power in my life. my history is that i have been a practising nichiren buddhist for the past 12 years- but didn't know i was alcoholic. i was introduced to AA via practising buddhists who are, or who where, in the fellowship.
i had no problem in accepting alcoholism as a spritual illness. so i got more sober and happier.
my 'problem' is that most people around the rooms seem to refer to God as outside, rather than inside of us. sometimes i feel a bit of an outsider because i have a practise separate to AA.
to be brief, i chant to elevate my life condition, and do it all myself, rather than 'resigning' to an outside force 'taking care of me'.
i have had to understand the separation: i go to AA for sobriety and my buddhist society for buddhism.
each brings the best out of the other, but that is for me.
I would like to hear from people who are buddhists, as this would give me great encouragement and hope, as i know very few buddhists who are in recovery.
nam-myoho-renge-kyo senor mouse
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...suffer what there is to suffer, and enjoy what there is to enjoy...
Greetings senor mouse, and congrats on 3 years of sobriety, that's a huge accomplishment! As you're surely aware, AA suggest that we gain a relationship with a higher power of our own understanding. There are no set perameters for a higher power other than he/she/it needs to be something other than ourselves. Last time I checked most christians for example, believe that "God" in addition to being omnipreasent also resides inside of us. So I'm a little confused by your disassociation unless you're saying that your faith teaches you that your higher power IS you. On the other hand, we have many AA's that are atheists and agnostics that are staying sober and working the program. So I guess we have choices, we can try and do it on our own (which is not reccommended) or create a higher power,for ourselves, for the sake of spirituality (not religeon) for the express purpose of working this program. This would not impinge on praticing a faith outside of AA.
I look at this, for those that have serious questions about a supreme being, as a tool to work the program. It can be thought of as a psychological model if you will, like inner child work for example (not part of the AA program). If we don't have a higher power, it's a bit difficult to work several of the steps and use the tools like "turning it over".
cheers fer the reply! that's what i like about AA- any religion from christianity to satanism is welcomed...provided they want to put the booze down. ive even heard of someone who used aliens/ufo's as his higher power. unfortunately, he fell off the wagon. but yes, it is what works for us! but for me i would rather people use the term higher power, as opposed to god. my faith teaches me that i have an unlimited potential, and also a means to express it....very similar to AA. it doesn't teach that i am my higher power, but that should i tap into my innate buddha nature, i can bring out my inherent greatness, which is reflected in the environment. in buddhism, gods are expressed as the functions in the environment that serve to protect us.....they serve to protect us when we are in a high life state. so in effect, i am praying to myself, and the environment mirrors this. i'm lousy at explaining things, so excuse me if this sounds garbled!
my experience in 'AA finding me' was at a time of extreme confusion and desperation. i exerted myself in my buddhist practise, as it was all i had. in response, the environment responded and AA came into my life three times in as many months. and the rest is history....which is where it should stay, providing i have the courage to keep it there ;)
stay safe buddy!
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...suffer what there is to suffer, and enjoy what there is to enjoy...
Welcome to MIP, Senor. I'm glad you have a strong faith in your Higher Power being your Buddha nature. That's pretty cool. Since 24th Oct 07 I'm practicing mine in Subud which revolves around exercising the Latihan and surrendering to 'One Almighty God' as it seems to express itself from within or from outside. One can never tell ;) I'm supposing this is like a universal thing in reference to our innate Buddha nature too. The closest I've come to Buddhism is trying to discipline myself into regular meditation for the last 2wks. I have a blog on myspace to describe how I'm doing with an online course that was mentioned by a fellow member. Maybe you would like to look it up & give me some pointers! I hope you stay with us here anyways & share your ES&H. Always lovely to meet new people! Danielle :)
www.myspace.com/lilmzsparkle
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Progress not perfection.. & Practice makes Progress!
