Change is difficult. It means doing things that are unfamiliar and frightening. It means facing the unknown. To help with this dilemma, we suggest that people consider getting in touch with their spiritual nature, that vital principle or animating force traditionally believed to be within living beings. We recommend this because somehow tapping into this rich inner resource transforms us, or alters our attitudes and feelings to the extent that we can change what we have never been able to change before. This transformation is a vital part of change.
How spirituality works is a mystery. It is something that is often observed but not necessarily understood. We have observed people overcome their fear of change with the aid of spirituality. They start out at the mercy of their old habits. They are powerless over their inner compulsions and have no strength to fight back. They habitually re-enact behavior that is self-destructive and life-threatening. Then, in a moment of agony, they call out "God, help me," and somewhere deep in their soul they surrender. They admit they are powerless and they ask for help.
However, not everyone calls upon God, but they may find some inner resource, perhaps their ‘true self’ of which they were not aware. Then, sometimes quickly and sometimes slowly, they are filled with the power of the spirit and report feelings such as in these examples:
· They feel willing, when before they felt hesitant;
· They feel courageous, when before they felt terrified;
· They feel guided, when before they felt lost;
· They feel loved, when before they felt abandoned;
· They feel wise, when before they felt confused;
· They feel hopeful, when before they felt despair;
· They feel as if they are at the start of a glorious new journey.
There is more than one way to have a spiritual awakening. For some people it will happen suddenly during one dramatic moment, a moment from which there is no turning back. For others it happens slowly. Over time, they just find themselves with a new attitude about a Higher Power and spirituality. Their closed mind becomes open and curious. They pray and they feel connected to their Higher Power. Or they act "as if" a Higher Power exists, and in time they come to believe. Some people practice meditation to find a Higher Power.
Belief in a Higher Power that is conceived as a supernatural being, is not necessary for all persons to recover. for some, the Higher Power is the community of addicts; others simply develop a deep sense of their inner resources. Some may read spiritual literature or talk to people about spirituality. Whatever they do, they must do it repetitively, and they must not give up. If they are really seeking spirituality with an open mind they will find it. It may be connected with religious beliefs for some, or for others, a much richer sense of who they really are and how deeply they are connected to other human beings. If they really ask for spirituality, in whatever form it may take, with a humble heart, it will be given to them.
- adapted from LAA website by Susan Peabody
