2/15/2024 0 Comments Sobriety prayerLearn more about the Sinclair method, spiritual recovery, Women for Sobriety, Lifering secular recovery, SMART recovery, Rational Recovery, and other alternatives. Is AA not right for you? Then there are other options, such as these non-AA alcohol treatment programs. If you are in a place to accept help, this is a great opportunity to do so. If you have concerns about the use of the word God within the Alcoholics Anonymous program, challenge yourself to have an open mind. For example, “Good old direction” and “Group of drunks”. One approach is to use the many acronyms. As a result, they do not view God the same. There are many members of Alcoholics Anonymous who identify as Spiritual and not Religious. Second, if it is the specific use of the word God that you are struggling with, try using an acronym. So what can you do? First, recognize that most of the Alcoholics Anonymous literature was written quiet some time ago. This can serve as a barrier for these individuals when trying to fully participate in the Alcoholics Anonymous Program. Many individuals have concerns about the use of the word God throughout the Alcoholics Anonymous literature as well as in meetings, for example in the AA serenity prayer. It is not just a tool of those in recovery from alcoholism, but also those in other 12 step groups such as Alanon and by anybody looking for solace and comfort in everyday life. In addition to this, the prayer for serenity can be used across the board. The beauty of it is that the abridged version of the AA serenity prayer can be said by people of all faiths who believe in a spiritual force higher than themselves, so there is no barrier of race, religion or creed to becoming a member of AA. Sam’s contributions to AA later took a backseat in comparison to Bill’s works, but if it were not for Sam it is doubtful that the organization would have had such a firm spiritual base. went on to add many AA prayers to the organization’s growing collection, but the AA serenity prayer will forever be synonymous with that organization. This prayer can be a helpful tool to keep us grounded and maintain perspective with what we are investing our time and energy into.īill asked the erudite and literary Reverend Shoemaker to write the now famous Twelve Steps of the AA program, but Sam demurred, saying that they should be written by an alcoholic and so Bill was encouraged to write them himself.īill W. It goes a step further to recognize that spending your time and energy into things you can control, compared to things you cannot control. When you read the Alcoholics Anonymous version of the Serenity Prayer above, what did you take away from it? Were there any messages that stood out to you?įor many, the “take-away” from the Serenity Prayer is to recognize things in your life that you have control over and things you don’t. Bill and Ebby were recovering alcoholics, who were heavily involved in creating a literary and spiritual structure to support the ever-expanding Alcoholics Anonymous Group. The Reverend Sam Shoemaker, as mentioned above, was the leader of the Oxford group in America which had its beginnings in the movement begun in the UK, a movement which advocated education for the working man and which in America promoted the spiritual life and the giving of oneself over to the will of God.īill and Sam soon realized that they had much in common and shared a similar outlook, especially after Bill and his sponsor Ebby Thatcher opted to become Christians. The serenity prayer is recited by Alcoholics Anonymous meetings by its members. Now it has gone on to become the most famous and popular of the AA prayers.
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