Spirituality

It is not possible to discuss addiction without also discussing spirituality.  And when I say “spirituality” I am not discussing religion, though religion does involve spirituality.  And I can’t show you are spot in the brain where your spirit resides.  But I can with confidence tell you recovery involves your spirit.  Also the spirit of mankind involves the soul (mind, will and emotion) and the body (that carries out the direction from the soul).  And the spirit of mankind recognizes there is a force outside of the individual person that influences that person’s behavior.  Bill Wilson and Dr Bob who are consider the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous acknowledged this force is God (presumably the deity of the Anglican Church since those pastors had a significant influence in the principles Bill and Dr Bob use to develop AA).  But whether that deity or some other deity, they recognized that force is a “power higher than oneself.”  Recovery involves laying aside one’s “self” and allowing another force to direct their life – a higher power.

So when I talk about spirituality in recovery, I am talking about looking to someone other than yourself to re-establish the soul that has been damaged by addiction.   In fact, the 12 step program developed by Bill and Dr Bob draws heavily from Christ’s teachings from “the sermon on the mount” in the book of Matthew in the Bible.  And if you were to boil all of that down into its essence, it requires the man/woman to lay aside “self” and follow a higher set of values and beliefs other than themselves.  But in order to do that, the mind needs to be renewed – reprogrammed if you will.  And the will must be directed by the higher power and our emotions need to fall into line with the renewed mind and will.

Spirituality in recovery is dependent on submitting to a higher authority than yourself.  And that submission requires faith and trust.  It requires setting aside old beliefs and thoughts and adopting a different way of learning how to live life on life’s terms and not trying to make life live on your terms.  It requires humility (being honest about motives and feelings) and not trying to hide behind the excuses, justifications and denials that defined the way of life learned in addiction.  And to do this feat requires empowerment and grace.  Though the Serenity prayer wasn’t created in AA, it is often used to close many 12 step meetings.  And that Serenity prayer is: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the power to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Dan Criswell, MD
Duncan Behavioral Health and Addiction