One of the newer attendees brought up this topic. Lots of good comments, each from a different perspective and many good ways each achieved that status.

I’ve come to believe that a spirit-based manner of living is simply another way of describing the surrender experience. When we surrender, we turn our will and our lives over to the care of a Higher Power who in my case I call God. What are we to mean when we “turn it over”? We give up the feeling that we were in charge and when we were, we got into trouble. We couldn’t manage our lives 100% the way we wanted. We became anxious, fearful, and sought escape in our abuse of substances. What does it mean to “turn it over”? Perhaps a lot of things, but it certainly means that when we’re in a situation we can’t manage or change to our liking, we ask: ”What is God’s will for us in this situation?” We don’t give God a list of options. The issue is how do we react to what we have learned from the message of the Program. What’s the next right thing to do when we can identify that. We meditate and look for His will for us and the power to carry that out. We quietly ask God.

How do we reach the stage when we can come to know we found His will for us? Ah, the $64 dollar question: Takes time to see His will. We can’t clutter up the search with suggesting our own options. We have to shut-up and listen. It’s a “letting go” experience. We can bring it to our sponsor or to the group as a topic for discussion. We can sit and read the Big Book and think of what this passage is calling us to do. It’s finding and implementing that “next right thing.” It takes practice but it will come to you. Keep at it. It is after all the only option we addicts have available for we messed up when we thought we were in charge.

Jim A, Covington, Kentucky – St. X Noon