Alcoholism Support Group

Thank you all for the wonderful advice. I do not talk about wicca in meetings but i do wear a penicle with a celtic ring around it. Only one person has noticed it and he told me to be very careful that I might be snubbed or they will try and save me. I do also live in the Spokane Valley and this is not discussed in meetings. My sponsor knows and one other person. It is just hard when they say any higher power and you know that is not the way it is. I do say the Lord's prayer at the end although I did not at the beginning. I just like to feel the positive energy in the room. I am sure for the person that is in the Spokane Valley I am sure we know each other as I attend many meetings. Thanks again to all. I am happy I found this site.

Yeah keep it to yourself alot of AA members are very closed minded, heck my gf is a wiccan and I am a christian and we have a great relationship. Things work if you want it too, it's non of there business what hp you want. take care.

I have been sober now for over 8yrs and have taken many ppl thru the steps. Not once when I take them thru the steps do I say who or what God is to me or them to this very day I dont know if god is alah, budah, yaweh, jehova. jesus , I only know for a fact he she or it is. To this day I still dont know what my sponsor believes in only that he does. What the heck is in a name any how. God means God its not a light buld nor door knob it was not made by human beings and as our BB states our minds cant even really comprehend that which is infinite. I have never been to any AA meeting where christians or moslems or budhist try to convert anyone and I have been in thousands and thousands of meetings all over the east coast. I know for me when I talk about god in meetings which I have I keep it general and say God so as not to offend any potential prospect I may work with in the future.
What ever coneption of God one has has to make sense to them and that is in the BB.

Hi there, I a 10 years sober woman in AA and I started in AA as a fully blown Atheist, found some faith, but am back to being a fully blown Atheist again. I'm very comfortable with the spiritual, or non spiritual label, Secular Humanism.

Bill Wilson and the early members were Southern Baptists, strong believers. As someone mentioned above, the Big Book and the program were going to be of a Christian bent until they realised they would exclude millions of people of all faiths, or no faith, from this precious gift of sobriety, so it was changed to a Higher Power of our own Understanding.

I think a really good course of action isn't to broadcast your beliefs, but get to know people in the groups you attend as well as you can - go to coffee after meetings etc, which is a really important part of getting sober and staying sober anyway. You may be also be able to establish who does and doesn't have an open mind, or even find people with spiritual beliefs like your own.

It is hard on people with beliefs that don't fit into the norm - not just in AA of course, but the wider society.

I get people shoving their version of spirituality down my neck - and I recently separated from a sponsor because she was doing it and wouldn't stop doing it, even though I had called her out on it.

I hope you revel both in AA and your spiritual beliefs. Good on you.

Wendy

have you had a spiritual experience that is the question you wanna be weary ofpeople in the program that havent had one sober means the ability to make a responsibte decision and you guage that by the clarity of any given subject and do your homework until your certain its safe to surrender trust is a two way street

AA can work for anyone, regardless of their belief system. You should go to any meeting of your choice despite any differences of religion or spirituality. You will find similarities and differences in the program with others wherever you go. Remember that you are there to learn how to remain sober, not to be appreciated or even respected for your belief system. That is between you and your Higher Power, not others. You earned that chair. It belongs to you. Don't let anyone push you out of it.