AA and the other recovery programs I am involved in help me, one day at a time to remember to keep my connection with God because with out God I am on my own and will be swallowed up by the fear.
I would think that would be exactly what this means...No?
Our fears fall from us. We begin to feel the nearness of our Creator. We may have had certain spiritual beliefs, but now we begin to have a spiritual experience.
-- Edited by Stepchild on Thursday 21st of June 2012 10:39:40 AM
Fear ... ... ... Stepchild, you DO know how to jump back in with both feet, don't you? ... LOL
Let's not forget that there are two distinct meanings for the word 'fear' ... ... ... 1) to be afraid of 2) to be in awe of ... if my memory serves me right ...
If and when we are afraid of something, then anxiety, pain, and worry are to be our companions ...
If we are in 'awe' of something or someone, then we show mixed emotions of fear, reverence, and wonderment ...
So, when I came to the rooms of AA, I had both types of fear ... some of the worst fears I had have already been mentioned, mostly 'fear' of the unknown .... will I be able to drink again?, can I ever live a happy life if I can't drink again? ... do I have to give up any and all control of my life? ... is the spirituality of this program something I should worry about? ... are these nuts insane, or is it me? ... the list of fears I had were near infinity ...
Of course as I stayed and worked the program, I had less and less fear ... more things were revealed to me and the 'unknown' became the known ... Today I do not fear giving up control of my life to God ... It has been the most wonderful decision of my life ... I have no fear of 'food, shelter, nor clothing' for I now have faith that all of that stuff will be supplied to me and my family by God's will ... The only fear I have today is that of 'fearing God' which to me is ... AWE --- emotions of fear, reverence, and wonderment ... (a 'healthy' fear!)
God Bless, Pappy
-- Edited by Pythonpappy on Thursday 21st of June 2012 12:01:23 PM
__________________
'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
This short word somehow touches about every aspect of our lives. It was an evil and corroding thread; the fabric of our existence was shot through with it. It set in motion trains of circumstances which brought us misfortune we felt we didn't deserve. But did not we, ourselves, set the ball rolling? Sometimes we think fear ought to be classed with stealing. It seems to cause more trouble.
pg 67 bb
It took me working that 4th and 5th step to find out how much my life was riddled with fear. I was loaded with it...It's what kept me drinking and prevented me from trying to stop. These are a few of the fears I had when it came to alcohol...Forget all the other fears.
Fear that I couldn't live without it...That I couldn't stop on my own...Even if I tried...That I wouldn't have any friends if I quit....That I couldn't be myself without alcohol...That I couldn't happy...Or funny...Or sad...I was scared to picture life without it.
I heard a guy in a meeting one time say that fear is an obstacle that we put in front of something to keep us from rationalizing it...That made sense to me...And how did I deal with that obstacle?...That I had put there myself?....With the biggest obstacle of them all...Alcohol. I fueled whatever fear I had until at the end of my drinking career....I couldn't live with it anymore...I was scared to live...But I was more scared to die...And that's when I became willing to go to any lengths...To remove all those obstacles....I mean...What is an open mind really? Thinking without obstacles?
Just curious if you had any thoughts on fear...Which to me is one of the strongest emotions we have.
Yes - fear is one of the strongest. Love would be up there too. Sometimes I wonder if after doing my 5th step, I will find that my fear was to love, and be loved, not only by myself and others, but by God.
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Thanks for everything. Peace and Love on your journey.
You'll be amazed what you find out doing your 5th step...It's an incredible experience...These are the fifth step promises...And they do come true.
We pocket our pride and go to it, illuminating every twist of character, every dark cranny of the past. Once we have taken this step, withholding nothing, we are delighted. We can look the world in the eye. We can be alone at perfect peace and ease. Our fears fall from us. We begin to feel the nearness of our Creator. We may have had certain spiritual beliefs, but now we begin to have a spiritual experience. The feeling that the drink problem has disappeared will often come strongly. We feel we are on the Broad Highway, walking hand in hand with the Spirit of the Universe.
What an interesting topic you chose, fear. It's sad to live in a state of fear, not knowing what to do or where to turn. But for me those fears were all too real. My fears, again very real, triggered so many relapses that sobriety was never an option even for me. Here's the thing though, these alcoholically induced traumas had no real basis behind them. They were nothing more than instincts gone awry. At the time, I didn't know what was happening to me and those fears I talked about caused me to drift even further into the not so friendly realms of active alcoholism. It wasn't until I confronted my fears head on that the prospect of lasting sobriety became readily apparent. And thank God it did. When I finally saw the light so to say my life started to turn around. And that feeling has continued on for over 10+ years now. So what happened?
I had about 30 days in when suddenly a light bulb went off. It felt like a cool breeze on a warm summer's day, that's how profound it felt. I guess I had finally confronted my greatest fear to date, alcoholism. And after that life started to get better for me. The key to my success so far has been acceptance; the ability to cope firsthand with any stressful situation even if it causes me regret. The adversities I faced, from the very beginning of my journey until now, challenged every core belief that I've ever held sacred. But what I finally started to do was give faith an honest try, and the rest has been a refresher course in sober thinking during the last 10+ years sober.
What I needed to do all along was change my thought patterns entirely, and then take a more therapeutic approach to life's problems from that point on. I was finally able to see some lasting results, but again it had to start with reason not fear. We can always overcome the power of fear with a much stronger feeling, called love. But sometimes we must put emotions aside and grasp the truth without fears or reservations. And that, my friends, is what I call acceptance. Those feelings -which fear sometimes denied, became abundantly clear. But not until I practiced acceptance firsthand. After that, my life has been truly rewarding. And so can yours.
Yeah, I know, it does sound simpler on paper. But it has worked for me and maybe others can benefit as well. Thanks again for listening.
~God Bless~
-- Edited by Mr_David on Friday 22nd of June 2012 10:44:40 PM
Bill said, later on in that reading in the big book that men of faith had courage. He didn't say that they didn't have fear any more because they had courage. In my alanon reading today In " courage to change. " some one made the statement that courage was fear that said its prayers. Fear will never go away. Its God given for a purpose, its only out of wack because I make it out of wack. I do it for many reasons and on many levels. AA and the other recovery programs I am involved in help me, one day at a time to remember to keep my connection with God because with out God I am on my own and will be swallowed up by the fear. Been there and done it. I like freedom much better.
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Since it cost a lot to win, and even more to loose, you and me gotta spend some time just wondering what to choose.
I guess I had finally confronted my greatest fear to date, my alcoholism; and after that life started to get better for me, hands down.
That was major for me too...Once I faced that one...It was like a fricken weight taken off me....And I was able to start working on pushing that wall over. I did my first step sitting in the back of a cab...A broken man...with a beer in my hand on the way to rehab. I knew that had to be my last beer.That one more would kill me.
Pappy, I've talked to some AA's about this "fearing God" concept because as I continue to grow in my spirituality. I want to be open to more openminded with what can happen in meditation. I feel with can have infinite gain with experiences in meditation and I think this helps me to get closer to my Higher Power and stay even more connected to the program. Hearing others experiences from others gives me faith that I can let my guard down, even during meditation, and let God work through me.
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Willingness without action is fantasy!
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Welcome to MIP stayhumble, ... ... ... glad to have you here ... (Go Wildcats)
Meditation can be a very lengthy discussion topic by itself ... but to me, 'fearing God' is simply an amazement(awe) I have come to know by opening my mind to the results of 'sincere prayer', since being active in this program ... Too many specific stories I have been personally involved with and too many miracles witnessed, for prayer and God to be a 'fluke' ... It's the real thing and of this, I have zero doubt ... So, fearing God, showing 'reverence', 'respect', 'and wonderment of His power' is a very natural thing for me now ... Awesome really ...
You tied 'meditation' into this discussion and I suppose that in respect of the very act of meditation being a calming, relaxing, practice, it indeed reduces 'fear' ... just knowing there IS a power out there listening to you and your concerns, pleas, and gratitude ...
Thanks man, and God Bless, Pappy
__________________
'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
I like to share this story about prayer in meetings....When the time is right.
There is a spritual guy and an athiest sitting in a coffee shop up in Alaska talking and the subject of prayer comes up. The athiest says..."I've only tried prayer once and it didn't work...Nothing happened". So the spritual guy asks him about it and he says..."I was was about two hundred miles out of town...And I got caught in a blizzard....It snowed so hard I had no clue what direction I had come from and no idea which way to go...My foot prints were covered up...I thought for sure I was dead. So I dropped to my knees and prayed to whatever for help...And I waited...And nothing happened".
So the spritual guy just looks at him...Confused....And says..."Well you're here aren't you?".....And the athiest says..."Yeah some Eskimo showed up out of nowhere and walked me back to town."
