8.!
bedevilments more important than whether we should see newsreels of lunar flight? Of course it was.” (Page 52) Do the “bedevilments” apply to you?
We admitted we were insane and hoped to be restored to sanity. If you feel you have never been anywhere near sanity, we believed this new reliance on a Higher Power could deliver us to sanity for the first time.
If you cannot define yourself as an alcoholic after honestly reviewing this material, perhaps you are not “our kind of alcoholic” as described on pages 44 and 45 in the Big Book, Do you think the instructions for controlled drinking at the bottom of Page 31 apply to you? We saw and admitted that our best ability, best thinking and best action had resulted in us getting drunk and did damage in the lives of others.
You cannot proceed unless all of the previous actions have been done. This does not mean to mimic the actions of others, but you must concede to your innermost selves the basic truths of your drinking career.
However, if on serious and honest reflection on these propositions you feel you are “our kind of alcoholic” we invite you to proceed.
Remember, at this point you are simply removing yourself from the position of “god” in your life. You do not have to define your religion or path at this point, though many do. This step says that you come to believe that a power greater than yourself can restore you to sanity. It means exactly what it says, there is no secret code.
Has your brain,willpower, or thinking, failed to get you/keep you sober? Do you believe that a Power Greater than Yourself exists and can/will help you?
Second Step “Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”
The most important thing to take away from this step is that a “Power Greater Then Yourself” is not YOU! The exact definition of “A Power Great Than Yourself” is personal and up to the sponsee to define. In addition to the recognized religions and a ‘Name of God’, man people report that they began AA with belief that AA itself would serve as their higher power to make a start. Some people say that GOD = Group of Drunks, or Good Orderly Direction. If a Sponsor can only work with someone in the same Religious view as their own, they need to help the sponsee find someone with whom to deal with that aspect of their Twelve Step Recovery.
The purpose of the Second Step is to offer hope where there was perviously no hope.
6.!
We saw where we were playing “God” in our lives, passing judgements, making decisions and causing harm to ourselves and others – that we were not “God”.
7.!
We came to believe, or became willing to believe, that a Power Greater than Ourselves, sometimes accepted as the Deity, or described in other ways by individual members,existed and we must use that power rather than our proven lack of power to stay sober and so change our lives. -4 -