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| Living in Flow with our Higher Power |
| Columns - Wellness | ||||||||
| Written by John Newport, PhD | ||||||||
| Saturday, 12 July 2008 | ||||||||
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I am constantly impressed by the wisdom inherent in the 12-step programs, which admonishes us to pursue recovery through turning our lives over to a higher power of our own choosing. Being uncomfortable with the exclusionary aspects of most forms of organized religion, this open-ended approach to connecting with our higher power has always made a world of sense to me. Over the past several decades, I have consciously pursued a blended path to spirituality, attempting to embrace those precepts from various traditions that appear to ring true for me. My identification with the 12-step movement has definitely made it easier to pursue this pathway. Having been raised a Christian, I hold in high regard the teachings of Jesus as they embody the qualities of compassion, and living in peace and harmony with our fellow travelers on this planet. Yet even as a child, I felt quite uncomfortable with the exclusionary aspects of institutionalized Christianity. I currently enjoy celebrating both the Christian and Hebraic traditions during the holiday season. I began studying Buddhism in my mid-30s, and hold in high regard two of my favorite teachers — the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh. I take great comfort in the Buddhist precepts, with their emphasis on the qualities of compassion, humility and living in the present moment. My wife and I currently host a monthly Buddhist studies group, led by Rev. Teigen Stevens. I deeply appreciate his heartfelt reflections on practical applications of Buddhist precepts in our daily lives — especially in regard to practicing the qualities of compassion, right speech and right action, while attempting to walk the noble middle path in all of our affairs. As I have mentioned in previous columns, I have deep admiration for the various Native American traditions, especially the belief in an all-powerful Great Spirit that permeates the entire universe. I also have high regard for the Native American tradition of honoring and holding sacred our Earth Mother and every living creature — a concept which I believe we all need to embrace if we are to have any hope of preserving the livability of our planet. Step 3 revisited While I am not personally in recovery from alcoholism or drug addiction, over the course of my life I have navigated crises which have led me to form a strong identification with basic 12-Step principles. I embrace these principles as a matter of survival, as well as a pathway to living a truly meaningful life. Not too long ago, I experienced a rather deep personal crisis that prompted me to seek out ways of deepening my relationship with my higher power. Fortunately, in the process of giving a keynote presentation at a conference this past October, I met Bob Tyler, current President of the California Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors. Bob shared with me a copy of his recent book Enough Already! A Guide to Recovery from Alcohol and Drug Addiction. Among other things, his book presents an inspirational approach to truly connecting with our higher power. In essence, Bob submits that Step 3, which reads: “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him,” forms the centerpiece around which all of the other steps evolve. He then explains how we can free ourselves from worry, to the extent that we are truly able to turn direction of our lives over to our higher power — daily praying for guidance to live our lives in accordance with his (or her) will, as well as for intuitive guidance to do the legwork as co-creators with our higher power. He also relates that we can learn to free ourselves from our harsh judgmental, self-critical tendencies by “letting God do the judging.” Serendipity and our higher power For many years I have been a columnist for Steps for Recovery, a recovery focused publication with a worldwide readership. In early December, I learned that their publisher, Jason Levin, had recently suffered a major heart attack which left him comatose for several weeks. Hundreds, if not thousands, of loyal “Steps” readers sent prayers for Jason and his family, and are voluntarily contributing to help with his medical expenses (visit www.supportjason.com). In mid-December I emailed many of my contacts, urging that we form a prayer chain for Jason, calling on God’s help to guide him to a complete and rapid recovery. Unbeknownst to me, someone forwarded my message to Charles Griffith, editor of a new recovery-focused magazine, It’s all in the JOURNEY. Coincidentally, Charles reports that at the very moment he received my email, he was composing his Letter from the Editor for his forthcoming issue, focusing on “acts of kindness.” Struck by the synchronicity of these events, he was moved to urge his readership to send their heartfelt prayers to Jason and his family, together with a donation to help with his medical expenses. Paraphrasing from his words, “I believe in ‘God Shots’, and I believe this was a message from my higher power to call upon my readers to send their loving support to a brother who is also an editor of a recovery publication.” As of this writing (mid-January), I continue to receive emails from Jeannie Rabb, acting editor of Steps for Recovery, updating readers on Jason’s slow yet persistent pathway to recovery. Hopefully, by the time you read this column, Jason will have fully recovered and will be “back in the saddle” as editor of his excellent publication. In the meantime, I invite you to join me in sending your prayers for Jason and his family. God bless — and until next time, to your health! References Tyler, Bob. Enough Already! A Guide to Recovery from Alcohol and Drug Addiction. Denver, Colorado: Outskirts Press, Inc., 2005.
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