How do you adopt God when you've never been religious?
So my question is when going through the 12-steps, how does one adopt God into ones life? I've never been religious even though my family to some degree was.
People on 12 step have different conceptions about their " higher power" ... what it means. Some people start with a sense of a community spirit and may end up with a more religious faith based concept of a traditional God later on their journey. All you need is the faith that there is something bigger than you, the you that you know and is powerless over addiction, that can be a resource for you. I am sure there is a discussion on the 12 step forum here if you care to search back through the older posts.
Hope that helps.
Check out the online meeting too; follow the link in my signature below
Follow the links on the above thread to get you onto the Mumble server. you can listen in without needing to talk to get used to the fomat to start with. No pressure.
As others are commenting here, Tobardus, a Higher Power can be many things. Humanists tend to think of it as the innate goodness of other people; theists tend to think of it as God; nature-based faiths might feel their Higher Power in the woods or the ocean. I'm a recovering addict who used to be a humanist and only recently converted to Christianity, so I've been in the curious circumstance of watching my conception of a Higher Power shift.
Why do we need a Higher Power, whatever we might conceive it to be? My answer is that the road to recovery is fraught with setbacks and failures--in all your years of recovery and fighting addiction, it's unrealistic to believe that you'll be 100% sober, even in your head. A Higher Power wants us to work, and work hard, to become better. We have to try. But a Higher Power is also the other side of the coin: love, forgiveness, acceptance of our many failures to do the things we know are right. Both sides, striving to be better vs. love and forgiveness, are equally important. If we only strive and don't feel love from some source, we'll beat ourselves up for every stumble. And if we only feel love and don't strive to be better, we tend to forgive ourselves too much--and that often leads to permitting gaming to surface again.
There's also a reason why we meet in community in recovery: we need to serve others. Serving others is a common thread throughout all moral and ethical philosophies, including religious ones. When we help others move through their addictions, we empower ourselves and find something more important than our worries and our struggles. You're in the right place. One step at a time.
--Chris
—
Taking Steps toward recovery since November 2, 2012. The difficulty of the path makes it worth the walking.
I still struggle with this. Maybe I’m destined to always struggle with it. To some extent I envy people with faith and belief. It seems to make them whole as people. I will keep pondering.
Hi Tobardus,
I don't have a problem believing in God, but I believe in lots of things that most people don't.
However, the place that I really get a lot of peace of mind from is Theravada Buddhism.
I study it not as a religion but as a philosophy.
I like hearing the YouTube videos by the older more experienced monks and nuns, such as Ajahn Brahm.
They even have some videos about addiction.
Wishing you all the best on your journey!
Alicia
Many people I talked to about God had different opinions. Some of them were Christians, others Muslims, and also agnostics. Agnostics have always shared an interesting opinion about the universe. They often talk about the unbridled energy that God is for them. I'm a Christian from a Protestant church, so'd never aggressively argue with a non-religious person. I just try to share my opinion about God's word sometimes when people ask me about it. And I'm happy to share knowledge with people
Hi and welcome Tobardus
People on 12 step have different conceptions about their " higher power" ... what it means. Some people start with a sense of a community spirit and may end up with a more religious faith based concept of a traditional God later on their journey. All you need is the faith that there is something bigger than you, the you that you know and is powerless over addiction, that can be a resource for you. I am sure there is a discussion on the 12 step forum here if you care to search back through the older posts.
Hope that helps.
Check out the online meeting too; follow the link in my signature below
INFO
Help for gamers here
Help for parents of gamers here
Help for spouses/SO's of gamers here
Parent's online meeting THURSDAY 9pmEST/EDT click here
Online meetings gaming addicts click here
Please help! Donate here
Thank you for your reply Polga.
Disclaimer: I'm an addict.
I worked the steps without having anything to do with God or religion. There are alternate wordings of the steps that don't mention them at all.
OH MY GOSH,
I AM SO HAPPY WE ARE ALL HERE.
I DON'T KNOW HOW TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS YET BUT THANK THE GOOD LORD OF GRACE MOST HOLY THAT ALL OF US ARE HERE FOR THE MOMENT.
IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN EMAIL ME FOR GUIDANCE IN THESE STEPS OF ACTION AND GENTLENESS?
I AM REALLY IN THE DEEP DARK HERE AND I WANT TO GET BETTER. I REALLY DO. I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW AND I FEEL SO SICK ABOUT IT.
Veuve Cliquot
Hi Greg and Welcome
You will find details and discussion about 12 step if you have a look through this forum:
https://www.olganon.org/forums/12-steps-principles-recovery-begins-here
you may find it helpful to attend online meetings for gaming addicts, details are here
https://www.olganon.org/forum/line-meetings-message-board/all-online-meetings-computervideo-gaming-addicts
Follow the links on the above thread to get you onto the Mumble server. you can listen in without needing to talk to get used to the fomat to start with. No pressure.
INFO
Help for gamers here
Help for parents of gamers here
Help for spouses/SO's of gamers here
Parent's online meeting THURSDAY 9pmEST/EDT click here
Online meetings gaming addicts click here
Please help! Donate here
As others are commenting here, Tobardus, a Higher Power can be many things. Humanists tend to think of it as the innate goodness of other people; theists tend to think of it as God; nature-based faiths might feel their Higher Power in the woods or the ocean. I'm a recovering addict who used to be a humanist and only recently converted to Christianity, so I've been in the curious circumstance of watching my conception of a Higher Power shift.
Why do we need a Higher Power, whatever we might conceive it to be? My answer is that the road to recovery is fraught with setbacks and failures--in all your years of recovery and fighting addiction, it's unrealistic to believe that you'll be 100% sober, even in your head. A Higher Power wants us to work, and work hard, to become better. We have to try. But a Higher Power is also the other side of the coin: love, forgiveness, acceptance of our many failures to do the things we know are right. Both sides, striving to be better vs. love and forgiveness, are equally important. If we only strive and don't feel love from some source, we'll beat ourselves up for every stumble. And if we only feel love and don't strive to be better, we tend to forgive ourselves too much--and that often leads to permitting gaming to surface again.
There's also a reason why we meet in community in recovery: we need to serve others. Serving others is a common thread throughout all moral and ethical philosophies, including religious ones. When we help others move through their addictions, we empower ourselves and find something more important than our worries and our struggles. You're in the right place. One step at a time.
--Chris
Taking Steps toward recovery since November 2, 2012. The difficulty of the path makes it worth the walking.
Thank you Chris.
I still struggle with this. Maybe I’m destined to always struggle with it. To some extent I envy people with faith and belief. It seems to make them whole as people. I will keep pondering.
Disclaimer: I'm an addict.
Hi Tobardus,
I don't have a problem believing in God, but I believe in lots of things that most people don't.
However, the place that I really get a lot of peace of mind from is Theravada Buddhism.
I study it not as a religion but as a philosophy.
I like hearing the YouTube videos by the older more experienced monks and nuns, such as Ajahn Brahm.
They even have some videos about addiction.
Wishing you all the best on your journey!
Alicia
♥Alicia♥
October 15, 2019
Sorry for the late reply. Thank you Alicia. Will YouTube Theravada and Anahn Brahm.
All the best to you too!
Disclaimer: I'm an addict.
Many people I talked to about God had different opinions. Some of them were Christians, others Muslims, and also agnostics. Agnostics have always shared an interesting opinion about the universe. They often talk about the unbridled energy that God is for them. I'm a Christian from a Protestant church, so'd never aggressively argue with a non-religious person. I just try to share my opinion about God's word sometimes when people ask me about it. And I'm happy to share knowledge with people
spammer