Cunning, Baffling, Powerful

A NEW STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS He has been granted a gift which amounts to a new state of consciousness and being. — TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 107 Many of us in A.A. puzzle over what is a spiritual awakening. I tended to look for a miracle, something dramatic and earth-shattering. But what usually happens is that a sense of well-being, a feeling of peace, transforms us into a new level of awareness. That's what happened to me. My insanity and inner turmoil disappeared and I entered into a new dimension of hope, love and peace. I think the degree to which I continue to experience this new dimension is in direct proportion to the sincerity, depth and devotion with which I practice the Twelve Steps of A.A. I'm not the wisest man, but I can just share what my experience has been. Before AA, and especially before reaching steps 4 and 5, anxiety was a very real and frequent part of my life. Irrational fears of abandonment, betrayal, and humiliation were present i...

SERENITY Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, . . . — TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 106 As I continued to go to meetings and work the Steps, something began to happen to me. I felt confused because I wasn't sure what it was that I was feeling, and then I realized I was experiencing serenity. It was a good feeling, but where had it come from? Then I realized it had come ". . . as the result of these steps." The program may not always be easy to practice, but I had to acknowledge that my serenity had come to me after working the Steps. As I work the Steps in everything I do, practicing these principles in all my affairs, now I find that I am awake to God, to others, and to myself. The spiritual awakening I have enjoyed as the result of working the Steps is the awareness that I am no longer alone. Now that I've finally finished steps 4 and 5, I get it.  I get what having peace with my past is all about.  I grew up Catholic a...