For people worldwide, from all walks of life, connecting with our own personal higher power is an important and rewarding pursuit. Whether we are alcoholics, addicts, or otherwise, many of us recognize some sort of power in the universe that is greater than ourselves. Especially for those of us who are in recovery, discovering and connecting to a higher power is a vital element of our success.
Indeed, the connection to and reliance upon our higher power is one of the most central and important elements of recovery. This is not a roadblock to recovery for those who dislike the concepts of religion or spirituality or are unfamiliar with them. Simply working the 12-Steps will help us with any issues we have in this area. The wording of recovery says that we will have “a spiritual awakening as a result of these (12) steps…” It comes as we work the program of recovery. And once we have this spiritual experience, exploring, growing, and expanding our spiritual life will not only be one of the most vital efforts of our recovery but one of the most rewarding as well.
Identifying Our Higher Power
Some of us share a higher power with an organized group of people. Some of us find a higher power entirely of our own, one that is personal to only us. Some of us share a higher power of a broad spiritual nature. Aside from deities and organized religions, there are innumerable options and manifestations of higher powers, such as love, kindness, and even nature. For some, the recovery community or the 12-Step program itself can serve as their acknowledged higher power. Our higher power can be absolutely anything that works for us. The 12-Steps call it “a higher power of our own understanding.” There are no rules.
Many alcoholics and addicts come to the rooms of recovery without a higher power, confused about what it might be and how they feel about it, or even downright uninterested or against the idea of a higher power at all. But a consequence of our disease is that we are powerless without a higher power of some kind. A benefit of the 12-Steps is that they allow us to find whatever kind of higher power works for us. Indeed, the 12-Steps are designed to produce a necessary psychic change within and to guide us through a vital spiritual experience. These are vital because they are what allow us freedom from our disease. They are what pave the way for us to recover. Without the psychic change and the spiritual experience, our recovery remains precarious — if it ever happens at all.
Thankfully, we don’t have to worry too much about the details. If we have admitted to our innermost self that we are an alcoholic or addict, all we need to do next is work the 12-Steps willingly, honestly, and with an open mind. The rest of the details will take care of themselves as we work the program. Once we have started this process and entered recovery, we will have likely settled on the higher power that works for us, whatever it may be. Now comes the lifelong process of relying on and connecting with that higher power. For many of us, this is one of the most beautiful parts of our lives in recovery.
Connecting With Our Higher Power
Whatever our higher power is, we will need to practice relying on it. This can be done by continuing to work the 12-Steps and living the recovery way of life. In order to rely upon our higher power, we must develop a relationship with it. And that means we will need to connect with our higher power. This may sound vague right now, but the ways we can practice connection run throughout the 12-Step program of recovery. We will read much about it in our literature and hear many helpful experiences from our recovery community. Prayer and meditation are always a good bet and are highly suggested in the 11th-Step of the program.
While there are many ways we can learn to rely and connect upon our higher power, there is one, in particular, that is close to our hearts at Jaywalker Lodge.
Communion With Nature
For centuries, human beings have found their higher power in communion with nature. We can get an idea of this just by looking up at the stars late at night. Seeing the cosmos like that can make pretty much anyone begin to think about their place in the universe. Mother Nature herself has been regarded as a significant higher power in her own right throughout human history. Whether nature is your actual higher power or not, nature itself can be a beautiful way to find the connection to whatever your higher power is.
At Jaywalker Lodge, we are surrounded by some of the most beautiful natural landscapes and vistas in the world. We’re in the heart of an outdoor paradise, and we don’t take that for granted. We regularly engage in outdoor activities, ranging from sports to hikes to quiet time spent outdoors. Playing games, trekking, or just sitting quietly in the wild have been used as physical and spiritual tonics for centuries. We believe strongly in prayer and meditation, and we find the ancient wisdom to be true that praying, meditating, and simply being outdoors has a wonderful way of helping us feel closer to our higher power.
What the outdoors does for our bodies and minds is only matched by what it does for our spirits. Time to unplug, recharge, get quiet, and be at peace can clear our minds and uplift our souls. That’s exactly why we do it on a regular basis.
Alcoholism and addiction is a disease that creates immense pain and wreaks havoc in the lives of all who suffer from it but creates great internal wreckage as well. Our spirit, emotions, and mind are often as battered by the disease as our bodies, relationships, and lives. Just as this emotional and spiritual damage can be healed, there is a solution to alcoholism and addiction. This solution is the 12-Step program of recovery. This course of spiritual action is designed to produce the necessary psychic change and vital spiritual experience that can bring about recovery and freedom from the disease. The 12-Steps are meant to be participated in for as long as one wishes to remain in recovery. You only need to be honest, willing, and open-minded as you walk the path. The rest of the details is what we’re here to help with. At Jaywalker Lodge, we believe that anyone can recover. If you’re ready, come join us. Call us now at (866) 529-9255.
As Chief Executive Officer Bill provides leadership and manage all day-to-day operations of Jaywalker Lodge, an extended care residential addiction treatment program for adult men.
