| It
is easy enough to confuse the word spirituality with religion. As it
relates to God, Cocaine Anonymous is a spiritual program, not a
religious one. In C.A., we believe each individual can choose a
Higher Power of his or her own. In short, a God of his or her own
understanding.
If you are like many of us, you
came to C.A. without a conscious belief in a Higher Power. Or,
perhaps you chose to avoid a Higher Power because you were taught
about a punishing God. It doesn't matter. All that is necessary to
start is that you are open-minded to the idea that some Power
greater than yourself may be able to restore you to
sanity.
The first step in solving any
problem is recognizing it. The same holds true in solving a problem
with cocaine.
The second step in solving a
problem is believing that there might be a solution. The fact that
you've come to a CA meeting shows that you believe that there is a Power of some kind, greater
than yourself, that can help you get your life back in order. You
have proven, just by showing up, that you believe that there must be
some information,
somewhere, you can use to get rid of your obsessions with cocaine,
drugs, and/or alcohol. You have already started!
The third step in solving a
problem, after having found evidence of a solution, is putting faith
in that solution and trying it. The solution for us meant admitting that our
management of the problem wasn't working. Cocaine Anonymous
introduced us to a Power greater than ourselves that could
manage our problem. That doesn't necessarily mean we have to
turn our will and our lives over to the care of the God that we
heard of in the past. It can mean trusting in a Power of our own
understanding. This is the beginning of our Higher Power, God, as we
understand Him.
Some of us adopt, or come back
to, a traditional God. Others see our Higher Power as some kind of
force. Some define it as the force of the group, while others don't
define it at all.
At first, it is sufficient for
God, as you understand Him, to be the power that the group obviously
has to help get rid of the obsession to use.
No one comes into Cocaine
Anonymous to find God. We come to these rooms to get rid of a
terrifying drug habit. Look around in a meeting. You are surrounded
by people who came as a last resort. We came into these rooms
emotionally, financially, and spiritually bankrupt. We have
experienced all sorts of tragedies as a result of cocaine, drugs,
and/or alcohol. We have lived many of the same horrors you have, yet
today we are happy. We are free from the misery, terror, and pain of
drug addiction.
As long as you are willing, your
belief will grow. You will learn through your own experience and the
experiences of others how a Higher Power can help you with your
cocaine problem.
Maybe some of us were worse off
than you; maybe some of us didn't hit as low a bottom as you. Still,
the fact remains, that those of us who are recovering have come to
believe that the power of the group or of a Higher Power of our own
understanding can restore us to sanity.
After you are around the Program
for a few weeks and months, you will begin to see changes in your
thinking. You will begin to feel better. You will see changes in the
other newcomers that came in with you. We call those changes
miracles. If you are having trouble with the talk about God,
remember:
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Be open-minded. |
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C.A. is a spiritual program, not a
religious one.
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All you have to do is be willing to
believe. |
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Your Higher Power can be the group
as a whole.
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You start with belief, your
experience will come. | |