The 12 Step Program - Step 2 (Part 2)

Send us Fan Mail In this second part of step two, I want to talk about a crucial ingredient that was necessary for me to be successful with this 12 step program. Last episode I spoke about our individual belief in either a higher power (God) or the police in the possibility of the existence of a higher power. Now that I think of it, it may have been better for me to talk about second part of step two first. Maybe some, it’s a no-brainer that we are, of course, insane. After all, after doing the first step and admitting I was powerless and that my life had become unmanageable, well, that insured the need for help outside of myself. I believe that in the 12-step program, that health is recognized as a power greater than ourselves, or God. There are also adjuncts to God, I think, in the form of helpers, such as a sponsor or a mentor. Now, brace yourself, because here it comes! I personally believe, (know), that my primary higher power can only be God. It is not someone or something that I have conveniently picked up along the way. No, I have discovered that this power has been with me, (as been me), all along. In retrospect, I had to have become aware of my insanity from the very beginning of my recovery. I wish, for simplicity sake, that I could find a term to refer to this genuine recovery, as compared to all those other, previous, false starts. Maybe I could borrow something dramatic from, say, Star Wars! Maybe I could call it my final frontier! Actually, now that I think of it, recovery seems to fit just fine. The thing that is built into all of those other attempts is that they were not to recovery. They were attempts at going through the motions of doing a program that I knew worked for others, hoping that somehow, by osmosis, it would work for me. I had no honesty. I had no true introspection into my true self. I did not recognize my insanity. In short, I was simply not ready to say yes to God, or to surrender. Maybe, as I looked at the insanity of step number two before looking at the need for a belief, I would have surrendered sooner. There is no way of knowing. It is what it is. So, in this episode, I am going to talk about our insanity. Please be vigilant. You may discover yourself somewhere in here.