The Oxford Group’s 6 Basic Assumptions (part 2)

Send us Fan Mail We are now at the second of the six basic assumptions. That second assumption is, “Men can be changed.” As a reminder, we saw in the first assumption that men are sinners. And I think in our present day language, that that assumption means because of our humanity and our free will, not to mention our proclivity to gain pleasure and happiness for ourselves, we are always ready to sin. Hopefully, you can all get over this word “sin”, in the realization that we are all participants in the first in the 12-step program. I believe we all that we are powerless, basically, over everything, and that our lives are unmanageable! Sure, some of us can lead lives that can imply that we are managing. Unfortunately, if I have not turned to my Spirit for help, it is a pseudo-manageability. It is interesting to me that this second assumption says that men “can be changed”. This refers, I believe, that this assumption refers exactly to the second step in the 12-step program. That step says, “I came to believe that a power greater than myself could restore me to sanity”. Then, in the third step, we make the decision to allow exactly that to happen. In other words, to become changed is something that happens in a partnership with our Spirit. For me, once I made the decision of the third step, I have tried, as much as possible, to listen for the direction of my Spirit. As I have mentioned before, the word changed refers to someone who has turned their lives over to God’s direction. It means that I have said “yes” to God, and that I surrender! It is only by the surrender that I have achieved victory by trying to live my life according to the direction of my Spirit, God.