This was an amazing meeting! But Harvey E #24 was really a game changer for me! I know Harvey from the sa noonphonemeeting.
My question (if I may) I have a very hard time to reconcile between my religion practices and my new perspective of God. It's painful to let go of the old perspective and I feel very insecure about it. Especially when I hear sober people talking about their old God '' I fired him and I took a new one ''
I am an orthodox jew. And I do feel that I do too much but I am seeking personal guidance about what to keep and what to let go. People in recovery often tells me to ask my Higher power but I don't get any clear answer, and I know that I may be easily subject to hallucinations.
Any advice? (From you or from anyone in the same situation)
Thanks Arye, for your comment and question. I, too, grew up in a very orthodox faith, and still participate actively in it. When I first heard the concept of "firing god and hiring a new God" (from Harvey, by the way), I thought it was blasphemous. But the more I dug into it and did an exercise in one of the recovery materials that I use called "Step Into Action" and did the Step 2 inventory therein, the more I realized that the god of my previous understanding was just that, a small g god. Not that the God of my faith was a small g god, but the god that I perceived him to be was. It was in peeling away the filters that I had allowed myself to put over my eyes that I realized what it was.
I prayed to God my whole life in good faith. But the response I heard in my prayers were from a voice that was much louder than the "still small voice". It was the voice of small g telling me that I wasn't good enough. that I wasn't "worthy". That I could never measure up. That I needed to lie in order to look good and godly to others. Etc. etc. etc.
When I fired small g and hired Capital G, I suddenly was able to hear His voice in my daily two way prayers and quiet times. I was suddenly able to know a bit more about His will for me. Now, as we learn in the Big Book, I still do some pretty absurd things, thinking that it is God's will that I do them, but slow by slow... little by little... I am growing into understanding more of what God would have me do and be.
To be honest, I still don't like this sentence... Firing God... (god) and even the concept of ''hiring God'' is for me blasphemous... Like you hire Him, you want to USE him to solve your problems... Is that what the steps taught us?
Now, evolving about the perspective you have On God is amazing. But my old perspective of God was correct to at a time because nothing nothing happens in God's world by mistake... So it means that God wanted me to perceive him like I did...
This was an amazing meeting! But Harvey E #24 was really a game changer for me! I know Harvey from the sa noonphonemeeting.
My question (if I may) I have a very hard time to reconcile between my religion practices and my new perspective of God. It's painful to let go of the old perspective and I feel very insecure about it. Especially when I hear sober people talking about their old God '' I fired him and I took a new one ''
I am an orthodox jew. And I do feel that I do too much but I am seeking personal guidance about what to keep and what to let go. People in recovery often tells me to ask my Higher power but I don't get any clear answer, and I know that I may be easily subject to hallucinations.
Any advice? (From you or from anyone in the same situation)
Thanks Arye, for your comment and question. I, too, grew up in a very orthodox faith, and still participate actively in it. When I first heard the concept of "firing god and hiring a new God" (from Harvey, by the way), I thought it was blasphemous. But the more I dug into it and did an exercise in one of the recovery materials that I use called "Step Into Action" and did the Step 2 inventory therein, the more I realized that the god of my previous understanding was just that, a small g god. Not that the God of my faith was a small g god, but the god that I perceived him to be was. It was in peeling away the filters that I had allowed myself to put over my eyes that I realized what it was.
I prayed to God my whole life in good faith. But the response I heard in my prayers were from a voice that was much louder than the "still small voice". It was the voice of small g telling me that I wasn't good enough. that I wasn't "worthy". That I could never measure up. That I needed to lie in order to look good and godly to others. Etc. etc. etc.
When I fired small g and hired Capital G, I suddenly was able to hear His voice in my daily two way prayers and quiet times. I was suddenly able to know a bit more about His will for me. Now, as we learn in the Big Book, I still do some pretty absurd things, thinking that it is God's will that I do them, but slow by slow... little by little... I am growing into understanding more of what God would have me do and be.
I hope that helps.
To be honest, I still don't like this sentence... Firing God... (god) and even the concept of ''hiring God'' is for me blasphemous... Like you hire Him, you want to USE him to solve your problems... Is that what the steps taught us?
Now, evolving about the perspective you have On God is amazing. But my old perspective of God was correct to at a time because nothing nothing happens in God's world by mistake... So it means that God wanted me to perceive him like I did...
Thanks.