If I’m experiencing difficulties, I
lack either information or power or both. Step work provides information and
some power but sometimes not enough power. The amount of power I need is in
line with the amount of spiritual growth I have undergone. That means that the
need for power is progressive and increases over time, provided of course I am
growing spiritually and am not stalled because of an active addictive process.
Power comes from God, but there are many channels. In addition to step work, I
find that prayer, meditation, nature, music, and physical activity are all
powerful activators of the flow of power into my life. These alone and in
aggregate are insufficient without people, and a relationship with God that
does not involve a relationship with people is tenuous if not impossible.
The solution is to surround myself with people with more
spiritual power than me. That has meant looking further and wider for
accomplices in recovery and in my spiritual development more generally. It is
also the solution to emotional difficulties where the step work is complete, at
least formally, but the power to change is absent. Whenever I’ve been stuck I’ve
discovered the missing element to be fellowship. The reason for this lack is
often a resistance to building more or deeper relationships with others,
usually due to contempt or disdain for others, combined with laziness, fear, or
some other character defect.
Therefore, accessing power generally requires improving
relationships with people with an extremely strong spiritual programme, and
this in turn usually requires getting over the obstacles erected by character
defects. To do this, I plan and execute the requisite action to build
relationships, bolstered by Step Seven: lots of meetings, especially those with
very strong AAs in attendance, going for dinner or coffee before or after,
becoming regular at these meetings, and then finding people to build
relationships with in between meetings.