We never get perfect, but more and more, as we faithfully work the Steps, we are spiritually awakened.
What is a spiritual awakening? How do we get it? If it is the result of working the Twelve Steps, that means we have to work them. This is how we can practice the Principles embedded in the Steps. It’s a pattern for living. And, we carry the message to newcomers by living the Steps, while protecting our own and others’ anonymity.
To me, a spiritual awakening means:
- Feeling a change inside.
- Becoming newly aware of my old, negative habits.
- Not feeling good with my old entourage—feeling instead a need to be alone or with people more aligned with who I’ve become. Giving up negative, harmful people in my life.
- Not standing for superficiality or things that are not authentic.
- Having deep compassion for the suffering in the world. Feeling the need to make the world better. This is not arrogance; it is using God’s power.
- Yearning for meaning in my life.
- Becoming hypersensitive as my spiritual senses develop: intuition, emotions, imagination, conscience, and inspiration. My intuition guides me more and I listen. My intuition is God’s voice, knowing what is right.
- Awareness of and attraction to healthful foods instead of junk.
- Losing interest in worrying. My actions and decisions are based on love, not fear. Instead of succumbing to my emotions, I turn them over to my HP. I live in gratitude and joy.
- Losing interest in casting judgments on others and myself.
- Feeling increased willingness to give service without expectations.
- Feeling connected to everything and everyone. I understand the impact of my words, thoughts, and actions.
- Feeling bliss—a love toward life for no specific reason. I feel happy knowing what I now know. I am delighted by everything in nature.
For Step Twelve, I practice the principles in all my affairs. I accept people for their goodness; I don’t reject them for their flaws. I learn through intuition not to be an enabler or a doormat. Nor do I need control: “Here we experience the great truth that when we let go of our need to control people and simply allow our Higher Power to serve others through us, we receive an abundance of joy and strength” (Voices of Recovery, p. 227).
The Twelve Steps are about defining relationships and the Principles by which we live. It’s an ongoing, transformational journey. We never get perfect, but more and more, as we faithfully work the Steps, we are spiritually awakened.
—Joann
