What does ‘having had a spiritual awakening’ mean to you?
December’s topic is, “What does ‘having had a spiritual awakening’ mean to you?”
As always, you can also write about Al‑Anon’s three Legacies. This month features Step Twelve, Tradition Twelve, and Concept Twelve.
Sharings on the Member Blog may be used in future Al‑Anon publications.
New topics are being added each month!
I have heard people talk about having a spirtual awakening. I like to think that after each bout of anger or depression, anxiety or hopelessness that a spiritual awakening is in the future. For instance, I know that I work too hard and that I judge other people who don’t work as hard as I do. Usually I can skate along with my petty resentments and keep a lid on it. But no matter how many inventories I did, I eventually just lost my bearings. Why was I trying so hard? Why did I give all my energy when others… Read more »
Having had a spiritual awakening means many things to me. I relate it to the newfound awareness that I could have a personal relationship with the God of my understanding outside of the confines of a traditional religious environment. It is evidenced by the intimate relationship I now have with that God. It is demonstrated in my life in a thousand different ways – when I can appreciate the light and warmth of a bit of unexpected sunshine on a particularly trying day; when an Al-Anon member calls me at the lowest point of my week; or when I hear… Read more »
Today is December 25, and I am off work from the correctional facility I am employed at. I thought about going to a face-to-face Al-Anon meeting, but decided it was better not to cram too much into today. Later, I am headed out to sit with a beloved older friend in the last stages of dementia. It is most likely her last December on planet Earth. I miss her terribly, she has been a good friend for years, and it has been painful watching her mind and body degenerate. It is my belief in this program and the principles of… Read more »
This last year I worked the Steps a second time on a great difficulty. To my surprise, I discovered that I could have a second spiritual awakening! The last year was horribly difficult when I lost my athletic ability and became partially disabled on top of severe illness. The cause of my disability was having worked in a water damage building, and when I confronted my employer about their water damage and their many sick employees, they retaliated against me! Thank God I had program and Al-Anon friends to lovingly guide me through in trusting my HP and asking HP… Read more »
When I came into Al-Anon 20 years ago I too had the impression there would be an “aha” moment that I had heard about from reading some of the AA literature prior to coming to Al-Anon. So, I kept waiting and waiting for “it” to happen and I would become spiritual. Instead it was the peace of the program and the experience, strength, and hope of others that gave me a growing awareness of how the disease of alcoholism had affected my life. As I slowly started living the program in my everyday life, I started realizing just how powerless… Read more »
It means a change of perspective. When I came to the program I hated the rollercoaster I felt chained to. I wanted off!! In the program, I realized that the rollercoaster was a bad experience only because I told myself it was. I know now that life is a rollercoaster. The ups and downs, twists and turns are coming, whether I like it or not, and my experience solely depends on my attitude (what I tell myself about the experience). In this realization is freedom, the power of choice. I am not chained to anyone or anything. Now I have… Read more »
“Having had a spiritual awakening” is a phrase that has evolved for me over the years in program. In the beginning, I had many little spiritual awakenings and aha moments. Once I realized that listening to others share in meetings was like the literature brought to life in front of me – useable, applicable, relatable. Once I realized that the purpose of the meeting was not to have an audience for my complaints, but to share some insight I had that week for using a part of the program. The meetings became a great source of purpose. I began trying… Read more »
Spiritual awakening for me is experiencing a very personal moment with God. It can happen in the midst of a stormy time in my life or during a peaceful moment during my day. The key for me is to practice Step 11 throughout the day, only then can I make myself open to having a spiritual awakening.
Before coming to Al-Anon I was spiritually asleep for many years. I had lost faith in God and was bankrupt in many areas of my life. I was socially functioning, but in many ways I was “out of it.” Upon coming to Al-Anon, as I worked the program to the best of my ability, I developed a relationship with my Higher Power and started to put in their right place many important things in my life. I slowly uncovered what my spirituality was. For me spirituality has to do with the soul. This discovery helped me to be a better… Read more »
After 10 years of marriage to a sober alcoholic, my spouse relapsed. I found my way to Al-Anon through a family member who was in AA at the time. In the first few months of being in the program, I had my first spiritual awakening. I was home alone one night and consumed with fear. I was in my bedroom crying. I got on my knees to pray, and as I continued crying, my prayer consisted of the words “I am so afraid” over and over. After just a few minutes of this outpouring of my fear, I had the… Read more »
I had been around the tables of Al-Anon for several years, mostly as an Agnostic, when I found myself in an ER beside my husband with our teen daughter in a coma during a terrific snow storm. Though our children had brought us into the rooms, this coma was unrelated to any substance abuse. By the time she was diagnosed, she was literally moments from death. This is not an exaggeration. Bacterial Meningitis causes the blood to clot in the body, quickly leading to the death of vital organs. The Pediatrician on duty couldn’t wait for the Pharmacy to send… Read more »
After ten years of marriage to a sober alcoholic, my spouse relapsed. I found my way to Al-Anon through a family member who was in AA at the time. In the first few months of being in the program I had my first spiritual awakening. I was home alone one night and consumed with fear. I was in my bedroom crying. I got on my knees to pray, and as I continued crying, my prayer consisted of the words “I am so afraid” over and over. After just a few minutes of this outpouring of my fear, I had the… Read more »
A spiritual awakening to me does not mean a “burning bush”. Typically, it means all those little “ah ha” moments when I realize when I work my program, how the program helps me to better understand myself and my motives. Using the tools (Steps, Traditions, Concepts, Slogans, Meetings), I have found how often situations work themselves out and without wreckage.
Having been an active member of Al-Anon who participates in Service for a few ODAATs, I have been given the grace of many Spiritual Awakenings. These are the times when I have been given a new perspective on an old dilemma; I have seen a troubling character defect lessening its grip on me; I have reached instinctively for a program tool in time of strife or conflict; I have been in a meeting and heard exactly the message I was meant to hear; I have been given the courage to step outside of my comfort zone to try to develop… Read more »
I live in a remote area of the Southwest. I’m lucky to have one meeting a week in my town. However, I once heard in a meeting that the more meetings I go to the better others behave! So true! Today, I zoom into a daily reader meeting as much as possible, as well as other weekly hybrid and electronic meetings in addition to attending my weekly in person meeting. Because I greatly benefit from a meeting a day, does that mean my disease has progressively worsened over the years? On the contrary! It means I’ve grown spiritually! I experience serenity, peace,… Read more »
For me, having a spiritual awakening means that I get it now. I need to stop blaming others for my circumstances. I need to take responsibility for my own happiness instead of expecting others to make me happy. I need to stop trying to control things that aren’t mine to control. I need to make changes to myself rather than expecting others to change. I need to respect the decisions of others even when I don’t agree with them. I need to trust my Higher Power (God), and I need to accept His will for my life.