Higher Power as Inner Power: Lasting change from inside out

The Twelve Steps of A.A. refer to God and to “a power greater than ourselves.” Why remove any mention of God or a Higher Power in these Proactive Steps?

One reason is that a secular approach is more likely to be understood by people who do not believe in God or a Higher Power. It’s a good reason. But, if it were the only reason, it would be a very weak one. These Proactive Twelve Steps would only be some “lite” version of the “real” steps, and they would only be relevant to those people who “can’t stomach the real thing.”

Digging deeper into the process

I have found in rewriting the steps that eliminating God led me to pay more attention to describing the process. I alluded to this in the introduction. As we are further along in the process, this is an opportune time to dig deeper.

The essence of the Twelve Steps approach is to take your focus away from a specific problem that seems unmanageable. You shift your focus to another dimension. This powerful shift is like the “jump into hyperspace” in science-fiction movies.

In traditional Twelve Steps lore, this other dimension is described as “letting God” (or a Higher Power) guide you.

In the Proactive Twelve Steps, the “other dimension” consists of the process of living more mindfully. You mindfully pay attention to what you do, moment by moment. Little by little, you change your database of information. It means that you change the way your nervous system is wired.  It also means that you change your sense of who you are.

As you change your sense of who you are, you deal with the intractable problems differently. The result feels nothing short of miraculous.

So, it is understandable that people would think of it as a miraculous intervention from a benevolent God.

Experience vs. concepts

It is good to keep in mind that there is a difference between what you experience and how you capture this experience in words. This is especially true when using religious or philosophical terms. It is easy to get pulled into arguing about the concepts and lose track of the fact that the actual experiences you are referring to may not be that far apart.

Instead of arguing about beliefs, such as whether or not there is a God, I suggest you focus on the experience itself. You are much more likely to find convergence this way. I’m going to give you examples of how to find convergence.

Some specifics

If you don’t believe in God, you don’t need to argue about that when you talk to somebody who does. Of course, you also don’t need to force yourself to believe; it doesn’t work. Focus on what is meaningful to you and talk about it in terms of what you experience.

Let’s say you’re in a support group, and you hear people talk about their experience of God. You might feel like you’re missing out on something important. Don’t focus on what you cannot feel. Instead, ask yourself what sustains you.

It might then dawn on you that being in this support group is what sustains you, what gives you motivation and strength. Bingo.

For you, being in a safe and compassionate group is a powerful experience. It feels like it brings people to a higher level of functioning than when they are alone.

So that is your experience of a higher power. It is not a thing, or a person, or a being. It is what happens in certain circumstances, e.g., being with kindred spirits. And you can share this with people: “When I am in this group, I have the experience of being part of something powerful.”

If you are religious, I suggest you pay attention to your experience instead of just seeing it through the filter of spiritual concepts. This does not negate the spiritual ideas, and you may find that it enriches your spiritual outlook.

Convergence

I hope that these Proactive Twelve Steps help people with different belief systems get closer to a convergence of views. In the process I describe, you progressively get a sense that there is more to you than your “little ego,” that is, the fear-driven, grasping part of you. As you gain the strength to overcome dysfunctional habits, your sense of self grows into something larger and more solid. You experience yourself as more connected to others as well as your deepest needs.

You can think of it as a power granted to you by an external Higher Power, e.g., God. Or you can think of it as an Inner Power that is part of human nature, something that you are getting better at tapping into. The philosophical context is different, but the underlying experience is very much the same.

I suggest you use the language of Inner Power, as it sticks more closely to the experience itself. The language of experience points to a common ground for people who are religious as well as people who are atheistic or agnostic. Having some common ground makes it possible to learn from each other’s experiences instead of fighting over the cultural context.

The Twelve Steps of A.A. refer to God and to “a power greater than ourselves.” Why remove any mention of God or a Higher Power in these Proactive Steps?

One reason is that a secular approach is more likely to be understood by people who do not believe in God or a Higher Power. It’s a good reason. But, if it were the only reason, it would be a very weak one. These Proactive Twelve Steps would only be some “lite” version of the “real” steps, and they would only be relevant to those people who “can’t stomach the real thing.”

Digging deeper into the process

I have found in rewriting the steps that eliminating God led me to pay more attention to describing the process. I alluded to this in the introduction. As we are further along in the process, this is an opportune time to dig deeper.

The essence of the Twelve Steps approach is to take your focus away from a specific problem that seems unmanageable. You shift your focus to another dimension. This powerful shift is like the “jump into hyperspace” in science-fiction movies.

In traditional Twelve Steps lore, this other dimension is described as “letting God” (or a Higher Power) guide you.

In the Proactive Twelve Steps, the “other dimension” consists of the process of living more mindfully. You mindfully pay attention to what you do, moment by moment. Little by little, you change your database of information. It means that you change the way your nervous system is wired.  It also means that you change your sense of who you are.

As you change your sense of who you are, you deal with the intractable problems differently. The result feels nothing short of miraculous.

So, it is understandable that people would think of it as a miraculous intervention from a benevolent God.

Experience vs. concepts

It is good to keep in mind that there is a difference between what you experience and how you capture this experience in words. This is especially true when using religious or philosophical terms. It is easy to get pulled into arguing about the concepts and lose track of the fact that the actual experiences you are referring to may not be that far apart.

Instead of arguing about beliefs, such as whether or not there is a God, I suggest you focus on the experience itself. You are much more likely to find convergence this way. I’m going to give you examples of how to find convergence.

Some specifics

If you don’t believe in God, you don’t need to argue about that when you talk to somebody who does. Of course, you also don’t need to force yourself to believe; it doesn’t work. Focus on what is meaningful to you and talk about it in terms of what you experience.

Let’s say you’re in a support group, and you hear people talk about their experience of God. You might feel like you’re missing out on something important. Don’t focus on what you cannot feel. Instead, ask yourself what sustains you.

It might then dawn on you that being in this support group is what sustains you, what gives you motivation and strength. Bingo.

For you, being in a safe and compassionate group is a powerful experience. It feels like it brings people to a higher level of functioning than when they are alone.

So that is your experience of a higher power. It is not a thing, or a person, or a being. It is what happens in certain circumstances, e.g., being with kindred spirits. And you can share this with people: “When I am in this group, I have the experience of being part of something powerful.”

If you are religious, I suggest you pay attention to your experience instead of just seeing it through the filter of spiritual concepts. This does not negate the spiritual ideas, and you may find that it enriches your spiritual outlook.

Convergence

I hope that these Proactive Twelve Steps help people with different belief systems get closer to a convergence of views. In the process I describe, you progressively get a sense that there is more to you than your “little ego,” that is, the fear-driven, grasping part of you. As you gain the strength to overcome dysfunctional habits, your sense of self grows into something larger and more solid. You experience yourself as more connected to others as well as your deepest needs.

You can think of it as a power granted to you by an external Higher Power, e.g., God. Or you can think of it as an Inner Power that is part of human nature, something that you are getting better at tapping into. The philosophical context is different, but the underlying experience is very much the same.

I suggest you use the language of Inner Power, as it sticks more closely to the experience itself. The language of experience points to a common ground for people who are religious as well as people who are atheistic or agnostic. Having some common ground makes it possible to learn from each other’s experiences instead of fighting over the cultural context


See also:

Twelve Steps for humanists

Twelve Steps for non-believers, agnostics & atheists