Quote:
Originally Posted by TroutDude
This. ^^
The folks I met through my wife's brushes with AA didn't care if your higher power was the Christian god or a cosmic turnip or a giant question mark - just something outside yourself you could hang your hat (dependency) on.
I think it was a visual/mental aid more than anything else - letting something/one else help carry your load for a bit when the going got tough.
It helped some, though my wife was not one. I still firmly believe the program has merit.
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I went with an ex girl friend of mine to some of her Al-Anon meetings. She is deeply invested in them, and for her, it worked. Six out of the twelve steps directly relate to a higher power, and of those six, four directly say the word God, although one of those tempers that by adding, "as we understand him".
There is no question that there is a serious religious undercurrent in any of the 12 step programs. I could not be involved with them.
An emerging and growing group is the SMART Recovery programs; no God, god or higher power needed.
Huffington Post article
SMART website.