Welcome. You may have heard us talk about God in our meetings, using a term you may not relate to, or even abhor.
Although many in twelve step groups use the term Higher Power, there is no requirement to do so. In fact, AA literature tells us we need not be ashamed to use the word God, if that is what we mean.
The point is, there is also no requirement to believe in God, in anyone else’s view of God, or in religion. All that is needed is your belief in a higher power. How you feel about it, how you describe it, what you call it – all of that is your business, not ours.
For me at first, I did not believe in God and I did not believe in twelve step programs. I was very skeptical. I did an experiment. I committed to the food plan and decided that if it worked (without exercise), then I would believe in the program. As I committed to my food plan every day, I also started working the steps, very rigorously. I did “homework” on the steps every single day. By the time I reached goal weight, I had come to believe not only in my food plan, but also in the twelve steps. Those were my first higher powers. I had come to believe in something besides myself.
