It’s not a matter of willpower

Posted on March 24, 2020 by oatricou

As I work my program in these drastic coronavirus times, I am reminded how powerless I am over my disease. Now is the time to stick to my routine more than ever. It is my foundation. Just because the rug has been pulled out from under me does not mean that my disease went away. Oh no. It is scheming behind my back, waiting for that distracted moment to latch itself onto my thinking the same way the virus latches itself onto tissue. Once it has a hold on me, my immune system (the program), has to be stronger than it is. God is stronger but God alone cannot “recover” me. I have a huge part in my recovery. I have to step into it today, just like yesterday, and go for the ride of my life, to save my life.

Posted in Action, Belonging, Choices, Control, Discipline, Disease, Fellowship, Higher Power, Plan, Powerlessness, Steps, Surrender, Tools, Willingness | Leave a comment

Am I in the answer or am I in the problem?

Posted on March 24, 2020 by oatricou

I awake each day in the problem because I am a compulsive overeater, but I am not the problem. During the next few minutes of every day, I step into the answer first by praying, and then reading and writing a response to the reading. I do have a choice every day and that choice is to stay in the problem or step into the solution. I have to take myself into the solution before I eat anything. I align my will with God’s will, even though I do not know, and never will know, what God’s will is. How is that possible? I do the next right thing. I do have the intuitive thought process that alerts me when I am about to make a mistake. If I pause and listen closely, I feel the right answer within me. My thoughts and my feelings then realign into healthy thinking and feeling and I can step into the world and work my program.

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You may have heard us talk about God

Posted on February 24, 2020 by oatricou

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.

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