We were then encouraged to believe that “a Power greater than ourselves” could restore us to sanity.

We were then encouraged to believe that “a Power greater than ourselves” could restore us to sanity. That reliance on our selves or egos and our hedonistic or wilful impulses—rather than higher principles—was the main source of the emotional turmoil and chaos in our lives. That focusing on trying to change someone else’s character or behaviour—rather than doing what is right for ourselves—was the cause of our continuing feelings of misery and helplessness.

We were further invited to “turn our will and our lives over to the care of God” as we understood Him—to admit “to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs”—to be “entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character”—to “humbly ask Him to remove our shortcomings”—and to seek “through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God” as we understood Him, “praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. (Except for the phrase “persons, places and things,” the above quotes are all from the Twelve Steps of AA.)

For these purposes, many people find that the traditional Judeo-Christian God works perfectly well as a Higher Power. Indeed, some of them (especially newcomers) are more than a little nervous or upset to hear the term “Higher Power.” Why not simply call God “God”!

In time, however, most of them come to accept the fact that the 12-Step programs, while not religious per se, are very spiritual—and that in order to offer spiritual and emotional recovery for the greatest number, these programs should scrupulously avoid reference to any specific religious point of view. (These points are made in the 12 Traditions and Three Obstacles to Progress. It’s interesting to note that, if taken consistently, they would seem to rule out the common practice of closing 12-Step meetings with a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer.) The relative few, usually Fundamentalists, who cannot get comfortable with the unaffiliated nature of such programs, are free to gravitate toward Christian recovery programs.

What about those who have trouble relating to an Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, All-Good Creator of the Universe? How are they to relate to a Higher Power?

Most of these people begin the process with something more easily grasped or believed in, such as their own conscience—or the “Group Conscience” (i.e., the collective spirit of the assembled recovery group)—or the 12-Step program itself (including the 12 Steps, 12 Traditions, slogans, Do’s and Don’ts, Serenity Prayer, etc.—or some power in Nature greater than themselves (such as the ocean)—or even a radiator or some other concrete object they can focus on in order to “transcend” or get outside of their own selves and wills. (This last technique is similar to what pregnant women train themselves to do in a La Maze childbirth class, which helps them to detach from or dissociate from the pains of labor and delivery.)

In all cases, your Higher Power is supposed to be the focus of your prayer and your requests for serenity, courage and wisdom. And in all cases, you are encouraged to think of your Higher Power as higher than your self-will, and desires, a source of wisdom and guidance superior to your own thinking and judging.

Even though it seems reasonable that you could consult your own conscience on a temporary basis—if you weren’t in too chaotic an emotional state at the time—you are usually encouraged to get in the habit of being in touch with a Higher Power outside of yourself. Even your recovery group or your personal sponsor is generally considered to be more reliable than your own inner sense of right and wrong, or your own reasoning powers, particularly in times of stress. (Presumably, your conscience and your intellect are too closely tied in to the ego or self-will and are tainted by its influence—and too easily influenced by strong emotions to remain objective.)