Constructs to Support Spiritual Growth In Recovery
by Gail DeWitt
Gail is the author of a book and CD titled Conscious Contact Volume One: "Where Spirituality & Recovery Meet" is a step-by-step process to walk you from a place of addiction and/or loss to a place of wholeness and freedom.
Context
Context is critical here. When I allude to powerlessness, I am speaking of the human condition called alcoholism. Yet, as my spirit awakens, I understand my spirit/soul is perfect and complete. My spirit knows only power through conscious spiritual practices, by practicing the presence. This awakened spiritual power allows the condition of alcoholism to be healed. It is important not to confuse the language describing addiction with the activity of awakening and standing consciously in wholeness and power. Words depicting the effects of addiction are much too limited to describe the process of spiritual awakening. You will need new words.
This seeking of a wider experience brings us to the rooms of New Thought. Develop the clarity to use words in the right context. Ask yourself, am I speaking of the condition/addiction or am I speaking about the awakened soul I am, due to the recovery process? Be aware of the many dimensions of your being. The physical condition called addiction is one aspect. In the spiritual realm, your aspects are unlimited. They are limited only by your thoughts about yourself. You are infinite in God.
Witness Consciousness
What is witness consciousness? How can I use it?Attending 12 step meetings is great exercise for the soul's compassion muscles. The longer we are in recovery, the more compassion is developed. Developing compassion is part of our spiritual awakening and is not always easy. The longer we are clean and sober and involved in spiritual practice, the more we become aware of our need to hear words other than those describing active addiction or early recovery. We need to hear words about our "coming to."
As we come out of the fog, and begin to have a life outside the rooms of meetings, a yearning makes itself known. At meetings, at home, at work, and at play the yearning can look like restlessness. This is not a bad thing. We are simply breaking out of the egg and coming into greater experience. Just being mindful of this will help to move through it.
If we can witness ourselves in all our states of awareness, the "watcher or witness" will inform us of how to move ahead in ways that relieve the restlessness. Who is it that is observing our behaviors and thoughts? It is the Soul, the infinite being. What we can watch, we can contain.
While witnessing your thought life at meetings, do not judge what you see. If you begin to judge or label yourself as good or bad, free yourself of distractions and return to witnessing. Why? Because you will be operating at a level above addiction, at a level called "dominion." While calmly witnessing yourself and your environment, you develop conscious contact with your higher self - your soul. With practice, you will safely navigate through everything and get bigger ideas of the absolute qualities of God, such as wholeness, freedom, abundance, joy, peace, and harmony. You will be able to live and let live in ways you cannot now imagine. From this high place of observation, you will catch some great ideas and feelings about you and your environment. Why? By practicing your powers to witness without judgment,you are operating from a higher state of being. By using witness consciousness, you make yourself available for a larger experience because you operate from a larger place. You operate from your undamaged, blameless spirit, not the human condition called alcoholism. Operating from this vibration creates the conditions for expanding conscious recovery.
I AM Voice
The I AM Voice is evident when we practice witness consciousness or any method that opens you to your larger self. The I AM Voice is speaking from a centered place in yourself. It is not a weak or stumbling voice. It is clear and knows exactly what it wants to convey from your soul. The I AM Voice sounds different because you are operating from an infinite and eternal place. In this place, you are witnessing yourself and listening live with everyone for the first time. From your witnessing the I AM Voice, you hear what it is saying. Thus, you are in conscious contact.
When I speak from the I AM Voice, people listening become present with me. They get still and lean forward to listen in a new way. Why? Because the soul of me is reaching the soul of them, whether they know it or not. It is heart-to-heart, soul-to-soul sharing. It is the power of the witness consciousness and speaking from the I AM Voice, from the higher self. It is the power to awaken others simply by being awake yourself. Here, true power is expressed. Here, you can experience the right kind of power.
The power comes through us, as us, because we allow it to flow by not keeping our attention wrapped around the human condition of addiction. Be careful here. We can be vigilant simultaneously over our physical abstinence day-by-day and operate from a place of dominion by speaking from a centered place not entangled in the mesh of addiction. This is the beginning for true freedom.
Using the tools of witness consciousness and speaking from a centered place allows freedom and wholeness to express through you. It will happen surely as you are breathing right now. Why? Because it is your true nature. It is your birthright to live in freedom and wholeness and to shine the light of Spirit as awareness by sharing from the I AM Voice! You want to practice this every chance you get.
With practice of the 12 steps, we are free from our condition by remaining clean and sober. With the spiritual practices of witnessing and centered speaking we are free to address our spiritual nature and find words enabling us to share our experience from this high place, including the condition of alcoholism.
Now you will be able to see clearly the contexts of your recovery and use appropriate words to speak of those contexts. As you attend 12 step meetings, read 12 step literature, and are of service, you will be a beneficial presence due to the witnessing and using the I AM Voice.
When attending Freedom Path meetings (or whatever your community calls them) you will be encouraged to be in active spiritual practice as you participate by listening or speaking. What are Freedom Path meetings? These meetings are for people who want to claim or re-claim wholeness and freedom from any thing. Currently, they stand in fear and experience the human condition as being all there is. Their situations appear as addiction, loss of health, loss of a loved one, loss of a job or way of life. In other words - crisis.
Freedom Path is not a 12 step meeting, but those in recovery are welcome. At Freedom Path meetings we know you are infinitely more than the conditions, circumstances or situations of your life. Licensed spiritual practitioners or ministers usually lead the meetings. Prayer and meditation usually take place during the meeting and speaking from the I AM Voice is practiced here.
Freedom Path meetings have a different emphasis or focus depending on the communities they serve. Some Freedom Path Meetings focus on the steps of recovery, some on the speakers and the I Am Voice discussion, some meetings offer prayer and meditation where soft candlelight, incense or an alter are used to enhance the meditative space.
It is my experience that at 12 step meetings there is much more talk about the condition fo alcoholism or human situations in general. At Freedom Path Meetings, witness consciousness and heart-centered speaking from this higher place are more prevalent. Both type of meetings are great for developing your spiritual practice. Though, you may find youself leaning into one or the other more heavily at different times in your recovery. How cool to have a choice of meetings and context. That's the beginning of true power!
Finally, I want to discuss using the I Am Voice to say "My name is Gail and I am an alcoholic." Many people have come to me in my private practice, who believe using the I Am name (so-called in New Thought circles) should not be associated with anything negative. Thus, claiming a disease is wrong. I would suggest you drop that perception. What matters is the context, intention and feeling tone in which the I AM Voice is used. Spirit does not curl back on itself, so you are not in danger here. Claim the intention of saying I am....or whatever you need to claim in the spirit of healing. You need to let go of the old and be present and free in the now. Attaching negativity to the use of the I AM creates more worry. Follow your intention to a place of wholeness and speak your I Am name freely from that positive place.
Journal Use
It is good to use a journal while working these steps. I suggest you write what the prayer and meditation after each section bring up for you and also to write an affirmation or an affirmative prayer to support yourself to become actively involved with this process. Your journal charts your progress.
- This is an excerpt from Gail's book Where Spirituality and Recovery Meet and is protected by copyright. Please do not use without permission from the author.