Christine Grof, author of The Thirst for Wholeness: Attachment, Addiction, and the Spiritual Path, says that early in her recovery from alcoholism she came across a letter from Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung to Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. Jung wrote about one of his former patients, "His craving for alcohol was the equivalent on a low level of the spiritual thirst of our being for wholeness..."
For Grof, she realized that as she read on, that Jung was describing something that she know well, "I have felt a non-specific craving for most of my life. Many of us do. And I recognize it from my recovery. It is different from and more far-reaching than the physical craving for alcohol. A trip to the mall, a piece of cake, a cuddle: none of these momentary solutions quenches the deep thirst."
You might have feel this same spiritual hunger and perhaps you satisfy it by going to church, a synagogue or mosque. But if you're like many of people then perhaps you've had bad experiences or have been unsatisfied with organized religion. You may have turned to alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling or food, or many of the above, to try to fill that spiritual void.
Bill Wilson called AA a spiritual kindergarten and the Twelve Steps of AA is essentially a guide to spiritual development and recovery. In this sense, everyone could benefit from this kind of recovery.
Where AA succeeds, while many other programs have failed, is that it makes no judgement about who or what a person's high power should be. "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him," reads Step Three. For many newcomers to AA their higher power may be the AA group itself, or it may be a vague recognition that there is a power greater than themselves.
At the heart of it, is the understanding that any spiritual development must be based on self-reflection. Each individual must come to his own understanding of a higher power. In AA, the steps lead people on a guided process of self-discovery and spiritual awakening.
In my experience, those who have strong faith in a higher power are happier and enjoy long-term recovery. They are enriched and sustain their own recovery by helping others and themselves by "giving it away."
How Do You Satisfy Your Thirst for Spiritual Wholeness?
A spiritual awakening is not an event, it's a journey. You may find that some the links listed below help you find your way:
Download the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions
How to live as if everything is a miracle
Do you have a hole inside of you that's longing to be filled?
How to Sustain Strong Positive Moments
Inspiration for this post:
AA: The Magic of Bill Wilson
Addiction: The Thirst for Wholeness
