Hello to all,
May I stick a very tentative toe in these waters?
I was a newcomer to the program of AA who went through a tremendous
struggle with the whole "God" issue.  When I came to the program
I had the impression that I must believe in "God"
or sobriety would be out of reach for me.
I know that for myself certain words create an image in my
mind.  Like, I read or hear the word "apple" I see the image, if
just for a fleeting moment, of an apple in my mind.  I have found
that some words just are associated with an image for me.  So
for myself when I read or hear the word "God" there is an
associated image attached to this word for me.  I suppose
the image I associate to this word was imprinted from a
lifetime of reading and hearing the word "God" used and followed
with "He" or "Him".  So the image reflected in my mind is of a man.
This image makes me very uncomfortable.  So, I have noticed that
when I am at a meeting and a speaker refers to "God", this word
triggers the image, I become uncomfortable, and I find that my
hearing becomes slightly affected.  Because of the unsettling
feeling I get, my ears close a little bit to what is being said.
It is different for me when a speaker speaks using the words
"Higher Power".  I find the words "Higher Power" not to be
so specifically defined in my mind.  When at a meeting and a
speaker is using "Higher Power", I associate my own self-defined
guiding force to these words.  I then feel comfortable, and I find
myself able to listen with my full attention.
... OFFLINE 1.38
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