Good question. No, really.

     Part of me doesn’t get why we take the spiritual teeth out of recovery when that is the most crucial ingredient. We remove the one necessary ingredient to becoming recovered and replace it with various forms of garbage.

     What a travesty, for instance, that God has been replaced with methadone. Is that really what you want your spouse or child to become, a recovering heroin addict on state-sponsored methadone maintenance? Good, that’s what I thought, because there are a some bloggers out there who passionately advocate methadone slavery and a life absent of true sobriety, recovery, health, peace, sanity, service and well-being.

     Actually, that sounds rather sadistic. You’re happy that your child or spouse is on methadone? Are you feeling okay? Trust me, if you truly want them back, you’re gonna have to be a little tougher on them. 

     At any rate, for me, I was personally removed from my environment and took the first seven steps in treatment at a spiritual retreat. However, I have also seen many take Steps out in the world, working individually with a recovered sponsor. I’m afraid the results are less a function of the sponsor or place and more a function of the sponsee’s willingness and thoroughness in the work.

     That said, it is certainly necessary to instill confidence and to break down the process for the sponsee, and to do this, one must find a recovered sponsor who has taken Steps as they are laid out in the Big Book and who has experienced a psychic change. It is useless to work with someone who has nothing (internally) that you want. It is best to find someone who has what you want, so to speak, someone who lives and breathes the qualities you find attractive and desirable such as strength, calm, contentment, balance, humility, confidence, tolerance, inner peace and a willingness to serve without expectation… so maybe you shouldn’t call me, hahaha.

     The profound, white-light sort of experience I had was the direct result of the work I did. I put every fiber of my being into it because I wanted this thing more than anything. I saw others transforming and glowing with Spirit. I wanted that.

     So when I sit down with someone, I first try to gain their confidence, tell them how I used and felt so they know I know what I’m talking about. Then I try to inspire them to embark on the Steps by describing my inner experience now – the fact that I no longer suffer from thoughts or desires to drink or use, the fact that I am okay without distraction, the fact that God doesn’t bring me anything I can’t handle, and most importantly, the fact that God is now doing for me what I could not do for myself, like live life.

     I may not get too God-heavy, depending on the sponsee, but you know what I mean. It doesn’t matter what words we use so long as the sponsee becomes willing to believe in a Power greater than themselves. This modicum of willingness is all one needs to begin.

     Once they begin taking action, magic can happen, and usually the most obstinate and atheistic among us become those with the strongest faith and the firmest resolve in God. We need not make any apologies for our relationship with God, as it is the single most important thing in our lives. When we induce a spiritual experience, we know with absolute certainty that our Creator has restored us and that He powers us in ways we previously found impossible.

God, please help every addict and alcoholic who still suffers find their way to the Steps and to You…