TOPICS:

The Spiritual Realm

Questions by Jesus

Spiritual Teachers of the past

General Questions about Spiritual Growth

Question: Thank you for your presence through this web site and the wealth of information you offer (again). Would you comment on the "applied spirituality" of 12 step programs? Anything you know would be helpful, of course, but an example I am curious about is the lack of reference to dark forces. This web site has emphasized spiritual protection, and I am wondering what it means that the program works well for many people without reference to the dark. I also still can't shake doubt in the premise of the incurability of addiction. Just as there are healings of physical sickness, I think that an addict becoming moderate would be more of a testimony to God and his power than the prohibition of even ever taking a sip of wine. Of course the stakes are high for an addict, so any clarity or new information coming from you would be profoundly appreciated.

Answer from Jesus:

The Ascended Host consider Alcoholics Anonymous and most of its offshoots to be a very successful program that has helped many people overcome various types of addictions. However, one of the ideas I seek to get across on this website is that humankind is in a process of gradually raising its consciousness to higher and higher levels. This growth process is right now in an accelerated cycle as we move into a new spiritual age. The consequence of this growth process is that any organization must continually renew itself in order to remain effective. If an organization does not keep up with the forward movement of the consciousness of humankind, it will lose some of its appeal and effectiveness, and I think people who know Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs will agree that over the past decades they have indeed lost some of their effectiveness.

When you look at any organization, you need to consider the time in which it appeared, and you need to realize that any organization must be adapted to the consciousness of humankind at that time. You must also realize that any organization will be somewhat affected by, in many cases limited by, the consciousness of the people who founded the organization. This is not necessarily a negative; it is simply a fact, and the consequence is that as times change, the organization must adapt.

When you consider Alcoholics Anonymous, it is important to consider the fact that it was developed specifically to help people who were considered to be in a hopeless state of alcoholism. This was a viable goal, but it also set certain limitations for what could be done in the AA philosophy. This has affected the organization’s ideological basis in many subtle ways. Again, I am not saying this is wrong, I am simply saying that when you start a new organization, you have to select a certain target audience and adapt the organization to the needs of the audience.
If you do not do this, the organization will not be effective in helping people, but the price you pay is that the organization simply cannot help everyone with equal effectiveness.

For example, there are many severe alcoholics who would not be open to the teachings on dark forces because it would be too frightening for them. This was especially true at the time AA was founded, but fortunately, due to the progression of the consciousness of humankind, it is less true today. This partially explains why AA did not contain any teachings about dark forces, although this was also due to the limited awareness of the people who founded the organization. Nevertheless, the consciousness of the founders of AA was very well adapted to the consciousness of the people the organization was meant to help.

My point is that since AA was founded, there has been a major progression in the consciousness of humankind. On an outer level this can be seen in two ways. One is the immense progress in the field of psychological healing, whereby I do not simply mean mainstream psychology but also alternative healing methods. There are today many forms of therapy aimed at healing wounds or fragments in the soul, and they were not available in 1935. The other area is what one might call the new spirituality that has been brought forth over the last several decades, and of which this website is simply one example.

Imagine that a group of people were to sit down today and say, “How could we use the tools and ideas that are available to us today to take recovery programs to the next level?” If such a group of people were open to the new ideas that are available, it would be possible to create recovery programs that are far more effective than the original AA and its current offshoots or alternatives. This does not necessarily mean that AA would have to be replaced—it could simply evolve into a more modern organization.

One of the developments that has happened since the founding of AA is that some people have objected to the spiritual nature of the organization, and this has led to secular recovery programs. In a few cases these are valid efforts, and in others they have simply been offshoots of the modern movement of secularism and humanism that is aimed at destroying people’s spiritual beliefs.

My point is that it would be very difficult to develop one recovery program that could work equally well for all people. It is therefore viable to have a more diversified organization that could go in two basic directions. One option is to create a movement that takes a completely secular and scientific approach to recovery. The difficulty here is that for such a movement to be effective, it would have to incorporate some of the latest holistic healing methods, and most of those methods were brought forth in a spiritual context. Therefore, the movement would face a very delicate and difficult balancing act of trying to maintain a secular approach without ignoring the highly efficient techniques that could make the organization successful.

It remains to be seen whether there are people in today's world who have the spiritual attainment to bring forth such a movement without going too far into secularism and therefore ignoring the very techniques that could make the organization successful. In other words, if you only want to use healing methods that can be proven through materialistic science, your organization could not be ultimately successful at this point in time.

The second approach that could be taken is to use many of the new spiritual teachings that have been brought forth in the last several decades. This could create an organization that was far more effective than a secular organization, but it would not appeal to some people. Such an organization could still be nondenominational and universal, yet it could not be done without talking about the spiritual realm, the spiritual nature of human beings and how acknowledging your spiritual nature can help your recovery from addictive substances. However, such a movement could become extremely efficient in helping people recover from all kinds of addictions.

To become ultimately successful, such a movement would need to ask a very important question about the ultimate goal of the organization. The original AA movement was founded with a specific goal of helping people become sober. This is a valid goal, because as long as people are deep into addiction, the overriding goal is to overcome the addiction. While you are possessed by an addiction, you simply cannot think clearly, and therefore you cannot pursue any higher goals.

Nevertheless, for a recovery movement to become ultimately successful, it needs to provide people with an ongoing process that can lead to lifelong spiritual and personal growth. In other words, once you have overcome the addiction and become sober, where do you go from there? How do you create a life for yourself that is filled with true happiness, peace of mind and personal and spiritual growth—a life that is not simply focused on fighting an addiction but is focused on positive goals?

Let me make it clear that for such a movement to be successful, it must offer a gradual process. As I said, when a person is possessed by an addiction, that person cannot fathom the deeper spiritual reality. So the first step must be to help a person overcome the addiction, and then you can help the person grow even further.

There is some truth to the criticism leveled against AA that while it helps people move out of the dependence upon the physical substance, it can lead many people into another form of codependency. I am not saying this to condemn AA. I am simply saying that it is important to create an organization that leads people out of all dependency, and this can be done only by giving them the universal teachings about the spiritual path that runs behind all outer religions. In essence, to use the language I use on this website, people can overcome all forms of codependency only by walking the path to Christ consciousness. Christ consciousness is the ultimate form of spiritual freedom and personal independence.

I can assure you that if a group of people would get together and determine to develop the next step in recovery programs, we of the Ascended Host would be more than willing to work with them according to their capacity and willingness to work with us. I know some people will ask why I don't simply give the necessary spiritual teachings on this website. The reality is that I cannot give the ultimate recovery program through Kim because he has not been an addict, and therefore he does not have the experience material necessary to be a messenger for such a movement. Nevertheless, if a group of people are willing to develop such a program, I would be willing to let him serve as a consultant and work through him.

Let me now comment on some of your questions:

. . . an example I am curious about is the lack of reference to dark forces. This web site has emphasized spiritual protection, and I am wondering what it means that the program works well for many people without reference to the dark.

Before people knew about the existence of bacteria, many people still managed to lead healthy lives without dying of a bacterial infection. So the AA program can help many people, even though it does not contain any teachings about dark forces. As I said, some addicts simply would not be able to accept the idea of dark forces. On the other hand, in today's world many people are more open to the acceptance of this, and there is no doubt that when you understand the existence of dark forces, you have far better options for overcoming an addiction.

The simple fact is that any addiction involves the interference of dark forces. No human being ever became addicted without being influenced by dark forces. Nevertheless, even dark forces are not the cause of addiction because what makes people vulnerable to dark forces are the wounds in the psychology and soul.

I also still can't shake doubt in the premise of the incurability of addiction. Just as there are healings of physical sickness, I think that an addict becoming moderate would be more of a testimony to God and his power than the prohibition of even ever taking a sip of wine. Of course the stakes are high for an addict, so any clarity or new information coming from you would be profoundly appreciated.

The premise of the incurability of addiction is an example of how the teachings of AA are designed specifically for people who are considered hopeless alcoholics. For such people it can be a valid premise until, and I stress until, they get some control over the physical addiction. As I said above, there is a great need for a recovery program that helps people go beyond the phase of being sober.

The premise that an addiction is incurable is ultimately incorrect. As I explain elsewhere, an addiction is the result of a wounded or fragmented soul, and the soul can be healed completely and fully. Once the soul is healed, the addiction is cured permanently, as if it had never existed. Nevertheless, for many people this will be a healing process that could easily take a lifetime. Therefore, it is safer for most recovering addicts to completely abstain from the addictive substance for the rest of their lives. By making a firm commitment that you will never use any addictive substance, you protect yourself from the temptation that was a big part of you sliding into addiction in the first place. In other words, if you have already been burned, why continue to play with fire?

Obviously, once the wounds in the soul have been completely healed, a person can use alcohol in a balanced manner. Nevertheless, I still advise any person who is serious about spiritual growth to avoid all kinds of addictive substances. By taking such substances into your body, you create an imbalance in the body that will inevitably affect your thoughts and emotions. This can make you much more vulnerable to imperfect energies or dark forces that might cause you to take steps you really do not want to take.

Let me give some very brief and by no means comprehensive comments on the 12 steps promoted by AA.

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol -- that our lives had become unmanageable.

A necessary first step. Until you recognize and admit that there is a problem which must be overcome, you have no chance of solving the problem. Yet you could take this step much further through the recognition that you are powerless only because there is something you do not understand. In other words, by acquiring an understanding of the psychological and spiritual causes of your addiction, you will attain power over the addiction. With all thy getting, get understanding.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

A viable step, but one could go much further by giving people an understanding of exactly what that power is and where it is located. For example, it is true that you cannot overcome the addiction through your human ego, your wounded psychology and your carnal mind. Yet the power that is greater than this lower self is not some mysterious entity outside yourself. The kingdom of God is within you, and it is your Christ self and I AM Presence that give you the power to overcome an addiction. Therefore, the spiritual key to overcoming an addiction is to develop a conscious connection to your Christ self and I AM Presence. Thereby, you gain true independence instead of becoming codependent on some mysterious power outside yourself.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

A viable step, but it could be made much more powerful by giving people a deeper understanding of the God within. God helps those who help themselves, and that is why I said both that “I can of my own self do nothing” and that “My father worketh hitherto and I work.” The father who is within me is the same father who is within everyone.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Again, a viable step that could be made much more powerful by giving people an understanding that the addiction was caused by their lower selves and wounded psychology. You are not confined to this lower self and human ego. You are more than the lower self, and the key to successful recovery is to discover that more and come to identify yourself as the spiritual being you truly are instead of identifying yourself as a limited human being who will forever remain an addict.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

A valuable step, but only as valuable as your understanding of the exact nature of your “wrongs,” meaning your wounds. In other words, by acquiring the understanding I have talked about in the previous steps, you could make this step far more effective because you gain the power to resolve the cause of the addiction.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

A good step, but it will not be ultimately effective until you realize that God is within you and that God will not simply take away your defects of character. You also need to realize that no defect of character is set in stone. As I explain throughout this website, everything is subject to your free will. You have created your current defects of character by making certain choices that led to a wounded psychology. You will overcome those defects only when you understand the original decision and consciously undo that decision by making a better choice. As long as you believe in some outside force who will solve your problems for you, you will not have the ultimate power to overcome those problems. And as long as you believe you have no power to change your defects of character, you will not be free of those defects.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

Again, a viable step, but it is far more effective when you realize that God is within you. Therefore, what you truly need to ask for is that your Christ self enlighten you about the toxic decisions you made in the past and how you can replace those decisions with better decisions.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Both are valid steps, but what does it truly mean to make amends? Is it enough to simply say you are sorry? Apologizing is an important step, but it does not heal the psychological wounds that you might have caused another person through your addictive behavior. So the ultimate understanding here is that the way for you to recover from the addiction is to heal the psychological wounds that caused the addiction. And the ultimate way to make amends to other people is to give them the tools and understanding they need to heal their psychological wounds. In other words, a truly effective recovery program will help the addict heal all psychological wounds, but will also help the families of the addicts heal their psychological wounds. In this way everyone can become whole.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

A good step. All spiritual seekers should do this throughout their lives. Yet this step will be far more effective when it is based on a philosophy that helps people experience ongoing growth and go beyond simply being sober by empowering them to start a lifelong process of spiritual growth.

11. Sought 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.

A good step that can be made far more effective by seeing God as being within you and making an all-out effort to establish and expand your contact with and your integration with your Christ self. It is only by acknowledging your true identity as a spiritual being that you will come to understand God, that you will have knowledge of his will and that you will have the power to carry out his will over the will of your ego. In reality, you can carry out God’s will only when you recognize that God’s will is truly the will of your higher self within you. In other words, it is not something that is imposed upon you from an external deity. It is the true, innermost desire of your own soul.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Again, a true spiritual awakening must come from within. When you recognize the existence of your Christ self, you have a far greater probability of experiencing that spiritual awakening. And only by making contact with your Christ self can you fully internalize the spiritual awakening and carry it out in terms of helping other people and practicing the spiritual principles. This is the true spirituality that I talked about when I rebuked the scribes, the Pharisees and all of the many other people who had set themselves up on a pedestal by practicing an outer religion that was not a true, internalized spiritual awakening.

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