One thing that troubles many non-religious people about the 12-step program originally created by AA (alcoholics anonymous), is whether the program will apply to them. Founders Bill W. and Dr. Bob, were both Christian, and so the 12-steps are heavily influenced by God. Take the renowned serenity prayer as an example:
God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things, I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
The fact is, whether you are religious or not, the 12-steps are still very much applicable to your situation. Whether you suffer with alcohol addiction or you need drug rehab and drug rehabilitation, the methodology can benefit you greatly.
Replace any mention God with the best possible version of yourself
The trick to applying AA’s 12-steps to your situation as a non-religious person is to replace any mention of God with your future self. Instead, see “God”, as the best possible version of you. Below, we will share an edited version of the original 12-steps with this practice in mind:
- We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
- Came to believe that a power greater than our current selves could restore us to sanity.
- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of our best selves as we understand them.
- Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
- Admitted to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
- Were entirely ready to have our future selves remove all these defects of character.
- Humbly asked ourselves to remove our shortcomings.
- Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
- Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
- Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
- Sought through self-reflection and meditation to improve our conscious contact with ourselves, asking only for knowledge of what we want from our lives and the power to carry that out.
- Having had a psychological and emotional awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
[An edit of the original 12-steps taken from the following source].
Conclusion
As the saying goes: “God is inside all of us”. Whether you believe that or not, you can change your perspective in order for it to fit your situation. Again, think of God as you working toward being the best possible version of yourself. If getting free of alcohol and seeking drug rehab and drug rehabilitation is something that is important to you, then it is certainly worth trying.
Don’t allow any spiritual or ideological differences alienate you from these 12-steps. They have been tried and tested by many people before you, both religious and otherwise – and they have proven to work.
Understand that drug rehabilitation, in all its forms, is an ongoing process. If you relish the thought of being free of your addictions and living your best life, then these 12-steps might just be the remedy you’ve been looking for.
For more information on drug rehab and successfully seeking drug rehabilitation, speak to Rehab today (by) PCP – you are not on your own.
