PSYCHODYNAMICS OF SPIRITUALITY

PSYCHODYNAMICS OF SPIRITUALITY

If a man chooses to turn his back altogether on God and the future, no one can prevent him; no one can show beyond reasonable doubt that he is mistaken. If a man thinks otherwise and acts as he thinks, I do not see that any one can prove that he is mistaken. Each must act as he thinks best; and if he is wrong, so much the worse for him. ‘Act for the best, hope for the best, and take what comes.
The purpose is to shed light on the nature of spirituality as a core issue underlying alcohol addiction.
Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) assumes that spirituality is the core issue underlying alcohol addiction. The major symptoms associated with missing spirituality are: feeling lost, pan confusion, empty, and out of control. Associated with this cluster of feelings is a state of consciousness experienced as an unbearable deflation of personal power. The common description of this state of consciousness is called “hitting the bottom.” “Hitting the bottom” implies falling from the top.

For A. A. the ‘top’ is consciousness of God thus defining the core issue underlying alcoholism as a falling away from God consciousness or a lack of meaningful connectedness with spirituality. The essence of this position is set forth in the Twelve Steps and The Twelve Traditions.

A basic problem of alcoholism is a defiance of God instead of reliance. A major problem is straying from God’s Will. A major symptom of the problem is a lack of faith, hope, trust, and love of God.
The alcoholic is suffering from a type of spiritual/psychological ‘disease’. The core symptom associated with this hybrid illness is a chronic state of frustration. The confluence of ‘negative attitudes’ results in a lack of self-discipline and thus further depressing the already depressed alcoholic.

Thus for AA the major problem requires a two fold intervention - one which is spiritual, the other being psychological. The spiritual antidote is motivating the alcoholic to realign himself with God’s Will. The psychological intervention is teaching the alcoholic to learn the habit of self-restraint. AA names this external source of power the Higher Power.

The outcome of negotiating these twelve steps is thought by AA to lead directly to an experience of God. The primary techniques utilized in negotiating the steps are meditation, sharing feelings, thoughts and experiences with other AA members in meetings, and prayer. For many alcoholics, working the twelve steps resulting in connecting with one’s Higher Power works quite satisfactorily.

However, for many others, it fails:

It is important to note that a great deal of the work in the Twelve Steps program is an opening one up so to speak so that one’s Higher Power can flow into one’s self. It is fruitful to consider the logic behind this conception of transformation.

“Spirituality defined as the self connected by consciousness to The Higher Power is the best stress reducer.” Using spirituality as a stress reducer is the primary aim of working the twelve steps.
AA assumes that the core problem of the alcoholic is mainly spiritual - namely a falling away from a union with God consciousness. This dis-connection results in an unrealistic as normal and useful. This shift enabled him to break the emotionally crippling cycle of denied natural rage experienced as self-hatred, generating feelings of powerlessness, helplessness, and hopelessness in turn generating even more unacceptable rage towards God.

The Twelve Step Program explicitly states that the final authority in a person’s life is “God. “Thy Will, not mine be done” is the essence of their belief concerning the self’s assumed fundamental relationship to external Reality {Higher Power}. Thus there is a rejection of limitations and conflict in the service of protecting the fantasy of perfection. {While professing a wish for wholeness there is at the same time a wish to be in a state of endless sleepiness and/or no pain frequently described by addicts when under the influence of their substance of choice.}

The result of transitional success in the Twelve Steps program is the attainment of a state of spiritual consciousness. This is has been described as being reborn. The patient feels like an authority but is allied with the final authority in his life – God.