12 Step Programs and the Baha'i Faith

cire perdue · 06-15-2011, 06:26 AM

I am interested in hearing from Baha'is in Recovery. I feel like those programs are from the Spirit that was infused into the world by the Revelation of Baha'u'llah. Though they have specific purposes these programs mirror the Faith's teachings. I have found Writings from time to time that I thought were pertinent to this idea, but could not find one now. One thing I say about the 12 step programs is before I got into the 12 steps I had religion, but I did not have faith. Imight add that this program is spiritual NOT religious. It will work for any someone of any religion. Religious views are not welcome and are considered a source for disunity.

Powerlessness is in the obligatory prayer. I have not seen that elaborated on in a Baha'i source. I just did a first step after many years of being "in" recovery and feel like I never really took my powerlessness as serious as I needed to. I have definitely made progress, but it appears I have held onto my chains at times. What are your comments or references? This is not going to be an easy topic for those without personal experience with the 12 step programs.

Also I long for a Baha'i methodology course made into a spiritual process like the 12 steps, but in a Ruhi format, or a deepening program. I don't know if I could write it, but I sure would like to consider it. It would take years. For anyone with 4th step conflicts about confession, be aware a fourth step is not for remission of sins, but to gain a more accurate perspective on how we view ourselves which one cannot do alone. This step is a form of counseling with someone else IN MY OPINION.

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

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.

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

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.

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.

These steps make even more sense when one sees the traditions of which unity is #1. I have not seen unity like this anywhere except the Faith.

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.

2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority - a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.

3. The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.

4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole.

5. Each group has but one primary purpose-to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.

6. An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance
or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

7. Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.

8. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.

9. A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.

10. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.

11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films.

12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

blessings · 06-15-2011, 12:16 PM

Part of the process included in the book ,
'Suffering & Spiritual Growth, calamities & providence" by Ebrahim Amanat, MD' , is a recovery program based on the 12-step program. I believe the author is Bahai'. I've only really just started the program via this book so I don't have a lot of experience with it to comment. But I can say that I've found, consistently, that whenever I run into 'trouble' (old habits rearing their head) I've forgotten the powerless part.

blessings

BruceDLimber · 06-16-2011, 04:22 AM

Baha'is In Recovery have their own online group.

I don't know its address offhand, but I suggest you ask around and see if you can discover how to reach them.

Bruce

cire perdue · 06-16-2011, 07:30 AM

I belonged to BIRF when it was BIRP. I lost touch many years ago. I have gotten the address. Thanks so much.

Am reading William James' THE VARIETIES OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES. He makes it clear, though he uses the world religion, as I would use the world faith that by belief men can do things they ordinarily cannot do.

It would appear to me that VRE ideas has crept all through our consciousness. I still attribute this thinking to the release of the Spirit of Baha'i Faith, but that is a rather non-falsifiable idea.

Bahai_12stepAddictionRecoveryGroup@yahoogroups.com This is address necessary to join. It requires approval of a moderator which is not unusual.

cire perdue · 06-16-2011, 08:32 AM

It is very obvious from reading about 1/2 of VRE as I mentioned earlier above that AA founders wanted a methodology to work with addictions. VRE makes it clear that only by a religious experience could individuals could do things that a moral or stoic stance could never accomplish. It is obvious that those founders believed breaking down faith, not religion which is used I think in place of the word faith, into a process that it could be a learned expereince. There is so much in common with our Faith, but much of VRE seems to be in the air already in the common consciousness. We live a Baha'i life to progress, do not expect instant growth, we believe in being able to improve. I adore the Ruhi Courses and believe them to provide spiritual experiences if done well. I don't believe they are very intellectual and may be criticized by the most intellectual of us for that reason. However I think they are more of a common denominator from which any level of person can benefit. I think criticizing them without experiencing them adequately is dis-unifying and is criticizing them UN justly. I think the most intellectual people rely more on the head and are uncomfortable with the heart!

Lqmn725 · 08-02-2011, 04:24 PM

Last night, while checking out the website you linked to, I discovered a letter from the UHJ on AA. Have you read it?

I've always been impressed with churches that allow 12 step meetings on their premises. I assume they research these groups before allowing them in, and if they read up on them, they probably know that 12 step programs don't adhere to any established religious doctrine concerning God. From the big book:

Quote:

Much to our relief, we discovered we did not need to consider another's conception of God. Our own conception, however inadequate, was sufficient to make the approach and to effect a contact with Him.

Twelve step sponsors sometimes even encourage zany conceptions of God, if they think it might help the person they are working with to progress. If churches know about this but tolerate it for the greater good of recovery, I think that's honorable.

What is the Baha'i standpoint on people working with their own unique conception of God?

cire perdue · 08-02-2011, 05:27 PM

"What is the Baha'i standpoint on people working with their own unique conception of God? "

In my opinion every Baha'i's concept of God is unique and is the God that we come to understand. Baha'is have a mystical path as Baha'is, we have a relationship with God which is the basic definition of mysticism which is frequently treated as mysteriousness......

06-15-2011, 12:16 PM	#2
blessings blessings Joined: Jan 2011 From: Canada Posts: 24	re 12-step programs Part of the process included in the book , 'Suffering & Spiritual Growth, calamities & providence" by Ebrahim Amanat, MD' , is a recovery program based on the 12-step program. I believe the author is Bahai'. I've only really just started the program via this book so I don't have a lot of experience with it to comment. But I can say that I've found, consistently, that whenever I run into 'trouble' (old habits rearing their head) I've forgotten the powerless part. blessings

06-16-2011, 07:30 AM	#4
cire perdue Senior Member Joined: Sep 2010 From: Louisiana Posts: 1,618	I belonged to BIRF when it was BIRP. I lost touch many years ago. I have gotten the address. Thanks so much. Am reading William James' THE VARIETIES OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES. He makes it clear, though he uses the world religion, as I would use the world faith that by belief men can do things they ordinarily cannot do. It would appear to me that VRE ideas has crept all through our consciousness. I still attribute this thinking to the release of the Spirit of Baha'i Faith, but that is a rather non-falsifiable idea. Bahai_12stepAddictionRecoveryGroup@yahoogroups.com This is address necessary to join. It requires approval of a moderator which is not unusual. Last edited by cire perdue; 06-16-2011 at 07:33 AM. Reason: add email address

06-16-2011, 08:32 AM	#5
cire perdue Senior Member Joined: Sep 2010 From: Louisiana Posts: 1,618	origin or AA and Ruhi comments. It is very obvious from reading about 1/2 of VRE as I mentioned earlier above that AA founders wanted a methodology to work with addictions. VRE makes it clear that only by a religious experience could individuals could do things that a moral or stoic stance could never accomplish. It is obvious that those founders believed breaking down faith, not religion which is used I think in place of the word faith, into a process that it could be a learned expereince. There is so much in common with our Faith, but much of VRE seems to be in the air already in the common consciousness. We live a Baha'i life to progress, do not expect instant growth, we believe in being able to improve. I adore the Ruhi Courses and believe them to provide spiritual experiences if done well. I don't believe they are very intellectual and may be criticized by the most intellectual of us for that reason. However I think they are more of a common denominator from which any level of person can benefit. I think criticizing them without experiencing them adequately is dis-unifying and is criticizing them UN justly. I think the most intellectual people rely more on the head and are uncomfortable with the heart!

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06-15-2011, 06:26 AM	#1
cire perdue Senior Member Joined: Sep 2010 From: Louisiana Posts: 1,618	12 Step Programs and the Baha'i Faith I am interested in hearing from Baha'is in Recovery. I feel like those programs are from the Spirit that was infused into the world by the Revelation of Baha'u'llah. Though they have specific purposes these programs mirror the Faith's teachings. I have found Writings from time to time that I thought were pertinent to this idea, but could not find one now. One thing I say about the 12 step programs is before I got into the 12 steps I had religion, but I did not have faith. Imight add that this program is spiritual NOT religious. It will work for any someone of any religion. Religious views are not welcome and are considered a source for disunity. Powerlessness is in the obligatory prayer. I have not seen that elaborated on in a Baha'i source. I just did a first step after many years of being "in" recovery and feel like I never really took my powerlessness as serious as I needed to. I have definitely made progress, but it appears I have held onto my chains at times. What are your comments or references? This is not going to be an easy topic for those without personal experience with the 12 step programs. Also I long for a Baha'i methodology course made into a spiritual process like the 12 steps, but in a Ruhi format, or a deepening program. I don't know if I could write it, but I sure would like to consider it. It would take years. For anyone with 4th step conflicts about confession, be aware a fourth step is not for remission of sins, but to gain a more accurate perspective on how we view ourselves which one cannot do alone. This step is a form of counseling with someone else IN MY OPINION. 1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable. 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. 4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. 6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. 7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. 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. 10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. 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. 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. These steps make even more sense when one sees the traditions of which unity is #1. I have not seen unity like this anywhere except the Faith. 1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity. 2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority - a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern. 3. The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking. 4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole. 5. Each group has but one primary purpose-to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers. 6. An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose. 7. Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. 8. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers. 9. A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve. 10. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy. 11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films. 12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

06-16-2011, 04:22 AM	#3
BruceDLimber Senior Member Joined: Mar 2010 From: Rockville, MD, USA Posts: 823	Baha'is In Recovery have their own online group. I don't know its address offhand, but I suggest you ask around and see if you can discover how to reach them. Bruce

08-02-2011, 05:27 PM	#7
cire perdue Senior Member Joined: Sep 2010 From: Louisiana Posts: 1,618	"What is the Baha'i standpoint on people working with their own unique conception of God? " In my opinion every Baha'i's concept of God is unique and is the God that we come to understand. Baha'is have a mystical path as Baha'is, we have a relationship with God which is the basic definition of mysticism which is frequently treated as mysteriousness......