What’s Spiritual About Recovery?
Are you trying to stay clean and sober and wondering why everyone keeps saying that spirituality is necessary for recovery? You may be asking, Why can’t I just stop using and drinking? Isn’t that the whole point?
The answer to that question lies in the very nature of addiction itself, and you might find it surprising!
Abstinence Is Not the Same as Recovery
The bottom line is that abstinence is not the same as recovery. Having abused body, mind, and spirit with alcohol and/or drugs, simply removing the substances does not repair the damage. The body is sick, the mind is confused, and the spirit is beaten.
Recovery is movement in the direction of reunifying all the damaged parts. This reunification can be understood as a return to wholeness.
My own recovery journey has encompassed all three aspects of being: body, mind, and spirit. At its core, my experience has been that this journey toward wholeness is a spiritual journey. Follow me through it for a few moments here and see what you think.
Abstinence withdraws the poison. This will eventually return the physical body to a more normal state, though abstinence alone ignores the mental and spiritual issues that are also present. Abstinence alone is what we call “white knuckle” sobriety. It’s holding on tight in order to avoid a relapse yet being tormented by the untreated symptoms of mental and spiritual decay.
Stuck in Mental Patterns
Mentally we may be stuck in old patterns of thought that are keeping us sick. For example, we may not know how to function effectively in relationships with others. We may be dishonest, take things too personally, find ourselves without patience and tolerance, and it seems that the only right ideas are our ideas.
We can work on our behavior—just “stop doing that”—and see our lives improve. Yet we may still be subject to depression and a feeling of worthlessness. Just as abstinence is only part of the solution, so it is with changing our behaviors. There is still something missing, and we can sense it.
Spiritually we might feel lost in the world, not having a sense of who we are and what is important in life. We might begin to realize that we have ideas about God, the Universe, the world around us, good and evil, how we fit into the picture, and so on that are now coming into question. We might wonder if there isn’t a better way to see these things. This is where the real power of sobriety comes into play. It is only by exploring these deep questions of life and finding a new understanding that we gain the peace and serenity we so desperately desire.
Recovery is movement in the direction of reunifying all the damaged parts. This reunification can be understood as a return to wholeness.
New Perspectives
In short, moving toward wholeness—of body, mind, and spirit—requires new ideas, new perspectives, new perceptions, and new experiences. Recovery requires a change of ideas, emotions, and attitudes—so much so that it can be called a personality or psychic change. In the process of recovery, we lose the ideas that destroy our lives and gain a new way of seeing that heals our lives.
Perhaps you can assess your program of recovery. Perhaps it feels as if there is something missing. Maybe some new ideas, tools, and/or techniques are called for in order to address all three areas of your life.
If you are focused on abstinence, that’s good. It’s the essential first step. But when you are able, think about what you can add to that to address your other needs. Talk to your trusted friends and stretch your comfort zone. You will soon be walking in the sunlight of the Spirit as the uniquely created individual you are!
This article first appeared in the Unity booklet The Spiritual Journey from Addiction to Recovery. All the authors chose to remain anonymous in keeping with the tradition of 12-step groups.