III. SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE

(pp. 165-166)

Below is a plain language version of this section of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The words “spiritual experience” and “spiritual awakening” are used many times in the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous. These terms refer to the personality changes that alcoholics must make to recover from alcoholism. These “spiritual experiences” and “spiritual awakenings” have come into our lives in many different forms.

The first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous led many readers to think that these personality changes or religious experiences must be sudden or extremely dramatic. Luckily, this is not true for all alcoholics.

In the first few chapters of Alcoholics Anonymous, people read about several sudden and startling changes. Many alcoholics read about these and believed that their recovery depended on having a similar experience. They thought they needed to create an immediate and overwhelming “God-consciousness” within themselves. And after that, they needed to experience an enormous change in feeling and attitude. When we wrote this book, we didn't mean to make anyone believe that this type of dramatic experience was the only type that would work.

Many members do have transformations that are sudden and dramatic, but just as many do not. Most of our experiences are what psychologist William James calls “educational,” which means they happen slowly over time. Often friends of the newcomer notice a difference long before the newcomer notices anything. Eventually, the newcomer realizes that they have gone through a deep and meaningful change that affects how they react to life. They know that this change could not be the result of their own actions. This change may take place over a few months. But it is so intense that it would normally take years of hard work to achieve on their own. Most A.A. members discover that a Power greater than themselves has helped them make this change. It is the connection to this Higher Power that has made the change so quick and so meaningful.

Most of us think that connecting with a Power greater than ourselves is the core of spiritual experience. Our more religious members call it “God-consciousness.”

We believe very strongly that any alcoholic who can honestly face their problems can recover. As long as they don't close their mind off to all spiritual ideas. The only thing that can prevent them from recovering is being closed-minded, intolerant, or filled with angry denial.

We have found that very few people struggle with the spirituality of the program. Recovery requires willingness, honesty, and open-mindedness. All three of these are essential.

“There is a mindset that prevents people from accepting new information. It works well against all arguments and keeps people in the darkness forever. The mindset is contempt prior to investigation: deciding to dislike new ideas before you have learned anything about them.”

—(paraphrased from) Herbert Spencer