POWER

Definition of Power:
Ability or capacity to do something or act in a particular way. Capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events.

Synonyms for Power:
Arm,
Authority,
Clutch,
Command,
Control,
Death grip,
Dominion,
Grip,
Hold,
Mastery,
Reign,
Sway

These notes are from recovery in AA and/or related 12 step programs.
Readers are encouraged to click external links for more detail.
We hope you find them helpful.

Love in fellowship.

Power is not a human attribute, yet we need power to live.  We find it in a Power greater than ourselves which provides the guidance and strength we lack on our own.

When we pretend to be self-sufficient, we isolate ourselves from the one source of power sufficient to effectively guide us through life: our Higher Power. Self-sufficiency doesn’t work.  We need other addicts; we need other people; and, to live fully, we need a Power greater than our own. – Just For Today | More…

I believe there must be a Higher Power which helps me. I think of that power as the grace of God. I pray to God every morning for the strength to stay sober today. I pray that my will may be directed toward doing His will. –24Hours | More…

Some of us enter recovery with a working understanding of a Higher Power. Starting over in recovery means we can start over in our spiritual life, too. If we’re not comfortable with what we learned when we were growing up, we can try a different approach to our spirituality. We don’t have to understand everything all at once or find the answers to all our questions right away. Sometimes it’s enough just to know that other members believe and that their belief helps keep them clean. –Just For Today | More…

I believe A.A. works because I see people getting sober and staying sober. An actual demonstration is what convinces me. Seeing is believing. I pray that I may accept God’s blessing so that I will have harmony, beauty, joy, and happiness. –24Hours | More…

If we have received the Spirit of God, He will press through and say — Now where does God come in in this relationship, in this mapped-out holiday, in these new books? He always presses the point until we learn to make Him our first consideration. Whenever we put other things first, there is confusion. Take no thought… — don’t take the pressure of forethought upon yourself. –My Utmost for His Highest | More…

Our understanding of a Higher Power is up to us…. We can call it the group, the program, or we can call it God. All these things are evidence of a Power that can be found in groups. When we look around with an open mind, each of us will be able to identify other signs of that Power. It doesn’t matter if we call it God, a Higher Power, or anything else—just as long as we find a way to incorporate that Power into our daily lives. –Just For Today | More…

Inside of every man and woman is a place of knowing. In this place is the knowing that there is a Great One, the Great Mystery, the Holy One, the Great Spirit. We can deny this all we want but we know what we know. This place of knowing is at the very center of our being. It is gratifying to know that God cannot leave us. It is said we are spiritual beings trying to be human. With this power in our lives, we can accomplish much. –Elders Meditations | More…

Touching the earth – getting grounded, centered. There is magic in touching the earth and feeling her healing power. This is especially healthy to do during a troubling time when our minds are racing or can’t stop thinking or are locked onto fear or resentment. When I need to feel free I can go to the Mother Earth. The Mother Earth is full of life and love. She always gives her powers to those who come to her. The Mother Earth is alive. –Elders Meditations | More…

We are made in the image of the Great Spirit. We have been tested throughout the seasons and we are still here, stronger than ever. We are proud of ourselves and our ancestors. Mostly, we are proud the Great Spirit has never forsaken us, and continues to guide us. –Elders Meditations | More…

The feeling of gratitude is foreign to many of us. We came to this program feeling worthless, sometimes rejected, frequently depressed. It seemed life had heaped problems in our laps, and so it had. The difference now is that the program has offered us the key to higher expectations. Gratitude for the good in our lives increases the good. –Each Day a New Beginning | More…

In my sobriety I still need to deal with fear. My recovery also tells me that I am a child of God. I am a beautiful and powerful human being because God not only made me, but has shared something of His precious divinity with me. I am good enough. I need not make myself the victim. People are much the same inside, and we all need each other to survive. –Father Leo

The East, South, West, and North are the powers of the four directions. The Creator makes these powers available to do things. We pray to the Creator to give us the power to do these things. Often, we are given these powers for a while, then these powers disappear. Power is given and taken from us by the Great Spirit, the source of power. During the time we have this power, we should be responsible and use the power in a good way. Many good things can be accomplished when we realize where this power really comes from. –Elders Meditations | More…

Power is mentioned 90 times on 58 pages in the Big Book, Powerless is mentioned only once on 1 page. –Big Book | More…

We need not shun all power, but rather we learn to use it wisely. Our blindness to the limitations of power created great problems in our lives. Then we learned our first lessons about powerlessness. As humble humans, we know we can be wrong, but we cannot be passive and still continue to grow. –Touchstones 17/01 | More…

As we learn to trust this Power, we begin to overcome our fear of life. When we feel afraid, we ask ourselves, Is this fear an indication of a lack of faith in my life? Have I taken control again, only to find my life still unmanageable? If we answer yes to these questions, we can overcome our fear by turning our will and our lives back over to care of the God of our understanding. –Just For Today | More…

I pray that I may so think and live as to feed my faith in God. I pray that my faith may grow because with faith God’s power becomes available to me. On faith alone depends the answer to my prayers. God gives it to me in response to my prayers. Faith is a necessary weapon for me to possess for the overcoming of all adverse conditions and the accomplishments of all good in my life. I will work at strengthening my faith. –24Hours | More…

Many of us begin that search with prayer and meditation, and continue with our experiences in recovery. Have there been instances where we have been given power beyond our own to face life’s challenges? When we have quietly sought direction in times of trouble, have we found it? What kind of Power do we believe has guided and strengthened us? What kind of Power do we seek? With the answers to these questions, we will understand our Higher Power well enough to feel safe and confident about asking it to care for our will and lives. A borrowed understanding of God may do on a short haul. But in the long run, we must come to our own understanding of a Higher Power, for it is that Power which will carry us through our recovery. –Just For Today | More…