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Higher Power (HP [1]) is a term used in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other twelve-step programs. [2] The same groups use the phrases "a power greater than ourselves" and "God of our understanding" synonymously.
The meaning of spirituality has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. [1] [2] [3] [note 1] Traditionally, spirituality is referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape of man", [note 2] oriented at "the image of God" [4] [5] as exemplified by the founders and sacred texts of the religions of the world.
Although AA claims that spirituality is the primary mechanism for achieving change and recovery, there is growing evidence that suggests this is only true for a minority of AA attendees with a high addiction severity. [118] [119] Instead, AA's beneficial effects are carried predominantly by social, cognitive and affective mechanisms. [120]
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), the first twelve-step fellowship, was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith, known to AA members as "Bill W." and "Dr. Bob", in Akron, Ohio. In 1946 they formally established the twelve traditions to help deal with the issues of how various groups could relate and function as membership grew.
The philosophy centers on the ideas of the dynamic balance of opposites, the evolution of events as a process, and acceptance of the inevitability of change (see Philosophy, below). In Western cultures, the I Ching is regarded by some as simply a system of divination; others believe it expresses the wisdom and philosophy of ancient China.
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions is a 1953 book, which explains the 24 basic principles of Alcoholics Anonymous and their application. [1] The book dedicates a chapter to each step and each tradition, providing a detailed interpretation of these principles for personal recovery and the organization of the group. [2]
Residential drug treatment co-opted the language of Alcoholics Anonymous, using the Big Book not as a spiritual guide but as a mandatory text — contradicting AA’s voluntary essence. AA’s meetings, with their folding chairs and donated coffee, were intended as a judgment-free space for addicts to talk about their problems.
In early AA, Wilson spoke of sin and the need for a complete surrender to God. The Oxford Group also prided itself on being able to help troubled persons at any time. AA gained an early warrant from the Oxford Group for the concept that disease could be spiritual, but it broadened the diagnosis to include the physical and psychological. [9]