STEP 2
Hope
“Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”
Alcoholics Anonymous believes clients should look to a higher power in order to recover. The spiritual principle behind this step is hope.
A SOZO Client’s Point of View:
“Being powerless and unmanageable for so long removed all hope that I could conquer drugs & alcohol. Being in the recovery environment of SOZO and the Village Church of Christ has helped me to begin to feel the presence of a power greater than myself. Whether I call this power “Christ”, “God” or simply my “Higher Power”, knowing that it is there, and I am connecting with it gives me hope. When my thoughts turn to this power, I find that my fears and anxieties lessen, and my thinking is becoming clear and positive. I am coming to see that studying the bible can be very helpful in my recovery. My counselor told me that, in taking step two I am being restored to sanity. He explained the difference between the “sanity” of a person living with addiction and alcoholism and that of being legally or psychiatrically “insane”. Although I hated to admit that I suffered from a form of temporary insanity caused by drinking/drugging, there was hope that, by stopping the substance abuse and believing in a higher power, I might be able to be restored to full sanity. I want to try for that”.
PRINCIPLED RECOVERY SERIES – 12 STEPS TO SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) defines the 12 Steps as “a set of principles, spiritual in nature, when practiced as a way of life, that can expel the obsession to drink (or use drugs) and enable the sufferer to become happily and usefully whole.”
The 12 steps are a process of getting honest with yourself, cleaning up the wreckage of your past, and learning how to live your life in a better, more meaningful & principled way. Based on the idea of God as each individual understands him, the 12 steps are generally spiritual in nature.
In this article series, we examine each of the 12 step principles from a SOZO client’s perspective, as they journey through the twelve steps. Through direct survey feedback, we’ll join various clients and their growing awareness of the spiritual principles behind each step in this series of articles.
After finding hope in a higher power, you build lasting perseverance by taking the daily personal inventory of step 10 aa.
Questions people ask
What is step 2 in AA?
Step 2 states that you come to believe a power greater than yourself can restore you to sanity. The spiritual principle behind this step is hope.
How to do step 2 AA?
You look to a higher power in order to recover. Connecting with this power lessens your fears and helps your thinking become clear.
How to work step 2 in AA?
You work this step by stopping substance abuse and believing in a higher power. Studying the bible can also help you restore your sanity.
Hope from step 2 carries a man forward, and our page on step 8 na shows how that hope becomes brotherly love.
As hope grows through Step 2, the 6th step prayer later helps you ask God to remove the defects you have found.