The Role of Faith in Recovery

In childhood, I lost trust in my parents and traditional religion and have since struggled with understanding and embracing the complexities of faith. Faith implies reliance on something beyond our ordinary consciousness. People generally associate faith with religion and adherence to religious texts and doctrines. I often envied those with a devout religious faith, as it can provide great succor in times of distress.

Although interpretations vary, major religions define God through their texts. Theistic religions share themes of viewing God as an omnipotent, omniscient, benevolent creator.

However, faith needn’t rely on such definitions. It can stem from spiritual principles, personal experiences, a higher power, or the universe devoid of established teachings. Many newcomers to Twelve Step programs who have abandoned their religious beliefs choose to place their faith in the group or the program’s principles.

Some people consider God to be remote and impersonal, as an omnipotent creator, existing outside of the universe. In contrast, pantheists believe God to be synonymous with the universe and nature, existing in everything. Followers of panpsychism view God as an evolving, dynamic, interconnected creative process. For people who experience God as their personal higher power, guide, and companion, that power can manifest through common beliefs and norms, connection with nature, our collective unconsciousness comprised of archetypes, themes, and symbols, or through personal mystical, unitive, or transcendent experiences.

Faith requires not only belief, but to be helpful, it usually involves forms of prayer, study, contemplation, meditation, and communal experiences. Like any skill, faith requires practice. Many of us may have distanced ourselves from prayer and spiritual practices, or learned to rely on ourselves, forgetting that we’re not alone.

I was unaccustomed to prayer and meditation. Over the decades, my relationship with God has had its ups and downs. I sought books, beliefs, groups, and practices well-suited to me, which gradually evolved into meditating and doing yoga regularly. A daily practice deepens spirituality. It develops a reservoir of faith to sustain us during stressful times when fear can dominate. Cultivating faith eases life’s difficulties, calms our worries and emotions, and counters our natural tendencies toward negativity and control.

When praying, we may be unaware that we’re seeking control for specific outcomes. Fear, rather than faith, often fuels our worries about whether our desires will ever be fulfilled, resulting in barriers that prevent us from fully experiencing life. We may find ourselves caught in a cycle of anxiety, holding back from pursuing our passions and dreams. In contrast, faith embraces uncertainty and welcomes unknowable possibilities. It opens our hearts to the present, allowing us to connect with the ever-changing aliveness of the moment and become receptive to help.

Much of our pain is self-inflicted and rooted in our attitudes and actions. We may not know what’s best for us, and, as Shakespeare wrote, “beg oft our harms.” Unwittingly, we might sabotage ourselves with self-fulfilling prophecies that reinforce negative beliefs.

Moreover, our brains are wired to focus on the negative, especially when conditioned to fear the unknown through parenting or repeated disappointment and painful experiences. Lacking faith and trust, we tend to expect the worst. However, this cognitive distortion causes needless suffering. It’s a negative projection that blinds us to the bigger picture and ignores the possibility of positive outcomes. Faith encourages us to trust the process. It shifts our focus from negative to positive thoughts, reinforcing a more hopeful perspective that lifts our mood and energizes our relationships and endeavors.

Faith inherently implies humility, but many people aren’t accustomed to asking for help. Pride often inhibits seeking assistance from a higher power and others. Or, our fear-driven ego and stubborn self-will seek to control and struggle against reality, preventing us from finding workable solutions.

Letting go of self-will is a challenge, especially for people in recovery. We want what we want when we want it! We become impatient and worry that our desire won’t materialize. Acting on our fears can interfere with the natural unfolding of events. We may trigger other people’s fear and defensiveness, making matters worse. Enabling or managing someone’s life can prevent them from learning important lessons about taking responsibility for the consequences of their actions and self-reliance in finding solutions.

People unfamiliar with faith misunderstand humility and believe surrender implies a lack of action and power. However, admitting our powerlessness isn’t resignation. It realigns our efforts and perspective and acknowledges the limits of our control, especially over other people. When we focus on our troubles, they increase. Embracing nonresistance and detachment brings peace and growth. Often we find new solutions or our problems resolve themselves. If not, we eventually learn to let go and better accept reality.

Life involves a continual process of letting go—whether it’s of our desires, our youth, past experiences, or people who are no longer in our lives. At times, we must let go of unfulfilled hopes and dreams. This can be difficult, particularly letting go of negative emotions and beliefs.

When everything seems dark and overwhelming, instead of seeking known solutions, surrendering our problems by expressing our fear and pain and asking for help and guidance can provide peace and open us to unexpected answers. We learn to trust that things will work out as they are meant to, even if not always according to our plans. This radical shift in perspective benefits our lives and those around us.

Prayer is a way of communicating with our higher power. Prayer strengthens us and aligns our subconscious mind to work with us, not against us. Prayers of gratitude for what is good in our lives gradually shift our outlook and actions for the better. Various forms of meditation increase our awareness by calming the body and clearing the mind. Meditation and prayer connect us to ourselves and our source of strength. They loosen the ego’s grip and encourage trust in inner guidance.

Practices like chanting and visualization can bypass the thinking mind, while observing nature can remind us of the universe’s bountiful, creative power. That same power streams through our cells if we don’t block it with thoughts and emotions. By connecting to this unstoppable, overflowing, and eternal force, we can revitalize and heal ourselves, whether God is viewed as energy, a deity, or our higher self. As Jesus said, “God is within.” There is a boundless source of energy both within us and all around us. By remaining open to this energy daily, we remind ourselves that we don’t need to have all the answers.

Mindfulness meditation fosters greater self-awareness and creates distance between our thoughts and our reactions. It helps us stay present to experience reality as it is, unfiltered by our preconceptions. By quieting our mind, our preoccupations reveal our attitude toward life. Are we judgmental, worried, distracted, or striving for accomplishment? Our life reflects our attitudes. A peaceful mind promotes peace, worry breeds anxiety, and persistent striving creates strife.

The highest form of prayer and meditation is to sit in silence. In letting go, we create a space where our soul is receptive to holy communion. We’re challenged to completely let go and open our heart and mind to the present moment. The ability to overcome anxiety and distractibility while stilling the mind improves with practice. At first fleetingly, and later for longer periods, we notice the space between our breaths, thoughts, or the quiet of nature. When we experience consciousness without thought, we experience our timeless, true nature—beyond ego, conditioning, and form. In stillness, we can experience a deep sense of peace, unity, and profound love by connecting with the intrinsic energy that unites our experience with the fabric of all life.

The radiance of our creative life force allows divine alchemy to heal and transform us. It enlightens us to the truth, our unlived potential, and infinite possibilities. With practice, we become happier, calmer, and more accepting of people and the vicissitudes of life. New positive thoughts and ideas empower us to express ourselves, solve problems, and manifest our goals.

Look for my soon-to-be-released book, Unfettered Soul: Poems and Contemplations on Recovery.

© 2024 Darlene Lancer