Experience, Strength and Hope
Carl Jung, the renowned Swiss psychiatrist who had a direct effect on the creation of the Twelve Steps of recovery, believed that psychic change is an essential part of recovery from addiction and other psychological struggles. He maintained that the psyche's conscious and unconscious parts can be integrated to create a new perspective, which is a key element of personal growth and development.
“The restoration of sanity that is central to the Twelve Steps is progressive.”
~ Al C.
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Through decades of deepening spiritual recovery, there is one overwhelming truth: there will always be more revelation, more information and more awareness to propel us to a next level of the restoration to sanity. As we often hear in the rooms of recovery, it’s a journey because the destination is always much more than we previously imagined. It is potentially much more than simply not drinking or drugging.
Earlier in recovery, many of us are frustrated by this reality. We kept hoping we would arrive at a place when we could finally stop the effort. Yet the reality of life on life’s terms always arises sooner or later to push us along still further. If we are fortunate, we will realize this is in fact the greatest gift. Stagnation is contrary to life and living. For the alcoholic or addict, and perhaps for all humans, the absence of growth is the beginning of a withering away. There is a wonderful psychological analogy for this:
New information, new experiences and new relationships energize the human being in the same way sunlight fuels plants. Without these, life force begins to fade. We are creatures designed by life itself to continue to progress.
No wonder progressive psychic change is essential. We never stop needing upgrade after upgrade after upgrade to our psycho-spiritual selves.
“The secret formula is to continue to grow along spiritual lines.”
~ Betsy C.
So how might we go about this continuing growth and development, this progressive psychic change?
We can certainly wait for life to compel us, usually through challenges that can lead to breakdowns of all kinds in our lives. Some of us seem to need pain and suffering to urge us forward. On the other hand, we can embrace the inevitable.
“Lean into the sharp points and fully experience them.
The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.”
~ Pema Chodron
The literature of recovery provides many means to take ourselves further and further into progressive understanding and approaches. Beyond the realm of recovery, there is an immense world of growth and development knowledge. My friend, Betsy C., who is quoted earlier, suggested that all we need is a spirit of willingness to try new things. Many spiritual teachers further suggest that we cultivate curiosity.
Of course, the great challenge for all of us is complacency. When our lives are comfortable, it’s always harder to push ourselves further. Ironically, recovery increases our well-being and the comfort of our lives, which then makes it more likely we will stop being willing and curious. So there is an inherent tension each of us will always encounter.
To clarify, none of us consciously chooses to rest on our laurels. It just sneaks in against our knowledge.
Perhaps the greatest motivator is coming to understand that when we stop progressing, the disease of addiction begins to catch up with us. A better motivator may be in realizing that the promises of recovery are also progressive. As one wise woman in long-term recovery observed from her own experience, “First the bad gets good. Then the good gets better. Then our lives in recovery become better and better. It never ends if we keep recovering more and more deeply.”
If you’d like a more practical approach to new material, this Progressive Recovery site is filled with a wide range of information, knowledge and experience that can stretch us. Perhaps the essential thing is to commit oneself to getting started. There is no way of telling what may come to pass.
