Dogma in AA: Trusting in the Spirit of Reality

Dogma is not actually something I would want to get rid of within Alcoholics Anonymous.

 

I would also say dogma is not something that I want to get rid of in alcoholics anonymous. On some level, what it means to be a person in recovery, who’s engaged in traditional 12 steps is to have some sense of acceptance, that you are not in charge of the world.

 

And it’s sort of like trusting the spirit of reality and they call it God’s will, right. It’s a little bit more loaded of a term, I’ll just call it the spirit of reality. Meaning, I have to accept what is. Right?

 

I could fight it, but I’m going to lose, because – what is. And so if what is, is there are dogmatic personalities in alcoholics anonymous, who am I to fight that?

 

Am I in charge of how people should be in meetings? And the answer is no, I’d be a hypocrite. Right? Am I dogmatically against people who are dogmatic? Well, no.

 

There’s another reason why I wouldn’t get rid of dogma in alcoholics anonymous. It’s helped a lot of people. There’s a, sort of a spectrum of meetings, there are meetings, a late-night Hollywood meeting, it’s like a comedy show fiasco. It’s totally insane and foul and people yelling. A bunch of jesters all in one space acting out. There’s no order. It’s total chaos. Great Energy. I thought I sober was gonna be boring, this meeting is wild!

 

And then you have very rigid (you have to wear a tie) and other groups that have developed their own culture which is much stricter, much more dogmatic, much more rule-bound, and all are helpful for a lot of people.

 

That kind of container and that rule of structure and not having to question everything, and just being able to take direction feels really safe, and it feels good and it helps them build lives.

 

So there is dogma in the personalities in alcoholics anonymous. It’s not a bad thing, and if the traditional 12-step is something that’s going to help you, there are ways for you to belong that work for you.

 

 

 

 

 

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AUTHOR: Yeshaia Blakeney