What Are Spiritual Principles

When one's challenges are overwhelmed by dread and anguish, the path to release from one's struggles is rarely evident. COVID-19 has caused great consternation, making this path appear hazy and dangerous. Let's clear some space for ourselves.

Spiritual principles lay out a road for us to live lives devoid of unnecessary suffering, with the fortitude and resilience to face the grief and terror that are unavoidable parts of life. At RCA, we use the 12 Step Model of addiction treatment to help patients work through the internal chaos and discover the strength they need to rise above and overcome their challenges.

While the 12 Step Model can assist those suffering from addiction discover the calm and power they need to heal, the principles that underpin it can be applied to any condition. Even in these moments of worry and anxiety, applying the principles can help to alleviate stress and promote overall wellbeing.

These principles, combined with a regular practice of pausing and thinking on them, can help us cope with anything life throws at us.

The Serenity Prayer is a prevalent theme in many recovery circles as a method to pause and allow oneself to return to the present moment and the serenity that is alight inside them, whether or not they recognize it at the time.

Let's make a version of this to think about and express (or even simply read) when we're feeling powerless in the face of the world's current conditions:

Please give me the peace of mind to accept the things I can't change, such as Nature's course.

Grant me the courage to make the changes I can, such as living by spiritual values and taking care of my health, despite how tough it may appear.

And give me the insight to recognize the difference, to understand that I have no control over my choices and that Love will guide me through any experience I may have.

Keep in mind what your life's mission is. It is not to be subjected to interminable suffering and to be at the mercy of life's events. It is to be free, to live in Love rather than fear, and to know that this experience is possible and available to you at any time and in any place, regardless of anything may obstruct your way. It is constantly present within you. Take your time to locate it, and you'll be able to bear nearly any “how” if you do.

What are the 12 spiritual principles?

Acceptance, hope, faith, courage, honesty, patience, humility, willingness, brotherly-love, integrity, self-discipline, and service are the 12 spiritual principles of recovery.

What are the spiritual principles in life?

Some of these may appear so simple that you've never thought of them as “spiritual.” Nonetheless, that is exactly what they are. They are the polar opposite of the disease and self-absorption fuelled by obsessive thinking, emotional attachment/avoidance, and compulsive actions that confine so many people for so long. Spiritual principles like these open and soften the heart, allowing us to connect more profoundly and intimately with people, the environment around us, and our true selves.

Acceptance is number one.

Acceptance is the process of recognizing and accepting the reality of a situation. It's crucial to remember that accepting something doesn't mean you agree with it or are pleased with it. You can despise a circumstance while still accepting it. Finding ways to accept the things you can't alter frees you from having to battle against the truths that you find distasteful, uncomfortable, or painful.

Open-Mindedness is number two on the list.

Respecting and being attentive to new and different possibilities is what open-mindedness entails. This means being open to thoughts and ideas we hadn't considered before, as well as opinions that are vastly different from our own.

3. Appreciation

Gratitude is difficult for many individuals since life is difficult. Some people, objectively, have more to be thankful for than others. Despite deprivation or feelings of anxiety, despair, rage, melancholy, fear, or physical discomfort, it is possible to summon thankfulness. You may have to search a bit harder to see the benefits in your life, but no matter how bad or hopeless things appear, there is always something to be glad for.

What are spiritual principles in the Bible?

Spiritual principles are universally accepted underlying truths. If you throw a stone, for example, it will fall to the ground. That is a natural result governed by gravity. The same law applies to human behavior and activities.

What are the 7 principles of life?

The Nolan Principles (also known as the Seven Principles of Public Life) apply to everyone who holds a public position. All people assigned to work in the Civil Service, local government, the police, courts, and probation services, non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), and health, education, social, and care services are included. All public officials serve the public as both servants and stewards of public resources. The ideas also apply to people who provide public services in other fields.

How many spiritual principles are there?

The spiritual principles are known in the AA rooms as the Twelve Steps. The 36 principles are divided into three categories: Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, and Twelve Concepts. There have been numerous alternative spiritual virtue lists released by other AA's over the years that refer to the Twelve Steps.

What is the spiritual principle of faith?

“Faith can take many forms. It's knowledge without wisdom, faith without knowledge, and hope with a track record. Faith is what motivates us to accomplish things we never thought we could. Faith is vital to people from all areas of life, but addiction drives us to utilize faith in ways that many of us never imagined.”

Step Three of A.A. is based on the Spiritual Principle faith: “We made the decision to entrust our will and our lives to God, as we understood Him.”

Step Three does, in fact, require the addict or alcoholic to believe in a Higher Power. However, it does not specify who or what that Higher Power must be. Many A.A.s choose to imagine the God they knew as a child. Others may have regarded their encounters with deities as a child to be a little unreal.

Faith, on the other hand, does not require what you believe in; it just requires that you believe. Place your faith in nature if you aren't ready to believe in a god. If you're not willing to put your confidence in nature, put your trust in the program. Consider the 12 Steps to be a force greater than yourself. And be aware of the many millions of addicts and alcoholics who have gone before you who have gone through similar transformations.

The operative spiritual principle behind Step Five is integrity.

Humility, willingness, honesty, forgiveness, open-mindedness, acceptance, caution, and tranquility are some spiritual characteristics that can be applied. We need to share our inventory with someone else for obvious reasons: we are experts at believing our own BS, justifications, and half-truths. After all, we used to pretend that we didn't have a drinking or drug issue. We convinced ourselves over and over that we were alright, even as we continued to sink deeper and deeper into the pit of addiction and alcoholism.

At first, admitting the actual nature of our wrongs to God, ourselves, and another human being appears tough, especially when addressing our embarrassing flaws and actions with another person. Many newcomers believe they have done a good job of exposing these flaws to themselves. Not so; in practice, we find that a single self-evaluation is insufficient. We now recognize that considerably more work is required. When we understand that there are very strong reasons to share these issues with another person, we will feel more at ease and willing to do so.

First and foremost, if we ignore this crucial phase, we may not be able to overcome our drinking and drugging. Newcomers have a habit of keeping key details about their lives to themselves. They were almost always inebriated or high. They later questioned why they had relapsed. It's most likely because they never cleaned the place thoroughly. They took inventory, but kept some of the darkest, most humiliating goods on hand. They hadn't been taught enough humility, honesty, or willingness.

Integrity refers to being truthful and adhering to strong moral convictions; it also refers to moral uprightness. Holding oneself to consistent moral and ethical norms is often a personal choice.

When no one is looking, integrity means doing the right thing for the right reasons. In an argument or disagreement, integrity means taking the high road, allowing others to save face. Integrity is choosing happiness over correctness; it entails living up to a higher standard. This is a new code of ethics for addicts and alcoholics, including spiritual ideas into all aspects of our lives. None of us arrived in the rooms with Emily Post-level decorum, bursting with kindness and respect for ourselves and others. Step 5 allows you to live a life of integrity.

Step Five alleviates the anxiety, anger, and melancholy that invariably accompany the concealment of our darkest selves. Once we move out into the open, we are able to overcome our feelings of isolation and loneliness. Alcoholics Anonymous' fifth step teaches you that you can be forgiven for your flaws as well as forgive people who have wounded you.

When people open up and really confide in another person, they frequently feel a big weight lifted off their shoulders.

Step Five entails much more than simply reading the other person our Fourth Step. A good Step Five involves telling another person — generally your sponsor — about your most embarrassing, painful, and disturbing recollections. It's critical to be as honest as possible with the person hearing our Fifth Step; we examine who we are and what we want to become as we progress in our sobriety.

Don't hold back; go all in, be vulnerable, and don't hold back. Your sponsor (or other individual) will almost always talk about his or her past, as he or she has likely done many of the same stupid things that you have. He'll probably pick up on some of your more egregious character flaws that kept cropping up as you went through your lists. We listen to our sponsor's recommendations with an open mind. This will allow you to go to Step 6 in a humble manner.

What is the spiritual principle of step 10?

The spiritual values of vigilance, upkeep, and endurance are put into effect in AA's tenth step. Recognizing and appreciating what is working and balanced can also assist us in identifying what is out of balance and not working.

Where are the 12 principles in the big book?

Recovery necessitates willingness, honesty, and open-mindedness. However, these are required prior to investigation.” (‘Principles' are mentioned in the 12 & 12 on pages 16, 18, 106, 114, 174, 182, in addition to the following.)