Do I Need a Higher Power in Recovery?
The French philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin famously said, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” This spirituality is something that many people in recovery choose to incorporate into their lives. Some of these people also choose to connect their spirituality to a Higher Power – something greater than themselves.
Healing at the Cellular Level
What does it mean to “heal at the cellular level?” It means to heal the whole mind, body, and soul rather than just the individual parts. To fully heal the “Self,” one must fully heal at every level.
In recovery, this includes getting to the root/core causes of one’s issues. These are the underlying thoughts and emotions that are often the cause of one’s negative behaviors and actions.
Healing at the cellular level is also about accepting the present moment. The American author Denis Waitley said, “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” Cellular-level recovery opens one up to this way of life. But how does this deep-down recovery happen? It happens with comprehensive and individualized care.
The Importance of Individualized Mental Health and Addiction Care
Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we have found that broad “one-size-fits-all” recovery rarely works. This is because it does not take the individual into account when creating their recovery plan.
The ancient Greek philosopher and father of modern medicine, Hippocrates famously said, “It’s far more important to know what person the disease has than what disease the person has.” This is why individualized intakes and assessments are so crucial at the start of the recovery process. It is how recovery professionals are able to create the best roadmap for that individual’s treatment plan. Also, that treatment plan should always be comprehensive if one is to recover at the cellular level.
The Benefits of Comprehensive Mental Health and Addiction Care
The key to optimal recovery is making sure there are enough means, methods, and modalities to treat all of the issues present. It is also important to use multiple treatments to ensure that one issue is fully addressed. For example, someone struggling with alcohol use disorder (AUD) can generally benefit greatly from psychotherapy like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).
However, a treatment plan should not end there. CBT may only address the cognitive and emotional side of the disorder. But, by adding therapies like surf therapy and holistic healing methods like yoga and meditation, one can also address their physical and spiritual issues. That spiritual addition can be very important to one’s cellular-level recovery.
Better Understanding 12-Step Recovery
Many people choose to recover via the Twelve Step method. 12-Step recovery is a program that began roughly 89 years ago when two men got together and determined that the only way that they were going to maintain sobriety was by working with other people in recovery and giving their lives over to a Higher Power.
This second “Higher Power” aspect is why many people call 12-Step recovery a spiritual program. However, it has long expanded into many different areas. For example, there are now 12-Step meetings that focus on people who choose to be agnostic, or even atheists.
It should also be noted that while the first 12-Step program (Alcoholics Anonymous) focused just on drinking, 12-Step recovery has now expanded to address virtually every other substance and behavioral addiction (Gambler’s Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, for example). All of these off-shoots also offer the option of choosing a Higher Power or not.
Better Understanding the Concept of a Higher Power
There is a reason why 12-Step recovery often chooses the term “Higher Power” over “God.” This is because it makes everything more inclusive. Many people balk at the term God because they have preconceived notions about or negative experiences with the term “God.” This has kept people from embracing recovery and ultimately kept them from getting better.
Using the term “Higher Power of one’s understanding” gives everyone an opportunity to choose what their Higher Power may be. Some people prefer to make their recovery group their Higher Power because this group represents the idea that recovery works. Other people make the Universe their Higher Power, and yet others choose to make their Higher Power the God of their already-established faith group.
The only set rule for a Higher Power is that it should be something outside of oneself. This is because it is about eliminating “self-will” and having faith that recovery is possible. From there, a Higher Power can be anything that helps someone attain and maintain their recovery.
Do I Need a Higher Power in Recovery?
Of course, the Twelve Steps and the idea of a Higher Power is not a requirement for recovery. Many people are under the misconception that all recovery is 12-Step recovery. This is simply not true. There are many non-12-step recovery options.
For example, there are non-spiritual recovery groups like SMART Recovery and LifeRing that focus more on personal responsibility rather than faith in a Higher Power. The key is to choose the right path that works for the individual. However, it is also important not to scoff at any recovery options before at least considering them.
Understanding Religion Versus Spirituality in Recovery
The English philosopher Herbert Spencer said, “There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance – that principle is contempt prior to investigation.” This is a concept that one can utilize when they are determining what type of spiritual path they wish to take (or not take).
As previously mentioned, many people feel distrust toward the religion that they were raised with. This is especially true with people who are in active addiction. They often ask, “What kind of God would allow my life to get like this?”
While these painful/hopeless feelings are quite understandable while in a state of active addiction, it is important not to let them get in the way of the best recovery possible. That recovery may include some type of spiritual life.
Is 12-Step Recovery the Only Way to Recover?
As previously mentioned, 12-Step recovery is certainly not the only path toward recovery. However, one should note that 12-Step recovery doesn’t mean that all other types of recovery are out the window.
In fact, 12-Step recovery tends to work best when it is utilized in tandem with other types of means, methods, and modalities. This is especially true when those methods offer an opportunity to establish a Higher Power within them. This can be especially true with therapies that involve nature, like nature immersion therapy, surf therapy, and horticulture therapy, and holistic methods that involve finding balance within oneself, like yoga and meditation.
Finding a Higher Power in Nature Immersion Therapy
The renowned British Historian Arthur Helps once said, “Keep your feet on the ground, but let your heart soar as high as it will. Refuse to be average or to surrender to the chill of your spiritual environment.” This embodies what it means to connect one’s spirituality with one’s environment.
Many people choose to find their Higher Power in nature. This is because nature can certainly fill the role of “being bigger than oneself.” Also, there may be no better place to establish one’s Higher Power than on the Hamakua Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island. Here, one can establish a spiritual life while witnessing wonderful waterfalls, beautiful white sand beaches, outstanding overlooks, and even under the shade of a live volcano. If one chooses, spirituality can be found all over the island.
Nature also offers many other more concrete benefits. According to the National Park Service, “5 minutes walking in nature improves mood, self-esteem, and relaxation. Frequent exposure to nature reduces anxiety and depression, while promoting a sense of well-being and fulfillment.” Also, “Physical activity in a green space can reduce stress and lower cortisol levels by 15%.”
There have also been studies that show the efficacy of nature immersion therapy. According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, “Besides improvements to physical and psychological well-being, exposure to natural environments has been shown to bring about positive impacts on cognitive functioning.” Also, “While cognitive restoration and physiological well-being are the prominent and renowned benefits of nature exposure, there is one important construct that is often overlooked in environmental psychology research studies – that is, the human-nature relationship; also known as connectedness to nature (CN).” A Higher Power can also be found out on the big blue expanse of the Pacific Ocean.
Finding a Higher Power in Surf Therapy
Ask an avid surfer where they find spirituality, and there is a good chance they will say on their board while riding a wave. This is because the ocean can certainly represent something greater than oneself. It is a magical place.
Surfing can be particularly magical on the Hamakua Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island. A mere 12-minute journey from our 30-acre luxury property at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab is one of the best surf breaks on the island. Here many people have discovered that their Higher Power is something that is much more natural than what one may find inside of a church.
Surf therapy also offers many more quantifiable benefits. According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, “Carefully planned water activities tailored to the needs of the individual can contribute to correct psychosocial and cognitive development. The International Surf Therapy Organization summarizes the benefits of adequately indicated surf therapy as follows: improved physical health and mobility; improved mental health, including reduction of specific symptoms, such as posttraumatic stress and depression; improved well-being (strengthening of trust and confidence, encouragement of independence, resilience and protective coping strategies) and improved social skills.”
While some find spirituality on the water, other people also find their Higher Power by engaging with the land. This includes those who engage in horticulture therapy.
Finding a Higher Power in Horticulture Therapy
Horticulture has been used as a spiritual and centering practice for thousands of years. However, recently, it has moved into the realm of recovery.
When one walks onto the property at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, one will see an abundance of vegetation. There are rows of citrus and coconut trees, pineapple patches, bursting guava bushes, and overflowing vegetable boxes. These are all waiting to be cultivated during horticulture therapy.
Yes, some people find spirituality when they work with the earth. But that is not all they can find. According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, “People’s interactions with plants, through goal-orientated horticultural activities in the form of active gardening, as well as the passive appreciation of nature, could be therapeutic to people with mental disorders in many ways. First, horticulture could have emotional benefits, such as reducing stress, reducing psychiatric symptoms, stabilizing mood, and increasing the sense of tranquility, spirituality, and enjoyment. Second, it could help people to reduce fatigue and restore attention and cognitive ability.” Similar benefits can be gained from practices like yoga and meditation.
Finding a Higher Power in Yoga
Like horticulture, yoga has been practiced for thousands of years. It originated as a spiritual/religious practice but has also moved into the realm of recovery. Yoga is also one of the holistic healing practices that many people choose to find a sense of spirituality in.
Of course, like the other modalities, yoga offers much more than spirituality. According to the International Journal of Yoga (IJOY), “Yoga leads to an inhibition of the posterior or sympathetic area of the hypothalamus… Yogic practices inhibit the areas responsible for fear, aggressiveness and rage, and stimulate the rewarding pleasure centers in the median forebrain and other areas leading to a state of bliss and pleasure. This inhibition results in lower anxiety, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and cardiac output in students practicing yoga and meditation.” Yoga is also a perfect foundational practice by which one can incorporate meditation.
Finding a Higher Power in Meditation
Out of all of the experiential and holistic healing methods, meditation is probably the one most associated with connecting to a Higher Power. This is because meditation offers an opportunity to tap into certain parts of the “Self” that are otherwise kept dormant. When these areas are “tapped” many people feel like they have unlocked some spiritual potential.
Meditation also offers many other physical, mental, and emotional benefits. According to the International Quarterly Journal of Research in Ayurveda (AYU), “Research has confirmed a myriad of health benefits associated with the practice of meditation. These include stress reduction, decreased anxiety, decreased depression, reduction in pain (both physical and psychological), improved memory, and increased efficiency. Physiological benefits include reduced blood pressure, heart rate, lactate, cortisol, and epinephrine; decreased metabolism, breathing pattern, oxygen utilization, and carbon dioxide elimination; and increased melatonin, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), skin resistance, and relative blood flow to the brain.”
There Is No One Way to Recover at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab
Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we know that the only right way to recover is the way that works for the individual. This is why all of our treatment plans are individualized and comprehensive, and they may include spiritual practices, or they may not. The key is to make recovery personal.
The renowned author and philosopher Eckhart Tolle famously said, “It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension of life opens up.” Yes, recovery is all about living and loving every moment. This is what we offer here on Hawaii’s Big Island at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab – a chance to live and experience life the way it should be, filled with joy and open for long-term growth. Recovery is possible. We can help.
There are many benefits of adopting a spiritual life in recovery. These include feeling less lonely, better connecting with oneself, and becoming part of a spiritual community. However, it is important to remember that spirituality does not have to be structured, as that pushes some people away from choosing recovery. It is also important to remember that while “Higher Power” is a term coined in 12-Step recovery, a Higher Power can be anything one wishes it to be. If you feel like you or a loved one is struggling with issues of addiction, mental illness, or both, we can help. For more information about spirituality in recovery, please reach out to Exclusive Hawaii Rehab today at (808) 775-0200.