Something someone said to me came up again. It was about the Promises in the Ninth Step. In particular, we will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.
Intuition is generally defined as sudden knowledge, which bypasses rational thinking. It just appears, so to speak. We suddenly know. After years in this program, practicing these principles, I know from experience that this does happen. But there’s a warning I got from my sponsor and the old timers. Like, what if I’m wrong? There’s the promise, and then the possibility that I might just be fooling myself.
I think Bill W. talked about this one time, like I said, as did my sponsor. Kind of talking to people, who see this kind of promise and then go ahead and think they’ve had a revelation and act on it. Again, what if I’m wrong? Bad consequences could follow. I’ve found that to be true.
Time takes time. Experience shows as it has been pointed out to me, that, when it comes to having a sudden intuition on a formerly puzzling situation, that maybe the best thing I can do is to go to someone other than myself and tell them about what I have found, before I do anything else. And, I have done that and have been sometimes told to back off. This from their own experiences. Good advice I have found.
If I truly come to experience this it is going to take time to grow along spiritual lines. It’s not going to be an overnight sensation. The word “prudence”, which is mentioned in the Ninth Step in the 12&12, is going to have to be put to use. It means to have discretion. To back off and then use our heads. And one of those uses is to ask for help with our decisions. Not to go rushing off thinking I’ve found the answer.
Eventually, over time, I have found that I can often tell, when what I seem to have discovered by intuition is exactly right. As long as my emotions, my feelings are out of the way. Getting excited, because I have suddenly discovered an answer, which has escaped me before, can blind me to the reality. And that’s when I can make a big mistake. Like my sponsor and others have said, take it to someone and ask them for their thoughts. I was often surprised how many of those old timers had the same experiences.
Anyway, as I said, someone brought the subject of good judgment to mind, especially, when it came to this promise. All those promises have come true in my life. They often are still present at any given moment. Again it is dependent on my being able to clear away the emotions or feelings governing what I think.
Why is all this so important to me? It’s about my being able to stay sober. Not making stupid mistakes, which could lead back to a drink, because of bad judgment, leading to anger and resentment. Being able to put into practice each and every day the Steps and the principles, which can lead to a much calmer and peaceful way of living and providing me with better judgment than I had, when I came here.