Higher Power Consciousness as an Internal GPS – Alice M.

About This Speaker Tape

2014, a bottle of Chardonnay in hand, Alice M. was writing a book about her troubles, convinced that wine was air, water, and shelter. She was a wino who believed sobriety would suck, craving the structure of a fancy rehab—or even a county facility—just to be a puppet and have someone else take the wheel. She didn't know she was actually craving a Higher Power.

Alice describes the shift from a "broken brain" to a "vital sixth sense," treating her Higher Power consciousness as an internal GPS. She recounts the "God shots" that broke her open: a cat sitting on a detox bed and beams of light reflecting off a brick wall. For Alice, the 11th Step is not a mysterious ritual but a practical fuel. She treats her Higher Power as her employer, not a personal assistant, using nightly reviews to purge self-seeking motives so she can be a useful tool in the stream of life.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Marilyn introduces Alice M. and mentions the 'internal GPS' metaphor.
• 2:45 Alice M. describes her 'wino' phase and the book she wrote about her troubles.
• 6:15 Alice M. discusses her craving for a schedule and a 'puppet' existence in rehab as a hidden craving for a Higher Power.
• 10:20 The 'Higher Power shot': Alice M. describes the cat at the detox center and her first moment of surrender.
• 14:40 Alice M. shares the experience of seeing beams of light on the brick wall and ceiling during early sobriety.
• 18:10 Discussion of Step 11 and the 'vital sixth sense' from the Big Book.
• 22:30 Alice M. breaks down the constructive nightly review versus the destructive one.
• 27:15 Laughter: Alice M. discusses the 'original manuscript' and the idea that these directions are not 'weird or silly'.
• 31:00 The story of Becky the cat and the exercise of pausing when agitated.
• 36:40 Alice M. discusses the danger of 'playing Higher Power' with sponsees.
• 3 हुए 40 The metaphor of Step 11 as 'gas' for the car; without it, you just walk.
• 39:10 Alice M. shares her experience with meditation and the presence of homeless individuals in the room.