Cocaine Anonymous is a spiritual program, not a religious one, and each member is free to choose a Higher Power of their own understanding. Many of us arrived doubtful or resistant to the idea, yet found that being open-minded and willing to believe in something greater than ourselves—whether it be the group, a force, or a personal concept—helped free us from the obsession to use. We come to C.A. to recover from addiction, and through shared experience, support, and the Twelve Steps, we discover that this Higher Power, however we define it, can restore us to sanity and bring about changes we once thought impossible.
As a newcomer, you may have thought or said, “What’s this talk about God? I came here to stop using cocaine, not to join a new religion.” Don’t feel alone. Many of us were put off with the talk about God when we first came to meetings.
It is easy enough to confuse the word spirituality with religion. As it relates to God, Cocaine Anonymous is a spiritual program, not a religious one. In C.A., we believe each individual can choose a Higher Power of his or her own. In short, a God of his or her own understanding.
If you are like many of us, you came to C.A. without a conscious belief in a Higher Power. Or, perhaps you chose to avoid a Higher Power because you were taught about a punishing God. It doesn’t matter. All that is necessary to start is that you are open-minded to the idea that some Power greater than yourself may be able to restore you to sanity.