My experience with the Third Step started with a decision to take the advice of my sponsor and the people in the group. They were in touch with a higher power than I was, since they were sober and I wasn’t. So in those days it was a matter of going to meetings, sharing, hanging out afterwards, going to social events, getting a sponsor, working the steps, and so on — in short, following the suggestions of the program.
As I progressed, it became more of a spiritual investigation. Who or what is my higher power, and how do I turn things over to it? I became willing to look into any tradition, try anything once, and see how it worked. Then I started noticing all these “coincidences,” where I would get an intuition to take some action, then take it, and I’d get a reward or confirmation that I was on the right path. I was tuning in the God Channel.
Today the Third Step reminds me to take a breath, not go with my first thought on a subject, and instead ask myself how this situation would look without my fearful ego being involved at all. I simply question my thinking and try to access a higher, more pure place to get answers. It still works better than whatever I first think of!