Vital Absorbing Creative Interest
One Rationale for Spirituality
There are four basic tenants to the SMART Recovery Program:
Building and Maintaining Motivation
Coping with Urges
Managing Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors
Living a Balanced Life
SMART itself offers a number of exercises to assist the practitioner in achieving these goals. They’re mostly all available for free at SMART Recovery.org. Based on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT, a progenitor of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), the points and exercises are intended to give the individual a set of rational tools to influence their own behavior (a task that’s much easier to do with the support of others).
SMART specifies that it requires no superstitious beliefs, and is instead “evidence-based.” It prides itself on constantly evolving over time, improving and refining its philosophy according the newest research.
That said, it also states clearly that it is compatible with other groups such as AA, if the practitioner finds such a program useful.
Additionally, it is also open to participants embracing their own personal religion and spirituality. And that is where I find this particular tool useful: The Vital Absorbing Creative Interest.
While what I believe (“hold dear,” “love”1) might be difficult to describe succinctly, my attempt to understand and define it is a Creative Interest, if ever there was. And though SMART houses this tool under its fourth point of “Living a Balanced Life,” I find it to be the cause for building and maintaining motivation as well. My sense of having a purpose in the cosmos, of having a duty to myself and others to behave ethically, and my consistent drive to evade the whims of suicidal ideation are all paramount to my decision to seek sobriety. It also is part of what drives me to continue this blog.
This is poesophy2 at its best, as well as uncovery3. It gets me to the church on time, and when I’m there, my rational-minded friends inspire me to work with some of the other tools as we all create a community of sobriety together.
Middle English bileven, from Old English belyfan "to have faith or confidence" (in a person), earlier geleafa (Mercian), gelefa (Northumbrian), gelyfan (West Saxon), from Proto-Germanic *ga-laubjan "to believe," perhaps literally "hold dear (or valuable, or satisfactory), to love" (source also of Old Saxon gilobian "believe," Dutch geloven, Old High German gilouben, German glauben), ultimately a compound based on PIE root *leubh- "to care, desire, love" (see belief).
The meaning "be persuaded of the truth of" (a doctrine, system, religion, etc.) is from mid-13c.; the meaning "credit upon the grounds of authority or testimony without complete demonstration, accept as true" is from early 14c. The general sense of "be of the opinion, think" is from c. 1300. Related: Believed (formerly occasionally beleft); believing.
The form beleeve was common till 17c., the spelling then changed, perhaps by influence of relieve, etc. To believe on instead of in was more common in 16c. but now is a peculiarity of theology; believe of also sometimes was used in 17c. The expression believe it or not is attested by 1874; Robert Ripley's newspaper cartoon of the same name is from 1918. Emphatic you better believe attested from 1854. (Source: Etymonline.com)
The pursuit of Wisdom via Creativity
The practice of Self-Composure and Restoration through the process of uncovering already-existing truth and understanding