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Is there a power higher than YOU?

Standup Philosopher

Standup Philosopher

Stand Up Philosopher
While reading about Alcoholics Anonymous and the need for the addicted person to acknowledge a higher power in order to get well, I was struck by the question:

Can you imagine a power higher than you?

Imagine someone answering, "No, I can't imagine a power higher than myself."
Like that's it? YOU are the highest power in the universe?

An atheist friend told me he believed in Mother Nature and Father Time. He even thought they were benevolent, they were on his side.

So: Is there a power higher than you? If so, what is yours?
 
BucephalusBB

BucephalusBB

ABACABB
Define power..

I know one of my friends is way stronger than I am. Then again, I am fast enough to outrun him and tire him so that I can attack.
Voltage is a power.. But one I do not have. The electrical power in my body is way less than a powerplant. So a powerplant has more power.. Wich is higher in watt.
I can't outjump gravity...
I don't view nature and time as powers..

What do you mean by '" higher" anyway? When is a power higher? When it is more?

edit: My government has more power, is that what you mean? :shrug:
 
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Scarlett Wampus

Scarlett Wampus

psychonaut
Great thread starter Standup Philosopher!

Strangely enough I regard imagination to be a power higher than me. Me is a collection of embedded habits & reflections. Imagination is capable of so much more.

When I encounter something I feel to be a higher power than myself its the imagination that creates an impression of it in a way that little lower me can understand.
 
Standup Philosopher

Standup Philosopher

Stand Up Philosopher
I am a Theist. God is higher than me. My atheist friend felt Mother Nature was a force greater than himself.

The addicts' I mentioned-their lives were out of control, no matter how hard they tried to fix it; they needed help from a power greater than themselves.

The question is: Is there a power higher than you? if so, what?
 
ThereIsNoSpoon

ThereIsNoSpoon

Active Member
Standup Philosopher said:
While reading about Alcoholics Anonymous and the need for the addicted person to acknowledge a higher power in order to get well, I was struck by the question:

Can you imagine a power higher than you?

Imagine someone answering, "No, I can't imagine a power higher than myself."
Like that's it? YOU are the highest power in the universe?

An atheist friend told me he believed in Mother Nature and Father Time. He even thought they were benevolent, they were on his side.

So: Is there a power higher than you? If so, what is yours?
Click to expand...
I cant really answer such a question.
What does "power" mean here?
Is consciousness involved?
 
Smoke

Smoke

Done here.
A tornado is way more powerful than I am. A supercomputer. A cheetah. Depends on what kind of power you mean.
 
BucephalusBB

BucephalusBB

ABACABB
Standup Philosopher said:
I am a Theist. God is higher than me. My atheist friend felt Mother Nature was a force greater than himself.

The addicts' I mentioned-their lives were out of control, no matter how hard they tried to fix it; they needed help from a power greater than themselves.

The question is: Is there a power higher than you? if so, what?
Click to expand...

higher in authority? Because then there are many people higher than me..
I still think nature is not a power.

As I have no idea what you really mean with power, I have to say no, as my power is defined for me only and yes if you define my power in joules or authority. In that case there are many powers greater (higher if you will) than mine.

Maybe this question seems more obvious for theists? :shrug:
 
Standup Philosopher

Standup Philosopher

Stand Up Philosopher
Bouncing Ball said:
higher in authority? Because then there are many people higher than me..
I still think nature is not a power.

As I have no idea what you really mean with power, I have to say no, as my power is defined for me only and yes if you define my power in joules or authority. In that case there are many powers greater (higher if you will) than mine.

Maybe this question seems more obvious for theists? :shrug:
Click to expand...

The question is not necessarily more obvious for theists, but for the addicts who were facing a death sentence if they did not change. They had tried to change in every possible way they could and still they were destroying themselves (and those around them.) They had to admit they did not have the power to change and find some power outside themselves or die. Maybe truth? The Circle of Life? The energy that permeates the universe? Maybe some conception of a Supreme Being? The one we would choose is our higher power.
 
BucephalusBB

BucephalusBB

ABACABB
Standup Philosopher said:
The question is not necessarily more obvious for theists, but for the addicts who were facing a death sentence if they did not change. They had tried to change in every possible way they could and still they were destroying themselves (and those around them.) They had to admit they did not have the power to change and find some power outside themselves or die. Maybe truth? The Circle of Life? The energy that permeates the universe? Maybe some conception of a Supreme Being? The one we would choose is our higher power.
Click to expand...

Well, in my case I am not an AA. (And if I were, I wouldn't tell :p) But if I were to be in that meeting, I'd say that the people who send me there or ask the question would be the higher power.

Might seem naturally as I am an atheist, but whatever higher power you choose after being asked that question for the AA, eventually it's still you who breaks free..(If you can get it done), whatever your answer is.
 
BucephalusBB

BucephalusBB

ABACABB
Standup Philosopher said:
Imagine someone answering, "No, I can't imagine a power higher than myself."
Like that's it? YOU are the highest power in the universe?
Click to expand...

I can imagine many people saying this :p
In fact, after everything, I do think this is the best answer one can give.. :shrug:
There seems to be nobody in the world who can addres as many functions of me as I can myself.
 
Smoke

Smoke

Done here.
Standup Philosopher said:
They had to admit they did not have the power to change and find some power outside themselves or die. Maybe truth? The Circle of Life? The energy that permeates the universe? Maybe some conception of a Supreme Being? The one we would choose is our higher power.
Click to expand...
How does that higher power help one to overcome alcoholism? Does it matter whether it actually exists or whether it can actually be relied upon to help one stop drinking? If I believe that the ghost of King Solomon is my higher power, will that work?
 
rojse

rojse

RF Addict
UltraViolet said:
Your new avitar guy looks like he's 'on' some kind of higher power
Click to expand...

Coincidentally, the movie he was in ("Akira") was about how Tetsuo (the fellow that is my new avatar) became "a higher power", while at the same time losing his mental and physical self-control.
 
Jeremiah

Jeremiah

Well-Known Member
Standup Philosopher said:
The question is not necessarily more obvious for theists, but for the addicts who were facing a death sentence if they did not change. They had tried to change in every possible way they could and still they were destroying themselves (and those around them.) They had to admit they did not have the power to change and find some power outside themselves or die. Maybe truth? The Circle of Life? The energy that permeates the universe? Maybe some conception of a Supreme Being? The one we would choose is our higher power.
Click to expand...

"They had to admit they did not have the power to change and find some power outside themselves or die."

I was just talking to a recovering alcoholic yesterday about this. This is not at all congruent with what he said. If I understood him right the shifting of responsibility from him to a "higher power" only made him want to drink more.
 
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blackout

blackout

Violet.
Instead of a "higher power"...
I would say there is an "inner power"...
by which I am empowered.

This power however is an integral part of who I am.
Not something seperate.
 
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