A Pathway to Freedom
Pathway to Freedom had its first group 6 years ago. After almost twenty years as a social worker I recognised a general need to broaden the approach to service delivery when working with people struggling with all manner of issues, including but not exclusive to alcohol and drug addiction.
What actually worked for most people was a combination of theories and approaches from the start; there is no wasted information, practical knowledge, or life experience once the final blend came together and God revealed the value of them all.
The twelve steps are such that one can bring all manner of theories to develop a very holistic one day at a time approach to living life and connecting to our spiritual selves.
This of course does not mean that A Pathway to Freedom has no solid core of information, but what the actual practice of the group work has taught me through the past 6 years is far different from what I had learned elsewhere…
When I began planning and organising, writing and editing the Pathway manual, the key word was flexibility. Wanting to lend a sense of freedom to allow people to move the learning according to their need. The manual is simply a guide, one that is quite often the seed necessary to inspire individuals to move in the direction their Higher Power sees fit to take them. The information evolves as the group participants change and evolve each and every month.
Although the basis is a spiritual approach to the twelve step model of recovery, the practical application is far more complex, holistic, and ever changing. The result has been extraordinary and all due to God’s presence at every step of the way.
Through the 6 years of groups; the participants have ranged from individuals struggling with their own recoveries, family members of people in addiction, people stuck at different points in their lives, and colleagues wanting to learn more about alcoholism and addiction. The groups have incorporated codependency and mental obsessions associated to a wide range of human difficulties.
The participants report that they are pushed in ways that whether happy or sad, joyful or angry, they recognize that nothing will ever be the same again once they leave.
They have identified that it is truly faith, in something greater than themselves, which pushes them through the long days of emotional and intellectual upheaval. The faith they speak of is not always a faith in God, sometimes it becomes a faith in the process… the process that they begin to inherently understand as an opportunity to a different life; one free of their individual prisons.
This recognition the members of the groups discuss is not isolated to those struggling with addictions; the truth is, many of us are hurting and wanting answers to grow beyond and with the pain. For those members, who come free of addiction, they’ve identified the wonderfully open nature of not only the twelve steps but of the very practical application of spiritual principles in their own lives.
Watching people become more like the people they want to be has convinced me we are on the right path; not only in the Pathway groups, but in the one on one counselling program as well. .
Witnessing the light of hope return to people’s eyes, as we sit close together for three days is an incredible sight; one that I would not trade for anything else I have experienced. It is the reminder to me that God is constantly at work and one hundred percent in control of everything.
If there was ever a way in which I could bear witness to the unending love, power, and transforming energy of God it is through the glimmering hope in the eyes of my brothers and sisters.
May God bless you all on whichever path you choose… when in doubt, act in love, for there seems no better way to live.
The A Pathway to Freedom manual provides a different perspective to the treatment process; it is not a substitute for the main texts of any related organisations such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. The philosophy is to compliment the solid work of the many, which came before and to simplify the initial stages and some of the many processes involved.
Recovery is a challenge for the people directly involved, including families and friends of those afflicted by the diseases of alcoholism and addiction (whether the addiction is substance or behaviour related). The substance user, drinker, or addictive personality has an effect on at least twenty people directly or indirectly related to them.
Understanding is one of the most important parts of the process for all involved in recovery; having said that, it is still only a portion of what needs to take place. There are no miracle cures for the diseases of alcoholism and addiction; there is only a daily reprieve based on the treatment of the related symptoms. This manual describes in detail how to provide group treatment for those recovering, however it is also meant to inspire facilitators and group members to incorporate the program in an individual way into their specific lives.
There are no words or fixes that will make someone not pick up a drink or a drug or stop them from visiting a casino; however, the information provided here and in other presented materials can alleviate certain symptoms of the disease in order that the individuals may find strength to not rely on the old ideas of using and drinking to solve their problems or escape their fears and stresses.
I wish you all God speed on this journey, which has been granted to me as well by the grace of God.
Thank you,
David W. Lewry
What actually worked for most people was a combination of theories and approaches from the start; there is no wasted information, practical knowledge, or life experience once the final blend came together and God revealed the value of them all.
The twelve steps are such that one can bring all manner of theories to develop a very holistic one day at a time approach to living life and connecting to our spiritual selves.
This of course does not mean that A Pathway to Freedom has no solid core of information, but what the actual practice of the group work has taught me through the past 6 years is far different from what I had learned elsewhere…
When I began planning and organising, writing and editing the Pathway manual, the key word was flexibility. Wanting to lend a sense of freedom to allow people to move the learning according to their need. The manual is simply a guide, one that is quite often the seed necessary to inspire individuals to move in the direction their Higher Power sees fit to take them. The information evolves as the group participants change and evolve each and every month.
Although the basis is a spiritual approach to the twelve step model of recovery, the practical application is far more complex, holistic, and ever changing. The result has been extraordinary and all due to God’s presence at every step of the way.
Through the 6 years of groups; the participants have ranged from individuals struggling with their own recoveries, family members of people in addiction, people stuck at different points in their lives, and colleagues wanting to learn more about alcoholism and addiction. The groups have incorporated codependency and mental obsessions associated to a wide range of human difficulties.
The participants report that they are pushed in ways that whether happy or sad, joyful or angry, they recognize that nothing will ever be the same again once they leave.
They have identified that it is truly faith, in something greater than themselves, which pushes them through the long days of emotional and intellectual upheaval. The faith they speak of is not always a faith in God, sometimes it becomes a faith in the process… the process that they begin to inherently understand as an opportunity to a different life; one free of their individual prisons.
This recognition the members of the groups discuss is not isolated to those struggling with addictions; the truth is, many of us are hurting and wanting answers to grow beyond and with the pain. For those members, who come free of addiction, they’ve identified the wonderfully open nature of not only the twelve steps but of the very practical application of spiritual principles in their own lives.
Watching people become more like the people they want to be has convinced me we are on the right path; not only in the Pathway groups, but in the one on one counselling program as well. .
Witnessing the light of hope return to people’s eyes, as we sit close together for three days is an incredible sight; one that I would not trade for anything else I have experienced. It is the reminder to me that God is constantly at work and one hundred percent in control of everything.
If there was ever a way in which I could bear witness to the unending love, power, and transforming energy of God it is through the glimmering hope in the eyes of my brothers and sisters.
May God bless you all on whichever path you choose… when in doubt, act in love, for there seems no better way to live.
The A Pathway to Freedom manual provides a different perspective to the treatment process; it is not a substitute for the main texts of any related organisations such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. The philosophy is to compliment the solid work of the many, which came before and to simplify the initial stages and some of the many processes involved.
Recovery is a challenge for the people directly involved, including families and friends of those afflicted by the diseases of alcoholism and addiction (whether the addiction is substance or behaviour related). The substance user, drinker, or addictive personality has an effect on at least twenty people directly or indirectly related to them.
Understanding is one of the most important parts of the process for all involved in recovery; having said that, it is still only a portion of what needs to take place. There are no miracle cures for the diseases of alcoholism and addiction; there is only a daily reprieve based on the treatment of the related symptoms. This manual describes in detail how to provide group treatment for those recovering, however it is also meant to inspire facilitators and group members to incorporate the program in an individual way into their specific lives.
There are no words or fixes that will make someone not pick up a drink or a drug or stop them from visiting a casino; however, the information provided here and in other presented materials can alleviate certain symptoms of the disease in order that the individuals may find strength to not rely on the old ideas of using and drinking to solve their problems or escape their fears and stresses.
I wish you all God speed on this journey, which has been granted to me as well by the grace of God.
Thank you,
David W. Lewry