Sure does. Recovery from alcoholism and anonism are not for the faint-hearted. There's a lot of work required to have a spiritual awakening. And a lot of work required to keep on progressing thereafter.
However, what does it matter? Once I've taken Step Three, which is to turn over my attitude and my schedule to God, it's not my time that's at stake any more. I don't have time. God has time. I have instructions. If I'm instructed to do this, fine. I'm instructed to do that, fine. If I care about whatever-it-is that the instructions are displacing, I'm retaining title to (ownership of) whatever I have already turned over to God.
But there is no retention of title.
I became very out of sorts recently, because of, you know, a thing. Actually, more than one thing. Four things happened in the space of around one hour. Doesn't matter what, because it's never really about the thing anyway.
Anyway ... I thought, within minutes of 'it' striking:
"Right. I'm not having this. I do not like not being at peace. Not being at peace is unacceptable."
I went and knelt down and said the Step Three and Step Seven prayers, and remained prostrate for a while until calm started to come over me. I then using blocking prayers and mantras to cleanse my mind (e.g. the Serenity Prayer as a mantra). I then asked God to direct my thinking and became extremely vigilant about not permitting thoughts about the thing. When I was not otherwise occupied mentally, I listened to a spiritual video; I listened to my spiritual lesson of the day and practised what it advised; I put on a meditation soundtrack and meditated; I read my spiritual reading; I listened to an audio book of spiritual writings; I listened to an AA speaker; I did my service; I responded to sponsees; I fulfilled my obligations; I put others first; I prayed a lot, in fact, I deliberately thought about God and sought the page-87 'right thought or action' for a good chunk of the day, and, whilst working or doing other things at the computer, I had spiritual choral music on in the background, which automatically lifts me to a higher plane, as I am familiar with it, and it is mentally associated with God.
Within less than 24 hours I was fine. The fineness started to shine through almost straight away, but it was about 20 hours before I was fully back to normal. For a good chunk of that 20 hours, I was applying spiritual tools.
'But that sounds like hard work!'
Not as hard work as years of therapy; traipsing round meetings complaining; joining endless other fellowships; being tired and useless; banging on to friends on the phone about my woes and analysing the root cause (note: no analysis was involved in my response: only spiritual action).
It's possible to have those moods last for days, weeks, months, or years, as, if they are not dealt with, they propagate. The negativity and fear thoughts replicate themselves and infect other host domains, turning over white counters to black, until terror colours everything.
But, because I do the work once a quarter to go through the first Nine Steps, even a really alarming spiritual setback and lapse into old neurosis and dysfunction can be resolved admirably in under a day.
This isn't work, really.
It's: looking after myself, and (re)learning the next lesson on the curriculum. These incidents happen as lessons to highlight weaknesses in the system. But the lessons came after I was restored to sanity. Sanity first, lessons later. The lessons, incidentally, came automatically, with no direct effort on my part.
What were the lessons?
1. Do not allow even small apprehensions to take hold: be confident and insouciant from the get-go.
2. Behind faceless organisations, companies, and agencies are people. Trust the people and see love within them. They are then invariably helpful and kind.
3. Fear creates what I am frightened of.
4. Defences create what I defend against.
5. Witless activity is not action.
6. Not everything is a nail; I am more than a hammer.
7. Don't get sucked in to the charade.