The Circle and Triangle: A Meditation

Meditating on the symbol helps me to keep in alignment with the loving God the 12 steps brought me into a relationship with.  To clarify again, this is not the God I was raised with but rather Yahweh, Elohim, the Father, Mother, "I Am," God of  the Bible - and the Higher Power, Realm of Spirit, Creative Intelligence, Power, Employer, God of the Big Book.  ​The symbol of Alcoholics Anonymous is a circle with an equilateral triangle inscribed within so that each vertex of the triangle touches the circle's circumference. The symbol itself can be interpreted in many ways. I offer one interpretation below. 

the circle
is defined as the infinite set of points equal distance from a central point.

The circle represents ONE.
​
"...there is One who has all power - that One is God. May you find Him now."  (BB page 59)

"Hear O Israel: Th LORD our God, the LORD is one."  ​(Deuteronomy 6:4)
​
As one, the circle is one whole, one earth, one community, one spirit, one family, one energy,, integrity/wholeness, one God, the perfect shape without edges, perfect Love.  One is the infinite number. There is always room for one more within the whole.


The circle represents ZERO.
​
"By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (John 5:30) 

"Lack of Power, that was our dilemma." (BB page 45)

"The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep."
(Genesis 1:1)

​"For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate."  (Romans 7:15)

"We are like men who have lost their legs: they never grow new ones."  (BB pg 30)
​
As zero, the circle is the humility of anonymity, the void, the empty womb, the empty tomb, divine nothingness, 'ayin', the emptiness before creation, mental space before a creative idea.

The circle represents INFINITY:   
As infinity, the circle is an unending cycle, an infinite number of points sharing the same distance from a central point, it is all people equidistant from God; the invisible central point is God; the line of the circle itself as an infinite number of points is God. 

Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me...?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep." (John 21: 15-17)

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the equilateral triangle 
is defined as a triangle in which all three line segments have the same length and all interior angles are 60 degrees.  

As a whole, the equilateral triangle represents balance between body, mind, and spirit or unity, recovery and service. 

The first leg of the equilateral triangle represents the BODY and UNITY.
It represents the care needed for my personal body and the larger body/community I am part of. My own body needs sunlight, fresh air, water, good food, to walk, communicate, speak, listen and perhaps dance, play, be touched, and embrace rather than reject its sexuality, hunger, and needs. I can not truly take care of my body without being part of a community, a larger body both one on one with beloved friends and in larger groups coming together perhaps to ride a bus, work, share interests, play music, attend school.

The first leg of the triangle also represents the larger body, the unity, the comm-unity I need to survive; the 12 traditions maintain the unity of the larger community. God intends me to meet frequently with others. People say that alcoholism is a disease of isolation be it in a penthouse, a family party, motel room, or on a park bench.  
The physical aspect of alcoholism, the phenomenon of craving once I start to drink, requires a physical solution. It requires 100% abstinence  from alcohol. It requires physical rooms with chairs, coffee, talk, to go to congregate; it requires friendships and conviviality to replace that of the bar, the cocktail hour, the party. 

The second leg of the equilateral triangle represents MIND and RECOVERY.
It represents the care needed for my mind, soul food. I need to read and learn, to understand others experience on this road of life. Books take me where no conversation generally goes, deep into  inquiry, emotions, science, truth, and history. Reading allows my thoughts to expand ever-outward, removes the deep loneliness that creeps in when ignorance rather than humility take over. I can read scripture and meditate on a sentence for many lifetimes. read fiction that puts words to emotions I didn't know I had, or read history that blows my mind and shows me how little I know, blasts my paradigm apart. 
The second leg of the triangle also represents the recovery process 12 steps to freedom through a spiritual experience. I honestly examine and share the evidence of my life as I work the steps to be brought to and maintain freedom from mental/emotional torture.  
The first step is an admission of complete powerlessness over obsession. The allergy to alcohol is vital information, but the collective experience of alcoholics is that "self-knowledge avails us nothing." I need more than information about an allergy to alcohol! I need a relationship with the God of my understanding to free me from the mental obsession that denies that undeniable fact at times, forgets about it at others, and obsesses about it and anything else at others. With full knowledge of my physical allergy to alcohol, I will inevitably drink again because I forget/deny the truth or justify the first drink I fall for lies!  

The third leg of the equilateral triangle represents SPIRIT or SERVICE. 
​
It represents the spirit, what animates my body and mind. We know our spirit is what is holy and connected to the whole and also needs care. Prayer, meditation, and service allow the spirit to dance free. "How can I be useful to you today, God?" My Spirit might be led to create a play, to draw a picture, cook a good meal for friends, garden, make love, smile at the cashier, listen to a friend's troubles. The spirit needs time alone with God, to connect so that it can take right action in the world from a place of centeredness, gratitude, and peace. 
The third leg of the triangle also represents the  service that takes me beyond my self-centeredness, allows me to pass forward the gift I have been freely given, "a design for living that really works." 
The spiritual sickness that pre-existed the drinking, and showed up once I stopped drinking requires a spiritual solution - either alcohol or God. Sobriety is not enough. This is where the infinite legacy of AA and each anonymous member manifests itself as we share​ our experience, strength, and hope. 

"Carry this message to other alcoholics! You can help when no one else can. Yu can secure their confidence when others fail. Remember they are very ill
Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends -  this is an experience you must not miss." (BB pg. 89)

The symbol centers me.

First Leg on the Left:
Am in fellowship with others on the path?
enjoying honest friendships?

Second Leg on the Bottom:
Am I l engaged in shared and truthful self-examination?
in prayer and meditation, of service?

Third Leg on the Right:
Am I passing forward the message?
Am I practicing the principles in all my affairs? 


This symbol can also represent

"the maintenance steps of 10-12." 

Unity:
Steps 10 and 12 require fellowship.

Recovery
Steps 10 and 11 require self examination, prayer, amends, and meditation. 

Service
Step 12 requires service and practicing the principles.