Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps

by Richard Rohr

A valuable new companion journal to the bestselling "Breathing Under Water"! We are all addicted to something, according to Franciscan Father Richard Rohr. This "Companion Journal" can help you work your way through the wisdom of the twelve-step program as outlined in "Breathing Under Water" to help you determine the source and solution for your own addictions. The journal contains reflections, discussion questions, and room for your own notes to help you explore the process in a way that s relevant and meaningful in your own life.
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Genres: Spirituality, Nonfiction, Christian, Religion, Self Help, Faith, Theology

178 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Fr. Richard Rohr is a globally recognized ecumenical teacher bearing witness to the universal awakening within Christian mysticism and the Perennial Tradition. He is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fr. Richard's teaching is grounded in the Franciscan alternative orthodoxy—practices of contemplation and expressing itself in radical compassion, particularly for the socially marginalized.

Fr. Richard is author of numerous books, including Everything Belongs, Adam’s Return, The Naked Now, Breathing Under Water, Falling Upward, Immortal Diamond, Eager to Love, and The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation (with Mike Morrell).

Fr. Richard is academic Dean of the Living School for Action and Contemplation. Drawing upon Christianity's place within the Perennial Tradition, the mission of the Living School is to produce compassionate and powerfully learned individuals who will work for positive change in the world based on awareness of our common union with God and all beings. Visit cac.org for more information.

Reviews

[Fergus, Weaver of Autistic Webs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't misunderstand Rohr's shock tactics. Heaven and Hell are not just here and now, for they're eternal. And if you can take the pain of the Fire here, you can take the pain in the beyond. Otherwise, this book is simply Eckhart Tolle garbed in a Franciscan habit.

Richard Rohr is an iconoclast, so be forewarned! A Christian who doesn’t believe in an Afterlife? A Liberationist? Perhaps - it’s hard to nail him down. But one thing is for sure: he lives ENTIRELY in the present moment. Which I try to do as well. And mostly fail.

But Rohr seems to put the word Heaven within inverted commas, as if it’s not a substantial transcendent truth at all. I have great difficulties with that, and it’s as if he’s also denying God’s transcendence. I would really appreciate some ingenuous clarifications from him! He’s an Artful Dodger.

So none of my anticipated superlatives for this one, folks. Remember when Alexander Pope archly said, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing?”

He meant it’s a dangerous thing for the nut cases among us: for it’s like “giving a gun to a melancholic bore” - as Auden admonished, in The Quest. Those living in their sublunary worlds are bound to misconstrue Rohr.

OK, OK, I’ve been one-upped on my earlier high estimate. And yet his clarity within, and love for the absolute present tense of life is redoubtable.

But I’ll add a caveat: “A LOT of knowledge is the Road to Hell.” - my own bow shot at my knowing critics. Because I know it from experience. And give a questioning man like Rohr - or myself in the old days - an inch and he'll take a mile.

Well, has Richard Rohr gone that well-rutted road?

To answer that, think back to T.S. Eliot’s irreverently puckish “Mr. Eliot’s Sunday Morning Service:”

In the beginning was the Word:
Superfetation of “TO ‘EN [Being]”
And at the mensual turn of time
Produced enervate Origen.

Why does he use the name Origen - an early Father of the Church - as being enervate? Simple.

Too much partying can do a guy in! You see, a guy’s nerve endings become dull after too mucha that sorta thing!

So why does he says superfetation? Too easy...

Superfetation produces Giants, and it is no accident that the same Church Council that disciplined the giant, Origen, suppressed the Jewish quasi-Kabbalistic Book of Enoch, in which the ancient and arcane explanation of the the word Giant is freely given.

A Giant is megalomania incarnate.

You know, one would almost think it was Origen’s Gnostic leanings that nearly caused him to be Anathematized. And one bright Christian wag recently gave a one-star rating to Rohr on Audible. His reason?

‘NO HEAVEN + NO HELL = HERESY.’

More exactly, the same heresy that another Church Father, Irenaeus, once mercilessly gutted and hung out to dry (see my review under his name).

Things fall apart: the Centre will not hold -
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.

Nuff said?

There’s tons of good reading out there, but may I recommend Irenaeus?

Were he here today, he’d skewer Richard Rohr quite handily and nail him down fair and square against traditional thinking.

I just don’t know how to do that in a palatable enough way for his many followers in our free and easy postmodern age.

[Pete · Rating 5 out of 5]

i'm finally getting around to typing up some of my notes from books i read in 2014 and i'm not sure how i wound up giving this book four stars instead of five. as always disclaimer: what follows may not be of interest if you're not in recovery and at least somewhat positively disposed toward mr christ.

this is basically just a guy putting each of the classic twelve steps in a deep, smart, and soulful christian context, but not the fast-food version of christian context -- jesus is magic, we love magic jesus, that's all we know -- but the gnarly complex christian context, the kind that understands we are all sinners. anyway if you find yourself in the same size and shape of rowboat as me, you will dig this book. even if your boat situation is wildly divergent, let me just share rohr's four assumptions about addiction
1) we are all addicts
2) "stinking thinking"/our way way of doing anything-our own defenses-our patterned ways of thinking is the universal addiction
3) all societies are addicted to themselves
4) some form of alternative consciouness (prayer, meditation, therapy, just not behaving exactly the same way forever) is the only freedom from addiction

if that doesn't zing you a little then this book probably doesn't have a lot to offer you

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was less of an explanation of the Twelve Steps and more of a commentary on them. Good insights, as always, from Richard Rohr. I especially appreciated his point that all of us are addicted, especially to our own way of thinking. We all are powerless and in need of trusting a higher power. Easy to read and simple message.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

found myself quibbling a bit with his spirituality (from a Lutheran point of view), and I am tired of the "Do you worship Jesus or follow him?" dichotomy (to me, it's a both/and). But the 12th chapter, on the 12th step, was worth it all.

from the "Big Book": "so our troubles are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves; and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-well run riot, though he or she does not think so. Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness. We must, or it kills us!"

So, we are called to serve others. If we receive, we also give.

[Morgan Blackledge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contemplative Christian interpretation of the 12-Steps of AA.

Really beautiful, enlightened stuff.

Author Richard Rohr posits suffering as a spiritual gateway.

Rohr quips:

“Religion is for people who don’t want to go to hell.

Spirituality is for people who have already been there.”

Rohr argues that the “bottom” of AA is a transformational opportunity to step out of self interested, ego driven thinking and behavior, and step into a soulful, service driven life.

Rohr devotes one chapter to each of the 12-Steps of AA.

STEP 1 (acceptance): We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.

STEP 2 (hope): Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

STEP 2 (courage): Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

STEP 4 (faith): Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

STEP 5 (honesty): Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

STEP 6 (patience): Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

STEP 7 (humility): Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

STEP 8 (willingness): Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

STEP 9 (redemption): Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

STEP 10 (integrity): Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

STEP 11 (self-discipline): Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

STEP 12 (service): Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Rohr discusses the 12-Steps (and principles) in terms of the Bible and contemplative Christian theology.

Ultimately, I found this book to be tolerant, generous, and kind. Rohr is (IMO) a highly integral and enlightened figure.

I have had major difficulties with Christianity in the past.

Particularly when I was going through 12-Step for the first few passes. I had to do a LOT of work to resolve the dissonances I felt as a Buddhist (adjacent) practitioner in early recovery.

Reading Rohr is VERY healing and additive in this regard.

I would have benefited GREATLY from reading this back then.

Although I’m quite certain I would not have been open to it.

Better later than never I suppose.

This is great stuff.

And I’m finding it at the perfect time.

5/5 STARS ⭐️

[Dan Bonner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was an excellent book that I will reference over and over again. It forced me to think differently about certain things I spent my life time believing.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the 12 Steps, a small and wonderful book by one of my most favorite priests, Father Richard Rohr, is a reminder of, as a friend of mine says, "who we are and what we are"-beings founded in love who struggle to find that love which we are. Fr. Rohr looks at the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous in the light of the Gospel and Catholic faith and find a deeply spiritual path.

I was touched, refreshed, and challenged by this work. I started to list it on my "self-help" shelf but realized this book is anything but. It is how we ground ourselves in the otherness of God and love of others that we discover ourselves. We must work hard to achieve this but in the end, it is only achieved by letting go and an act of God. Luckily, I like paradox.

[debbicat *made of stardust* · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the stars 🌟


My second read of this one. Even better. I need this in my life. I would give it more stars ⭐️ if Ii could. Growing more and more in the wisdom of Richard Rohr.

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What religion would Jesus belong to?" was the title of a recent NY Times article about contemporary Christianity. You don't generally think of AA as a "religion" and while it's technically not one, Rohr finds that its approach to helping individuals overcome their addictions is a spiritual one with many parallels to the teachings of Christ.

Rohr makes four assumptions about addictions. First, we are all "addicts", being addictive by nature, subject to illusions and entrapments. The Biblical tradition calls them "sins", and in the New Testament they are often objectified as "demons" and are driven out.

Second, the universal addiction is "thinking", that is our habitual way of doing anything, our thought patterns, usually ones we're not even aware of.

Third, all societies agree, to some extent, to be compulsive about the same things and blind to the same problems. He gives as American examples, "our addiction to oil, war, empire, the church's addiction [and some patriotic ones] to its own absolute exceptionalism, the poor person's addiction to victim- hood, the white person's addiction to superiority, the wealthy person's addiction to entitlement."

Fourth, "Some form of alternative consciousness is the only freedom from this self and from cultural ties." Rohr finds that this means some kind of contemplative practice, or in Christian terms, "praying." Otherwise, you never break out of your rutted existence.

What AA does then, Rohr contends, is to take an extreme example of addiction, a dependence on alcohol, and try through its twelve step program to break this slavery. Does it work? He thinks it is a powerful and valid approach. . In breaking out of a terribly addictive habit, the addict must first admit that he is powerless to do it on his own. The ego has to let go and seek help, through others, through a "power greater than ourselves." Among many things that means acceptance of ourselves - the past, our mistakes, imperfections, openness. Our first inclination, though, is to become aggressive, fight, take control, think we can improve ourselves on our own. Here is where he thinks AA differs from much organized religion which promotes individual merit and sacrifice, with the payoff being some kind of "heaven." AA works more on the basis of what has been called "grace," undeserved and gratuitous goodness emerging in the humble individual.

Goodness always comes through failure. The addict has already been in a personal hell, and while it wouldn't be wished on anyone, without it, nothing makes any sense. We have to fall before we can rise. With the fall comes repentance and then, apology, healing, and forgiveness. At this point, the shackles of the past are broken.

There is a paradox in all of this, though, summed up in the aphorism, "No one catches the wild ass by running after him, yet only those who run after the wild ass ever catch him." It's the same paradox as the title of the book, "Breathing Under Water." Going to AA meetings is obviously a matter or trying to improve yourself, all the while realizing that it is impossible to improve yourself. It's a kind of preparation, and whether a change occurs, depends on, again using spiritual language, metaphors for the spirit (Holy), living water, blowing wind, descending flames, alighting doves. As I understand it, the change might not occur at all, or it might occur when least expected. It's an ongoing process, as is life itself. Joys and disappointments for anyone cannot be predicted; all that one can ask for is an openness to a mysterious future.

Back to the beginning which was one of those glib "what would Jesus do?" questions, I think Richard Rohr would agree that it would not be surprising to find Jesus at an AA meeting.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book, it intertwines religion with the 12 steps in a way that actually gave me an appreciation for religion that I have never had before.

[Bank · Rating 2 out of 5]

All students of the Twelve Steps know that God and spirituality are the foundation of a successful program of recovery . In this book, Fr. Rohr is making the valid case that many people in our society today are much like the unrecovered addict ( sans the drugs ) in their emotional and spiritual makeup. He makes the further point that many adherents of the Christian church ( I believe he is singling out Catholicism ) have not addressed their spiritual issues and emotional makeup with anything approaching the intensity of the 12 Step Program . In fact, I would agree .
The book may further convince believers , but I doubt it will sway any skeptics. There are none so blind as those who will not see.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to grab when you find yourself in the grips of any sort of desire, addiction, or affliction, be it in the form of substance, compulsive behavior, or addictive thoughts. Those who, however, are still offended or wounded by dualistic religious or biblical experiences, will likely be turned off and stop after the first chapter (or page - each chapter begins with several quotes from scripture that correspond to the step the chapter is about). Those who choose to open themselves to the deeper meaning of these scriptural references and the wisdom with which Father Richard Rohr uses to extrapolate meanings and messages, will find riches here. Rohr calls the 12 Steps "America's most significant contribution to spirituality". I am intrigued by Bill Wilson's relationship and correspondence with Catholic priest Father Ed Dowling at the time of his evolutionary work on the 12 steps and his own personal journey (and the connections between the 12 steps and the 12 Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius). In Breathing Under Water, Fr. Richard is able to go into the depths to draw upon the connectivity between the 12 steps and the archetypal human journey of struggle and growth. I consider this a First Aid kit or "go to" book when I find myself in the grips of my very human self, helping to refresh my perspective and find the inspiration needed to get back on the path of my higher self.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book n the twelve steps for alcoholics and non-alcoholics alike. The last two chapters deserve to be re-read and re-read.

[Benjamin Shurance · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this out of some ministerial curiosity about the 12 Steps. It ended up speaking a lot of words I needed to hear.

[Michelle (TwilightCougar) Tompkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A culmination of perfect timing & writing

This book just allowed me to come closer to a vital spiritual experience than anything I have read before… and that is saying something because I have read a lot… it spoke clearly and directly to my own personal experience with the 12 Steps and the Christ consciousness, which are the two spiritual systems that have touched my life…

This book changed me…

[Beth Bonini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Rohr is the Franciscan spiritual leader/theologian/philosopher who I’ve been looking for (without realising it) for many, many years. This book was recommended to me by a number of people within a short time; one of those recommendations came from a longtime member of AA, and another came from Brene Brown, in a series of interviews she did with Rohr for her “Unlocking Us” podcast.

Brown cites this profound idea in her interview, and “confesses” that she made it into a prayer for herself: “God has trapped us all inside of certain GRACE and enclosed all things human in a constant need for mercy.” The idea being that the grace is always there, always available, always unearned, and also that egoic thinking (sin) is relentless.

In this particular book, Rohr takes the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and not only explains them, and their purpose, but also directly relates them to Biblical teaching. I don’t think that you have to be a Christian, or even interested in Christianity, to find meaning and guidance in this book, though. (In AA, as many people will undoubtedly know, the term “higher power” is used instead of God.) Anyone who wants to live a less egocentric and more purposeful life, and have better relationships, will benefit from Rohr’s wisdom - which has been refined through a lifetime of study and reflection. He is as knowledgeable about great literature, poetry and philosophy as he is of the great world religions (and not just Christianity).

I listened to this on audiotape, but was constantly having to jot down notes as I listened. I include some of my favourites, not only for my own remembered experience of this book, but to give other readers a sense of the book’s contents.

”Either/or binary thinking or superiority thinking solidifies angers, creates enemies and becomes exclusionary.”

“Prayer or contemplation is changing your operating system.”

“All mature spirituality is about letting go.”

“We suffer to get well
We surrender to win
We die to live
We give it away to keep it
We are are all powerless in the presence of the full reality.”

“To be present is to know what you need to know in the moment; to allow the moment, the person or the idea to change you.”

“A Leap of Faith needs a ‘desperate desiring’
To finally surrender, three spaces need to be opened up within us and all at the same time: Our opinionated head; our closed-down heart; our defensive and defended body.”

“To keep the heart space open, we need the following:
Some healing of our carried hurts from the past;
Right brain activities help, too: music, art, dance, nature, fasting, poetry, games, life-affirming sexuality, the “art” of relationship itself.”

“You only know how much you needed it (healing) when you are on the other side; that is why you need the tenacity of faith and hope.”

“God comes to us disguised as our life.”

“All codependents are sacrificial
Martyr complex is a false side of love - seeking moral high ground, and not truly loving at all.”

“If you are not radically grateful every day resentment always takes over.”

“Honest shadow boxing (moral inventory) is at the heart of every spiritual awakening.

“You are most gifted to heal others where you yourself were wounded or where you wounded others.”

“The truly great tasks of life: Love, Forgiveness, Unjust Suffering and Death.”

[Milt Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some truly mind-blowing ideas in this slim volume; namely, the addiction of any sort is a search for love and intimacy in all the wrong places and that when our true needs are met, we can heal from addiction. And Rohr takes great pains to point out that alcohol and drugs are only one kind of addiction--a more visible kind--and that most people are addicted to false beliefs about ourselves and others.

Rohr also points out that those who have survived addiction are in a unique position to help others heal. Indeed, he believes that suffering teaches us to love. I can understand this, as I feel my empathy muscle grow whenever I go through a difficult period...and my desire to help others through similar difficulties intensifies.

This was a great book to start the year off with, and I'm looking forward to reading more of Richard Rohr's writing.

[Christy Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book I didn't know I needed to read.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

"For some reason, to ask “for your daily bread” is to know that it is being given. To not ask is to take your own efforts, needs, and goals—and yourself—far too seriously."

Breathing Underwater
⭐⭐⭐ 3.5/5

Breathing Underwater is one of the #2021CahillFamilyBookclub reads and is not a book I would have picked out myself (but that is the point of the bookclub).

Synopsis: Fr. Richard Rohr is a Franciscan priest whose teachings are grounded in radical compassion, lived self-emptying, and Christian mysticism. Breathing Underwater digs into the gospel principles of the 12 step program and makes a case for how spiritual practiced can free one from addiction.

What I liked: I found myself agreeing with the main points of each chapter. Rohr's focus on humility, selflessness, service, seeking restorative justice, and refocusing prayer as a form of meditation all resonated with me. Rohr's heart for justice and deep care for the marginalized comes through.

What I disliked: I really dislike how Rohr quoted scripture and used it to support his arguments. I would often agree with his point but found the scripture he used to be cherry-picked and not relevant to the point he was making. I felt the book lacked theological depth. Additionally, I found his writings on the character of God to be problematic at times. In the very last chapter, he describes God as a suffering God and believes we can only relate to God when we have suffered and know God also suffers. While I believe God has capacity for emotions and is with us in our suffering, there are a lot of problems with God only being "relatable" or "free" to be in relationship with when you perceive him as being like you in your suffering.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathing Underwater was my choice for a Lenten discipline. Does it count as a discipline if you enjoyed it too much? I love Richard Rohr's down-to-earth explanations of who Christ was, how we are meant to FOLLOW Christ, to imitate him, not so much as cultic worshiping, with all sorts of "this is how you are supposed to do it."

In this book, Richard Rohr looks at the 12 Step Program for alcoholics, and draws lines between the steps and Jesus' example and the way the earliest Christians practiced following Christ.

Reading this book is, for me, like breathing underwater. It lifts burdensome constrictions which keep us from being fully who we are created to be, and urges us on in our discipleship of the living Christ. It revels in the humility of being humanly incapable of being without sin, while choosing to ask God to help us to do his will. I've already loaned this book out, and told the person I will need it back, both so I can loan it out again and so I can remind myself of who we are following, and how we are to follow, by being love, and giving love, including to ourselves.

[Kemery Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible book that in less than 150 pages, dismantles and explains why churches do little in terms of growing and healing broken people and instead just stuff their brains full.

My heart has always ached at church because, despite growing up a pastor's kid, I never felt like the people I found at most churches were "my people." This book lays out my own dysfunction and poor contributions, but also how American evangelicalism is dysfunctional, how religion itself is dysfunctional, and how people get hurt and don't get healing in this environment.

One of the best books on addiction, recovery, defining and boldly claiming the distinction between addiction and moral failure is not what most believe it is. Hard to describe in a few paragraphs how phenomenal this book was.

[Kailee Lelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathing Underwater had me hooked right away. It goes into detail about how your spiritual mindset will get you places you haven't been, especially with the twelve steps. Richard Rohr goes on about how the twelve steps are used in people's lives, and how whoever is reading this book can use it. It is a lovely book. I recommend this book to anyone (even if they do not need the 12 step study guide) who is looking for a closer relationship to God or want to know about how and why God loves each of us.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Rohr is definitely not orthodox Catholic, but he sure does have a lot of good things to say. I especially appreciate his views on recovery, as it really is a spiritual process and one that lines up perfectly with the Gospel. I didn't agree with everything in this book and there were a view times where he lost me a bit, but overall I underlined a lot of passages and it had a very positive impact on me.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Rohr and find most of his work inspiring, though some of his books are more approachable than others. Rooting this one in the familiar twelve step program makes it very approachable and creates a highly readable structure. I've always been fascinated with how the process of faith weaves through the 12 steps and have often contemplated its alignment with the gospel, so having Rohr put it all together into a package was a great experience that affirmed many of my existing thoughts but also challenged me to look inward in ways I hadn't expected.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am torn between giving this a 4 or 5. I read this book as part of a study group. Without our amazing facilitator and the group discussions I think I would have missed many parts of this book. The book itself is looking at ourselves and our spirituality/faith through the twelve steps. It was educational to me both in learning the twelve steps and in helping me examine myself. I highly recommend reading this book (5 stars) especially if you can do it as part of a group.

[Dvd · Rating 4 out of 5]

An invitation to the communal practices of finding freedom from addiction. Fr. Richard integrates attention to health and physical sciences, spiritual discernment, biblical scholarship, and contemplative practices in a holistically engaging read of the Twelve Steps. Naming the book after a lyric of Carol Bialock RSCJ is one of several poetic moves that turns what some might experience as linear "steps" into a more broadly relevant flow.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I already need to go back and re-read it! Rohr describes the 12 Steps as a technology for the sort of deep transformational work described by theologians from many world religions, although his primary focus is the Christian scriptures. Since he is a Franciscan, his take is really groovy and inclusive, though, so it is inspiring even of you're not a Christian.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Few have a gift for speaking of the gift of transformation possible through spirituality like Richard Rohr. This book is no exception. Many times I found my hunger and thirst sated by a fresh view of Christianity. Christianity in the United States desperately needs more of this approach to Christianity: discipliship over conformity and love as the foundation instead of the reward.

[Aj Greenman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey this was a good Buck it gave me what I wanted to hear