Reddit reviews The Paradox of Intention: Reaching the Goal by Giving Up the Attempt to Reach It (AAR Studies in Religion (48))

I used to want what people with "faith" have. It seemed to me that there was something out there that was working for people who believed in something bigger than themselves. This applies to all spiritual & religious types. I would wonder - what is it that these Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims etc had that gave them this common serenity? I didn't care from whom or what this came from as long as I understood it. I just wanted to be happier and content but no one could explain faith without using faith in the definition.

After some digging I found a book 'The Paradox of Intention'. It explains why various faiths seem to have the same requirement to "let go" and "have faith". It also brings in modern psychology (Viktor Frankl) to explain this "faith" thing. After reading this I went from hating religion to a more tolerant position. I still can't respect people who abuse and mislead in the name of "god" but I now understand why people need faith in a higher power as well as how it works from a scientific point of view. To sum it up - the book states that faith is a state of "being" when one is happy regardless of the outcome of their efforts. When we stop trying to reach a goal is when we attain what we want. When this is practiced, a paradox occurs and we find that the things we want most arrive when we stop striving. All the major religions have discovered this and the language they use to teach it is in the form of metaphors. "God" is the best term for this thing that gives us what we want when we follow a selfless path etc... Please read the book if you want to whole scoop. It's a difficult and deep read.

I don't think people use the "God" stuff as an excuse. I think that AA needs to grow and mature to include people who are intelligent and don't require the metaphor language of religion.