Brief background: I was speaking with another person in recovery about the 12 steps of AA. Neither of us work this program, however I fully support anyone’s path they choose to take with their sobriety as long as it’s not harming themselves or others. Personally I feel like I could complete the 12 steps because I’ve found a HP through my journey of Sobriety and I’m also completely willing to admit I’m powerless over alcohol.
So anyways, we decided to go through all the steps and discuss them together… It was really interesting. However we got stuck on step 11.
I’m wondering if you could give me your interpretation of step 11 and how you work it into your every day life?
Step 11: “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.”
My 11th step practise has evolved over time and continues to evolve. What I do now is very different to where I started and can tell you more about the evolution if you would like
Currently, I work on my 11th step daily. My aspiration is 8min silent meditation in the morning right after I wake up and 8min silent meditation before bed, though it doesn’t always work out that way. Separately from my meditation, I also try to pray daily - morning and night. It is kind of different every day.
In the morning I say a variation on my personal 3rd step prayer, which includes asking my HP (who I do not call God) to guide my thoughts and actions and to show me the next right thing. In the evening I say thanks for another sober day. Sometimes I will pray for other individuals, either people I am struggling with to free myself from resentments and/or for strength and courage for others. I will also often meditate and pray throughout the day, as and when I need to.
Is there anything in particular you are unsure about or what specific perspectives on?
In the Gentle Path Through the 12 Steps, spirituality is defined as another way of knowing or finding. The 12 & 12 says meditation helps us to envision our spiritual objective before moving toward it.
The 11th is one of the maintenance steps, so I really put it together with 10 & 12. I strive to do it every day, but that doesn’t always happen – progress not perfection. I pray almost every day, and most of the time it’s as simple as “your will, not mine.” I get at least a 1x/week meditation in. Sometimes I pray several times a day depending on how rough it is.
Recovery is a partnership with my HP, so prayer and meditation ensures that me and my partner are on the same page.
Tbh I was just confused by the wording of it and how someone who wasn’t religious would work it…Maybe it’s just one of those things where I’m skipping ahead and I haven’t yet learned the language well enough to understand the step.
Although I think I’m getting it more with everyone’s responses
Sounds a lot like setting your intention for the day/week. Lately I have felt that this is what’s lacking for me. I’m waking up to the daily routine but not leaning on the HP to guide my steps.
I pray with my son when I do bedtime with him. I pray over dinner. There are times when I meditate or do yoga but it’s more “as needed.” It would definitely benefit me to initiate a daily ritual into my life.
Russell Brand talks about using an altar with candles and objects that remind him of his purpose or the relationships in his life. He lights the candles and arranges the objects and meditates to set his intentions for the day. It must take many forms depending on your HP.
No I totally get that, and that’s definitely not my focus or intention here, I’m not trying to prove that religion is needed to work the steps…I actually WANT to do the steps, I’m just getting stuck on this one with the emphasis on God. I was just trying to figure out this step in layman’s terms I guess
Honestly, this isn’t a ruse or anything. Just trying to get a better idea on it… I’m not trying to attack, or emphasize religion in AA.
Every morning, I pray “Thank you for another day of sobriety. Please help me to stay sober today. Please help me to know and to do your will.”
I read from ‘24 hours a day’. I use a
guided meditation app for 5-30 minutes.
I look for the divine all around me and I see it. In the AA big book, Chapter 5, it tells us where to find the HP. “…there is one who has all power… May you find (him) now.” Emphasis added.
So look to this moment, it is beautiful and eternal, and you and I and the divine are in it together
I am a hardened atheist. I am not and have never been religious. I do not believe in God. BUT, my work on Step 2 allowed me to find a higher power of my own understanding that works for me. I do not call my HP God. It is more like the universe, the energy created through connection with others, or knowing that the natural world is a thing that is bigger than me.
Anywhere in steps that it says God, I just substitute “higher power” in my mind, as the two are interchangeable. When I pray, I am talking to the universe - sometimes asking for things for others, always asking to be shown the next right thing, and sometimes expressing thanks. When I meditate, I am calming my mind and trying to connect to that peaceful energy in me.
Read the Prayer of Saint Francis. You don’t have to actually say that prayer but just to understand what it is saying. I also recently saw a video from Russell Brand about this prayer. Well, actually it was a video about dealing with narcissists (disclaimer…I thought his advice about dealing with a narcissist was utter crap because he wasn’t talking about TRUE narcissists, just arrogant SOBs) but he uses this prayer as a way to deal with a difficult situation. Or at least, focuses on the meaning of the prayer.
I don’t belong to any religion and I use “God” for lack of a better term. I’ve gained a greater connection and understanding with my HP from just 1 day of prayer and meditation than I did from all the books I read or from all the sermons I listened to.
My understanding is that I understand very little, and that’s okay. If I don’t understand, I try to listen (still very bad at that but I’m working on it).
Full disclosure, I totally missed you started this thread at first glance. I often forget you haven’t AA’d, identifying a lot of what I’ve learned from it in how you carry on.
I should’ve said: I’m getting stuck on this one with the emphasis of God as a person. I think once I get over that thought/definition of God I’ll be able to more clearly understand how to apply these steps to my own higher power.
