Step 11

[Doug]

11. We 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.

[2ala2]

Hello Friends,
I'm interested to know how you work this step. My sponsor asked me 2 days ago to start reading 11 and sharing is what follows.
Thanks in advance!

[Gmoney]

Hi 2ala2, Here's an article from my area's newletter (Aug. 2004) that was written by a good friend of mine. I agree with it and think it pretty much sums up what this step is about:

We Sought:

We are all trying to experience the finding of our Higher Power’s will for us in the Eleventh Step but we are not always aware that the prayer thing is not just a one time of day thing. We can pray without ceasing throughout the day. When we wake up in the morning, we can ask our Higher Power to be with us throughout the day giving us knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry it out. We can ask for the help we need to make decisions during the day. We can ask for our wants and needs (being careful what we wish for because we just might get it) as the day progresses. We can say help when things get out of control and we are not sure what to do in any given situation. We can say thank-you for getting us through the day yet again and for the blessing of recovery at night. We can pray for any reason that we choose.

Meditation, on the other hand, takes practice and dedication. Most of us of had little experience with this before coming to recovery. After all, which of us has not tried to at least bargain with God at least once while using? God, if you get me out of this one, I will do this or that? But meditation requires active listening and being willing to sit with ourselves in the quiet. We must turn off the noise in our lives and sit. It means turning off the television and the radios and going into the stillness that results and listening for the quiet voice that is inside each one of us that is the voice of our Higher Power giving us the assurance that we are on the right path for our lives and then being willing to follow that path. It is often easy to drown out that voice with thoughts of what we have or want to accomplish at any given moment but if we really listen we can hear it at any time or place. All we have to do is listen for it. This takes practice. Some of us take up formal meditation techniques and others of us just sit and listen; do whatever works for you. The important thing is to listen for the voice of your Higher Power speaking to you and to try to follow the path for your life. When you do this, great things become possible and new paths are opened up to you.

Beth M.
Inside The Rooms, The Recovery Is Possible Area Newsletter
August 2004

[bobmatic]

hello everyone, as i am a lazy person, i am having difficulty sitting at nite a working the step ten questions, any suggestions ? life with its terms , family, sponsees, it is kind of difficult.....thankx a million.

[2ala2]

Hello Garry and thank you for the useful suggestion. I guess, like many say, the frequent prayer takes a while to get accustomed to doing. Then, like anything else done regularly, becomes habit, and eventually routine. I am praying more than earlier in recovery, that is for sure. What's funny is that I have reminders all over the place, alarms, notes, objetcs, lol. I beat myself up tooo much though always thinking I'm not doing good enough, what's up with that? My sponsor thinks i'm doing just fine.
I am better today.

[2ala2]

Hello Bobmatic and welcome to SR,
I felt that I 'had' to work Step 10 by writing it. I still write it, not every single day, but often. I feel that it will be a while before I can do it mentally.
Good luck!

[bobmatic]

thanks gmoney your contributions are great, i read most of your posts, my inquiry, should i take up things like yoga, to help me wiht my meditation of step 11, as for prayer, being a moslem i pray to got , the religious way, don't get me wrong, i know this is not a religious praogramme, but this is the only way i can tlak to god or HP.

Appreciate you r feedback,

[Gmoney]

Hey Bobmatic,

The thing about working the steps is that each of us has to come to an understanding of what works best for us. I've done an 11th step in the past, but I must admit that I've gotten away from doing any type of formal meditation or prayer. I suggest that you do whatever "feels right" for you.

[Rashelle17]

well im new to and need help so i am hopeing with urs and anyone eles who is reading this to