STEP ELEVEN

"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".
(I practice this step DAILY! I hand myself to God and ask for His help to carry this step with me).
(From the 12 & 12)

1. Prayer and meditation are our principal means of conscious contact with
God.
2. There is a direct linkage among self-examination, meditation,
and prayer.
3. As we have seen, self-searching is the means by which we bring new
vision, action, and grace to bear upon the dark and negative side of
our natures.
4. "Lord, make me a channel of thy peace --

that where there is HATRED, I may bring LOVE
that where there is WRONG, I may bring the spirit of FORGIVENESS
that where there is DISCORD, I may bring HARMONY
that where there is ERROR, I may bring TRUTH
that where there is DOUBT, I may bring FAITH
that where there is DESPAIR, I may bring HOPE
that where there is SHADOWS, I may bring LIGHT
that where there is SADNESS, I may bring JOY.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to COMFORT than to be comforted
to UNDERSTAND than to be understood to LOVE than to be loved.

For it is by SELF-FORGETTING that one finds. It is by FORGIVING that
one is forgiven. It is by DYING that one awakens to eternal life.
Amen."
5. As beginners in meditation, we might now reread this prayer several
times very slowly, savoring every word and trying to take in the deep
meaning of each phrase and idea.

6. Meditation helps to visualize our spiritual objective before we try to
move toward it.

7. Once more we read our prayer, and again try to see what its inner
essence is.

a) First of all, we want to become a "channel".

b) Then we ask for the grace to bring love, forgiveness, harmony, truth, faith, hope, light and joy to every human being we can.

c) Next comes the expression of an aspiration and a hope for our¬selves. This we would try to do by what we call self-forgetting.

8. Meditation is something which can always be further developed. It has no boundaries, but its object is always the same: to improve our con¬scious contact with God, with His grace, wisdom, and love.

9. Prayer is the raising of the heart and mind to God -- and in this sense it includes meditation.

10. We think that the whole range of our needs is well defined by that part of Step Eleven which says, "... knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out".

11. When making specific requests, it will be well to add to each one of them this qualification: "... if it be Thy will".

12. We ask simply that throughout the day God place in us the best under¬standing of His will that we can have for that day, and that we be given the grace by which we may carry it out.

13. At critical moments (emotional disturbances), if we remind ourselves that "it is better to comfort than to be comforted, to understand than to be understood, to love than to be loved", we will follow the intent of Step Eleven.

14. Quite often, however, the thoughts that SEEM to come from God are not answers at all. They prove to be well-intentioned unconscious rational¬izations!

15. Under such an illusion, we can create great havoc, without the least intending it.

16. We form ideas as to what we think God's will is for other people.

17. We discover that we do receive guidance for our lives to just about the extent that we stop making demands upon God to give it to us on order and on our terms.

18. All of us, without exception, pass through times when we can pray only with the greatest exertion of will.

19. Perhaps one of the greatest rewards of meditation and prayer is the sense of BELONGING that comes to us.

20. The moment we catch even a glimpse of God's will, the moment we begin to see truth, justice, and love as the real and eternal things in life, we are no longer deeply disturbed by all the seeming evidence to the contrary that surrounds us in purely human affairs.

(From the Big Book)

1. We shouldn't be shy on this matter of prayer.

2. When we retire at night, we constructively review our day.

3. After making our review we ask God's forgiveness and inquire what corrective measures should be taken.

4. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.

5. When facing indecision, we ask God for guidance. We relax and take it easy. We don't struggle.

6. We usually conclude the period of meditation with a prayer that we be shown all through the day what our next action is to be, that we be given whatever we need to take care of most problems.

7. We ask especially for freedom from self-will, and are careful to make NO request for ourselves only. We may ask for ourselves, however, if others will be helped. We are careful NEVER to pray for our own selfish ends.

8. As we go through the day, we pause when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action.

9. We alcoholics are undisciplined, so we let God discipline us in the simple way we have just outlined.

RECOMMENDED READING

1) Alcoholics Anonymous (big book), chap. 6, p. 85, par. 4 to end of chap.6.
2) Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions, Step Eleven.


ELEVENTH STEP GUIDE

"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 Ten, the first of the maintenance steps:

1) suggests taking a personal inventory and when we are wrong promptly admitted it;
2) helps us to develop the habit of accurate self-appraisal; and
3) makes us aware of the necessity of admitting our wrongs, first to ourselves, and then to others when the admission would be helpful.

Also, we are starting to develop self-restraint and build character by spotting, admitting, and correcting the acquired defects of character. Step Ten is the beginning of a lifetime practice centered in the here and now.

Step Eleven, the second maintenance step, is also a NOW step. Previ¬ously, in Steps One through Three, we found that: 1) Our lives have been, are NOW, and will remain unmanageable by us alone, 2) God can restore us to sanity if we rightly relate ourselves to Him, and 3) We made a decision to daily turn our lives and our will over to His care. Since we alcoholics are undisciplined in almost all areas of our lives, we NOW must use prayer and meditation as the principal means of maintaining a conscious contact with God.

The first element of Step Eleven concerns itself with prayer and meditation as the principal means of improving our conscious contact with God. Meditation is the process that allows us to become closer to God and gain a deeper and deeper awareness of His presence within. In the begin¬ning, we use the prayer found on Pp. 101-102 from the 12 & 12. Rereading this prayer several times very slowly, we savor every word and take in the deep meaning of each phrase. We relax and breathe deeply of the spiritual atmosphere with which the grace of this prayer surrounds us. Let us still the thinking mind, gently, and allow ourselves to then focus undisturbed on the essence of this prayer. For example, being a "channel", asking for the grace to bring love, forgiveness, etc. to others; seeking to give comfort, understanding and love rather than receiving it; and trying to self-forget. Meditation is something that should always be further developed. The object of meditation is to improve our conscious contact with God, His grace, wisdom, and love.

Prayer is the raising of the heart and mind to God and is a form of meditation. Using meditation to open our channel, we ask for those right things of which we and others are in the greatest need. We may end the meditation period with a prayer in which we ask especially for freedom from self-will. We never pray for our own selfish ends. In the morning, we ask God to direct our thinking so that it may be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives. Throughout the day, we pause and ask for the right thought or action. At night, we constructively review our day and ask God's forgiveness and guidance. Remember, we are trying to the best of our willingness to improve our conscious contact with God through prayer and meditation.

The second element of Step Eleven suggests that we pray only for the knowledge of what His will is for us. Our immediate temptation will be to ask God for specific solutions to specific problems; however, this is asking God to do it OUR way. Since our purpose is to conform our will to His, we should ask only for the guidance to follow His will and leave our will out. If we do make specific requests, it would be well to add, "... if it be Thy will". In the beginning of this practice of asking for knowledge of His will for us, we must be aware that often the thoughts that seem to come from God are not answers at all, but only well-intentioned unconscious rationalizations. Even here, the thinking mind is still at work to create havoc in our lives. Remember, we receive guidance for our lives to just about the extent that we stop making demands upon God to give it to us on order and on our own terms.

The final portion of Step Eleven suggests that after we have asked for knowledge of His will for us, that we then ask for the power to carry it out. To start, we must exercise our willpower and after we have done the footwork, He will supply us with the additional power to carry out His will.

The entire program of Alcoholics Anonymous is spiritual. Step Eleven is where we start to practice the methods that will allow us, if we put forth enough effort, -- persistently, on a daily basis and over a long enough period of time -- to gain a deeper and deeper awareness of God within. This step cannot be bypassed if we are sincerely seeking to gain a spiritual awakening. We will be comforted and granted glimpses of the Kingdom within so long as we try, however falteringly, to find and do the will of God.

The purpose of writing the Eleventh Step is to help us formulate our prayer and meditation techniques so that we can improve our conscious contact with God. In doing this, we learn to pray only for knowledge of His will and the power to carry that out.

The following examples are only guides to help you find which medita¬tive techniques you are comfortable with. You are seeking to improve you conscious contact with God and find the Kingdom within.
IMPROVING YOUR CONSCIOUS CONTACT WITH GOD

1. Why is it necessary to improve your conscious contact with God?

2. What are the principal means of improving your conscious contact with God?

3. What does the quote -- There is a direct linkage among (constructive) self- examination, meditation, and prayer -- mean to you?

4. What is the object of meditation and prayer?

5. What does the prayer, found in the Eleventh Step in the 12 & 12, mean to you?

6. Should you take specific requests to God and expect results? What, if any are the hazards involved?

7. Do you give God orders as to what you think His will should be for other people? Why?

8. Do you attempt to get God to do your will? Give examples.

9. Have you discovered that you do receive guidance in your life to just about the extent that you stop making demands upon God? Explain.

10. What are some of the rewards of meditation and prayer?

11. What should you ask God for in your prayers?

12. Is your prayer and meditation practiced throughout the day?
How and why?

13. Do you thank God each night for everything, both good and bad? Why?

14. What technique of meditation and prayer do you use to improve your conscious contact with God?

15. Do you have a strong desire to become one with God? Explain.

16. Why is Step Eleven so important to your recovery process?

17. How are you going to live Step Eleven?


WITH LOVE
from the Top of the Hill group
840 17th St.
San Diego, CA 92101

Shared with love,
Candy Smith, Oak Harbor, Washington June 4, 1980
Phyllis Brett, Coupeville, Washington June 21, 1987