We’ve come a long way in our journey through the 12 Steps, but we still have a little way to go. As we continue to make a personal inventory and correct our wrongs when they happen, it’s also important that we begin to look forward. The traditional framing of Step Eleven is:
“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.”
The wording from The Alternative Twelve Steps is:
“Increasingly engage spiritual energy and awareness to continue to grow in abiding strength and wisdom and in the enjoyment of life.”
In other words, in Step Eleven we are finally starting to move and look forward. We are asking, “What is the purpose of my life? How will I carry this forward in the future?”
Committing to a Spiritual Practice
One does not have to pray to the God of Christianity to move through this step on the journey to sobriety. Instead, this step is asking that those in recovery commit themselves to some sort of spiritual practice – whether it be meditation, prayer, or even communing with nature. What is important is that the individual clears out some space for quiet relaxation that’s free from distractions. The goal of this is to let go of the noises in your head and listen to your innermost desires.
Discovering “God’s Will”
Whether you are a believer or not, when you commit to regular meditation, prayer, or another spiritual practice, and you engage in that practice regularly, you’re going to come to a point where you’re having a revelation to act on. This can take different forms for different people. For some, it means they go back to school to get a degree in fields they’ve been passionate about in the past. For others, it may mean that they commit to various service activities. Only you will know what your revelation is, and you will only discover it through the discipline to keep your spiritual space – every day.
Transformational Powers
The process of becoming permanently sober is a journey – not a destination. Every day, those in recovery must commit to that recovery journey. When we spend time on our spiritual practices, then we’re spending time on something that will have transformational powers. Whether the practice involves a walk through nature listening to the song birds and the wind’s soft rustle through trees or it involves sitting in a church pew, whether it involves quiet time in a corner of one’s house or writing morning pages in a journal, allowing for the space to be taken by spiritual revelation is allowing for the space for radical transformation. We are giving everything over so that we may grow in strength, wisdom, and the enjoyment of life.
What Now?
By undertaking Step 11, we’re moving toward the “what now” part of recovery. We’ve come a long way from where we were when we admitted that we were deficient. This step prepares us to move forward, to make better decisions for our lives, and to ready ourselves for having a strong future.
If you would like help moving through the Twelve Steps, you can count on the support offered by Turning Point Recovery Center. Contact us today for more information about our programs.
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