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.”

“In thinking about our day we may face indecision. We may not be able to determine which course to take. Here we ask God for inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. We relax and take it easy. We don't struggle.” Big Book, p. 86, par. 3

This is a form of meditation for busy people. We alcoholics don't have time to lie down on the floor and listen to soft music. We don't have time for chanting and all that stuff. The book says when you face indecision, and you can't decide what to do, recognize you don't have the answer. Turn to God and ask for the right thought or decision. Don't struggle; relax and take it easy. Get your mind on something else.

The way I get my mind on something else is to start mowing the grass, painting the house, or washing the dishes. Quite often my mind goes back to that subject, and now I've got information I didn't have before. It says, “Why don't you call Bill? Maybe he'll know.” And I call Bill and Bill's got the answer. I used to say “My, wasn't it lucky I called Bill.” No, this is a form of tapping into the sixth sense of direction. If you practice it consistently, it gets to where it becomes second nature. It's amazing how this stuff works.

“We alcoholics are undisciplined. So we let God discipline us in the simple way we have just outlined.”Big Book, p. 88, par. 2

“As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action. We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day ‘Thy will be done.’ We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions. We become much more efficient. We do not tire so easily, for we are not burning up energy foolishly as we did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves. It works - it really does.”Big Book, p. 87, par. 3

If you'll follow these definite and valuable suggestions on pages 86-87, you will develop your own life of prayer and meditation. You'll make your conscious contact. You'll be able to tap in to that sixth sense of direction, and it's amazing the things that we can learn by doing that.

View The Steps

Step One Step Two Step Three Three Dimensions of Life Step Four Step Five Step Six / Seven Step Eight Step Nine Step Ten Step Eleven Step Twelve Step Thirteen

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