TODAY'S PRAYER: AAs 11TH STEP:
"Sought Through Prayer And Meditation To Improve Our Conscious Contact With God, Praying Only For Knowledge Of His Will And The Power To Carry That Out."
One of the interesting things to come out of the 12 step revolution is the recognition that this "disease" - alcoholism / addiction - having been found to be more than mere mortals can handle on their own, requires both a divine intervention and a practice, program or regime that works to keep them in contact with that divine source of their rekindled or newfound understanding.
This revelation did not come about through a bunch of men sitting around thinking, then publishing their thinking and declaring that because they thought it, it must be the truth of the world. When you read "AA Comes of Age" you find that some tried this and others quickly told them to essentially get lost.
No, this revelation came out of the burning fire of personal experience. People tried everything in their power, or realm of understanding, to free themselves of the bondage of booze.
It is a well documented part of AA history that one of the cornerstones in it's (AA) foundation came out of a conversation between Carl Jung and his then patient, Rowland H. back in the early 1930s (see: https://sites.google.com/site/aspiritualrecovery/non-religious-spirituality/non-religious-spirituality-quotes/carl-jung )
At that time Dr. Jung told Rowland of the hopelessness of his condition pending some sort of religious / spiritual community experience. According to Jung's response to Bill W.'s letter this was not the result of a philosophical or theological mental exercise but based on the observation of men who had similar conditions as Rowland and found a way out.
This was one of the matches that provided a spark that lit the lamp that dispelled the dark cloud that obfuscated the path to recovery for so many for a long and painful time.
Once lit we found that to keep the path lit we needed to continue to work on our "conscious contact".
This is where our 11th step comes in to play for us. A step that comes after a lot of work on our part even though many who are "newcomers" are invited to begin some sort of a practice before they've gone through the first 10 steps. Any time is a good time for prayer and meditation.
For us and many, many others, it is clear that this is part of the medicine we need to live, not just free of alcohol/drugs but also relieved of the bondages of self that interfere with our being at peace, in service to others and our conscious contact with God, as we understand (or don’t understand) God.
I invite you today to take a moment to say a few words of prayer, to sit with God, the capitalized Higher Power of your understanding, in silence and be renewed, recharged, remotivated to walk with peace and joy in the sunlight of the spirit.
Amen. Ase. Aho.