Step 11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying ONLY for knowledge for His will for us and the power to carry that out.
The Eleventh Step starts at the bottom of page 85 and extends through page 88. It's a good idea to read Steps Ten and Eleven out of the "Big Book" each day for a few months, as part of your morning time with God, until you internalize the incredibly effective way of life these two Steps offer. There is a lot contained in these four pages. As we have already seen, the Big Book has been writing about prayer and meditation throughout the Book.
At the bottom of page 85, we find:
"Step Eleven suggests prayer and meditation. We shouldn't be shy on this matter of prayer. Better men than we are using it CONSTANTLY. It works, IF we [1-] have the proper attitude AND [2-] work at it."
So for it to work, we need to use action and attitude.
What does the Big Book mean when it says, "it works"? In essence it is telling us that self-examination, meditation and prayer puts us in contact with our Creator. Hopefully that's what we've been doing these past weeks - making conscious contact with the God of our understanding.
Then at the top of page 86, they make the statement:
"...It would be easy to be vague about this matter. Yet, we believe we can make some definite and valuable suggestions."
At night, they suggest we review the day's activities. Once again, they ask us to use the A.A. self-will test to judge our actions. Page 86, paragraph 1:
"When we retire at night, we CONSTRUCTIVELY review our day. Were we resentful, selfish, dishonest or afraid? (Step 4 again) Do we owe and apology? (Steps 8 and 9) Have we kept something to ourselves which should be discussed with another person at once? (Step 5) Were we kind and loving toward all? What could we have done better? Were we thinking of ourselves most of the time? Or were we thinking of what we could do for others, of what we could pack into the stream of life? But we MUST be careful not to drift into worry, remorse or morbid reflection, for that would diminish our usefulness to others. After making our review, we ask God's forgiveness and inquire what corrective measures should be taken." (Steps 6 and 7. So our basic text is once again basically describing the process of Steps 4 through 9 being used in a quick way to review our day when we retire at night. The book continues.) "ON AWAKENING (not on our way to work, or after we've showered and eaten, or at some point in the morning, but as soon as we wake up,) let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives. (ANOTHER reference back to the Third Step.) Under THESE conditions we can employ our mental faculties with assurance, for after all God gave us brains to use. Our thought-life will be placed on a much higher plane WHEN our thinking is cleared of wrong motives."
So the book tells us to meditate first thing in the morning. Let's look at the sentence beginning with, "Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking..." Please notice these words, they are VERY important. "Before we begin..." - Before we begin what? Before we begin considering our plans for THIS day, and before listening to our Inner Voice. How do we know we're supposed to listen to God? Because, right afterward, it says we ask God to direct our thinking. If we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonesty or self-seeking motives, doesn't it stand to reason that our next thoughts are possibly going to be from our Higher Power? What do we call these thoughts from God? We call these thoughts guidance.
The Big Book tells us that our Creator will provide us with the answers to all of our issues. They even disclose how the Spirit of the Universe is going to answer our request for help. At the bottom of page 86, they write:
"In thinking about our day we may face indecision. We may not be able to determine which course to take. (Now some prayer.) Here we ask God for inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. We relax and take it easy. We don't struggle. We are often surprised how the right answers come after we have tried this for a while."
So, God is going to tell us His plan for our lives in the form of inspiration, an intuitive thought or an intuitive decision.
The Big Book tells us to test our thoughts. Not all of them come from God. But, with time and practice we begin to rely upon this insight. On the top of page 87, they write:
"What used to be the hunch or the occasional inspiration gradually becomes a working part of the mind. (That's a promise, but here's a warning.) Being still inexperienced and having just made conscious contact with God, it is not probable that we are going to be inspired at all times. We may pay for this presumption in all sorts of absurd actions and ideas. Nevertheless, we find that our thinking WILL, as time passes, be more and more on the plane of inspiration. We come to rely upon it." (That's another promise.)
To protect ourselves from absurd actions and ideas, we MUST test our thoughts to separate self-will from God's Will. Our identifying God's Will needs time to grow, so it is important to discuss these inspirations or thoughts with a sponsor or spiritual advisor. In the 12 and 12 on page 60, it also says, "Going it alone in spiritual matters is dangerous. How many times we have heard well-intentioned people claim the guidance of God when it was all to plain they were sorely mistaken."
The Big Book continues on page 87, paragraph 1:
"We usually conclude the period of meditation with a prayer that we be shown ALL through the day what our next step is to be, that we be given whatever we need to take care of such problems. 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. Many of us have wasted a lot of time doing that and it doesn't work. You can easily see why."
The Book is giving us information to create a healthy prayer life. First thing is that we pray for freedom from self-will. And the second is NEVER to request for ourselves ONLY. But we can request for ourselves IF others will be helped.
Paragraph two talks about including friends and family in our daily morning spiritual activities, as well as taking advantage of the spiritual literature that religion and spiritual sources outside of A.A. have to offer. There are many powerful things that can help improve our conscious contact. Perhaps ask others what influenced them on THEIR spiritual path.
Page 87, paragraph 3:
"As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action." (Please notice that agitation comes WELL before anger or rage, and being doubtful comes WELL before being in deep trouble.)
Starting with the last line on page 87, the Big Book tells us we MUST get out of self-will in order to learn God's plan for our lives. In other words, here is ANOTHER reminder of the commitment we made in Step Three:
"We CONSTANTLY remind ourselves we are NO longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves, MANY times EACH day "Thy will be done." (Now here's the results of working Step 11, otherwise known as the rest of the 11th Step Promises) 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."
This is an ironclad guarantee. It works! From first hand experience we can state that guidance has been working in our lives ever since we began this daily practice.
But, what if we don't receive any God-given thoughts or guidance? Let us assure you, this can happen from time to time. Remember, "All we really have is a daily reprieve contingent upon the maintenance of our spiritual condition." If we don't receive any guidance, it means we might still be blocked off from our Higher Power in some way, and simply have some work to do to clear it away. God's guidance is as freely available as the air we breathe. If I am not receiving inspired thoughts when I try to listen, the fault is not God's. Usually it is because there is something I will not do. Something wrong in my life that I will not face and make right, a habit or indulgence I will not give up, a person I will not forgive, a wrong relationship in my life I will not give up, maybe we've taken back our will in some area of our lives, or maybe we haven't done something we know our Higher Power wants us to do. Check these points and be honest. If this is the case, we need to take the actions necessary to re-establish our connection with our Creator. Then try listening again.
In the second paragraph on page 88 they tell us that, once again, we need God's help:
"We alcoholics are undisciplined. So we let God discipline us in the simple way we have just outlined. But this is not all. There is action and more action. Faith without works is dead."
Self-examination, meditation and prayer take dedication and practice. If we do the work, we will receive the rewards - a life filled with health, happiness and peace of mind beyond our wildest dreams. In the 12 and 12, during the commentary about the Eleventh Step on page 98, it says the following: "There is a direct linkage among self-examination, meditation, and prayer. Taken separately, these practices can bring much relief and benefit. But when they are logically related and interwoven, the result is an UNSHAKABLE foundation for life. Now and then we may be granted a glimpse of that ultimate reality which is God's Kingdom. And we will be comforted and assured that our own destiny in that realm will be secure for so long as we try, however falteringly, to find and do the Will of our own Creato
