Step 12 Meditation Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps,
I try to carry this message to other addicts and to practice these principles in all my affairs.
Step 12 asks us to step outside ourselves and bring the message and the essence of all we've learned to others.
Many of us at this point will question whether we are ready or qualified to help other people and if we have anything to offer.
And those are questions best left to God to decide.
Our task at this point is to be open to the opportunity to serve and available to others as the need arises.
The meditation for step 12 will help you adopt the attitude of openness and availability and know what to do when the time comes.
Guided Meditation Make yourself comfortable and close your eyes.
Take a slow deep breath and let go of any tension in your body as you feel yourself sinking into the service you're resting on.
Becoming still,
More comfortable and relaxed.
Take another slow deep breath and feel a sense of calm and peace begin to fill you as you relax further.
And take another slow deep breath and let your thinking begin to wind down and smooth out as you become still,
Comfortable and relaxed.
Imagine you've been sleeping a deep sound sleep for many hours and you're just beginning to stir awake.
And the first thing you notice is that you're waking up on a soft bed of pine needles on the ground surrounded by ancient fir trees.
It's just before dawn and the air is quite cool.
The light is dim and there's a foggy mist in the air.
You can smell the scent of pine and the damp coolness of the earth.
It's quiet and any sound is blanketed by the mist.
Everything is a palette of soft greens,
Browns and grays.
Standing up you begin to walk along a path through the trees and you can feel the spongy ground beneath your feet.
Perhaps you still feel a bit foggy from your sleep but soon you come to a little spring,
Cup your hands to get a drink and splash some of the cool clear water on your face.
Now you're beginning to wake up a bit and see the trees and plants that surround you more clearly.
Look for the fallen log you found in a previous meditation and you'll see it nearby.
Find a comfortable spot and have a seat.
Enjoy the beauty and quiet here and allow this peaceful place to support you as you begin your inner work.
Drop down from your thinking self into your feeling self and go deeply into your own heart.
Begin to take a series of slow deep breaths.
As you breathe in,
Breathe in God and as you breathe out,
Breathe out love.
Imagine if someone you know and you feel might need the kind of support you've been receiving from the 12 steps.
Imagine that person together with you in your heart as if the two of you were in a beautiful chamber full of light.
As you stand together,
Imagine opening your heart to that person so that a wave of love and support emanates from your heart to theirs.
Take a few moments to experience this taking place.
Ask God to help you know how and when to best approach that person.
How can you be of best service to them at this point in time without offering too little or too much?
Do your best to distinguish between what your head might be saying and what your heart is saying.
Take some time to listen deeply and receive.
Ask God to help you know the best way to be of service to others in your life,
Both in general and in any specific areas and be open to anything that comes up.
Take some time to listen deeply and receive.
Allow the meaning of the following prayer of St.
Francis of Assisi to find its way deep with him.
Lord,
Make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred,
Let me sow love.
Where there is injury,
Pardon.
Where there is doubt,
Faith.
Where there is despair,
Hope.
Where there's darkness,
Light.
And where there's sadness,
Joy.
O divine master,
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that I receive,
In pardoning that I am pardoned.
It is in dying that I am born to eternal life.
It's almost time to bring this inner journey to a close.
So gather together anything you have learned that you would like to bring with you.
Gradually bring your awareness back into your body and your physical surroundings.
Take a slow,
Deep breath and on the exhalation,
Gently begin to wiggle your fingertips,
Bringing new life and energy back into your body.
Take your time and when you're ready,
Open your eyes and feel awake,
Alert and refreshed.
Pick up your pen and paper and write about your experience now while it's still fresh in your mind.
Later on revisit this meditation and learn more.
