12 Steps Series: Step Eleven

In this episode, we cover Step Eleven of the Twelve Steps Codependents’ Guide To The Twelve Steps, Melody Beattie (CODA) STEP 11 - Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out. Quote #1 - “Going with the flow doesn’t mean we don’t rock the boat. It means we finally can.” (p169) Quote #2 - “There are times to surrender, times to let go, times to give in. There are times to wait and times to take action. There are times to be gentle and nurturing, times to give, and times to receive. There are times to speak up, own our power, and take care of ourselves...”(p169) Quote #3 - “Praying is talking to God. A prayer can be a word or a thought. It can be an expression of joy or sorrow. A prayer can be a letter to God. Or it can be a traditional prayer.”(p171) Quote #4 - “We are free to pray any way we choose: standing, sitting, kneeling, eyes closed, eyes open, lying in bed, or walking down a dirt path through the woods.”(p171) Quote #5 - “Prayer doesn't need to be complicated. We can talk silently, directing our thoughts to God. Or we can talk aloud, as we would to a person. We don't have to change our language to talk to God...”(p171 ) Quote #6 - “Praying is how we keep ourselves — our souls — connected to God. It is where change begins.” (p173) Quote #7 - “...the goal of meditation is to quiet ourselves and our thoughts, relax, become centered and peaceful, and tune into God and ourselves...”(p175) Quote #8 - “Meditation, I've discovered, is no more a waste of time than stopping to put gas in the car.”(p175) Quote #9 - “We build a connection to God by building a connection to ourselves.”(p175) Quote #10 - “It means I can trust the flow. I can trust myself. I can trust God. When it is time, I shall be empowered to do that which I need to do. I shall receive the insights, the help, the ability, the growth, the guidance, when it is time. If I can't do it yet, then it's not time.” (p176 ) Quote #11 - “Something is happening. Something good is being worked out, in and around us. Something important. We are learning our lessons, and we will continue to learn them. When it is time, we will be empowered to do all that we are meant to do. We can relax and go with the flow.” (p177) Quote #12 - “We can relax and go with the flow, even when the flow hurts, even when we're not certain where it's taking us. The hard times will not last forever. The confusion will not last forever. Clarity will come. The answer will come. The darkness of our soul will leave, and daylight will come.” (p177) Quote #13 - “Sometimes meditation does not work instantly or immediately. I can meditate and feel almost as chaotic when I finish as when I started. But we can trust these behaviors and keep them anyway.” (p177 Codependents’ Guide, M. Beattie) Quote #14 - “I used to think that following God’s will for my life meant following a rigid set of rules, instructions, and prohibitions. I used to think following God’s will meant I needed to be perfect. Now I’ve learned that’s codependency.” (p179) Quote #15 - “All we need will come to us. All the good we desire, the love we want, the success, the friends, the healing, the meeting of needs — big and small — will come.” (p180) Quote #16 - “We can trust that each day we are exactly where we need to be and where we are meant to be.” (p180) Quote #17 - “Trust God. Trust ourselves. And trust our lives. God never, never asks us to do anything that God does not equip and supply us to do. If we are to do it, we will be empowered. That’s the easy part of this program: We never have to do more than we can. We never have to do anything we can’t. We never have to do anything before it’s time. And when it’s time, we will do it.” (p181)