At 12:30 we gathered. A couple of us had stopped in, (half-hour and cup of coffee) to the 12-noon AA meeting at a downtown church before walking down the hall to the Centering Prayer Group. The group meets every Wednesday (12:30) and has about fifteen regulars, half of which are in recovery.
We sit in a semi-circle, business men/women, professionals, teachers, therapists, phys-ed instructor, and us, the usual spectrum of alcoholics. Since we begin the session by saying a few words about why we are here rather than who we are we can only guess as to who we are and what we do. Really doesn't matter, we all definitely feel as one spiritually.
Our routine is a spiritual reading, half hour of silent contemplative prayer, twenty minutes of playing a DVD by a spiritual leader followed by twenty minutes of comments. These spiritual readings and DVDs are generally lightly laced with religious jargon as the group is attended by folks from different religious persuasions.
It is not surprising that the comments afterward are generally dominated by the alcoholics since the purpose of the Contemplative prayer, like meditation or contemplation is to improve our conscious contact with God as we understand God.
Think about it; the AA program is a spiritual program. It is suggested that we seek through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious (personal) contact with God. We (AAs) in the group feel right at home talking about spirituality and God in our personal lives. We keep it simple and also know about witnessing endless spiritual experiences in others.
I love the 11th Step because of the hope that it instills that it is possible to have a conscious contact with the God of our understanding if we just seek it and the 12th Step because of its promise of a spiritual awakening as a result of practicing the Twelve Steps in our lives.
There is also the promise that there is a God, no matter how we understand God, that is big enough to have a personal relationship with each and every one of us if we simply make the choice to accept and maintain it daily.
One of the women in the group has started an 11th Step meeting in our home group across town as a result of this group.
jim
A bit too religous for me, but if it works, go for it!
ReplyDeleteThe 11th Step Prayer has always been hard for me. I'm always tempted to be pretty specific about what I'd like in my life. I've gotten better and it helps me to know that there's a plan for my life and that it's good.
ReplyDeleteI would love to be a part of a Centering Prayer Group! I have just started doing Centering Prayer again after a long period of not.
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