12 Steps Program Meditation
Source: https://stepmeditation.com/
Step 1 challenges the notion that no matter what, a person has at the very end of the day their free will choice. Humanity’s belief that conscious choice is at the foundation of it’s existence makes up one of the more solid principles in both belief based and non belief based societies.
Step 2 begins the climb out of the darkness of despair. The sources for this step are endless and find their roots in the bible itself. By giving a connection with the infinite, Step 2 establishes a foundation rooted in hope. A process of self nullification or at least the nullification of the negative self occurs with Step 2, yet this step can only occur when the individual reaches out to a higher, infinite power.
Step Three calls for affirmative action, for it is only by action that we can cut away the self-will which has always blocked the entry of God – or, if you like a Higher Power – into our lives. Faith, to be sure, is necessary, but faith alone can avail nothing. We can have faith, yet keep God out of our lives. Therefore our problem now becomes just how and by what specific means shall we be able to let Him in? Step Three represents our first attempt to do this,” reads a quote from Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
Step 4 is a proactive form of introspection. The individual digs to his or her core being and as they dig, they free themselves from the waste that they collected within, obscuring their judgment. The open space they clear out by making this “moral inventory” further allows the higher source, spoken about in Step 2 and Step 3 to take root. If anything this is the positive impact of Step 4.
Step 5 sounds a lot like “confession,” but in reality it should be seen as a letting go of these “desires” and “initial choices” spoken about in Step 4. By speaking out this inner baggage the individual begins to let go of the things which have plagued he or she for years. “The Fifth Step is the key to freedom. Sharing the exact nature of our wrongs sets us free to live. After taking a thorough Fourth Step, we have to deal with what we have found in our inventory. Holding on to our past would eventually sicken us and keep us from taking part in this new way of life. If we are not honest when we take a Fifth Step, we will have the same negative results that dishonesty brought us in the past,” quote from the booklet entitled Twelve Concepts for NA Service.
Step 6 begins an inner purification if you will. By sublimating himself or herself to a higher source an inner cleansing takes place. Its this inner cleansing that allows the individual to feel renewed and thus begin anew.
Step 6 starts the path to spiritual and inner maturity, allowing him or her to feel distanced from what was once the terror and despair and draw close to the joy of inner and outer peace.
Step 7 is the natural follow up to Step 6 in that it is a proactive step from the readiness to let the higher source cleanse. The asking itself is the step towards cleansing. Of course character work must be done by the individual, but it is the asking and pleading with the infinite for help that gives the strength to succeed.
“The Seventh Step is where we make the change in our attitude which permits us, with humility as our guide, to move out from ourselves toward others and toward God."
Step 8 is a further proactive step, which inculcates the ability to change one’s self on an actual level. Through being will to fix the wrongs one caused through asking forgiveness from the offended, the addict makes another step towards straightening out his or character and returning and revealing their true selves. By admitting in a person to person way, where they have erred, they stand to be able to correct the mistakes themselves.
Step 9 is the actualization of the previous step. When the individual actually brings about in a physical way some sort of reparation for past behavior there is an inner imprint, which is made in the psyche. This imprint is the beginning of the return to who they really are. Each time one cleans up a situation they caused to take place, a sense of return and renewal is felt. Step 8 is the beginning of the actualization of Steps 5, 6, and 7.
Step 10 is a further continuing of Step 4. It assumes that growth takes place over a lifetime and therefore a person is in constant need of returning and refreshing his or herself. Step 10 like the next the two steps are often called maintenance steps in that they are rehashing earlier steps in order to in grain in the mind, the daily necessity of going through a personal inventory.
Step 11 is not the personal property of the 12 Steps, rather it is implementing something that humanity has always done, Prayer. This action, done in any language as long as it is with the proper motivation and intent can yield amazing results.
Step 12 takes the individual from a receiving mentality to a giving mentality. This is true whether one is speaking about giving in marriage, giving in child raising, and even giving to strangers. By reaching Step 12, it is an opportunity to turn into the ultimate giver and enlighten others to a true and deep spiritual experience. By turning into a spiritual giver the addict moves towards a complete inner rectification.