November 3

FOCUSING AND LISTENING

There is a direct linkage among self-examination, meditation, and prayer. Taken separately, these practices can bring much relief and benefit.
—  TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 98

If I do my self-examination first, then surely, I’ll have enough humility to pray and meditate—because I’ll see and feel my need for them. Some wish to begin and end with prayer, leaving the self-examination and meditation to take place in between, whereas others start with meditation, listening for advice from God about their still hidden or unacknowledged defects. Still others engage in written and verbal work on their defects, ending with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. These three—self-examination, meditation and prayer—form a circle, without a beginning or an end. No matter where, or how, I start, I eventually arrive at my destination: a better life.

Copyrighted © 1990. Reprinted with permission by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.