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Introduction
Step 1
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Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7
Step 8
Step 9
Step 10
Step 11
Step 12
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The SEA's Program
SEA's 12 Step Guide
Step 11
Content:
Step 11: We sought through
prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with our Higher Power
praying for knowledge of what we are capable of becoming and the power to carry
this out.
Openness to all that you can be
Step
11 requires that you open yourself to the full range of possibility thinking. It
is a "can do'' attitude which is strengthened through spiritually
connecting with your Higher Power in the form of positive self-affirmation,
letting go of the uncontrollables and unchangeables in your life and openness to
accept that the human condition is not perfect and that we have possibilities
even if we fail or are not perfect.
Prayer
and meditation are the channels to open yourself to the possibility of
recognizing all that you are capable of becoming. This process can lead to
positive change for you as exemplified in the following:
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The
Answer
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Prayer
plus positive thinking leads to creative change.
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God
always answers prayers.
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When
the idea is not right He says, ``No.''
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When
the timing is not right He says, ``Slow.''
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When
I am not ready He says, ``Grow.''
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When
all is in order He says, ``Go.''
To
assist you in Step 11, consult Tools for
Personal Growth, Spirituality.
There you are encouraged to grow in faith, hope and love. Also in the same book
in Handling Pride, you are encouraged to
remind yourself that, no matter how bad things get, your Higher Power is there
to help you as long as you are there to help yourself in a partnership with your
Higher Power. As the poem, ``The Difference,'' points out, this partnership is
to be practiced in daily dialogue with your Higher Power.
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The
Difference
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I
got up early one morning
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and
rushed right into the day:
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I
had so much to accomplish
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that
I didn't have time to pray.
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Problems
just tumbled about me,
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and
heavier came each task.
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``Why
doesn't God help me?'' I wondered.
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He
answered, ``You didn't ask.''
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I
wanted to see joy and beauty,
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but
the day toiled on, gray and bleak.
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I
wondered why God didn't show me.
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He
said, ``But you didn't seek.''
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I
tried to come into God's presence;
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I
tried all my keys at the lock.
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God
gently and lovingly chided,
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``My
child, you didn't knock.''
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I
woke up early this morning,
-
and
paused before entering the day;
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I
had so much to accomplish
-
that
I had to take time to pray.
The
power of visualization in meditation is a tool to assist you to practice that
which you are capable of becoming in cooperation with the strength of your
Higher Power. In Tools for Personal Growth,
Self-Affirmation, the concept of
visualizing positive aspects of your life is discussed.
Step
11 encourages you to place your Higher Power in a realistic perspective. There
is no guarantee on earth that your life will be free of hurt and pain as you
recover from low self-esteem. All that is guaranteed at the end of life is that
the road to recovery will be worth it, as exemplified in the following poem:
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The
Weaver
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My
life is but a weaving
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Between
my Lord and me.
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I
cannot choose the colors.
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He
worketh steadily.
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Ofttimes
he weaveth sorrow.
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And
I in foolish pride
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Forget
He sees the upper
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And
I, the underside.
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Not
till the loom is silent
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And
the shuttles cease to fly
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Shall
God unroll the canvas
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And
explain the reason why.
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The
dark threads are as needful
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In
the Weaver's skillful hand
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As
the threads of gold and silver
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In
the pattern He has planned.
As you grow in prayer,
meditation, and visualization, reframe Step 11 to show how it benefits you in
your progress at recovering from low self-esteem.
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