Working Step 11 by: Marie B.

The final three steps prepare us for a future of long-term recovery. These last steps

encourage consistent patterns of mind that help us correct our codependent slips as

they happen, so that they happen less. We don’t want to return to the

unmanageability that brought us to CoDA in the first place.

Step Eleven reads, “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.”

The essence of this step is to know that we are not alone—our Higher Power is a constant force in our lives, if we let it be.

The Codependents Anonymous book offers that we talk to our Higher Power

through prayer, and we receive their message through meditation (page 71). We

must truly listen to the message from our Higher Power: one of the things that

brought us to CoDA was ignoring it. “As we grow through our daily practice of Step

Eleven, we are truly allowing God to control our daily lives and recovery. Our fears

decrease and we come to trust that all we need to meet each day is provided for by

our Higher Power” (Codependents Anonymous, page 75).

Any relationship requires intentional care and maintenance and our relationship

with our Higher Power is no different. Step Eleven guides us in maintaining

conscious contact with our Higher Power. This is a life-long practice that operates

every minute of every day.

As I close this blog post, I wonder:

- What does prayer/meditation look like for you? Do you need to

improve those practices?

- How do you talk to your Higher Power? How do you listen?

- How do you know if you are receiving a message from your Higher

Power? Are you aware of any signs that indicate you are ignoring your

Higher Power’s will/direction?

- What will happen if you ignore your Higher Power’s will for you?