Meditation.
Step 7.
I humbly ask God to remove my shortcomings.
Step 7 is all about putting ourselves in the right relationship to God through humility.
Here we humbly recognize and acknowledge that we can't change without God's help,
And we accept that our recovery must proceed according to God's will,
In God's timing.
We set aside our egotistical belief that we are in control,
And place our lives and our healing into God's hands.
In this meditation,
You'll have the opportunity to face God,
Ask for his help,
And explore the part you are to play in receiving it.
Guided meditation.
Make yourself comfortable and close your eyes.
Take a slow,
Deep breath,
And let go of any tension in your body as you feel yourself sinking into the surface you're resting on,
Becoming still,
More comfortable,
And relaxed.
Take another slow,
Deep breath,
And feel a sense of calm and peace begin to fill you as you relax further.
And take another slow,
Deep breath,
And let your thinking begin to wind down and smooth out as you become still,
Comfortable,
And relaxed.
Imagine you've been sleeping a deep,
Sound sleep for many hours,
And you're just beginning to stir awake.
And the first thing you notice is that you're waking up on a soft bed of pine needles on the ground,
Surrounded by ancient fir trees.
It's just before dawn,
And the air is quite cool.
The light is dim,
And there's a foggy mist in the air.
You can smell the scent of pine and the damp coolness of the earth.
It's quiet,
And any sound is blanketed by the mist.
Breathing is a palette of soft greens,
Grounds,
And graves.
Standing up,
You begin to walk along the path through the trees,
And you can feel the spongy ground beneath your feet.
Perhaps you still feel a bit foggy from your sleep,
But soon you come to a little spring.
Clap your hands to get a drink,
And splash some of the cool,
Clear water on your face.
Now you're beginning to wake up a bit,
And see the trees and plants that surround you more clearly.
You begin to continue down the forest path when a column of light descends from the heavens through the trees,
And directly in front of you,
Going straight down into the earth.
Having completed step six earlier on,
You know you're ready,
And so you step forward into the light,
And are immediately transported into another world,
In which you are naked in body,
Mind,
And spirit before the throne of God.
You may or may not be aware of the visual details of the setting in which you now find yourself,
But you know you're in the presence of your Creator,
And are here for a very important reason,
To ask for God's help.
If you wish,
Bow down as a symbolic gesture,
And in deepest humility,
You now make the following prayer.
Dear God,
I turn my life over to you,
And ask that you reform me according to your will,
That I might better serve you and your creation.
Please remove from me all my defects as you see fit,
In the manner and timing that pleases you,
And best serves the highest good of all concerned,
As only you can.
Please bring me the awareness to know when I am behaving out of my defects,
And the strength of character to let go when that occurs,
So that you might mold me in your hands.
Take some time to absorb the meaning of this prayer,
And to add whatever you may need to say to God now.
As the scene changes,
You find yourself back in the natural stone amphitheater you visited during previous meditations.
On the stage,
You're laying face up on an operating table,
Surrounded by a cone of light.
God's love is all around you,
As changes occur in your body,
Mind,
And spirit.
Negative attitudes and other energies are leaving your system,
While positive ones are being instilled,
All according to God's grace.
Take some time to experience this.
Again,
The scene changes,
And you now see yourself going about your day,
And coming to a point where you're acting out of a defective character,
One of the things you've asked God to help you remove.
And just as you're exhibiting this behavior,
A ray of light comes down from the heavens,
Touching softly into your mind.
Although in this scene you're not aware of this ray of light,
You do instantly recognize that you've behaved in a way that doesn't serve you or the others involved,
And doesn't reflect the person God would have you be.
Immediately upon receiving this awareness,
You shift your attitude,
Let go,
And correct your behavior.
And so,
This is how God has begun to answer your prayer.
By providing awareness,
You're given the opportunity to change.
Every time you recognize the need to change,
Then let go,
And come into alignment with your higher power,
Your prayer is being answered.
God brings you the circumstances and the opportunity to see your imperfections,
And gives you the choice to let them go.
Your path is provided for you by God.
Your only job is to say yes at every step.
In doing so,
You're placing yourself in God's hands,
And humbling allowing Him to mold you as He sees fit.
It's almost time to bring this inner journey to a close,
So gather together anything you have learned that you'd like to bring with you.
Gradually bring your awareness back into your body and your physical surroundings.
Take a slow,
Deep breath,
And on the exhalation,
Begin to wiggle your fingers,
Bringing new life and energy back into your body.
Take your time,
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes and feel awake,
Alert,
And refreshed.
Pick up your pen and paper and write about your experience now,
While it's still fresh in your mind.
Later on,
Revisit this meditation and learn more.
