Step Eleven involves two chief elements:
1. Getting into a spiritual frame of mind; mentally exiting the material world and regaining the high ground where the mind belongs.
2. Seeking God's will through review and planning. This is the real substance of Step Eleven.
The second element is fully documented on pages 86 to 88 of the Big Book and requires little elaboration, as it's written in plain English. The only major point left unelaborated upon in those two pages is this: the section does not indicate whether anything should be written; if writing helps, do it; if it doesn't, don't. How do you find out? By trying. But few people are capable of producing and retaining clear corrective measures and detailed plan without writing or recording in some form.
The chief output of Step Eleven, therefore, is (a) a clear view of what needs changing in one's present beliefs, thinking, and behaviour (b) corrective measures in relation to each and (c) a plan for the day (plus plans further ahead if required).
1. is not a strictly integral part of Step Eleven, but experience suggests that it firstly does not hurt and secondly greatly helps, both in general and in relation to 2.
What might 1. consist in?
- Finding somewhere quiet to sit, stand, or adopt a suitable pose
- Shutting off outside distractions
- Candles, gongs, singing bowls, or other accoutrements
- A period of simply sitting quietly
- Returning gently and persistently to the breath, physical sensations, the moment, or an idea
- Listening to ambient sounds or otherwise stilling music
Ideas:
Insight Timer (on which there are thousands of tracks)
The following Spotify playlists:
- Walking, running, swimming
- Yoga
- Listening to spiritual talks
- Reading spiritual literature
- Practising slow, line-by-line contemplation of spiritual writings, in particular:
- The Psalms
- Proverbs
- The Gospels
- The Ethics of the Fathers, with commentary
- Ernest Holmes (daily meditations; the meditations from Science of Mind)
- Emmet Fox (meditations in various of his books)
- A Course in Miracles lessons (in particular the Workbook Part II lessons from Lesson 221 onwards)
- The text of A Course In Miracles
- The spiritual exercises suggested by Anthony de Mello in Sadhana
The above is obviously not an exhaustive list.
These practices are not a substitute for Step Eleven proper, i.e. the specific seeking of God's will with regard to review and planning. They serve two purposes:
- Placing one in a position to do Step Eleven proper
- Generally placing one in a more agreeable, peaceful, and positive frame of mind.
How long should one spend on 1.? Maybe hours a day. Certainly whenever there are gaps, when there is downtime, and definitely when there is any distress. In fact, 1. should be the first response to any distress, certainly prior to 'inventory', even if just for a few minutes.
What could be more worthwhile than being at peace?