Step 11 of Overeaters Anonymous – Feed You Inner Connection

As part of my continued Ode to the 12 Days of Christmas for Bulimics and Anorexics this post is about Step 11 of Overeaters Anonymous, which reads:

Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

This step reminds me of our continual expansion and ever deepening of connection with our higher/inner self.  The actual step uses the word God, but I don’t want you to get hung up on that word if it has any religious negative charge for you.  If it makes you feel better to replace God with Higher Being, Inner Self, Spirit, Source, the Universe, Buddha.  Whatever you want to put your faith in that allows you to connect to the greater part of you, please feel free.

There are two key components in the first part of this, Step 11 of Overeaters Anonymous, and that is the prayer and meditation.  I think the prayer part is our work in asking for what we want in life.  That which gives us fulfillment and joy is unique to each of us.  The contrasts (breakdowns, upsets and frustrations) of our life that challenge us to remain peaceful when things can seem out of whack and chaotic are actually gifts.  They allow us to see what we don’t want in our life with greater distinction.  This allows us greater clarity in prayer for what we want.  This is the “ask” part of the Abraham work (step 1 of Law of Attraction).

The second key to this part of the step is meditation and I think meditation is best practiced daily.  It is our way as physical beings of continually connecting with that inner/higher self.  When we can release our resistance to our physical consciousness through meditation we can connect and allow our connection to Source and receive guidance.  The most important guidance we can ever listen to is that which comes from within us from Source.

As the last part of the step reminds us “prayer only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out” it is our connection with Source that is the guidance most aligned with what we truly want for ourselves.  One of the important things I’ve learned over the years is not only listening to that inner wisdom and guidance, but trusting it.  I was just hiking with a girlfriend who we both learned was hearing her inner wisdom but wasn’t trusting it.  She doubted whether it was real and actionable.

Believe me – the guidance that comes from within is not only the most true compass you should follow, but your life will begin to unfold with greater ease and grace when you do trust and act on that guidance.  Bulimia recovery for me has been about a continued expanding of my self acceptance, connection with my Source and trusting the wisdom that I receive when I do.  My life works.  I thrive when I’m connected to Source.  I fear, I doubt, I believe in lack when I don’t.  I know that’s not my true place in life.  Lack and scarcity are contrary to my nature and they are of yours.

If you’re at Step 11 of OA then I encourage you to acknowledge how far you’ve come, take time for meditation and prayer in whatever form feels good to you and begin to trust, act and watch the results as your life unfolds.  Remember – you get what you expect in life so expect great things.

If you’d like to share your comments or feedback on my interpretation of this (step 11 of overeaters anonymous), please feel free to leave a message below.

Get ready for my past post of this series – Step 12 of Overeaters Anonymous (OA).  Here’s a preview:

 Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters and to practice these principles in all our affairs.