Step 11- “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood him”
Today we had an amazing experience at our San Diego sober living home. About 3 weeks ago a representative from The Art of Living Foundation reached out to us after locating our home on the San Diego Sober Living Coalition website. Priyam, from the non-profit foundation, The Art of Living, was offering to volunteer her time to bring meditation instruction and practice to the recovery houses in North County San Diego. Although she felt strongly that meditation was a practice that could greatly help the recovery of alcoholics and addicts everywhere, she was pleasantly surprised to discover that this practice is incorporated in the 12-step recovery process, which we believe in whole-heartedly.
We believe that one of the most significant practices at Shoreline Sober Living that leads to the unprecedented rate of recovery that our recovery house offers is our focus on spiritual principals. This type of practice and its interpretation can vary greatly from one sober resident to another, and we greatly encourage each resident to discover what works for them.
The Art of Living team arrived around 10:30 AM and spent some time discussing the benefits of meditation. They did an excellent job of asking each sober resident about their personal experience with these practices and what each resident hoped to achieve through practicing meditation. Following our discussion we were lead to do an active yoga warm up followed by an active meditation. Most of our residents were introduced to practices that they had not experienced before. The total length of the meditation lasted around 30 minutes and the feedback that each resident gave following the meditation was excellent.
In our experience most residents entering sober living haven’t had much experience with meditation. Although meditation is not practiced as part of the 12 steps in Alcoholics Anonymous until Step 11, we certainly believe that our residents can begin to experience its benefits right away. The inner peace and sense of calm through stillness and quiet that many achieve through meditation can also be found through practicing Yoga. Shoreline Sober Living is uniquely located in Encinitas, known as the birthplace of western yoga, and many of our sober living residents have become regular practitioners.
We believe in the healing power of community and spirit and we hope that everyone out there struggling with addiction realizes that recovering alone is nearly impossible. If you are interested in beginning or continuing your recovery with a community built from love and compassion for those suffering, in an upscale North County Recovery Home call us at (858) 900-5079.
We encourage you to check back anytime to see what other exciting and fun activities our sober living residents are taking part in. Stay tuned for next weeks blog on our upcoming Shoreline Sober Living Paintball Trip!
Special Thank you to Priyam and her fellowship!
Sincerely,
Robert W