Once a person’s physical health has been restored from the damages of addiction, the need for prayer and meditation to restore spiritual health comes to the forefront. No matter how much alcoholics or drug addicts have tried to drown or strangle the spiritual essence within them, somehow that spark continues to burn, even if diminished. Prayer and meditation provide the fan necessary to ignite that spark into the flame of an energized and fulfilling life. Recovery does not require subscription to any particular religion or belief system, but it does require the humility of accepting the need for recognizing a universal power greater than one’s individual self. The primary tool of tapping into that universal power is the process of prayer and meditation.
Learning to quiet the “committee” and be still through prayer and meditation
After an alcoholic or drug addict has come through the fog or early recovery, feelings begin to surface, often accompanied by anxiety. The voices of low self-esteem that most alcoholics and drug addicts suffer begin to form a committee and speak up, even louder than before. They say, “You’re not good enough;” “You aren’t doing enough;” “You don’t deserve this;” “You’ll never match up to your _______________.” Quieting those voices with alcohol or drugs is no longer an option, so prayer and meditation need to step in. No matter whether a person is new to the practices or needs to revisit rituals learned in the past, he will soon discover that the discipline of prayer and meditation will calm the racket of the committee.
Letting go of stubbornness and self-will
People with addictions often cling stubbornly to the belief that they can “go it alone.” They have trouble reaching out to others, and they often have huge issues with trust. Introducing the idea of a higher spiritual essence greater than the individual often meets with resistance. They soon will come to discover that the complex process of recovery demands attention to spiritual wellbeing. Every small step toward finding a power outside one’s self takes a person closer to the peace of mind desired in recovery (http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/12steps/a/aa031297.htm). With prayer as a process of request and meditation as a process of listening, recovering alcoholics and addicts will find a calmness of spirit they have longed for.