| CHRISTIAN MEDITATION AS AN ELEVENTH STEP PRACTICE |
The World Community for Christian Meditation 11th Step Practice St. Mark's, Myddelton Square London EC1R 1XX England, UK +44 0207 278 2070 Email: info@christianmeditation11step.org www.christianmeditation11step.org |
| I am American and Italian and speak both languages fluently, as well as French and Spanish. I have been in the hotel and travel business my entire career, especially in the consultancy and transaction aspects of the industry. At present, I have my own firm and concentrate mainly on Switzerland. I am open and willing to share my experience, strength and hope on the link between recovery from addition and Christian Meditation, on the principle that the “therapeutic value of one addict working with another is without parallel.” |
11th step experience
I have been in recovery since 1985, first in Italy, then principally in Switzerland
where I live. Over the years, I have also traveled to various other countries and
have attended meetings wherever I could find them.
In this recovery context, in the early 1990’s, I became more and more aware of
how scattered and often confused my thinking was. I vaguely knew what
meditation was but not more, however I was attracted by a poster in my
neighborhood in Geneva, advertising an introductory course in meditation. I
went to the first night course, and as they say, “the rest is history”. This
meditation approach was under the guidance of a Hindu master living in New
York,with groups all over the world. I immediately took to the meditation part
and participated actively in the groups for several years. Over time however,
the non-Christian context began to bother me. Sometime later, on a weekend
visit to Worth Abbey, near London, I learned about our Christian Meditation and
on return to Geneva, I set up a group here. This initial “group” often consisted
of just me, but over the years it has touched many people who come through
Geneva, as we are a somewhat transient city. Finally, we now have a core group
of about 15 regulars, and growing. We meet in a warm and cozy room at the
Emmanuel American Church downtown.
Addition as I see it is a disease of alienation from self, others and God. The
recovery process is a “coming home” to what is true inside us and this permits
us to reconnect with others and with our Higher Power. What better friend on
this path than Christian Meditation, which daily, softly brings me back to my
center, where the Spirit dwells? It has not always been easy, especially in my
case, to repeat the mantra faithfully during the entire time of my twice daily
meditations. Also, although it was relatively simple to get the morning
meditation in from the start, it took years to fit in the one in the evening on a
regular basis. As they say in the program, “it gets better”. Lately in particular,
I have noticed a softening in myself, a greater calm and vulnerability, which are
a welcome change from the defensive person I am instinctively. I know that
“more will be revealed” and look forward to the path expanding".
I have been in recovery since 1985, first in Italy, then principally in Switzerland
where I live. Over the years, I have also traveled to various other countries and
have attended meetings wherever I could find them.
In this recovery context, in the early 1990’s, I became more and more aware of
how scattered and often confused my thinking was. I vaguely knew what
meditation was but not more, however I was attracted by a poster in my
neighborhood in Geneva, advertising an introductory course in meditation. I
went to the first night course, and as they say, “the rest is history”. This
meditation approach was under the guidance of a Hindu master living in New
York,with groups all over the world. I immediately took to the meditation part
and participated actively in the groups for several years. Over time however,
the non-Christian context began to bother me. Sometime later, on a weekend
visit to Worth Abbey, near London, I learned about our Christian Meditation and
on return to Geneva, I set up a group here. This initial “group” often consisted
of just me, but over the years it has touched many people who come through
Geneva, as we are a somewhat transient city. Finally, we now have a core group
of about 15 regulars, and growing. We meet in a warm and cozy room at the
Emmanuel American Church downtown.
Addition as I see it is a disease of alienation from self, others and God. The
recovery process is a “coming home” to what is true inside us and this permits
us to reconnect with others and with our Higher Power. What better friend on
this path than Christian Meditation, which daily, softly brings me back to my
center, where the Spirit dwells? It has not always been easy, especially in my
case, to repeat the mantra faithfully during the entire time of my twice daily
meditations. Also, although it was relatively simple to get the morning
meditation in from the start, it took years to fit in the one in the evening on a
regular basis. As they say in the program, “it gets better”. Lately in particular,
I have noticed a softening in myself, a greater calm and vulnerability, which are
a welcome change from the defensive person I am instinctively. I know that
“more will be revealed” and look forward to the path expanding".
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| THE WORLD COMMUNITY FOR CHRISTIAN MEDITATION |