Courage to Change:
What is meditation? Al-Anon leaves that question open for each of us to answer in our own way. Drawing upon the experiences of other Al-Anon members can help us to find our own path. Here are only a few of the ways members of the fellowship have shared:
To me, meditation is a higher spiritual awareness. I practice remembering that every action can serve a spiritual purpose.
I go to a quiet place, close my eyes, and repeat the words of the Serenity Prayer to myself in a gentle voice.
I need to get beyond my thoughts, so I concentrate on my breathing, counting from one to ten over and over as I breathe in and out.
I simply step back and watch my thoughts as if I were watching a play. I try to keep my attention on the present day only, leaving the past and the future alone.
I focus on a flower. When my thoughts stray, I accept that my mind is just doing its job — thinking — and then gently return to my subject.
In my mind, I picture my Higher Power’s hands. One by one, I place my problems and worries, my joy and my gratitude, into those hands, and finally, I climb in too.