by Jim W » Sun Jul 11, 2010 10:08 am
The practices within Step Ten are rigorous and require discipline, but when practiced, can transform a person's daily life.
Several years back, I went to a gentleman and asked him to work with me. He had returned from Northern India not long before that where he had studied with the Tibetan Buddhist in exile there. So we ended up doing a lot of work in 10 & 11. He had me work two weeks at a time with each practice-watching, pausing, asking, and turning.
These practices are interwoven. The point is to hone my awareness in the here and now, in the moment. Joe had me practice pausing throughout the day, even when I wasn't agitated or doubtful, like after I finish a task and before I start a new task. And taking specific times through out the day to take a few minutes pause a get re- centered. One can use the phrase "Thy will and not mine be done" or any phrase that you use when praying. If you practice centering prayer, use your sacred word. I use my breath. Just pause and breathe and pay attention.
Sometimes I feel far away from God. Breathing centers me back in, because breath is like God. The unrealized essential that is always there and that I take for granted. And then realize too that God is closer to me than my next breath.
Another benefit of pausing is that I slow down. We live our lives in a big rush, going from here to there and not being conscious of the here and now because when I'm hurrying to get somewhere else, I'm not in the present. Two years ago I made a conscious effort to slow down, to live more consciously, to live with intention. Step 10 is really about living prayerfully.
