July 12, 2012
Tonight I complete Step Seven after the Thursday night meeting. Between here and there lies a long walk and a plasma donation. Plenty of time to contemplate my program and my progress these last 6 months (almost 7 at this point). As it is written the Seventh Step is;
'Humbly asked him to remove our shortcomings.'
This is usually accomplished much like Step Three, with a prayer and a witness;
'My creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength as I go out from here to do your bidding. Amen.'
I don't feel that I NEED to rewrite this prayer, but that I SHOULD. This particular prayer and the concept within it is very similar to the Buddhist concept of 'Living in Vow' (Though a pesky Buddhist might say ' it is and is not similar').
And so my Seventh Step Prayer becomes my Seventh Step Vow;
'My Refuge, I am now willing that you accept all of me, which I give wholeheartedly to The Buddha, The Dharma, and The Sangha, that all the catching edges of my soul be worn smooth as I move through the Stream always toward the farther shore. Nurture my conviction and willingness to hold up all life as I hold up my own, with Love, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity.'
Now I'm going to meditate on Bodhi Mind as I walk to Plasma.
Tonight I complete Step Seven after the Thursday night meeting. Between here and there lies a long walk and a plasma donation. Plenty of time to contemplate my program and my progress these last 6 months (almost 7 at this point). As it is written the Seventh Step is;
'Humbly asked him to remove our shortcomings.'
This is usually accomplished much like Step Three, with a prayer and a witness;
'My creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength as I go out from here to do your bidding. Amen.'
I don't feel that I NEED to rewrite this prayer, but that I SHOULD. This particular prayer and the concept within it is very similar to the Buddhist concept of 'Living in Vow' (Though a pesky Buddhist might say ' it is and is not similar').
And so my Seventh Step Prayer becomes my Seventh Step Vow;
'My Refuge, I am now willing that you accept all of me, which I give wholeheartedly to The Buddha, The Dharma, and The Sangha, that all the catching edges of my soul be worn smooth as I move through the Stream always toward the farther shore. Nurture my conviction and willingness to hold up all life as I hold up my own, with Love, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity.'
Now I'm going to meditate on Bodhi Mind as I walk to Plasma.
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