The millions of recovering addicts who attend Twelve Step programs around the world each day-for issues ranging from alcoholism to overeating, codependence, gambling, and even chronic lateness-quickly learn that sobriety and abstinence hinge on a decision to turn over their will and life to a Power greater than themselves. They also learn, through the program's 11th Step, that prayer and meditation are vital tools for making this conscious contact with a Higher Power of their understanding.
However, for many recovering addicts-whether newcomers or veterans with years in the program-the 11th Step can prove confusing and elusive. What exactly does it mean to pray and meditate? How does one go about making conscious contact with a Power greater than oneself? What do you do if you are not religious, or are an atheist? As one AA member put it: "When you walk into a meeting, no one hands you a manual explaining how to do this stuff." The reality is that recovering addicts who fail to embrace the 11th Step often become disillusioned with the program and quit. Relapse and a life filled with misery can follow.
Soul Silence: A Unique Approach to Mastering AA's 11th Step outlines a comprehensive program that specifically links prayer and meditation to recovery, offers clear definitions and instructions for these practices, and teaches the reader how to listen within for spiritual insights that are key to ongoing sobriety and abstinence, and then apply this knowledge to their lives.
Part guidebook, part memoir, Soul Silence is written by Peter Amato, M.A., a meditation master and psychotherapist with sixteen years of sobriety and abstinence in twelve-step programs. His tried-and-true approach to prayer and meditation is the cornerstone of his Inner Harmony Workshops, which have helped thousands of men and women develop a new understanding of the 11th Step, recommit to their recovery, and enjoy lives filled with peace, passion, and purpose.
