Feb 08: Emotional Balance

Emotional Balance

And let’s always remember that meditation in reality is intensely practical. One of its first fruits is emotional balance. With it we can broaden and deepen the channel between ourselves and God as we understand him. (12×12, 101-102)

Although I pray in the morning and evening, I don’t often take time for meditation. I’m in the middle of a big move and find myself thinking: I don’t have the time for meditation. My old thinking says, if I’m not wandering around my apartment doing stuff or worrying about the stuff I’m not currently doing I’m wasting my time. I’m sitting “like a bump on a log,” as my grandma used to say.

Then I came across the quote above from the 12×12. My current state of mind says that meditation is not practical. Before I moved into this period of concentrated stress, I was pretty pleased with myself in terms of “constant contact” with my HP. My routine included morning prayers, sitting down to check in with myself throughout the day, evening prayers and a Tenth Step review.

Now, when I sit down my heart is pounding and my mind is racing. I am not emotionally balanced. So … I’m re-prioritizing meditation. And I hope to hear from all of you on this topic (or another topic of your choosing). What do you do in times of stress to keep up your constant contact? How do you practice constant contact with your HP? Do you have a story to share about one time when turning to prayer/meditation really did help to bring you into emotional balance?