I was recently asked to do a group with the young men at Spearhead Lodge. After asking the Universe for inspiration I created a group that included a short writing assignment, meditation, and then ended with a prayer. My hope, as always, is that I could somehow be a vessel for these residents to grow their own spiritual connection with a Power greater than themselves. I started off by asking them to write down what a perfect meditation what would that look like to them individually. The moment I said “begin” no time was wasted. The newer residents and also those who have been here for a little while began writing. I sat back in my seat in awe of their willingness to participate. For those of us who have been in the treatment industry for some time know that, at times, there can be a limited level of willingness to participate in a spiritual exercise such as this as newcomers to sobriety. The mere concept can feel very foreign to them as it did to me in early recovery. The next part was a meditation. They were asked to keep their eyes closed since even that alone can be a challenge for newcomers in sobriety. The energy was still with the complete absence of motion. With stillness being the gateway to self-nourishment, clear awareness, and healing, they willingly sat motionless in an attempt to grow their connection with a Power greater than themselves. Lastly, I asked them to get really vulnerable by drawing names of their community members out of a hat and writing prayers to this person. The only direction given was for them to start with “My Brother, I pray that you…”. They were then asked to stand with this person in the middle of the circle we created and look this other person in the eye and share what they wrote. I can’t tell you how incredible it was to bear witness to the Power that moved through each of them. They couldn’t wait to be the next person to get up to share with their Brother the prayer they’d written for the man in front of them. Both newer and older members shared openly the prayers they had written. A few residents had just arrived, but nonetheless got up and read what they wrote. This can be an incredibly uncomfortable exercise when you have recently been removed from the very things that had given you the comfort and ease to share that kind of space with someone.  They would hug each other afterwards and say “I love you”. There is a movement happening here at Spearhead Lodge, young men are recovering and lighting a fire for this thing we like to call the Twelve Steps of Recovery. You see, there is a solution. You just have to be willing to open your eyes, or maybe, just close them long enough to let the Power flow in. Ricka Messerve, Office Manager Spearhead Lodge