457- Gary K - Step 11 - Spiritual Hygiene (Greatest Hits)457- Gary K - Step 11 - Spiritual Hygiene (Greatest Hits)
Sober Speak- Alcoholics Anonymous Recovery Interviews
Gary K shares how Step 11 became his daily “spiritual hygiene,” using simple prayer, meditation and the St Francis prayer to shift from self‑reliance to dependence on a higher power. John M frames the conversation for anyone wanting a practical, down‑to‑earth way to keep their inner life clean in sobriety.
1:17:02•17 Jul 2026
Keeping Your Soul Fresh: Gary K on Step 11 and Spiritual Hygiene
Episode Overview
- Step 10 and 11 are presented as essential daily tools, not optional extras, for maintaining sobriety and emotional balance.
- Simple, consistent actions like kneeling prayers of “please” and “thank you” form a practical foundation for conscious contact with a higher power.
- Gary highlights the difference between merely believing in God and actually depending on a power greater than oneself.
- The St Francis prayer is used as a working guide to become a channel of love and tolerance rather than spreading anger, opinions and judgement.
- Spiritual hygiene, including regular inventory and occasional deeper work with a sponsor, is compared to brushing teeth and seeing a dentist to prevent life from "stinking."
“My spiritual hygiene is more important to me than my physical hygiene because I'm going to be producing something out of my life each day with the people I encounter.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This episode zooms in on Step 11 and what Gary K calls “spiritual hygiene” – keeping your inner life as clean as your teeth. Host John M sets the stage from “studio AA, deep in the heart of Texas”, before handing things over to long‑time guest Gary K from Sulphur Springs, Texas, sober since July 1994.
The focus is Step 11: “sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him,” and how that plays out in daily life.
Gary jokes that “10 and 11 are not for extra credit,” then explains how his sponsor had him start with very simple actions: getting on his knees in the morning with, “Good morning, God, please,” and at night, “Good night, God, thank you.” He shares that he’d always believed in God, even as a former pastor, but had never depended on a higher power: self‑reliance and whiskey had been his real “gods”.
Step 11, for him, became about learning dependence through action rather than theory. A big chunk of the chat centres on the St Francis prayer. Gary was told to “pray it until you own it,” using it line by line and treating it as a reminder that he’s always a channel of something – either fear, opinions and judgement, or love and tolerance. His favourite comparison?
Daily prayer and inventory as spiritual hygiene: “My spiritual hygiene is more important to me than my physical hygiene,” because without it he ends up breathing out anger, opinions and “spiritual pollution” on everyone around him. If you’re curious what a simple, repeatable Step 11 routine can look like – and how it might keep your life from “stinking” – this one might be exactly what you need today.
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