I could have (did, actually) asked this same question about many aspects of the twelve steps, like, “Why on earth do I have to turn my will and my life over to the care of God? I just want to stop drinking and loosing my job.” Like so many things in recovery, meditation has turned out to be a wonderful surprise. Including meditation, along with prayer, in my daily routine keeps improving my God contact and has added immensely to all aspects of my life.
Chris H

As I progressed in my recovery I began to see the steps as having less to do with drinking and drugging and much more to do with living. As far as living goes, meditation is a wonderful tool. Meditation has helped me: •be more peaceful •be less anxious •be more creative •have more energy •be healthier •be less neurotic •sleep better •need less sleep •be happier •improve my conscious contact with God. I am truly grateful that meditation was suggested in the Eleventh Step.
Gifford D

When I first saw meditation mentioned in the 11th Step I thought it meant sitting down and reading a nice little “meditation” passage out of some book. Now, after listening to people talk in meetings, I am getting the impression that the step really means Meditation, you know, like the Buddhist monks do. How do I do this? I’ve tried and I can’t even meditate for 10 seconds! My mind keeps running like crazy!

Relax! I have been practicing meditation as instructed by this step for years and I can’t meditate for 10 seconds either. It takes much longer than that for me to quiet my mind and enter that deep, restful state that is at the core of meditation. Successful meditation requires practice and perseverance: two things I was never good at. I had to force myself to sit still for much longer than 10 seconds to get my mind to quiet down at all and I needed to practice this for many days before I got any good at it. The payoff has been enormous: the greatest benefit being a calmness at my center where I am connected to my Higher Power.
Chris H

There are some basic elements for successful meditation. First it requires a little discipline. Pick a time of day, perhaps early morning, or when you get home from work (or even both) and plan to allocate at least 20 minutes. Pick a quiet place where interruptions are unlikely and choose a comfortable place to sit. The next step is to close your eyes and start breathing slowly and deeply, becoming aware of your breath as it goes in and out. Some people find it helpful to use a “mantra” with this breathing process, such as thinking “Peace” on the incoming breath and “Release” while exhaling – this is a form of distraction to keep our mind off of its natural tendency to jump around from thought to thought. If thoughts do come up don’t worry, just let them go and continue breathing deeply. As we continue we eventually come into a very peaceful, uncluttered state of mind. In this state of peace our God consciousness can grow.
Gifford D

Alcoholics (and addicts) possess a restless spirit that tends toward overactivity. We not only practiced uncontrolled drinking, but we showed evidence of our intemperance in many other ways. Therefore we recommend relaxation as an aid to prayer and suggest that a quiet time, aside from prayer, will be beneficial to all alcoholics. The habit of relaxation practiced during these quiet times is exactly what we need. We attempt to momentarily suspend all mental and physical activities. We try to relax our entire bodies, then close our minds to the worries and anxieties about us. What do we think about? Just relaxation. Then we let go of our cares and turn to God with this simple prayer: Thy Will Be Done.
Little Red Book pp.105-106