Bill W., co-founder of AA, said, “We are people who normally would not mix. But there exists among us a fellowship, a friendliness, and an understanding which is indescribably wonderful” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 17). When I first came to OA, at 5 feet tall (152 cm) and 206 pounds (93 kg), I was 80 pounds (36 kg) overweight. …

Enthusiasm, the quality of being filled with my Higher Power’s presence, reminds me that I always have a choice. A recent deep freeze in my part of the United States seemed to limit my choices; I couldn’t get my truck out of a snowbank to get to my weekly face-to-face OA meeting. Glumly, I stared out at the frozen landscape, …

When I began to explore ideas of a Power greater than myself, I readily conceded that nature is majestic—I often found peace among the redwood trees or in the Pacific surf—but praying to nature didn’t work for me. Then, in the quiet of meditation, I recalled a childhood memory: calling ‘God’ the beauty of the sun’s rays peeking through rainclouds. There …

About three years after I became abstinent, I was driving to a meeting when I felt the presence of God in my car. Peacefulness and calm came over me. It seemed as though God was guiding my driving, there in the car with me. I shared in the meeting about this experience, and someone whom I considered very spiritual asked …

When I was new to recovery, I would call my sponsor and complain about circumstances and how hard it was to stay abstinent. My sponsor would suggest that I get a bigger God. It took me a while to really understand what she meant; I believed in God, but realized I wasn’t able to trust him. Through working the Steps, …

I want to share about a coincidence at a recent meditation meeting. When I arrived, I noticed a man with long, matted hair and a beard to match, wearing wrinkled, dirty clothes. My first thought was he might be homeless. He had quite a few belongings in several paper bags and a backpack. After I exchanged words of welcome with this …

In the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous it says, “No man, we saw, could believe in God and defy Him, too. Belief meant reliance, not defiance” (p. 31). This is interesting because it clarifies the difference between understanding the concept of a higher power, and actually believing in a higher power. To truly believe is to accept …

Food tortured me from youth until I was 73 years old. It took me thirty years to make Step One. One day, three different Twelve Step friends suggested I write what I wanted from OA. Three different people on the same day? Sounds like a message from my Higher Power, whom I call Beloved. Here is what I wrote: I …

In a few days, I will celebrate thirty-eight years of recovery in OA. Today my goal is health, sanity, and wellness, not a size 8. Physically, my body has been a normal size for many years. G-d has removed the compulsion for what I call “the hard stuff”—the stuff you see at the grocery checkout counter. I have reached a …