Full-Length Program I would like to comment on “No Stone Unturned” in the May/June 2018 issue of Lifeline. It begins on page 11 under the subheading “Conscious Contact and Relationships.” I’ve been receiving Lifeline magazine for a number of years and have to say that this article is the most profound I’ve ever read! It includes all aspects of the writer’s program … Read More
Back on Track I experienced miraculous recovery working the Steps of OA. I’d never in my life been more spiritually fit, more emotionally sound, more physically recovered, yet I felt as if I’d just touched the tip of the iceberg of everything the OA Fellowship could fulfill in my life. It was “steady as she goes,” and the pounds came off slowly but … Read More
Complaint Stoplight “Chronic complaining is a useless practice that destroys self-acceptance and self-reliance . . . Instead . . . I can ask myself, “Is there anything I can do to help myself with this?” (For Today, p. 239). Chronic complaining sounds like self-abuse: if I continue to stay in the problem, then I am living in the problem—and living in the … Read More
Love Action At last night’s meeting, my group read the April 17 entry in For Today (p. 108). Writing on the topic of “love in action” convinced me to be more questioning and honest about working the Twelve Steps. My main takeaway was the idea that love is expressed in actions. Words of love, in and of themselves, are insufficient. I have … Read More
Workshop Win We, eight compulsive overeaters and ordinary OA members, recently completed a sixteen-week workshop using the Overeaters Anonymous Twelve Step Workshop and Study Guide. We found the process so transformative in our lives and recovery that we want to share our extraordinary experience. We hope everyone finds the strength and profound intimate connection we found, for we now believe the saying … Read More
Give It Some G-A-S When I came into OA in 1983, I was taught early on about the G-A-S that makes the program run: Gratitude, Abstinence, and Service. I started my service by giving rides to meetings, arranging for my two daughters to babysit so young mothers could get to meetings, and making at least three phone calls every day. I set up the … Read More
Worthy of Writing I feel that writing is one of the most valuable Tools in our OA toolbox. It’s available twenty-four hours a day and is a way to connect with our own thoughts and feelings and be nurtured and nourished, which is what I’m always seeking as a compulsive overeater. At any given time, I have on hand several journals for writing, … Read More
The Only Thing That Worked Hi, I’m Chris B., a compulsive overeater and powerless over food. I would not be alive today if I didn’t sponsor. I say this because it’s my truth, and I cannot keep what I’ve received unless I give it away. I used to weigh over 430 pounds (195 kg). I used to question whether I could sponsor someone or not. … Read More
Speed Dating for Sponsors At our annual retreat, a miscommunication turned into a fantastic new workshop. When the leader of a session on sponsorship referred to “speed dating,” several members of the organizing committee thought we were going to experience speed dating for sponsors! It seemed a natural progression: we could move from a session on the benefits of sponsorship to a practical activity. The … Read More
Perfect Meetings, Perfect Sponsors Our program works without us working it perfectly. I’m celebrating thirty years of abstinence, and I don’t even know how “working it perfectly” looks. Taking awkward baby steps, clumsily using the Tools, and making a haphazard job of the Steps and Traditions is enough for me. Expecting perfection from ourselves and others can cost us our recovery. I’ll be blunt: … Read More