Recovery Progress Report My favorite slogan is “Progress, not perfection,” from Chapter 5 of the Big Book. It says, “The principles we have set down …
How OA Changed My Life Truth Telling Throughout my time in OA, I have been helped by certain program slogans. Simply saying them can change my frame of mind. Whe…
Steps Self-Subtraction In a meeting many years ago, people with strong long-term recovery shared on the topic of placing Principles before personal…
Higher Power Quit Claim One program slogan is particularly special to me because it saved my life: “Don’t quit before the miracle happens.” Back in …
Higher Power Kiss It Better I like to remember the acronym K.I.S.S.—“Keep It Simple, Sweetie”—because sometimes when I experience a craving, I panic. “O…
Recovery Sticking to It I came to OA devastated, broken, and defeated, and I will never forget the first voice I heard on the phone, a longtime OA m…
How OA Changed My Life Uncategorized Thought Police I have learned that the thought precedes the bite. So to get rid of a thought, I must employ a replacement thought. Slogans …
Gratitude Recovery What Needs to Happen For me, the slogans are an amazing resource. When life is tough and I feel like I am running on an empty tank, the Steps can…
Higher Power All I Have to Do! Slogans—I love them! Since my return to OA, I seem to be using them more and more. To me they are triggers, good triggers—wo…
Journal Questions For Discussion and Journaling In moments of feeling “terminally unique,” the author of I Belong (p. 13) would ask, “Do you look for similarities or differ…
How OA Changed My Life Recovery True Freedom When a fellow OA member suggested I reflect on what true freedom looks like for me, I discovered I could probably write a book. Before OA, I truly felt I already had it in the form of a solid career, … Read More
Higher Power Spirituality Stepping-Stones, Nuggets, and Gems Spirituality is the solution to our problem of powerlessness, and we find this solution in the Twelve Step program of recovery. I’ve experienced three stepping-stones in this process: Amen, Amends, Am… Read More
The Road Narrows My twenty-ninth birthday in OA is approaching, and it is cause for renewed reflection about my program. I spoke to my sponsor a week ago and mentioned to her that I was thinking of not taking a candle this year. Other OA members on their birthdays pitch about life changes: weddings, kids, jobs, financial gain, or acquisition of cars. I … Read More
Share It: Powerful Shares, Joyful Reading, Pages and Prayers Powerful Shares I wanted to share how sad I am to hear about the discontinuation of Lifeline. It has literally been a lifeline to me. I am one of the ones who answered your 2018 subscription appeal, and I recently renewed my subscription and will cherish every last issue. Thank you for the articles about “The Joys of Retreats and … Read More
Recovery Beyond Measure 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 … Read More