Tools & Concepts Thanks for Sharing I haven’t written for Lifeline in a while, but today life got in my way. At least food didn’t, eh? But it tried to. Yes, even with fifteen years of recovery, the thoughts still sometimes make a plausible case for indulging. The Big Book says, “We are without defense against the first drink” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 24), and … Read More
Meetings Tools & Concepts No Secret Looking at my family photographs and reflecting on the last twelve years brings tears to my eyes. At my first OA meeting, I could barely hold my head up and say my name to pick up my twenty four-hour abstinence chip, which I still have. I was 43 years old, remarried, twice my normal body weight, and the mother of … Read More
Atheists & Agnostics Higher Power Port of Call My spiritual journey in OA started like a ship in a sea of confusion. How could I understand God’s plan for me, or take Steps Three and Eleven—surrender to, and maintain conscious contact with, God as I understood him—when I don’t believe that I, as a human, can understand God? My ship visited many ports of discovery. In Port One, … Read More
Atheists & Agnostics Higher Power Knock, Knock I went to my first OA meeting many years ago. I already knew someone, so it wasn’t too scary. I liked the meeting, having long ago figured out that food, for me, was an addiction just like alcohol or drugs. (That’s pretty common knowledge now but wasn’t in the 1980s.) How many times had I tried dieting in various forms—paid … Read More
Recovery Relationships Meditation: “Quality Time” This is a story of my relationship with HP, whom I choose to call God. I did all of my Steps up to Step Eleven. The Eleventh Step said for me to pray and meditate. I was good at praying and asking for what I wanted, but staying quiet and listening? That was all new to me. All I knew … Read More
Higher Power Trusted Others I’ve heard that a Higher Power can be anything or anyone but me. However, I do believe in listening to my own intuition and conscience, in addition to outside voices. I believe in God, but I don’t believe in a God who directly intervenes in my every interaction. Instead, God is embodied in appropriate others, in my case, my sponsors, … Read More
Higher Power New-Mother Energy When I came to OA, I was immediately attracted to the God language and knew this was the path for me because I am a rabbi and God is my business. But I struggled to get abstinent. Step One was easy, Step Two was a given, and I thought Step Three should’ve been also. My sponsor often said, “You’re a … Read More
Atheists & Agnostics Higher Power The Power is OA I rarely use “agnostic” or “atheist” to describe myself, and the question “Is there a God?” is not one I give much thought to. Many people have religious or spiritual answers, others have scientific theories, and it’s clear they believe these narratives with passion and certitude. But I came to believe it would be intellectual arrogance for me to feel … Read More
Relapse Relapse & Recovery The Day’s Help My life has been changed by Step Eleven. My whole life, I’d been searching for connection with God and had a desire to do his will. (My Higher Power is God, but as you read this, fill in your name for your Higher Power and use the pronouns that work for you.) But I was unable to connect to God … Read More
Higher Power Power by Committee Three years ago, I came in the doors of OA as a 500-pound (227-kg), spiritually bankrupt King Baby. Either God was a jerk or didn’t exist, so “whatever” was my spirituality. It was all about me and what I wanted, anyway, so why let that get in the way? While I had no real issue with Step One, finding a … Read More