Atheists & Agnostics Higher Power HP Did for Me I was 19 and had been in OA for six months and abstinent throughout that period. I’d learned about a Higher Power but hadn’t felt the presence of one. I certainly didn’t believe it might be real for me. I accepted that it worked for other people, and I believed that they believed. But I was still willing and able … Read More
Steps Light Wash Step 7: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. I have a habit of checking how clean a drinking glass really is by holding it up to the light. A glass that looks so clean when out of the bright light can actually be very dirty, covered in fingerprints and all sorts of marks—it’s not fit to drink from. It makes me think of … Read More
Higher Power Spirituality 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
Higher Power New York City Stalkers They stalked me the length of the block, down the subway stairs, onto the #2 train, through the whole ride to 96th Street, where they got off and changed to the #1 along with me. Upstairs at 116th Street, what did I meet but those same stalking fragrances: not sweet, no, not those—the pungent ones that promised pleasures beyond measure … Read More
Recovery I Am Home Isolation and hope stand out to me today, in part because of the Voices of Recovery reading on isolation and fellowship (p. 191) and in part because eight years ago today I surrendered my food to my Higher Power. Today I carry a message of hope as I enjoy a life vastly beyond my wildest dreams. One reason I come … Read More
Recovery Promises Power I have been in recovery a little over a year and I am 45 pounds (20 kg) lighter. This change in weight brought me a healthy body for the first time in my life and a complete change in how I live. Daily affirmations are a huge part of my recovery, and they’re one of the best ways I’ve found … Read More
Diversity Fish Tale The fish flips, flaps, and fights within the tangled mass of netting. It thrashes about, struggling, getting more entangled with each attempt to release itself. It rests, exhausted, for just a few minutes, then begins its futile attempts again. This goes on repeatedly for a long time. Eventually the fish hovers between awareness and half-consciousness. A cupped hand reaches down, cradling … Read More
Recovery Re: Direction Many new members struggle with ideas and actions suggested by OA that seem to be strange, not realizing they are already living these ideas. For example, we are taught “abstinence is the most important thing in my life without exception.” How can anything be so important? For me, before OA, food was the most important thing in my life without … Read More
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 are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 60). When I joined OA four years ago, my character defects of perfectionism, people-pleasing, and fear of rejection were in full … Read More
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. When I have been in pain, physical or emotional, “This too shall pass” has helped me. In college I had very strong cravings to go eat binge foods I knew would make me feel bad. So I’d think, do I want … Read More