Scientific Approach Before program my top weight was 430 pounds (195 kg). At my first meeting 30 years ago, I weighed 380 pounds (172 kg). I reached my goal weight of 200 pounds (90 kg) and maintained that approximate weight for many years. Later, I relapsed to a new top weight of 460 pounds (209 kg). Now with four years of abstinence, … Read More
Staying Centered I have a strong belief in the existence of a spiritual dimension, but not in a traditional God or divine being. My experiences of this spiritual dimension are my best guide to deepening my understanding. For me, a vital spiritual experience is a state in which I move beyond ego and self-will and feel total peace. Sometimes that state is … Read More
I’m Not God When the OA speaker said, “I lost a whole person,” it shook me to my core. I needed to do that. Not a whole adult person, just a 30-pound (14-kg), scrawny three-year-old. His picture looked at me from 1951, sitting in the wagon with his two younger siblings, them looking like kids, him looking like desperation to please the photographer. … Read More
Many Forms I am an atheist with a spiritual life. I reconcile the spiritual side of OA by using the concept of acceptance and by not judging others. If I don’t know what’s good for me, then I don’t know what’s good for anyone. My best thinking— knowing it all and happy to share—got me to OA. The concept of a guy … Read More
Power Within and Without I found the Power inside of me, a small quiet voice. Call it intuition. It is a sudden or intuitive thought or decision that helps me move forward for the sake of what is good. It is a feeling, sometimes overwhelming, filling me and lifting me up; a release of a burden; a certainty and clarity of what is right, … Read More
Having Faith When I feel empty, alone, uncertain and frightened, I need to act as if some force in the universe exists that will guide me. People search for certainty in many places and things outside of themselves, but if I trust that intuitive voice within, I know what is right for me. I get in touch with that voice at quiet … Read More
Spirituality Defined A recent communication from an OA member had me thinking about the spiritual aspect of OA’s program. This person didn’t work the spiritual side of recovery. Well, I am an atheist, and I have a strong spiritual side. I began to ponder how I could explain this. I am a definitions person, so I consulted some online dictionaries for the … Read More
Pathway to Salvation I don’t consider myself a religious person. Although recovery has reconnected me in some ways to the religion of my youth, it does not define my concept of Higher Power. Too often a physical manifestation of Higher Power eludes me. As a child I yearned for the simple belief depicted in the church where I attended a youth program—a gentle … Read More
Nature’s Signs While working the Steps early in my OA recovery, I struggled with surrendering to a Higher Power. A kind man explained a Higher Power could be anything outside ourselves that we turn to for guidance, comfort, support and a healthier perspective. I could relate to that! Drawn to the outdoors since my lonely childhood, I’d often felt at peace in … Read More
An Atheist in OA I am writing to share my experience as an atheist in OA. I feel disappointed by the lack of articles written by atheists, particularly articles that don’t end with the author finding faith in God. Even the Big Book’s chapter “To the Agnostic” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th. ed., pp. 44–57) encourages nonbelievers to try believing in God. I assert that it’s … Read More
