Traditions Tradition 8: Labor of Love I remember when I was new to OA. I sat with my first sponsor, going over my journaling on Step One. It took quite a bit of t…
Steps Step 8: Admission and Prayer Step Eight asks me to own up to who I am in relation to other people and myself. Working with a sponsor helped. I returned t…
Responsibility Pledge Who, Me? Yes, You. I’m sure I heard the OA Responsibility Pledge at my first meeting fifteen years ago. When I really listened to it a few meet…
Recovery An “I Can” Plan Early in my recovery, I often heard longtimers say, “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.” My first sponsor drove hom…
Relapse Twelfth Step Within Turning It Over I weighed 240 pounds (109 kg) when I first entered OA. Even though I stalked the rooms for two years, calling the hotline, l…
Higher Power Choosing Well I read an article in Lifeline about a person who had a problem she couldn’t fix, so she wrote an article for our magazine, a…
Recovery Re-Call I recently did battle with another disease: shingles. I had so much nerve pain I could not go to meetings, and I felt abando…
Abstinence Using Help “You have cancer!” Those were the first words I heard after coming out of surgery. My first thought was “Oh, good. I can eat…
Fellowship Phone Save When I first walked into the rooms of OA, I never thought I’d still be attending meetings thirty-nine years later. All I was…
Recovery New Presence Just a month before my fifth OA anniversary, my father suffered a massive heart attack and was placed on life support. By th…
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
The Sunlight of the Spirit When I began to explore ideas of a Power greater than myself, I readily conceded that nature is majestic—I often found peace among the redwood trees or in the Pacific surf—but praying to nature didn’t work for me. Then, in the quiet of meditation, I recalled a childhood memory: calling ‘God’ the beauty of the sun’s rays peeking through rainclouds. There … Read More
