Recovery Working the Program A Lot to Do in Sixty Seconds I see that I have been going through the motions, paying lip service to the program and making contact with HP in a superficial way. When I ask, “What is distracting me?” I am thankful for the awareness God gives me. The answer? “Nothing!” In this moment, I realize that what I have been labeling “worldly distractions” is actually me … Read More
Recovery Working the Program The Essential Me I’m juggling a lot of stressful family and work responsibilities right now. It’s easy to get lost in the potent stew of “must-do’s,” worry, and expectations (both mine and others’) and find myself trying to control events, people, feelings, and outcomes and make everything “right.” (Right, of course, means “my way.”) That’s how I used to live, on the adrenaline … Read More
Literature Tools & Concepts Meeting Between Meetings Thanks to Lifeline I have something to read when I don’t have enough to do and would otherwise eat. I can sit down after a long day and relax with a Lifeline magazine. Reading Lifeline inspires me, and it’s a way to get a meeting in between meetings, like having open sharing, only more organized and with a theme. It … Read More
How OA Changed My Life This Holiday, Frenzy-Free From October through December, I used to engage in an eating frenzy that appeared to have no end. I absolutely could not comprehend that a Higher Power of any kind would be interested in my food issues, and my feelings of unworthiness and shame continued unabated. I just endured the process, as if it was a project I had to … Read More
Higher Power Spirituality Space for God I had never led a retreat by myself and worried I’d come off as unprepared and not able to give anything to the group. I worried that I’d get lost, miss the ferry, get carjacked, or hit a moose. I was crossing into Canada—aren’t moose everywhere? I was at a retreat two years before where a woman in the audience … Read More
Share It Outside Issues A concern arose as I was reading the April 2017 issue. The article in “What Works for Me” and the “Send Us Your Stories!” box imply that OA is a place to set forward personal likes or dislikes as advice or suggestions. They also imply that exercising, taking baths, and having pets are promoted by OA. They may be good ideas … Read More