Tools & Concepts Anonymity Benefits Wow! Anonymity is so important to OA, it’s part of the name of our organization. As Tradition Twelve states: “Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all these Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.” The new second edition of the OA Twelve and Twelve does an excellent job of explaining the many ways we all benefit from anonymity. … Read More
Recovery Relationships Starting That Moment I grew up in an American, Midwestern, blue-collar, motorcycle-riding family that fully embraced pride of all sorts—pride in our family, our country, our bikes, our tattoos and putting in an honest day’s labor. If family needed help, you showed up on Saturday and helped. You taught your kids how to fix engines, build things, and to listen to their mama. … Read More
Steps Traditions To Ask Humility has been a challenge for me. In the past, I think my focus was on feeling humble; I would try ways to make myself feel humble. I would change my facial expression, body language, and words to control myself into feeling humble. Maybe I was trying to control others, so that they would see me as humble. I’ve had … Read More
Fellowship Recovery IDEA Activity: Pen a Principle I have been in Overeaters Anonymous five and a half years and abstinent for more than eighteen months. I do not weigh myself, but the clothing I had last year still fits. I am so grateful for Overeaters Anonymous. At our International Day Experiencing Abstinence celebration last November, we did group activities working with program Principles. My group’s Principle was … Read More
Uncategorized Reframing the Puzzle Some of my worst character defects come out when I’m at work. As a perfectionist, I worry that I’ll make a mistake, but I also worry that I work too slowly. So I end up anxiously trying to find that perfect balance between checking everything again and again and finishing quickly. When asked to review the work of others, my … 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
Steps Principle Links I think I always had honesty, OA’s First Step Principle. I was 15 in 1971 when the disease descended upon me, and I knew something had gone seriously wrong in my life. “A human isn’t supposed to live this way,” I thought, as I scarfed holiday sweets and felt an overwhelming sense that I would never be able to control … Read More