I started attending a Monday night OA meeting but found myself struggling with abstinence. A weekly meeting didn’t seem to be enough. Then I found a meeting that met Monday through Friday at 7 a.m., 22 miles (35 km) from my home, and I started traveling to these daily meetings. I’ve learned that if you want continuous recovery from any …

I just read a beautifully written story in the May/June 2018 issue: “No Stone Unturned.” This Lifeline article is one I will keep forever. The author’s words and quotes are expressed in a thoughtful way that invites me to be filled with peace and serenity. I have even copied the writer’s morning prayer and put it with my prayers that …

I’ve heard that a Higher Power can be anything or anyone but me. However, I do believe in listening to my own intuition and conscience, in addition to outside voices. I believe in God, but I don’t believe in a God who directly intervenes in my every interaction. Instead, God is embodied in appropriate others, in my case, my sponsors, …

When I came to OA, I was immediately attracted to the God language and knew this was the path for me because I am a rabbi and God is my business. But I struggled to get abstinent. Step One was easy, Step Two was a given, and I thought Step Three should’ve been also. My sponsor often said, “You’re a …

My life has been changed by Step Eleven. My whole life, I’d been searching for connection with God and had a desire to do his will. (My Higher Power is God, but as you read this, fill in your name for your Higher Power and use the pronouns that work for you.) But I was unable to connect to God …

When I was 16, I left the religion of my family and began a deep search for meaning. I thought I’d found my answer and settled into complacent spirituality until the age of 35, when I came into OA. As I began to understand the Steps and work them, I approached Step Three with confidence. I had already investigated my …

“Chronic complaining is a useless practice that destroys self-acceptance and self-reliance . . . Instead . . . I can ask myself, “Is there anything I can do to help myself with this?” (For Today, p. 239). Chronic complaining sounds like self-abuse: if I continue to stay in the problem, then I am living in the problem—and living in the …

At last night’s meeting, my group read the April 17 entry in For Today (p. 108). Writing on the topic of “love in action” convinced me to be more questioning and honest about working the Twelve Steps. My main takeaway was the idea that love is expressed in actions. Words of love, in and of themselves, are insufficient. I have …

I was so new to program I didn’t really know what this was supposed to mean: “It works if you work it.” I thought it was corny and wondered why every meeting ended with everyone holding hands and saying it. After several weeks, my HP spoke to me, when I heard a spiritual advisor offer this analogy about faith: One …

We, eight compulsive overeaters and ordinary OA members, recently completed a sixteen-week workshop using the Overeaters Anonymous Twelve Step Workshop and Study Guide. We found the process so transformative in our lives and recovery that we want to share our extraordinary experience. We hope everyone finds the strength and profound intimate connection we found, for we now believe the saying …