Tools & Concepts Working the Program Eight Other Tools Here I sit, self-quarantined in the middle of a viral pandemic after returning home from the teeming petri dishes of an airport and airplane. I’ve been advised to stay put for two weeks, which is just as well since some of my meetings are closed indefinitely. So, what’s a compulsive overeater to do? Isolate? I think not. Last time I … Read More
Service Tools & Concepts Spiritual Feast I confess that service was never the first option for me. I went to meetings to vent my sorrows and problems, to be heard in silence, to receive hugs, and to put the minimum in the bag—to stay lean, leave OA, and never ask for help again. When the leader asked if somebody could do a certain service, I didn’t … Read More
Fellowship Energizing Guide I’ve been an active member of Overeaters Anonymous for thirty-one years, and I’m maintaining a healthy body weight. Over the years, I have worked the Twelve Steps and learned to live the Principles. It was so exciting at the 2016 World Service Convention in Boston to see the Overeaters Anonymous Twelve Step Workshop and Study Guide revealed for purchase. Of … Read More
Recovery Working the Program Many Forms of Footwork I am a compulsive eater and have been in program for thirteen years, but abstinent consistently, if not perfectly, for only the past year. I don’t like to count numbers and days, but I consider my first twelve years in program as vital to me and my recovery as this past abstinent year has been. For me, recovery isn’t a … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Recovery Applying the Traditions This year I will celebrate my twenty-first anniversary with my large corporate employer, a miracle I can only attribute to the OA program and my Higher Power. I am grateful for this continuing gainful employment that has enabled me to provide financially for myself and my now-grown children. I am exceedingly mindful that this anniversary might not have come to … 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
Service Principle Practice “We must remember that serenity and humility come with acceptance” (Voices of Recovery, p. 282). Sometimes I have to ask myself: What am I not accepting? The fear that I am not good enough? For whom? You? Them? Me? God? Nothing makes my life seem out of control faster than a B.I.N.G.E.—Believing I’m Not Good Enough. So I don’t even … Read More
Traditions Tradition Four: Beneficial Differences Autonomy in OA is a really cool thing! I love how each meeting I go to is a bit different. My home group is a literature meeting where we study Conference-approved OA literature each week. I go to a Big Book meeting too. I also attend intergroup meetings whenever I can. Sometimes I listen to a recorded meeting. Each type … Read More
Newcomers Principle Assets I received a short-notice invitation to go to Nashville for the SOAR8 (Region Eight) Recovery Convention so I packed my bag, my food, and my water and headed straight into a very full weekend of recovery. The theme of the assembly was “Tune into the Principles.” As a newcomer to OA, I was at first not familiar with the Principles … Read More
Traditions Speaking Traditions The Tradition Ten article in the October 2015 Lifeline (“Learning Curve”, p. 19) provided me with some food for thought. The author implied that the facilitator had acted out a character defect by pointing out the importance of not citing non-OA-approved literature at OA meetings. I disagree. It is so easy for an OA meeting to get off track when … Read More