Fellowship Better Defined After reading about the new definitions for “abstinence” and “recovery” approved by the World Service Business Conference 2019, I had a couple of questions: 1) What were the original definitions? 2) What were the reasons for changing the definitions? The 1988 WSBC approved this first Statement on Abstinence and Recovery: “According to the dictionary, the word ‘abstain’ means to refrain … Read More
Literature Tools & Concepts Double Wow I love Lifeline. It gives me so many nuggets of wisdom. Here are two from page 25 of the April 2019 issue: “I was committing suicide by fork.” Wow—what a description of relapse! I’ve been there, and I get it. “I could remain happily neutral around food.” Another wow! That truly speaks recovery to me! Today, I am not suicidal. … Read More
Fellowship Recovery Just Go I’ve been in OA since December 1982 but did not attend a World Service Convention until 1997. I went to intergroup and Region Six conventions. I chaired local conventions and was a keynote at a regional convention outside of Region Six. Somehow, I didn’t pay much attention to any other events. Each year, I would be asked about going to … Read More
Recovery Working the Program School is Cool Every year at this time, I watch the neighborhood kids walk, bike, and skateboard back to school. They’re dressed in the newest styles and carry backpacks filled with colorful notebooks, art supplies, and new books to read. Maybe we can recapture some of that back-to-school feeling and boost our OA recovery program at the same time! With school supplies on … Read More
Recovery Working the Program Up to Speed I am a compulsive overeater. While not every day of my thirty-nine years in OA has been an abstinent day, for many years now, I’ve been gratefully recovering and maintaining a healthy weight. Being a teacher by profession has led me to watch for ways to boil things down to their simplest form. I look for little tricks to help … 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
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
Recovery Working the Program My Whole Sum Value Most of my life, I have lived in the extremes of my insanity. I have starved myself, used pills that are known to cause heart attacks, exercised for hours daily, and binged to the point of purging. I thought if I looked a certain way, weighed much less than I did, and acted nice and polite, then others would see … Read More
Recovery Working the Program First, I Trusted At a recent OA speaker meeting, I was struck by a question asked during the Q&A session: “What did you do first?” My own answer is: First, I trusted that OA had a solution. I came to OA in either 2004 or 2005—I really cannot remember because I was in a food fog. I do remember that my ritual of … Read More
Fellowship Recovery A Little Food Plan History Q. When did OA stop publishing gray and orange sheet pamphlets? A. At the 1987 World Service Business Conference, a new policy statement was adopted, after which the gray and orange sheet food plans were removed from publication. The policy was amended and then rescinded but last read: “The OA 1997 World Service Business Conference, after careful consideration, believes that … Read More
