Atheists & Agnostics Higher Power Spirituality An Atheist’s Prayer Higher Power, build with me and do with me as this program requires. Relieve me of the bondage of self. Let victory over my difficulties bear witness to the love and power of this program. Let me follow its way of life always. Direct my thinking. Eliminate my self-pity and dishonesty with myself. Confine my self-seeking to positive directions. Keep my mind open and … Read More
Meetings Recovery Steps Uncategorized Nothing Stopping Me “Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity” (Step Two). That is all I heard twenty-two years ago when I went to my first OA meeting, and I’ve held onto that Step since. God could restore me to sanity, and he did. During all these years, I’ve never even thought to or wanted to leave this lifesaving program. At my first meeting, … Read More
Atheists & Agnostics Meetings Making OA More Accessible In May 2019, three of us founded an atheist/agnostic face-to-face meeting in Bethesda, Maryland. We’d already had nineteen people at our most recent virtual meeting and had launched a second meeting online. Our purpose has been to help make the OA community more accessible to people who do not believe in a deity or have unconventional beliefs. We begin our … Read More
Atheists & Agnostics Steps Translation for the Newcomer I am athletic and an atheist. I don’t fit the stereotype of what a compulsive overeater looks like. Twenty-five years ago, before phone or online meetings took off and before anorexia and bulimia were in the media, I attended my first face-to-face OA meeting in Sacramento, California. California, land of the progressive, land of the open-minded, right? Wrong. I did not … Read More
Relationships Steps Start with Forgiveness When we approach Step Nine, how often have we heard the suggestion to put ourselves at the top of the list? When we first hear this, it is usually very difficult. We have forever been putting ourselves at the bottom of the list and now folks are saying to put ourselves at the top? Scary! But so important! How can … Read More
Fellowship Awesome Silver Linings I am grateful for the coronavirus. No, thank God, I have not had it, and I know it has caused a lot of suffering, but I’m still grateful. Why? There are silver linings for every cloud. One of them was a recovery event put on in April by the Los Angeles Intergroup of Overeaters Anonymous that they called “Quarantine and … Read More
Atheists & Agnostics Steps Clear Intentions The first time I worked the Steps, more than thirty years ago, I believed in a benevolent HP who was watching my back. I was sure of this because I was very happy at that time in my life. Twenty-five years later, I had a spiritual crisis when I lost my career, and now, I believe no entity was ever … Read More
Gratitude lifeline Share It Grateful Today I wanted to write this weeks ago, and now with all that’s changed and slowed down in the world, I can do service and write. May all of you be well and cared for. In “Send Us Your Stories” in the Nov/Dec 2019 issue, one of the topics listed was “Breaking and Mending Relationships.” I must say, when I first … Read More
Relationships Steps The Underwear Amends Many times in the OA rooms, I’d heard people talk about putting themselves at the top of the list when beginning their Ninth Step amends. People said they’d punished, neglected, or mistreated themselves at least as much as they did anyone else, so self-amends were in order. I listened, but I just didn’t get it. Oh, I could run a … Read More
Atheists & Agnostics Traditions Realigned by a Few Tenths There are problems faced by OA members who do not practice a dogma-based spirituality. These problems could be eliminated by restating certain Steps and Traditions to align with Tradition Ten. In OA, I was constantly being told: living within ethical and moral principles can only occur within dogma-based spiritual practices. spirituality is only expressed by belief in a singular and … Read More
