Steps Low-Tech Outreach I am on my intergroup’s public information committee. We make flyers with a tear-off portion and give them to members to post on bulletin boards at supermarkets and libraries in their neighborhoods. If space is limited, we use business cards and sticky notes. A couple of months ago, I started sending OA advertisements every two weeks to my free local … Read More
Steps Available to Everyone Here are a few ways I carry the message to other compulsive overeaters. I print out OA’s Courier newsletter and give copies to my health care practitioners. I let them know I’m available should one of their patients or clients want to learn more about OA. I tell close friends I’m happy to talk to anyone they know who wants … Read More
Steps Radio-Active I was listening to a commentary about obesity on our local radio station. The commentator said one of the usual criticisms about people who are obese: “Why can’t they simply stop overeating?!” It made me upset enough to send in my own commentary, which was read aloud by one of the radio hosts the next day. Another person called in, … Read More
Steps In the PI Flow Recently, I had the honor of working the OA booth at a local fair. The fair ran for many days, and it gave several intergroups the chance to reach out and help change the lives of strangers. Another OA member was working the booth with me, and I and recall her sharing the following: “Three years ago, I was wandering … Read More
Steps Knowing about OA A doctor, a nutritionist, and a weight loss clinic gave me three opportunities to carry the OA message of recovery while maintaining the Traditions. What a gift. Several years ago, my nutritionist, who had not worked with anyone with food addiction prior to me, asked me to talk to a group of medical students as part of their nutrition curriculum. … Read More
Service Tools & Concepts Inexpensive Message I’ve found it useful to think about the groups of people I associate with and consider what I’ve done lately to be of service to them. Family, religious groups, Twelve Step groups, neighbors, friends, and volunteer site workers are some of the categories of people in this inventory. A recent look at my activities showed that I wasn’t doing much … Read More
Steps Traditions Stepping Up to Recovery I cannot believe I have been abstinent long enough to have made it to Step Twelve. When I first came to this program, I would not have thought my life would be as it is now. It is very different. I am more open to life and active in it. The spiritual awakening I have experienced involves knowing I am … Read More
Steps Traditions Being Human Tradition Twelve brings the concept of equality to my mind. I hear that members of Twelve Step programs come from everywhere— from Park Avenue to the park bench. No one is more important than anyone else, and our outside status is of no consequence. A program member can recover despite his or her race, religion, or financial status. We exclude … Read More
Steps Traditions Transformational Awakening What is a spiritual awakening? How do we get it? If it is the result of working the Twelve Steps, that means we have to work them. This is how we can practice the Principles embedded in the Steps. It’s a pattern for living. And, we carry the message to newcomers by living the Steps, while protecting our own and … Read More
Steps Traditions Guardian of My Recovery My understanding and appreciation of anonymity has gone through several evolutions. At first, I clutched onto the security and safety that no one would tell anyone else that they saw me here. Deep feelings of shame, humiliation, vanity, human respect, and all facets of my public face sought the protection of anonymity. Gradually, I relaxed and began to identify with … Read More