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12-Step program

Sponsors Are NOT Your Higher Power

One of the most difficult lessons for those new to 12 Step programs to learn is the fact that, sooner or later, their sponsors will let them down.  Why?  Two reasons: newcomers tend to put their sponsors on pedestals, and sponsors are only human.  But rather than seeing this as a limitation, try to look at it as …Continue reading →

12 Step Meetings Talk About “God”

When I first came into OA, back in 1988, I was a “non-practicing Catholic.”  I actually took pride in that title and felt justified in turning my back on a religion that, aside from the few times I felt caught-up in the choir music, did nothing for me.  At my first meeting, I was not …Continue reading →

The White Tiger

The first time I tried Creative Visualization, I had very low expectations.  After all, I had been trying for weeks to do five minutes of “quieting my mind”-type meditation daily and had repeatedly failed.  Every 30 seconds I would open my eyes and peek at the clock, wondering why time suddenly seemed to be standing …Continue reading →

What are “The 12 Steps?”

The 12 Steps are the instructions on how to break-free from addicition.  In the original steps, they only referred to alcohol, but they have since been adapted to work for any “drug of choice.”  The 12 Steps are taken directly from The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous (see “12-Step Links” on the side of this …Continue reading →

What is “The Big Book?”

“The Big Book” is the book that all 12-Step programs are based upon.  The actual title of the book is “Alcoholics Anonymous,” (which is where the name of the first 12-Step groups came from), but over time it has come to be known as The Big Book.  It was written in 1939 by Bill Wilson.  After …Continue reading →

Spoken & Unspoken Meeting Rules

Here is a list of what I consider to be the main “rules of the road” for those of you who decide to check-out some 12-Step meetings.  This is not an “official” list (I don’t think there is one), but rather, it is just a bunch of observations I have made over the years. Anonymity.  …Continue reading →

There Are Different Types of OA Meetings

When I first started going to OA, way back in the late 1980’s, all I knew about Overeater’s Anonymous was a hazy memory of a commercial from the late ’70’s showing a person opening and closing a refrigerator door over and over again, and a voice-over asking me if I ate when I wasn’t hungry, or …Continue reading →

“RARELY” Have We Seen A Person Fail…

Assuming that this program won’t work for us is probably the most obvious lie that we tell ourselves because it is staring us in the face the moment we so much as think about joining a 12 Step program.  The irony is that the 12 Steps have a better track record than pretty-much any other type of addiction …Continue reading →