Lyon,
Thanks for posting this! I plan to get on board.
BB,
Peterwolfe

I love the phrase " advanced self care"...........rock on!

Don't drink, don't think, go to a meeting.
I know many folks who put their lives back together really fast when they first get sober.........and relapse continually. Maybe you are exactly right where you're supposed to be.......struggling in early sobriety...........learning new ways to think and function........it's not 'supposed' to be easy.
I say this with love.........counting sober anniversaries before they arrive isn't Wise.......remember, we do this sh*t "One day at a time".
Habetrot, personally........I see progress in your posts. Please keep on keepin' on.
Blessed Be,
Peterwolfe
ps- we are 'allowed' to try different meetings.

I honestly don't know, but I'm sure you can google it. After I have composed my letter, I intend to do just that and most likely send it via email.

What are the contact details of the General Service Office?  Sorry to sound a bit dim but I'm based in the UK so the UK GSO is obviously based here(in York if you are interested).  I will send an email to York, but I will also send one to the US office as I think(but don't 'know' that all literature and publications excepting UK specific documents)come from there.

That's great news! It would be wonderful if one or more Pagan AA members would be involved in the creation and editing of the literature. It would be a tremendous act of service to alcoholics worldwide and people in many other fellowships too, both Pagan and not. 

Speaking from my own experience, in the ACA literature I get the impression that there are three types of spirituality:

• Christian
  Atheist or Agnostic
  Kooky, made-up personal spiritual paths

Nothing outside that is even alluded to. And we can't blame it on being old-fashioned -- our Big Book was published in 2006. :-(
B*B,
--Mjausson

In this month's Grapevine there is an editor's note about the General Service Conference.

The Trustees' Committee on Literature has been charged with the task of developing literature that focuses on the spirituality other than Christian. The only paths mentioned are those of successful sober atheists and agnostics.

We need to let our fellow alcoholics know that one can be something beside an Abrahamic god follower or not believe in any god. Leaving out other forms of spirituality is detrimental to all trying to achieve Recovery.

I have yet to meet a Pagan who felt comfortable in mundane AA rooms.

Write to the General Service Office and tell them you want other Paths to receive a place in the upcoming literature. There should be examples of Hindu, Buddhist and Pagan recovering alcoholics included in the proposed literature. Our lives depend on it!

It's just my opinion, but I have learned in the Rooms, the 'old-timers' who need to make sure you know how long they've been sober usually don't have a very solid Program outside of the meeting. It's as if they forgot Step 12, "in all your affairs." Such behavior is neither useful nor humble.

Listen to the quiet ones who talk about using the Program and Steps to live life on life's terms, the ones who are keeping count of the days are missing the point.

It's the Labor Day Weekend here in the US and I'm at home with a urinary tract infection. This wasn't what I had planned for the first three-day weekend in a long time, so I'm quite bummed.

The good news is that I'm taking care of my health. I saw a doctor yesterday and got antibiotics, I'm drinking lots of fluids and staying right here on the couch. Yesterday I even took a nap! For me, that's advanced self care. :-)

If past experience is anything to go by, I'll spend the week working from home. Antibiotics tend to make me very tired. That means I need to be very careful about getting enough human contact. Isolating, whether by choice or not, is not good for me. I have my regular ACA meetings on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Maybe I should add a CoDA meeting on Thursday.

I also need time for step work. My cosponsor group is on step 4. The meeting yesterday was about relationships and sexual abuse. It's striking how similar our stories are in many ways. I kept noticing how the things that were shared, were often things that I could just as well have said. So much identification. It's very powerful.

I've done some service today and now I'm getting ready to have lunch and start in on the step work again. Next up are Denial and PTSD inventories. Twelve step work is not for the faint of heart.
B*B,
--Mjausson

Hey Habetrot

Give it all some time. It is like you have been in a dark room with all your feelings and senses numbed or distorted...and now you are experiencing sensory overload - you are only starting to learn who you are.

One thing that has helped me is talking and *listening* to my higher power especially with the question "what should I do?" I was so scattered at first with so much 'neurotic' energy. And I am so glad I listened to the response "just wait".  I got that a lot...and I seemed to get myself into less shit that way. And it was a relief not to have to do anything.

So be kind to yourself ...be quiet and kind...you are like a newborn (I always think of Neo in the Matrix when he first wakes up). Life isn't as easy, but it is real...and everyday I don't give into my addiction, I gain more and more of my self respect back and it gets easier to inuitively know what to do on an everday basis.

Get the older guys in sobriety in your group to talk about their higher power (how it connects to their sobriety) - this will remind them to check their egos and give you a sense of who you connect with spiritually and can start to trust. I had a similar experience in my first home group - one guy really pushed my buttons - but now over a year later, I completely understand where he was coming from and agree with him. And, take what you need and leave the rest (but do the steps ).


Thanks for my sobriety as writing these post helps me remember why I don't want to drink.
hugs
Anoif