I’ve heard a lot of wonderful wisdom in the program, but I’d thought I’d share what I call my “go-to” advice, i.e. what I heard my first year that I've used since over and over again, and what I’m most likely to pull out of my hat when a newcomer is struggling. Oddly, I can’t even remember who told me this, but that makes it even more special to me. Principles before personalities.
I think I was trying to figure out why some newcomers had cravings and some seemed remarkably free of them, and this was what I was told. “If you think the point of the program is to not use, then you’re focusing on a negative, and you’re still making it about the drug. Waking up with the intent to not do something is not a very satisfying purpose in life, not to mention trying not to think about the drug is still thinking about the drug. Is is any wonder this leads to cravings?
“But, if you look at the steps, you realize that nowhere does it say: ‘we made a decision not to use drugs.’ What it says is: ‘we made a decision to turn our will and lives over the care of the God of our understanding.’ This is the same God whom we did not ask to restore us to sobriety, but to sanity.
“In my experience,” he said, “sobriety is a natural extension of sanity, not the other way around. And sanity is a natural extension of living along spiritual lines. So even though at the very beginning, it is usually a matter of necessity that we concentrate first on not picking up a day at a time, those who stay clean over the long term realize that the question of ‘how do I not use today’ needs to be replaced by the question ‘how do I live along spiritual lines today?’
“The bottom line is that sobriety is less about what you don’t do than what you do do. When you work the steps on a daily basis, the natural outgrowth of that is making sane, healthy decisions, and picking up naturally recedes as an option, because it is not sane or healthy for us, or we wouldn't be in the rooms.”
To this I would add an insight of my own. I’ve never seen a craving that couldn’t be treated by service. When you are helping another addict, or doing something kind for the world, you’ll find thoughts of using will get very little traction.
Anonymous
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Editor's Note
I had hesitated to post the article on the 11th Tradition because my experience in the rooms and in the blogosphere has shown that it excites many strong opinions. But I like to think that in the big tent of CMA we put unity first and will always respect each other even when we disagree.
Some of the comments about the article (which I did not write) bordered on the uncivil and personal. Anonymity does not mean we have a cloak to say things about each other on line that we would not say in person. As editor I am also moderator of this newsletter, and I will enforce standards of civility in the comments section. Disagree, but disagree respectfully, or I will delete your remarks.
I would hope to receive some more entries that express your experience, strength and hope. Let's keep as positive and inspirational a tone as possible.
Marc O.
Some of the comments about the article (which I did not write) bordered on the uncivil and personal. Anonymity does not mean we have a cloak to say things about each other on line that we would not say in person. As editor I am also moderator of this newsletter, and I will enforce standards of civility in the comments section. Disagree, but disagree respectfully, or I will delete your remarks.
I would hope to receive some more entries that express your experience, strength and hope. Let's keep as positive and inspirational a tone as possible.
Marc O.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Unity through Diversity - Park City Utah World Conference
The recent World Conference in Park City Utah was a watershed event for our fellowship and for the future of CMA. People gathered from all over the country to unify our fellowship and provide basic guidelines that can keep our fellowship democratic and principled. The various committees worked for many hours hammering out some of the fundamental issues that face us today.
Many of the pieces of literature that have been created were ratified by the Conference. Some other literature was sent back to committee for revision.
The Executive Committee revised and adopted our 12 Concepts of World Service and Conference Charter. These important documents will guide future generations of crystal meth addicts so that the principles of the program are applied in all of our affairs. These documents give us guidelines for how to handle our financial and business affairs democratically and provide a way to hear appeals and petitions from individuals in the fellowship.
The Conference hammered out issues around Hospitals & Institutions, public information work and the upcoming CMA book. Although there is no book at this time, work is still underway and there is great hope that within 18 months, we will have a book and the money it will take to publish it.
We also found a way to resolve the issue of whether we are a fellowship or a program. After much discussion we collectively agreed that we are a fellowship of people who work a 12 step program of recovery. That until such time as we may possibly develop our own process of working the 12 steps, we use the methods that have been passed down to us and carry this message to the crystal meth addict who still suffers.
The diversity of our fellowship astounds. There were so many wonderful people who by innumerable miracles came to Park City to be of service, clean and sober. Likewise, there are so many delightful ways that crystal meth anonymous is passed on to the addict in need that we can only bask in the richness of our society. How amazing that we were able to find cohesion and unity not in spite of but because of that diversity.
-Dale G.
Many of the pieces of literature that have been created were ratified by the Conference. Some other literature was sent back to committee for revision.
The Executive Committee revised and adopted our 12 Concepts of World Service and Conference Charter. These important documents will guide future generations of crystal meth addicts so that the principles of the program are applied in all of our affairs. These documents give us guidelines for how to handle our financial and business affairs democratically and provide a way to hear appeals and petitions from individuals in the fellowship.
The Conference hammered out issues around Hospitals & Institutions, public information work and the upcoming CMA book. Although there is no book at this time, work is still underway and there is great hope that within 18 months, we will have a book and the money it will take to publish it.
We also found a way to resolve the issue of whether we are a fellowship or a program. After much discussion we collectively agreed that we are a fellowship of people who work a 12 step program of recovery. That until such time as we may possibly develop our own process of working the 12 steps, we use the methods that have been passed down to us and carry this message to the crystal meth addict who still suffers.
The diversity of our fellowship astounds. There were so many wonderful people who by innumerable miracles came to Park City to be of service, clean and sober. Likewise, there are so many delightful ways that crystal meth anonymous is passed on to the addict in need that we can only bask in the richness of our society. How amazing that we were able to find cohesion and unity not in spite of but because of that diversity.
-Dale G.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
The 11th Tradition and the Internet
Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films
When the 11th Tradition was written some 60 years ago (10 years or so after the Steps,) our founders could not have foreseen the advent of the electronic media—the Internet. Chat rooms, blogs, articles, social and sexual contact sites all offer ways in which the individual person in recovery can “publicly” break their anonymity. A few weeks ago an ad for social event was posted on Facebook. Friends were invited to attend the event. The event was listed with the word sober and the implication was that people in recovery, particularly AA were invited. Though the event was listed as secret, it was not difficult to access the flier by going someone’s personal page and from there find their friends and their friend’s friends. Not everyone in that chain is a member of AA or another 12-Step Program; however the question of anonymity at the level of internet access was raised.
Neither Bill W nor Dr Bob could have perceived the advent of the Internet and its far-reaching functions such as Facebook. Hence, there’s no real documentation in our literature regarding this phenomenon or discourse on whether posting fliers in this media breaks the 11th Tradition.
AA literature states that, “The arrival of new media technologies such as the Internet has offered new vehicles to carry the AA message to the public. AA members continue to preserve their anonymity in these new public media.” “It did not take long for those at A.A. headquarters to realize that overzealous and self-serving anonymity breakers could quickly jeopardize the Fellowship’s hard-won reputation. And they saw that if one person made an exception, other exceptions would inevitably follow. To assure the unity, effectiveness, and welfare of AA, anonymity had to be universal.” In 1946, Bill W wrote, “The word anonymous has for us an immense spiritual significance. Subtly but powerfully, it reminds us that we are always to place principles before personalities; that we have renounced personal glorification in public; that our movement not only preaches but actually practices a true humility.”
I jumped on the bandwagon that posting recovery-oriented announcements on the Internet, in particular Facebook, is a violation of the long form of the Tradition as it states we do not disclose our last names or photographs at the level of the media. The team for the defense countered that the flier in question was secret and that one had to be invited to view it; however this is not true. Since there is no historical information in our literature, the ruling is up to us in recovery in late 2008 to uphold. I’d like to pose this question to readers of this blog for comments: “At what level of radio, press, TV, films and electronic media (Internet) do we violate the 11th Tradition? What do you believe is this matter breaks or upholds the Tradition?
Christopher M.
When the 11th Tradition was written some 60 years ago (10 years or so after the Steps,) our founders could not have foreseen the advent of the electronic media—the Internet. Chat rooms, blogs, articles, social and sexual contact sites all offer ways in which the individual person in recovery can “publicly” break their anonymity. A few weeks ago an ad for social event was posted on Facebook. Friends were invited to attend the event. The event was listed with the word sober and the implication was that people in recovery, particularly AA were invited. Though the event was listed as secret, it was not difficult to access the flier by going someone’s personal page and from there find their friends and their friend’s friends. Not everyone in that chain is a member of AA or another 12-Step Program; however the question of anonymity at the level of internet access was raised.
Neither Bill W nor Dr Bob could have perceived the advent of the Internet and its far-reaching functions such as Facebook. Hence, there’s no real documentation in our literature regarding this phenomenon or discourse on whether posting fliers in this media breaks the 11th Tradition.
AA literature states that, “The arrival of new media technologies such as the Internet has offered new vehicles to carry the AA message to the public. AA members continue to preserve their anonymity in these new public media.” “It did not take long for those at A.A. headquarters to realize that overzealous and self-serving anonymity breakers could quickly jeopardize the Fellowship’s hard-won reputation. And they saw that if one person made an exception, other exceptions would inevitably follow. To assure the unity, effectiveness, and welfare of AA, anonymity had to be universal.” In 1946, Bill W wrote, “The word anonymous has for us an immense spiritual significance. Subtly but powerfully, it reminds us that we are always to place principles before personalities; that we have renounced personal glorification in public; that our movement not only preaches but actually practices a true humility.”
I jumped on the bandwagon that posting recovery-oriented announcements on the Internet, in particular Facebook, is a violation of the long form of the Tradition as it states we do not disclose our last names or photographs at the level of the media. The team for the defense countered that the flier in question was secret and that one had to be invited to view it; however this is not true. Since there is no historical information in our literature, the ruling is up to us in recovery in late 2008 to uphold. I’d like to pose this question to readers of this blog for comments: “At what level of radio, press, TV, films and electronic media (Internet) do we violate the 11th Tradition? What do you believe is this matter breaks or upholds the Tradition?
Christopher M.
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