Weekly AA Thread - July 30 - Aug. 6

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread - July 30 - Aug. 6

Des: I would just start going to any meetings that seem convenient. Obviously, the beginner's meetings would be suitable. Often at the beginning of a meeting, the chair asks if anyone is there for the first time. If you have the courage, you could identify yourself then. People will probably come up to you after the meeting & answer any questions you have.

I didn't know a single thing about meetings when I first started going. I kept an open mind & learned as I went along. Good luck.

Mary

PS: Please feel free to come back here. We'd love to know how you're doing.

[porqoui]

Weekly AA Thread - July 30 - Aug. 6

Destiniey;1359406 wrote: ...I am totally overwhelmed by all of this and I was hoping that someone could clarify this for me. I have no idea what the difference is on the meetings since they are all called different things.

Hi Destiniey
I too was confused when I first started AA. It helped me to know...

All meetings are ?Mixed? format (men & women) unless otherwise noted.

(O) Open Meeting Format ? Open to anyone who is interested in
the AA Program. Visitors and friends are expected to respect the
anonymity of all persons they see or meet at AA meetings.

(C) Closed Meeting Format ? For alcoholics only. Discussion of the
AA Program is held and every person has the opportunity to ask
questions and share their experience more freely.

Groups can be sprecific ie Big Book Study, Working on the Steps, General Discussion, etc. and they all have their own name.

My home group is called "Sooner than Nooner". It is (O) Open, meaning you don't have to be an alcholic to attend. It is also a Discussion Group. We generally pick 3 topics that people can share their experiences about, if they want to.

I also enjoy the speaker meetings. I like to hear about peoples past and their road to recovery.

Like Retteacher says, just start going to ones that are convenient. They're easier to keep going to.

Good Luck in your journey. We'll all be here for you.:happyheart:PQ

[Destiniey]

Weekly AA Thread - July 30 - Aug. 6

Thanks so much everyone! I plan on going to one tomorrow at 10:30 am....it says it is for women so I figured I would start with that one. I will fill everyone in when I get back! I am really nervous and I am hoping that I can just kind of be in the back and not have to say anything if I don't want to.

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread - July 30 - Aug. 6

Keep pushing through your fear. It gets easier. M

[Destiniey]

Weekly AA Thread - July 30 - Aug. 6

I went to the meeting this morning and although I felt like a fish out of water everyone there made me feel very welcome. I got a white chip today for being 12 days sober and I am looking forward to getting my 30 day chip. I was asked to attend another meeting tonight whcih is alot closer to my house. They are doing a special dinner at 6:30 and then the meeting is at 8. I feel weird doing the dinner as I am soooooo new to all this but I will go a little early and attend the meeting. THanks for all your support and advice and I will keep you posted!

[cpn1004]

Weekly AA Thread - July 30 - Aug. 6

Good for you Destiniey, that is a big step. The fellowship of AA is one of the tools that helps my sobriety.
Hopefully it will work for you.

[TheSunFlower]

Weekly AA Thread - July 30 - Aug. 6

9 meetings this week! I think I have finally settled on the ones that suit me the best. Although I would really like to add in a 12x12 meeting. I need to ask around about that.

New sponsor that I really like. We meet up tomorrow.

My mind was going 90 miles an hour last night....running through my life....as if i were the freaking lead. Finally at 1a I got out my bb and was sound asleep by 2a. It did not bore me....rather it calmed me down.

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread - July 30 - Aug. 6

SF: I have many nights when it's hard for me to fall asleep. What a great idea of getting out the BB & reading that. I'm going to try that the next time I find myself lying awake.

Des: I know it's difficult in the beginning. I remember it well. Keep going! You're doing great!

M

[Destiniey]

Weekly AA Thread - July 30 - Aug. 6

Thanks everyone! I went to the meeting at 8 last night and was totally overwhelmed. It was way over 100 people...men and women. There were no seats left when I got there as they had a celebration dinner first before the 8 pm meeting. So I went in and sat in the back...the only seat was by the garbage can..oh well...at least I was there! Ha! I listened to the speaker and saw some people from the meeting that I attended earlier that day. I am still not sure how all this AA stuff works....I got alot of brochures and bought a "Living Sober" book. The BB, steps and sponser thing have me confused but I am going to a meeting today that is "Keeping it Simple for the Beginner"...I am hoping that will clarify things for me!

[mauritiusdodo]

Weekly AA Thread - July 30 - Aug. 6

Wow Destiney you certainly have a lot of AA support where you live!! The groups sound great although I would have been overwhelmed by 100+ people!!

Not sure whether I will attend my group tonight, still deliberating, I have my AL consultation in a hour so going to see how that goes and what they suggest