What does it mean to be free of lust?
Esty: For me to be free of lust means many things: being present, living life on life’s terms, not objectifying myself or those around me, seeing the humanity in people, being other-centered and unselfish, feeling compassion for others, accomplishing things, not wasting time, and being sensitive to other’s needs.

There’s a subtle difference between gladness and gratitude that I’ve been pondering for a while. I write a gratitude list at the end of each day, but a lot of times I’m just writing down things that were ‘good’ that happened in a day. Things like “I’m glad there were no cars in the apartment parking lot right next to me so I could more easily back out” or “I’m glad the weather was nice today so I could take a walk at lunchtime” or “I’m glad that my good friend called me to talk.”

The sexaholic on the telephone was palpably discouraged. “My lust does not seem to be getting better,” he said. “I still want to type sexual search terms into my computer. I find myself fantasizing about contacting women I’ve seen. Why doesn’t my lusting get better?”

One night not too long ago my wife said to me “Why don’t you bring home some wine and chocolate after work, and we could have sex.” She said that to me having just asked if I was interested in having sex at that moment, but I said I was tired. In this situation I think the two of us not having had sex for over a year had something to do with my response.

Earlier today I was talking with my wife about some older friends who attend a religious service every day of the week. As we discussed their devotion, she said that the way in which I work my SA program is pretty much like that, too. I agreed with her.

SACFC had a good presence at the Israel convention. [Your chair] addressed the entire conference on the first night, encouraging members to participate in the CFC work either by volunteering or by requesting that a CFC chair position in their locale.

The preliminary 2016 year end SAICO financial results are a direct reflection of the Fellowship’s expanded service to spread the message to the still suffering sexaholic and the Fellowship’s generosity to support this service. The Finance Committee sees this growth not just in the dollars and cents numbers. International service growth means SAICO is now doing transactions in seven different currencies.

Dear Essay,
I have read “Sleep Issues” shared by Scott from Utah (December 2016 Essay.) My experience is different. In recovery my sleep life has also has sexual dreams, although the frequency now has diminished to only about two or three per year.

Dear Essay readers:
Welcome to Essay, your SA meeting in print — or, welcome back to Essay. We hope you will subscribe to Essay to benefit from our meeting in print every quarter.

A man finds out he has an inoperable brain tumor. It’s so large, they have to do a brain transplant. His doctor gives him a choice of available brains. There’s rocket scientist brains for $15 an ounce, regular scientist brains for $10 an ounce, and sexaholic brains for the sum of $800 an ounce. The man asks, “How come the sexaholic brains are so expensive?” The doctor replies, “Because they’ve never been used.”

The international SA Convention in Jerusalem gave us, women in SA, the chance to gather together.

What does it mean to be free of lust?
Marie: Being free from lust means I can give instead of take. When I see a woman who looks tired or unhappy I acknowledge her by saying ‘Hello’ or giving her a true compliment. Seeing the change in her is a joy and I never have to lie again!

When did you realize that you were powerless over lust and that your life had become unmanageable? Was it a sudden realization or something that you arrived at over the span of months or years? For me, it was an epiphany brought about from the threat of a second divorce. It was a sudden realization of the kind of person that I had been over the past 30 years.

Twice a month SA members in the Sacramento area gather for a meditation meeting. The Eleventh Step in the 12&12 describes the direct linkage among self-examination, prayer and meditation. Our practice is simple: we read SA or AA literature and then spend about 20 minutes together in silence using our breath as a focal point.

Hello, my name is Claire, I was created in the image of God, and I’m a recovering sexaholic. By the grace of God, my sobriety date is Wednesday, July 3rd, 2002. I have a sponsor and my sponsor has a sponsor.

Hello everyone! My friends in recovery! Thank God we still have emails… After I use WhatsApp so much, it’s as if one who doesn’t have it – isn’t around at all. Thank God it’s only my sick head ;-)

I attended my first SA meeting in June 2010. I was broken mentally. I had nowhere else to go. I had failed. I agreed with my counselor that I couldn’t stop using porn. When I attended my first meeting I did not feel judged or pressured by the members. There was no dogma, no form to sign.

The secret is out! There are already a number of flourishing online SA Groups where members share experience, strength and hope via text message and make and receive calls, find sharing partners, etc.

SA members in Washington, D.C., are celebrating the 25th anniversary of an SA meeting that opened its doors in November, 1991, and has met weekly at the same location ever since, Capitol Hill United Methodist (CHUM). Members are grateful for the Friday evening meeting that sets a spiritual tone at the end of the work week with the SA program and Steps.

Recently we had 80 people attending our Saturday morning meeting. Tears of joy welled in my eyes recalling the first meeting I attended over 32 years ago. There were only two of us. After the meeting my mind reviewed the activities we used that led us today to having at least 49 meetings a week in our area.