Geek Camp’s Purpose
“To carry the message to the still suffering lust addict by the appropriate use of information technology.”

Does SA really work? The clear answer from my own life is yes. I know it works, because it has worked for me.

What if, when I feel tired and weak, depleted and nervous, God is gently reminding me to rely on Him? What if I see the end of me as the start of God’s grace and power? What if His strength is all I need? What if my anxiety is a gift, because it reminds me that this life comes in moments, not days or years.

At times I fail to recall the effort it takes for me to surrender my sexual lust on a daily basis. I pretend to think that because I have such a wonderful spiritual condition—attending Sexaholics Anonymous meetings, meeting with other SA members, etc.—that I don’t need other practical solutions. But that whole line of thinking originates in my ego.

When I first came to SA I was three years divorced from a twelve-year marriage and had two kids. I always say that I was a sexaholic before I married my ex-wife, a sexaholic while married, and still a sexaholic after divorce. I knew that something was wrong with my behavior—I just couldn’t stop, even though I did not want to continue.

Recently I received new lenses for my glasses. The current ones were scratched and insurance would replace them. After the optometrist installed the lenses, I walked back to my car in the parking garage. I found myself astounded by the new clarity of my vision! I thought I should give a quick call back to the optometrist to learn what had changed my eyesight so dramatically?

Chapter 5 of the Big Book tells us that honesty is a prerequisite of recovery. What does honesty mean for me? If I lie to you, even if I know the truth inside, I’m not being honest. Why? Because my outside doesn’t match my inside truth.

A daily renewal is one of the best practices in my recovery from sexaholism. One morning my renewal partner said, “Matthew, you have UNICORN SYNDROME. You don’t realize how unique you are, how rare it is to have done the work you’ve done at your age and to have found recovery, or how unrealistic it is to expect your wife to be in the same place as you are.”

What stories have meant the most to you in this Essay?

Dear Essay,
If there is nothing on our homepage (or easily accessible with one click) that displays the fruit of recovery that an inquirer is looking for, we are doing them a disservice. Now that a sample article from Essay is a click-able link on www.SA.org, we are well on the way to providing that “instant info” an inquirer might be looking for.

Dear Essay readers:
This issue of Essay includes many stories on Willing to Go to Any Length. You may have heard the expression “Sexaholics Anonymous is for those who want it — not for those who need it.” Your Editors hope these stories can be helpful for those who want it anywhere in the world. As of early August there were about 5,000 downloads of the newly free electronic Essay. Our desire to be a global Meeting in Print is well underway.

Dear Essay:
The SA Literature Committee has been asked to assemble an Old-Timers compilation of articles and speeches. Please contribute your favorite text, either print or on a tape or CD, and send it to SAICO by postal mail or internet at saico@sa.org.

While in Egypt in January for an SA workshop, the members took me to see some special sights. One day, three young men wanted me to see a couple of special mosques.

SA has terrific new videos to use to help spread the word about our program of recovery. One video is a 30-second public service announcement. The second is a 3-minute introduction to SA that gives an overview of our fellowship and the Steps. This could be played in front of a public audience such as a Rotary club, church/synagogue/mosque, prison, hospital, institution, college psychology class, etc.

The life I had been living was definitely insane, and my Step One inventory made that very clear. My way had failed, and I had to find a new solution outside my own thinking and willpower. Stories of recovery, and hearing recovery speakers share the depths of their addiction and how their lives were restored, gave me some small hope.

Good morning recovery family. My name is Esty L. from Miami and I am a recovering sexaholic. My sobriety date is February 26, 2012 for which I am never sufficiently grateful. I am the fourth of 15 children. I grew up in a loving home with two devoted parents who did the best they could to provide me with a stable home.

Our program offers us the Promises; but, when we are swept up in the throes of our addiction, those Promises seem far off, transitory, unreal. Though I can only speak from my own experience, strength, and hope, I can attest to those Promises being fulfilled.

My roommate has a cat named Elway, and used to have a dog named Ginger. There is a pet door for the cat and dog that allows them out into the backyard. Ginger was old and had liver cancer, so my roommate put her down last October. Now that there is no dog around, my roommate is concerned that a coyote might attack the cat. We live near enough to wild space that this is a possibility. So we now close the pet door at night.

Hi, David. It’s Max. I wanted to call. I’m having a good day today. Had some lust earlier. I’m surrendering it. I’m feeling pretty good and feeling good about that. I’m grateful for the program and grateful that I don’t have to live in lust. Today I feel like I’m practicing humility and remain teachable.

I arrived 45 minutes late to my first SA meeting. Actually, I was a lifetime late, but that is another story…. It was also the 20th anniversary of the death of my mother and the beginning of my connection to a fellowship of people around the globe that has supported me into my seventh year of sobriety, which has seen fruits in my personal and professional life I would never have even dreamed possible, even before my life fell apart. Other than that, it wasn’t a remarkable evening.